Malana: the Political System of a Himalayan Community

Book Description

“a lost classic of the ethnographic village studies genre” — Dr Richard Axelby

Explore the captivating world of Malana through the lens of Colin Rosser’s seminal work, ‘Malana: the Political System of a Himalayan Community.’ Originally presented as a PhD dissertation in 1956 at the SOAS, University of London, this book unveils the intricate social and political fabric of Malana, a ‘hermit’ village in the Himalayas.

Rosser’s thorough exploration, based on twenty-one months of fieldwork between 1951 and 1952, challenges stereotypes associated with the then isolated community of Malana. His initial impressions, published in 1952, hinted at Malana’s uniqueness, but it is his comprehensive PhD thesis, unpublished until now, that provides a rich tapestry of empirical details. This long-awaited publication, now made accessible with help from Colin Rosser’s sons, Jon and the late Vivian Rosser, is “a lost classic of the ethnographic village studies genre”.

The book offers readers a profound appreciation of Malana, dispelling romanticized images and negative stereotypes while unveiling the village’s contradictions and complexities. It stands as a timeless contribution to anthropology, providing a baseline against which development can be measured and offering a nuanced understanding of a community managing change within the broader context of the world.

About the Author

Colin Rosser (1926–2012) was a scholar, explorer, and visionary who connected the study of Himalayan societies with development planning. He was born into a mining family in south Wales and served as a Gurkha officer in India during the Second World War. This experience ignited his lifelong passion for the Himalayas. As a graduate of Cambridge in Archaeology and Anthropology, he spent twenty-one months in the Kullu Valley, including eighteen months in Malana. He produced “Malana: The Political System of a Himalayan Community,” which remains the definitive study of that village.

Rosser taught at SOAS and University College of Swansea. He co-authored “Family and Social Change in a South Wales Town” (1965) and became a prominent figure in urban and regional planning. He worked in India, Indonesia, and at University College London. In 1984, he founded ICIMOD in Kathmandu. Known for his energy and wide-ranging intellect, he left a lasting legacy through the institutions he established and the scholarship he created.