topics: |  india | history | sri-lanka

Rural Cities in India: Continuities and Discontinuities
Owen M. Lynch, U. Binghamton Anthropology

Study of the Jatav mohalla or basti "Bhim Nagar" in Agra.  The mohalla
consists of a number of "thok"s, (thok = clump, group).  Each thok member has
a right to ask for and is obligated to give nyota, a sum of money recorded by
the chaudhary, and when the giver eventually needs it, the receiver is
obligated to give more.