Nation-Building in Indian Anthropology

This book, result of years of painstaking research by the author, critically reviews the existing works and their gaps in the history of Indian anthropology and makes a new and valuable addition in the field of the history of academic disciplines in the context of nation building.

Researches on the history of anthropological studies in India, unlike in western countries, has not yet been an established tradition, despite the fact that courses on the growth and de­velopment of anthropology in India are being taught at the graduate and postgraduate levels in the Indian universities and are strongly recommended by the University Grants Commission. Indian anthropologists, however, in the early decades after the independence made inspiring and solid research contributions on the major problems encountered by the new nation, which has been described and analysed in detail in this book.

These problems include rehabilitation of refugees after the 1947 Partition; and displacement of people from their homes and land caused by the big dams, industrialization and famines. This book, result of years of painstaking research by the author, critically reviews the existing works and their gaps in the history of Indian anthropology and makes a new and valuable addition in the field of the history of academic disciplines in the context of nation building. It should be read not only as a text by the students of anthropology and sociology, but also as a reference work for researchers interested in the history of social sciences and development studies in India.

Autorentext

Abhijit Guha was a professor in Anthropology at Vidyasagar University, and a Senior Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata. He has published a number of research papers and popular articles on the history of Indian anthropology, and a book on T.C. Das.

Inhalt

1. Introduction: History of Indian Anthropology as Depicted by the Founders 2. Conceptual Framework of the Study and Methodology 3. Did the Early Indian Anthropologists Follow Their Colonial Masters? 4. Nationalist Anthropology in India: Origin and Growth 5. The Future of Nationalist Anthropology in India 6. Conclusion