Political Participation Among Backward Castes Of Panchayat...

Political participation among Backward Castes in Panchayat Raj Institutions: A study on Ananthapuramu District of Andhra Pradesh Social Stratification is a ubiquitous social structure in human societies, be it simple or complex. Stratification is fairly permanent ranking of positions in a society in terms of unequal power, prestige or privileges. It refers to the patterned or structured social inequalities among the whole categories of people not just among individuals. The Caste system is the unique dimension, on which the Indian society is stratified into higher and lower castes with differential access to resources of society. In India, caste is the most important basis of social categorization. Initially caste originated on the basis of division of people on the basis of their natural inclinations and occupations and over a period of time it has turned out to be hereditary. It has created social groups based on kinship and ethnicity. The hereditary occupations have created vested interests in the form of socio-economic monopolies and have bred an extreme form of exploitation. The main attribute of Caste system is ritualistic purity, and this in turn has created inflexibility, rigidity and feelings of superiority and inferiority. Basing on different perspectives there are various definitions of caste. How does one define caste? Although many social scientists have done epoch- making work on the Indian caste system, no two social