Handbook of Modernity in South Asia

Description

In its origin and development, modernity is often simply associated with Western society and culture. Breaking from the mould, this volume explores modernity in the context of South Asia, particularly India, while drawing on a range of regional experiences. Probing inherited understandings of modernity, it approaches the phenomenon as at once local and global in nature. The chapters interrogate and examine: - the association between modernity and India; - how modernity is understood by people historically and in contemporary contexts; - the many forms of its expression; and - the wider conditions, limitations, and possibilities of modernity at the regional, national, and global levels. Combining a variety of disciplines and perspectives, this handbook unravels and interprets modernity as a contradictory and contested entity and process. Mapping prior routes and, at the same time, charting novel pathways, it emphasizes the role of modernity as a contending force in popular self-reckoning and distinct political agendas. Contributors include Prathama Banerjee ● Ian Bedford ● Véronique Bénéï ● Jaideep Chatterjee ● Rohan Deb Roy● Faisal Devji ● Saurabh Dube● Atig Ghosh ● Bodhisattva Kar ● Townsend Middleton ● Anand Pandian ● Arvind Rajagopal ● Kalpana Ram ● Anupama Rao ● Mrinalini Sinha ● Ajay Skaria ● Sanjukta Sunderason