Preface /old Insights, New India vii
Introduction: Thinking Caste in Modern India xv
The Blindness of Insight: why communalism in India is about Caste 1
Being a Brahmin the Marxist Way: E.M.S Namboodiripad and the Pasts of Kerala 32
A Place Elsewhere: The Nineteenth-Century Subaltern Novel in Malayalam 73
Caste and Colonial Modernity: Reading Saraswativijayam 110

Bibliography 145

Index 161

"The Blindness of Insight: Essays on Caste in Modern India" by Dilip M. Menon critically explores caste as a deeply embedded social system in India, challenging common understandings by viewing it through the lenses of Marxist and postcolonial theory. Menon argues that caste, while often viewed as a religious issue, is fundamentally a social and economic structure that intersects with class and power. By examining how caste permeates modern Indian identity, the book re-evaluates traditional narratives and calls for a nuanced understanding of caste’s impact on contemporary society.