Harold Alton Gould (18 February 1926 – 2 July 2021) was an American anthropologist specializing in Indian society and civilization.
He is an author of numerous books on various aspects of Indian society including the caste system, religion, politics and international relations.
[1][3] Gould visited Lucknow University in India during 1954–55 as a Fulbright scholar, conducting anthropological field work in the village communities of the Faizabad district.
Gould's principal vehicle for explaining the nexus between the traditional society and the party politics is "caste demographics."
Do we not see the influence of ideology, leadership and agency (taken as examples of "top down" phenomena) as much as the caste demographics in shaping the local politics?