Paper Contents
Abstract
The transformation of Indias rural and urban landscapes reflects a profound reorganization of social, economic, and cultural life. Post-independence development policies prioritized industrialization and agricultural modernization, envisioning a self-reliant economy rooted in village reconstruction and planned urban growth. Yet, the decades following the Green Revolution and economic liberalization of the 1990s have revealed uneven outcomes. Rural India, historically defined by agrarian relations and caste hierarchies, has witnessed land fragmentation, indebtedness, and large-scale migration. Simultaneously, urban India has emerged as a site of global integration, consumption, and social mobilitybut also exclusion, informality, and violence. The transition between these spaces is not linear; instead, it reflects overlapping networks of production, labor, and identity. Classical sociologists such as Karl Marx and Max Weber viewed transformation as a shift in productive forces and social organization. Indian scholars like M.N. Srinivas, A.R. Desai, and Andr Bteille localized these ideas, revealing how caste, class, and kinship mediate modernization. This paper situates Indias rural-urban transformation within this intellectual lineage, analyzing how capitalist development and neoliberal reforms reshape everyday life, class structures, and social movements.
Copyright
Copyright © 2025 Ganesh Shrirang Nale. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
