CHANGING VILLAGE INDIA

Village, as an idea, as organising principle and the basis of life, has remained sturdy in the popular conception as also in the works of many academicians. In fact, village studies are important as they have an inherent capacity to bring out pluriverse in our societies as against the universal principles that have come to dominate the social sciences, especially where rural is concerned.
The 26 research papers, thematically arranged into five sections, are in fact a compendium of re-study/study of villages covering the role of development administration, political events, constitutional amendments, empowerment of marginalised groups, and socio-psychological probing of villages. The book promises to be of immense value for social scientists, regional planners, policy makers and administrators.

Brij Raj Chauhan, one of the great pioneers of village studies in India, has had his higher education at Lucknow University (India) and Berkeley, California (USA). He has held various important positions such as the founder Professor in the Department of Sociology at Meerut University, Fellow at G.B. Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad and the President of Indian Sociological Society. Author of several books and articles, he has also directed research projects and organised seminars and conferences.

A student of Professor Brij Raj Chauhan, Satyanarayana Atluri is Professor of Sociology, University of Allahabad, Allahabad. He has been publishing on important issues like agrarian development, peasant movements, farmers’ suicides, intergenerational relations and child labour, and has also brought out a book.