Critical Explorations in Social Sciences

Consisting of essays by scholars across disciplines in the social sciences, this volume celebrates two outstanding economists and public intellectuals in contemporary India, Professor Utsa Patnaik and Professor Prabhat Patnaik, who are well known for their contributions to the social sciences, often using the lens of Marxian political economy. Their theoretical and empirical writings with respect to a whole range of diverse themes, especially about India’s economic transformation, are widely recognized both nationally and internationally. It hardly needs stressing that their contributions have been seminal in setting the terms of discourse and debate in several areas over the last few decades.

The essays in the volume present a rich bouquet of ideas, inquiries and reflections that resonate with the Patnaiks’ formidable intellectual canvas. The book covers a wide range of issues which include, inter alia, the philosophical foundations of economic rights, the role of public intellectuals, the intertwined nature of capitalism and imperialism, generalized semi-proletarianization, land and peasant questions, gender, patriarchy, India’s uneven transition to lower middle-income status and its chequered economic transformation trajectory, the GST regime and its implications for fiscal federalism, technology’s ideological role, and caste hierarchy in the access to higher education.

Together, these essays form a rich tapestry of critical inquiry – spanning history, theory, empirical research and policy critique. They not only honour the Patnaiks’ intellectual commitment, but also carry forward the conversations they have helped shape over decades. The book will be of interest to students, scholars, practitioners, policymakers and engaged citizens who are concerned with some of the major and critical questions of our time.