Almost seventy-five percent of India's one billion people live in villages. Until recently, most of the villages were fairly isolated from external media influence. As these villages continued to modernize and gain access to services once thought to be limited to an urban environment, basic human needs began to change. Television, which used to be thought of as a luxury, has in the past 10--15 years become perceived as a necessity. Rural Maharashtrian villages have suddenly been propelled into the electronic information age. These societies that used to be defined by their own oral traditions and stories are now more than ever being structured and reorganized through television. / The research question centers on the role of television in rural life, and the influence it has had on the social, economic and political landscape of the village. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation a picture emerged of television's role in the process of social change at the village level. The physical presence of television and the content of the medium both contribute to the restructuring of human relationships within village life. / The data suggest that television influences certain processes of social change, some of which include: consumerism, democratization, changing gender and age relations, linguistic hegemony, access to information and the entrepreneurial base. In addition, television has restructured the concept of time within the village community. The data also illustrate that village children are unaware of what life was like before the arrival of television. Villagers have become accustomed to their daily dosage of soap operas, movies, game shows and music programs. Rural Maharashtrians are increasingly becoming active participants in the "global village."

This thesis studies the popular character of the revolt of 1857 in Awadh. It argues that in the pre-annexation rural world of Awadh talukdars and peasants had a symbiotic relationship which was destroyed by the first British revenue settlement of 1856-57. The sudden annexation together with the removal of the King from Lucknow and the dispossession and overassessment resulting from the revenue settlement created the basis for disaffection. The sepoys of the army - largely recruited from Awadh - sparked off the revolt but it quickly spread through the countryside. Certain similarities in the way the sepoys sought destruction are emphasized. A detailed study is attempted of the extent of mass participation, especially of talukdars and peasants. Lists are provided of all talukdars of southern Awadh who joined in the rebellion. As distinct from the extant literature on the subject, which emphasize British movements and forms of fighting, the present thesis studies how the rebels fought. It seeks to explore the ways in which the rebellion was organized, of the use that was made of religion as the rallying cry and of the attempts made to restore the traditional world.

No description available.

This thesis analyzes the history of caste system and explains the theories of the birth of caste in Indian civilization. After defining the caste system in historical and cultural manner. examines the birth of and spreading of Dalit movement or low caste mass movement during the 19th and 20th century with the influence of British rule.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1979. / Bibliography: leaves 163-173. / Microfiche. / viii, 173 leaves 28 cm

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 520-551. / Photocopy. / Microfilm. / xxi, 551 leaves ill. 29 cm

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1964. / Bibliography: leaves [361]-381. / viii, 381 l

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1969. / Bibliography: leaves [195]-197. / xi, 197 l illus

Univ., Diss.--London, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [308]-317) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (185-199 leaves ).