Oct 3, 2011 — India has catapulted to the world stage. Yet for its meteoric economic rise, it remains beset by social problems. NPR editor Miranda Kennedy recommends three books that don't shy from what she sees as the most contentious Indian issue: the caste system.
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As India has embraced its economic successes, it still grapples with social change. (istockphoto.com)
Three Books That Convey The Complexity Of Caste
by Miranda Kennedy
Oct 3, 2011 — India has catapulted to the world stage. Yet for its meteoric economic rise, it remains beset by social problems. NPR editor Miranda Kennedy recommends three books that don't shy from what she sees as the most contentious Indian issue: the caste system.There's been a glut of India books in recent years, most of them excitable narratives with titles like Billions of Entrepreneurs that look at how the country's fast-changing economy is revolutionizing global business and the Indian lifestyle.
Fewer and further between are those that acknowledge that the country's progress toward social change has been stuttering and uneven. And it's even more unusual to find authors willing to admit that the ancient Hindu caste hierarchy still defines much about modern country. But these three don't shy away.
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