First published in 1934, Economic and Social Aspects of Crime in India analyses the rise of crime in India at a time when ancient rural civilisation was transitioning to modern urban and industrial conditions. It investigates the causes of crime and its relation to the social and economic environment, law, religion, and other agencies of social control.
The book explores several key themes: social and economic conditions as they relate to crime, custom and crime, the panchayat and crime, and the court and crime. It further examines the classification of criminals, the criminal tribes and castes of India, criminal tribal settlements, the jail and the school, and the beginnings of reformatory treatment in India. To support this analysis, it draws data from the author's direct knowledge derived through personal investigation into various jails, police stations, tribal settlements, reformatories, after-care homes, and children's courts. It also consults administrative reports, excise documents, agricultural and weather date, provincial census reports, and anthropological surveys.
This book is a must-read for students and researchers of Asian studies, particularly those interested in the colonial and social history of India.