Chapter 16 : Akshay Ramanlal Desai : Biography and Contribution to Indian Sociology

Biography

• Birth and Death: Born on April 16, 1915, at Nadiad in Gujarat; died on November 12, 1994, at Baroda in Gujarat.
• Early Influences: Deeply influenced by his father, Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai, a well-known litterateur who inspired the youth of Gujarat in the 1930s.
• Activism: Participated in student movements across Baroda, Surat, and Bombay.
• Education: Graduated from the University of Bombay, where he also earned a law degree and completed his PhD in sociology under G.S. Ghurye in 1946.
• Academic Career: Taught at Bombay University and eventually became the Head of the Department.
• Marriage: Married Neera Desai in 1947, who later did pioneering work in women's studies.
• Political Affiliation: Held membership in the Trotskyites Revolutionary Socialist Party from 1953 until he resigned in 1981.

Key Terms

📌 Exam Tidbits

• A.R. Desai (1915–1994): PhD under G.S. Ghurye (1946); member of the Trotskyites Revolutionary Socialist Party (1953–1981).
• Neera Desai: Married A.R. Desai in 1947; pioneer in women's studies.

Methodology

• Core Approach: A.R. Desai consistently advocated and applied the dialectical-historical model (Marxist approach) in his sociological studies.
• Influences: Closely studied the works of Marx, Engels, and Leon Trotsky.
• Pioneering Role: Regarded as a pioneer in introducing the modern Marxist approach to empirical investigations in India, combining bibliographical and field research.
• Doctrinaire Marxist Stance: Desai alone among Indian sociologists consistently applied Marxist methods to Indian social structure and processes.
• Rejection of Religious Interpretations: He explicitly rejects interpreting tradition through religion, rituals, and festivities.
• Economic Nature of Tradition: He argues tradition is essentially a secular phenomenon → its nature is economic → it originates and develops in economics.
• Locus of Tradition: Found in the family, village, and other social institutions (not derived from western culture).
• Key Studies Based on Historical-Dialectical Materialism:

1. Nationalism and its social configuration (1966)
2. Community development programmes for economic development in villages (1959)
3. Diagnosis of the interface between state and society in India / relationship between polity and social structure (1975)