Book

Rank and rivalry: the politics of inequality in rural West Bengal

Cambridge University PressCambridge, U.K. • Published In 1983 • Pages: ix, 239

By: Davis, Marvin.

Abstract
This study is a descriptive analysis of rank '…and those rivalries by which distribution of rank and the behavior appropriate to ranked social units are variously maintained or altered, supported or challenged in a village of West Bengal, India' (p. 1). In additon to the above, this work also attempts to provide ethnographic information on stratification and politics in rural India, and through a holistic style of analysis, explore systems of action and meaning in Bengali society. The source is divided into five major chapters. Chapters 1 through 3 offer a descriptive analysis of rank in the Bengali cosmos and society. Additional data in these chapters pertain to ecology, social organization of the village of 'Torkotala' (a pseudonymn), administration and local history, caste and/or birth groups, and the LOK or individual in Bengali thought and action. Chapters 4 and 5 are more theoretical in nature and deal with segmental meaning systems and the relation between religion and politics as organized cultural forms (p. 6). The field work for this study was conducted from January 1971-June 1972, and during the summer of 1977, in the village of Torkotala and other villages of the former Narayanghar kingdom, now included in the larger Midnapore district of West Bengal (p. 16).
Subjects
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Castes
Family relationships
Status, role, and prestige
Community councils
Community structure
Territorial hierarchy
Districts
Political behavior
Political parties
Ethnopsychology
culture
Bengali
HRAF PubDate
2002
Region
Asia
Sub Region
South Asia
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 1992
Field Date
1/71-6/72, and the summer of 1977 (p. 16)
Coverage Date
not specified
Coverage Place
'Torkotala' and other villages, West Bengal, India
Notes
[by] Marvin Davis
Bibliography: p. 232-236. Includes index
LCCN
82009747
LCSH
Bengalis