‘I’m an upper caste myself, I have to say that’: caste identities in making claims about casteism

In this paper I examine the construction caste-related identities in negotiating casteism. Much work in social psychology has examined inter-caste attitudes and the reasons for caste-prejudice. Little work however has examined how individuals construct, negotiate and challenge ascriptions of caste identities. In this study I take-up such a focus in the context of a protest about caste-based discrimination. This context made caste and related issues very salient and allowed for various formulations of caste identities. I conducted interviews with 20 participants at the site of the protest. Using discursive psychology, I focused on the constructions of caste identities and the actions accomplished in doing so. The findings show that, first, discussions about caste were routinely framed in relation to interviewees’ caste identity. This was not the case for those who were Dalits. Second, caste identities were treated as a resource in recognizing casteism in educational settings. Third, caste identities were constructed in ways to offer ostensible challenges to casteism. Overall findings suggest that caste identities are central means by which matters of caste and casteism are negotiated.