How Egalitarian Is Indian Sociology?

Even after completing a hundred years Indian sociology is practised in the milieu of domination. British, European and American domination has been well documented while the domination of the so-called twice-born castes has not been analysed. This article highlights the domination of the twice-born castes at four levels--as members practising sociology in universities, institutions and colleges, in the sphere of production of knowledge while writing chapters of books, producing knowledge with the help of scriptural sources, or producing data from the field and while teaching sociology in the classrooms.

An earlier version of this article was presented at the South Asia Institute, Columbia University, the US, in the capacity of Visiting Associate Professor as Fulbright teacher’s fellow in May 2012. I thank Valentine Daniel, Nicholas Dirks, Janki Bhakle, Anupama Rao and other colleagues of the institute who gave me their valuable insights. I also thank United States India Educational Foundation for their financial support.

The subject of sociology in India has completed hundred years. However, “sociology” as practised in Indian universities, institutions and colleges in the past and in the contemporary period has been influenced by different shades of domination. Sociologists have highlighted at least three shades of domination evident in the practice of Indian sociology. These are British, European and American.

Highlighting British domination in Indian sociology, Damle (1986: 101) has opined that,