Dr Prakash Shah, Reader in Culture and Law at Queen Mary University of London, spoke about his co-edited book on the New Books Network podcast.
In the podcast, Dr Shah briefly talked about his background, saying his research career started with initial interest in refugee law, which later grew to ethnic minorities’ law as well as questions of religion.
His interests are reflected in the book ‘Western Foundations of the Caste System’, which argues that the dominant descriptions of the ‘caste system’ are rooted in the Western Christian experience of India.
Asked about the main position of the book regarding caste system, Dr Prakash Shah said: “The caste system is an experiential entity, which is specific to the European experience of India. So, we argue that in social reality there is no such thing as caste system – it is what Europeans have given shape to through their experience of India.”
Click here to listen to the whole interview with Dr Prakash Shah.