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The cover of Castes of Mind Colonialism and the Making of Modern India

Castes of Mind Colonialism and the Making of Modern India

Nicholas B. Dirks

Is caste the ancient core of India, or did colonial rule help make what we now call caste?

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15 parts, about 29 minutes to read.

At a glance

Author
Nicholas B. Dirks
Parts
15 parts
Reading time
about 29 minutes

Why read it

  • You will question the common belief that caste is simply an ancient and unchanging feature of Indian life
  • You will notice how recording and counting a people can change that people
  • You will see why the effects of empire can outlast the end of formal rule

Who it is for

  • Readers of Indian politics who want the history behind caste
  • Students of empire asking how rulers shape what they study
  • Anyone who has heard caste is ancient and wonders if it is

What the summary covers

  1. The Modernity of Caste2 min
  2. Homo Hierarchicus: The Origins of an Idea2 min
  3. The Ethnographic State2 min
  4. The Original Caste: Social Identity in the Old Regime2 min
  5. The Textualization of Tradition: Biography of an Archive2 min
  6. The Imperial Archive: Colonial Knowledge and Colonial Rule2 min
  7. The Conversion of Caste2 min
  8. Policing Tradition2 min
  9. The Body of Caste2 min
  10. Counting Caste2 min
  11. Nationalism and Brahmanism3 min
  12. Periyar, Ambedkar, and Gandhi2 min
  13. Caste Politics2 min
  14. The Postcolonial Predicament1 min
  15. Coda: Writing Colonial History1 min

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