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#Ranabir Samaddar of Calcutta Research Group speaks about the need to see what it is produces the caste relations and how in the process of reproduction, these relations are changed. He has written an article on dalit movements in Bengal in EPW Vol - XLVIII No. 36, September 07, 2013 titled: "Whatever has happened to caste in Bengal?"

Talking about the use of the word "Bahujan Samaj" in his article, Samaddar say, the word bahujan can be invoked in two ways. First it means the majority of the people. Two, it is a popular formation that is covering most of the groups. He has used it in the second sense although it includes the first meaning. At least in the modern times, in the Naxalbari uprisings, the Rajbangshis, the tea-tribes, refugees from east Pakistan joined hands and created the movement. It is not just, as the Maoist will say, the united front but it reflects the autonomy of the people. They got over their identity as Rajbangshis, tribals, dalits and created a new identity. Why do the upper-castes working with dalits doesn't take account of this? Why is the massive dalit participation seen as something which the party mobilised? Why is it we do not see that they created a kind of fold where specific people came out in a general framework.

These are not taken into account because of the predominantly cultural framework within which the analysis of caste is done. It thinks that it can explain political economy by culture. It cannot.

He is however not saying that there is no cultural imperative. He does think with globalisation there is a rise of the lower classes today. It is not happening as per the path the Left charted out. It is populist mode of politics but its emergence has resulted in the renewal of appeal to the dalit communities. This is exactly what was happening in the 60s and the 70s. And that is why he mentioned the names in his article of members of Sapui, Sheet and Rajbangshi communities which CPIM has never mentioned. Similarly now the appeal to the lower classes have renewed in the post-Left government. Samaddar ends with a very pertinent question that now, when the lower classes and lower castes are consolidating again, the politics they are doing, is it a very caste-segmented politics? It is a politics aimed at winning over all that is generally considered to be belonging to lower classes. And that is why the government can't ignore it.