The notion of the region and its significance in contemporary societies is much debated and contested.  Visible uneven development and rising inequalities have forced social scientists, analysts and policy makers to rethink development in a regional perspective.

This collection of select papers presented at the First Northern Regional Social Science Congress held in 2013 in Jaipur offers a regional perspective on Society and Development. The papers address a wide range of developmental problems of the Northern Region in the social sciences from an interdisciplinary perspective. The volume is illustrated with a wide range of case studies with themes ranging from the problem of inclusion of minorities, changing village economy, gender and health, labour and migration, issues of governance, as well as urbanization seen through different disciplinary lenses. The contributors include some distinguished social scientists, as well as a significant member of young social scientists embarking on their research careers.

The volume will certainly mark the recognition of the serious scholarly engagement in social science research at the regional level. The varied, yet interlinked, nature of issues covered in this book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, policy makers and development practitioners.

Surjit Singh was Professor and Director, Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur. He was also Chair Professor, Bank of India Chair on Rural Credit, Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur during 1997 to 2000. He has 11 books to his credit and has published around 100 papers in national and international journals. Under his able guidance he completed more than 40 research projects for national and international bodies like World Bank, UNICEF, UNMC, ADB, ILO, IRDC, Planning Commission and so on.

Dhruv Raina is Professor at the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His research has focused upon the politics and cultures of scientific knowledge in South Asia. He has co-edited Situating the History of Science: Dialogues with Joseph Needham (1999), Social History of Sciences in Colonial India (2007), and Science between Europe and Asia (2010). He also co-authored Domesticating Modern Science (2004) with S. Irfan Habib. His most recent publication Needham’s Indian Network (2015) is about the ethics of history and science policy in South Asia. He has published extensively on related subjects in journals of the history and philosophy of science, social studies of science and social and political history.