"Changing Indian Society, penned by India's leading social scientist of international renown, encapsulates the enormous empirical and statistical data to present a profile of Indian society as a multicultural entity composed of different ethnic origins, various religions, and belonging to a variety of speech communities, and yet bonded together as a nation, sharing a common polity and economy. Written simply and without jargon, in a style intelligible to a lay reader, the book provides a sound sociological perspective to comprehend Indian society and its major social institutions. It introduces urban and rural India; gives a glimpse of tribal India; explains marriage, kinship, and the caste system; and outlines major changes occurring in Indian society. The book offers a good Introduction to Indian society for a variety of audiences: students graduating in social sciences, candidates preparing for competitive examinations, business executives -- particularly representatives of multinationals in need of orientation to Indian culture and society, foreign tourists, and students in other countries auditing a course on India, and, of course, the general public. "