Author Description

Product DescriptionThis 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 botheconomic 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 HistoryAbout the AuthorDavid Hardiman, Part-time lecturer, University of Warwick.