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Neo-liberal Political Economy and Social Tensions
August 2017 marks a year of the Una agitations. The informal neo-liberal political economy of Gujarat has seemingly given a new lease of life to primordial identity politics by promoting social capital for social security. A revival of traditional cultural ethos legitimises and reinforces caste bonds, perpetuating social tension among the competing castes. The growth of education and urban middle class among Dalits is not tolerated by the non-Dalits who still hold them in contempt whilst struggling to seek opportunities for maintaining their status. The
The author would like to thank Nitin Tagade, Kantilal Parmar and Kirit Rathod for their assistance and the anonymous referee for comments on the paper.