Surely any improvement in the condition of rural women or any decisive blow against the caste system requires the breaking up of the old precapitalist community. The failure of Indian capitalism to break up such a community is the reason for the existence of khap panchayats.
The article ‘On Judging Mayawati’ by Chittibabu Padavala (August 18) has highlighted some important problems facing Mayawati. Actually, what Mayawati is confronting is the powerful hegemony of neoliberalism.
