Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
Genre: Sociology, Anthropology, History, Colonial Studies

Book Review:
''Subalterns and Sovereigns: An Anthropological History of Bastar'' by Nandini Sundar is a groundbreaking, meticulously researched, and deeply insightful work that explores the history of state expansion and resistance in the Bastar region of central India over a century and a half. This book is a landmark contribution to the study of tribal societies, colonialism, and postcolonial governance.

Sundar, a Reader in Sociology at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, combines archival research with ethnographic fieldwork to present a nuanced and compelling account. She focuses on the history of resistance to colonialism and argues for a rethinking of the debate on subalternity and sovereignty. The book has received widespread acclaim from scholars.

Mahesh Buch writes in The Book Review: ''I would recommend her book as a bench-mark study and one which every scholar and administrator should read in order to understand tribal society.'' Crispin Bates, in Modern Asian Studies, calls it ''an immensely readable and highly original contribution.''

This is an essential read for students and scholars of history, sociology, anthropology, and colonial and postcolonial studies. Highly recommended for its depth, honesty, and intellectual rigor.