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Compassionate helping of fellow human beings without any selfish motive, is an instinct which is innate in man. In India, we have a long tradition of social work which can be traced back to the Rig Veda. The word seva is ingrained in our psyche and clearly projects inclinations to serve society selflessly. The book covers different aspects of volunteering in eight chapters. Initiating the readers with a brief history of volunteering in India, the authors explain the definition of volunteer and move on to explore volunteering by youth, adults, corporate houses and religious groups. The book tries to finds out the social and economic worth or value of volunteering. It winds up with the chapter titled, Old and New trends in Volunteering: Virtual volunteers, What Next? but does not describe the question “What next?” elaborately as expected. Novel indicators or predictions could have been dealt with in detail. A mixed approach has been taken to research the theme. Every chapter includes the historical perspective, literature review and research findings based on the quantitative methodology which is followed by organisational and individual narratives and ends with authors' commentary on the narratives. This strategy allows the readers a firm grasp of the complexities of the theme. There is a conscious effort to include myriad cases so that all the nuances of the theme could be brought to light. This mixing up of the two approaches is the best feature of this book. The depth of the research studies and their statistical soundness is remarkable. A chapter-wise, extensive bibliography and index in the book will come in handy for the interested readers for further exploration of the theme. The format of chapters is simple and flowing. The book is almost free of glitches. However, on page 109 the book mentions, “….on August 15, the eve of India’s Independence Day,……” which strikes the readers as a serious oversight. The book is recommended for professionals and practitioners of social work and volunteering. Those thinking of contributing through voluntary service, will get ideas and know the scope of the satisfying world of philanthropy since the book conveys the work of several
organisations.
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This book devotes itself to studying this long tradition of voluntary service in our country. The authors belong to different social science disciplines and are equipped to present a broad and multilayered canvas of volunteerism in India, which in itself is a kaleidoscopic phenomenon. The foreword is by Shabana Azmi, a known social activist. 