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.