'Measure for Measure' : Lynching Deaths in West Bengal: A Sociological Study

Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. Background of the study. 2. Theoretical background. 3. Social history of West Bengal. 4. Caste system in West Bengal. 5. Searching the reasons of assertive legacy. 6. Findings of the study. 7. Conclusion. Appendices: 1. Crime and lynching in different districts of West Bengal (1996-2001). 2. Area profiles (of the study area). 3. Respondents. 4. Lynching cases in West Bengal. 5. Crime statistics of different states of India. 6. Districtwise data on lynching deaths in West Bengal (2001-2005). Bibliography. Index.

"A discernible voice in sociology says, modernisation is often a bane than a boon in many developing societies around the world. In an age of imperialist globalization, such an argument is gaining more currency. The famous argument development of underdevelopment upheld quite some time ago is one of the landmark views in this context. Modernisation has many facets and more importantly, some of these are often at loggerheads. An important element of modernisation is the spread of basic education. Spread of basic education initiates a desire to have better livelihood and higher income opportunity-which in turn necessitates more availability of higher income potential. In the absence of such opportunity, an inevitable outcome is the growing restlessness and disharmonic trends, a vital precondition for incidents of lynching deaths in West Bengal. Similarly, modernisation has made men to have interface with western media which aroused a strong impetus in favour of consumerism. But owing to lack of adequate income, such desire often remains unfulfilled, making men to become frustrated. Again, a vital component for the outbreak of lynching deaths in West Bengal. The book analyses such impact of modernisation and explicitly details out why lynching deaths are occurring unabated from a sociological perspective." (jacket)