`This excellent study of agriaran class relations in north Bihar has some old-fashioned virtues. It is compellingly documented, lucidly written, and deals with issues that clearly matter - and not just to Indianists' - The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute

`Anand Chakravarti has movingly and convincingly shown us that the Kosi River remains a "River of Sorrow" for the downtrodden in Aghanbigha' - Christopher V Hill, Contemporary South Asia

This book, based on intensive fieldwork, examines the inter-connection between the social power wielded by members of the dominant land-owning caste and their practice of agrarian capitalism.