Dr. B. D. Tripathi

Dr. B. D. Tripathi (b. 1933) was Professor of Sociology at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Lucknow. Sadhus of India: The Sociological View, published by Pilgrims Publishing, is based on interviews with five hundred sadhus from sixty-six sects of the Vaishnava, Shaiva, and other orders, examining the role and status of mendicant ascetics in contemporary Indian society.