Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age
Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age
$42.00
USDThe phenomenon of caste has probably aroused more controversy than any other aspect of Indian life and thought. Susan Bayly's cogent and sophisticated analysis explores the emergence of the ideas, experiences and practices which gave rise to the so-called 'caste society' from the pre-colonial period to the end of the twentieth century. Using an historical and anthropological approach, she frames her analysis within the context of India's dynamic economic and social order, interpreting caste not as an essence of Indian culture and civilization, but rather as a contingent and variable response to the changes that occurred in the subcontinent's political landscape through the colonial conquest. The idea of caste in relation to Western and Indian 'orientalist' thought is also explored.
- A wide-ranging study of caste which covers 350 years from pre-colonial period to present day and offers an historical/anthropological approach to interpretations
- Interdisciplinary study appealing to students of Indian history, as well as to anthropologists, colonial historians and religious studies students
- Very accessible and beautifully written
Reviews & endorsements
"An outstanding book and an excellent addition to the New Cambridge History of India." Choice
"[Bayly's] survey of the literature on caste is virtually comprehensive....The book is well documented and would be a good source as a reference work for advanced students of South Asian studies." Religious Studies Review
"Jackson has given us an indispensable interpretation of this era...Any attempt to sort out the questions of caste in modern Indian history would require a widely read scholar who is also brave. Susan Bayly is such a scholar. Bayly has written an excellent, stimulating survey of the history of conception, description,analysis, and influence of the idea and institution of caste and community in modern South Asia. As part of the New Cambridge History of India, it clearly fulfills the editorila mandates of presenting recent scholarship and changing historical conceptions of the modern subcontinent." American His Review
Product details
March 2001Paperback
9780521798426
444 pages
229 × 154 × 30 mm
0.69kg
12 b/w illus. 3 maps
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Historical origins of a 'caste society'
- 2. The 'Brahman Raj': kings and service people, c. 1700–1830
- 3. Western 'Orientalists and the Colonial perception of caste'
- 4. Caste and the modern nation: incubus or essence
- 5. The everyday experience of caste in Colonial India
- 6. Caste debate and the emergence of Gandhian Nationalism
- 7. State policy and 'reservations': the politicization of caste-based social welfare goals
- 8. Caste in the everyday life of Independent India
- 9. 'Caste wars' and the mandate of violence
- Conclusion.
