The Scheduled Castes/K.S. Singh. 2nd revised edition, 1995, 1375 p., $66. [People of India, National Series Volume II.]
Contents: Preface to the 2nd revised edition. 1. Introduction. 2. The scheduled castes. 3. An explanatory note on the scheduled caste communities not covered by the project. 4. List of scheduled castes. Select bibliography. Appendix I. Appendix II.
"This is a revised and updated edition, in a more compact format, of the earlier printing of The Scheduled Castes (OUP 1993).
"The People of India project, a massive exercise carried out by the Anthropological Survey of India, has generated a wealth of information on the hundreds of communities which exist in this country. These communities are presented in an alphabetical order for easy reference, and the subjects covered in each case include culture, location, language, script, biological variation, food habits, rituals, work practices, educational level and impact of development.
"The Scheduled Castes puts together information on all the scheduled castes of India, including their 450 segments and territorial units. This is the most comprehensive account ever of these castes, which comprise 15.75 per cent of India's population. It is based on first-hand surveys and questionnaires.
"This volume represents as accurate a list of India's scheduled castes as can currently be made. It reveals a highly heterogeneous profile of scheduled caste communities which are spread across the country and which are mainly landless, with little control over resources such as land, forest and water. It also shows the persistence of 'untouchability' in many pockets, and the variable measures of equality that have so far been achieved in the struggle for social upliftment by the scheduled castes. It reveals that these castes have been increasingly involved in modern occupations, such as service in government departments, wherever traditional crafts have declined. As a consequence, a new sense of self-respect is in the air, gradually replacing some of the old myths which sought to legitimize their degradation.
"In a country where social upheaval is common and where it is important to establish the status and living conditions of each community, this volume will prove an essential work of reference for parliamentarians, government offices, social workers, activists, sociologists, and anyone who needs documentary evidence on the people of India." (jacket)
[K.S. Singh also wrote The Indian Famine, Birsa Munda and His Movement and Tribal Society in India.]