Caste Conundrum

This book examines caste debates in post-independent contemporary India, addressing its pervasive influence across personal, social, public, and political spheres. It offers an understanding of caste through the lenses of reservations, identity politics, affirmative action, and public policy, while comparing India's approach with programs in the United States and other major democracies.

The book offers a renewed 21st-century perspective on caste, analyzing how political economy, globalization, technological advancement, and artificial intelligence are reshaping caste-based discourses. It challenges outdated narratives that have failed to produce balanced policies, proposing instead a harmonious approach grounded in social justice, inequality, unemployment, and social cohesion. Through rigorous arguments, it addresses the critical question of fair resource distribution in a democratic, globalized India.

This work is essential for research scholars, graduate and undergraduate students studying India's caste system across political science, sociology, anthropology, law, public policy, South Asian studies, literature, public administration, economics, and liberal arts. It provides vital insights for anyone seeking to understand one of India's most complex and urgent contemporary challenges.

Ravi Saxena is an accomplished academician, academic administrator, author, and researcher with over 19 years of extensive experience in higher education in India, spanning liberal arts, law, and business schools. He currently serves as an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Sharda School of Law, Sharda University, Greater Noida. Prior to this, he spent nearly a decade at NMIMS (Deemed to be University), Mumbai, as a Senior Faculty Member and Programme Chairperson.