Caste, Culture and Colonialism

Prakash Shah is a Reader in Culture and Law at Queen Mary University of London. His research focuses on caste, culture, religion, migration and law. He is author of Against Caste in British Law (2015) and co-editor of Western Foundations of the Caste System (2017).

“As the Indian diaspora expands, conceptions about the meaning – and very existence – of caste affect social attitudes and legal regulations in Europe, America and beyond. This volume of detailed materials on the history and theory of caste should prove useful for scholars, regulators and fellow citizens.”- Vikram David Amar, Daniel J. Dykstra Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law"This book is a trenchant and deeply researched study of the law and politics that bear on the term ‘caste’ as used globally, in India and elsewhere. It delves into the history, deployment and administrative lives of the category in Asia and the West. The book deserves to be read closely by all those who seek to understand the topic."- Sumit Guha, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin“This critique of classical conceptions in caste scholarship and modern westocentric human rights activism highlights simplistic, excessive focus on rigidity, innate disadvantage and discrimination. Advising nuanced plurality-conscious study of socio-cultural manifestations regarding varna and specifically jati, it warns against framing and naming caste specifically in law.”- Werner Menski, Emeritus Professor of Law, SOAS, University of London“Rarely do readers get an opportunity to engage the attempted overthrow of a master key paradigm, like the caste system. The ‘caste system’ represents such a western theorist's fantasy. The ‘caste system’ simply does not exist and should be purged from scholarly discourse.”- Ivan Strenski, Professor Emeritus at University of California, Riverside

• Introduction; Part I; 1. A Comparative Science of Cultures; 2. Two, or Three, Research Traditions on Caste; Part II; 3. Antecedents: Colonialism, Education and Reform in India; 4. Hindu Law and the Colonial Legal System; 5. Caste in the Colonial Personal Law System; Part III; 6. Culture; 7. Multiculturalists on Caste; 8. Secularization and the Subordination of Indian Traditions; Part IV; 9. Jati; 10. Caste and Race etc.; 11. The Academics and Caste; Conclusion