Transformation and Social Cohesion in India

As societies move temporally, the reference point to that movement keeps changing and historical salience of moments in the past varies. Nothing would bring this home more dramatically than the example of most Asian societies that experienced colonial rule until the middle of the last century. For decades, the departure of the colonial ruler constituted the moment of enormous significance. Today, the colonial legacy and its impact would still be important factors in these societies, nevertheless, the more than half century of life after colonialism presents us with new issues and new frames of reference.