Paper short abstract:

Caste in modern India is both an archaic and a contemporary institution, existing paradoxically. The method here is to view caste as an 'incommensurable' category and see how successfully law addresses it in its commitment to justice. The central question is- who can be the subjects of justice?

Paper long abstract:

The concern here is 'social justice' with regard to the caste-question in India today. The paper asks - who are the subjects of justice? Is there a specific 'human type' corresponding to every regime of judicial or governmental administration? Prathama Banerjee writes, "Caste is both the most archaic and the most contemporary reality of India- a persistent but paradoxical presence in historical time." In my view such incongruous juxtaposition of social times postpones any direct discussion on caste- always waiting to become a full-blown political category and always having to be 'authorised' through race or class. To insist on the tenacity and topicality of caste a new annotated edition of Dr. Ambedkar's Annihilation of Caste came out in 2014. However, its readership comes with harsh reactions, IIT-Madras being a recent example where, in May 2015, one of its study circles- 'Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle'- was derecognized for some time over allegations of getting 'too political'. In public spaces in India, caste is repressed, not discussed. But what such 'incongruous overlapping of social realities' (Parry, 2009) do generate is the category of 'incommensurables'. And this is also where the modern law, the chief political correlative of justice, enters the discussion. For the 'incommensurables' are precisely those 'differences' that are inconsistent with judicial or governmental calculation. Calling for what it is, the persistence of caste in the regime of equality before law can be one such 'incommensurable' that can bring law to task, and launch targeted discussions on social justice.