Confronting the Indian Modes of Production Debate: An Unhappy Encounter of a Third Kind

This paper analyzes the Indian modes of production debate from a non-essentialist, Neo-Althusserian Marxist perspective revealing in the process the dehate's contributions to the theorization of transition of Indian society as well as some of the major problematical features associated with such a theorizotion ending finally with a detailed treatment bringing to light insuperable problems related to its analysis of class in the Indian context. Along with a description about the content of the debate, this critical exegesus is especially distinct for tracing out the deep-seated deficiencies associated with the shadowy methodological underpinnings (such as rationalism, empiricism, etc,) and founding concepts (such as class, centered social totality like capitalism, etc,) that are driving the Indian modes of production debate.