ISBN:
9781139053389
Language:
English
Edition:
Online-Ausg. 2008 Online-Ressource Cambridge histories online
Series Statement:
The new Cambridge history of India / general ed. Gordon Johnson 3
Series Statement:
4, The evolution of contemporary South Asia
Series Statement:
The new Cambridge history of India 4, The evolution of contemporary South Asia ; 3
Parallel Title:
Druckausg. Bayly, Susan The new Cambridge history of India ; 4, The evolution of contemporary South Asia ; 3: 4, The evolution of contemporary South Asia: Caste, society and politics in India from the eighteenth century to the modern age
Parallel Title:
Print version
DDC:
305.5/122/0954
Keywords:
Indien
;
Kaste
;
Gesellschaft
;
Geschichte 1700-1997
Abstract:
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
Abstract:
Map 1. The break-up of the Mughal empire, c. 1766 -- Map 2. British India, 1858-1947 -- Map 3. India after Independence, 1956-1987 -- 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 politicisation of caste-based social welfare schemes -- 8. Caste in the everyday life of independent India -- 9. 'Caste wars' and the mandate of violence
DOI:
10.1017/CHOL9780521264341
