From “book view” to “field view”: Social anthropological constructions of the Indian village

Abstract The “book view” of rural India of the title is that of Indologists and Orientalists, constructed from Hindu scriptures and the historical record. In the post‐Independence period this was gradually replaced by the “field view” of sociologists and anthropologists, based on participant observation. Their studies threw new light on the nature of the village community, particularly in relation to caste, gender and political faction. The work is important in the context of development since traditional society was, and remains, in a state of flux. One important result of the “field view”, however, is that India's villages appear to have been well integrated into the broader economy and society for a very long period of time, rather than being isolated communities. While recognizing this important contribution, the problems of participant observation are discussed in this paper, notably the possibility that the social and economic background of those engaged might itself induce bias into the results. This is a fundamental issue and indeed one which has not escaped the attention of the major writers themselves.