Since 1966, when Economic Weekly formally expanded its mission and became the Economic and Political Weekly, it has been a significant space for critical, constructive and innovative thinking on political, social and economic issues.

Reading India, Vol. II, the second of the three volumes commemorating 50 years of the EPW, brings together a selection of articles from 1966-1991. Divided into three fields of inquiry—the political, social and economic—it presents an analysis of the issues and concerns that dominated this period, and in some ways, shaped the discourse of the following decades.

The first section, dealing with politics, focuses on two concerns of this period - democracy and equality. The essays examine issues related to:

• political representation,
• electoral processes,
• policies of reservation,
• inter-caste and inter-religious conflict,
• status of women, and
• measurement of poverty.

The second section takes up the concerns highlighted by sociologists and social anthropologists:

• the changing Indian family,
• rural leadership patterns,
• economic and social changes taking place in India’s rural economy,
• affirmative action and the marginalisation of religious minorities.

The final section showcases trends in economic thinking during this period, which questioned the economic policies of the era and shaped the direction and nature of the post-1991 reforms. Together, this collection presents analysis, research and debates that are relevant even today for understanding India.

Gurpreet Mahajan is Professor, Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Surinder S. Jodhka is Professor, Centre for the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Ila Patnaik is Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP).