ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an overview of the social basis of the electoral transformations that have marked the State of Bihar and the study neighbourhood. It seeks to investigate the ways in which the rural poor in Bihar, agricultural labourers of Dalit and Adivasi communities, taunt their social superiors. The confrontational nature of the transcripts also distinguishes them, empirically and analytically, from what sociologist Asef Bayat has described as ‘social non-movements’, which are marked by a hesitation to engage in open challenge to those wielding authority and influence. Despite the persistent insecurities in their livelihoods, the rural poor continue to make insurgent claims on societal elites. Within the literature focusing on structures of exploitation, appropriation, and oppression that perpetuate and reproduce poverty, however, it is important to recognize the agency exercised by the poor in contesting and interrogating what they recognize as unfair and unjust.
