Whatever Happened to Class?

Class explains much in the differentiation of life chances and political dynamics in South Asia, yet has fallen from favor. In this volume, original empirical work investigates the contributions and limits of class analysis in understanding politics and allocative patterns of a globalizing South Asia, with suggestions for refining theory.

Rina Agarwala is an assistant professor in the department of sociology at Johns Hopkins University. Ronald J. Herring teaches political economy and political ecology at Cornell University.

Chapter 1 Introduction-Restoring Agency to Class: Puzzles from South Asia Chapter 2 1. On the Decline of Class Analysis in South Asian Studies Chapter 3 2. Was the Indian Labor Movement Ever Co-opted? Evaluating Standard Accounts Chapter 4 3. Workers' Organizations in Pakistan: Why No Role in Formal Politics? Chapter 5 4. From Work to Welfare: A New Class Movement in India Chapter 6 5. Middle-Class Activism and the Politics of the Informal Working Class: A Perspective on Class Relations and Civil Society in Indian Cities Chapter 7 6. Why Did "Operation Cremate Monsanto" Fail? Science and Class in India's Great Terminator-Technology Hoax Chapter 8 7. Hegemonic Aspirations: New Middle Class Politics and India's Democracy in Comparative Perspective