Contributed articles with special reference to Chota Nāgpur and Santhal Parganas in Bihar, India.

Contributed articles presented at the National Conference organized by Department of History, Mahila College, Chaibasa on 7-8 March, 2008 sponsored by UGC Eastern Regional Office, Kolkata.

Conceptualizing The Hos Of Singhbhum As A Tribe, The Contributors In This Book Discuss At Length The Significance Of Myth And Rituals Among The Tribals, Folk Treatment System, Dialectics Of Identity And Assimilation, And Socio-Religion Of The Tribes.

In the Indian context.

The study unfolds the working of party politics in Jharkhand in the national background during the colonial and post-colonial period. This period witnessed manifold changes when the democratic system was partially introduced under the representative government and provincial autonomy. After Independence and the establishment of the Republic, the nature and working of the political parties underwent a sea change. The rise of regional political parties, their fragmentation and the emergence of new ones along with the demand for a seperate Jharkhand State have been discussed in detail. This book will be of great use to teachers, scholars, and students of history and political science, legislators, members of various parties, and all those interested in the study of regional political parties in India particularly in the Jharkhand State.

South Asia is a rich and fascinating linguistic area, its many hundreds of languages from four major language families representing the distinctions of caste, class, profession, religion, and region. This comprehensive new volume presents an overview of the language situation in this vast subcontinent in a linguistic, historical and sociolinguistic context. An invaluable resource, it comprises authoritative contributions from leading international scholars within the fields of South Asian language and linguistics, historical linguistics, cultural studies and area studies. Topics covered include the ongoing linguistic processes, controversies, and implications of language modernization; the functions of South Asian languages within the legal system, media, cinema, and religion; language conflicts and politics, and Sanskrit and its long traditions of study and teaching. Language in South Asia is an accessible interdisciplinary book for students and scholars in sociolinguistics, multilingualism, language planning and South Asian studies.