Book edited by David N. Gellner and Krishna P. Adhikari wins the Subedi Prize for the Study of Nepal
Nepal’s Dalits in Transition wins prize awarded by the Royal Asiatic Society London.
The judges decided, unanimously, to award the prize to Gellner and Adhikari’s book Nepal’s Dalits in Transition, which is a comprehensive contribution to the fields of Dalit Studies, Nepal Studies, and broader sociological and anthropological considerations of hierarchy and inequality.
The cover of Nepal’s Dalits in Transition shows the wedding of Shiva and Karishma Nepali in Pokhara, the first Dalit wedding to be officiated by Punya Prasad Subedi as domestic priest. Image D.N. Gellner.
The award
The judges for this award felt that this publication made a comprehensive contribution to diverse fields and also appreciated the way it brings together, for the first time, scholarly research from multiple contributors, including Dalit writers. They felt that the volume forms a well-organized and broad, single-source introduction to the current state of affairs for Nepal’s Dalit communities and that it will serve as a useful reference, providing a sound introduction to the subject, and valuable resource for academic researchers, policy-makers and politicians.
Whilst they acknowledged the important work of Gellner and Adhikari as editors and contributors, they also recognised all of the book’s authors, including numerous Dalit scholars, who offer diverse perspectives on contemporary Dalit experiences across multiple geographical and social contexts.
Finally the judges commended the publication with Vajra Books, a publisher based in Nepal, which increases the accessibility of the book to Nepali audiences.
The book
For too long Nepal’s Dalits have been marginalized, not just socially, economically, and politically, but from academic accounts of Nepalese society as well. This volume forms part of a welcome new trend, the emergence of Dalit Studies in Nepal, led by a new generation of Dalit scholars. It covers a wide range of issues concerning Nepal’s Dalits and offers a snapshot of the advances that they have made—in education, in politics, in the bureaucracy, economically, and in everyday relations. At the same time the book documents the continuing material disadvantage, inequality, discrimination, both direct and indirect, and consequent mental suffering that Dalits have to face. It also touches on the struggles, hopes, and dilemmas of Dalit activists as they seek to bring about a new social order and a relatively more egalitarian society. Nepal’s Dalits in Transition will be essential reading for anyone interested in the past, present, or future of social change in Nepal.
Dalit men rest after harvesting rice, Danchhi, Kathmandu. Imgae: Sambriddhi Kharel.
Chudamani Pariyar, the village messenger (katuwal), invited to a priestly Bahun boys' initiation ceremony (vratabandha) and seated apart from the rest of the guests. Image: D.N. Gellner.
The editors
David Gellner FBA is Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford. He first visited Nepal in 1975 and began formally studying religion and society in Nepal around 1980 in the course of an MPhil in Indian Religion at Oxford. His first book, based on his DPhil, was Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual (CUP, 1992). He has edited and authored many books and articles on Nepal since then.
Krishna P. Adhikari is a Research Affiliate at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, where he co-led the ESRC-funded project ‘Caste, Class, and Culture’ (2013–17) and the BA-funded project ‘The Dalit Search for Dignity’ (2019–23). Before entering academia, he spent twelve years as a practitioner and manager in rural development in Nepal. He completed his PhD at the University of Reading in 2007, focusing on the dynamics of social capital and community institutions. He has written extensively on society and culture, international development, and the Nepali diaspora, including editing Nepalis in the United Kingdom: An Overview (CNSUK, 2012). He is a founder of the Centre for Nepal Studies UK, where he coordinates the Nepal Dialogue UK monthly webinar series and the Motilal Fellowship.
The contributers
Krishna P. Adhikari | Tilak Biswakarma | Arjun Bahadur BK | Steve Folmar | David N. Gellner | Raksha Ram Harijan | Sambriddhi Kharel | Ram Prasad Mainali | Purna Nepali | Joanna Pfaff-Czarnecka | Krishna Shrestha | Manoj Suji | Ramesh Sunam.
Explore more
Nepal's Dalits in Transition is an outcome of The Dalit Search for Dignity: State, Society, and Mobilization from Below in Far West Nepal. This research project, funded by the British Academy, ran from 2019-2023. It followed the ESRC-funded Caste, Class, and Culture which ran from 2013 -2017.
