This volume, thus, will be highly useful not only to the planners and administrators engaged in the development of islands, but also to the cultural analysis interested in the study of island ecology and cultural perceptions. This book, for the first time, provides first-hand informations about the social structure, specially the matrilineal family organization, caste structure and hierarchy of the islanders, the history of colonization etc. which will be highly relevant to the students and teachers of anthropology

Based on empirical fieldworkes carried out in different parts of both india and Nepal,this volume throws light on the thread anthropological researches in both neighbouring countries.The chapters in this book range from tribal situation in india to the Muslim tribes of Lakshadeep island including complex societies,industrialization and urbanization and the various aspects of the Sacred Complex studies in india.Besides,the various aspects of religions of Kathmandu and Janakpur.

The world is falling apart. People are forgetting their basic values. Morality and law has parted ways, since some time now. But it was not long when humanity reigned supreme. The world decided to change and the change came at a price. The irretrievable socio economic conditions of the original and aboriginal people of the planet, which grew with the planet itself, had to pay the ultimate price. The systematic annihilation of the third world countries and their resources by the first world has left them only to die the death that follows hunger and starvation. They have been waiting for death. But their spirit and courage and their motivation to survive has led to come out of debris to generate and build great international movements which forced the world to accept the fact that they are the deprived lot and the subjects of violation. World today has a different light to show, the light which leads the way to the new world. The modern civilization and the new world need these people to be part of the whole and not someone different in the struggle to survive the ordeal the future has stored for the human civilization.

This volume approaches the study of Muslim societies through an evolutionary lens, challenging Islamic traditions, identities, communities, beliefs, practices and ideologies as static, frozen or unchangeable. It assumes that there is neither a monolithic, essential or authentic Islam, nor a homogeneous Muslim community. Similarly, there are no fixed binary oppositions such as between the ulama and sufi saints or textual and lived Islam. The overarching perspective — that there is no fixity in the meanings of Islamic symbols and that the language of Islam can be used by individuals, organizations, movements and political parties variously in religious and non-religious contexts — underlies the ethnographically rich essays that comprise this volume. Divided in three parts, the volume cumulatively presents an initial framework for the study of Muslim communities in India embedded in different regional and local contexts. The first part focuses on ethnographies of three Muslim communities (Kuchchhi Jatt, Irani Shia and Sidis) and their relationships with others, with shifting borders and frontiers; part two examines the issue of ‘caste’ of certain Muslim communities; and the third part, containing chapters on Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai and Gujarat, looks at the varied responses of Muslims as Indian citizens in regional contexts at different historical moments. Although the volume focuses on Muslim communities in India, it is also meant to bridge an important gap in, and contribute to, the ‘sociology of India’ which has been organized and taught primarily as a sociology of Hindu society. The book will appeal to those in sociology, history, political science, education, modern South Asian Studies, and to the general reader interested in India & South Asia.

With 600 signed, alphabetically organized articles covering the entirety of folklore in South Asia, this new resource includes countries and regions, ethnic groups, religious concepts and practices, artistic genres, holidays and traditions, and many other concepts. A preface introduces the material, while a comprehensive index, cross-references, and black and white illustrations round out the work. The focus on south Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with short survey articles on Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, and various diaspora communities. This unique reference will be invaluable for collections serving students, scholars, and the general public.

This timely and accessible prayer guide is an abridged version of Operation World, the leading resource for people who want to impact the nations for Christ through prayer. Pray for the World includes challenges for prayer and specific on-the-ground reports of answers to prayer from Christian leaders around the world.

This book analyses and discusses the multiple dimensions of social exclusion/inclusion seen in South Asia. It not only captures how ‘social exclusion’ is intrinsic to deprivation or deprivation in itself, but also the processes of political engagement and social interactions that the socially excluded develop as strategies and networks for their advancement. Consequently, the book goes beyond structures or agency, and examines the question of a more dynamic approach to provide spaces for the ‘socially excluded’ to self-manage exclusion, thereby raising discussions around the contested positions that underlie development discourse on social inequality. While social exclusion linked to identities is studied, the book argues that hierarchies and inequalities based on social identities cut across and affect various groups of excluded. Consequently, these phenomena create or lead to various processes of exclusion. The book illustrates that social exclusion should not be limited to privileging the differences that characterize the exclusionary processes, but should also comprise underpinning strategies of ‘inclusion’, emphasizing the need to focus on imperatives ‘to include’. As a result, the book acknowledges that social exclusion is not limited to analyzing the different identities that face exclusion, but also understanding the systems and processes that create social exclusion, or create opportunities for inclusion of the excluded.The book addresses readership across academic disciplines (including in the growing field of state capacity and governance), and practitioners (administrators and policy-making communities). Conclusively, the book, provides a platform to intensively exchange the multifaceted and critical issue of social exclusion/inclusion, and thus contributes to inclusive sustainable development discourse.