1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910584589403321

Autore

Tanabe Akio <1964->

Titolo

Caste and equality in India : a historical anthropology of diverse society and vernacular democracy / / Akio Tanabe

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Taylor & Francis, 2022

London, England ; ; New York, NY : , : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, , [2021]

©2021

ISBN

1-00-317351-9

1-003-17351-9

1-000-40932-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (365 pages)

Collana

Routledge New Horizons in South Asian Studies

Disciplina

307.14120954

Soggetti

Social classes - India

Khurda (India : District) Ethnic relations

Khurda (India : District) History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: Towards a Cultural-Politics of Ethics in Everyday Practice -- Managing Diversities: Frontiers, Forest Communities and Little Kingdoms -- Local Society and Kingship: Reconsidering 'Caste', 'Community' and 'State' -- Early Colonial Transformation: Emergence of Wedged Dichotomies -- Consolidation of Colonial Dichotomy: Political-Economy and Cultural Identity -- Postcolonial Tradition: The Biomoral Universe -- Cash and Faction: 'The Logic of the Fish' in the Political-Economy -- Ritual, History and Identity: Goddess RāmacaṇḍīFestival -- Recast(e)ing Identity: Transformations from Below -- Vernacular Democracy: A Post-postcolonial Transformation -- Conclusion: Beyond the Postcolonial.

Sommario/riassunto

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.