Interrogating India's Modernity

Description

Over the last four decades, Indian society has undergone significant changes in terms of its structure, processes, and dynamics of social institutions. This process of change, however, has not followed predictable directions. While modern institution of democracy and the idea of citizenship have gradually become popular, ethnic identities and religious beliefs have remained strong. Even when old identities persist, India has witnessed the rise of new identities and aspirations common to the modern times.   What does it mean to be modern in India? How do ‘pre-modern’ identities negotiate with the process of rapid social change? How do different sections of society participate in the emerging India? The volume seeks to answer some of these questions by dealing with issues ranging from social class, urban spaces, global branding, changing social hierarchies, and health care to the dynamics of Indian democracy, civil society, religion and politics, and the violence of law.     Dipankar Gupta is among the distinguished social scientists who have shaped the way sociology has evolved and is taught and practiced in India. This collection of essays by  commentators on modern Indian society brings together the key thematic concerns of Gupta’s several decades-long scholarship, and goes beyond his work on the dynamics of India’s engagements with modernity. Charting new perspectives and debates, the essays will be of great value to those interested in sociology, social anthropology, and politics in contemporary India.

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