Robber noblemen : a study of the political system of the sikhs jats

The outcome of over two years' research in India's most prosperous state, this book represents a break with traditional anthropological studies with in the Indian sub-continent in the breadth of its coverage. A whole state, the Punjab, is discussed, with special reference to the social and political organization of its landowning Sikhs: the Jats.

Joyce Pettigrew demonstrates that although the Punjab is included within the formal political framework of the Indian Union, it is nevertheless more closely allied to countries on its western border, by virtue of its social structure and value system. The caste system does not exist among the Sikhs. Values sustaining patterns of social and political action are not those pertaining to ritual purity and pollution but are those concerned with the extended family unit: honour, reputation, insult. The author shows how long-standing collaborative relationships between families compete with other similarly formed alliances or 'factions' for power. and influence.

Dr Pettigrew is concerned to convey a state-wide, ather than a village, reality. She illustrates the impact of state-level political developments on events occurring in the villages and local areas of the Punjab, and shows how disputes in villages ramify to include the state's political leaders.