The present work has been undertaken not only to provide an adequate treatment of the position of the sudras in ancient times, but also to evaluate their modern characterizations, either based on insufficient data, or inspired by reformist or anti-reformist motives. Here an attempt has been made to present a connected and systematic account of the various developments in the position of the sudras down to circa A.D. 600. Since the sudras were regarded as the laboring class, in this study particular attention has been paid to the investigation of their material conditions has been paid to their economic and social relations with the members of the higher varnas. This has naturally involved the study of the position of slaves, with whom the sudras were considered identical. The untouchables are also theoretically placed in the category of sudras, and hence their origin and position has also been discussed in some detail.

The Shudras echoes Dr Ambedkar's question in Who Were the Shudras? that he asked in 1946. More than 70 years later, Kancha Ilaiah and his team of authors revisit this issue to give Shudras a voice again' -CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT The Shudras: Vision for a New Path weaves together multiple dimensions of the predicament of India's productive castes-in the spiritual, social, political, economic, philosophical and historical spheres. It reformulates their current position as well as future pathways. It strives to provoke Shudras-including regional political party leaders-all over India to realize their unique historical role in fighting unequal caste structures. And it gives a call to resist Hindutva, in which they have no liberated, equal space with the Dwija castes. At a juncture when the Shudra castes are regionalized and the Dwijas have become 'national', the fifth volume of the Rethinking India series, in collaboration with the Samruddha Bharat Foundation, seeks to bring home the real picture of their marginalized status in all key structures of the nation. It posits that the emancipation and progress of the Shudras are vital to sustain Ambedkar's constitutional democracy and move towards socio-spiritual equality.

The Book Tries To Show How The Labouring Class In Ancient Times Came To Be Known As Sudras And Explores Their Social And Economic Relations With Members Of The Higher Varnas. It Also Tackles Several Other Problems Was Ancient Indian Society A Slave Society? How Did The Sudra Ritual Status Correspond To Their Economic Status? Why Were Social Revolts Comparatively Absent In Ancient India. Without Dustjacket.

The present work Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient Indian discusses different views on the origin and nature of the state in ancient India. It also deals with stages and processes of state formation and examines the relevance of caste and kin-based collectivities to the construction of polity. The Vedic assemblies are studied in some detail, and developments in political organisation are presented in relation to their changing social and economic background. The book also shows how religion and rituals were brought in the service of the ruling class.

Several Japanese Scholars Address Vital Issues Relating To India Like, The Origin Of Social Discrimination, Link Between The Concept Of Pollution Or Sin And Social Discrimination, The Position In This Regard In Ancient And Medieval India, The Reality Of Social Discrimination In Medieval India, The Problems Inherent In The Transformation Of Untouchability Under British Rule And The Development Of Modern Liberation Movements.

The book analyses the transition from the ancient to the medieval period in polity, economy, the caste system and culture. It examines the form of peasant protest and the reasons for their failure and infrequency. The author also examines the development of tantrism and the mentality that feudalism created.