This volume investigates the historical mechanisms of social exclusion and the construction of identity for subordinate and marginal groups within the Indian subcontinent. Aloka Parasher-Sen, an established scholar in Indian history, compiles a series of essays from prominent historians to examine how Indian civilization navigated diversity while maintaining rigid hierarchical structures. The text provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the intersection of social stratification, ideology, and historiography across different periods of Indian history.

Experts recognize this volume as a foundational collection for understanding the complexities of social stratification in South Asian history. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the value of the updated historiographical afterword in the second edition.