Elite Politics in Rural India: Political Stratification and Political Alliances in Western Maharashtra (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Series Number 9) - Softcover

Carter, Anthony T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521040698 ISBN 13: 9780521040693

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2007

Synopsis

A study of the system of political stratification and the pattern of political alliances in rural Western Maharashtra. Based on fieldwork in a large village, a nearby market town and taluka headquarters, and political institutions in the surrounding countryside, the first half of the book is a full examination of the phenomenon of regional dominance originally described by Adrian Mayer. The second part is a detailed study of the pattern of political alliances from village to district level. Dr Carter's central concern is with the manner in which the pattern of political alliances is shaped by political stratification. Tracing the relationships between these alliances and such factors as political stratification, political arenas, caste, class, and kinship, Dr Carter demonstrates that much Indian political behaviour which has been regarded as irrational or as a sign of an immature, tradition-bound and unstable system may be understood more usefully as a rational response to the conditions of political action in rural India.

About this title

Book Description

A study of the system of political stratification and the pattern of political alliances in rural Western Maharashtra. Based on fieldwork in a large village, a nearby market town and taluka headquarters, and political institutions in the surrounding countryside, Dr Carter's central concern is with the manner in which the pattern of political alliances is shaped by political stratification.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521040698
• ISBN 13: 9780521040693
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 220