This Omnibus brings together the seminal writings of one of the country's most distinguished sociologists, Andre Beteille. It consists of three well-known books by Professor Beteille and a new Introduction written especially for this Omnibus. (I) Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village, 2/e(OUP, 1996): First published in 1965, this is a classic text in Indian sociology. A study of the changing patterns of stratification in a South Indian village, it documents the gradual transformation of the village social system hitherto structured primarily around caste distinctions. (II) The Idea of Natural Inequality and Other Essays, 2/e (OUP, 1987): The essays in this volume examine various aspects of inequality in a comparative perspective with special reference to contemporary India. They deal with the different forms and dimensions of inequality as well as with alternative conceptions of equality. (III) Equality and Universality: Essays in Social and Political Theory (OUP, 2003): This collection of essays illuminates the Indian experience in equality. It addresses issues of both social theory and social policy. It looks at the contradictions between the idea of equality and the practice of inequality, caste hierarchies, and making basic rights available to all irrespective of individual merit and need.

A fascinating examination of the relationship between civilization and inequality from one of history’s greatest minds The first man to erect a fence around a piece of land and declare it his own founded civil society—and doomed mankind to millennia of war and famine. The dawn of modern civilization, argues Jean-Jacques Rousseau in this essential treatise on human nature, was also the beginning of inequality. One of the great thinkers of the Enlightenment, Rousseau based his work in compassion for his fellow man. The great crime of despotism, he believed, was the raising of the cruel above the weak. In this landmark text, he spells out the antidote for man’s ills: a compassionate revolution to pull up the fences and restore the balance of mankind. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

This Long Essay Makes An Eloquent And Persuasive Argument For Nehru'S Idea Of Nationhood In India. At A Time When The Relevance Of Nehru'S Vision Is Under Scrutiny, This Book Assumes A Special Significance.

Social Justice is a concept familiar to most Indians but one whose meaning is not always understood as it signifies a variety of government strategies designed to enhance opportunities for underprivileged groups. By tracing the trajectory of social justice from the colonial period to the present, this book examines how it informs ideas, practices and debates on discrimination and disadvantage today. After outlining the historical context for reservations for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes that began under British colonial rule, the book examines the legal and moral strands of demands raised by newer groups since 1990. In addition the book shows how the development of quota policies has been significantly influenced by the nature and operation of democracy in India. It describes the recent proliferation of quota demands for reservations in higher education, private sector and for women and religious minorities in legislative assemblies. The book goes on to argue that while proliferation of demands address unequal incidence of poverty, deprivation and inequalities across social groups and communities, care has to be taken to ensure that existing justifications for quotas for discriminated groups due to caste hierarchies are not undermined. Providing a rich historical background to the subject, the book is a useful contribution to the study on the evolution of multiple conceptions of social justice in contemporary India.

In Culture, Modernity and Revolution a group of distinguished sociologists and social philosophers reflect upon the major concerns of Zygmunt Bauman. Their essays not only honour the man, but provide important contributions to the three interlinked themes that could be said to form the guiding threads of Bauman's life work: power, culture and modernity. Culture, Modernity and Revolution is both a remarkable sociological commentary on the problems facing East-Central Europe and an exposition of some of the key, hitherto neglected, features of the modern cultural universe.