includes notes, references and index

This is a comprehensive sociological study of the processes and problems of modernization in contemporary India. It refers to the vast range of changes that are taking place today in the forms and functions of the Indian ‘social structure’ and ‘traditions’. Some questions examined with the help of rich secondary data are: How are the major traditions of Hinduism and Islam responding to the demands of modernization? How are the structures, political, economic and occupational, or social categories such as the elite, professional groups, working classes, etc., undergoing adaptive changes towards modernization? How have the caste, family and village systems responded to the forces of modernization? What could be the future critical issues of modernization in India? This book studies all these topics with a critical review of concepts and theories of social change. The theoretical analysis not only places the existing concepts into their logical and meaningful context, but also offers an alternative conceptual scheme for the study of social change in India.

English