Caste in Contemporary India

Surinder S. Jodhka is Professor of Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University and Senior Affiliate Fellow at the Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, India. His research interests include the dynamics of rural transformations and agrarian change; social inequalities — old and new — and their reproduction with a focus on the social life of caste and the varied modes of its articulation in contemporary India; and the political sociology of community identities. His recent publications include Contested Hierarchies, Persisting Influence: Caste and Power in 21st Century India (ed. with James Manor, 2017); Inequality in Capitalist Societies (with Boike Rehbein and Jesse Souza, 2018); The Indian Middle Class: Oxford India Short Introductions (with Aseem Prakash, 2016); Interrogating India’s Modernity (2013); Caste: Oxford India Short Introductions (2012); Village Society (ed. 2012); Community and Identities: Contemporary Discourses on Culture and Politics in India (2001). He is the editor of the Routledge book series ‘Religion and Citizenship’. He is among the first recipients of the ICSSR-Amartya Sen Award for Distinguished Social Scientists for the year 2012.

• List of Tables. Glossary. Preface and Acknowledgements. Introduction to the Second Edition. Introduction: The Idea of Caste. I: Hierarchies and the Politics of Citizenship 1. Pollution and Prejudice: Vestiges of Untouchability in Rural Punjab 2. Atrocities and Resistance: Dalit Assertions for Citizenship 3. Caste and Democratic Politics: A Differentiated View II: Caste in the Neo-Liberal Economy 4. Dalits in Business: Self-Employed Scheduled Castes in Urban India 5. ‘Caste-Blinding’ and Corporate Hiring Part Three: Mobility and Mobilizations 6. Social Mobility and Quest for Autonomy: Global Contours of Ravidasi Identity 7. Battling for Dignity: Dalit Activists of Delhi. Conclusions: The Futures of Caste. Bibliography. Index

"Studies of caste in India were frequent and quite comprehensive in the earliest research conducted by social scientists. However, those studies were flawed and somewhat biased. Jodhka’s insightful and thorough work on this important topic brings everything up to date. This is a powerful and important investigation based on solid empirical research. ... For advanced students of South Asia and educated general readers. Summing Up: Essential. Most levels/libraries." - J.J. Preston, Sonoma State University, in CHOICE, September 2015