Liberalization and Caste-Class Dynamics in India

aste is fundamentally central to Indian social formation, shaping the processes accumulation, distribution, and exploitation. The theoretical perspectives that have dominated discussions of these processes have largely emerged from Marxist and Phule-Ambedkarite traditions, with their respective emphases on class and caste. Despite their ideological importance and influence on movements such as the Naxalite struggle and the Dalit anti-caste mobilisations, these traditions have often remained not only isolated from one another even seen contradictory to each other. This has resulted in limited dialogue, insufficient engagement, and a lack of comprehensive frameworks capable of addressing the complex intersectionality of caste and class in the projects of social transformation. The present volume seeks to address this social reality in both its structural and processual dimensions by bringing together scholars from a range of disciplines-from economics political science to sociology, anthropology, and history. Its central objective is to explore possibilities of understanding caste-class dynamics through an attempt at theoretical synthesis. Comprising thirteen articles, the volume aspires to contribute toward developing the much- needed perspectival clarity, coherence and comprehensiveness in this domain. K. Laxminarayana Katta is a former Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Hyderabad, specializing in the economics of education, political economy of development, agricultural economics, and the Indian political economy of class and caste. Prof. Laxminarayana has numerous peer-reviewed publications on topics such as education inequality, community participation in schooling, right to education, and socio-political movements, and he has actively contributed to public debates on education policy and social justice. B.N. Rao is an Assistant Professor in the School of Economics, University of Hyderabad. His areas of specialization include tribal economy, agricultural economics, labour economics, economics of caste and political economy. He has published several research articles in reputable academic journals, making significant contributions to scholarship in these fields. His research continues to engage with issues of sustainable development, marginality, livelihoods, and development, making him a notable scholar in his field.