Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; The Emergence of Private Caste Armies in the State of Bihar: Divergent Approaches; (Un)Civil Society of Land, Caste and Social Violence; Political Power Struggles and Fractured State Power; A Tale of Caste Senas: Surrogate Arms of the State; The Ranvir Sena: Political Entrepeneurs or Community Warriors?; Conclusion; Appendix; Notes; Glossary; Index

Promotional Information

A thorough and cogent analysis of society, politics and violence in the Indian state of Bihar.

About the Author

Ashwani Kumar is Associate Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and is also associated with Global Governance Research Network at German Development Institute (DIE) in Bonn.

Reviews

'"Community Warriors" offers an incisive and novel analysis of the rather distinct phenomenon of private caste armies in the Indian state of Bihar. Hindu extremists, predatory politicians, Maoist revolutionaries, brutal landlords, peasants and other subalterns mingle together in this riveting narrative of oppression and resistance in a land characterized as much by its "fudal" social structures as by immense political vitality.'
"Vinay Lal, Associate Professor of History, University of California at Los Angeles, USA."

'A brilliant theoretical construct and iconoclastic exposition of contemporary reality of Bihar. The reason for emergence of Caste Senas and their diabolic ramification hs not been researched so thoroughly earlier.'
"Shaibal Gupta, Member Secretary, Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), Patna, India."