The Sociology of Contemporary India by Danesh A. ChekkiReview by: RAJ GANDHIJournal of Comparative Family Studies, Vol. 12, No. 4 (AUTUMN 1981), pp. 523-525Published by: Dr. George KurianStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41601268 .

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Book Review 523

Amish Society, Third edition, by J. A. Hostetler. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1980, S 6.95.

JOHN H. CURTIS*

John A. Hostetler, a member of the Amish Community, grew up in Iowa among the Amish there. At the age of twenty two he moved to Pennsylvania. His lifetime as a member of the Amish community and his scholarship has produced in this volume a remarkably, sociological book in which the concepts of social order, solidarity, deviation, social change, and social integration are carefully set forth. The volume begins with an historical sketch of the development of the Amish branch of the Mennonite faith in the Palatinate section of France and Germany. The principal concepts of the faith are set forth but ritual occasions are carefully explained. The liturgy of the various ceremonial occasions is given as is the discussion of the organization of congregations from "low" to "high" church. The volume is important in that it traces the changes in the Amish community since 1966 when the "new Amish" held their first national conference. As a text to study an important minority group in American rural life, AMISH SOCIETY is without peer. As a volume that interestingly discusses the plain people, it is quite interesting. The principle contribution that the author makes is the setting forth of the role of change in Amish life and tracing the history of the Amish community in the past 20 years.

The Sociology of Contemporary India , By Danesh A. Chekki, New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. and Missouri: South Asia Books: 1978: 216 pp.

RAJ GANDHI**

Chekki's earlier book, The Social System and Culture of Modern India (New York: Garland Publishing, 1975) seems to be the source and the origin of the book under review. This book represents further elaborations and analyses derived from more than five thousand bibliographic references of the earlier book.

The title of the book is appropriate and unpretentious as it neither advocates sociology for India nor is it restricted to sociology in India as such. The main purpose of the book is to bring to light certain emerging trends in the sociology of contemporary India. The Latter means the period from 1947 (the year of independence of India) to 1972. The trend

♦Coordinator of the Graduate Program, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Valdosta State College, Valdosta, Georgia 31601, U. S. A. ♦♦Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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524 Journal of Comparative Family Studies

reports have a tendency to become dated. But within Indian context, and particularly when one is looking at the trends in sociology, 1972 is fairly recent. No qualitatively new trend in Indian sociology is likely to emerge between 1972 and 1980.

In presenting major trends in each specialized area of sociological research, in India, Chekki used some 5,226 entries from Sociological Abstracts to International Index to Periodicals - the method of content analysis which is both reliable and valid. Following the chapter on the method of data collection, the author presents an interesting chapter on the review of literature which looks like the sociology of sociology.

In a chapter on trends, Chekki notes that the " most highly researched area in Indian sociology is Culture and Social Structure. . ." (p. 23). This is not surprising (and I think that the category includes macro as well as micro levels) in view of the perennial preoccupation of Indian sociologists with that area. Next area in importance is Social Differentiation - the caste system of India. In this area, I believe, the contributions of Indian sociologists can rival with internationally best in sociology. However, one must wonder why upper caste Indian sociologists tend to shy away from the studies of classes and class conflict, especially the emergence of the proletariat in urban India and their historical role in shaping their destiny. One answer is found in further preoccupation (in addition to the studies of caste) of Indian sociologists with Rural Sociology. But this is not enough. One must investigate the caste-class background of Indian sociologists themselves as well as the influence of British colonialism in shaping the nature of social sciences in India. Poverty in India is studied as a "social problem" but, in general, with few exceptions, rarely has it been studied in the context of India's socio-economic history, and as the consequence of the new class system in India which had begun with the coming of the colonial powers in India.

Chekki makes the shrewd observation that the intellectual ties of Indian sociologists have now been replaced with the stronger ties with American sociologists (pp. 98-100). But this is perhaps the reason why Indian sociologists have not been able to come out from intellectual sterility. This is particularly significant in view of the present lack of direction in American sociology itself.

When the latter is looking elsewhere for new direction, Indian sociologists may be better off assimilating from all that is best in sociology in England, Europe, and America and breaking new grounds in independent sociological thinking.

Be that as it may, the author of the book has tried to avoid value-judgements and refused to be prescriptive. But the problems in the field of sociology in general, and Indian sociology in particular do exist. And to the extent the author is willing to discuss the impli- cation's of existing gaps in Indian sociology, as well as objectively evaluate such gaps, one must mention the major lacunae of Indian sociology, viz., its alienation from itself, its root- lessness, and its readiness to go through the same major problems and pitfalls as did American sociology. In view of this, I find myself in agreement with Richard D. Lambert's comment in his "Foreword" to this book that there is lack of studies of "downward mobility" in India But, I could hardly agree with his somewhat unclear statement that there isa lack of attention

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Book Renew 525

in Indian sociology ". . .to the problem of how to induce millions of people to change their behavior to effect changes in directions judged desirable by a few; and, above all, the strange reluctance - debates over the validity of American empiricism aside - to experiment with the new multivariate analytic techniques in a society that is exquisitely multivariate in its causation" (p. viii). Somewhat hastily written "Foreword" and still more hastily written unclear statement, leads me to ask: (1) What is the direction of change judged desirable by a few and why should sociologists work towards inducing such changes? (2) Sociologists all over the world, including American, have repeatedly engaged in debates over the validity of American empiricism (and I think it is a healthy sign). Why should Indian sociologists stay away from it? (3) How and why does Dr. Lambert presume that society which is multivariate in its causation would profit from experimenting with the new multivariate analytic techniques? All societies are multivariate in their causation and there is no nece- ssary correlation between the type of society and the type of method or technique which a sociologist may like to use for analysis.

Another objective of the book is ". . .to analyze the social characteristics, role and contribution of sociologists. In other words . . .focus on the sociology of sociologists." Professor Chekki is at pains to fulfil this objective. The detailed analyses of the major trends (Chapter 3), the nationality of authors and place of publication (Chapter 4), main trends in numbers and sex of authors (Chapter 5), patterns in type of publication (Chapter 6), directions in regional studies (Chapter 7), etc. bear ample testimony to it. In addition, some 49 statistical tables and 12 (Chekki counts 11, but he has skipped one) more tables in the last chapter, "A Community of Sociologists" enhance the value of the book. However, to all students of sociology the last chapter is most important. It is here that Chekki comes to grips with "the sociology of sociologists." Unfortunately there are no data on class background of Indian sociologists. Such data perhaps were not available to Chekki. Perhaps he was not interested in collecting such data. However, so long as sociology in India is taught and practised as the heritage of major colonial power, so long as it is still intellectually "colonized" by America, so long as it remains pretentious middle class enter- prise, it is bound to be bogged down by its own problems. Only when the intellectuals are free from the clutches of slavery, old or new, sociology in India can stand on its own feet; only then can one have not only sociology of India, but, for India, and in India.

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