Suchergebnisse

Even though Radhakamal Mukerjee is recognised as a founding father of sociology in India, he has remained a neglected figure in his own country. This lecture attempts to make his major writings more accessible. They are seen in the context of his life as he lived it, with an emphasis on some formative influences, biographical and societal, of his early life. This leads to an argument about his writings that highlights his overriding concern with universalising sociology by overcoming its narrowness so that it may contribute to the welfare of humanity. It is further argued that he is relevant to us at present in the face of the challenges of environmental degradation, the persisting pandemic, war, and our tendency to face these challenges not with truth but with falsehoods.

AbstractRabindranath Tagore, the Indian poet, made a distinction between 'the spirit of the West' and 'the nation of the West.' While the spirit of the West is moved by freedom, he argued, the nation of the West manufactures unbreakable chains. He was distressed by colonial misery as well as by the two World Wars which in his eyes were the result of aggressive nationalistic interests. He argued in favour of going beyond nationalism and through cooperation between cultures for humanity to win back its lost human heritage. At a time when Europe is trying to go beyond national rivalries and create the possibility of peace, we need to look forward. Tagore is relevant here. What is needed is not to 'provincialize Europe' as has been argued from a post-colonial perspective, but to 'universalise Europe,' not in the false sense of its arrogant boast which sounds more and more hollow now, but rather in the spirit of Tagore and before him in the spirit of a European like Goethe. This is where Europeans need non-Europeans, just as non-Europeans need Europeans for their own projects.

AbstractThis paper considers what valuable leadership lessons can be learnt from Gandhi that may prove useful not only at the national and global levels but at the corporate and other organisational levels as well. A broad review of management research on leadership shows that we do not have at our disposal a unified theory of leadership with which we can make full sense of his contribution. It is argued that precisely the absence of such a theory should encourage us to draw lessons from varied backgrounds. Gandhi's role gives credence to some of the most innovative management ideas on leadership. These ideas can only become richer if the full range of Gandhi's achievements can be adequately comprehended. We need to pay attention in this respect to Gandhi's vision inspired strategy.

AbstractThe failure of sociology to come to grips with larger societal issues is not just a failure of sociology in India. A widespread problem faced by the discipline at present is the reluctance to raise 'big questions'. Quite apart from the problem of 'Euroschauism' which imposes partial views as the universal view, it is necessary for sociologists in a country like India to raise the issue of social change in India and the rest of the world as a theoretical issue that demands adequate conceptualisation. Such a task demands a critical perspective. It is possible to be critical of one's culture while being rooted in it. The first step to take is to study the concerns of the average person and to look at one's society critically, not as an outsider who finds the country of his birth difficult to take but as an insider who chooses to live in his country and undergoes what everyone else is going through. Along with this is the ability to step outside one's own society, not to go away but to return.