Among the issues being extensively debated throughout the world today are the relevance of the nation-state, the role of civil society in good governance, and the relationship between social movements and social policy. Professor Oommen analyses these issues and simultaneously contests several of the prevailing conceptualisations, both Indian and western, while invoking South Asian/Indian empirical reality to interrogate, modify and reformulate western theory. Following an over-arching introduction, the three interrelated themes-nation, civil society and social movements-are discussed in separate sections, each containing four chapters. Part I examines contentious notions of nation and nationality in twentieth-century South Asia. The third and fourth chapters focus on India with special reference to religion and language and highlight Indian exceptionalism and its implications. The second part looks at the relationship between civil society, state and market, emphasising the process of autonomisation of the three in India and how its trajectory differs from that of the west; discusses the positive and negative aspects of civil society; delineates the pre-requisites in civil society for good governance; and views civil society from the perspective of the Dalits. The third part studies social movements and their relationship with social policy. The author presents a comparative analysis of social movements with special reference to France, India and Poland; locates some of the specificities of social movements in the Third World; and links the notions of multiple modernity and new social movements. Thought-provoking and comprehensive, this volume will appeal to a vast readership, ranging from students of sociology, political science, history, social anthropology and cultural studies to professionals in civil society organisations, policy makers, bureaucrats and politicians.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR T.K. Oommen
Prof. T.K. Oommen is an eminent Social Scientist and so far the only scholar from Asia and Africa to have been elected to the position of President (1990-94), International Sociological Association (ISA), a fifty-year old UNESCO-sponsored world body of Sociologists. He was the Secretary-General of the XI World Congress of Sociology, the quadrennial Congress of the ISA, held in New Delhi in 1986. Pro. Oommen was also the President of the Indian Sociological Society during 1998-1999. Prof. Oommen authored/edited 18 books and over 100 research papers in top professional journals, both Indian and international. His recent books include: Citizenship, Nationality and Ethnicity, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1997; Equality, Identity and Pluralism, Oxford University Press, 2002; and Nation, Civil Society and Social Movements, Sage Publication, 2004. He has been given three prestigious awards-the V.K.R.V. Rao prize in Sociology (1981); the G.S. Ghurye award in Sociology and Social Anthropology (1985) and the Swami Pranavananda Award for Sociology (1997) in recognition of his professional contributions. An internationally reputed scholar, Prof. Oommen was invited to be a visiting Professor/Fellow at: Department of Sociology, University of California Berkeley (U.S.A.), Fall 1990; Maison des Sciences de L'homme, Paris (France), June-July 1992; Wissenshaftszentrum Berlin, May-July 1993 and June 1994; Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, December 1993; institute of Advanced Studies, Bdapest, Hungary, October 1994-July 1995; Institute of Advanced Studies, Uppsala, Sweden, January-June 1998. Professor Oommen started his academic career in 1964 as a faculty member of Delhi University, joined Jawaharlal Nehru University as Associate Professor in 1971. He became a full Professor in 1976 and retired from JNU in October 2002. At present Professor Oommen is Chair, Non-traditional Security, Delhi Policy group; Chair, Schumacher Centre, Delhi; Chair, Programme Advisory Group, Gujarat Harmony Project, CARE India, New Delhi and President, Forum for India and European Union.
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