Six Community development practice in India: Interrogating caste and common sense
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Mohd. Shahid
Abstract
This chapter aims to explore the subtle relationship between social class and caste and its implications for community development practice in the Indian context. The chapter locates the ways in which ‘common sense’ conceals the subordination and oppression of the marginalised, and normalises it as a ‘natural’ process. The chapter focuses on the Balmiki community, a substantial majority of whose constituents are still engaged in the inhuman practice of manual scavenging. This practice of the manual sweeping of household dry toilets and carrying of human excreta, though banned by law, still exists in many parts of India. It has been enforced as a traditional hereditary caste-based occupation. Based on field experiences of working with the Balmiki community, the chapter explores the dynamics of social class, caste and common sense, and accordingly argues for an anti-hegemonic community development practice.
Abstract
This chapter aims to explore the subtle relationship between social class and caste and its implications for community development practice in the Indian context. The chapter locates the ways in which ‘common sense’ conceals the subordination and oppression of the marginalised, and normalises it as a ‘natural’ process. The chapter focuses on the Balmiki community, a substantial majority of whose constituents are still engaged in the inhuman practice of manual scavenging. This practice of the manual sweeping of household dry toilets and carrying of human excreta, though banned by law, still exists in many parts of India. It has been enforced as a traditional hereditary caste-based occupation. Based on field experiences of working with the Balmiki community, the chapter explores the dynamics of social class, caste and common sense, and accordingly argues for an anti-hegemonic community development practice.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Table of contents vii
- Rethinking Community Development ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Notes on contributors xi
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Contested concepts of class, past and present
- Class, inequality and community development: editorial introduction 3
- Competing concepts of class: implications and applications for community development 23
- Community development in the UK: whatever happened to class? A historical analysis 39
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Class, inequality and community development in context
- Working-class communities and ecology: reframing environmental justice around the Ilva steel plant in Taranto (Apulia, Italy) 59
- Race, class and green jobs in low-income communities in the US: challenges for community development 77
- Community development practice in India: Interrogating caste and common sense 93
- The impact of gender, race and class on women’s political participation in post-apartheid South Africa: challenges for community development 107
- What happens when community organisers move into government? Recent experience in Bolivia 121
- Community development: (un) fulfilled hopes for social equality in Poland 137
- Rural–urban alliances for community development through land reform from below 153
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Reconnecting class and inequality through community development
- Reconciling participation and power in international development: a case study 171
- Transformative education and community development: sharing learning to challenge inequality 189
- Community development and class in the context of an East Asian productivist welfare regime 205
- Community organising for social change: the scope for class politics 219
- Community unionism: looking backwards, looking forwards 235
- Index 251
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Table of contents vii
- Rethinking Community Development ix
- Acknowledgements x
- Notes on contributors xi
-
Contested concepts of class, past and present
- Class, inequality and community development: editorial introduction 3
- Competing concepts of class: implications and applications for community development 23
- Community development in the UK: whatever happened to class? A historical analysis 39
-
Class, inequality and community development in context
- Working-class communities and ecology: reframing environmental justice around the Ilva steel plant in Taranto (Apulia, Italy) 59
- Race, class and green jobs in low-income communities in the US: challenges for community development 77
- Community development practice in India: Interrogating caste and common sense 93
- The impact of gender, race and class on women’s political participation in post-apartheid South Africa: challenges for community development 107
- What happens when community organisers move into government? Recent experience in Bolivia 121
- Community development: (un) fulfilled hopes for social equality in Poland 137
- Rural–urban alliances for community development through land reform from below 153
-
Reconnecting class and inequality through community development
- Reconciling participation and power in international development: a case study 171
- Transformative education and community development: sharing learning to challenge inequality 189
- Community development and class in the context of an East Asian productivist welfare regime 205
- Community organising for social change: the scope for class politics 219
- Community unionism: looking backwards, looking forwards 235
- Index 251
