Understanding India: Multiple

Perspectives

© Dr. Ramjit Kumar

 Indian Society: Multiple Perspectives
• Indian society is old and extremely complex; known for its cultural diversity and
history.
• India is a diverse country of many ethnicities, linguistic groups, religions and other
social formations and categories.
• All contribute in making Indian society a complex society. Capturing this
complexity of Indian society is a challenge.
• As a whole it witnessed many upheavals. This includes different political
formations, economic conditions, technological interventions, infusion of new
ideas, people and culture.
• There are several waves of immigrants, representing different ethnicity and
linguistic families have merged into its population to contribute to its diversity,
richness, and vitality. These influence and confluence have made India a very
unique nation-state.
 Indian Society: Multiple Perspectives
• In the past, there have been many attempts and accounts to
understand the Indian civilization from diverse points of view.
These accounts illuminate diversity and richness of India as a
civilization and also provide multiple conceptual tools and
methodology to understand it.
• The richness and diversity of India in terms of geographical
variations, the social structures and cultures and the religious,
socio-political and historical past are significant. Apart from this,
there are also rich tradition of thoughts and practices of India.
• To capture all the diversity that are there in geography,
environment, modes of livelihood one can study India from many
points of view.
 Approaches to study Indian civilization

• Four broad approaches to understand Indian

civilization. They are:

Catalogue Approach
Cultural Essence Approach
Cultural Communication Approach
Approaching India as a Type
 India as a Civilization
• India is one of the oldest civilizations in the
world.
• India as a Civilization
– is devoted to understanding of the
nature of India from the cultural point of
view.
– account illuminate diversity and
richness of India as a civilization.
– provide multiple conceptual
tools/methodology used to study it.
 The Cataloguing of Traits

 India and its population reflect huge diversity and richness.

 The variations and their differences in geography, ecology,
region, class, religions and so on can be explained in terms of
traits and institutions.
 The recording of these traits, institutions and qualities are
assumed essential to understand Indian diversity.
 The emphasis of the approach is to list out traits, variations and
deviations. These are examined in terms of quantities.
 The Reading of Cultural Essence

• The Cultural Essence approach brings forth the essential style

and process of the essence of the culture.
• The culture is supposed to be true repository of Indian
civilization.
• The cultural essence reflects India in its true spirit.
• This indicates that the essence of our culture and ethos need to be
understood through concepts like, cultural diversity, cultural
pluralism, secular ethos, multiculturalism, and unity in diversity
etc.
 What is Culture?
 Culture is a way of life for an entire society. According to Ralph Taylor
Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art,
morals, laws, customs, and other capabilities and habits acquired by
man as a membrane of society.
 Culture is a term used in anthropology which covers everything from
the traditional manner in which people produce, cook eat their food;
the way in which they plan their houses and arrange them on the
surface of their land; the manner in which men are organized in
communities, to the moral or religious values which are found
acceptable, or the habitual methods by which satisfaction is gained in
respect of the higher qualities of the mind.
 Indian Society
• Indian society has innumerable number of arts, languages, and culture.
People from different caste, creeds, and communities have been living
together with their own belief systems, thought, and feelings. People
speak different languages and dialectics; they have their own food,
habits, professions etc.
• Hence, Indian society presents a perfect example of multicultural
concept, called, ‘Salad Bowl’ which means that Indian society as whole
carry one identity without loosing the uniqueness of the parts of it.
• Apart rom this, Indian society is also known for inter faith dialogue and
religious harmony. The purposes of all the major religions in India are
same: universal love, harmony, non-violence, brotherhood, and amity
among all the people and believers and non-believers.
 Cultural Diversity
• Indian society is a product of long and complex historical process. Indian society
in spite of endowing bundle of contradictions, they are held together by strong and
invisible threads. Thousands of communities including all major religions of the
world are living together.
• According to S C Dube, in Indian society it is common to find the past, present, and
the future living together. In this process, Indian society has acquired a composite
culture, characterized by stable patterns of pluralism, harmony and cohesion.
• According to Sociologist T. K. Oommen, the seven major factors that contributed to
the formation of this processes are: Advent of Aryan, the emergence of Indian
protestant religions are Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, the entry of non-Indic
religions, the Muslim conquest, Western colonialism, Anticolonial freedom struggle
and the partition of the Indian subcontinent.
 Cultural Diversity
 One feature that is most often noticed about India is its unity in
diversity. This overworked cliché has become a part of India’s self-
identity. From north to south, east to west, people from diverse
backgrounds have mixed and cultures have intermingled over
centuries. Beneath the bewildering diversity of religion, language
and customs of this vast country, the underlying unity is remarkable.
 The underlying cultural unity was strengthened further with the
administrative unity. The enduring nature of Indian unity has always
been fascinating. Indian unity is the product of certain historical
factors that are present in various fields of Indian social life.
 Cultural Unity
 In terms of social institutions like the family, caste and lifestyles there is a
fundamental unity in the different societies and nations of South Asia.
 An important source of unity in traditional India was rooted in the processes of
cultural communication and interaction.
 Sociologists have identified the role of traders, storytellers, crafts-people and
artists, for example potters, musicians, dancers in traditional India, in building
common cultural traditions. The institutions of pilgrimage, fairs and festivals
provide yet another link for cultural unity. In addition to these agencies, the social
structure and economy forged linkages of reciprocity and interaction between
regions, groups and cultural traditions.
 Accommodation without assimilation has been the characteristic of Indian
civilisation.
 Cultural Diversity
 The achievements in the realms of art, literature, religion and
handicraft, alchemy etc. continued till date. India has very own set
of value system, mind set and way of life which has been retained
with remarkable features with both continuities and
discontinuities despite of drastic intrusions from outside in
various forms like invasion and colonial rule.
 These factors have enduring consequences of lasting impacts on
Indian mind and Indian society. However, this provides India a
unique position to assert and reestablish themselves.
 Cultural Diversity
 Cultural identity is maintained by a common metaphysical base,
such as the idea of ethical compensation (Karmphal) and the idea
of transcendence. Variants of all India epics and mythology, which
emphasise certain values and goals, are found in all regions.
 Examples are purusharth (achievement ideals), rinas
(obligations), dana (sharing), Samskara (sacraments) at birth,
death and marriage, vrata (the ritual to earn merit) and
prayaschita (penance or expiation).
 Religious Harmony
 In the middle ages when the world witnessed the most intensely fought
religious wars in Europe and the Middle East, India stood out as a country
where many religions co-existed in relative social harmony.
 The role of the ruler like Akbar was also very important in this context.
 Islam seems to have strengthened the de-ritualising and egalitarian
trends in Medieval Hinduism, while Hindu philosophy seems to have
strengthened the mystical spiritual strain in Muslim religious thought.
 For example, the Bhakti movement initiated by the Nayanar Saints of
South India found strength in the context of Islam and Muslim dominance
in North India. In the same way, the mystic and devotional aspect of Islam
was strengthened in the philosophical milieu of Hinduism.
 Religious Harmony
• Ramanand, Kabir, Nanak and Dara Shikoh played a significant role in the spread of
mutual understanding among the Hindu and the Muslim masses.
• A unified culture in language, music and the arts was developed during the
medieval period. Hindi and Urdu are the product of this unified Hindustani culture
of medieval India. Both languages have common roots, common vocabulary but
these are written in different scripts — Devanagari and Persian respectively.
• In music and arts, the Hindus and the Muslims had come together. North Indian
music was nurtured at the king’s courts and in the Hindu temples. Hindus sang at
the Muslim courts and Muslims have sung bhajans at Hindu temples. Krishna,
Radha and the gopis have provided the staple theme for many of the compositions
sung by Hindu and Muslim masters alike.
 Religious Harmony
• In architecture the process of blending Hindu and Muslim elements was
perfected during the medieval period.
• During the rule of Akbar, a synthesis of the Turko-Persian conceptions
with Indian style was attempted. Akbar founded an academy of painting
at his court where Indian and Persian artists worked together.
• Jain influence is found on the mosque of Fathehpur Sikri and Mount Abu.
The Mughal architecture acquired new qualities which neither the
Persian nor the old Indian styles had ever possessed.
• Painting also developed a new style during this period through the
blending of the Turko-Iranian with the old Indian style.
 Cultural Factors
• The story of Indian culture is one of continuity, synthesis and enrichment. Culture is
also a source of unity as well as diversity like religion. Powerful kingdoms and
empires such as the Mauryas and the Guptas did not aggressively intervene in
social and cultural matters; leaving much diversity intact.
• Although Islam was the politically dominant religion in large parts of the country
for several centuries it did not absorb Hinduism, or disturb the Hindu social
structure. Nor did Hinduism, which was demographically and otherwise dominant
seek to eliminate the beliefs and practices, characteristic of other religions.
Various beliefs and practices are pursued and maintained by Hindus, Muslims and
Christians alike.
• Over the time Indian society has come to be divided into innumerable tribes,
castes, sub-castes, clans, sects and communities each of which seek to maintain
their own style of life and code of conduct.
 Political Unity
• After the independence the unity of India is expressed in the institution of
the nation. It is the product of the freedom movement as well as the
constitutional legacy of the British rule.
• There is political and administrative unity today but there are different
political parties and diverse political ideologies. Therefore, politics is
both a factor of unity and diversity.
• During the colonial rule different factors led to significant changes in the
structure of Indian society. The traditional framework of unity in Indian
civilization came under tremendous stress. Modern education introduced
by the colonial rulers initiated a process of cultural westernisation.
 Political Unity
• The freedom movement (1857-1947) created new sources of unity
in Indian society. Now, nationalism replaced religion and culture
as the cementing force within Indian society.
• Despite the partition in 1947, the experience of freedom
movement is still the foundation of Indian unity in modern India.
After the independence the nation and its different organs have
become the pillars of unity in India.
 Political Unity
• The constitution built on the pre-existing unity of India has
strengthened it still further by emphasizing the values of equality,
fraternity, secularism and justice.
• In contemporary India the pillars of unity include the following:
The Indian Constitution is the most fundamental source of unity in
India today.
• Indians believe in the basic framework of the Constitution. Indian
Parliament is the national legislative organ of the Indian nation.
Representatives are elected by the people and every adult citizen
of India has a right to vote which represents the people’s will in
general.
 Linguistic Factor
 India is a multilingual country. Language is another source of cultural
diversity as well as unity. It contributes to collective identities and
even to conflicts. Eighteen languages are recognized by Indian
Constitution.
 Linguistic diversity has posed administrative and political problems.
But language too has an underlying role in the unity in diversity of
Indian culture.
 Although there is bewildering diversity in the languages and dialects
of India, fundamental unity is found in the ideas and themes
expressed in these languages. There is unity also at the level of
grammatical structures.
 Linguistic Factor
 Sanskrit has deeply influenced most languages of India with its
vocabulary. Dravidian languages also have a number of Sanskrit
words today. Persian, Arabic and English words too have become
part of the Indian languages and dialects today.
 Language is also a factor of diversity and separatism. Linguistic
separatism has a strong emotional appeal. Political mobilisations
and conflicts have arisen between different linguistic groups.
 After independence linguistic problems of India were centered
around three issues, the official languages issue, the demands for
the linguistic reorganization of the provinces of India and the
status of minority languages within reorganized states.
 Geography on Indian Culture
 The ancient civilization in India grew up in a sharply demarcated
sub-continent bounded on the north by the world’s largest
mountain range- the chain of the Himalayas, which, with its
extensions to east and west, divides India from the rest of Asia and
the world.
 The importance of the mountains to India is not much in the
isolation. The are the source of her two great rivers. On their way
they pass through small and fertile plateau, such as the valleys of
the Kashmir and Nepal, to debouch on the great plain.
 The most important features of the Indian climate is the monsoon
and the rains.
 Cultural Communication Approach
 This approach to understand Indian civilization focuses on the
ways and processes in which the content of the
civilizational system are exchanged, dispersed, and
communicated in different parts of the country.
 The works of social anthropologists, McKim Marriott (1955)
and Robert Redfield (1956) are significant that provides a basis
to understand the unity and interdependence of cultures in
various parts of the country. This symbolises unity in
civilizational entity.
 Universalization & Parochialization
• Marriott highlights cultural synthesis and interaction between ‘Great
Tradition’ and ‘Little Tradition’ while focusing on festivals celebrated in
Kishangarhi in Uttar Pradesh whereas, Redfield’s analysis reflects
constant interaction and communication between great tradition and little
tradition in the form of folk-urban continuum.
• Marriott’s work’s Little Communities in an Indigenous Civilization (1955),
proposes the twin concepts of Universalization and Parochialization.
Universalization is the process of carrying further the great tradition
whereas Parochialization stands for the downward spread of rites,
beliefs and cultural ideals of universal appeal to suit the local environs. It
reflects the creativity of little communities within India’s indigenous
civilization.
 Analyzing Indian Civilization as a Type
 This approach brings forth similarities and dissimilarities of
Indian civilization. The idea is to have cross-cultural/societal
comparisons to India’s features.
 The idea is to classify society in terms of some sort of type that
typically illustrates the characteristics of the Indian society. For
example, India may be seen as a type in being a village society or
an agrarian society or other types of society.
 Field view of Indian Society
• Field view of Indian society suggests that there are deep tensions and
contestation within Indian society. According to caste system, each caste
has its own place in the system that not only suggests stratification and
hierarchy but also purity and pollution.
• According to Rowena Robinson, India has encompassed fascinating
contradictory trends and patterns in social changes and social mobility.
The transformation had started with the colonial rule that brought
modern means o transportation and communication.
• The tensions in the rules and norms of caste started to become visible
with these changes.
 Field View of Indian Society
• Structural discrimination and constraints in Indian
society were always there in but in post independent
society they started to become more visible.
According to M. N. Srinivas, the changes brought out
by Westernisation and Modernisation are phenomenal.
According to him, castes have begun to accept a
westernized values of equality and individualism.
• At the same point of time the influence of other
religions on predominantly Hindu social structure can
not be denied. Like Christianity, Islam, Sikh, Buddhism
and Jainism have major influence on Indian society.
 Indological School of
thought
(G. S. Ghurye, Louis Dumont)

Different
Perspectives: Conflict School of thought

Differing (A R Desai, D P Mukherjee)

Views
Structural- Functional
School of thought
(M N Srinivas, S C Dube)
 Block social changes in
society
Crisis,
Conflicts & •
•
Regionalism
Absolute Poverty
contestation • Communalism

in Indian •
•
Groupism
Frequent conflicts
Society • Dogmatism
 Parochalisation

Universalisation
Sociological
Processes
Little Tradition

Great Tradition
 Sanskritization Modernisation
SOCIAL
CHANGES
AND
Westernisation Globalisation
DYNAMICS

Secularisation
 Caste system
Class System
Nature of Indian Family system (Joint Family)
Society Village System
Agrarian Production
Religious System (Pluralism)
Collective way of Life etc.