The Ideology of Exclusion and Cultural Politics in Indian Society (original) (raw)
The varna/caste system in India is founded on structured inequalities in which the ideology of exclusion permeates all facets of socioeconomic and political life. Exclusion of some castes from the rights and privileges enjoyed by others is enforced by several instruments of social ostracism. This systemic exclusion, the manifestation of which could also be found in gender, class and other areas, is basically conceived by the Brahminical ideology and its rationalization is being drawn from the concept of natural inequality. Those who still act as conduits of all forms of knowledge direct and use it to maintain their control over the system by mediating discourses. Following Michel Foucault, it could be inferred that this kind of cultural hegemony draws support from the power over discourse, the power through discourse and the power of discourse. Persistence of this structured exclusion is rooted in the colonization of minds made possible by the cultural politics aimed at capturing and controlling the social order. Obviously, this ideology of exclusion is incompatible with the ideology of equality and inclusion enshrined in the Constitution of India. So long as this system is operated on such ideologies of inequality and exclusion, it becomes difficult to establish a democratic society. This paper employs the exclusivist approach to highlight the varied forms, levels and manifestations of exclusion inherent in Indian society based on the ideological foundations and argues that methods to tackle such exclusion requires efforts equal to the task.
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