The Tribal World In Transition

India has witnessed a sea change in its social structure and political culture since Independence. Despite the developmental model that the country opted for, the hangover of the Raj continued to encourage fissiparous tendencies dividing the Indian populace on the basis of religion, ethnicity and caste hierarchy. This book argues for the need to develop a fresh approach to dismantling the stereotypes that have boxed the study of India’s tribal communities. It underlines the significance of region-specific strategies in place of an overarching umbrella scheme for all Indian tribes. The author studies tribes in the context of changing political and social identity, gender, extremism, caste dimensions, development issues, and offers a new perspective on tribes to accommodate the diversity and transformations within culture over time and through globalization. Lucid, accessible and rooted in contemporary realities, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of sociology and social anthropology, tribal studies, subaltern and third world studies, and politics.

India has witnessed a sea change in its social structure and political culture since Independence. Despite the developmental model that the country opted for, the hangover of the Raj continued to encourage fissiparous tendencies dividing the Indian populace on the basis of religion, ethnicity and caste hierarchy. This book argues for the need to develop a fresh approach to dismantling the stereotypes that have boxed the study of India’s tribal communities. It underlines the significance of region-specific strategies in place of an overarching umbrella scheme for all Indian tribes. The author studies tribes in the context of changing political and social identity, gender, extremism, caste dimensions, development issues, and offers a new perspective on tribes to accommodate the diversity and transformations within culture over time and through globalization. Lucid, accessible and rooted in contemporary realities, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of sociology and social anthropology, tribal studies, subaltern and third world studies, and politics.

This introduction to cultural anthropology text uses a global approach to examine basic anthropological concepts within a regional context, providing an analysis of contemporary issues throughout. This text utilizes a political ecology perspective, which combines cultural ecology, with its emphasis on adaptation, and political economy, which focuses on the links between productive activity, trade, and distribution of power. This text presents anthropology as a discipline that is indispensable in understanding the dynamics of contemporary intercultural interactions and ethnic conflict. The global approach directs attention both to Western and non-Western traditional and complex societies, where archeological, historical and contemporary data is used to show how cultures adapt and interact over time and within our contemporary global community. The book explores the effects of colonialism, trade and capitalism on the local indigenous cultures of each region, but also shows how contemporary indigenous and minority groups are taking action, in both constructive and destructive ways.While all the traditional anthropological topics are covered, this book also provides an overview of key events in the prehistory and history of Western civilization including a chapter on the rise of capitalism and a chapter on American culture. It also explores, in the relevant regional chapters, the contemporary transitions from economies based on central planning and state ownership of industries to more capitalistic economies, the struggles to institute democratic reforms and the efforts to establish national identities and boundaries in multi-ethnic regions formerly united by repressive political systems.

Accessible, fascinating, and thought-provoking, this is the groundbreaking story of the global search for moral truths In this remarkable book, Kenan Malik explores the history of moral thought as it has developed over three millennia, from Homer’s Greece to Mao’s China, from ancient India to modern America. It tells the stories of the great philosophers, and breathes life into their ideas, while also challenging many of our most cherished moral beliefs. Engaging and provocative, The Quest for a Moral Compass confronts some of humanity’s deepest questions. Where do values come from? Is God necessary for moral guidance? Are there absolute moral truths? It also brings morality down to earth, showing how, throughout history, social needs and political desires have shaped moral thinking. It is a history of the world told through the history of moral thought, and a history of moral thought that casts new light on global history.

Social theory monograph on the sociology of developing countries - discusses the gap in standard of living and income distribution between rich and poor countries, including such topics as population growth, natural resources, economic conditions, colonialism, economic development, the family, urbanization, education, psychological aspects, cultural factors, religion, industrialization, politics, etc. References and statistical tables.