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Indian Society: Themes and Perspectives

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Course Type Course Code No. Of Credits
Discipline Core SPG2PP403 4

Semester and Year Offered: Semester 1 (Monsoon Semester) & Ist Year

Course Coordinator and Team: Teena Anil

Email of course coordinators: teena@aud.ac.in

Pre-requisites: None

Aim:This course provides students with a critical understanding of Indian society by exploring its structures, institutions, and identities—such as caste, tribe, gender, and religion—and examining their intersections with public policy. Through interdisciplinary analysis and case studies, students will engage with historical processes, policy interventions, and state roles to develop a deeper insight into how social realities shape and are shaped by governance and policy decisions.

Course Outcomes:

  • Develop a deep, reflexive understanding of Indian society, its unique diversity, and the complex social processes that shape it.
  • Enhances students' ability to critically analyze social phenomena, fostering a broad and nuanced perspective essential for policy-making and real-world applications.

Brief description of modules/ Main modules:

This course consists of five modules.

Module 1: Understanding Indian society-: Images and Realities– Two Weeks

This module explores various anthropological perspectives to develop a holistic understanding of Indian society, both historically and in contemporary times, using field research and archival material. By examining different approaches—colonial, nationalist, subaltern, Indological, and ethnographic—it helps students analyze how these perspectives shape policies, with a case study on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Module 2: Social Structure-:  Caste, Tribe and Religion– Three Weeks

This module explores the structure of Indian society, focusing on caste, tribe, and religion, while analyzing challenges to social progress, secularism, and policy interventions. It equips students with a critical understanding of social stratification, affirmative action, tribal rights, and minority issues, helping them grasp the complexities of public policy and social change in a diverse and pluralistic society.

Module 3: Gender-: Social Construct– Two Weeks

This module explores how sex and gender shape public policies in India and how these policies impact the social, economic, and political rights of men and women over time. Through theoretical and empirical analysis, students will critically examine gender equality, government roles, representation, and key legal frameworks, equipping them with a comprehensive understanding of gender and public policy.

Module 4: Village and Urban Society– Two weeks

This module critically examines the evolving discourse on village and urban structures in India, highlighting their role in social classification, development, and modernization while emphasizing their continued significance in cultural, political, and economic contexts. By analyzing policies, case studies, and diverse regional transformations, students will gain insights into the complexities of rural and urban societies, equipping them with a deeper understanding of social institutions, economic diversity, and governance in contemporary India.

Module 5: Critical perspectives on complex social transformation-: Globalization and Indian society– Three weeks

This module explores critical perspectives on globalization and social transformation in India, focusing on how capitalist modernity impacts traditional identities and social structures. Through case studies like National Water Policies, land acquisition laws, and farmer protests, students will analyze the socio-economic consequences of changing state-market relations, marginalization, and identity politics.

Assessment Details with weights:

  • Mid Term Test (20%)
  • Fieldwork (40%)
  • Classroom Diary (40%)

Reading List:

  • Inden, Ronald. (1990). Imagining India. Basil Blackwell Ltd, Cambridge, Mass.
  • Basu, Srimati. (2004). She Comes to Take her Rights: Indian Women, property And Propriety. New Delhi: Kali for women.
  • Baviskar, A., 2005 [1995]. In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
  • Canady, M. 2009, The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in 20th Century America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Chakravarti, S., 2014. Clear. Hold. Build: Hard Lessons of Business and Human Rights in India. New Delhi: HarperCollins.
  • Sundar, N. (2016). The Scheduled Tribes and Their India: Politics, Identities, Policies Oxford University Press.
  • Joseph. T, 2018 Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where From, Juggernaut Publication, Delhi.
  • A.M. Shah: (2019) The Structure of Indian Society Then and Now. Routledge India.
  • Patel. K. A.  (2022) Spatial Inequality and Untouchability: Ambedkar’s Gaze on Caste and Space in Hindu Village, Journal of Social Inclusion Studies Sage Publication.
  • Mitta, M. (2024), Caste Pride: Battles for Equality in Hindu India, Context Publication Delhi.
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