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Anthropological enquiry is best done by attending equally to both social and cultural material. This is the view propounded here by Marvin Davis, who uses such an holistic approach to develop an original perspective on hierarchy and politics in rural Bengal. In the first part of the book, Professor Davis describes the indigenous theory of rank held by Hindus in rural West Bengal and shows that the premise of inequality is a central organising principle of their entire society and cosmos. In the second part, he shows that the Bengali preoccupation with rank generates frequent political rivalries at each level of rural social organisation. His book will interest all anthropologists and other social scientists concerned with the social and political organization of rural India. In addition, his explication of the links between ideology and social structure, often viewed in isolation from each other, makes the book an important contribution to anthropological theory and method.
Originally published in 2003, this volume studies village politics and the changes brought about in rural society through political developments. It focuses on the social, political and cultural circumstances of communist mobilization in rural West Bengal. It analyses the emergence of rural communism in the local context of changes in the position of women, in caste practices, in economic conditions and in new efforts to create ‘development’. It investigates how this cultural change interacts with the mechanisms and tools of village politics, and using anthropological methods and oral history as tools, allows for a detailed and intimate ethnographic description of village politics and its changes.
With reference to the Dule Bagdis, cultivating and fishing caste in West Bengal.
This book discusses the enigmatic persistence of caste in the lives of South Asians as they step into the twenty-first century.
The Curious Trajectory of Caste in West Bengal Politics: Chronicling Continuity and Change critically engages with the political dynamics of caste in West Bengal and explores the reasons for the relative insignificance of caste as a political category in the state.
This Book Discusses About 63 Castes And Tribes Of Eastern India Giving Details About The Legends Of The Origins That Each Of Them Believed Carrying Torward Orally From Generation To Generation Besides Of Course Various Social Changes That Took Place During Various Ages.