The Hindu Jajmani System

The Hindu Jajmani System was first published in 1936. To this day it remains the most standard and only work which deals with the Jajmani system. It defines the role of the caste in the economic life of a village community. The author describes the functions assigned by Manu to various castes and how these caste groups interact with each other in the production of goods and services needed by the village community and they try at the same time to function within the framework fixed by Manu despite the social, economic and political changes during centuries. The impact of economic economic development through industrialization has dealt a crushing blow to the Jajmani system. Growth of cities, migration of rural labour, mechanization of agriculture, etc., have made Jajmani system irrelevant today in the Indian village. Yet traces of the system continue to linger. It is an important book for those engaged in the study of village economics and role of caste in it. Economic historians will find it a valuable sourcebook.