Caste and Equality in India A Historical Anthropology of Diverse Society and Vernacular Democracy

• Main Author: Tanabe, Akio
• Format: eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Routledge 2022; Taylor and Francis; No Funder Information Available; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Group
• Edition: 1
• Series: Routledge New Horizons in South Asian Studies
• Subjects: caste; Cultural & Ethnic Studies; equality; Ethnic studies; India; Interdisciplinary studies; Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects; Regional / International studies; Regional Studies; Social classes-India; Social groups, communities and identities; Social Science; Society and culture: general; Society and Social Sciences; South Asia; South Asian History; South Asian Politics; Outer Modernity; Sacrificial Ethics; Social Reproduction; Puri District; Early Modern India; Swidden Fields; Cashew Cultivation; Socio-political Relationships; Caste Associations; Inter-caste Relationships; equality; Rural Orissa; Colonial Administration; Biomoral Order; Entitlement Holders; caste; Gajapati Kingship; King's Sword; India; Great Divide; Fort Area; Liberal Communitarian Debate; Dominant Caste; Postcolonial Predicament; Socio-cultural Sphere; Vernacular Democracy; Jajmani System; Ontological Equality
• ISBN: 036775228X; 1032002832; 9781032002835; 9780367752286; 1003173519; 9781003173519; 1000409325; 9781000409321
• DOI: 10.4324/9781003173519

This book presents an alternative view of caste in Indian society by analysing caste structure and change in local communities in Orissa from historical and anthropological perspectives. Focusing on the agricultural society in the Khurda district of Orissa between the eighteenth century and 2019, the book links discussions on the current transformation of society and politics in India with analyses of long-term historical transformations. The author suggests that, beyond status and power, there is another value which is important in Indian society, namely ontological equality, which functions as the politico-ethical ground for asserting respect and concern for the life of others. The book argues that the value of ontological equality has played an important role in creating and affirming the diverse society which characterises India. It further contends that the movement towards vernacular democracy, which has become conspicuous since the second half of the 1990s, is a historically groundbreaking event which opens a path beyond the postcolonial predicament, supported by the affirmation of diversity by subalterns based on the value of ontological equality. This important contribution to the study of Indian society will be of interest to academics working on the social, political and economic history, sociology, anthropology and political science of South Asia, as well as to those interested in social and political theory.