Land and Caste in South India

Land and Caste in South India was first published in 1965 by Cambridge University Press, having been awarded the Ellen MacArthur Prize for the best work in economic history of the year in Cambridge University.

It has since established itself as a classic, particularly for its pioneering analysis of the connections between caste and agricultural labour, and its novel method of estimating agricultural labour in Madras Presidency at the outset of the nineteenth century, before census data were available. It also brought together a great deal of quantitative information on wages, population and famine, emigration, and other agrarian themes.

Although it is essential reading for modern Indian history, and is of great interest to social anthropologists, development economists and others, it has long been out of print. This reissue includes a substantial introduction, surveying work that has appeared during three decades after the publication of the original edition and indicating where Land and Caste in South India needs clarification, revision or amplification; and where its fundamental conclusions still stand.