Feeding the Baniya : peasants and usurers in Western India

Product Description


This book provides important insights into a relationship which has been crucial to life in rural India--that between peasants and usurers. It explores the relationship in a rounded way, examining how states extended support to usurers, as well as how Baniyas exerted a power that was both
economic and ideological.


Review


"...[a] very illuminating and unusually sophisticated historical and theoretical analysis."--
Choice

"Overall, this fascinating study elucidates a vital aspect of the rural economy, through insightful use of a variety of sources and theoretical constructs."--
Journal of Interdisciplinary History




About the Author


David Hardiman, Part-time lecturer, University of Warwick.