Indian Anthropology Anthropological Discourse in Bombay, 1886–1936

Indian Anthropology: Anthropological Discourse in Bombay 1886–1936is an important contribution to the history of Indian anthropology, focusing on its formative period. It looks at the political economy of knowledge production and the anthropological discourse in Bombay during the late nineteenth century. This seminal volume highlights the much forgotten and ignored contribution of the Bombay Presidency anthropologists, many of whom were Indians, from different backgrounds, such as lawyers, civil servants, and men of religion, much before professional anthropology was taught in India. The other contributions are by pioneers from Bengal, Punjab, and United Provinces — all British administrators turned scholars. This volume is divided into three parts: Part I deals with thesix contributions on the history of the development of anthropology in India; Part II deals with four contributions on the methodology and collecting ethnographic data; and Part III deals with four contributions on theoretical analysis of ethnographic facts. The roots of many contemporary conflicts and social issues can be traced to this formative period of anthropology in India. This book will be useful to students and researchers of anthropology, sociology, public administration, modern history, and demography. It will also be of interest to civil servants, students of history, Indian culture and society, religions, colonial history, law, and South Asia studies.

Introduction    Lancy Lobo                                                                                           Inauguration of the Anthropological Society of Bombay, 1886:  A Vision for Anthropology in India   Edward Tyrrell Leith                                                                                                                                                                                                  Part I: History of the Development of Anthropology in India   1. Anthropology in India                                                                                                              H. H. Risley                                                                                                2. Progress of the Study of Indian Anthropology in Europe, and Cognate Matters     H. H. Risley                                                                         3. Development or Evolution of Anthropology in India                                               H. H. Risley                                                                                                                        4. Study of Anthropology in India                                                                                Denzil Ibbetson   5.  The Study of Anthropology in the West                                                                   Jal Feerose Bulsara                                                                                                      6. The Retrospect and the Prospect of the Work of the Anthropological Society of Bombay                                                                                                   Jivanji Jamshedji Modi   Part II: Methodology and Collecting Ethnographic Data   7. Importance of Collecting Facts (Presidential Address)                                            William Crooke                                                                                                           8. Collecting Diverse Social and Cultural Facts (Presidential Address, 1906)                        S. M. Edwardes                                                                                            9.      The Study of Ethnography in the Bombay Presidency                                             R. E. Enthoven                                                                                                            10.  The Ethnographical Survey of India                                                                                     R. E. Enthoven                                                                                                          Part III: Theoretical Analysis of Ethnographic Facts   11.  Totem Theories                                                                                                           R. E. Enthoven   12.  Is the Retention of the Term Animism in Census Justified?                                        L. J. Sedgwick   13.  The Superstition of Concealing One’s Proper Age as Shown by  the Indian Census Statistics                                                                                                         L. J. Sedgwick and Jivanji Jamshedji Modi   14.  Interpreting a Government House Reception from a Cultural Anthropology Perspective                                                                                                                  Jivanji Jamshedji Modi

Lancy Lobo is currently the Director, Centre for Culture and Development, Vadodara, India. He has earlier served as the Director, Centre for Social Studies, Surat. He has conducted extensive studies on dalits, tribals, OBCs and minorities in rural and urban Gujarat. He has authored, co-authored and edited twenty-two books. A.M. Shah is former Professor of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India. He has been felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Sociological Society, the Swami Pranavananda Award by the University Grants Commission, a National Fellowship by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, and the Distinguished Service Award by the University of Delhi. He has been a Visiting Fellow at several universities and institutes in India and abroad and has authored and edited many books on a variety of subjects. His books and papers on household and family in India are collected in an omnibus (Delhi, 2006).