Understanding Indian Society : Past and Present : Essays for A.M. Shah
Contents: Acknowledgements. Introduction. I. Gender issues: 1. Assertive voices: the other side of Burqa/Mohini Anjum. 2. Heart beating with fear and eyes filled with rosy dreams: experiences of poor Muslim women in rural Bangladesh/Tulsi Patel. 3. Towards a conceptual understanding of female infanticide in modern India/L.S. Vishwanath. II. Sociology of religion: belief, perceptions and practices: 4. Popular perceptions of the role of Catholic priests/Alphonsus D'Souza. 5. Religious cover for political power: narratives from people and the vernacular press on the 2002 riots in Gujarat/Lancy Lobo and Biswaroop Das. 6. This worldly Hinduism: a case study/Ragini P. Shah. III. Development and modernisation: 7. Grandmothers hold the key to social change/T. Scarlett Epstein. 8. Cooperatives and industrialisation in rural areas: the Indian experience/B.S. Baviskar and Donald W. Attwood. 9. Patidars as metaphor of Indian diaspora/Pravin J. Patel and Mario Rutten. 10. The socio-cultural context of informed consent in medical practice/Aneeta A. Minocha. IV. Disciplinary concerns: 11. Empirical meaning and imputed meaning in the study of kinship/Andre Beteille. 12. Gendering sociological practice: a case study of teaching in the university/Rajni Palriwala. 13. Why are children's voices largely unheard in household ethnographies?/Shanti George. Epilogue: A.M. Shah--man and his work/N.R. Sheth. Glossary. Publications of A.M. Shah. Index.
"Understanding Indian Society brings together a collection of writings by eminent scholars across disciplines that capture the dynamic character of Indian society. The fifteen essays focus on four vital areas--gender relations, religion, developmental concerns and social change, and the future of the discipline of sociology.
The volume explores a wide range of issues as varied as Muslim women's struggle for independence in a patriarchal society, colonial linkages of female foeticide, religious and communal conflicts, dilemmas of practising medical ethics, participation of the Patidar diaspora in the prosperity of the Gujarati community, among others. Taken together, the collection demonstrates the analytical richness of current scholarship and gives fresh insights into the society of India. Commemorating Professor A.M. Shah's work in the contemporary context, the contributors highlight the major role he played in the growth of sociology as a discipline.
The book will be of interest to specialists in gender studies, sociology of family and religion, medical sociology and development studies. It will also appeal to readers interested in the complex structure and practices of Indian society." (jacket)
