Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste

C. J. Fuller · Haripriya Narasimhan

nov 2014 · University of Chicago Press

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“An impressive biography. . . . [A] standard reference in the scholarship of Tamil Nadu and the conundrum of caste and class.” —American Anthropologist

A cruise along the streets of Chennai—or Silicon Valley—filled with professional young Indian men and women, reveals the new face of India. In the twenty-first century, Indians have acquired a global visibility of rapid economic advancement and prowess in the information technology industry. C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan examine one group who have taken part in this development: Tamil Brahmans—a formerly traditional, rural, high-caste elite who have transformed themselves into a new middle-class caste in India, the United States, and elsewhere.

Fuller and Narasimhan offer the most comprehensive look at Tamil Brahmans to date, examining Brahman migration to urban areas, transnational migration, and how the Brahman way of life has translated to both Indian cities and American suburbs. They look at modern education and the new employment opportunities afforded by engineering and IT. They examine how Sanskritic Hinduism and traditional music and dance have shaped Tamil Brahmans’ middle-class sensibilities and how middle-class status is related to the changing position of women. Above all, they explore the complex relationship between class and caste systems and the ways in which hierarchy has persisted in modernized India.

“An essential read.” —Radhika Santhanam, The Hindu

“An indispensible read not just for all those who wish to understand caste formation . . . but for Tamil Brahmans themselves. It will help them rethink the notion that their professional achievements are somehow . . . rooted in their caste and see them instead as a product of the opportunities provided by the colonial and postcolonial state.” —Nandini Sundar, Delhi University

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C. J. Fuller is emeritus professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics. He is the author of several books, including The Camphor Flame and The Renewal of the Priesthood. Haripriya Narasimhan is assistant professor of social anthropology and sociology at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.