The politics of non-dominant OBC castes in Uttar Pradesh has the twin objectives of seeking a share in the state’s resources and reconfiguration of social identities. Politics is invoked for strengthening social identity. Jati, or caste-centric, parties have become political and social tools in their own right to negotiate with the state and compete with other social groups for better life chances. They have a strategic relationship with the politics of religion, yearn for a cultural space and invoke the social justice framework to access a state’s resources. Their aims are strategic, politics is opportunistic and impact is deterministic.
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