FROM MANDAL TO MODI: THE EVOLUTION OF CASTE POLITICS IN INDIA

Few developments in post-Independence India have transformed the political landscape as profoundly as the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations in 1990.

- Anjali Singh

What began as a constitutional attempt to address historical inequalities among socially and educationally backward communities soon evolved into one of the defining turning points of Indian democracy. The “Mandal moment” did not merely alter reservation policy; it fundamentally reshaped the grammar of Indian politics, redistributing power from upper-caste elites to backward caste groups and redefining political representation in North India.

More than three decades later, India once again finds itself debating caste and representation through the question of a nationwide caste census. The Union government's 2025 announcement that caste data would be included in the upcoming national census has revived unresolved debates around social justice, reservations, political representation, and national identity. At the centre of this debate lies a crucial question: has India moved beyond caste, or has caste simply been repackaged within newer narratives of nationalism, welfare, and development?

To understand contemporary India, one must revisit the long trajectory from Mandal to Modi — from caste assertion to majoritarian nationalism, from social justice politics to “development-first” politics.

CASTE AND THE INDIAN STATE

Caste has historically shaped access to land, education, employment, and political power in India. Although the Constitution abolished untouchability and guaranteed equality before law, the makers of the Constitution recognized that formal equality alone could not erase centuries of social exclusion. As a result, provisions for affirmative action were incorporated for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar argued that political democracy would remain incomplete without social democracy. Reservations in legislatures, education, and government jobs were therefore envisioned as instruments of social transformation rather than mere welfare measures.