Originally published in 1980, this work answers the crucial question of how social change should be guided in the developing countries. Professor Varma begins by posing the problems of the general scope of modernization and the general criteria used in the modernization process. He examines carefully some of the models that have been used for this purpose in the past, providing extensive summaries of the views on modernization of theorists in various social science disciplines, including sociology, politics, economics, and anthropology, and stresses the importance of these views in guiding policy decisions. The book concludes with a comparison of the development processes of the United States, the Soviet Union, China, Japan and India.

There has been, of late, a growing realisation that the pace and pattern of economic development of a country can hardly be understood and explained comprehensively in terms of the straitjacket of economics discipline alone. India is a prime example of the importance of the part played by a country's history, culture, sociology, and socio-cultural-religious norms, values, and institutions in its development process. This book, with its assorted essays of varying depths of scholarship and insightful reflections, attempts to drive home this point more forcefully than ever before. In its search for the non-economic roots of India’s overall sloth and murky progress in its broad-based economic and human development, the book illuminates major oddities deep inside a unique mental make-up full of perceptual and ideational dilemmas, many of which are arguably shaped by the long-lasting and dominant influence of what could be called the Brahminical lines of thinking and discourse. With India’s hazy and dodgy world of perceptions as a backdrop, the book also addresses – through its intelligent essays - the deep and sometimes dire ramifications of the historic advent and the dramatic advance of neoliberal market ideology today.

Conceived as a response to the economic naïvety and implicit metropolitan bias of many 1950s and 60s studies of ‘the sociology of development’ , this volume, first published in 1975, provides actual field studies and theoretical reviews to indicate the directions which a conceptually more adequate study of developing societies should take. Much of the book reflects strongly the influence of Andre Gunder Frank, but the contributors adopt a critical attitude to his ideas, applying them in empirical situations within such African and American countries as Kenya, Guyana, Tanzania and Peru. Others pursue the lines of enquiry opened up by Latin American theories of economic ‘dependency’ and by the new school of French economic anthropology.

"Errata: pages 6 and 11 have got inadvertently exchanged"--P. 1.

'The sort of critical awareness necessary to actually enrich discussions of civil society, rather than contribute to its elusiveness, pervades through the book.' -Professor Vedi R. Hadiz, Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia '...introduces readers to the dynamics shaping the complex relationship between CSOs and the state in today's India and Bangladesh.' -Professor Sarah Ansari, Royal Holloway, University of London 'This volume should be a compulsory read for everyone who is interested in contemporary contests in the civil society space in South Asia...' -Professor Amit Prakash, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 'This edited anthology is a timely and an important contribution to the scholarship on civil society and citizenship, particularly in South Asia.' -Associate Professor Mohammad Salehin, Centre for Peace Studies, The Arctic University of Norway, Norway Civil Society and Citizenship in India and Bangladesh presents new multidisciplinary research, exploring the opportunities and challenges facing civil society in today's India and Bangladesh. It informs contemporary understanding of citizenship, gender rights and social identities and is published at a time of increased global uncertainties related to changing civic space, political tensions, a downturn in the world economy and the rise of populism. India and Bangladesh are key contexts, not the least because of rapid (and uneven) economic and social development but their contrasting experiences of democracy and discrimination and inequality faced by dierent groups and communities. This new multidisciplinary title presents new research findings that also contribute to theory-building on the form, functioning and democratic role of civil society in the 21st century.

"The History of Human Society" is a historic book on human civilization tracing back to the beginning of civilization. The book tells what we know of man, how he first lived, how he worked with other men, what kinds of houses he built, what tools he made, and how he formed a government under which to live. So we learn of the activities of men in the past and what they have passed on to us. In this way we may become acquainted with the different stages in the process which we call civilization.

INDIAN SOCIETY 1. Introducing Indian Society : Colonialism, Nationalism, Class and Community 2. Demographic Structure 3. Rural-Urban Linkages and Divisions 4. Family and Kinship 5. Caste System 6. Tribal Society 7. The Market as a Social Institution 8. Caste Prejudice, Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes 9. Marginalization of Tribal Communities 10. The Struggle for Women’s Equality 11. The Protection of Religious Minorities 12. Caring for the Differently Abled 13. Challenges of Cultural Diversities : Communalism, Regionalism, Casteism and Patriarchy 14. Role of the State in a Pluralistic and Unequal Society 15. What Should be Our Sharing ? 16. Project Work SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA 1. Processes of Structural Change in India : Colonialism, Industrialization and Urbanization 2. Processes of Cultural Change in India : Modernization, Westernization, Sanskritization and Secularization 3. Social Reform Movements and Laws 4. The Constitution : As an Instrument of Social Change 5. Political Parties, Pressure Groups and Democratic Politics 6. Panchayati Raj and Challenges of Social Transformation 7. Land Reforms, Green Revolution and Agrarian Society 8. From Planned Industrialization to Liberalization 9. Changes in Class-Structure 10. Mass Media and Social Changes 11. Globalization and Social Change 12. Social Movements : Class Based Workers and Peasant Movements 13. Caste based Movements : Dalit and Backward Class Movements (Trends in Upper Caste Responses) 14. Women’s Movement in Independent India 15. Tribal Movements 16. Environmental Movements Board Examination Papers (With OMR Sheet)