Indian Sociological Thought

Indian society, having a chequered history of monarchy, feudalism, colonialism and democracy, has passed through a long evolutionary process. It is being interpreted in a variety of ways in different ideologies. The basic problem for social scientists is to find out the meaning, truth and reality of Indian society. August Comte was the first sociologist to take up the task of defining society. Since then, gallons of ink have been put on the paper to define and redefine the Indian society. Those who worked on this issue are mostly sociologists. The present work analyses the society in both scientific and humane perspectives. It elicits the views of some of the leading Indian sociologists like D.D. Kosambi, Romila Thapar, Radhakamal Mukerjee, G.S. Ghurye, M.N. Srinivas, S.C. Dube, D.P. Mukerji, A.R. Desai, Ramkrishna Mukherjee, Yogendra Singh, N.K. Bose, Surajit Sinha, B.R. Ambedkar and Ranajit Guha, and a few western sociologists including Louis Dumont, McKim Marriott and David Hardiman who have done research in India and developed the perspectives on Indian society. The book includes historical, Indological/textual, structural-functional, Marxist, cultural and civilizational perspectives besides development of sociology in India and a discourse analysis. The book will prove useful for students, teachers and researchers alike.