Social Intricacies of Coastal Communities in South India

This book examines the social life of fishing communities in south India. It shows how modernization has brought changes to coastal communities in the post-Independence era.

It focuses on inter- and intra-community dynamics, social structure, the role of religion and migration. The volume also links how developmental discourses have transformed the fabric of these communities, as well as the impact of environmental degradation on their traditional livelihoods.

The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of sociology and social anthropology, development studies, demography, history migration and diaspora studies and South Asian studies.

S. Irudaya Rajan is Chair of the International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMAD), Kerala. He is the Founder Editor in Chief of Migration and Development (Sage) and the editor of two Routledge series - India Migration Report and South Asia Migration Report, and lead editor of Springer Series - South-South Migration and Routledge Series - Global Indian Diaspora in the 21st Century. He has coordinated nine large-scale migration surveys in Kerala since 1998 (with K.C. Zachariah) and replicated the Kerala model of migration surveys in other states, including Goa (2008), Punjab (2009), Tamil Nadu (2015), and Odisha (2023) and has been instrumental in similar surveys in Gujarat (2011), and Jharkhand (2023).

Kildos Anthony Pillai is Senior Research Fellow at the International Institute of Migration and Development, Kerala. He holds a Doctorate in Sociology and has undertaken post-doctoral research over a decade on coastal communities. His articles and publications reflect a profound commitment to coastal life and its challenges. He has led Coastal Peace and Development, an organisation dedicated exclusively to the welfare of coastal communities. He currently serves as the Secretary of the St. Devasahayam College of Fisheries Science and Technology in Kanniyakumari district.