Capital, community & politics: a study of the provincial business class in contemporary India

Thesis

This thesis examines the politics of the provincial business class in contemporary India. This is the numerically preponderant class of business owners that operate in India’s vernacularised, informal and provincial domain of economic life. Empirically, it focuses on the city of Surat in Gujarat, western India, and on business owners operating primarily in the diamond, synthetic textile, and real estate sectors.

Grounded in field research conducted between 2021 and 2022, the thesis explores several interrelated themes. First, it traces the evolution of Surat’s urban economy, highlighting its informalised and socially embedded nature. It centres on business owners from the Saurashtra Patel community to explain how specific communities dominate the urban economy and diversify into new areas of accumulation. Further, by exploring the charitable practices of an influential segment of Patel business elites, I also demonstrate how economic capital is transformed into social power, bringing them closer to the state and politics.

Having drawn out the connections between capital and community, the thesis explores how the provincial business class engages with the state through collective action and their participation in local politics, as evidenced by the significant presence of businesspersons-turned-politicians in the city. I also examine the party-political affiliations of these business owners, especially situating this analysis within the contemporary context of an economic slowdown and agitations that have called into question the proximity between provincial business owners and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been the dominant political party in the city for over three decades.

Overall, I argue that, at a time of increasing business influence in politics in India, the provincial business class remains an overlooked yet key part of this story: through their dominant presence in India’s vernacularised economy, involvement in caste-community life and politics, and their entrenched role in party politics and elections. By centring these mechanisms and domains through which the provincial business class’s influence remains resolute, the thesis contributes to the growing scholarship on business and politics in India.

Authors: Ghosal, P

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-domev9m8d
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: business & politics; India; caste and capital; Gujarat; elites; Hindu nationalism; Surat
• Subjects: Political science; Political Economy; Development Studies; Political Sociology