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The Introduction discusses the themes covered by the essays in this volume about the history of the development, the trajectory, location, and contemporary concerns of the sociology of education (SoE) in India. The essays included are based on the presentations made at the March 2006 seminar held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, titled ‘Sociology of Education in India—Looking Back, Looking Ahead’. The content of SoE courses taught in universities today are rarely a matter of discussion for scholars, and the work of internationally known classical thinkers on SoE have been largely ignored. In this volume, many contributors reflect critically on the work of these scholars in the context of contemporary concerns in education in India. Some chapters focus on the need to include courses on SoE in teacher preparation in India while others attempt to ‘counter neoliberal and intellectually conservative onslaughts on knowledge generation, which…deflects attention from increasing inequality in society and education.’ The Introduction outlines the content of the two sections of the volume. The first deals with disciplinary trajectory of SoE and analyses its journey and theoretical and methodological concerns. This is followed by chapters on emerging discourses and contemporary concerns about SoE in India. The second section brings together contributions that break new ground in theoretical and empirical engagement with equality, identity, and exclusions in education.

In this section Romila Thapar talks about her childhood and family background. Her childhood was spent in various places from the North West Frontier Province of British India to school and college in Pune, before reaching Delhi, from where she went to London. She reflects on the Indian independence movement and the development of her interests in politics. This was almost inevitable among teenagers growing up in the years just before independence and influenced by Indian nationalism. She discusses her reading at that time both of the classics and of popular novels, and describes how she gradually developed an interest in early India. Thapar also shares her experience of the much-discussed Nehruvian ideal of building a new nation and the growth of radical ideas. She describes her years in London, slowly becoming a historian. This brings her to joining Jawaharlal Nehru University and working at the Centre for Historical Studies.

This chapter views the shift from a mofussil town to the capital cities from a personal angle. It is during this shift that a researcher emerges. The local and the bigger national scene form the background. The choice of a research theme, the relevance of sources, and the archives and libraries in Kolkata and other places are discussed. Research is more than a personal journey. Friends and professionals contribute in a big way. The relevance and utility of institutions are also discussed.

The introduction begins with an elaborate discussion on two rather recent students agitations: in the aftermath of Rohith Vemula’s suicide and the JNU ‘Azadi’ campaign; and in the wake of the arrest of JNU student president Kanhaiya Kumar. The chapter discusses the nature of changing campus activism in India the past decade amidst the backdrop of neo-liberal policies on education. It highlights how public universities aspire towards social justice by creating an intellectually vibrant space in the present competitive age of the market. By establishing a link between democracy and university, the introduction argues that public universities in India provide a critical space to unlearn the undemocratic. As a space of creative imagination and critical thought, universities and institutions of higher learning become sites of resistance.