Caste, Marginalisation, and Resistance : The Politics of Identity of the Naths (Yogis) of Bengal and Assam /

Debnath, Kunal,

Caste, Marginalisation, and Resistance : The Politics of Identity of the Naths (Yogis) of Bengal and Assam / The Politics of Identity of the Naths (Yogis) of Bengal and Assam Kunal Debnath. - 1 online resource (260 pages) : illustrations. - Social Sciences E-Books Online, Collection 2024 Studies in Critical Social Sciences ; 274/26 . - Social Sciences E-Books Online, Collection 2024. Studies in Critical Social Sciences ; 274/26. .

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / Kunal Debnath -- Copyright Page / Kunal Debnath -- Chapter 2 The Naths (Yogis) / Kunal Debnath -- Chapter 3 Caste Status and Resistance of the Naths of Bengal / Kunal Debnath -- Chapter 4 Caste Status and Resistance of the Naths of Assam / Kunal Debnath -- Chapter 5 Socio-economic Status of the Naths of West Bengal and Assam / Kunal Debnath -- Chapter 6 Mainstream Politics and the Naths of West Bengal and Assam / Kunal Debnath -- Chapter 7 Caste, Marginalisation, and the Politics of Identity of the Naths of Bengal and Assam / Kunal Debnath -- Chapter 8 Some Tentative Concluding Observations / Kunal Debnath.

The identity politics of the householder Naths (Yogis), on the one hand, is one of the oldest and most persistent identity assertions in Bengal and Assam. On the other, for an array of reasons, the identity assertion of the householder Naths of Bengal and Assam has failed to draw academic curiosity so far. Since the late nineteenth century, a segment of the Naths, largely educated and elite, has been crafting their identity as Brahman grounded on their "origin myth", negotiating with the British colonial administration through different census enumerations, as well as internal social reforms. One of the primary reasons for their current lagging is that the Naths never politicised their identity and demands, and did not mobilise themselves in the democratic political arena.


English

9789004689381

10.1163/9789004689381 DOI

2023044894


Caste--History.--India
Social stratification--India--Assam.
Social stratification--India--Bengal.

HN690.B39

305.800954