Synopsis The Oxford in India Readings in Sociology and Social Anthropology comprise a set of volumes, each on an important theme or sub-area within these disciplines. Along with authoritative introductions and sectional prefaces, each book brings together key essays that apprise readers of the current debates and developments within that area, with specific reference to India. The volumes act both as introductions to sociology and social anthropology and as essential reference works for students, teachers and researchers. A tenacious clich? about South Asia is that it has an immutable, irrational society stubbornly resisting change and movement of any kind. However, the fact is that South Asia is home to the world’s largest nomadic population. In no other part of the world are there such a variety of beings systematically herded, nor the diversity of peripatetic professions to be matched. Focussing on nomadic societies in the region, this reader brings together essays, which illustrate how larg