Ramesh Rao
India is a multifaceted, multicultural nation with a rich tradition of ethnic, religious, linguistic, social and cultural mores, beliefs and practices. What has allowed for such a rich diversity of people and what have been the challenges to effective communication between and among these groups? India is also Bharat, and where does the twain meet between the imagined and the real India and the imagined and the real Bharat?
This book offers insights into understanding how we deal with difference, how we perceive one another and what we do about religious, caste and regional conflicts using the lens of “communication studies”. It can be read by both intelligent and lay readers as well as students of communication, culture and other social sciences.
Ramesh Rao is a professor in the Department of Communication at Columbus State University. He earned a BA from Bangalore University and then went on to serve as a bank officer, a schoolteacher and a copy editor. He earned a Diploma in Journalism from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan while he was a schoolteacher. He earned an MS in Mass Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi (1987) and a PhD in Communication from Michigan State University (1992). He has taught at Truman State University (1991-2005), Longwood University (2005-2013) and Columbus State University (2013 to present).
Ramesh Rao is the author of books on Indian politics and society, and he has published essays and commentaries in a variety of newspapers, magazines, web portals in India, the UK and the US. He serves as the Chief Editor of India Facts (https://www.indiafacts.org.in) and is on the review and advisory boards of Indian academic journals.
Avinash Thombre is a professor of Communication Studies at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Since 2001, he has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Nonverbal Communication, Small Group Communication, Intercultural Communication, Communication and Change, Communication Theory, Yoga and Mind-Body Communication and Health Communication and Transformation. A native of Pune, India, he has lectured in India, Trinidad and Tobago and Argentina. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bangalore University and earned his PhD from the University of New Mexico in 2004. He began to work as a reporter with the Times of India newspaper and wrote about health, environment, education and new technology issues.
Avinash Thombre’s essays can be accessed at https://avithombre.medium.com/.
