和中国一样,印度是个历史悠久、人口众多的发展中国家。虽然同在亚洲,我们对她的了解并不多。当今的印度到底是个什么样子?她如何面对经济发展和现代化的挑战?她的经验对中国有什么借鉴意义?要回答这些宏大的问题,就难免会联想到瞎子摸象的寓言。这个源自印度的故事常常被社会科学研究者用来比喻学术研究的局限性。一位社会学教授曾经颇出新意 Like China, India is a developing country with a long history and a large population. Although in Asia, we do not know much about her. How does India today face the challenges of economic development and modernization? What lessons does her experience have for China? To answer these ambitious questions, it is inevitable to think of the blind allegory. This story from India is often used by social science researchers to describe the limitations of academic research. A sociology professor once quite innovative