近年インドの発展は目覚ましく、中国とも影響力において肩を並べる勢いです。しかし現代インドの政治や経済、文化的な動きについてはあまり知られていないのではないでしょうか。経済発展により人々はどのような恩恵を受けているのでしょうか。カースト制度はいまも存在するのでしょうか。本書ではインドにおける近年の歴史を繙き、特に若い世代がいかに活発に国を形づくっているのかを伺い知ることができます。今後インドの存在感が増していくということは確実に言えるでしょう。(cf. India in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know)
　　　

• Offers an overview of India's recent history
• Considers key cultural questions regarding caste, the impact of the economic boom for India's population and the way in which India's culture industry is responding to technological change
• Considers the lives, opportunities, and aspiration of India's youth population

 
India is widely recognised as a new global powerhouse. It has become one of the world's emerging powers, rivalling China in terms of global influence. Yet people still know relatively little about the economic, social, political, and cultural changes unfolding in India today. To what extent are people benefiting from the economic boom? Does caste still exist in India? How is India's culture industry responding to technological change? And what of India's rapidly changing role internationally?

This Very Short Introduction looks at the exciting world of change in contemporary India. Craig Jeffrey provides a compelling account of the recent history of the nation, investigating the contradictions that are plaguing modern India and the manner in which people, especially young people, are actively remaking the country in the twenty first century. One thing is clear: India is a country that is going to become increasingly important for the world over the next decades.