The book studies the interplay of gender, caste, and religious identities in colonial Punjab. It focuses on the middle-class and how it brings into play gender and caste norms to counter the erosion of its economic advatages, and the subservience of its social and religious institutions under colonialism.
Anshu Malhotra's book is indeed a pioneering intervention in the social history of Pubjab ... the author has offered us a fresh perspective to understand Punjabi society. The Book Review South Asia Special, New Delhi