Review by Choice Review
Baker's study traces the history of the Indian Tamilnad countryside the organization of agrarian trade, the connection between internal and external trade, i.e., Tamil Nadu or the old Madras Presidency) by examining the use of labor on the land, the functioning of the capital market, the links between countryside and town, and the role played by government in the rural society and economy. He reaches two important conclusions: first, that the local Tamil village economies and societies influenced the colonial state and channeled colonial economics much more than the reverse, as classical theory suggested; and second, that local survivals and legacies of the precolonial period helped as much as any changing international trade patterns to build the economy of Tamilnad after Indian independence in 1947. Village government (so-called Panchayati Raj), is recognized as having had a relatively constant, ongoing influence in this part of southern India for centuries, certainly as far back as the Vijayanagar kingdoms. A very sound, scholarly case study, well documented and nicely organized, which will be acknowledged as the definitive interpretation of modern Madras history. With complete bibliography, glossary, and index, this book is a very valuable addition to any South Asian or British Empire collection. Public and academic libraries at all levels.-W.W. Reinhardt, Randolph-Macon College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
