Social Movements in India: A Review of the Literature

by Ghanshyam Shah

Overview

Social movements primarily take the form of non-institutionalised collective political action which strive for political and/or social change. While India has witnessed many such movements over the centuries, it is only recently that scholars have begun to study them in depth. This thoroughly revised and updated version of a seminal book critically examines and reviews the literature concerning social movements in India from 1857 to the present. In the process he discusses the theoretical issues raised by various scholars while analysing major trends in different movements. In conclusion, he suggests areas for future research.

Proposing a logical classification of social movements in modern India, this book will be widely welcomed by social activists as well as by political scientists, historians and sociologists. It will also be invaluable as a text in courses on social movements.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761998341
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/28/2004
Edition description:	Enlarged
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.16(w) x 9.05(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

Ghanshyam Shah is currently Fellow, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Wassenaar, The Netherlands. During a rich and distinguished career, he has been Director of the Centre for Social Studies, Surat (1976–85 and again from 1991 to 1996); Dr Ambedkar Chair Professor at the National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie (1996–97); and Professor in Social Sciences at the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, (1997–2003).

Professor Shah has taught in the Department of Public Administration at South Gujarat University; and has been a Visiting Professor at the Department of Political Science at Banaras Hindu University and at the Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, among others. He was awarded the V.K.R.V. Rao prize in Political Science Research in 1979 and 1980, and the University Grants Commission National Award in Political Science in 1998. Ghanshyam Shah has authored, co-authored or edited more than 15 books, including Social Movements and the State (2002), Dalit Identity and Politics (2001) and Public Health and Urban Development: The Study of the Surat Plague (1997).

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Peasant Movements
Tribal Movements
Dalit Movements
Backward Caste\Class Movements
Women's Movements
Industrial Working Class Movements
Students Movements
Middle Class Movements
Human Rights and Environmental Movements
Conclusions and Future Research
Index

Editorial Reviews

...an important contribution to the understanding of social movements in India.

Choice: Journal of the American Library Association

Professor Shah deserves to be richly congratulated on his painstaking intellectual effort in giving us this invaluable reference tool.

The Deccan Herald

The book…presents a scientific analysis of 10 social movements including peasant, tribal, dalit, backward class, women, student, industrial workers, middle class, human rights and environment movements in India. Each chapter of the book is followed by a comprehensive bibliography which may be useful for researchers working in the area of social movements. The concluding chapter of the book provides deep insight into the research gaps in the study of social movements…. Various aspects of peasant movements in India have been examined in detail…. The work is perhaps the best reference book for researchers working on the various aspects of social movements in India.

The Resurging India

...an important contribution to the understanding of social movements in India.

Siegfried P Neumann

‘The monograph under review bears the stamp of a thorough mastery of the literature on the subject, sustained analytical rigour and critical insights. Professor Ghanshyam Shah indeed deserves to be richly congratulated on his painstaking intellectual effort in giving us this invaluable reference tool.' - Sunday Herald

‘Surveys of literature are a special genre of studies which impart an overall picture of the field to advanced students, reseachers or teachers. Within the constraints of its functionality Shah has done an admirable job of problematising issues and eliciting analytical flashpoints. As such it should be an indispensible book for students of social movements.' - Frontier

From the Publisher