Relevance of Methodology of M. N. Srinivas Today: Some Issues

Abstract

This article aims at analysing the methods and techniques used by M. N. Srinivas, the pioneer of Indian sociology and social anthropology. Srinivas was the founder of sociology department at two universities in India: Baroda and Delhi, where his focus was to pursue lengthy fieldwork with participant observation technique by the researcher. He was influenced by Radcliffe-Brown’s structural-functional approach and pursued it in village studies in India. His village studies in Rampura produced many ideas and concepts par excellence: Sanskritisation, Westernisation, Secularisation and Dominant Caste including the concept of vote bank. Further, this article discusses the interface between sociology and social anthropology as advocated by him.