Locating the agency of marginalized people: nomadic and post-nomadic service populations in Rajasthan, India

摘要

Using both ethnographic and survey data, this article explores the complex ways in which camp - dwellers on the ma rgins of settled communities in Rajasthan , India , have interacted with state agents, services and systems of knowledge in a manner that articulates their limited but nonetheless significant agency . I explore three arenas through which the state 's presence is felt in the lives of these marginalized people: access to land , to health s ervices and to public schooling . I argue that marginalized people are not mere ly the victims of centrist power s but exhibit a resourcefulness and flexibility that redefines group b oundaries and the impact of state policies on their lives .