Kothari challenged the Western modernist view that politics would simply erase caste. Instead, he argued that caste became the primary vehicle for democratic mobilization.
Rajni Kothari's Caste in Indian Politics argues that caste is not a barrier to modernization, but rather a foundational element that enables democratic integration and political mobilization in India. Kothari emphasizes the "politicization of caste," where traditional structures are utilized to gain political power and representation within the secular democratic system. For an academic summary of these concepts, visit Politics for India CSE - IIT Kanpur Book Excerptise: Caste in Indian Politics by Rajni Kothari Rajni Kothari Caste In Indian Politics 15.pdf
Kothari’s greatest legacy is this: he convinced a generation that caste was not India’s political failure, but its political language . Whether you celebrate that or mourn it, you cannot understand Indian politics without first understanding the arguments on that fifteenth page. Kothari challenged the Western modernist view that politics
For decades, Western modernization theory predicted that caste would wither away with industrialization, urbanization, and electoral politics. Kothari turned this assumption on its head. He argued that caste had not only survived but had become more politically relevant—not as a ritual hierarchy, but as a democratic pressure group. he argued that caste has adapted
This document is a seminal excerpt or chapter (likely from the 1970 edited volume Caste in Indian Politics ) by Rajni Kothari, one of India’s foremost political scientists. The “15” in the filename may refer to a page range, section number, or institutional archive code. Kothari’s work fundamentally challenged the assumption that caste was a dying, traditional force being replaced by modern democratic politics. Instead, he argued that caste has adapted, intensified, and become a critical instrument of political mobilization.