Introduction

Although still a developing country, India has been modernizing at a fast rate. This has solved some problems but this has also created several new problems. Modernization is going to proceed further and in many ways it is leading to deepening of crisis in institutions and culture of India. It needs to be emphasized that the problems of social order are not the product of objective or value neutral evaluation. Problems get defined by someone, in some context. The nature, causes and solutions of problems are negotiated between various agents. Thus problems may be seen from the perspective of state, academics, laypersons, media and civil society groups in different ways. This lecture identifies various players in the field of development, what their perspectives on development and modernization are, and what their strengths and limitations are.