Sociology Matters: Challenges and Possibilities of Social Science Knowledge in
Contemporary India
The Centre for the Study of Social Systems (CSSS) Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New
Delhi intends to hold a three day international seminar from 18th to 20th December 2012. The
proposed theme for the seminar is: “Sociology Matters: Challenges and Possibilities of Social
Science Knowledge in Contemporary India”
The Context
India’s new economic policy, popularly termed globalization was initiated in the early 1990s.
More than twenty years have passed since. This period has witnessed social change dramatic
both in its scale and form. Unprecedented growth has led to new forms of social mobility.But this
growth has often been accompanied by new inequalities. If the transformed urban landscapehas
increasingly being constituted bya restless energy and aspirations among India’s youth,a
transformed rural landscape, on the other hand, has led to new agrarian issues, migration,
displacement and assertive social movements making both identity as well as material claims.
The social transformation has led to a visible presence and claim of both an older middle class
and newer middle class groups- the latter, often from erstwhile marginalized and discriminated
social groups. The visibility of both the aspirations and tensions are played out larger than life
on television screens which brings home the reality of a mediated world. The scale and drama of
media representation of society with its sound bites necessarily leads to a skewed understanding
of the complex processes that mark social transformation in contemporary India. The problem is
further compounded by the new role of intellectual leadership that the media has taken on itself.
It is in this context of changed social-economic possibilities bringing new epistemological and
political challenges, that the role of universities in general and social sciences in specific cannot
be over stated. This is particularly urgent for the matter of higher education and public
institutions has become a central site of major changes. It would not be an exaggeration to claim
that there is a paradigm shift in the way higher education is being imagined both globally and in
India. There are two central issues that are shaping this new imagination, both of which have
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been raised in the National Knowledge Commission 2008 as well as the Report of “The
Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education” (CARRHE) 2009
The first issue pertains to a revised notion of state funding and the social value of higher
education. Translated, it often expresses itself as a practical contribution of social sciences to
development in the buzzword of industry academia collaboration. This indeed is a very important
facet of the role of scientific education, though not all. The role of liberal arts, in which social
sciences is an indispensable part, is far deeper and more pervasive but in some ways more
intangible.
Apart from offering a broad grounding to liberal education that forms the
background for civil servants, professionals and development practitioners it is the foundation
for a vibrant public sphere upon which a just and free society can rest. An exclusive and limited
view of higher education as a source of practical knowledge for use on demand by other
institutions needs serious questioning.
The second issue pertains to the aspirations of a new generation of students for whom
employability would be a critical imperative. A quote from CARRHE conveys the basic
contention.
The slow but increasing democratization of higher education in India has meant that the
university is no longer the preserve of the children of the elite, or of the
educated/professional middle-class. As more youngsters from a different segment of
society enter the universities, they look at higher education as a means to transcend the
class barriers. Consequently, university education is no longer viewed as a good in itself,
but also as the stepping stone into a higher orbit of the job market, where the student
expects a concrete monetary return, and consequently in this perception, the university of
today is expected to be in tune with the emerging needs of society. (CARRHE 2009: 9
emphasis mine)
Both these issues in some ways suggest that the days of critical social sciences and theoretical
reflection are over. However both issues cannot be adequately addressed unless we challenge the
perceived dichotomy: of theoretical and empirical research on one hand; and critical and useful
knowledge on the other. Sociology in general and Indian sociology in particular has had an
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intellectual history of engaging with these dichotomies. Sociology as has been practiced at CSSS
since its inception has made a unique contribution to this intellectual engagement with the
dichotomies. It is in the above context, and to commemorate and reflect upon this history, that
CSSS plans to hold a three day seminar from 18th December 2012 to 21st December 2012. This is
also the time to celebrate 40 years of teaching and research at theCSSS and reflect upon its
achievements and future challenges.A brief allusion to the history and vision of CSSS is
therefore in order here.
The Centre for the Study of Social Systems (CSSS) in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New
Delhiwas established in 1971with a vision that sought to capture the best intellectual traditions
combined with a deep awareness of the broader societal role of social sciences. From its very
inception and in keeping with the mandate of the JNU Act there was an expressed concern to the
question of national development and problems of groups like the scheduled castes, scheduled
tribes and other marginalized groups. This thrust has been a persistent feature of CSSS since and
not surprisingly both its teaching and research have shown an engagement with pressing
questions of development and marginalization, social movement and social justice. At the same
time CSSS has emphasized the imperative need for theoretical courses essential for the
development of critical thinking and inclusive citizenship. A concerted attempt has been made to
overcome some of the stubborn dichotomies byfocusing on the inextricable link between theory
and empirical research.
The Centre was set up with the idea that it should be a pioneering institution which was able to
carry out the task of sociological analyses in a way which was not being done elsewhere. The
prospect for sociology in India was seen as resting on a continued tradition of research based on
a variety of methods and intellectual orientations that drew upon the extant social
anthropological and sociological perspectives but saw much before its time the need for an
interdisciplinary orientation. This plurality of theoretical and methodological approaches
remains a persisting and defining feature of CSSS. This made it possible for the institution to
respond more quickly to both critical social developments as well as new intellectual currents.
The institutional flexibility of JNU and intellectual openness of CSSS made it possible for areas
such as nationalism and ethnicity, gender studies, diasporic studies, tribal studies, Dalit studies,
cultural studies,Indian social thought, disability studies to be introduced very early. This was
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made possible in part because of the presence of many faculty members who were pioneering
and leading scholars in their field.
Unlike many other similar institutions in the country, in the case of CSSS the ethos of plurality
and diversity does not stop at theoretical and methodological choices. It extends to the
composition of the institution itself. From the time of its inception, the Center has actively tried
to represent the diversities of Indian society in the profile of its faculty and student composition.
This diversity continues to be a landmark of its students and faculty even today. We have had the
privilege of attracting students from every corner of India, South Asia and increasingly across
the globe. Our success in this is most tellingly seen in the fact that our alumini occupy
distinguished positions in diverse fields literally across the globe. Our greatest pride however
rests on the fact that our students have returned to teach in colleges and universities across the
country. Many of our alumini who left India to pursue their education are now teaching in well
known institutions abroad. We are hoping to have many of our alumini from different parts to
join us for the seminar, bringing in their diverse experiences in different parts of the country and
abroad.
The key challenge today is to note the changed contextof globalization and what ought to be
our perspective and orientation.We have already referred to the scale and intensity of social
transformation in India, which the social sciences need to address. This issue is further
compounded because the very idea of universities is undergoing change- a development not
restricted to India.
What implications does it have for higher education and the social
sciences?Our belief in the integral role of social sciences for a just and equal society on the one
hand and the role of liberal education for critical and inclusive citizenship on the other propel us
to foreground the following themes:
1. Modernity and Globalization in India
2. Modernity and Culture: Visions from India
3. Democracy and Citizenship
4. Sociology of India: Past and Present
5. Media and the Public
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