To Be Cared For

To Be Cared For offers a unique view into the conceptual and moral world of slum-bound Dalits (';untouchables') in the South Indian city of Chennai. Focusing on the decision by many women to embrace locally specific forms of Pentecostal Christianity, Nathaniel Roberts challenges dominant anthropological understandings of religion as a matter of culture and identity, as well as Indian nationalist narratives of Christianity as a ';foreign' ideology that disrupts local communities. Far from being a divisive force,conversionintegrates the slum communityChristians and Hindus alikeby addressing hidden moral fault lines that subtly pitresidentsagainst one another in a national context that renders Dalits outsiders in their own land. Read an interview with the author on the Association for Asian Studies #AsiaNow blog.