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  3. The Untouchables
  • Cited by 156
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    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      June 2012
      April 1998
      ISBN:
      9780511612213
      9780521553629
      9780521556712
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511612213
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.615kg, 308 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.461kg, 308 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Area Studies, South Asian History, Asian Studies, History, Economic Development and Growth, Twentieth Century Regional History
      Series:
      Contemporary South Asia (4)
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    Subjects:
    Area Studies, South Asian History, Asian Studies, History, Economic Development and Growth, Twentieth Century Regional History
    Series:
    Contemporary South Asia (4)
    Information

    Book description

    In a sensitive and compelling account of the lives of those at the very bottom of Indian society, Oliver Mendelsohn and Marika Vicziany explore the construction of the Untouchables as a social and political category, the historical background which led to such a definition, and their position in India today. The authors argue that, despite efforts to ameliorate their condition on the part of the state, a considerable edifice of discrimination persists on the basis of a tradition of ritual subordination. Even now, therefore, it still makes sense to categorise these people as 'Untouchables'. The book promises to make a major contribution to the social and economic debates on poverty, while its wide-ranging perspectives will ensure an interdisciplinary readership from historians of South Asia, to students of politics, economics, religion and sociology.

    Reviews

    ‘The authors really come into their own when they take a long, hard look at public policy, and when they take up case studies which reveal indepth fieldwork. [They] offer a penetrating insight into reservation policies. The effort that has gone into the case studies is evident … It is of great value because it provides an understanding of the phenomenon of ‘new poverty’. More importantly, it throws light on the fight over bonded labour and working conditions, expressed in political, legal and industrial forms.’

    Source: The Telegraph (India)

    ‘Clearly written and lucidly argued, this book is an important study of a very sensitive subject.’

    Source: Journal of Asian Studies

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