West Bengal

The study of the inter-district convergence of per capita incomes in any state or country is crucial to policy agenda as it exposes the scenario of real income distribution. The present paper examines inter-district convergence of per capita income in West Bengal using the neoclassical growth and panel unit root models; the second is an advanced approach compared to the first. The results in line with the two approaches show that the districts are not converging in terms of income; rather the districts are diverging between 1993 and 2014. It is an alarming knock to the state since divergence in income leads to rising inequality across districts; it will hamper the development of the state.

The intricate relations between caste-based identity politics and anti-caste social associations and visions in West Bengal are unravelled, based on findings from a micro study conducted in a village in Nadia district between November 2020 and March 2021. In-depth interviews too were conducted with Namasudra leaders, the anti-caste Matua sect, and Matua dals (village associations) in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts. While the discourse on citizenship and the long experience of social and political marginalisation have resulted in a strategic polarisation of the Matuas towards the politics of Hindutva, this has never stifled their quest for social justice.The intricate relations between caste-based identity politics and anti-caste social associations and visions in West Bengal are unravelled, based on findings from a micro study conducted in a village in Nadia district between November 2020 and March 2021. In-depth interviews too were conducted with Namasudra leaders, the anti-caste Matua sect, and Matua dals (village associations) in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts. While the discourse on citizenship and the long experience of social and political marginalisation have resulted in a strategic polarisation of the Matuas towards the politics of Hindutva, this has never stifled their quest for social justice.

West Bengal has a substantive presence of minority population with 27% Muslims and 5.5% Scheduled Tribes. They often have a ghettoised presence and political parties take special care to secure electoral dividends from them. After the end to the left regime in 2011, the Trinamool Congress in its second term has percolated in most of the traditional left bastions, especially among the ethnic and religious minorities. This paper explores the mechanisms of TMC’s percolation among the ethnic and religious minorities through “cultural misrecognition.” Through an ethnographic work on the promotion of cultural expressions and recent ethnic conflicts, it is argued that, while the organisation-based political mechanism has been put in the backseat, West Bengal is observing a rapid rise of primordial identity-based political practices.

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This paper is a part of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Project, and the author is thankful to ICSSR, New Delhi for providing him with financial assistance to conduct this research work. The author is also thankful to Sridev Adak and Animesh Kundu, former research assistants, ICSSR Research Project for helping him in data collection, data entry, and tabulation works.