If growth falters, Dalit social mobility will be hurt, says Amit Ahuja

Amit Ahuja teaches political science at University of California at Santa Barbara. Ahuja, who has just published a book, Mobilizing the Marginalized: Ethnic Parties Without Ethnic Movements

What broad trends do you see in Dalit politics?

Today, there are three broad, influential tre­nds in Dalit politics: First, there are fewer opportunities for Dalit political parties today because of the BJP’s resurgence. In the 1990s, when Dalit parties came up, the Congress was declining and lots of small parties competed with each other; no one dominated. It is much easier for a small party to win a seat when voters spread their votes across five or six parties than just two or three. The 1990s were also the days of coalition governments. Even if the Dalit parties could