Caste and capitalism in colonial India : the Nattukottai Chettiars

David Rudner's richly detailed ethnographic and historical analysis of a South Indian merchant-banking caste provides the first comprehensive analysis of the interdependence among Indian business practice, social organization, and religion. Exploring noncapitalist economic formations and the impact of colonial rule on indigenous commercial systems, Rudner argues that caste and commerce are inextricably linked through formal and informal institutions. The practices crucial to the formation and distribution of capital are also a part of this linkage. Rudner challenges the widely held assumptions that all castes are organized either by marriage alliance or status hierarchy and that caste structures are incompatible with the "rational" conduct of business.Converted book. 1. Introduction. The Nakarattars Of Tamil Nadu. Historical Overview. Being A Nakarattar In Colonial India. Nakarattar Studies. Nakarattars And The Anthropological Study Of Caste. Outline Of The Book -- Pt. 1. Concepts. 2. Conceiving Caste. Capitalism And Caste. The Standard View Of Caste. Caste As Symbolic Capital In Political Ethnicization. Where's The Rest Of Me? The Case Of The Komatis. Segmentary Structure And Structural Variation. The Corporacy Of Castes: Kayasths And Nakarattars Compared. Ecologically Qualified Views Of Caste. Mercantile Caste Variation: Some South Indian Dimensions. A Closer Look At Merchant-artisans: The Case Of The Kaikkolars. The Merchant-banker Nakarattars Contrasted. Symbolic Capital And The Cultural Ecology Of Caste. 3. The Study Of Commerce In Indian Society. Giants On Our Shoulders. Three Stereotypes Of The Indian Moneylender. Legal Stereotypes And Historical Myopia. Village Studies Of Indian Commerce. Beyond The Village Moneylender. Indian Burghers And Portfolio Capitalists. The Historiographic Gap. The Historiographic Rejection Of Caste In Commerce -- Pt. 2. Business. 4. The Colonial Expansion. Overview. Seventeenth-century South India. Cotton, Pearls, Rice, And Salt, 1800-1850. Peshkash, Money Lending, And Repayment, 1800-1850. Litigation And The Emergence Of Nakarattar Zamindars, 1850-1900. Nakarattar Commercial Expansion In Southeast Asia, 1870-1930. Ceylon, 1870-1930. Burma, 1870-1930. Malaya In The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries. A Final Comment On Nakarattar Commercial Expansion. 5. Banker's Trust And The Culture Of Banking. Banker's Trust? Nakarattar Interest Rates And Deposit Banking. Hundi Transactions And Other Transfers Of Credit Between Nakarattars. Accounting. Proprietor's Capital And Deposit Capital From Other Nakarattars. 6. A Collectivist Spirit Of Capitalism. Two Spirits Of Capitalism. Three Models Of Nakarattar Banking Organization. Families And Firms. Pulli And Valavu (the Conjugal Family And The Joint Family). Proprietors And Agents. The Nakarattar Agency. Adathis: The Nakarattar Elite. Nakaravitutis. Nakarattar Panchayats. Collectivism And Capitalism -- Pt. 3. Ritual And Kinship. 7. The Magic Of Capitalism And The Mercantile Elite. Magical Capitalism. The Ritual Construction Of Nakarattar Marriage Alliances. Cir. Moi. Murai. Vevu. Summary Of Affinal Prestations. Positive Marriage Rules And Virtual Affinity. In-laws, Murai, And Terminological Marking. The Maternal Uncle, The Wife's Father, And Murai. A Note On Ethnographic Reports Of Nakarattar Marriage Rules. Final Comment. 9. Temple Control And Cross-cut Segmentation In Chettinad. Nakarattar Settlement And Dominance In Chettinad: The Historical Charter. Religious Endowment. Descent And The Temple Cults Of Chettinad. Clan Temples And Temple-clans. Village Temples And Dominant Lineage Segments -- 10. Conclusion: Social Structure As Social Investment. Competing For The Past, Investing In The Future. Marriage And Minimization. Merchant And Peasant: Nakarattar And Goundar Political Structure. Hierarchy, Territorial Precedence, And Royal Honors: The Pudukottai Kallars. A Mythic Charter For Nakarattar Values. Ambidexterity In The Nakarattar Varalaru. Cross-cut Segmentation And Equality. Equality And Elitehood. The Symbolism Of Finance. Macro-, Micro-, And Mediate Analysis -- Appendix A. Interest Rate Tables -- Appendix B. Sample Hundis -- Appendix C. Career Of Raja Sir Muthia Chettiar -- Appendix D. Nakarattar Kinship Terms. David West Rudner. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. An ethnographic and historial analysis of a southern Indian merchant-banking caste, which explores the impact of colonial rule on indigenous commercial systems. The author challenges the assumption that caste structures are incompatible with the conduct of business.