Nepal Is One Of The Developing Societies To Have Started The Process Of Modernization In The Aftermath Of The Industrial Revolution In Europe And The World War Ii. Till Recently Nepal Has Been In The List Of The Least Developed Countries Of The World. The Monarchy Freed Itself From The Clutches Of The Rana Family And Thus Started A Process Of Political Modernization. Nepal Has Embarbed Upon A Planned Economic Development By Adopting The Five Year Plans. Around 1947 There Was Hardly Any University In Nepal. Most Of Its Colleges Were Affiliated To Patna University. But Now A Reasonable Development Of Education In Nepal Has Taken Place. The Panchayat Sytem Has Given Place To Multiparty Democracy In Nepal Under The District Development Committee Act, 1992 Has Decided To Divide The Areas Of 75 District Development Committee (Ddc) Of The Kingdom Of Nepal Into The Minimum Of Nine And Maximum Of Seventeen At Ilakas. In This Book, The Process Of Modernization In Its Historical Perspectives Has Been Analysed.

This collection makes a unique contribution towards the amplification of indigenous knowledge and learning by adopting an inter/trans-disciplinary approach to the subject that considers a variety of spaces of engagement around knowledge in Asia and Africa.

The socio-political landscape of Nepal has been rocked by dramatic and far-reaching changes in the past thirty years. Following a ten-year Maoist revolution and civil war, the country has transitioned from a monarchy to a republic. The former Hindu kingdom has declared its commitment to secularism, without coming to any agreement on what secularism means or should mean in the Nepalese context. What happens to religion under conditions of such rapid social and political change? How do the changes in public festivals reflect and/or create new group identities? Is the gap between the urban and the rural narrowing? How is the state dealing with Nepal’s multicultural and multi-religious society? How are Nepalis understanding, resisting, and adapting ideas of secularism? In order to answer these important questions, this volume brings together eleven case studies by an international team of anthropologists and ethno-Indologists of Nepal on such diverse topics as secularism, individualism, shamanism, animal sacrifice, the role of state functionaries in festivals, clashes and synergies between Maoism and Buddhism, and conversion to Christianity. In an Afterword, renowned political theorist Rajeev Bhargava presents a comparative analysis of Nepal’s experiences and asks whether the country is finding its own solution to the conundrum of secularism.

Monograph on the political geography of the Nepal plains, in context with problems of nationalism and the social integration of regional level ethnic groups - covers government policies, the political system, population, culture, language and communication problems, politics and political opposition, international relations with india, etc. Selected bibliography pp. 217 to 229, glossary, maps and statistical tables.

From the late nineteenth century to the eve of World War II, America's experts on Russia watched as Russia and the Soviet Union embarked on a course of rapid industrialization. Captivated by the idea of modernization, diplomats, journalists, and scholars across the political spectrum rationalized the enormous human cost of this path to progress. In a fascinating examination of this crucial era, David Engerman underscores the key role economic development played in America's understanding of Russia and explores its profound effects on U.S. policy. American intellectuals from George Kennan to Samuel Harper to Calvin Hoover understood Russian events in terms of national character. Many of them used stereotypes of Russian passivity, backwardness, and fatalism to explain the need for--and the costs of--Soviet economic development. These costs included devastating famines that left millions starving while the government still exported grain. This book is a stellar example of the new international history that seamlessly blends cultural and intellectual currents with policymaking and foreign relations. It offers valuable insights into the role of cultural differences and the shaping of economic policy for developing nations even today.