ABSTRACT
For the past one century Bihar has been the scene of massive peasant movements, violent mobilizations, suppression of popular solidarities, and continuous restlessness in society. It is also the ultimate instance of misgovernance. At times it has appeared that the state is going to crumble and can become governable only through authoritarian rule. Bihar has been held also as a classic case of a ‘failed state’ much in the same way in which the phrase is used in international politics literature. It is considered, again, an example of why liberal democracy cannot institutionalize itself in India. One of the factors adduced for this supposed state of affairs is considered to be the salience of caste in politics. Caste prevents the modernization and democratization of politics. It prevents resolution of social conflicts and makes it impossible to govern Bihar. This has now become part of the common sense of the Indian political class and the elite theorists of democracy.
