Manohar Publishers and Distributors

03 August, 2012

South Asia: Societies in Political and Economic Transition

By- Tan Tai Yong (ed.)

The last few years have been significant for South Asia, with fundamental political and economic transitions in several of the countries.

Bangladesh opted for an interim government, followed by the election of a democratic government. Pakistan saw an assassination of a former Prime Minister, followed by peaceful elections and, perhaps, hope for stability. Nepal went through substantial change, with the Maoists initially in power and, subsequently, opting out of the government. In contrast, elections in Bhutan have brought a smooth transition to democracy.

On the other hand, economic issues have dominated India in recent times, including aggressive responses to the global slowdown, fiscal expansion and an early return to growth from the downturn.

In an attempt to capture these changes in South Asia, this publication falls into two parts. The first deals with political issues in countries that have witnessed the most change and turbulence, while the second part deals with economic issues that have been of concern to all the South Asian countries, and to India in particular.

In summary, this publication is an eclectic mix that covers a spectrum of current issues in South Asia. It is a melting pot of politics and change, of reforms and stagnation, and of growth and disparity. It also brings together a varied range of experiences across the South Asian region. Most importantly, the publication reflects the dynamism of the region and the fast pace of change in politics as well as in economic policy. This book has been titled South Asia: Societies in Political and Economic Transition to reflect this dynamism.

Tan Tai Yong, a Professor of History, was appointed Director of the Institute of the South Asian Studies on 1 June 2008. He is concurrently Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the National University of Singapore.

ISBN 978-81-7304-846-3 2010 518p. Rs.850/ pounds 70

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Social Transformation in North-Western India during the Twentieth Century

By- Chetan Singh (ed.)

Over a hundred and fifty years after the mid-nineteenth century, north-western India underwent a degree of social transformation that was, indeed, impressive. A collective effort alone can unravel the complex nature of the processes underlying this remarkable change. This is what the book sets out to do.

Its historical perspective reveals diverse modes of resistance and response, especially in the Punjab, to a colonial ideology that sought to institute a subtle, yet powerful, forms of social control. After Independence, the much celebrated Green Revolution drew the peasantry of north-western India into the vortex of economic trends that had unexpected and far-reaching consequences – which are today a matter of great concern. Long-term social currents that had been stirring rather slowly in the region gained momentum. As a result, the process of societal change, started earlier began to strain against the restrictive fabric of the traditional social order. Social Transformation in North-Western India endeavours to explain the multidimensionality of change that is so characteristic of the region.

This book would be of interest as much to the social scientist and the policy maker as to the journalist and the lay reader.

Chetan Singh is Professor of History at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.

ISBN 978-81-7304-838-8 2010 528p. Rs.1250/ pounds 70

Shadows of Substance: Indo-Russian Trade and Military Technical Cooperation Since 1991

By- Hari Vasudevan

Shadows of Substance is an account of trade and military technical cooperation between India and Russia from the time of the foundation of the new Russian state at the end of 1991 to the present day. It provides the first survey of the activities of the Indian private sector in Russia, showing how it has become pivotal to the bulk of the commerce between the two countries. It also provides a statement on the growing importance of India to the Russian military industrial complex.

The argument is developed through a close examination of pre-Soviet and post-Soviet times, bringing the story up to the present day. The book provides a background on the economic relationship between India and the USSR, touching on the main debates pre-1991, and examines the entry of private enterprise in an area in which the public sector was traditionally dominant. It then traces the impact of Soviet disintegration on the Russian Federation, and the consequences of the Russian reforms for the economy of the new state. It locates Indo-Russian trade in goods and collaboration in military-technical affairs within this framework. The agreements that governed the relationship and the attempts by governments to promote commerce are kept in mind. The course of what took place is traced through material available from published and unpublished sources, as well as interviews with entrepreneurs and officials.

Hari Vasudevan is a specialist on Russian and European affairs. He is Professor at the Department of History, Calcutta University and Director of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies. He was consultant to the Department of Commerce, Government of India during 2006-7.

ISBN 978-81-7304-849-4 2010 254p. Rs.695/ pounds 45

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Science and Society in India : 1750-2000

By- Arun Bandopadhyay (ed.)

Approaches to the study of history of science underwent critical changes in the last two centuries before they could more definitely tilt towards the social dimensions of the making of science. The development of history of science during the last fifty years has been marked by a proliferation of methods and perspectives rather than by the emergence of a consensus.

Given this general background of the intellectual tradition of writing history of science, an effort is made here to assemble a group of scholars from different parts of India to write about 250 years of development of ‘science’ in the Indian context, covering late pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. The present volume is a selected and revised version of the original presentation made in a national Seminar at the University of Calcutta.

The contributors revolve around a few thematic contexts: the east-west encounter, the diffusion theory, the colonial impact, the nationalist, and the post-colonial response and globalization.

Arun Bandopadhyay is currently Nurul Hasan Professor of History and formerly Dean of the Faculty Council for Post-graduate studies in Arts at the University of Calcutta.

ISBN 978-81-7304-854-8 2010 390p. Rs.975/ pounds 55

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Punjab Peasantry in Turmoil

By- Birinder Pal Singh (ed.)

Over the last two decades thousands of peasnts in the Indian Punjab have sacrificed themselves at the altar of the nation, feeding the teeming millions. This state, the harbinger of Green Revolution in the country was the model for the rest of the nation for revoltionizing agriculture in a colonialized traditional society. The volume also deliberates upon the critcal issues of the erstwhile Punjab, across the border, now called West Punjab. Four papers in this volume reflect upon the different aspects of the peasantry there. The two Punjabs are now afflicted with numerous ailments – social, economic and political. He farmers are committing suicides. The economic returns from the over-exploited land are not rising in a proportionate manner to their expectations and expenditures. Globalization has added fuel to the fire. The governments in India and Pakistan are not dealing with these issues protecting the interests of the peasantry. The younger generation is opting out of agriculture and migrating abroad in search of employment and better life. What is the crisis that peasantry in the two Punjabs is confronting? What are its roots and its manifest forms?

In this volume an attempt has been made to bring together ideas and arguments of activists and scholars from different disciplines specializing in sociology, economics, political science, history and literature, all sharing their concern for peasantry. A large canvas of issues that have brought turmoil in the lives of peasantry like agricultural policy, globalization, indebtedness, poverty, suicides, caste conflicts, militancy, violence, migration, etc., have been deliberated upon in this volume.

Birinder Pal Singh teaches in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Punjab University, Patiala.

ISBN 978-81-7304-866-1 2010 376p. Rs.950/ pounds 55

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Modernity and Its Agencies: Young Movements in the History of the South

By- Touraj Atabaki (ed.)

In the past two hundred years, for many enlightened individuals, from South Asia to North Africa, from Persian Gulf to the Adriatic Sea, the main intellectual and political enquiry was to find a path negotiating the rapidly changing world. The world, as they saw, was coming out of ‘ignorance’ and heading towards ‘science’ and ‘progress’. Labelling the past with obscurity and calling its guardians old and reactionary, the enlightened young became the self-assigned beacons of light leading the masses to a ‘time of progress’.

The word ‘young’ in both the South and the North soon evolved into the classical epithet of emerging intelligentsias in their struggle against the despotic rule of the ancien regimes and its supporters, often the clerical establishment. Furthermore, with the practice of colonialism and imperial expansionism, the Asian, African or even some European ‘young’ often crafted their identity by rejecting and defying the other, i.e. the colonial power.

In world history one finds very few movements which had such widespread social and political repercussions, simultaneously engulfing at least half of the globe and in the process of becoming famously known as the Young Movement.

This volume is the first attempt to study the Young Movement beyond national frontiers. The contributors to this volume not only shed light on the history of the young movement in a number of countries and regions, but also compare and contrast the development of this movement in different parts of Asia and Africa: from Calcutta to Rabat, from Isfahan to Bukhara and from Istanbul to Kazan.

Touraj Atabaki is Head, Department of the Middle East and the Central Asia of the International Institute of Social History and Professor of Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia at Leiden University.

ISBN 978-81-7304-841-8 2010 190p. Rs.475/ pounds 35

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Madrasa Education in Modern India: A Study

By- Saral Jhingran

This study steers clear of the stereotype conception of madrasas as the training ground of terrorists. Its chief concern is the search for the ground of realities about madrasas, what and how they teach; and whether the syllabus or ambience of madrasas prepares the students for successfully facing the challenges of the modern world. It enquires into the reasons for a relatively large number of Muslims opting for madrasas education for their children. A sociological analysis is therefore undertaken.

The work also tries to understand the almost universal nisab or syllabus of madrasas, called Dars-i-Nizami, developed during Aurangzeb’s time, and notes that there have been very few marked changes in the madrasas syllabus, though the world and life have moved so much ahead. A large portion of madrasas syllabus, therefore has become irrelevant for modern times. The author convincingly argues that most Muslim children must study in modern schools and only a small number who want to specialize in theology should study in madrasas.

The Study pays particular attention to the proposals for madrasa reforms, both from within the system, and the madrasa modernization scheme of the government.

Saral Jhingran did her Ph.D. on Advaita Vedanta from Rajasthan University in 1972. since then she has held several UGC fellowships, and finally retired as a Research Scientist affiliate to Nehru Memorial Museum & Library.

ISBN 978-81-7304-856-2 2010 424p. Rs.1050/ pounds 60

MANOHAR PUBLISHERS & DISTRIBUTORS
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