Published first in 1946, Social Background of Indian Nationalism is still considered to be an invaluable source of information while studying the conception and development of Indian nationalism. It was actually a doctoral thesis published by A. R. Desai. The book has been translated into many Indian languages and has earned its title of being one of the most thoroughly researched sociological texts available for research. The book traces the journey of Indian nationalism through the past 150 years and takes a look at its very origins. The author looks at the subject all the way to the start of the second world war. Desai provides a comprehensive study with political, cultural, economic and social perspectives. He examines nationalism through all of those perspectives and tries to give the readers an idea of the conditions prevailing at the time of the rise of Indian nationalism. He studies and analyses in great detail, the various contributors and their impacts on nationalism. The book studies the impact of these changes on the society and how it helped transform the society. The book is divided into 19 chapters that are arranged chronologically and explore various topics about agricultural transformation in India, the social consequence due to the agricultural changes and the decline of village industries and development of modern industries.