Village in India / edited by Vandana Madan

The village has epitomized Indian civilization and been the subject of much study and contemplation. The present volume attempts to address a wide number of interests--economic, political, cultural, social, gender--and presents a profile of processes and change in Indian villages based on publications over the last fifty years. The essays clearly demonstrate that every Indian village although similar in many ways, is also characterised by regional variations.
The readings in this volume are representative of the myriad dimensions of village life in India. The essays discuss both the analytical frameworks with which to comprehend the complexities of village life, as well as vivid ethnographic vignettes from villages across the country. This volume is essential reading for graduate and post-graduate students of sociology, social anthropology, and other social sciences. This collection of readings on Village India will meet an important need among students and teachers of sociology and social anthropology in India and hopefully also outside India. It will also be of use to the general reader, including those preparing for the various competitive examinations... The editor has written a comprehensive and scholarly introduction which provides a well-balanced survey of the large and diverse literature on the subject that has grown in the last fifty years.'