Society and Ideology

This volume, commemorating nearly forty years during which Professor K.A. Ballhatchet taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, offers varied but coherent studies relevant to questions of ethnicity in South Asia. It goes beyond the recognition that identities are constructed, toward an understanding of the context and conditions in which particular kinds of community are possible. A secondary theme is the means and importance of the interpretation of texts. A third is the impact of the intrusions of colonial rule upon South Asia's practices and self-perceptions. The subjects are considered from pre-Mughal times to the recent past, and in both India and Sri Lanka.