Precolonial India in practice: society, region and identity in medieval Andhra

The society of traditional India is frequently characterized as static and dominated by caste.

This study challenges older interpretations, arguing that medieval India was actually a time of dynamic change and fluid social identities.

Using records of religious endowments from Andhra Pradesh, author Cynthia Talbot reconstructs a regional society of the precolonial past as it existed in practice.