SANSKRITISIZATION AND WESTERNISATION

Submitted By-

AYUSH GAUR

SM0117012

Faculty in Charge

Ms .Racheal D Sangma

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, ASSAM

GUWAHATI

23 APRIL, 2018
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1.Research Questions
1.2.Literature Review
1.3.Scope and Objective
1.4.Research Methodology

2. MODERNISATION

3. EFFECTS OF LITTLE AND GREAT TRADITION

4. ROLE OF TRADITION IN SOCIAL CHANGE

5. SANSKRITIZATION

6. WESTERNIZATION

7. CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

This project is an attempt to analyze the modernization of Indian tradition and the process of
modernization in India from a systematical sociological perspective. Tradition by which we
means, themes that contain the entire sociological system of India prior to the beginning of
modernization was mainly based on hierarchy, continuity, transcendence, and holism. These four
were deeply interlocked with other elements of Indian social structure like caste system and sub
caste stratification, religion, etc. Like hierarchy is engrained with caste system, in holism
community had the precedence or “sangha” not the individual.

Social structure in sociology means the distinctive and stable arrangement of institution in which
humans in a society live together and interact with each other. Social structure is often treated
with the concept of social change which deals with the change the social structure and the
organization of society. The social structure and tradition cover the entire gamut of Indian social
realities like their social phenomena. Modernization in these sources begins either from the
emergent and the endogenous sources or through contact with forces outside the system.

Emphasis on social structure has led us to survey the uneven process of social change. It is
important to bring difference between social change and modernization to evaluate changes in
the traditional society. In traditional India there were continual instances of social change
without implying modernization. Social change refers to alteration and modification which take
place in the life pattern in society whereas modernization is the process of social change and
development with reference to economic development in whole.

This project also makes an attempt to study the changes that had happened in the traditions, such
as the by the process of sanskritization, where the vertical mobility of caste can be seen.
Sanskritization process can be seen in Indian society from a very long time ago but the
westernization in Indian society started from the British rule where people want to spend their
lives in a modern way instead of a traditional way.

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1.1. Research Questions

 What is Modernization?

 What are the effects of Little and Great traditions?

 What is the role of tradition in the social change?

 What is Sanskritization?

 What do we mean by Westernization?

1.2. Literature Review

➢ Yogendra Singh; Modernization of Indian Tradition; Rawat Publication (2011)

This book helps the researcher in giving the whole basic scenario of modernization of tradition
that happened in India and is happening in the present time. This book also talks about the
concepts of little and great tradition i.e. how they developed in the Indian society. The
understanding about the process of social structural changes (i.e. micro and macro) is also an
important feature of this book.

➢ Ram Ahuja, Indian Social System; Rawat Publications (2013)

This book helped the researcher in understanding the concept of modernization. And also helped
in understanding-what were the meanings of modernization of in past times and what it means
now?

➢ M.N. Srinivas; Social changes in modern India; Orient Black Swan Limited (2013)

This book is of a very concentrated type of. It mainly concentrates itself on the important
concepts of the Sankritization and the Westernization. This book gives a very clear and precise

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understanding of the concepts of modernization. It tells about the various concept with suitable
illustrations such as how something occurs in the Indian society.

1.3. Scope and Objectives

Scope:

The scope of this project is to study the modernization of Indian traditions the main is focuses to
study various types of traditions and their effect and also aim at studying how Sanskritization,
Westernization and Islamic tradition made changes in the social structure. It also focuses on what
is the role of tradition in the social change and how social change and modernization are
different from each others.

.Objectives:

The objectives of this project are as follow:

➢ To study about Modernization

➢ To study about Little and Great tradition

➢ To study the concept of role of tradition in a social change

➢ To study Sankritization

➢ To study about Westernization

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1.4. Research Methodology

In this project, the researcher has adopted Doctrinal research. Doctrinal research is essentially
a library-based study, which means that the materials needed by a researcher may be available
in libraries, archives, and other data-bases. Various types of books were used to get the
adequate data essential for this project. The researcher also used computer laboratory to get
important data related to this topic. The researcher also found several good websites which
were very useful to better understand this topic.

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 CHAPTER – 2
EFFECTS OF LITTLE AND GREAT TRADITIONS IN INDIAN
SOCIETY

The first approach to study analyze the social changes with the help of little and great
traditions was used by Robert Redfield while studying Mexican communities. Milton Signer and
McKim Marriot influenced by this model of Robert Redfield and conducted some studies of
social changes in India, and developed the concepts of Little and Great traditions in India.
Tradition means handing down of information, beliefs and customs by word of mouth in way of
examples from one generation to another. In other words, tradition is the inherited practices or
opinion and conventions associated with a social group for a particular period. Great tradition is
associated with the elites, literate and reflective few who are capable of analyzing, interpreting
and reflecting cultural knowledge. Great tradition is a body of knowledge which functions as the
beacon light of knowledge. In contradiction to this little tradition comprises the belief pattern, the
institutions, and knowledge including proverbs, riddles, anecdotes, folk tales, legends, myths and
the whole body of folk-lore of the folk or the unlettered peasants who imbibe cultural knowledge
from the great tradition. Marriott observed that fifteen of the nineteen village festivals celebrated
in the village were sanctioned by at least one Sanskrit text. To explain the interaction between
little and great traditions he theorized a two-way influence: local practices had been historically
promoted into the Sanskrit canon in a process he labelled ‘universalization’, and ideas and
practices already contained in this canon were locally adapted in a process of ‘par-ochialization’.
Of course some rites may have been parochialized and then re-universalized in a circular
fashion 1 . The two traditions are interdependent. Great tradition and little tradition have long
affected each other and continued to do so. Great epics have arisen out of elements of traditional
tale-telling by many people, and epics have returned again to the peasantry for modification and
incorporation into local culture. Changes in the cultural system follow through the interaction be-

1
“Great and Little traditions”, http://what-when-how.com/social-and-cultural-anthropology/great-and-little-
traditions-anthropology

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tween the two traditions in the orthogenetic or heterogenetic process of individual growth. The
pattern of change, however, is generally from orthogenetic to heterogenetic forms of
differentiation or change in the cultural structure of traditions. First, there is change in village
culture due to the internal growth of village.

In other words, the little tradition witnesses changes due to its own internal growth.
Second, the little tradition also undergoes change due to its contact with great tradition and other
parts of the wider civilization. “The direction of this change presumably is from folk or peasant
to urban cultural structure and social organization.” The great tradition, i.e., the epic tradition
also witnesses universalized pattern of culture resulting from its interaction with the village or
little tradition.2

2
Puja Mondal, “Traditions: Origin of Little and Great traditions”,
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/traditions-origin-of-little-and-great-traditions/31943

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 CHAPTER – 3
ROLE OF TRADITION IN SOCIAL CHANGE

Social change and modernization are two different things as social change talks about
alteration and modification which take place in the life pattern in society whereas modernization
is the process of social change and development with reference to economic development in
whole. In traditional India there were continual instances of social changes without implying
modernization. The sources of this social change are both internal and external. These social
changes takes place both at micro as well as macro levels. The internal factors are legislation,
reform movements and education. The external factors include foreign attack, cultural contact
from other countries, trade, etc.

The traditional culture comprising both Great and Little traditions in India experienced
many changes before beginning of Western tradition. Buddhism and Jainism emerged both as
protest movements against the Hindu caste system. These movement had their impact also on
political and economic structure of India. Orthogenetic movements led to the formation of bases
of Sikhism in the north, Bhakti movements in north as well as south India, Arya and
BrahmoSamaj during British regime and Gandhian movement in India’s independence. With the
partial exception of Bhakti movement in north which projected egalitarian values and thought for
the synthesis of Muslims and Hindus tradition. To find out social change we have to look at
village life, caste, family, urban life and social-cultural norms and values. Election have created
politicization and factionalism among the villagers. Village life has changed a great deal due to
impact of wider economy and polity. Today, caste is not simply confined to norms of
commensurable relations or rules of marriage and interaction based on pollution and purity.
Caste has become an interest group and an instrument of social and cultural mobility.3

3
Yogendra Singh; Modernisaton of Indian Tradition; Rawat Publication (2011)

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 To a large extent family in India is not structurally joint but it continues to be joint
functionally. Industrialization, urbanization and modern education have strengthened functional
jointness because people have more resources and find it easy to help each other on important
social occasions and in crisis situations. All the members of a family cannot live together as they
do not work at the same place hence family ceases to be structurally joint.

Cities and towns have become centers of higher education and learning attracting more
young people from villages, initially for education and subsequently for seeking white-collar
jobs. Other factors causing the exodus from villages are poverty, unemployment and lack of
proper health care. Since towns and cities have monopolized economic and medical resources,
there is overburdening of cities due to migration from villages. Traditional values and norms
have certainly been loosening their hold due to these changes. Notions of pollution-purity and
untouchability today do not pervade equally into all aspects of our social life. These norms are
observed loosely on some occasions. However, rules regarding marriage, particularly
hypergamy, caste endogamy and clan exogamy are observed to a large extent n Indian society.

Thus, social change in India is really a complex phenomenon as it has varied forms and
manifestations. Scarlett Epstein’s (1962) comparative study of two villages (one dry and other
irrigated) in Karnataka reports that economic development does not necessarily result in social
change, hence it may not necessarily lead to economic development. The irrigated village had
more economic development and less social change. The un-irrigated village had more of social
change and less of economic development. The former did not witness much migration,
education, politicization and diversification, whereas the latter had a lot of diversification,
differentiation, migration, education and politicization because the people had to move out of the
village to seek employment. The irrigated village provided economic security to the people
hence not much social change occurred there. However, this does not imply that economic
development and social change are independent of each other. This study simply explains the
complexity of social change in India.4

4
Puja Mondal, “Role of tradition in social change”, http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/role-of-tradition-in-
social-change-in-india/35206

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 CHAPTER – 4
SANSKRITIZATION

Endogenous changes in cultural tradition of Hinduism were mainly confined to

Sankritization before beginning of Western influence. Sanskitization above all describes an
empirical process in cultural change which has now been widespread. It reflects an important
process of cultural mobility and social change in India. Sanskritization is a form of protest
against the principles laid down by the Great tradition. It amount to the rejection of Hindu’s
theory of Karma which integrates various level of roles which are supposed to be ascribed by
birth.

Prof. M.N. Srinivas for the first time used the term ‘Sanskritisation’ in his writing
‘Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India’. The term refers to a ‘Process by which
low Hindu caste or tribe or other group, changes its customs, rituals, ideologies and ways of life
in the direction of a high twice born caste to acquire higher status’. At first Prof. Srinivas used
the term ‘Brahminisation’ for this process as he thought that the lower caste people must be
trying to reach at the place of Brahmins. But later on he found that not only they are following
Brahmins but also other caste groups. So, he replaced Brahminisation by Sanskritisation.5

The rejection of the term Brahminization was due to major three reasons, as follows:
1. “Brahminization is sub-assumed in the wider process of Sanskritization:
2. The customs and habits of Brahmins changed after they settled in India; and
3. The agents of Sanskritization were not, and are not always Brahmins.”

Sanskritisation is a process of adaptation of the rituals and life styles of higher castes by a
lower caste. It also refers to the process in which the other groups who fall outside the Hindu
caste structure like tribal groups enter into the Hindu fold.

5
Nitisha, “Impact of sanskritization on Indian Society”, http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/society/indian-
society/impact-of-sanskritisation-on-indian-society/47101

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 This process is based on ‘relative deprivation’ as the society as allotted prestige to
Brahmins, powers was given to Kshatriya and wealth to Vaishyas. The lower caste groups were
deprived of all these benefits of the society. The lower caste people feel inferior to the higher
caste people. This feeling of inferior compels the lower caste to raise their social status in the
society. So they adopted this process of Sanskritization to raise their social position in the
society.

The process of Sanskritization is closely related with ‘dominant caste’. Sanskritization

occurs among those castes who enjoy economic and political powers but haven’t achieved high
ranking. There are some factors which helps to accelerate this process such as desire to move
upward, education, leadership, wealth, power in politics, etc. Unit of mobility in Sanskritization
must be in group. The upward mobility of an individual or a family is not considered as
Sanskritization.

But this process suffers from many limitations like Prof. Srinivas is not clear whether a
lower caste as a whole moves up to a higher strata or only a group of familiesmoves up leaving
behind the other families of the caste. He is also not clear about what happen to vacant place
when caste moves up. Even dominant caste may not allow the lower caste groups to reach at
their place. Now a days the process of desanskritization has also been started.

Sanskritization which is a sort of social change in upwards mobility prevailed in India to

get the benefits of the upper caste or the dominant caste of a particular region by emulating their
ceremonial rituals and practices by the lower caste. This pattern of shift indicates that the people
get inclined towards the beneficial category of the society, which is what we find in de-
sanskritization the exact opposite of sanskritization.

De-sanskritization is the process of downwards social mobility found in India, where the
people try to acquire the low profile social status by getting sanctioned with caste identities of
the lower castes in the Indian caste hierarchy. The process of de-sanskritisation is very much in
fashion nowadays in contemporary India due to its advantages that is obtained by the people
through various castes based Indian Governmental policies as moving upward in the caste

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hierarchy was no more beneficial to the people of India, thus attempts to claim or reclaim of
lower caste were made.

De-sanskritisation is the result of reservations and various sorts of political agendas that
are being correlated along with caste identities for lower caste status in the Indian Caste
hierarchy. For instance, increasing trends have been experienced where people from different
social groups have projected themselves as Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribes and Other
Backward Classes as recognized by the Indian Government to accrue the related benefits
likewise the Gujjars in Rajasthan and the Jats of North Western parts of India developed
agitations to claim the status to include their groups in the list of Backward classes by the Indian
Government.

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 CHAPTER – 5
WESTERNIZATION

Modernization in India mainly started with Western contact, especially through

establishment of British rule. This contact had a special historicity which bought about many far
reaching changes in culture and social structure of Indian society. Not all of them were could be
called modernizing. The impact of Western tradition fundamentally differed from that of Islam,
although both were hetero-genetic and both began with political domination or ruler-ship. The
Western tradition at the time of contact had itself gone under transformation through Industrial
Revolution and social reformation. Its traditional principle of hierarchy was now replaced by
rational-individualism in economy and society. Indian society appeared to them as consisting of
discrete plural tradition of caste, sub-castes and tribes.6

When we compare westernization with sanskritization, the westernization is the simpler

concept. It is defined by the social thinker M.N. Srinivas as the impact of the British Rule in
India which lasted for a period of 150 years. Many radical and lasting changes were produced by
the British Rule in India. When British came to India, they brought with them new technologies,
knowledge and new beliefs and values.

Initially the contact led to the growth of modernizing sub-culture or Little tradition of
Westernization, especially during 17th century in Bengal, Madras, Bombay, where interpreters,
trader-cum-middlemen were being slowly socialized to Western ways, there also emerged a sect
which emphasized assimilation of Western culture norms and Western mode of learning e.g.
BrahmoSamaj, PrathanaSamaj, etc; these also ran a crusade against obscuration of Hindu
traditions. These finally led to the modernization of the Great tradition. Its components were
expansion of Western form of education, urbanization and industrialization, spread new means of
communication and transport and social reforms. Structural modernization also took place like
rational bureaucratic systems of administration and judiciary, army, business elite and
entrepreneurs came into being. They were accompanied by emergence of political elite and a
national leadership by middle of 19th century.

6
Yogendra Singh; Modernisaton of Indian Tradition; Rawat Publication (2011)
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 The growth of this modernization was selective and segmental. It was not integrated with
the micro structures of Indian society such as families and village community. Britishers
followed the policy of least interference to these sector especially after rebellion of 1857.

For a long time caste and ethnic factor were given recognition in recruitment of officers
to army and middle and lower ranks of bureaucracy but later in 20th century as the nationalist
movement gained momentum a communal electorate system was introduced.

Freedom movement ushered in the new political culture of modernization and at its
center was Mahatma Gandhi whose one foot was always deeply embedded in tradition. He
successfully mobilized Indian people for attainment of freedom, but he could not however avert
one serious situation i.e. the partition of India in two independent nations. As there was uneven
growth of sub-cultural tradition of modernization in Hinduism and Islam, each conditioned with
the unique history of their own.

Following Independence, modernization in India has undergone a basic change from its
colonial pattern. Discontinuity in modernization between macro and micro structure and between
Great and Little traditions, as during British regime, has now been completely abolished.
Introduction of adult suffrage and a federal parliamentary form of political structure have carried
politicization to every sector of social organization. Conscious legal reforms in Hindu marriage
and the inheritance laws have deeply affected the foundations of traditional Hindu family
structure.7

As the process of modernization becomes all-encompassing it also generates inter-

structural tensions and conflicts between traditions of past and contemporary. Future course of
modernization in India would depend much on the manner in which these tensions are resolved
as modernization gathers momentum.

7
ibid

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 CHAPTER– 6
CONCLUSION

Modernization is a process of change. Modernization also means as the creation of an

open society from the close one. It is a process by which modern scientific knowledge is
introduced in the society with the ultimate purpose of achieving a better and more satisfactory
life and accepted by concerned society. There is been modernization in the traditions of India.
The major factors behind this modernization are Sanskritization and Westernization. Generally,
sanskritization is the upward mobility of caste in the caste hierarchy. There is only positional
mobility nor the structural mobility by which the whole system balanced. Sanskritization is not
only confined to Hindu low castes but this can also be seen in tribals e.g. Bhils of Rajasthan and
Gonds of Madhya Pradesh. Westernization is defined by the social thinker M.N. Srinivas as the
impact of the British Rule in India. Britishers brought new technologies and way of on living
lives. Indians influenced so much by their lifestyle and their modern technologies. People are
now more inflicted to western culture, but they don ‘realize they are losing their own culture.
Great tradition is a body of knowledge which functions as the beacon light of knowledge. In
contradiction to this little tradition comprises the belief pattern, the institutions, knowledge
including proverbs, riddles, anecdotes, folk tales, legends, myths. Changes in the cultural system
follow through the interaction between the two traditions in the orthogenetic or heterogenetic
process of individual growth.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

➢ Yogendra Singh; Modernisaton of Indian Tradition; Rawat Publication (2011)

➢ M.N. Srinivas; Social changes in modern India; Orient Black Swan Limited (2013)

➢ Ram Ahuja, Indian Social System; Rawat Publications (2013)

INTERNET SOURCES

➢ http://what-when-how.com/social-and-cultural-anthropology/great-and-little-traditions-

anthropology

➢ http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/role-of-tradition-in-social-change-in-india/35206

➢ http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/society/indian-society/impact-of-sanskritisation-on-indian-

society/47101

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