Chapter 25 : Subaltern Perspective of Indian Sociology

Meaning and Definition

• Definition: The word 'subaltern', as defined in the Oxford Dictionary, stands for the general attribute of subordination.
• Expressions of Subordination: This subordination is expressed in terms of caste, class, age, gender, office or any other way.
• Dual Characteristics: The concept inherently includes the characteristics of both defiance and submission.
• Literal Meaning: It conveys a 'view from below' → an understanding originating from the bottom of society, representing the flow of knowledge from below.

Ideology, Knowledge, and Populist Discourse

• Populist Discourse: According to Laclau (1979), populist discourse refers primarily to 'people' or masses.
• Role of Ideology:
• Ideology is not merely a dialectical tension between the people and the classes in conflicting situations.
• It must also be viewed within the frame of a composite and integral world view and life ways.
• Impact on Sociology and the History of Ideas:
• Such propositions raise several uncomfortable questions for sociology as a discipline at the level of generality.
• In the history of ideas, academia has critically evaluated the relationship between ideas and social forces in terms of forms and content.
• Specific societies are always important in making such evaluations.
• Sociology of Knowledge:
• Ideas and ideologies are developed by people in society → they are always associated with issues of social existence and social forces.
• Knowledge is a construction of cognitive consciousness → this consciousness is creative and actively delinks itself from socially-induced consciousness.

4 Ideological Clashes within a Composite World View

Subaltern Historiography and Peasant/Tribal Movements

• Application: The subaltern perspective is an important approach to the study of tribal peasant movements.
• Core Thrust: It seeks to restore balance by highlighting the politics of the 'masses' as against elite politics. The goal is reconstructing the "other history" → the history of people's politics, movements, and their attempt to make their own history.
• Agency of the Subaltern:
• Peasant or tribal insurgents must not be viewed merely as an 'object' of history.
• Instead, they must be treated as makers of their…