Economic Reforms and Social Transformation

India has experienced the process of economic reforms for more than a decade. Since 1991, Indian society has passed through rapid social upheaval owing to liberalization, privatization, globalization, advanced information technology, consumerism, etc. The economic reforms have accelerated the process of social transformation which, in turn, has thrown a big challenge to social scientists for understanding the new social order. This collection of papers examines the social transformation in India. The book is divided into three sections: agrarian and rural transformations; rural power structure and transformation of the excluded; and population, gender, empowerment, and transformation. In each section, the editor raises certain issues for critical examination which are analyzed in the contributors' papers. The book is an important contribution towards the developing debate on economic reforms in India, which is essentially unequal and marginalizing besides being anti-poor.