Indian Village is widely considered a "classic." Since its publication, over six decades ago, the book has received immense acclaim, attaining extraordinary success, especially as the first book on a single village in post—Second World War South Asia. Indeed, the work represents a key statement of the wider shift from tribe to village in Indian anthropology, part of the movement away from studies of "isolated" groups toward writings on con-temporary communities in the sociology of the subcontinent. Written in an accessible, intimate manner, Indian Village needs to be understood today as a flagship endeavour of the social sciences in a young, independent India—a study that continues to be generously cited, including as a model monograph, in the disciplines at large.
Prologue
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The Setting
2 Social Structure
3 Economic Structure
4 Ritual Structure
5 Web of Family Ties
6 Levels of Living
7 Living together
8 The Changing Scene
Biography
S.C. Dube (1922–1996) was a founding figure of the social sciences in independent India. He wrote and edited around thirty books in English and Hindi. Dube’s work has been translated into several Indian and foreign languages. He held academic positions at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, as well as at Cornell, Lucknow, Osmania, and Sagar Universities. Among his other important appointments, Dube was Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; Vice Chancellor, University of Jammu; and National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research. His several honours include the SC Roy Gold Medal of the Asiatic Society and the Moorti Devi award of the Bhartiya Jnanpeeth.
Indian Village is "an excellent treatise. The description … frequently rises to the beautiful and is everywhere objective ... Dr. Dube has given has an excellent portrait of Shamirpet, the Telugu village located about 20 miles from Hyderabad city. Its setting, the composition of its population by caste and economic groups, the customs and rituals of the people, their family and home life, inter-group and inter-personal relations are described in detail, and the description always has a warm and human touch about it everywhere." – From Economic and Political Weekly
"Dr. Dube describes his book as a ‘descriptive’ study and at the level of description it is unsurpassed. The moral atmosphere and facts of day-to-day life are well conveyed. It is perhaps a sign of this richness of matter that problems of theory change." – From The Times (London)
