SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: Critical Assessment

Two distinct branches of development have emerged in form of social development and economic development. Often they are referred to as socio-economic development as one semantic expression. The agenda of social development is a monolithic enterprise and calls for multi-angular, multi-dimensional and multi-lateral initiatives and interventions. The ongoing Sen-Bhagwati debate has further spiced this war on agenda and priority of development in contemporary India. Globalization of economy has further questioned the role of state and society and intensified this debate. Whether the retreat of the state from social sector is good or bad and what consequences it can have on overall development of society has emerged as a fiercely contested moot theme. The potential to provide balanced social and economic development by contemporary Indian state is under critical scanner.

Social Work is essentially concerned with fact, evidence, action, process, and empiric rather than being wholly preoccupied with only the normative, theoretical, ideological or philosophical orientations. Practice of social work has come to acquire increasing primacy. The book deals with a whole range of issues covering major themes of NGOs, youth volunteerism, National Service Scheme, corporate social responsibility, climate change, communitization of primary school education, empowering the indigenous groups, risk behavior of PLHA, and Gandhian philosophy and practice. These multi-themed essays have made an admirable effort to introduce the world of interesting ideas, institutions, individuals and actions in their respective domains as well as explain various dynamics of relationship between the discipline of Social Work and the project of social development. Hence, this festschrift is a modest outcome on critical assessment of social development in India from social work perspective.

Contributors

A.S. Kohli
C.Thomas Abraham
Chhaya Patel
D.P. Singh
H.S. Suresh
Jagadish B.
Jayshree B. Thakore
Koteswara Raju Penmetsa
Mahajan P. Mani
Mital Petiwale
Ram Kumar Balyan
R.B.S. Verma
R.D. Sampath Kumar
Ritu Mor
Sangeeta Sharma Dhaor
Sanjai Bhatt
Sreepriya C.K.
Sudarshan Iyengar
Surendra Singh
Y.S. Siddegowda