Tag Archives: Sociology

In the second essay, Ramnarayan S Rawat demonstrates the significance of the 16th century Dalit saint-poet Ravidas, whose legacy inspired the Chamar led Sant-Mat community of north India in the 1920s to seek paths to dignity. Through the mediation of the spiritual leader Swami Achutanand

…I have attempted, foolhardily, to document and narrativize the pathologies of the hyper-visible yet perennial blind spot that is the world of elite ‘savarnas’, who critique everyone and everything but never themselves. No matter what method I use, this venture is doomed to fail in many savarna eyes. They will inevitably find clever and creative ways to dismantle its mediocrity in ways that I cannot imagine.

The modern subject is not just isolated, but curated; nudged toward desire and performance, rather than presence or reflection. The result is a public that appears connected and expressive, but is internally alienated, disoriented, and incapable of deep solidarity. This is the quiet violence of neoliberal modernity: the substitution of relationality with curated experience,

In particular, this review remains faultily quiet about the fascinating analyses presented in the book on the prolonged (nineteenth- and twentieth-century) history of child marriage in India and its differential regional framings within the national universe; the ebb and flow of social reform in colonial and post-Independence India swirling around the woes of child brides and child widows, and the intermittent engagement of feminist research and action with the practice of child marriage.

Through her field study and narratives in bhajan ashrams and temples in Nabadwip, the ‘city of widows’ (p. 29), Nilanjana Goswami explores the position of women amidst the exclusionary nature of religious practices as also the commingling of religion and politics, demonstrated through the presence of framed photos of local ministers and MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) in the bhajan ashrams.

Pathak admits that this book is an attempt to engage readers in a discussion about methodology by not reducing it to mere techniques, methods, tools and deliberations on the types of research. The aim is to address methodology for what it is—a discursive realm entailing myriad ways of seeing. In this, he makes room for the possibility of skewed vision, partial understanding, inclusion and exclusion, and pride and prejudices as he argues that this discursive realm should not rest on proving the already proven.

The section on research methodology and methods is particularly engaging and insightful. Saikia has elaborately articulated how she accessed the field, which is far removed from her world. To inform herself about the Tibetans in exile before conducting her research, she referred to books, research articles, documentaries, and newspaper articles. She also identified and joined a week-long programme in Dharamshala (her field) to gain access to the community. This programme was run by a Tibetan NGO called Students for a Free Tibet (SFT).

Pranav Joshipura and Swati Vyas (Kapadia) portray the pain of Indo-Fijian communities in their essays, ‘Issue of Land and Indo-Fijian Reality’ and ‘The Displaced Migrants of Fiji’. Here, the ghosts of colonial exploitation are palpable. In these essays, land is more than soil—it is life, home, and memory, torn away under the weight of foreign rule. Their work offers a haunting reminder that colonization’s scars do not fade with time, binding generations to loss and dislocation.

Nationalism, a recurring motif in the novel, is presented as both a unifying ideology and a vehicle for violence and marginalization. Through the lived experiences of his characters, Islam interrogates how nationalist discourses justify systemic exclusion, displacement, and cultural erasure. It also reflects how even such a unifying force could not cut across social boundaries like caste.

In the final chapter, Roy talks about Kashmir. Here, he notes the plight of Kashmiris, who live on the edge of a cultural and political chasm that shapes their social interaction with the rest of Indian society. Also, in commenting on the complex lives of (militant) women in Kashmir, Roy tells us about their painful encounters with violent, patriarchal bands of self-righteous men.

Another fascinating aspect Gautam explores is the rise of soft spirituality among Millennials, reflecting their quest for personal meaning in an increasingly individualistic society. This spirituality, focused on personal choice and the freedom to select one’s own spiritual guide or guru, is becoming more prevalent.

For the last decade or so, 21st century India has been a confusing place. We are bombarded with triumphant messages of India’s rise as an economic superpower while simultaneously feeling the crunch of rising costs and diminishing earning capacities.

At first glance, it appears that the Punjab-Emilia Romagna migration corridor is a win-win proposition for the Italian dairy owners in dire need for workers in a rapidly aging population and the relatively low-skilled Punjabi emigrants to meet their economic and aspirational goals since the once-prosperous agricultural sector of Punjab has stagnated.

The anthology Concealing Caste: Passing and Personhood in Dalit Literature with an extensive introduction by K Satyanarayana and Joel Lee is a treasure-trove of Dalit literature.

India is the land of paradoxes. As the British economist Joan Robinson famously quipped, ‘Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true.’ This statement aptly captures the politics around the cow in India.

Harsh Mander, the author of this book, would be known to most readers of the The Book Review. He is a gadfly some might say, others might say the conscience of a nation that was India.

literary activism of women depended upon the influence of male intellectuals, it was only in the 1980s that Dalit women began writing to ‘externalize their pain, show their plight, demand their rights, spread social awareness and mobilize themselves for affirmative articulation’

Disability is born out of interactions of these impairments of mind and body with the external settings comprising the physical features present in the environment and the human components coupled with attitudes and perspectives.

Indian villages represent a vast terrain, which is full of diversity in its natural settings, social structure, cultural life, economic conditions, and many other aspects of life.

Birsa Munda is a revolutionary figure who has inspired many generations to fight against the injustice of both colonial rulers and the postcolonial exploitative development model. Though largely overlooked and portrayed marginally as a ‘nationalist’, who fought against British rule in present-day Jharkhand in the last decade of the nineteenth century,