Dalit Assertion and the Unfinished Democratic Revolution: The Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh (Cultural Subordination and the Dalit Challenge)

This book examines the emergence, ideology and programmes, mobilisational strategies, electoral progress and political significance of the Bahujan Samaj Party against the backdrop of a strong wave of Dalit assertion in Uttar Pradesh. Based upon extensive fieldwork in western UP, government reports and interviews with Dalit leaders, this study, while highlighting the BSP's considerable achievements, explores the reasons for the party's failure to harness the forces of Dalit assertion in UP.