Annihilation of Caste in India

This book offers a critical re-examination of the relationship between caste and class. Singh demystifies caste based on a comparative analysis between a Weberian and Marxian understanding of power. He rejects Max Weber’s account of caste as rooted in culture which Weber saw as analytically distinct from the economic and political power. In contrast, Singh offers a Marxist analysis of caste as a matter of land (means of production) and labor (social relations of production). Extending his critique of the cultural understanding of caste, Singh examines one of the most prominent accounts of caste as a religious phenomenon specific to Hinduism. The book aims to show the intrinsic interconnectedness of class and caste.

Hira Singh is Associate Professor of Sociology, York University, Canada.