From Indian sociology to a critical sociology of and for India: A 100 years plus history

Abstract

Colonial formulations regarding the nature of Indian society were first put in place in the mid-18th century through an Orientalist-Indological perspective. This article documents in three phases how an autonomous sociology of and for India came to be constituted from the late 19th century. It terms this process as the making of the peripheral gaze. It argues that while early nationalist perspectives promoted a new Orientalist position, a post-colonial interrogation of the same helped to displace colonial assumptions. In the third phase, a Marxist sociology emphasising materialist analysis further supported this process. Three scholars who represent these three trends are discussed: G.S. Ghurye, M.N. Srinivas and A.R. Desai. The article concludes by suggesting that the growth of women’s, Dalit and Adivasi/tribal studies has posed a challenge to Indian sociology. However, the educational policies of the rightist Hindutva regime have acted negatively, with the discipline not having a coherent self-identity currently.