Now back in print, the papers in this book deal with the problems that Indian society is facing in consolidating itself into a nation and in living up to the ideals of democracy, secularism, and social equality. These papers, which were primarily written as special lectures and seminar presentations, were written at various times spread over a period of little less than a decade. Though the perspective is that of a sociologist, one cannot really discuss any societal problem exclusively from the standpoint or within the framework of a single discipline. One also has to trespass into areas which are more legitimately those of an economist or a political scientist.