Introduction

Originally published in 2003, this volume studies village politics and the changes brought about in rural society through political developments. It focuses on the social, political and cultural circumstances of communist mobilization in rural West Bengal.

Analysis of Rural Communism

It analyses the emergence of rural communism in the local context of changes in the position of women, in caste practices, in economic conditions and in new efforts to create ‘development’.

Methodology and Approach

It investigates how this cultural change interacts with the mechanisms and tools of village politics, and using anthropological methods and oral history as tools, allows for a detailed and intimate ethnographic description of village politics and its changes.