Indian Identity

by Kakar Sudhir

As A Commentator On The Worlds Of Love And Hate , India S Foremost Psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar Has Isolated The Ambivalence, Peculiarly Indian, To Matters As Various And Connected As Sex, Spirituality And Communal Passions.
In Intimate Relations, The First Of The Well-Known Books In This Edition, He Explores The Nature Of Sexuality In India, Its Politics And Its Language Of Emotions. The Analyst And The Mystic Points Out The Similarities Between Psychoanalysis And Religious Healing, And The Colours Of Violence Is His Erudite Enquiry Into The Mixed Emotions Of Rage And Desire That Inflame Communalism.

Genres: Nonfiction

436 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2007

Reviews

[Ravi Jha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked The colours of Violence more than Intimate relations. It gave some new insights about group identity of people, why they are formed and how they perpetuate from one generation to other. The interviews which include both Hindu and Muslim leaders of society (focused particularly on Hyderabaad but can be applied to whole India) provides with a deep insight of psyche of violent people. It has also dealt with psychological problems arising due to modernization and globalization. Though based mainly on Freaudian lines, Kakar has accommodated the effect of culture and environment on forming of group identity very well. A must read...

[Mohit Kothari · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick intro to Indian psychology and what it means to be an India. Overall it represents one view point on the indian society and it upbringings.
If you are indian, there might be many chapters resonating with your own experiences and if you are not an indian, it can give a glimpse into the complex web of social interactions, upbringing of an indian.