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Book Details
Abstract
“An Introduction to Changing India” provides a comprehensive view of the rapid changes occurring in India, particularly in the fields of culture, politics, economics and technology, population, environmental issues and gender. Having carried out anthropological research on kinship, gender issues, politics, class and caste, population issues and the appropriation of information technology in India since the 1990s, the authors draw from their own fieldwork and extensive reading of research reports in order to provide a comprehensive picture of Indian life.
“An Introduction to Changing India: Culture, Politics and Development” provides a comprehensive view of today’s rapidly changing India in a way that is both reader-friendly and scholarly, without requiring prior knowledge on the subject from its readers. It investigates Indian culture, politics, economics and technology, as well as population and environmental issues. Gender issues are also discussed throughout the book. The authors provide a balanced picture of the emerging India’s many triumphs, as well as its lingering problems and the ongoing battle for more inclusive growth. By drawing on anthropological fieldwork in rural and urban India, the authors give ordinary Indians a voice by exploring their aspirations for change, while also describing macro-level changes.
The study draws from extensive reading of research reports and fieldwork by the authors, who have carried out anthropological research on kinship, gender issues, politics, class and caste, population issues and the appropriation of information technology in India since the 1990s.
“This is a comprehensive, highly readable overview of contemporary India. The non-ethnocentric, postcolonial and feminist perspectives on caste, gender and population are refreshing, relevant and timely. The authors are obviously deeply familiar with the lives and lived realities of Indians across regions and cultures.” —Dr Bipasha Baruah, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair of Global Women’s Issues, Western University, Canada
Sirpa Tenhunen is a social anthropologist at the University of Helsinki, where her current research examines the appropriation of mobile technology in West Bengal, India. Her past research projects have dealt with gender, kinship, politics and ritual both in rural and urban India.
Minna Säävälä is a social anthropologist at the Population Research Institute in Helsinki, where she specializes in demographic anthropology and reproductive health issues. She has carried out fieldwork in Andhra Pradesh in southern India in both rural and urban settings. She is currently engaged in studying migration and intercultural interaction in the European context.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half Title | i | ||
| Title | iii | ||
| Copyright | iv | ||
| CONTENTS | v | ||
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | vii | ||
| Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION | 1 | ||
| Contents | 5 | ||
| Chapter 2 YOUNG NATION, OLD CIVILIZATION | 9 | ||
| 2.1 The Long History of Indian Globalization | 9 | ||
| 2.2 The Colonial Burden | 11 | ||
| 2.3 Nationalistic Movement | 13 | ||
| 2.4 Conclusion | 14 | ||
| Chapter 3 UNITY IN DIVERSITY | 15 | ||
| 3.1 Regional Differences | 15 | ||
| 3.1.1 The wealthiest | 18 | ||
| 3.1.2 Middle-income states | 19 | ||
| 3.1.3 The poorest states | 19 | ||
| 3.2 Growth Patterns | 20 | ||
| 3.3 Social Development | 21 | ||
| 3.4 Rural–Urban Divide | 22 | ||
| 3.5 Spectrum of Languages | 23 | ||
| 3.6 Religious Strains | 24 | ||
| 3.7 Unifying Forces | 29 | ||
| 3.8 Conclusion | 31 | ||
| Chapter 4 CASTE AND KINSHIP: THE KEYS OF INTERACTION | 33 | ||
| 4.1 Caste Logic | 33 | ||
| 4.2 Caste in a Village | 35 | ||
| 4.3 Changing Caste | 40 | ||
| 4.4 The Politicization of Caste | 41 | ||
| 4.5 Caste, Family and Marriage | 44 | ||
| 4.6 The Dowry Problem | 46 | ||
| 4.7 The Future of the Dowry | 47 | ||
| 4.8 Changes in Marriage Practices | 47 | ||
| 4.9 Family, Caste and Interaction | 50 | ||
| 4.10 Conclusion | 51 | ||
| Chapter 5 POLITICAL TRANSITIONS | 53 | ||
| 5.1 The Economic Reforms | 54 | ||
| 5.2 Electoral Shifts | 56 | ||
| 5.3 Foreign Policy | 58 | ||
| 5.3.1 From non-alignment to power politics | 58 | ||
| 5.3.2 The Kashmir crisis and the Cold War | 59 | ||
| 5.3.3 Asian integration and lingering conflicts | 60 | ||
| 5.3.4 Look West | 62 | ||
| 5.4 Grassroots Politics | 64 | ||
| 5.5 Public Deficit | 66 | ||
| 5.6 The Burden of Corruption | 67 | ||
| 5.7 Conclusion | 69 | ||
| Chapter 6 POLITICAL ALTERNATIVES | 71 | ||
| 6.1 The Influence of the Left | 71 | ||
| 6.1.1 The Left and US relations | 72 | ||
| 6.1.2 Impasse of the Left in West Bengal | 73 | ||
| 6.2 Hindu Fundamentalism | 76 | ||
| 6.3 Maoist Rebellion in the Countryside | 80 | ||
| 6.4 Women’s Activism | 82 | ||
| 6.5 Conclusion | 87 | ||
| Chapter 7 POPULATION GIANT | 89 | ||
| 7.1 Indian Population Will Increase for Decades | 90 | ||
| 7.2 The Potential Advantage and Burden of Population Growth | 94 | ||
| 7.3 No Single Explanation behind High or Declining Total Fertility | 96 | ||
| 7.4 National Population Policy and Reproductive Health Services | 102 | ||
| 7.5 From Population Control towards Family Welfare | 106 | ||
| 7.6 Discrimination against the Girl Child | 108 | ||
| 7.7 Conclusion | 113 | ||
| Chapter 8 BETWEEN POVERTY AND AFFLUENCE | 117 | ||
| 8.1 Poverty—Absolute and Relative | 118 | ||
| 8.2 Rural Origins of Poverty | 121 | ||
| 8.3 Coping with Poverty | 122 | ||
| 8.4 Gendered Nature of Poverty | 125 | ||
| 8.5 Has the Liberalization of the Economy Alleviated or Worsened Poverty? | 126 | ||
| 8.6 The Allure of Education | 129 | ||
| 8.7 The Revolutionary Midday-Meal Program | 132 | ||
| 8.8 Middle-class Escape from Poverty | 134 | ||
| 8.9 The Middle Classes and the Problem of Poverty | 136 | ||
| 8.10 Conclusion | 139 | ||
| Chapter 9 ECONOMY, LABOR AND PRODUCTION | 141 | ||
| 9.1 Agriculture: Growth and Crisis | 142 | ||
| 9.2 Industrial Growth | 148 | ||
| 9.2.1 Conflicts over land acquisitions | 149 | ||
| 9.2.2 Upgrading the infrastructure | 150 | ||
| 9.2.3 Growth during the global recession | 151 | ||
| 9.3 Communication Superpower | 151 | ||
| 9.4 The Information Industries | 153 | ||
| 9.5 Conclusion | 156 | ||
| Chapter 10 NEW TECHNOLOGY: A SHORTCUT TO DEVELOPMENT? | 157 | ||
| 10.1 Limited Benefits of Computers | 158 | ||
| 10.2 Internet Users are a Minority | 159 | ||
| 10.3 The Phenomenal Growth of the Mobile Market | 160 | ||
| 10.4 Mobile Technology in the Village | 160 | ||
| 10.4.1 The kinship network | 163 | ||
| 10.4.2 Mobile phones and politics | 164 | ||
| 10.4.3 Gender of calling | 166 | ||
| 10.5 The Potential of Developmental Applications of Mobile Technology | 167 | ||
| 10.6 Conclusion | 168 | ||
| Chapter 11 GROWTH BURDENS THE ENVIRONMENT | 171 | ||
| 11.1 Efforts to Clean Up the Air | 173 | ||
| 11.2 Towards Renewable Energy | 174 | ||
| 11.3 Shortage of Clean Water | 175 | ||
| 11.4 Controversial Dams | 178 | ||
| 11.5 Climate Change as a Threat to Agriculture | 180 | ||
| 11.6 Conclusion | 181 | ||
| Chapter 12 CONCLUSION | 183 | ||
| 12.1 Growth Continues | 183 | ||
| 12.2 Incremental Transfer of Power | 184 | ||
| 12.3 Local Values and Meanings Prevail | 185 | ||
| 12.4 Regional Patterns of Population Growth | 186 | ||
| 12.5 Environmental Challenges | 187 | ||
| REFERENCES | 189 | ||
| INDEX | 203 |