Between Tradition and Modernity

Book excerpt: An AltaMira Press Book The process of modernization poses a profound challenge to societies. Nowhere is this more true than in India where cultural memories have been severely tested by colonial domination but have been loyally preserved nonetheless. This anthology documents the intellectual struggle of Indian writers and philosophers in the twentieth century to articulate the meaning of "India" and thereby establish an identity which bridges indigenous tradition and Western-style modernity. The book focuses on the existential dimension of India's encounter with the West-its role as a catalyst in the process of self-scrutiny and in the search for self-rule and cultural identity. As a whole, the anthology constitutes not so much an objective travellogue but rather a 'sentimental journey' reflecting the experiences of prominent Indians, thereby revealing that the process of modernization and development is really a struggle over the heart and soul of India and, by extension, over the sense and direction of humanity or humankind. It provides a timely perspective on self-understanding or self-interpretation in India's fiftieth year of independence.