• Yogendra Singh is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and is also its founder.
• He was born on 2nd November, 1932, in a Jamindar family in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh.
• He obtained his Master’s and PhD degrees from Lucknow University and was taught by eminent scholars like Radhakamal Mukerjee, D.P. Mukerji, D.N. Majumdar, Baljit Singh, and A.K. Saran.
• After earning his doctorate, Singh taught for three years at the Institute of Social Sciences, Agra, before joining Rajasthan University to start a new Department of Sociology with T.K.N. Unnithan and Indra Deva.
• He also taught at the University of Jodhpur for some time.
• After a decade in Rajasthan, Singh was invited to establish the Centre for the Study of Social Systems at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1971.
• He has supervised more than thirty doctoral research students.
• Singh is known for being simple, creative, and humanist, qualities that reflect in his writings.
• A distinguished scholar-theoretician, Singh has taught at various universities in India and abroad and conducted significant fieldwork in several South Asian countries.
• He has been actively involved in the profession of sociology in India, holding key positions on various academic and government committees related to social policy.
• He is a member of the research advisory committee of the Planning Commission and the ICSSR and convener of the UGC national panel of sociology.
• Singh has been the President of the Indian Sociological Society.
• He has received numerous awards for his contributions to sociology and social anthropology.

Methodology

• Yogendra Singh is neither a functionalist nor a Marxist, but emphasizes theory in relation to context.
• He combines various theoretical orientations such as structural-functional, structuralism, structural-historical, culturalism, and Marxist constructs in the study of social stratification.
• Singh applied an integrated approach for analyzing social stratification, modernization, and change in Indian society.

Writings

• Yogendra Singh has published extensively in national and international scholarly research journals.
• He is also the author of many books.
• His main works include:
  • Modernization of Indian Tradition (1973)
  • Essays on Modernization (1977)
  • Social Stratification and Social Change in India (1978)
  • Image of Man: Ideology and Theory in Indian Sociology (1984)
  • Indian Sociology: Social Conditioning and Emerging Concerns (1987)
  • Social Change in India: Crisis and Resilience (1993)
  • Culture Change in India: Identity and Globalization (2000)
  • Ideology and Theory in Indian Sociology (2004)
  • Social Aspects of Scientific and Technological Revolution (co-author) (1978)
  • Sociology of Non-Violence and Peace (co-author) (1968)
  • Traditions of Non-Violence (co-author) (1972)
  • The Sociology of Culture (co-author) (1991)
  • Towards a Sociology of Culture in India (co-editor) (1965)
  • For a Sociology of India (co-editor) (1967)
• In his studies, Singh has concentrated on:
  • Social stratification
  • Social change
  • Modernization
  • Indian sociology
  • Culture change