The book begins with an excellent foreword by S. C. Dube who quickly surveys various aspects of caste as highlighted by anthropologists. He concludes by showing the importance of studying the force of ritual factor of the system in contemporary India, which is the subject of the book under review. The author has studied a village in Malwa in details where he focuses on the social structure and goes into the details of the role of ritual in one of the fundamental structures, namely, the caste.The book is divided into four parts, which are again subdivided into nine chapters; a section containing detailed notes, a bibliography and, finally, the index that completes the book.
