Self-development of individuals and societies is an epochal challenge now but surprisingly very little has been written about this in the vast field of development studies and social sciences. The present book is one of the first efforts in this field and explores in detail the dynamics of pursuit of self-development and the accompanying contradictions in the self-study mobilization called Swadhyaya. Giri is one of the pioneers in bringing self-development to the core of theory and ethnographic multiverse of humanities and development studies. This outstanding book will be of interest to scholars in anthropology, sociology, development studies, humanities, and students of life all around the world.
Ananta Kumar Giriis on the faculty of the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, India
. Ananta Kumar Giri's fascinating work on Swadhyaya is one of the most detailed ethnographies I have read on the burgeoning indigenous movements to foster economic, social and ethical development in South Asia and other parts of the world. Swadhyaya espouses what Giri calls a 'practical spirituality' in which the ethnographer engages in simultaneous participation and in an 'integrally involving criticism.' This movement on the one hand combines a kind of neo-Vedic ideology that opens up a world not just for Hindus but also for Muslims, Buddhists and other religions. Giri discusses the movement in great detail, sympathetically but without sentimentality, and does not ignore the internal conflicts and leadership struggles that such a movement inevitably faces. I recommend this book for anyone interested in engaged ethnography and the new social movements that attempt to combine socio-economic welfare intrinsically tied to ethical concerns. Gananath Obeysekere, Princeton University
Professor Giri's book provides an important and very interesting analysis of one of the most interesting cases of modern social movements and gives very important indications aboulãÉ
![Self-Development and Social Transformations?: The Vision and Practice of the Self-Study Mobilization of Swadhyaya [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/6/2/5/2_6552223.jpg "Self-Development and Social Transformations?: The Vision and Practice of the Self-Study Mobilization of Swadhyaya [Hardcover]")