The anthology explores the nature and mechanisms of social mobility in the caste system in India. Contributors have intended to view the Indian case from several perspectives – historical as well as contemporary, urban as well as rural – and have intended to combine the empirical materials of modern ethnographic field research with emerging theory pertaining to social stratification, especially caste, and to sociocultural change.
The volume further examines topics such as ranking methodology, jajmani relations, channels of regional integration, Sanskritization and parochialization, the effects of recent legislation and other agencies of social change.
The book aims to further our understanding of the nature, extent and significance of social mobility in a caste system and to uncover the mechanisms and determinants involved. The authors hope to contribute significantly to a currently emerging synthesis of new approaches to caste study.