> Don't underestimate the power of caste to fight back. > I noticed this last month when I was in Madras, there is an increased > profusion of caste based welfare associations around the city than > from a few years back.
I agree -- this is one of the way caste perpetuates itself. In one case it came in the way of collective action. We were researching on homeless people in Chennai and there was an area in North Chennai where the flower vendor caste did not associate with the fish-sellers. And this prevented them from forming a collective to fight for housing rights, which is a fundamental issue to be resolved because without ration cards it is difficult to get any sorta government aid.
