Contributed articles presented at conference. (view table of contents)

Drawing on a rich collection of sources, Sumit Guha demonstrates how the ideology of indigenous cultures, developed in recent years out of the notion of a pure and untouched ethnicity, is in fact rooted in nineteenth-century racial and colonial anthropology. Challenging this view, he traces the processes by which the apparently immutable identities of South Asian populations took shape, and how these populations interacted with civilizations beyond their immediate vicinity. His penetrating critique will make a significant contribution to the history of South Asia and to the literature on ethnicity.

Contributed research papers.

Product Description: This text focuses on the population history of Asia over 25 centuries. Chapters focus on the interaction between demography, climate, health, medicine and culture. There is also a compact survey of the evolution of environmental hygiene in India through the 20th Century.

Product Description: The essays in this volume examine various issues such as the effects of the state and colonial policy on the agrarian structure, business in princely states of British India, and commercialization processes in south India. All supported by case studies, these papers study the structure and dynamics of a regional economy...read more