Social Geography

Book Details

• Author: Aijazuddin Ahmad

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

• Language: English

• Edition: 1999

• ISBN: 9788170335351

• Publication Year: 1999

• Pages: 456

• Cover: Paperback

• Sale Territory: India

About the Book

Social Geography by Aijazuddin Ahmad offers a detailed social-geographical interpretation of India, grounded in the author’s two decades of experience teaching the subject. This work delves into the critical elements of social identity in India, examining how factors like ethnicity, tribe, caste, language, and religion play out across India’s diverse social fabric.

The book addresses a gap in research, as much of the existing literature has not adequately explored the spatial organization of Indian society in terms of these social identities. Through careful analysis, Ahmad dissects the national social structure at the grassroots level and presents these findings at both the all-India and regional levels.

Additionally, Social Geography places the data in a historical context, demonstrating the crucial role spatial dimensions play in understanding the socio-cultural evolution of Indian society. The work emphasizes the importance of socio-cultural diversity in the functioning of India’s federal system and is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the relationship between geography and social structures in India.

Contents

• Social Geography: An Introduction

• Towards a Social Geography of India: Laying the Foundations

• Origins: Social Differentiation and Region Formation

• Tribe: Between the Two Worlds

• Caste: Everyone in One’s Own Place

• Language: A Bridge, Not a Cleavage

• Religion: Cast in a Regional Mould

• An Overview: Some Preliminary Conclusions

About the Author / Editor

Aijazuddin Ahmad is a distinguished geographer with an illustrious academic background. He retired as Professor of Geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, where he served at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development from 1972 to 1997. Ahmad also taught at Aligarh Muslim University between 1962 and 1972. He has written several influential works, including Demographic Transition, Social Structure and Regional Development, Mountain Population Pressure, An Atlas of Tribal India, and The Valley of Kashmir. His contributions have made a lasting impact on the field of social geography in India.