Modernity

Modernity

Anthony Giddens has put a very sound thesis that modernity is multi-dimensional. It is neither monolith, nor liberal only. Nor it is democratic only. It has several dimensions. Indian sociologist, Dipankar Gupta in his book, Mistaken Modernity (2000), has made yet another statement which applies to different nation-states. He opines, "The other widely expressed way of coming to grips with our lack o true modernity is to say that there are “multiple modernities”, and that the India variety is just another expression of modernity"(79).

If modernity is multiple, it means that India should have its own variant of modernity. And, further, there are several or plural ethnicities in this country and therefore modernity in this country has to defined in terms of the social historical and cultural conditions of different regions or social segments of the nation. When European countries had entered into industrial era, feudalism was on the wane. The series of revolutions which took place in Europe, gave emergence to democracy and nation-states. And, interestingly, Europe had already experienced renaissance and enlightenment. Such a kind of social condition in Europe created modernity. And, with the increasing force of modernity, there came into existence the form of modernity which is now called late modernity.