Arun Kumar Ghosh

Antinomies of Society

The present volume is a collection of twelve essays written by Prof. Andre Beteille, whose eminence needsno introduction. The first three chapters were published in the late seventies and early eighties and the remaining nine chapters were published in the decade of the nineties. The major focus of these essays is on “antinomies of society”. By “antinomies”, he meant, “the contradictions, oppositions and tensions inherent in the nonns and values through whch society regulate or seek to regulate themselves and continue their existence”. When a society passes through the phases of modernity, the established laws of modem society often tend to conflict with traditional customs. As he says, “the laws have changed very radically in India to establish equality and individual freedom as fundamental rights, but the bias of custom to be in opposite direction”. After spending the first two decades of his career in objective analysis of various dimensions of stratification and social inequality, and changing pattern of their associations, Beteille shifted his attention to the normative structure of society, though he says, his interest in social morphology has not declined. The contradictions between existential and normative order is the characteristic feature of all societies. While the modem society cherishes egalitarian goal, the actual society is characterised by inequality and disparities of all kinds.

Changing livelihood pattern of slum dwellers in Delhi: From a squatter settlement to a resettlement colony:

The movement of inhabitants from a squatter settlement to a resettlement colony can be perceived as a rise in the status of slum dwellers. The slum dwellers of the resettlement colonies now have better housing with security of tenancy. Also, they earn more than before, both in relative and absolute terms. But relatively better income and better housing have failed to bring about substantial change in living standards. The author examines the issues of a resettlement colony of Delhi in the local and global context. While the continuous pressure of population on infrastructures has deteriorated the physical and environmental conditions of the resettlement colony, the casualisation of employment in the informal sector has led to marginalisation of the poor residing in the resettlement colony.

Social dimensions of economic development: An overview

It is now recognised that the basic objective of economic development is the expansion of human capabilities. There are important non-economic factors such as education, health and nutrition which can enhance human capabilities and consequently promote economic growth. If a large section of population particularly weaker sections is deprived of the capabilities because of illiteracy, ill health and malnourishment, thus the opportunities offered by the “well functioning market” cannot be utilised by the people. Therefore, it is necessary to provide education and health facilities to these sections of society to make them capable of utilising the opportunities generated through expansion of market due to structural reforms.

Female literacy and social development

The achievements of various States in the spheres of female literacy and other social development facets show that social development indicators like life expectancy and infant mortality are closely linked to the level of female literacy-the higher the female literacy rate, the lower is the infant mortality rate and the higher the life expectancy; conversely, the lower the female literacy rate, the higher is the infant mortality rate and the lower the life expectancy. The data show also that States which had achieved a high level of social development had a lesser gender disparity in the spheres of education and health, while conversely, States which had a low social development profile had greater gender disparity. Kerala, with a moderate income level, has done remarkably well in the area of social development in contrast to Punjab, which, in spite of being an economically better off State, has a far from satisfactory showing in the social sectors.

A Diachronic Study of the Political Economy of Ranikhera Village in Delhi

This article highlights the changes that have taken place in the political economy of Ranikhera village between 1953 and 2008. Urbanisation is the key factor in transforming the village life. Agriculture has lost its traditional importance as a major source of livelihood. The social relations of production between the landowning Jajmans and landless servicing castes have been affected by opening up of new employment opportunities in the metropolitan city of Delhi. Many Dalits have ‘emancipated’ themselves from their earlier dependence on their Jajmans. The growth of unauthorised colonies adjacent to the village has led to the emergence of new economic and political relations between the migrant population and the villagers. Recent acquisition of agriculture land by the Delhi government has further affected the village life.

Indigenous Education at Crossroads: James Baycree and the Tribal People of Orissa;

Education is a process of learning through formal and informal systems whereby the knowledge is passed on from generation to generation so that it can fulfil the material and cultural needs of people. The cultural system of the indigenous/ tribal people based on traditional knowledge has helped to evolve a system of sustainable management of natural and cultural resources for thousands of years. The imposition of the Western model of civilisation on them during the colonial period threatened their system. But the indigenous people had never been subjected to such assaults as they are subjected in recent years under the neo-colonial period brought about by globalisation and liberalisation of trades. The rich mineral belts of tribal areas are forcefully occupied by the multinational companies leading to large-scale displacement of the tribal people. The tribal people have not only been deprived of their natural resources but also of their cultural resources.

Cooperative movement and rural development in India

On attainment of independence, the country decided to build its economics base in a planned manner. The cooperative sector was given due importance as a third sector which could act as a balancing factor by eliminating the drawbacks of the public and private sectors. Except for a few successful cooperatives, the cooperative movement in India has failed to bring about a transformation of the rural economy. Some theoretical issues on cooperative development as an alternative model of development are discussed. The future prospects of cooperatives in India have also been discussed in the context of liberalisation and globalisation.

Tribal Communities and Social Change

This is the fifth edition to the series on the Themes in Indian Sociology. The editor of this volume selected 12 papers on tribes published in the Sociofogical Buftetin from 1952 to 2001. These papers provide an insight into the social structure of the tribes dealing with the issues of primitive law, criminality, process of changes in education, family and religion. Some papers discuss the conceptual issue of tribes and their integration with the so-called mainstream society.

Sociology of poverty: Some conceptual issues

The gradual shift from material deprivation to social deprivation has broadened the concept of poverty. This provides scope for further refining the concept, to which sociologists can contribute substantially. While British and American sociologists are working on poverty as a core issue, Indian sociologists have left poverty studies to the exclusive domain of economists and statisticians.

Globalization and its discontents

The success stories of different pro-liberalisation agreements of GATT, and different trade blocks like NAFTA, European Single Market etc. have led to globalisation of the economies of many countries. Development in information technology and communication networks has accelerated the process. The process of globalisation gained further momentum with the collapse of the Soviet Economy. The principles of socialism came under the shadow of doubt. Those who advocated liberalisation and globalisation felt that there will be mis-utilisation of power if the State controls its economy. They felt it was necessary to liberalise the economy from State control and open the doors of free trade in the interests of economic growth and development. There was a strong belief, particularly among the economists of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, that globalisation is a prescriptive panacea for all our economic problems.