Summary Of The Book Contemporary India: Economy, Society, Politics, published in 1999, takes an in-depth look into the different types of issues that this country faces. It covers various aspects of contemporary India, and focuses on both nation-state, as well as the civil society.
This book is divided into three sections, namely Economy, Society, and Politics. It contains various conceptual and empirical themes. The authors have used democracy as a common thread to bind different topics to each other. The first part, Economy, starts off with the basic features of the Indian economy during the time of Independence. Some other topics are food insecurity, economic policies, human development, regional disparities, and IT and social change. The next portion is titled Society, and its explains the sudden emergence of the Indian middle class. It also speaks of changes in social structures, the challenges and opportunities of social movements, catalysts of social change, and social mobility. The last section, Politics, has eleven chapters. Readers can learn about the parliamentary system, the Panchayati Raj, the nature of coalition politics, the changing nature of public administration, and why secularism is important to this country. Some other chapters are The Nature and Functioning of Democracy, India in the Global Strategic Environment, and Dimensions of Indian Federalism.
The contributors of this book are research scholars and teachers of the University of Delhi. The content of each chapter is well-researched, and has been written in a conversational style to make it easy for readers to understand these diverse topics. Contemporary India: Economy, Society, Politics is for the general reading public, undergraduate and postgraduate students, professionals, and journalists. It also contains questions, a glossary, and a reading lists for students who are using this book to study for their Social Science examinations.
About The Authors Neera Chandhoke is an Indian author. She is a Professor of Political Science, and the Director of the Developing Countries Research Centre, both at the University of Delhi.
Chandhoke has authored Beyond Secularism: The Rights of Religious Minorities, State and Civil Society: Explorations in Political Theory, and The Conceits of Civil Society. She has edited Understanding the Post-Colonial World, Mapping Histories, and Grass-root Politics and Social Transformation.
The author completed her M.A in 1968, and her Ph.D. in 1984, both from Delhi University. Her research interests lies in comparative politics, and political theory. Chandhoke is the recipient of the 2010 National Swami Pranavananda Saraswati Award, and Lady Shriram College’s 2008 Eminent Alumna Award.
Praveen Priyadarshi is a Ph.D. scholar, and a research associate at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Priyadarshi is researching about India’s urban reform processes. His articles have been published in the Social Science Research Journal, and Economic and Political Weekly.
Table of Contents Part I: Economy 1.Basic Features of the Indian Economy in 1947 Samir Kumar Singh 2.The Evolution of Development Strategy Since Independence Ambuja Kumar Tripathy 3.Some Important Constituents of Economic Policy Samir Kumar Singh 4.Regional Disparities, Poverty and Food Insecurity Satyajit Puhan 5.Human Development: Health and Education Neera Chandhoke 6.Science and Technology Policy: IT and Social Change Neha Khanna
Part II: Society 7.The Changing Social Structure in Contemporary India N. R. Levin 8.The Explosion of the ‘Middle Class’ Sujit Mahapatra 9.Catalysts of Social Change: Adult Franchise and Education Ravi Nandan Singh 10.Social Movements and the Mass Media Bindu Menon 11.Social Mobility and Changes in Occupational Structure Wasudha Bhatt 12.Social Movements: Challenges and Opportunities Silky Tyagi
Part III: Politics 13.The Nature and Functioning of Democracy Swaha Das and Hari Nair 14.The Parliamentary System: An Evaluation Kumar Rahul 15.Democracy: Social and Economic Dimensions Praveen Priyadarshi 16.The Changing Nature of the Party System Pushpa Kumari 17.The Nature of Coalition Politics Sanjeev Kumar 18.Why Is Secularism Important for India? Neera Chandhoke 19.Contemporary Debates on Nationalism Mohinder Singh 20.Dimensions of Indian Federalism Rajesh Kumar 21.Democratic Decentralization and Panchayati Raj Moitree Bhattacharya (Mukhopadhyay) 22.The Changing Nature of Public Administration Suranjita Ray 23.India in the Global Strategic Environment Satyajit Mohanty
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