The Oxford India Srinivas

Description

‘Sanskritization', ‘dominant caste', and ‘vote bank' describe important aspects of Indian politics, society and, social life in the new millennium. Interestingly, all three terms owe their genesis to one of India's most distinguished sociologists, M.N. Srinivas. Apart from his path-breaking work, Srinivas was instrumental in setting up two pioneering centres of sociology and social anthropology in India–at M.S. University, Baroda and at the University of Delhi. The Oxford India Srinivas brings together some of Srinivas's best writings on a wide range of subjects, including village studies, caste and social structure, gender, religion, and cultural and social change in India. In an Introduction written especially for this volume, eminent historian Ramachandra Guha highlights Srinivas's relevance in academic research and contemporary thought in India. The Foreword, written by renowned sociologist A.M. Shah, discusses Srinivas's legacy in examining the dynamics of social reality in India. Beginning with essays on the village of Rampura, the subject of his fieldwork during the 1940s, the volume then discusses caste and social structure, including its form and place in modern India. It reflects on gender and its significance in Indian society before moving on to discuss social change, nation building, and changing institutions and values in contemporary India. Srinivas also examines the state of sociology and social anthropology in the Indian academia, including methods of study and research in these disciplines. Autobiographical essays complete the picture, leaving the reader with a sense of having known the eminent sociologist and his times.