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Dynamics of a Caste Movement deals with the attempts of the Rajbansi community to establish themselves as Kshatriyas in the first half of the twentieth century in Bengal. Situating the Rajbansi Caste Movement in the context of contemporary socio-political events this book examinies the complexities inherent in the movement. The caste system, despite many changes over the years, remains significant in contemporary times. The colonization of the country and the response of indigenous society to the manoeuvres of colonial rulers provided a new impetus to mobilizations along caste lines in the nineteenth and the early twentieth century Bengal as in the rest of India. The Rajbansis constituted the most predominant section of the local Hindu population in the districts of north Bengal, and were yet placed quite low in the hierarchy. Using Rajbansi caste literature and government records, this study explores the formation of the Rajbansi identity, the socio-cultural and economic profile of the community, their efforts towards Kshatriyaization and the legitimization of their social and political rights. The author argues that there can be many identities within a caste group which play crucial roles on different occasions and at different times. As class identity often cuts across caste lines, so also territorial identities can lead to a fragmentation of a caste. In the context of recent political mobilization by the Rajbansis in north Bengal for a separate Kamtapur state' this book is essential reading for those wishing to understand the Rajbansis in their historical context.

The colonial period saw important social movements in India. Among the strongest of these was non-Brahman movement in Maharashtra. Its founder was a remarkable intellectual and social activist from the gardener (Mali) caste, Jotirao Phule (1827-90). His writings laid the foundations of the movement, and the Satyashodhak Samaj ("Truthseekers Society") which he founded in 1873, became its primary radical organisation, lasting until the 1930s. Shahu Maharaj, the Maratha maharaja of Kolhapur, who turned against Brahmans because they considered him a shudra, and became radicalised from this, was a major patron. The heyday of the movement took place between 1910 and 1930, when the Satyashodhak Samaj carried the message of anti-caste anti-Brahmanism throughout Maharashtra; one of its offshoots was a strong peasant movement. In the 1920s a political party emerged, as did Dr B R Ambedkar's Dalit movement, which drew sustenance also from support of the non-Brahmans and patrons such as Shahu Maharaj. Young radicals such as Keshavrao Jedhe and Dinkarrao Javalkar challenged Brahman cultural dominance in Pune and intervened in the Brahman-dominated Communist movement in Mumbai. By the 1930s, however, the movement died away as the majority of its activists joined Congress. It has left a strong heritage, but the failure to really link nationalism with a strong anti-caste movement has left a heritage of continued and often unadmitted dominance of caste in Indian society today. This classic study on the non-Brahman movement in western India is invaluable for scholars of sociology, caste movements, Dalit studies and colonialism.

History and literature both endeavour to reflect the truth in different ways and assist in a better understanding of society. The spread of new and radical ideas at the beginning of the twentieth century was the outcome of economic depression between First and Second World War, resurgence of widespread nationalism and impact of Marxism, etc. In India, the progressive trend started in 1932, when the young writers like Sajjad Zaheer, Rashid Jahan, Ahmad Ali and Mehmuduzzafar dissatisfied with mild reforms and the moribund state of Urdu literature brought out an electrifying anthology of ten stories titled Angare. The publication openly ridiculed outmoded religious and traditional attitudes especially towards women and led to the formation of Progressive Writers Association (PWA) in 1936 in Lucknow. PWA influenced poets and writers alike and acquired support and sympathy from Iqbal, Rabindranath Tagore and Jawaharlal Nehru. The major aim of this study is to identify the social radicalism in Urdu progressive literature from 1930 to 1950 in three areas: themes, characterisation and craft. The writings of Sajjad Zaheer, Rashid Jahan, Krishan Chander, Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chugtai and Rajinder Singh Bedi brought out the themes of Purdah, childbirth, widowhood, sexuality, victimisation of women during Partition, etc., with unprecedented boldness in Urdu literature and mirrored the society more clearly and directly, for which some of them were prosecuted. The characters in their works were drawn from lower strata of society such as the sweepers, the poor, the prostitutes, neglected and dejected women and widows. The PWA faced criticism at the hands of orthodox and conservatives because of this perception but its formation and contribution was a landmark event in the annals of modern Indian literature, a fact which is commemorated in this very timely volume.

This book traces the important role played by Prakrit language and narrative literature in the development of Indian languages and literature. This is considered to be the first attempt ever, by any Indian or foreign scholar in this field. This publication has been painstakingly, manually prepared by Dr J C Jain after a detailed research of a wide range of Indian and foreign literary works, which has taken several years. The manifold contributions of Prakrit in the field of Ardhamagadhi, Sauraseni, Maharastri and Paisachi language and literature, development of narrative literature in Maharastri, contributions in the field of Sanskrit poetics and drama have all been incorporated in this rare publication. Dr Jain has considered all the traditional views of ancient authors and grammarians and has compared them to those of the modern times, to enable to present a clear viewpoint to the readers.

Published in association with Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi This Book is an attempt to collate Indian perspectives on the multifaceted themes and sectors of China-Pakistan strategic cooperation. China-Pakistan ties have been a major obsession amongst Indian opinion and policy-makers. However, this obsession remains restricted to China's transfers of sensitive technologies while the essential backdrop that has sustained such a unique axis' has never been explored with sufficient rigour. Especially, given the secrecy that shrouds these transfers of missiles and nuclear material, technologies and know-how, occasional outbursts in Indian media remains vulnerable to political populism, emotional outrage and to calculated Western media leaks. These trigger flashes of interest but no substantive follow up debates or dedicated research for evolving India's policy options. It is this essential gap that this volume tries to fill and generate a serious debate on contours and implications of ChinaPakistan relations. The project locates itself primarily in the new context where the events following 9/11 and the growing IndiaChina and IndiaPakistan understanding seems to undermine ChinaPakistan axis and looks forward to future challenges. In addition to providing a wealth of information and analysis on this subject of critical importance, this volume aims at shedding populism and bursting several myths that continue to surround Indian debates on ChinaPakistan strategic cooperation.

The relationship between a spiritual master and his disciple (piri-muridi) becomes important when one witnesses day after day the large numbers of Muslims and non-Muslims flocking to spiritual masters (pirs) stationed at the various dargahs of India. "This work discovers that piri-muridi aims at making the disciple see God in all things while very often allowing him to enjoy wordily success. This is achieved through a lenghty socialization process that spans a period of time ranging from twelve years to a lifetime. This socialization process is very painful, and some disciples (murids) run away. Most, however, remain bound to their pir, by their vow of allegiance to him, the pir's friendliness, sympathy, material, magical and psychological assistance, and when that is not enough, fear of his magical power. During this period the murid learns to fall in love with the pir whom he strives to see as the representative of God, by observing, serving, and seeing the pir's hand in everything that befalls him, and frequently recalling and concentrating on a mental image of the pir while believing that his actions are prompted by the pir. Having thus attained union with the pir, he one day suddenly realizes that the pir is just a curtain or veil that hides something else -- that which he has truly loved all the time in the image of the pir is God himself. The book is a mine of empirical information collected in the Nizamuddin dargah, showing how a set of beliefs contained in constantly narrated stories and experiences are used to forge, structure, maintain and further the relationship between the pir and his murid. It will be of interest to scholars of Islam, Indian history and sociology, Sufi thought and the place of religion in the modern world.

K S Singh was a versatile scholar apart from being an administrator and an ardent practitioner of historical ethnography. In course of his long tenure of explorations on tribal matters, spanning over four decades, Dr Singh penned many essays on tribal movements, tribal peasant interactions, tribal customary law, tribal economy and so on. Much to the chagrin of historians and anthropologists, he had adopted a combined methodology of historical research and anthropological field work in making his points before the readers and decision makers. The present volume presents a selection of those landmark essays penned by Dr Singh on tribal movements in India.

Tukoba (Tukaram) was a seventeenth-century Bhakti Sant (saint-poet) of the Varkari movement in Maharashtra. He is still considered the best Marathi poet. These new translations by Gail Omvedt and Bharat Patankar seek to capture the wonder of his writing, his lyricism and his profound meanings.