IN THE SHADOWS OF THE STATE
London and Durham N.C.: Duke University Press; Delhi: Oxford University Press
Order: UK
ABOUT
In the Shadows of the State suggests that well-meaning indigenous rights and development claims and interventions may misrepresent and hurt the very people they intend to help. It draws on extensive ethnographic research in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India officially created in 2000, after a long struggle for the autonomy of its indigenous people.
It follows the everyday lives of some of the poorest villagers as they chase away protected wild elephants, try to cut down the forests they allegedly live in harmony with, maintain a healthy skepticism about the revival of the indigenous governance system, and seek to avoid the initial spread of an armed revolution of Maoist guerrillas who claim to represent them. Shah reveals a class dimension to cultural-based identity politics, that often silences the poorest and most marginalised.
REVIEWS
'Tightly argued, this book will stir up debate in anthropology and the study of contemporary India. It will reward close reading because none of its insights are easily won or carelessly tossed out...its sophisticated scholarship and advances the best traditions of scholarly debate in anthropology, in these pages and in the classroom.' K. Sivaramakrishnan, American Anthropologist
'This ethnography should be widely read across the discipline.' Megan Moodie, American Ethnologist
'This is an outstanding book of importance for its content and the challenges it sets out to its readers.' Duncan McDuie-Ra, Asian Studies Review
'In the Shadows of the State" is a simple, engaging, and beautifully written book that makes a significant and original contribution to the global literature on the politics and practice of indigeneity, and to the rich body of critical geographical and anthropological research on tribal life and politics in Jharkhand and eastern India. It should be required reading for all scholars and activists committed to resolving the awkward relationship between indigeneity and indigence.' Haripriya Rangan, Journal of Asian Studies
MEDIA
A taste of one of the chapters of 'In the Shadows of the State' read by the author.
Is Yosemite a better home for the wild elephants of Jharkhand, India?
2018, Resonance 104.4fm broadcast of 22/8/2008
