Indias First Democratic Revolution Dayanand bandodkar and the rise of the Bahujan in Goa

Goa is considered exceptional in India because of its small size, its high economic and social development relative to the rest of the country and its Portuguese history.

Parobo argues that scholarship on Goa has focused too much on its Portuguese past and ignored the indigenous reasons for its historical trajectory and developmental success.

This focus has ignored the fact that Goa was the first territory to vote in a lower caste government to power in the 1963 assembly elections, headed by lower caste mine owner and philanthropist Dayanand Bandodkar.

Author explores the history behind this surprising electoral success and its consequences.

He focuses instead on the comparatively little explored story of:

caste-based land and power relations in pre-colonial and early colonial Goa
emerging caste movements and identity politics among both upper castes and lower castes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
the interactions of caste politics with colonialism
Traces the history of land relations and caste movements into the post-Liberation period of Bandodkar’s far-reaching land reforms. These liberated lower caste tenants from dependence on landlords and opened up new employment opportunities for the Bahujan.

Accompanied by substantial investments in education and health, they ushered in greater equity and democratisation. Goa, therefore, scripted a distinctive story of Bahujan success.

Glossary

Introduction

Caste in the Modern World, 1850–1961
Colonial State: Local and Micro Context
Bandodkar’s Charisma and Post-Colonial Goa, 1963–1973
Empowering through Land and Tenancy Reforms
The Political Economy of Social Transformation
Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Key Points

New perspective on Goa

Existing scholarship has focused on Goa’s Portuguese history; this book integrates Portuguese history with the “Indian” story. Follows Goa’s story in the post-Liberation period

Explores Goa’s caste movements and Dalit history