Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. The Untouchables
  • Cited by 152
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2012
Print publication year:
1998
Online ISBN:
9780511612213
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511612213
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

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.