ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by M S A RaoSubscribe to M S A Rao

Sociology in the 1980s

M S A Rao This paper, a retrospective and prospective survey of work in sociology and social anthropology in India, begins with a brief summary of the developments till the 1970s in teaching and research in these disciplines. It then goes on to indicate the possible trends in the 1980s, with particular reference to the status of research and teaching institutional developments and developments in the profession. The 1980s, the author suggests, will see the theoretical frontiers of the discipline being extended; and the discipline will also play a greater role in the task of national reconstruction, planning and Policy formation.

Wrong Focus

Wrong Focus M S A Rao Village Studies in the Third World edited by Biplab Dasgupta: Hindustan Publishing Corporation, Delhi, 1978, pp 227, Rs 60, VILLAGE studies came into prominance after the emergence of independent nations in the third world. Sociologists and social anthropologists, economists and especially agricultural economists and political scientists have been interested in the problems of rural development and understanding local level processes and changes. The Institute of Development Studies of the University of Sussex has made a significant co bution in bringing together 2,000 exising studies of villages in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Institute, in collaboration with the Agro-Economic Research Centre of Delhi, organised a conference in December 1974 and the present volume is based on the papers submitted to the conference.

Tobacco Development and Labour Migration-Planning for Labour Welfare and Development

Tobacco development demands a large supply of labour having new skills. The labourers who have already acquired such skills in other areas move to the new areas of development. The present paper, based on field work, examines one such situation regarding the introduction of light soil Flue Cured Virginia Tobacco in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

Ideology and Power

the chapter on International Trade and that on Public Finance. The concluding chapter is on Policy Prescription, The commentaries on the various aspects of classical political economy are based largely on second-hand sources. This can be understood when it is remembered that the book is meant for university students who have to do a paper on the history of economic thought. Even then one would wish the approach to have, been a little more integrated. For example, in spite of our author's appreciation that the purpose of classical political economy is to analyse the conditions of economic growth (chapter 3), he does not seem to have taken enough care, in the distribution of his materials, to highlight this feature. The arrangement of the chapters is such as tends to conceal the fact that the classical theory of Value and Distribution (at any rate, in so far as it proceeds from Adam Smith) is geared to the, idea of what the modern economists would call a 'steady state'. Adam Smith, indeed, fashions his theory of Value and Distribution with a view to analysing the conditions of a 'uniformly progressive economy'. It seems naive to interpret Smith's concept of

Cultural Components of Tradition and Modernity

leader Rainer Barzel rushed to Washington (after having hit against dead wood in Moscow and Warsaw) to see if he could get some assistance on the question of the Ostpolitik. He made many loyal declarations from Washington on the need for a fair trade agree- ment between Europe and the US; but indications are that no one in the US was fooled. Back home, he found the sly Strauss had already staged a minor coup: he had published the CSU version of the Non-Aggression Treaties to prove that the opposition criticism of the existing treaties was constructive. It led to some confusion in the opposition, but only on forms. In its context, the CSU draft, opening the door wide for all possible subversion in the name of non-aggression, had the stinted support of the opposition, The treaties, in their present forms, have not only been re- jected by the opposition-dominated Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, but the party has moved the Federal Court to decide upon the con- stitutional validity of the treaties. Its promise of "total confrontation' with the Ostpolitik has thus been kept Meanwhile, thanks to the 'Ink-Bomb' Britain's entry into Europe elicited more attention than the occasion might other- wise have done. But the entry, as anticipated, has created as many problems for Europe as it solved for Britain. One already hears of a London-Paris axis excluding Bonn. The capitalist political cycle, like the economic cycle, seems now to have turned full circle. But no one needs to fear; modern Social Democrats could not react the same way as the petty-bourgeoisie of the Third Reich. Besides, all of capitalist Europe, irrespective of the different parties ruling its constituent units, has many common enemies and friends. The West German Social Democrats have already shown the way to keep their houses in order, so as to face the common enemies squarely.

Political Elite and Caste Association

one important fact regarding estimates of marketable surplus. It is that the estimation of marketable surplus in a village or region on the basis of cross- section data cannot give true results. It should be estimated with time series data. In view of the cyclical nature of our agriculture, the critical importance of estimation of marketable surplus with the help of time series data, instead of cross-section data, can bear exaggeration.

Caste as Cause of Social Tension

Caste as Cause of Social Tension M S A Rao Patterns of Caste Tension: A Study of Inter-caste Tension and Conflict by K K Singh ; Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1967 ; pp xiv -+ 120,

Political Elite and Caste Association-A Report of a Caste Conference

Political Elite and Caste Association A Report of a Caste Conference M S A Rao Caste conferences do more than reflect the aspirations and opinions of a section of the population. They also shape decision-making in some spheres at the national and State levels.

Urbanisation in a Delhi Village-Some Social Aspects

October 15, 1966 decision to reverse the natural order is only a result of the disillusionment with its potentials. Shenoy's gibe at Soviet Planning that 40 years of planning has not yielded a flood of consumer goods conveniently and rather crudely ignores the 5 years of devastation during the Second World War while the biggest country in the ''free world" maintained its industrial growth undisturbed.

Caste and the Indian Army

In Independent India, caste has been gaining influence in many fields of social activity. The part it has played in representative political institutions is now widely recognized. An attempt is made here to show how caste is extending its influence to the Indian Army organization.

Pages

Back to Top