Rural Society in Southeast India

A comparative study of caste and class in two small villages in the Thanj?v?r district of southeast India based on fieldwork in 1951–3.

Kathleen Gough (Author)

9780521040198, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 January 2008

476 pages
22.8 x 15.3 x 2.7 cm, 0.69 kg

This book is a comparative study of caste and class in two small villages in the Thanj?v?r district of southeast India based on fieldwork done by the author in 1951–3. Differing from the usual village study, Gough's work traces the history of the villages over the past century and examines the impact of colonialism on the district since 1770. The volume's theoretical significance lies in its attempt to define more clearly the characteristics of rural class relations, particularly addressing the question whether Indian agrarian relations are still precapitalist. This study not only provides a vivid account of village life in southeast India in the 1950s (to be followed by a later study done in the 1970s), but also contributes to theory concerning modes of production, class structures in the Third World, and underdevelopment.

Preface
Part I. Thanj?v?r: 1. The district
2. Castes and religious groups
3. The agriculturalists
4. The nonagriculturalists
5. Variations in ecology, demography and social structure
6. The colonial background and the sources of poverty
7. Political parties
Part II. Kumbapettai: 8. The face of the village
9. Kumbapettai before 1855
10. Kumbapettai from 1855 to 1952
11. The annual round
12. Economics and class structure: the petty bourgeoisie
13. Independent commodity producers and traders
14. The semiproletariat
15. Village politics: religion, caste and class
16. Village politics: the street assembly
17. Class struggle and village power structure
Part III. Kiripp?r: 18. East Thanj?v?r
19. The village
20. Economy and class structure
21. Village politics: the caste Hind?s
22. The Communist movement
23. Conclusion
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC]