The Monster in Your Path: The Private Life of Caste in India

Sharika Thiranagama

Univ of California Press, 2026 - History - 330 pages

The Monster in Your Path is an original and provocative look at why the global Left stumbles when dealing with historical structures of subordination like caste or race. Sharika Thiranagama examines rural communities in the South Indian state of Kerala, where decades of Communist Party rule has transformed life through land reform and social reorganization. Despite Marxist ideals, new forms of caste disparities have moved from "public" space to private spaces and private lives. Through an exquisitely crafted ethnography that centers Dalit women, the book explains how historical economies of humiliation and subordination continue to influence modern spaces like the private home. From histories of enslavement to an exploration of the houses and neighborhoods through which Dalit communities build dignity and self-worth, Thiranagama sets a new agenda for caste studies in India and beyond.

Contents

• The Monster in Your Path: 1
• Districtlevel map of contemporary Kerala: 4
• Colonial map of South India inclusive of Madras Presidency: 47
• Strong Bodies and Soft Hands: 73
• The Party: 105
• PART: 137
• Sketches of two different styles of Namboodiri illamtraditional: 151
• New Houses and New Neighborhoods: 170
• Older tenantlandlordleaseholder houses in K colony: 189
• Marriage and Inheriting a Future: 204
• Acknowledgments: 245
• Notes: 251
• References: 273

About the author

Sharika Thiranagama is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University and author of In My Mother's House: Civil War in Sri Lanka.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Monster in Your Path: The Private Life of Caste in India; Volume 21 of Atelier (Oakland, Calif.); Volume 21 of Atelier: Ethnographic Inquiry in the Twenty-First Century Series
• Author: Sharika Thiranagama
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Univ of California Press, 2026
• ISBN: 0520425146, 9780520425149
• Length: 330 pages
• Subjects: History / Asia / General; History / Asia / South / India; Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social; Social Science / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / Asian Studies; Social Science / Demography; Social Science / Gender Studies; Social Science / Slavery; Social Science / Sociology / General