Synopsis India is passing through a rapid social upheaval. The questions need to ponder over on the eve of Golden Jubilee celebrations of Independence are: On which way we are going? What is the nature of social transformation? Who are the gainers and losers of development? What new socioeconomic forces and value systems are emerging in the country? What role social scientists and other intellectuals play in the process of social transformation towards better social order? Social scientists of different disciplines, viz., sociology, anthropology, political science, history, etc., from India and abroad, discuss these and similar other questions in these two volumes. This is a felicitation volume in honour of the late Prof. I.P. Desai, the Founder-Director of Centre for Social Studies, Surat. Prof. Desai was an eminent sociologist who wrote several books on family, education, social movements, caste and tribe. He was concerned with building 'desired society'.