About the Book :

The present study seeks to explore the sociological dimensions of these issues in the context of current situation in India with special reference to Bihar. It covers 1300 respondents spread over 130 villages in different parts of the State. The role of social variables like sex, education, caste, religion, region, and exposure to media in respect of water supply and sanitation have been brought out. The socio cultural constraints in the adoption of new practices and the views of youth and women on these matters have also been analysed. The role of NGOs and the mobilization for people participation for improving the existing situation have also been discussed.

About Author :

Sachchidananda, currently Director of the Sulabh Institute of Development Studies, has bee a pioneer in the field of anthropological studies in Bihar. He was educated in the Patna University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Founder of the Post graduate Department of Anthropology at Ranchi, he was later Director of the Bihar Tribal Research Institute, Ranchi and of the A. N. Sinha institute of Social Studies at Patna. He was also the Vice Chancellor of Ranchi University. His wide ranging research interests cover culture change in tribal areas, shifting cultivation, social dimension of agricultural development , Harijan educated elite, women's rights, educational problems of the disadvantaged sections of the population, voluntary action in tribal areas and socio cultural dimensions of development. He has contributed a large number of papers to research journals in India and abroad and published twenty three books in Sociology and Anthropology. He has also edited the four volume "Profile of Indian Tribes (1995)". A past President of the Anthropology Section of Indian Science Congress, he is also the recipient of R.P. Chanda and S.C. Roy Medals for distinguished work in Anthropology from the Asiatic Society of Bengal.