is a social anthropologist whose overarching interest is in the comparative analysis of the different regional configurations of the caste system and the emergence of new forms of identity in the Indian subcontinent. His point of departure was an ethnographic study of a former princely state (Tehri-Garhwal, in Uttarkhand), with his research going on to highlight the interactive encounters brought about by the presence of modern ideology. His work now includes other ethnographic and

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... cal case studies (in coastal Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat) which have helped him further refine the contextualization of such phenomena. Employing a historical and critical approach, he is also reconsidering past and present notions of Caste and Tribe, making it possible for them to be examined together in sets of transformation when observing the perennial links they establish through rituals, kinship and territorial structures, never losing sight of the constitutive relationship between creditor and debtor.