Conceptualising man and society : Perspectives in early Indian sociology / Pradip Kumar Bose.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-162).

Contents: Introduction. 1 Radhakamal Mukerjee (1889 1968): Conceptualising a Cosmological Vision of Man. 2. Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1893 1984): Describing Caste, Race and the Indian Social Order. 3. Dhurjati Prasad Mukerji (1894 1961): Overcoming Individualism: Constituting Man as Person. 4. Nirmal Kumar Bose (1901 1972): Interpreting Man and Society: A Cultural-Historical Perspective. 5. Ramkrishna Mukherjee (1919 2016): Inferring Inductively: Problems and Paradoxes. Conclusion References. Bibliographical Supplement. A study of the early history of Indian sociology reveals two distinct trends: its appropriation of the principles, logic and methods characterising colonial knowledge and an orientalist perspective; and the opposing tendency to critique and reject Western categories of knowledge. This second strand was especially critical of the application of Western methods, categories and concepts for studying an entity as historically and culturally disparate as Indian society. Conceptualising Man and Society demonstrates these opposing tendencies and ideological tensions in the writings of early Indian sociologists while exploring their socio-anthropological, cognitive and methodological approaches to the study of Indian society. The book analyses different facets and concerns of five early Indian sociologists and social anthropologists: Radhakamal Mukerjee, G. S. Ghurye, D. P. Mukerji, Nirmal Kumar Bose, and Ramkrishna Mukherjee. These scholars were interested in larger sociological and philosophical issues like tradition, values, community, person and personality, and the vital concept of man, which they considered an integral part of Indian social reality. Their writings on the ontological and ethical nature of man are not simply a matter of historical curiosity, but are relevant and important for contemporary thought and politics. Most importantly, they critiqued the dominant knowledges of their times. Their work alerts us to the crucial question: what should be the sociology of the present? Moving away from a historical perspective, this study of early sociologists explores the variations in theory, and cognitive and methodological profile of early Indian sociology itself. At the same time, it highlights the contemporary and radical elements in their writings, which remain theoretically relevant even today. Printed Pages: 180.