Book Cover
E-book
Author Bayly, Susan

Title Caste, society and politics in India from the eighteenth century to the modern age / Susan Bayly
Published Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1999

Copies

Description 1 online resource (xi, 421 pages) : illustrations, maps
Series New Cambridge history of India ; IV, 3
New Cambridge history of India ; IV, 3
Contents Historical origins of a 'caste society' -- The 'Brahman Raj': kings and service people c. 1700-1830 -- Western 'orientalists' and the colonial perception of caste -- Caste and the modern nation: incubus or essence? -- The everyday experience of caste in colonial India -- Caste debate and the emergence of Gandhian nationalism -- State policy and 'reservations': the politicisation of caste-based social welfare schemes -- Caste in the everyday life of independent India -- 'Caste wars' and the mandate of violence -- Conclusion
Summary The 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
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 388-412) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Caste -- India.
Social classes -- India
Caste.
Social classes.
Sociale geschiedenis.
SUBJECT India -- History -- 18th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85064914
India -- History -- 19th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85064919
India -- History -- 20th century. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85064926
Subject India.
India.
Voor-Indiƫ.
Genre/Form History.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780511468773
0511468776
9781139053389
1139053388
9781139053389
0511006845
9780511006845
0521798426
9780521798426