South Asia in Transition

This book is a momentous addition to the analytics of South Asia, a region that is at the crossroads of history, experiencing great turmoil, and is going through significant environmental, social and cultural crises. Through the lens of anthropology, emeritus professor Robert Parkin remarkably weaves together the intersecting threads of religion, caste, gender, and other markers of identity along with the complex topics of informality in the economy and precarity of the labouring masses, modernity, and politics, as well as the politicisation of Islam, and the diaspora. A comprehensive volume of this nature and coverage has been lacking in the shelves for some time, and this book will fill that gap. Readers will enjoy the book for the timeliness of its topic, its scope, and the mastery of its style. I can guarantee the readers they will never see South Asia the same way again. -- Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Professor, Crawford School of public Policy, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University
Robert Parkin presents a wide-ranging introduction to the anthropology of South Asia, merging traditional concerns with modern issues. South Asia in Transition is important reading for anyone interested in understanding the region. -- Alpa Shah, Associate Professor of Anthropology, London School of Economics. Author of Nightmarch, In the Shadows of the State and co-author of Ground Down by Growth.