Academic studies of social change in India have, by and large, followed the conceptual guidance of modernisation theory. It focuses on the deeper effects of technological change, social and political movements, and increase in participation in the modern economy and education. Indian sociology produced several classics that continue to provide useful insights to university-level students. A parallel documentation of social change was attempted by journalists who travelled and gleaned from their brief interactions with ordinary people how the bigger changes in economy, technology and politics were affecting their lives. Journalism is itself a major part of modern India’s history. Though journalists are now facing new kinds of difficulties in practising their profession, they bring in the kind of news about life that academic inquiry cannot afford to offer due to its methodological constraints.
Tracking change in rural and urban India
In the mapping of social change over the last half century, two books written by journalists stand out. One is Kusum Nair’s Blossoms in the Dust: the Human Factor in Indian development. First published in 1965, it is based on Nair’s journey to villages across 14 States. The second book, Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World, by Snigdha Poonam, documents her journey and stay in provincial towns in eight north Indian States. It was published in 2018. Read together, the two books show many aspects of socio-cultural change in rural and urban India that we may not notice living our daily lives in the third decade of the 21st century.
