Disputes and Arguments Amongst Nomads A Caste Council of India

by Hayden, Robert M.

• ISBN13: 9780195645330
• ISBN10: 0195645332
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-03-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book provides the first detailed analysis of a traditional Indian legal institution, a caste panchayat. It discusses the organization of the panchayat, the cases handled by it and the rationale behind its decisions and also the reasons why such institutions are not compatible with the Indian democracy.

Author Biography

Robert M. Hayden is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh, USA.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Table of Nandiwalla Panchayat Cases	xii
Introduction	1	(9)
The Nomad Panchayat as Subject of Study	2	(3)
Goals and Methods	5	(2)
Plan of the Work	7	(3)
The Ethnographic Setting	10	(24)
The Nandiwallas	10	(5)
The Nandiwallas in Maharashtra	15	(1)
The Tirumal Nandiwallas	16	(7)
The Triennial Encampment	23	(4)
Organization of the Fieldwork	27	(7)
Panchayat Organization	34	(15)
Location of the Panchayat	34	(4)
Panchayat Participants	38	(6)
The Caste Guru	44	(2)
Conclusion	46	(3)
Themes and Issues in Panchayat Discussion	49	(33)
Excommunication	49	(2)
The State of Suspension from Caste	51	(3)
The Consequences of Suspension from Caste	54	(4)
An Alternative Concept of Excommunication	58	(1)
`Fines': Tappu and Mudi	59	(1)
A Survey of Nandiwalla Panchayat Cases	60	(16)
The Idiom of Pollution and the Transformation of Disputes	76	(6)
The Panchayat Process	82	(28)
Pre-Panchayat: Clarification of the Case	83	(3)
Discussion in Panchayat	86	(24)
Politics and Panchayat	110	(19)
Nandiwalla Factionalism	111	(9)
Political Activity in Panchayat	120	(7)
Conclusion	127	(2)
Disputes with Outsiders	129	(19)
Disputes away from Wadapuri	130	(2)
Disputes with Villagers at Wadapuri	132	(8)
Disputes with Non-villagers at Wadapuri	140	(3)
Conclusion	143	(5)
The Cultural Basis of Panchayat Action	148	(15)
Pollution as Motivation for Action by Caste Panchayats	149	(4)
Caste Panchayats and Other Panchayats	153	(7)
Requiem for the Panchayats	160	(3)
References	163	(12)
Index	175