Caste is a contested terrain in India's society and polity. This book explores contemporary
realities of caste in rural and urban India. It examines questions of untouchability …

Birth control holds an unusual place in the history of medicine. Largely devoid of doctors or
hospitals, only relatively recently have birth control histories included tales of laboratory …

Although primarily defined in cultural terms, as the land of the Tamil-speaking people,
Tamilnad's geographical location in the south-eastern corner of the Indian sub-continent has …

There is clearly an academic and political obsession with the 'idea'of the Brahmin. There is
also, simultaneously, a near-complete absence of engagement with the Brahmin as an …

The empirical data for this study were gathered from the social history of what was, before
the 1950's, Travancore, now part of the Indian State of Kerala. Three religious communities …

The narrative of this book is built around the historical experiences of the Paraiyars of Tamil
Nadu. The author traces the transformation of the Paraiyars from an 'untouchable'and …

The problem of caste has undergone many mutations since precolonial times and promises
to be a challenge in the foreseeable future. The question that animates this study is whether …

One of the most fascinating episode in the religious history of Southern India is the rise of the
Virasaiva movement. These heroic followers of Siva-also called Lingayatas-are …

" Caste identities have been fundamental in shaping Indian politics, the loyalties, the
structure of the party system, and the distribution of public resources. This book explains …

“Scholars have waited long and keenly for a book-length treatment of the subject of caste
panchayats. Their expectations could not have been more substantially fulfilled. This is a …