Routledge Caste in Contemporary India

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, citizenship, social mobility, democratic politics, corporate hiring and Dalit activism. Using rich empirical evidence from the field across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and other parts of north India, this volume presents the reasons for the persistence of caste in India from a new perspective. The book offers an original theoretical framework for comparative understandings of the entrenched social differences, discrimination, inequalities, stratification, and the modes and patterns of their reproduction. This second edition, with a new Introduction, delves into why caste continues to matter and how caste-based divisions often tend to overlap with the emergent disparities of the new economy. A delicate balance of lived experience and hard facts, this persuasive work will serve as essential reading for students and teachers of sociology and social anthropology, social exclusion and discrimination studies, political science, development studies and public policy. Review "Studies of caste in India were frequent and quite comprehensive in the earliest research conducted by social scientists. However, those studies were flawed and somewhat biased. Jodhka’s insightful and thorough work on this important topic brings everything up to date. This is a powerful and important investigation based on solid empirical research. ... For advanced students of South Asia and educated general readers. Summing Up: Essential. Most levels/libraries." - J.J. Preston, Sonoma State University, in CHOICE, September 2015 ‘Caste in Contemporary India is a significant contribution to caste studies, a valuable resource for academics and non-academics alike interested in understanding caste in rural and urban India today.’ Hira Singh, York University, Canada, in Contributions to Indian Sociology ‘The book is accessible, well written and informative in charting the efforts of those struggling to create a new dawn for Dalits and the distance that remains to be traversed. As such, it is essential reading for those wishing to comprehend this enduring form of inequality.’ Hugo Gorringe, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, UK, in Economic & Political Weekly ‘The significance of Jodhka’s very readable collection of essays is his twin focus on the structures of society that seek to oppress others whether these emanate from caste based linkages, economic and social class differences, and even reconstituted or reconstructed caste identities, as well as on the lived experience of both those who seek to oppress as well as those who are weighed down by not just the external characteristics of their oppression but more significantly, their experience of this oppression in everyday life.’ Meenakshi Thapan, Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi, India, in The Book Review ‘This book, by one of India’s foremost sociologists, illuminates the meanings and practices of caste in the present . . . Accessibly and clearly written, and based on research carried out over a good many years, [it] will inform public discussion as well as academic debate over a matter of vital importance for Indian society.’ John Harriss, Director, School for International Studies, Simon Fraser University, Canada ‘The combination of Jodhka’s formidable intellect and a wealth of empirical data in this superb book provokes a radical rethinking of contemporary manifestations of caste in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts . . . [This] sheds striking new light on social and political transformation in India today.’ Nandini Gooptu, Head, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, UK ‘The book is important in capturing the peculiarity of caste ― namely the ways in which caste is reproduced in different forms and is reinstated while co-opt