Social Movements, Old and New

About this book

"Contemporary Indian society is ridden with issues of conflict and the competing struggles of classes and communities. These conflicts are occurring in a society which, on the one hand, is lagging behind on the path of modernity and development but, on the other, has paradoxically and quickly produced all the cultural conditions which have encouraged the emergence of post-modernist struggles. Despite these developments, traditional sociology continues to view social movements from an increasingly out-dated and inadequate theoretical framework." "This book is both about social movements and collective actions, and about the discipline of sociology and prevailing concepts of Indian society. Presenting a post-modernist critique of the study of social movements, Professor Rajendra Singh maintains that it is these movements which truly represent the contemporary nature of Indian society. He thus challenges the dominant view that these struggles are expressions of disruption and a breakdown of the established social order. The author goes on to argue for the need for a post-sociology, based on broader perspectives drawn from all the social science disciplines, to fully grasp the realities of present-day Indian society."--BOOK JACKET.