COPING WITH ETHNICITY IN SOUTH-ASIA - BANGLADESH, PUNJAB AND KASHMIR COMPARED

In the anthropological and sociological studies of India the terms 'tr ibe' and 'caste', have been in use for almost two hundred years. The r elated notions of 'tribalism' and 'casteism' were brought in to replac e a static (structural) by a dynamic (organizational, processual) appr oach. Since the 1970s, 'ethnic group' and 'ethnicity' have gained curr ency. After defining the terms, three cases of ethnicity are examined, namely East Bengali Muslim, Punjabi Sikh and Kashmiri Muslim. It is a rgued that, while the first is a success story, the second seems more like a retreat at present, and the third is at best nascent. The reaso ns for this difference are explored. Ethnicity, it is argued, is not o nly characterization of identity, but also a set of strategies to esta blish a new state. This objective is opposed by competing ethnic group s and the existing state. Ethnic movements therefore involve violence and their outcome is dependent upon a variety of factors and therefore contingent.