Quoting The Free Dictionary, the meaning of identity is 'the
set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is
recognizable as a member of a group.' Similarly, identity politics is:
Political attitudes or positions that focus on the concerns of social groups
identified mainly on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual
orientation. This means that 'all politics is identity politics' as Ann
Friedman argued in one of her articles in American Prospect, July 29, 2010. She
argues that even Barack Obama's 'Yes we can!' slogan is an example of
'identity politics.' In our national context, the identity politics rules the
roost no matter what the issue is: gender, class, community, or politics. Prof.
Om Gurung, in an interview recently with My Republica, reiterated that
'identity became the focus of the movement between 1990 and 2001. However, it
was soon realized that identity alone is not enough. So the Janajatis fought
for identity with rights, such as right to proportional representation till 2006.
But lately, with realization that such changes are not possible on the existing
unitary system, the focus is on radical restructuring of the state based on
identity.'
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All politics is identity politics
