Book: Last Among Equals: Power, Caste And Politics In Bihar’s Villages
Author: M.R. Sharan
Publisher: Context
Price: Rs.599
The one thing that makes Last Among Equals stand out in a sea of other non-fiction books is its ability to acknowledge existing literature on a similar subject matter and reassure its readers that what they’re reading is unique and unprecedented. There exists no literature that accounts for a documented and personalized analysis of the insider-outsider dichotomy that summarizes Bihar’s caste-based politics. At the very outset, M.R. Sharan clarifies who this book is really about — the mukhiyas and the mazdoor who form opposite ends of the spectrum that is the people’s movement in Bihar. Sharan then goes on to elucidate, in simple terms, what might well be called a masterclass on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act for the layperson. Throughout the book, Sharan attempts at bifurcating the narrative between “insiders” and “outsiders” in the realm of Bihar’s caste politics.
On this quest to delineate the power dynamics of Bihar’s local administration, Sharan first introduces and explains the dominant players in the play. He then goes on to clarify that the book is meant to serve as an allegory to the outsider/insider narrative of the people’s movement. His attempt to portray what this book is about reminds me of the Sanskrit term, neti neti, loosely translated as neither this nor that. However, Sharan makes it amply clear that this book is to be viewed through the prism of the pandemic as a last resort. The book comes to life while explaining how the internet empowers the mazdoor movement but dips when it leaves its readers to keep track of the trials and the tribulations of its characters. The latter results in a distraction from the caste hierarchies that a reader would be more enraptured by.
Last Among Equals is self-aware — a rare quality in debut books — in terms of the themes that it addresses. It recognizes the enormity of the issue it pivots on: Dalits in village politics. Sharan is gentle while letting his readers come to their own conclusions that while the 73rd and the 74th Amendment of the Constitution did more than hand over the reins of power to people at the grassroots, the reality is far from it. Sharan raises interesting questions in the form of quasi-statistical arguments, but the duality of the narrative may, at times, seem unsettling as it is written like fiction which reflects lived reality.
A pressing reason to read Last Among Equals might be if one would like to be privy to the inside scoop on the traitorous dream that is the gram sabha. Perhaps its only drawback is that it tries to pack in too much. Its attempt to portray the human element behind the MGNREGA’s multi-dimensional and deep-rooted impacts is commendable even though a reader’s primary interest lies in the meat of the matter. For example, as a reader, I am far more intrigued by why the MNREGA didn’t work as opposed to a particularly verbose analysis of why, for instance, Sanjay, the electrician, chose to become involved with rural politics. Yes, there is merit in following human stories but expecting the reader to stay engaged with a narrative about the interior of the car is stretching the rope of expectations a bit too much.
