Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age

by Susan Bayly

• ISBN13: 9780521798426
• ISBN10: 0521798426
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-26
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

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.

Table of Contents

List of plates	vi
General editor's preface	viii
Acknowledgements	x
Map 1: The break-up of the Mughal empire, c. 1766	xii
Map 2: British India, 1858-1947	xiv
Map 3: India after Independence, 1956-1987	xvi
Introduction	1	(24)
Historical origins of a `caste society'	25	(39)
The `Brahman Raj': kings and service people c. 1700-1830	64	(33)
Western `orientalists' and the colonial perception of caste	97	(47)
Caste and the modern nation: incubus or essence?	144	(43)
The everyday experience of caste in colonial India	187	(46)
Caste debate and the emergence of Gandhian nationalism	233	(33)
State policy and `reservations': the politicisation of caste-based social welfare schemes	266	(40)
Caste in the everyday life of independent India	306	(36)
`Caste wars' and the mandate of violence	342	(23)
Conclusion	365	(18)
Glossary	383	(5)
Bibliography	388	(25)
Index	413