Let us now briefly discuss some work that has shown a new path and some new focus. The volume entitled Psychology and Psychoanalysis, edited by G. Misra (2013), attempted to provide a holistic vision of the discipline to inform a better understanding of psychological issues in a cultural context. This was done by bridging some of the gaps, facilitating integration, and providing a forum for dialogue that could help psychology grow in a culturally relevant manner. The chapters included in the volume cover a vast field of contemporary research and plurality in perspectives and approaches. The recognition that psychological processes are grounded in cultural contexts has been the highlight of many chapters in this volume. A few chapters focus on a quest of the mind and its functioning in various traditions Buddhism, Jainism, Samkhya, transpersonal, and psychoanalytic traditions illustrating the heterogeneity in perspectives. The contributions to this volume illustrate how individual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are embedded in the social, cultural, economic, and institutional realities and also draws attention to the fact that intersectionality is warranted in our approach. Two important sections in this volume on self and identity and on consciousness cover interesting topics focusing on the need to see the linkages between self, body, mind, society, and consciousness, which may help in building a viable alternative by raising new questions, need for an interdisciplinary perspective, and the use of contextually sensitive nuanced methodological approaches to enrich psychological understanding. Recently, Chaudhary et al. (2022) reiterated the need to bring culture to the center stage in psychology as core advancements are hardly seen. They argued for a need for better visualization of linkages between culture and psychology and a dialogue between different cultural traditions. There is a need to create spaces for various cultural traditions and examination of diverse cultural epistemologies and multidisciplinary approaches to reshape the future of psychology in the country.

A volume edited by Tripathi and Sinha (2015), Psychology, Development and Social Policy in India, examines psychology’s engagement with social policies, which has been a major promise of the discipline. Many psychologists have commented that despite meaningful contributions relevant to social policy in areas like health and mental well-being, education, intergroup relations, and environment, psychology and psychologists’ role is minimal especially when viewed through the lens of policymakers. Psychological research can inform interventions and there is a need to bring this research to centre stage in policy frameworks and analysis. This book helped sensitize policymakers to the importance of psychology research in policy. However, we need to acknowledge that post COVID-19, attention is being paid to the role of psychology with rising concerns about mental health. This perhaps will pave the way for recognizing the significance of psychological contributions in many areas. The Handbook of Psychology in India (Misra, 2011) discusses the developments in the discipline in India that demonstrate the many shades of psychological researchers and research that co-exist and are engaged in socially and culturally embedded psychology. In several chapters in this volume, authors have examined concepts from Indian and Western traditions to forge an integration of the two.

Pandey et al.’s volume on “Psychological Perspectives on Diversity and Inclusion” (2019) is a collection of essays related to socioeconomic inequalities and diversities that impact individuals and societies. The essays focus on the challenges and innovative ways in which social development and peace and harmony can be conceptualised and achieved in today’s context. Tripathi and Singh’s (2015) Perspectives on Violence and Othering in India looks at othering and violence as a lens to understand what is happening in contemporary Indian society. Though the focus is on the Indian context, the lessons learned and the analyses presented are relevant to plural societies in general. Another contribution worth mentioning is J.B.P. Sinha's ‘Psychosocial Analysis of the Indian Mindset’ (2014). This book examines how Indians construct and cognize their social world and how this impacts their actions and emotions. In the words of Sinha, the book depicts ‘how Indians think, feel, and behave” and the reasons for differences from people from other nationalities and cultures. Indians consistently navigate between their past and the present times and perhaps try to find a balance in their efforts to understand their world by acknowledging the importance of desh (place), kaal (time), and patra (person). Dialogues for Development, edited by Pandey et al. (2010) has several contributions that discuss the social-psychological aspects of development in the context of the developing world. Focussing on the social reality from the perspective of multilingual societies, Mohanty’s (2018) Multi-lingual Realities: Living with Languages extensively discusses how the diversity and neglect of languages impacts the developmental outcomes for tribal, indigenous, and minority children.

All the volumes listed above are milestones indicating significant changes in the research on social and cultural reality and doing psychology differently. Several contributions by authors focusing on Indian Psychology (see Cornelissen et al., 2014; Kakar, 1996; Paranjpe, 1984, 2004; Rao & Paranjpe, 2015; Rao et al., 2008; Kumar, 2011) propose an approach to psychology that is based on ideas and practices that have developed over thousands of years within the Indian sub-continent and are relevant to the mission of an alternative framework for psychology. According to the authors, the use of the word 'Indian' is to appreciate and acknowledge the origin of the underlying philosophy, the conceptual framework, the methods of inquiry, and the technology of consciousness that is needed to understand psychological change and transformation. It is proposed as a meta-theory that has the potential to contribute to the global understanding of psychology. Despite some excellent theoretical advances, there are challenges that need to be addressed while moving to the world of practice.

Another wealth of Indian research can be found in the surveys of psychological research over the last five decades undertaken by the ICSSR. A critical review of Indian research and examination of constructs, model building, conceptualization of problems, methodological appropriateness, and the relevance of the research is commented upon in the various surveys. The development of psychology in India in the direction envisaged by Sinha can be seen through the critically examination of some of the topics in the sixth survey (presented later in this section). In the last five decades, since 1972, six such surveys have been conducted and published. The first survey (Mitra, 1972) covered the period of research from the beginning of the 1920s to 1969. Research was by and large replicative in nature with not much ingenuity and very little contribution towards the development of an alternative paradigm. The second survey (Pareek, 1980, 1981) covered the research conducted between 1971 to 1976 and identified major thematic dimensions of Indian psychology; this shows a move toward realization of Sinha’s call. The issue of relevance was discussed in detail by Pareek (1981). Relevance in itself may not explain much unless one also addresses the question; relevant to what? Relevance can have many referents, such as individuals, groups, or society (Pandey & Singh, 2005). Relevance, however, had a much broader meaning for Pareek; ‘‘relevance of a science can be defined as its sensitivity to and concern for a referent and its capability to respond to its needs, resulting in a better insight into the problems and a contribution to the search for solution’’ (1981, p. 805). Pareek treated relevance as a multidimensional concept and proposed several dimensions of relevance that need to be considered while thinking about an alternative model for psychology. An increased emphasis on applied psychology research was also seen. The third survey (Pandey, 1988) covered publications from 1977 to 1982, and the fourth survey (Pandey, 2000, 2001, 2004) reviewed research undertaken during 1983–1992. Both these surveys showed that psychologists in India were slowly waking up to the clarion call given by Sinha to do culturally and socially relevant psychology. The fifth and sixth Surveys (Misra, 2010, 2019) reviewed emerging areas in psychological research in the last two decades. They indicate that psychology in India is engaging with many new issues and problems. Some chapters in the sixth survey like culture, cognition, and pedagogy (Baveja, 2019), family, identity and the individual in India (Chaudhary & Shukla, 2019), identity discourse in plural societies (Singh & Siddiqui, 2019), the unity of the individual and the collective (Tripathi, 2019), on the nature of mind (Rao, 2019), yoga psychology (Dwivedi, 2019), public psychology as a new conceptual framework for doing psychology in India (Vindhya, 2019), and understanding mind and behavior (Misra & Pirta, 2019) showcase the multidirectional development of psychology in India. They are indicative of a maturing generation of psychology researchers in the country. There is an appreciation of culture and social embeddedness of psychological knowledge, though one must admit, this is limited to some researchers based in select institutions. What is important, however, is that one can see sustained efforts (though not of the encompassing kind) that are important for the development of viable alternatives to the dominant WPsy. In a recent analysis, Singh (2021) asserted that the rich diversity of India offers challenges as well as opportunities that can enable meaningful and socially and culturally relevant research. Researchers can navigate this diversity by adapting practices relating to the local context and including indigenous meaning systems in the vocabulary of the discipline. In a critical analysis of the trends emerging from the six ICSSR surveys, Mishra and Padalia (2021) have observed that there is a shift from positivism to social constructionism; however, they also note that growth and crises co-exist. The goal of theory-building and cumulative growth of knowledge could not be realized, and hence the pedagogical and academic culture needs to be strengthened.