Yashpal Jogdand | Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (original) (raw)

Papers by Yashpal Jogdand

Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, 2024

The psychological underpinnings and processes of caste have remained obscure. This special issue ... more The psychological underpinnings and processes of caste have remained obscure. This special issue of Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion focusing on Caste and Psychology is an initial contribution that lays the ground for developing a critical psychology of caste. In this introductory article, I situate the special issue in the historical and contemporary context. I show that the historical roots of psychological approach to caste go deep. The revolutionary thinking and activism of Mahatma Jotirao Phule and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar provided a useful foundation for a critical psychology of caste to flourish. Unfortunately, this foundation remained under-appreciated in the subsequent academic and social engagement on caste. Next, I review the contemporary research on the psychological dimension of caste and highlight emerging themes that illustrate contemporary approaches. I argue that there is need of a collective endeavor in the form of a new field of study, namely, ‘critical psychology of caste’, to integrate divergent perspectives and contributions addressing the psychological dimension of caste. The special issue is a small step in that direction.

Critical Philosophy of Race

Caste: A Global Journal of Social Exclusion, 2023

We invite contributions that attempt to bridge the theoretical and empirical gap between caste an... more We invite contributions that attempt to bridge the theoretical and empirical gap between caste and psychology. Contributions will draw on theoretical and research foundations within Psychology and related fields to bring together emerging perspectives, offer novel insights into caste-related cognition, emotion, and behavior, and provide directions for future psychological research on caste. Link - https://journals.library.brandeis.edu/index.php/caste/announcement/view/20

Critical Philosophy of Race, 2023

Umesh Bagade’s historic critique of the caste blindness of the Subaltern Studies project retraces... more Umesh Bagade’s historic critique of the caste blindness of the Subaltern Studies project retraces its emergence as a criticism of the Nationalist and Marxist schools of Indian history. He shows how the subaltern historians borrowed Antonio Gramsci’s concept of “subaltern” in order to retain a broadly Marxist framework without “class” but discarded the crucial Gramscian emphasis on oppression and economic exploitation. They grievously misread, confused, or omitted caste as a “system” when they constructed their model of the subaltern as subordinate but autonomous. The caste system functioned as a graded inequality with close links to patriarchy in which the lower castes were oppressed, exploited, and subordinated rather than autonomous. A homogenized “subaltern” status thus lumped the oppressed lower-caste peas- ants and the tribal peasantry with the upper-caste peasantry. It was not acknowledged that the “solidarity” that expanded the base of subaltern revolt was achieved through coercion of the lower castes and women. The subaltern cultural “consciousness” of caste Panchayats, which was central to the project’s epistemology, was governed by Brahmanical religion and culture. The kinship relations that comprised peasant solidarities were built on endogamous caste practices. Predictably, the Subaltern Studies project found a close affinity with postmodernism and eschewed the question of emancipatory politics. The project therefore excluded anticaste mobilizations from the purview of “subaltern revolts” and simultaneously rejected the need for a comprehensive historical interpretation in which the caste system and patriarchy could be analyzed and opposed. In exposing the biases and lacunae of subaltern historiography, Bagade provides a clinical observation of history with an eye on history’s ability to influence reality. He shows the path that was not taken, which anticaste scholarship is now forging.

Critical Philosophy of Race, 2023

Psychology limits the scope of raising questions important in the caste context. While psychology... more Psychology limits the scope of raising questions important in the caste context. While psychology focuses on why and how people feel humiliated, the question in the caste context is why and how people do not feel humiliated despite incessant and gratuitous attacks on their dignity and self-worth. This article argues that psychology needs to adopt a critical orientation to address the experience of caste-based humiliation. The anti-caste perspective of B. R. Ambedkar provides a critical orientation and psychological insights to build a meaningful psychology of caste-based humiliation. Ambedkar rejected individualist, essentialized notion of human self and emphasized the dimension of intergroup emotions to understand caste relations. I develop this argument by analyzing the experience, impact, and resistance to caste-based humiliation among Dalits. I describe caste-based humiliation in extreme (caste atrocities) and less extreme (caste microaggressions) forms and show that the experience of caste-based humiliation is pervasive, direct, but also vicarious. I then examine the psychological impact of caste-based humiliation on the health, social vitality, and appraisal process among Dalits. I show that caste-ridden context makes it difficult to interpret humiliation and affects Dalit life narratives through retrospective feelings of humiliation. Finally, I consider the issue of resistance to humiliation and show that mere appraising of humiliation could also be a form of resistance. The article concludes with an emphasis on exploring the scope of psychological resistance to caste-based humiliation through individual and collective acts of meaning that seek to interpret and transform humiliating existence.

Journal of Leadership Studies, 2019

While confronting a “polar night” ahead, Weber thought that only charismatic leaders could be the... more While confronting a “polar night” ahead, Weber thought that only charismatic leaders could be the solution (Weber, 1921). Weber’s solution could be spectacularly wrong in the current situation. The challenge for future leadership is not about embodying the charisma, but about developing effective leadership without succumbing to tyranny. This would require a greater understanding of emotionality among followers.

Journal of Social and Political Psychology , 2017

Guided by a self-categorisation and social-identity framework of identity entrepreneurship (Reich... more Guided by a self-categorisation and social-identity framework of identity entrepreneurship (Reicher & Hopkins, 2001), and social representations theory of history (Liu & Hilton, 2005), this paper examines how the Hindu nationalist movement of India defines Hindu nationhood by embedding it in an essentialising historical narrative. The heart of the paper consists of a thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) of the ideological manifestos of the Hindu nationalist movement in India, “Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?” (1928) and “We, or Our Nationhood Defined” (1939), written by two of its founding leaders – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, respectively. The texts constitute authoritative attempts to define Hindu nationhood that continue to guide the Hindu nationalist movement today. The derived themes and sub-themes indicate that the definition of Hindu nationhood largely was embedded in a narrative about its historical origins and trajectory, but also its future. More specifically, a ‘golden age’ was invoked to define the origins of Hindu nationhood, whereas a dark age in its historical trajectory was invoked to identify peoples considered to be enemies of Hindu nationhood, and thereby to legitimise their exclusion. Through its selective account of past events and its efforts to utilise this as a cohesive mobilising factor, the emergence and rise of the Hindu nationalist movement elucidate lessons that further our understanding of the rise of right-wing movements around the world today.

https://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/736

The classroom is an important space and time in one’s intellectual life: a space that facilitates... more The classroom is an important space and time in one’s intellectual life: a space that facilitates the dialogue, both outer and inner; a time when one is exposed to different meanings of the things one usually takes for granted. It is plausible that the people who aspire for ‘the life of the mind’ should receive their inspiration in the classroom. Yet, for Dalits in India the aspiration for ‘the life of the mind’ comes from independent reading and contact with collective struggles rather than the classroom learning. Caste permeates the Indian classroom and annuls it as a space of participation in collaborative activity of knowledge as equal and worthy persons. The classrooms, in the experience of Dalits, instead, work as sites where one confronts the brutal reality of caste. The higher a Dalit individual goes on the prestige ladder of the educational institutions, the clearer becomes the message in the classroom: you don’t belong here. The Dalit experience of Indian classrooms is not about flourishing but about survival.

Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2016

We contextualise Cotterill, Sidanius, Bhardwaj, and Kumar's (2014) paper within a broader literat... more We contextualise Cotterill, Sidanius, Bhardwaj, and Kumar's (2014) paper within a broader literature on caste and collective mobilisation. Cotterill and colleagues' paper represents a fresh and timely attempt to make sense of the persistence of caste from the perspective of Social Dominance Theory. Cotterill and colleagues, however, do not examine caste differences in the endorsement of karma, and take behavioural asymmetry among lower castes for granted. Cotterill and colleagues also adhere to a Varna model of the caste system that arguably is simplistic and benefits the upper castes of Indian society. We caution that emphasising behavioural asymmetry and endorsing the Varna model might further stigmatise lower castes, especially Dalits, and feed into a conformity bias already predominant in caste-related psychological research. We argue that the conceptualisation and operationalisation of Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation and legitimising myths in the Indian context needs to take into account the particular meaning and functions of these constructs in specific intergroup contexts, and for identity positions salient within these contexts. We contend that any examination aimed at better understanding the nature of social hierarchy and oppression within the caste system and Indian society in general remains inconclusive without including a focus on the construction and contestation of social categories and social identities.

The intractable group conflicts, mass killings and genocides around the world attest to the role ... more The intractable group conflicts, mass killings and genocides around the world attest to the role of humiliation as a negative force causing violence and destruction. Based on the analysis of the speeches of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the most important leader of Dalit (ex-untouchables) in India, we suggest that leaders possess the capacity for creative use of humiliation. The creative use of humiliation is made possible by the innovation in constructing social identities involved in humiliation. Creative leadership can be an important catalyst that can transform humiliation into a positive force for social change.

Books by Yashpal Jogdand

In what ways is the meaning and practice of politics changing? Why might so many people feel diss... more In what ways is the meaning and practice of politics changing? Why might so many people feel dissatisfied and disaffected with electoral politics? What approaches do political activists use to raise issues and mobilise people for action? What role does the internet and social media play in contemporary citizenship and activism? This book brings together academics from a range of disciplines with political activists and campaigners to explore the meaning of politics and citizenship in contemporary society and the current forms of political (dis)engagement. It provides a rare dialogue between analysts and activists which will be especially valuable to academics and students across the social sciences, in particular sociology and political science. See more at: http://www.policypress.co.uk/display.asp?K=9781447317012&sf1=keyword&st1=Manning&m=1&dc=5#sthash.6PF0UdFe.dpuf

Book Chapters by Yashpal Jogdand

Applied Cognitive Science and Technology , 2023

Despite its relevance to understanding toxic human behavior, the AQ1 phenomenon of humiliation re... more Despite its relevance to understanding toxic human behavior, the AQ1 phenomenon of humiliation remains poorly understood. Humiliation constitutes an attack on human dignity. It is an important psychological construct rooted in complex power relations involving individuals and social groups. Attending to interactions between humiliation and technology should allow us to develop policies that protect human dignity in today's technology-mediated world. This chapter reviews scientific research on humiliation and proposes a distinctive victim-centered, agentic, multi-level conceptualization. This conceptualization is applied to examine three issues: fraping, caste atrocities, and militant Islamic terrorism. The analysis highlights the complex role of technology in creating and expanding humiliation. Technology empowers perpetrators by enlarging the scope and impact of humiliation. Paradoxically, technology empowers victims and bystanders by creating awareness and facilitating government and civic intervention. Finally, the chapter highlights the crucial role of the state, civil society, and industry. Recommendations are made for eliminating technology-facilitated humiliation, including acknowledgment of victimhood, appropriate control and deletion of digital records, and humiliation dynamic informed platform governance. Keywords Humiliation • Emotion • Social identity • Social media • Human-technology interaction • Toxicity

In J. Vollhardt (Ed.) The Social Psychology of Collective Victimhood. New York: Oxford University Press., 2020

This chapter examines the role of humiliation in experiences of collective victimization. Humilia... more This chapter examines the role of humiliation in experiences of collective victimization. Humiliation is conceptualized as a self-conscious emotion that is distinct from shame, anger, and embarrassment. Humiliation is experienced when dehumanizing and devaluing treatment occurs that is appraised as illegitimate. The chapter discusses the paradox in the literature on humiliation, whereby both action (e.g., cycles of violence) and suppression of action (e.g., demobilization of resistance) have been observed as an outcome of humiliation. Drawing on research on the experience of Dalits in the Hindu caste system, a conceptualization of humiliation is presented that is relational, victim centered, and focused on agency and power relations. Humiliation is conceptualized as a claim, which involves both the appraisal of certain acts of victimization as humiliating, and the political act of communicating resentment to the perpetrator. Overall, humiliation can be used to mobilize or demobilize resistance to oppression.

C. Howarth & E. Andreouli (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Everyday Politics. London: Routledge, Jul 1, 2016

Our aim in this chapter is to argue that we ignore the active process of mobilisation at our peri... more Our aim in this chapter is to argue that we ignore the active process of mobilisation at our peril. To do so does not just render our work incomplete, it invalidates the work we have already completed. We shall look at some of the most iconic studies in all of psychology; we shall show how leadership and mobilisation are at their core, and how the traditional understandings of these studies are misconceived precisely because leadership and mobilisation have been ignored. Then, we shall go on to look at some examples of mobilisation in real-world settings. We shall examine how arguments around identity, interest and emotion are employed in order to shape our understandings, feelings and actions in everyday life.

Social science is replete with debates asking if people act in terms of self-interest or not. Thi... more Social science is replete with debates asking if people act in terms of self-interest or not. This is equally true when it comes to explanations of political participation. Our argument is essentially that this is a false debate. The question shouldn’t be about whether, it should be about what it means to act in terms of self-interest. Our contention is that the claim means nothing unless we specify the nature of ‘self’ and hence what constitutes interest. The problem is that this issue tends to be ignored and instead the nature of self is taken for granted – an individual self for which monetary gain is the ultimate metric of value.

Presentations by Yashpal Jogdand

OBJECTIVE: There is paucity of empirical research on the experience and consequences of humi... more OBJECTIVE:

There is paucity of empirical research on the experience and consequences of humiliation on group level. In two experiments with group of students in UK (N= 143) and group of Dalits in India (N=181), we examined the nature of humiliation as a group emotion and its action consequences.

METHOD and DESIGN:

The experiment was embedded in an online (UK) and field (India) survey regarding classroom experiences of U.K/Indian students. Using vignette methodology, participants were randomly allocated to one of the four experimental conditions, in a 2 (perspective in the event: victim vs. witness) x 2 (devalued identity: personal identity vs. shared social identity) factorial design.

RESULTS:

In both the experiments, 1) there was a significant interaction effect of perspective and devalued identity on the scales of humiliation and positive emotions. 2) The devaluation of shared social identity was experienced as humiliating although one was a witness and personally unaffected in the situation. c) In fact, when one was a witness and personal identity was devalued, the situation resulted in greater positive emotions. 3) In addition, humiliation significantly predicted hostility, desire for revenge and anti-normative collective action tendencies. 4) Importantly, the feeling of humiliation fully mediated the relationship between perceived devaluation (appraisal) and collective action tendencies.

CONCLUSION:

The results from different cultural contexts and different social identities provide strong evidence in favour of the proposition that humiliation is a group emotion experienced on the basis of shared social identity and it might serve as an antecedent of collective participation.

OBJECTIVE: Available literature posits that humiliation often leads to violent retaliation and re... more OBJECTIVE: Available literature posits that humiliation often leads to violent retaliation and revenge due to element of anger involved in its experience. However, we doubt this as humiliation is an experience strongly tied with oppressed and powerless groups in the society who have less support to strike back. Thus we set out to more fully explore responses to humiliation.
DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews among an oppressed group where humiliation is a part of everyday life. The rationale is to avoid distress or trauma while recounting the experiences.
METHOD: Nineteen Dalit i.e. ex-untouchables participants were interviewed using semi-structured schedule. The interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed.
RESULTS: The analysis revealed (a) the existence of the elements like identity, illegitimacy, powerlessness, disrespect, shame and anger. (b) Participants reported feeling angry and outraged but were powerless to express it. (c) Interestingly, some participants even denied feeling angry due to powerlessness at the moment and reported a sense of shame (e) Surprisingly, there was no report of any direct responses during and after the humiliating events instead participants reported various coping strategies like avoidance and positive re-framing. (f) Finally, participants actively tried to seek what may be called as cognitive alternatives and emphasized need of group solidarity and powerful leadership in order to counter humiliation.
CONCLUSION: The element of powerlessness works as a secondary appraisal and moderates the emotional reactions and responses given during and after the humiliating events. Future research should investigate the moderation of powerlessness using survey and experimental designs.

Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion, 2024

Critical Philosophy of Race

Caste: A Global Journal of Social Exclusion, 2023

Critical Philosophy of Race, 2023

Journal of Leadership Studies, 2019

Journal of Social and Political Psychology , 2017

https://jspp.psychopen.eu/article/view/736

Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2016

Applied Cognitive Science and Technology , 2023

In J. Vollhardt (Ed.) The Social Psychology of Collective Victimhood. New York: Oxford University Press., 2020

C. Howarth & E. Andreouli (Eds.), The Social Psychology of Everyday Politics. London: Routledge, Jul 1, 2016

OBJECTIVE: There is paucity of empirical research on the experience and consequences of humi... more OBJECTIVE:

METHOD and DESIGN:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSION:

Social psychological research looks at humiliation as extreme and intense emotion which often dri... more Social psychological research looks at humiliation as extreme and intense emotion which often drives victims to extreme and irrational behaviors (Lindner, 2002; Otten & Jonas, 2014; Elison & Harter, 2007). I contest this view of humiliation and its victims. I argue that these intense/extreme accounts of humiliation ignore its inherently relational or dynamic nature and undermine victim’s agency in the context of humiliation. Using various methods (thematic analysis, experiments, discourse analysis), I examined the experience and response to humiliation among Dalits (ex-Untouchables) in India (and also among university students in UK for comparative purposes). I show that humiliation is, in fact, a social encounter within power relations. The nature of humiliation and how it is experienced depends upon the way in which identities are defined in a humiliating encounter. If identities are defined on a group level, people can feel humiliated simply by witnessing humiliation of another group member. Victims of humiliation do not remain passive during humiliating encounters but possess the choice and agency to affect the outcome of humiliating encounters. Finally, the way in which humiliating encounters are resolved depend upon the mobilisation processes which can even change the nature of identities and, therefore, the nature of experience of the encounter. Overall, there is need to look at humiliation as 1) inherently relational or dynamic in nature, 2) a distinguishably group level phenomenon and 3) a mobilised phenomenon.

Jogdand, Y. A. (2010), Caste and Humiliation: Impact of humiliation on personal and collective self esteem, emotional experience and ingroup identification among Dalit students, Unpublished M.Phil. dissertation, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Previous research has associated humiliation with lowered self esteem (Stamm, 1978; Hartling and ... more Previous research has associated humiliation with lowered self esteem (Stamm, 1978; Hartling and Luchetta, 1999; Baumeister et al, 1993; Nandy, 2009). Social identity theory and stigma theory contradicts this association and suggests that individuals and groups have adequate resources to deal with societal devaluation (Tajfel and Turner, 1979; Crocker and Major, 1989). Research within social identity and stigma literature indicate that it is rare to find evidence of lowered self esteem or negative ingroup evaluation in response to group devaluation (Leach et al, 2010). Following this it was hypothesized that the internal experience of humiliation when appraised as disrespect will lead to 1) negative emotions like shame, anger, embarrassment and feelings of rejection 2) but it should not affect personal and collective self esteem 3) and the stigmatized/ devalued group members will respond by identifying with their ingroup. The results of the study provided a clear support to these hypotheses. The results also indicated that there were significant differences in Dalit male and female past experience of humiliation. Contrary to earlier findings, males reported more cumulative humiliation than females. A multi-component approach of ingroup identification (Leach et al, 2008) suggested that Dalit participants responded to humiliation by increasing components of solidarity, centrality and individual self stereotyping but not satisfaction and ingroup homogeneity.

This thesis examined the nature, experience and consequences of humiliation among Dalits (ex-Unto... more This thesis examined the nature, experience and consequences of humiliation among Dalits (ex-Untouchables) in India (and also among UK students for comparative purposes). Social psychological research looks at humiliation as automatic, extreme and intense emotion which often leads to extreme and irrational behaviors (Lindner, 2002; Otten & Jonas, 2014; Elison & Harter, 2007). The research in this thesis contested this view and underlined the need to look at humiliation as 1) inherently relational or dynamic in nature, 2) a distinguishably group level phenomenon and 3) a mobilised phenomenon. Study 1 analysed the experiences of humiliation among Dalits and conceptualised humiliation as a complex social encounter in which one party attempts to diminish identity of another party. Study 1 also identified important dimensions of humiliating encounters that were examined in subsequent studies. Studies 2 - 3 manipulated perspective (victim or witness) and target of devaluation (personal identity or social identity) in a humiliating encounter and showed that the nature of humiliation and how it is experienced depends upon the way in which identities are defined in a humiliating encounter. Both UK students (Study 2) and Dalit participants (Study 3) confirmed the collective experience of humiliation i.e. one can feel humiliated simply by witnessing humiliation of another group member. Studies 4 - 7 manipulated victim’s response (resistance vs. compliance) during a humiliating encounter. These studies showed that humiliation is an encounter within power relations and victims of humiliation possess choice and agency to change the outcome of humiliating encounters. Study 8 analysed the humiliation rhetoric in the speeches of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the most important of Dalits leaders, and showed that the way in which humiliating encounter is resolved depends upon the mobilisation processes which can even change the nature of identities and, therefore, the nature of experience of the encounter.