Untouchability in Rural India

Ghanshyam Shah

SAGE, Aug 4, 2006 - Social Science - 216 pages

This important book presents systematic evidence of the incidence and extent of the practice of untouchability in contemporary India. It is based on the results of a very large survey covering 560 villages in 11 states, which found that untouchability continues to be widely prevalent and is practiced in one form or another in almost 80 percent of the villages. While the evidence presented in this book suggests that the more blatant and extreme forms of untouchability appear to have declined, discrimination continues and is most prevalent in the religious and personal spheres. The authors show that the notion of untouchability continues to pervade the public sphere, including in a host of state institutions and the interactions that occur within them.

Contents

• List of Tables: 6
• Caste Untouchability and: 19
• Forms and Sites: 62
• Savaged by Tradition: 106
• Violence against Dalits: 132
• Conclusion: 164

About the author

Ghanshyam Shah is Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has edited and written numerous books and essays on the subject of caste, class and politics in India.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Untouchability in Rural India
• Editor: Ghanshyam Shah
• Contributor: Ghanshyam Shah
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: SAGE, 2006
• ISBN: 076193507X, 9780761935070
• Length: 216 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural; Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations; Social Science / Social Classes; Social Science / Sociology / General