{"product_id":"reinventing-caste-ashish-koul-9781503646711","title":"Reinventing Caste: Islam and Hierarchy in Late Colonial India","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book reveals that caste, usually assumed to be a feature of Hindu society, was in fact a trans-religious phenomenon in colonial India, as it is today. Even in an Islamic religious milieu that was supposed to be more egalitarian than hierarchical Hinduism, colonial Indian subjects thought and acted in terms of caste. Through a focus on one agrarian Muslim caste of colonial India known as Arains, Ashish Koul shows how some Muslims transmuted caste and emplaced it within the Islamic tradition of their time. In late nineteenth-early twentieth century India, Arain Muslims were derogatively called \u003ci\u003emali\u003c\/i\u003e-- gardener--instead of what they wished to be seen as--respectable landholders. Seeking to refute such negative portrayals, a group of elite Arain Muslim landholders and educated professionals came together to develop a new Islamic vocabulary for caste. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Through a variety of primary sources in English and Urdu, Koul analyzes the intricacies of caste, religion, and politics among Muslims in colonial India. By asserting that being Arain was a true way of being Muslim, elite Arains were able to intervene in significant debates about Muslim identity, colonial law, and political representation. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that in order to understand why caste persists among South Asians, we must examine how caste consciousness has been entrenched within multiple religious traditions. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ashish Koul\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1503646718\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781503646711\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Stanford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/02\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 280\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Ashish Koul","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47931075395839,"sku":"9781503646711","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_810eda43-6902-4376-8837-3172ce8b3252.jpg?v=1766346278","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/reinventing-caste-ashish-koul-9781503646711","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}