GIST:

Teaching Period: 3rd July, 2023 to 31st July, 2023

BOOK I- INDIAN SOCIETY

CHAPTER 6: THE CHALLENGES OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Diversity and Challenges posed by it:

MEANING OF DIVERSITY
- The term diversity refers to differences rather than inequalities.
- India is a land of diversities where different communities identified by various cultural
markers such as language, religion, race or caste etc coexist with each other.
- These communities might prove to be threat to the integrity of the nation if these
communities are competitive and hostile with one another.

CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY CULTURAL DIVERSITY:

- People are emotional about cultural identities and they arouse intense passions
among individuals.
- These identities can politically mobilise large numbers of people.
- Cultural differences are accompanied by economic and social inequalities.
- The government’s initiative to tackle the inequalities suffered by one community
might provoke a violent reaction from other communities.
- The situation is made worse when scarce resources has to be shared by the
communities like river water, jobs or government funds etc

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY IDENTITY:

- The community plays an integral role in the process of socialisation of an

individual.
- It provides the language and the cultural values through which we make sense of
the world.
- It provides a stable sense of self and identity.
- These identities are based on birth rather than any accomplishment. These are
referred to as ascriptive identities.
- These identities are accidental where no choices are involved. Individuals feel
tremendous sense of satisfaction in belonging to communities. It brings about a
feeling of being rooted to a firm cultural base.
- These identities come without preconditions, we do not need to display any
special skill or prowess to belong to these communities.
- These identities are inescapable. We cannot shake off these identities even if we
want to.

WHY ARE PEOPLE EMOTIONAL ABOUT COMMUNITY IDENTITIES?

 - The identities are accidental, unconditional and inescapable. There is no need for
any accomplishment to receive these identities.
- The expanding and overlapping circles of community identities give meaning to
our world and shape our world view.
- These identities are universal and hence everyone across the world feel the same
loyalty and commitment towards these identities. Hence conflicts are difficult to
resolve. Each side in the conflict believes that they represent truth and divinity
whereas the other side is demonised.
- People are mobilised easily to fight against injustice and inequality. These
conflicts often end up as identity conflicts and hence it is only in retrospect that
we are able to truly assess whether the victors were at fault or the persecuted.
There have been many instance when history had proved that victors were at
fault and there are evidences of them apologising to the persecuted.

COMMUNITIES, NATIONS AND NATION STATES:

NATION:

- A Nation is a large scale community. Nation is the manifestation of the political

aspirations of a group. When a group expresses the desire to form a political
collectivity, they form a nation.

STATE:
- A state refers to political legal institutions that regulate order within a geographical
territory and exercise social control over the people living within the territory.
- According to Max Weber State is a body that has the monopoly to impose legitimate
force within a particular territory.

NATION AS A COMMUNITY:

- A nation is a community that is easy to describe but hard to define.

- Nations can be founded on the basis of common political, cultural and historical
institutions like religion, language, ethnicity, history etc.
- There are no defining features of a nation, for every criterion there are
exceptions and counter examples. There are nations that do not share a
common language, religion, ethnicity etc. There are many languages and
religions that are found across many nations.
- Any community can one day become a nation if they wish to form a political
collectivity defined by the presence of the state.
- Hence we come to the concept of a nation-state.

NATION-STATE:
- In recent times there has been a one-to-one bond between the nation and the
state-i.e., one state would represent one nation with recognition given to one
 single national identity, smoothening out the different community identities in
the process.
- However, in the past, there have been instances when one state would
represent multiple communities as well as national identities, for e.g., the
former Soviet Union.
- There have also been examples of people of a single nation residing as citizens
in different countries.
- There are also examples of dual citizenship laws where citizens of a particular
state can be simultaneous citizens of another state. For e.g., Jewish Americans
can be citizens of both Israel and America, can serve the armed forces of any
country without losing citizenship rights in another country.
- As different nationalities today aspire towards forming a state, a state too
requires to represent the nation in order to gain legitimacy.
- The modern era is characterised by the increasing tendency to establish
democracy and emphasise on nationalism as the basis for political legitimacy.
- Thus, a state needs a nation for legitimacy as much as a nation needs a state
for fulfilling the aspirations for creating a nation-state.

HOW SHOULD THE STATE PART OF THE NATION-STATE TREAT THE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES
THAT MAKE UP THE NATION?

- Most states feel threatened by cultural diversity and are suspicious about it. This is
because any of the community identities can become the basis for nation formation.
- There is always the fear of jeopardising the national integration.
- Hence the states try to either reduce diversity or eliminate it altogether.
- Thus, the states try to homogenise the different identities into one national identity.
- This homogenisation is done through the processes of assimilation and integration.

ASSIMILATION

- The policy of assimilation includes unabashed suppression of ethnic and religious

identities.
- All attempts are made to erode the cultural differences between groups.
- Citizens are either persuaded, encouraged, or forced to adopt a uniform sort of cultural
norms and values.
- These values and norms are usually entirely of the dominant group.
- Other subordinated groups are expected or required to give up their own cultural
identities and embrace the identities that are prescribed by the state.

INTEGRATION:

- Policies of integration emphasise a single, unified, national identity by eliminating all

attempts to express cultural differences in the public arena but then allows the
expression of diversity and ethno-national identities in the personal sphere.
- A clear demarcation is made between the public or the political domain on the one
hand and the private domain on the other.
 - In this case too, there are possibilities of the dominant group’s culture to be treated as
the national culture.

STATEGIES UTILISED BY THE ASSIMILATIONIST AND THE INTEGRATIONIST STATE:

THE POLICIES OF ASSIMILATION AND INTEGRATION ARE ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE

FOLLOWING INTERVENTIONS:

- Centralising all power and concentrating it to the political institutions and spaces where
the dominant groups have overwhelming majority. The autonomy of the local or minority
groups are eliminated.
- Imposing a unified legal and justice system, based on the norms and traditions of the
dominant group. All other alternatives and regional variations are overlooked.
- Adopting the dominant group’s language as the only official national language and
making its use mandatory in all public communications.
- Promotion of the dominant group’s culture and traditions through the state-controlled
media and educational institutions.
- Remodelling state symbols to show reverence to the dominant group’s history, heroes
and culture. These are reflected in the choice of national holidays and naming of streets
etc.
- Seizure of lands, forests and other resources previously controlled by indigenous groups
and declaring them as national resources.

CONCLUSION:

- Any community identity can become the basis for nation formation.
- Hence states feel threatened by cultural diversity.
- Hence, they favour a single, national homogenous identity in the hope of preventing
the sustained suppression and alienation of minorities or subordinated communities
that can provoke violent and hostile assertion of community identity, fragmentation of
the nation and in the hope of managing and controlling it.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND THE INDIAN NATION-STATE:

India is one of the most culturally diverse countries of the world. it has a billion plus
population and the Indian state has been successful in recognizing the cultural diversity
through the motto-unity in diversity.
LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY OF INDIA:

- 1632 Different Languages & Dialects

- 22 Officially Recognised and placed under the 8thScheduleof the Constitution

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY OF INDIA:

- The Hindus constitute the majority religion. About 828 million people are
Hindus that is roughly around 80.5% of the Indian population.
- The Muslims are the largest minority group in India numbering at 138 million
and 13.4% of India’s population.
 - Christians constitute around 2.3%of the population. (24 million)
- The Sikhs constitute 1% of the population. (19 million).
- Buddhists constitute 0.8% of the population, about 8 million.
- Jains constitute 0.4% of the population.

INDIAN NATION STATE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNITY IDENTITIES:

- The Indian State’s relationship with communities can neither be summed up within
the assimilationist model or the Integrationist model despite demands made by the
dominant Hindu group from time to time.
- The Indian state emphasises on National integration but that is suggestive of unity and
fraternity rather than undermining cultural diversity.
- Ours is a secular state but that does not mean that factors such as religion and
language have been banished from the public sphere.
- Strong constitutional provisions have been instituted to protect the minorities of the
country.
- The problem, however, is not with laws or principles but with practice and
implementation.
- India, therefore is a good example of a state-nation.

STATE-NATION

- State-Nation encompasses the idea of peaceful co-existence of various ‘nations’,

nationalities or community identities such as ethnic, religious, linguistic or ethnic
identities within a particular state apparatus.

The features of the state-nation are as follows:

- It eliminates cultural exclusion and builds a society where multiple and

complementary identities can be developed.
- Citizens are given the institutional and political space to identify with both the nation
and their communities.
- People should instil their faith in common institutions and participate actively in
democratic politics. This would help in deepening and consolidating democracies all
over the world.
- State-Nations are characterised by pluralism, institutional accommodation and conflict
resolution through peaceful means.
- Loyalties of all groups should be built through identification, trust and support-
identification with the national identity, trust in public institutions and support for
democracy.
- The state-nation builds successful strategies to accommodate diversity by crafting
responsive policies of cultural recognition.
- It tries to simultaneously ensure political stability and social harmony.

INDIA AS A STATE NATION

 - According to the UNDP Report of 2004, the Indian Constitution incorporates all the
features of a state-nation.
- This has been the reason why India has been such a long-standing, cohesive
democracy.
- As far as the indicators of Identification, trust and support are concerned, India’s
citizens are deeply committed to their country and democracy despite its diversity and
deeply stratified social structure.
- However, in recent times, modern India’s commitment towards co-existence of
multiple identities, has been challenged by the parochial and the chauvinistic attitude
of the radical Hindu groups who with the support of mainstream political parties are
promoting the idea of a single, homogenous National identity.
- The minorities feel threatened and their cultural expression is stifled.
- However, it is believed, that through our deep commitment to the Constitution, we
would be able to overcome these grave challenges and look forward to a multicultural
nation.

REGIONALISM IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

Regionalism is a parochial commitment towards a region arising out of sustained residence

triggered by long term political, economic, cultural and social neglect of the region by the
state and the spatial mainstream of a nation.

CAUSES OF REGIONALISM IN INDIA

a) India’s cultural diversity-Diversity of languages, cultures, tribes and religions.
b) The geographical concentration of communities in particular regions.
c)Feelings of regional deprivation.

INDIAN FEDERALISM HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN ACCOMODATING THESE REGIONAL

SENTIMENTS WHICH COULD HAVE OTHERWISE PROVED HARMFUL FOR THE CONSOLIDATION
OF THE INDIAN STATE.

REGIONAL DIVISIONS OF INDIA DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD

- The British divided India into large provinces called Presidencies. Calcutta, Bombay,
Madras were the three large presidencies which have subsequently become
metropolitan cities in contemporary India.
- The Presidencies were multi-ethnic and multi-lingual units with political-
administrative institutions regulating order within the Union of India.
- The Bombay Presidency constituted the Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada and Konkani
speaking people, The Madras Presidency constituted the Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and
Malayalam speaking people, The Calcutta Presidency constituted the Bengali, Bihari,
Oriya and the Assamese speaking people.
- The Presidency areas were directly administered by the British Government.
 - In addition to the Presidencies there were the Princely States such as Mysore, Kashmir,
Baroda, Hyderabad which were ruled by the Maharajas and the Nawabs under the
supervision of the British Government.

REGIONAL DIVISIONS IMMEDIATELY AFTER INDEPENDENCE:

- Immediately after independence, the British Indian arrangement was continued till
the Constitution came into effect.
- Once the Constitution was in place, it was necessary to reorganize the states into
federal units based on language as that was the promise made by the Congress Party.
- Hence India had to be reorganised into ethno-linguistic states based on the
recommendations of the States Reorganization Commission (SRC).

SRC-BACKGROUND:

- In the 1920s, the Indian National Congress was reconstituted on linguistic lines. Its
provincial units were based on language, for e.g., Marathi wing of the Congress, Oriya
wing of the Congress etc.
- Gandhi and the other Nationalist leaders promised that after independence, the new
nation would be reconstituted on linguistic lines.
- This meant that the new federal units would be created on the basis of language.
- However, with independence, came the trauma of Partition. Hence the Nationalist
leaders who vociferously promised the linguistic Reorganisation of States became
sceptical about this idea as they felt it would further fragment the country just as
religion had divided the country as people were zealously committed towards one
faith.
- Nehru, Patel and Rajaji were of the same opinion that linguistic divisions would further
fragment the consciousness of India.

THE CREATION OF THE STATES REOPRGANISATION COMMISSION:

- The general workers of the Congress Party were all in favour of linguistic
reorganisation of States despite the scepticism of their leaders.
- There were vigorous movements among Marathi and Kannada speakers who
were spread across different political regimes.
- The most militant of these movements were the ones among the Telegu
speakers.
- In October 1953, Potti Sriramulu, a former Gandhian died, seven weeks after
beginning a fast unto death.
- This incident led to the creation of the States Reorganization Commission and
the formation of Andhra Pradesh. The SRC which was implemented on
November 1, 1956, gave the final seal of approval for the linguistic
reorganisation of States.
ASSESSMENT OF THE SRC:
 - Contrary to what the nationalist leaders expected, the linguistic divisions,
instead of fragmenting the country, has led to the consolidation of the nation.
India’s unity was strengthened.
- It was in keeping with the principles of pluralism and cultural diversity that this
division was made. Thus it was perfectly possible for citizens to identify with
their linguistic identity as well as their National identity simultaneously.
- This however, does not mean that the states do not have disputes with one
another but the outcomes of these disputes would have been far worse if the
linguistic commitments were not recognised. This can be proved with the help
of the case study of Sri Lanka.
- Sri Lanka had declared Sinhala as the country’s only official language despite
protests from the Tamil speakers of the north leading to a long drawn civil war
between the two communities.
- Pakistan too was divided in 1971 because it refused to respect the sentiments
of the Bengali speaking community by asserting the dominance of the Punjabi
and Urdu speaking communities of the Western part of the country.

OTHER FEATURES OF INDIAN FEDERALISM:

- Thus language, together with regional and tribal identity have been the strongest
motives for the formation of ethno-national identity in India.
- This does not mean that all linguistic communities have got statehood. For instance in
2000, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand were created on the basis of ethnicity
based on tribal identity, language, regional deprivation and ecology.
- Respecting regional sentiments is not just about creating states but also giving the
states the institutional space to operate with autonomy within the wider federal
structure.
- For this reason, the Constitution provided three lists defining the powers of the States
and the Centre.
- The Lists contain a series of issues or areas of governance which are the exclusive
responsibility of the Centre or the State.
- These Lists are the Union List, The State List and the Concurrent List.
- The Union List contains the areas of governance that are the exclusive responsibility
of the Central Government, The State List contains issues on which the State
- Legislatures can make laws on and the Concurrent List contains issues that can be
brought under the purview of both the Central and the State governments.
- The State Legislatures determine the composition of the Upper House of the
Parliament.
- There are periodic committees and commissions that determine the Centre State
relationship. For e.g., the Finance Commission that decides on sharing tax revenues
between the Centre and the States.
- The Five-Year Plans also include state plans drawn up by the State Planning
Commissions.
CONTENTIOUS ISSUES OF INDIAN FEDERALISM
 - Since the era of Liberalisation (1990s), policy makers and scholars have expressed
concerns about inter regional economic and infrastructural inequalities.
- As private investment plays a greater role in economics, the idea of regional equity
gets undermined.
- This is because private investors generally choose to invest in regions or states where
infrastructural facilities are better, because their primary motive is profit maximisation.
- In this context, the government needs to play a proactive role to reduce the gap
between developed and backward regions of the country.

NATION AND RELIGION:

The issues related to religion in a nation like India can be divided into two groups:
•Issues of minority majority
•Issues of communalism and secularism
MINORITY RIGHT AND NATION BUILDING
- Indian Nationalism is characterised by inclusivity and democracy.
- It is inclusive because it allows diversity and plurality.
- It is democratic because it sought to do away with discrimination and exclusion and
establish a just and equal society.
- Indian nationalists were influenced by the ideas humanism and they rejected the evils
of exclusive nationalism.
THE CONSTITUTION AND INCLUSIVE NATIONALISM
- In a country like India, there is every possibility that the dominant group might assert
their identity and impose their culture , language or religion on the nation. To avoid
such a circumstance, the principle of inclusive nationalism was built into our
constitution.
- There are provisions in the constitution that protect the right of the minorities.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF MINORITY

- The concept of minority is usually used with reference to some relative disadvantage.
- Thus, privileged minorities such as extremely rich people are not considered as
minorities.
- It refers to a small disadvantaged group that forms a collectively with a strong sense
of we feeling or social solidarity.
- They also experience sustained prejudice and discrimination.
- The feelings of discriminations heighten their group loyalty and interests.
RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL MINORITIES
- There are certain religious minorities such as Parsis and Sikhs who are well off
economically but disadvantaged culturally because of their numerical strength relative
to the Hindu community.
 - Religious and cultural minorities need special protection because the numerical
majority can turn their strength into political power and use all means to suppress the
minority.
- This makes the religious minorities politically vulnerable.

DR.B.R. AMBEDKAR ON MINORITIES:

- Dr. Ambedkar warned the majoritarian fanatics about two things during the
constituent assembly debates:
- He Says that the minorities are an explosive force that can dismantle the very fabric
of India. The history of Europe is scattered with examples of such explosive force.
- In India, the minorities have placed their confidence in the majority and the
safeguards drawn up by them for the former. It is hence the duty of the majority to
respect this faith and come up with inclusive policies. Otherwise, there might be
the possibility that like the Protestants in Ireland they would retort ‘damn your
safeguards’ and fragment the consciousness of the nation.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ON THE PROTECTION OF MINORITIES
- THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PROTECTS THE MINORITIES OF THE COUNTRY THROUGH
THE CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS THAT HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED AS
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS.
ARTICLE 29:
- ANY CITIZEN OR SECTION OF THE CITIZENS RESIDING IN ANY TERRITORY HAVING A
DISTINCT LANGUAGE, SCRIPT OR CULTURE SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO CONSERVE THE
SAME.
- NO CITIZEN SHALL BE DENIED ADMISSION INTO ANY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
MAINTAINED BY THE STATE OR RECEIVED OUT OF STATE FUNDS ON GROUNDS OF
RELIGION, RACE, CASTE, OR LANGUAGE.
ARTICLE 30:
- ALL MINORITIES, RELIGIOUS, LINGUISTIC ETC , SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO ESTABLISH
AND ADMINISTER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF THEIR CHOICE.
- THE STATE SHALL NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY MINORITY INSTITUTION IN
GRANTING THEM FINANCIAL AID OR DISBURSING FUNDS.
THERE ARE MANY INSTANCES WHEN A MAJORITY IN ONE CONTEXT BECOMES A MINORITY IN
ANOTHER CONTEXT. FOR E.G. WHITES IN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER APARTHEID, HINDUS IN
KASHMIR, MUSLIMS IN GUJARAT, UPPER CASTES AMONG HINDUS AND TRIBES IN NORTH
EASTERN INDIA.
COMMUNALISM, SECULARISM AND NATION-STATE:
 COMMUNALISM
- Communalism Is an aggressive chauvinism based on religious identity.
- It is a political ideology.
- It is a belief that religion supersedes all other aspects of a person’s or a
- group’s identity.
- It is usually accompanied by an aggressive and hostile attitude towards persons or
groups of other religious or non-religious identities.
- In English Language the word communal is a value neutral term, usually referring to a
collective.
- The South Asian meaning of the term is highly charged. It refers to a political ideology
based on religion.

FEATURES OF COMMUNALISM
- Communalism is all about Politics and not about religion.
- It refers to strong commitment to one’s religious faith but there is no significant
relationship between personal faith and communalism. A Communalist may or may
not be a devout believer, similarly, a devout believer may or may not be a communalist.
- Communalists believe in a political identity based on religion. Their attitude towards
other religions is of hostility and intolerance. They believe that their religious identity
is superior to any other religious identities.
- Communalists believe that their religious identities supersede all other identities. It is
not important whether one is rich or poor, what one’s occupation is or what one’s
political affiliation is, they believe that members of one religion constitute a
homogeneous category. All Hindus are the same, so as all Muslims. They do not
consider regional variations or any ritual or sectarian variations.
- Hindus of Kerala might have more in common with the Muslims of Kerala but for a
communalist, a Hindu from any region is a co-religionist and they constitute a singular
group.

COMMUNALISM IN INDIA
- Communalism has been an important issue in India’s socio-political history.
- It has been a recurrent source of tension and violence in the country.
- During communal riots, one becomes a nameless, faceless member of one’s
community who is ready to kill, loot and rape in the name of one’s faith.
- They justify their brutal and macabre acts in the name of redeeming the lost
glory and honour of their religion. They commit acts of murder to avenge the
alleged deaths of members of their community elsewhere or even in the
distant past.
- The experience of communal violence becomes even more traumatic for
members of the minority community.
 - The ruling party, in all cases of communal violence have a role to play in
abetting it. The history of communal violence in India provides testimony to
that fact. Examples would include the Anti-Sikh riots of 1984 after the
assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and the Godhra riots
in Gujarat in 2002.

COMMUNALISM-CONCLUSION

- The history of Communalism can be traced back to the colonial period when the
colonialists adopted the policy of divide and rule.
- However, even before the colonial period, there have been instances of communal
riots and violence.
- Religious, cultural, regional and ethnic violence can be found in every phase of Indian
history.
- However, it would be unfair to forget India’s plural past and cultural inter-mixing.
- The syncretic heritage of India is clearly visible during the Bhakti and the Sufi
movements.

SECULARISM AND NATION-STATE:

- The Indian meaning includes the Western implications but also involves other
features.
- A secular state does not believe in an official religion. It does not favour any religion
over others.
- The State offers to its citizens the Right to Freedom of Religion. According to this right
the state can profess, practice, and propagate any religion.
- The state expresses equal respect for all religions.
PROBLEMS WITH THE INDIAN MEANING:
- A tension is created between the Western sense of the state maintaining a distance
from all religions and the Indian sense where the state shows equal respect for all
religions.
- Supporters of one sense get upset when the state tries to uphold the other sense of
the term secular.
 - Many questions are raised such as ‘should the state provide subsidies to Haj pilgrims’?,
‘Should the state manage the Tirupati-Tirumala temple complex’?, ‘Should the state
openly talk about the construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya’? ‘Should the Prime
Minister be present at the opening ceremony of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya’?
- If Cow Slaughter is banned, then pig slaughter should also be banned. If Sikh soldiers
are allowed to wear turbans in the army, the Muslim soldiers should also be allowed
to keep beards.
- Questions such as these generate intense passions and heated debates between
communities that are difficult to settle.

PROBLEMS WITH THE INDIAN MEANING-CONTINUED

- Another complication is created by the Indian state’s simultaneous commitment
towards secularism and minority protection.
- In a country like India where there is a overwhelming majority Hindu community,
minorities need to be protected from the cultural and political dominance of the
majority. However, when the State tries to protect the minorities, it is accused of
favouritism or minority appeasement.
- These controversies become difficult to solve when a political party develops a vested
interest in keeping such controversies alive. These controversies become the basis for
vote bank politics.
- The resurgence of Hindu communalists in the Indian political mainstream has made
the situation more complex. The minorities still feel threatened and vulnerable in the
present political atmosphere of the country.
- However, there is still a faith in India’s constitution that has so far proved to be
reasonably successful in dealing with such situations.

SECULARISM: CONCLUSION:
- The first generation of leaders of Independent India chose to have a liberal, secular
state governed by democratic constitution
- Thus, the state was culturally neutral and the nation was an inclusive political and
territorial community.
- It was expected that with the universalisation of citizenship rights, the participation of
cultural pluralities in competitive politics would change civic and ethnic equations
between communities. This, however, has not been fully materialised but the
Constitution time and again asserted India’s commitment towards a secular fabric.

STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY:

AUTHORITARIAN STATE:
- A state is a political-legal institution within a nation that is expected to represent the
diverse citizens living within its borders.
- There is a possibility that sometimes, the state becomes independent of the nation
and is no longer representative of its people.
 - The agencies of the state cease to function and operate for the welfare of the citizens.
- This is the time when the state becomes authoritarian and is not accountable to the
people.
- An authoritarian state refuses to grant civil liberties to its citizens such as freedom of
speech, right to access to due processes of law etc.
- An authoritarian state does not encourage active political participation of citizens in
the electoral system.
- The state may also fail to recognize and fulfil the needs of the people because of
inefficiency or corruption.
- In such circumstances, non-state actors and institutions must keep a watch on the state
and protect the people from injustice and supplement the efforts of the state-in other
words, a civil society.

THE NEED FOR CIVIL SOCIETY:

- The civil society is a realm intermediate between the family and the state.
- It is the realm of wider social relations and public participation, as against the narrower
operations of the state or of the economy.
- It is the non-state and non-economic domain in which individuals get together
voluntarily to create institutions and organisations.
- It is the sphere of active citizenship where individuals take up social issues to attempt
to influence the state to bring about positive policy changes and seek support for a
variety of social causes.
- It consists of voluntary associations, organisations or institutions formed by groups of
citizens.
- It includes political parties, media institutions, trade unions, non-governmental
organisations, religious organisations, and other kinds of collectivities.
- These organisations must not be state controlled or must not have a pure commercial,
profit-making interest.

AUTHORITARIAN RULE IN INDIA

- Indians had a brief experience of authoritarianism during the period when Emergency
was imposed by Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi between June 1975 to January
1977.
- Parliament was suspended. Laws were made directly by the government.
- Civil liberties were suspended. Many politically active people were jailed without a
trial.
- There was censorship of the media.
- Government officials could be dismissed arbitrarily if they did not conform to
government directives.
 - Lower-level government officials were coerced into taking part in forced sterilisation
campaigns during which large number of people lost their lives because of surgical
complications.
- In 1977, when elections were held, the Congress Party was voted out of power because
of the political excesses committed by them.
CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISM IN INDIA
- As a result of the Emergency, civil society activism intensified in India since the 1970s.
- This period saw the resurgence of a variety of movements such as women’s
movements, environmental movements, human rights movements, Dalit movements
etc.
CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISM IN INDIA-A CASE STUDY
RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT- A BRIEF HISTORY (EXTRA)
•In 1994, Mazdoor, Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) started a grassroots campaign for Right to
Information-demanding information concerning development works in rural Rajasthan. This
movement grew and the campaign resulted in the government of Rajasthan enacting a law on
Right to Information in 2000.
•Previously the flow of information was restricted by the Officials Secrets Act, 1923 as it
prohibited all public servants from disclosing any information to the public.
•In 1995, a Draft Act was formulated in a meeting of social activists at Mussoorie.
•In 1996, National Campaign for People’s Right to information (NCPRI), one among several
civil society groups, was founded with the objective of getting legislation on RTI passed. Due
to the growing demand for right to information, the Press Council of India under the guidance
of its chairman, Justice P.B. Sawant drafted a law which was later updated and changed at a
workshop and renamed “The Press Council-NIRD Freedom of Information Act, 1997”.
•Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to have passed a law on Right to Information.
•Finally, in 2005, the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha and it received the assent of the
President on 15thJune, 2005.
FEATURES OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT-2005
- It is a law enacted by the Parliament of India giving the citizens access to government
records.
- Right to information means the right to information accessible under this Act which is
held by or under the control of any public authority. Public Authority refers to a body
of the Government or the instrument of the State.
- It includes the right to inspect work, documents, records.
- Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records.
- It includes the right to obtain information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes,
video cassettes or through any other electronic mode or through printouts where such
information is stored in a computer or in any other device.
 - The Act therefore requires every public Authority to computerise their records for
wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that
the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.
OBJECTIVES OF THE RTI 2005
- To empower the citizens.
- To promote transparency and accountability of the state.
- To contain corruption in public authority.
- To enhance people's participation in the democratic process.
CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISM IN INDIA TODAY:
- Today civil society activities include advocacy and lobbying with National and
international agencies for better social reform.
- It also includes participation in multiple social movements such as the following:
✓ Tribal movements
✓ Urban governance
✓ Campaigns against rape and violence against women
✓ Rehabilitation of those displaced by developmental projects
✓ Highlighting fishermen’s struggles against mechanised fishing
✓ Rehabilitation of hawkers and pavement dwellers
✓ Campaigns against slum demolition
✓ Campaigns for Primary education reforms
✓ Distribution of land to Dalits and so on.
 GIST:
Teaching Period: 3rd July, 2023 to 31st July, 2023
BOOK II- SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

CHAPTER 1: STRUCTURAL CHANGE

UNDERSTANDING COLONIALISM
WHAT IS STRUCTURAL CHANGE?
- Structural change refers to changes in institutionalized social arrangements.
- Colonialism in India brought about significant structural changes as modern
ideas and institutions reached India.
- The exposure to modern ideas as a result of colonialism was paradoxical and
contradictory in India.
- For example, Indians read about Western Liberalism and freedom yet they saw
the British denied these ideals to the people of India.
IMPACT OF BRITISH COLONIALISM ON THE DAILY LIVES OF INDIANS
- Modern India today has been shaped by colonial experience. The impact of
colonialism can be felt on social reform, national movement, laws, Constitution.
- Our industries and agriculture, cities and villages have been shaped by the
contradictions of colonialism.
- Our educational system, parliamentary and legal systems have been built on the
British model.
- The English language has also played an important role in creating and nurturing
modern values in India.
- Thus, to conclude, it can be said that structural change in India has been brought
about by the contradictions of India’s colonial experience.
- Structural change in India took place in the context of these contradictions.
TWO STRUCTURAL CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY COLONIALISM
- INDUSTRIALISATION REFERS TO MACHINE BASED PRODUCTION PROCESS WITH THE
USE OF INANIMATE POWER RESOURCES LIKE STEAM AND ELECTRICITY.
- URBANIZATION REFERS TO THE PROCESS OF POPULATION SHIFT FROM RURAL TO
URBAN AREAS.

THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE

WHAT IS COLONIALISM?

- According to ‘Jary and Jary Collins’ Dictionary of Sociology’, Colonialism refers to

political rule, either directly or indirectly, of one society, country or nation over
another.
- It involves more than just political rule.
 - It has been particularly associated with the domination of one ethnic group within the
dominated group’s territory.
- Colonialism has been associated with European, white, Christian, wealthy rulers who
have attempted to impose cultural values over the ruled by either devaluing or
attempting to eradicate the colonized groups’ religions, languages, customary laws
and economic activities.

DISTINCTIVENESS OF COLONIAL RULE IN INDIA:

- Indian History is full of examples of foreign rulers coming to the country and
establishing dynasties or merely plundering the riches of the nation.
- Colonial rule is distinguishable from all other previous attempts to dominate the
country because the changes brought about it radically transformed Indian society,
economy, and polity.
- This difference can be expressed as capitalist and pre-capitalist attempts at empire
building.
- The earlier attempts were referred to as pre-capitalist in nature. Their main objective
was to plunder the country, assure a steady flow of tribute exacted from the economic
surplus that was produced traditionally. No attempt was made to fundamentally alter
the economic base of the nation.
- British colonialism, on the other hand, transformed the economic base and changed
every law of the land to feed to capitalist needs of the British empire.

BRITISH INTERVENTIONS IN INDIA

- They changed the laws of the land for effective capitalist expansion.
- They meddled with land ownership laws.
- They decided on the crops to be grown especially those that would be used as raw
materials for British factories in England.
- They altered the way in which production and manufacturing were organised in the
country.
- The forests were reserved for commercial exploitation. In some parts forests were
cleared for plantation agriculture.

CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY BRITISH COLONIALISM

❖ CHANGES IN THE FOREST LAWS

- The introduction of the railways led to the changes in forest laws especially in the
north-eastern regions of the country (Assam).
- The policy transformation was from laissez-faire or non-intervention to active
intervention.
- The demand for railway sleepers transformed the forests of Assam from unproductive
wilderness to major source of revenue generation.
- Between 1861-1878, 269 square miles of forests were declared as reserved forests.
- By 1894, it increased to 3683 square miles.
- By the end of the 19thcentury it was about 20,061 square miles.
- Thus, the tribal communities who lived in the forests and depended on them for
sources of livelihood were displaced.

❖ MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE
- People from present day Jharkhand, Bihar migrated to Assam to work on the tea
plantations.
- The new middle class moved to different parts of the country to work as government
officials.
- Professionals such as lawyers and doctors also moved around the country.
- People were also sent to distant colonized lands of Asia and Africa to work as slaves
or labourers. Many died on the way and most could never come back. Their
descendants constitute the Indian diaspora in these foreign lands.
- Between 1834 to 1920, people from various religions, castes and genders were forced
to work on the plantations of Mauritius.
- Most of the recruitment was done from the various districts of Bihar such as Patna,
Gaya, Arrah, Saran, Tirhoot, Champaran and Munger.

❖ NATION STATES
- As a result of colonialism, capitalism became the dominant economic system and
nation state became the dominant political form.
- A Nation is a group of people who share the aspirations of forming a political
collectivity.
- A state refers to politico legal institutions that regulate order within a nation. A
nation state is characterised by sovereignty, citizenship rights and Nationalism. The
primary apparatus of a state is the government with its agencies such as the
Legislature, Executive, Judiciary, Police, the army etc.
- The practice of colonialism and the principle of Nationalism are contradictory in
nature. Nationalism implies that people living within the borders of a nation state have
rights to be sovereign. This sovereignty was denied to the Indians by the British.
- Indian Nationalists recognised this contradiction and during the freedom struggle
declared Swaraj to be their birth right.

STRUCTURAL CHANGES-INDUSTRIALISATION IN INDIA (COLONIAL EXPERIENCE)

- In India, the impact of British industrialization led to de-industrialization.

- The Handicraft industry collapsed as export of silk and cotton manufactures from India
declined in the face of Manchester competition.
- The British policy of annexation led to the decline of royal patronage to traditional artisans
leading to joblessness among them.
- India became the supplier of raw materials to Britain and market for their cheap machine-
made goods. Since indigenous court demands fell, urban luxury goods manufacturing centres
of Dacca and Murshidabad were badly hit.
- Village crafts in the interiors of the country declined as the development of railways made
British penetration in these regions possible.
- As a result of British induced industrialization or de-industrialization, people in India were
forced to move from the urban areas to the villages where agriculture could accommodate
them.
 - Industrialization in the West led to the emergence of a middle class. This did not happen in
India. As a substitute of industries, the British in India gave land ownership rights to
zamindars and English education to others. The former produced absentee landlords who
became parasites on land, uninterested in increasing agricultural productivity and the latter
produced unemployed graduates. No genuine middle class was created in India by the
British.

THE TEA PLANTATIONS- A CASE STUDY

- The tea industry is an example of the kind of industrialization that the British promoted
in India.
- The colonial government used coercive methods to hire and keep labourers in the
industry. The government acted on behalf of the British planters rather than the Indian
cultivators.
- The government believed that the laws of a colonized country did not have to conform
to democratic norms.
- The exploitation of the labourers was explicit and unabashed.

RECRUITMENT OF WORKERS IN THE TEA INDUSTRY

- The tea industry in India began in 1851.

- Most of the tea gardens were in Assam.
- In 1903, the industry employed 4,79,000 permanent and 93,000 temporary
employees.
- Since Assam was sparsely populated, most of the labourers had to be recruited from
other provinces.
- To work in an alien land, with unpredictable climatic conditions and the prevalence of
multiple diseases, the workers were required to be given economic and other
incentives. However, these incentives were not given by the British planters but the
workers were recruited using coercive measures in which the colonial government
colluded by passing penal laws.
- The Transport of Native Labourers Act of 1863, 1865, 1870 and 1873 and the Assam
Labour and Emigration Bill of 1901 were used to force the workers to work in the
plantations.

COLONIAL LAWS THAT FAVOURED THE BRITISH PLANTERS

The Transport of Native Labourers’ Act of Bengal

- According to this law, the recruitment was done on the basis of indentures.
- The labourers were coerced to sign contracts whereby they would agree to work
on the plantations for a minimum of four years.
- In case of non-fulfilment of the terms of the contract, the workers were threatened
with severe penal action including imprisonment.

The Assam Labour and Emigration Bill of 1901

 - T. Raleigh, a Law member, speaking on this bill said that with this bill the worker would
be committed to Assam even before he knew it.
- The worker was forced to work under unhealthy conditions for at least four years with
no chance of coming back.
- They were threatened with arrest and imprisonment if they failed to respect the terms
of the contract.
- These laws, Raleigh believed had no place in a democracy and that they did not define
master-servant relationship anywhere in the world, yet these laws were given legal
sanction because the colonial government wanted the British planters to benefit from
this ominous arrangement.

INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION:

- An important feature of industrialisation is that a large majority of people are

employed in factories, offices and shops in the urban areas.
- Hence it can be said that industrialisation is closely associated with urbanisation.
They often occur together and hence are linked to each other.
- For example, in Great Britain, in 1800, around 20% of the population lived in towns
and cities. By 1900, as industrialisation started the number went up to 74%. In
1800, about 1.1 million people lived in London and this number was over 7 million
in the 1900s when London became the financial hub of the ever-expanding British
empire.

URBANISATION IN INDIA: COLONIAL EXPERIENCE

- In India, the impact of British industrialisation led to de-urbanisation or the decline of

the old urban centres
- Urban centres such as Surat, Masulipatnam, Thanjavur, Dacca, Murshidabad lost their
glory as the decline of the handicraft industry set in.
- New urban centres emerged such as the cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
- These new cities were primarily coastal cities, from where primary commodities could
be easily exported and manufactured goods from Britain could be cheaply imported.
- These were called the colonial cities that became the primary link between the
capitalist core of Great Britain and the peripheral economy of colonized India. They
were the concrete expressions of British capitalism.
- For example, Bombay was planned in such a way that by 1900 cotton could be shipped
through the city. Calcutta exported jute to Dundee and Madras exported sugar, indigo,
cotton to Great Britain.
- These cities were planned in such a way that they had broad streets, spacious
bungalows, recreational facilities such as race and golf courses, cricket and soccer
fields. Planning was done such that proper sanitation services could be provided to the
European dwellers. The natives, however did not have access to any such benefits.

INDUSTRIALISATION IN INDEPENDENT INDIA

- Emphasis was given on the development of heavy industries, a strong public sector
and cooperatives.
 - Rapid industrial growth was thought to be the only way to bring about social equity.
The fables of pre-colonial riches were narrated and it was believed that poverty
was preventable.
- Jawaharlal Nehru believed that modern India would be built on the edifice of large
industries and dams which he called the temples of modern India.

➢ THE PLANNING COMMITTEE OF 1938

- In 1938, a Planning Committee was established by the Congress Party with J.L. Nehru
as the chairman and K.T. Shah as the general editor.
- The task of the committee was to plan India’s economic growth and for such a task 29
sub committees were formed to look into different aspects of development in India.
- The Committee focussed its attention on the following areas:

• Agriculture
• Industries
• Labour and Population
• Exchange and Finance
• Transport and Communication
• Health and Housing
• General and Technical Education
• Women’s role in a planned economy

- The Committee could not complete its task because the Chairman was arrested by the
British in 1939.
- After independence, the Planning Commission was finally set up initiate the process
of Centralised planning in India.

URBANIZATION IN INDEPENDENT INDIA:

- The Sociologist M.S.A. Rao emphasised on three different kinds of urban influences
in Independent India.
- Many people in India have migrated to far off states in search of employment leaving
behind their family members in the natal villages. In Madhapur, a village in north-
central India, out of 298 households 77 households have migrants who have migrated
to the cities of Bombay and Calcutta. 75% of them send money to their villages
regularly, around 83% visit their homes about three to four times.
- When an industrial town comes up amidst villages, the village is completely uprooted
as demands for housing and marketplaces grow. The area experiences a structural
transformation.
- The growth of metropolitan cities have also resulted in the absorption of villages
during the process of expansion.
 GIST:
Teaching Period: 3rd July, 2023 to 31st July, 2023
BOOK II- SOCIAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

CHAPTER 2: CULTURAL CHANGE

UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL CHANGE:

Cultural change refers to changes in ways of life. It also refers to changes in norms, values,
ethics that are widely accepted by society.
CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE COLONIAL CONTEXT:
Cultural change in the colonial context can be understood at two levels:
- The deliberate attempts to change society by 19th century social reformers and
nationalists.
- The non-deliberate and indirect influence of four processes of change-
Sanskritization, modernisation, secularisation, and Westernisation.
Apart from Sanskritization, all other processes of change can be understood as responses
to colonial rule.
DELIBERATE CATTEMPTS:
SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENTS IN THE 19TH AND THE EARLY 20TH CENTURIES:
- These reform movements emerged to face the challenges thrown by the colonial
government.
- They sought to do away with the social evils of the time: Sati, child marriage, denial
of rights to widows to remarry, and caste discrimination.
- In pre-colonial India too, there were attempts to remove discrimination by the
Bhakti and the Sufi movements, by Jainism and Buddhism. However, the
distinctiveness of the 19thcentury movements was the context in which change was
envisioned. Social change would be brought about in the context of mix of ideas-a
combination of Western Liberalism and a fresh look at Indian traditional literature.
MIX OF IDEAS:
- Raja Rammohun Roy attacked the practice of Sati on the basis of natural rights
doctrine, appeals to humanitarianism as well as on the basis of Hindu Shastras.
- M.G. Ranade’s books, ‘The Texts of the Hindu Law on the Lawfulness of Remarriage of
Widows’ and ‘Vedic authorities for Widow Marriage’ elaborated on the Shastric
sanction for widow remarriage.
- The content of modern education in India was greatly inspired by the literature of the
European Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment.
- Sir Syed Ahmed Khan wanted to reinterpret Islam based on free inquiry or ijtihad. He
believed that there were similarities between Koranic revelations and the laws of
nature discovered by modern science.
 - Kandukiri Veeresalingam’s ‘The Sources of Knowledge’ reflected his familiarity with
the navya nyaya logic, a 13th century philosophical idea founded by Gangesh
Upadhyaya. He was also inspired by the works of Julian Huxley, an English evolutionary
biologist.
MODERN FRAMEWORK OF CHANGE IN COLONIAL INDIA
Sociologist Satish Saberwal identified three aspects of the modern framework of change in
colonial India:

MODES OF COMMUNICATION
New technologies such as printing press, the telegraph, microphone, steamships, and
railways, helped in the quick movement of people and ideas. Social reformers travelled round
the country to spread the ideas of change. Christian missionaries reached the remote corners
of present-day Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and thus the idea of a nation as an imagined
community came into existence.
FORMS OF ORGANISATION
Modern Social Organisations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj ,
Satyashodhak Samaj , Ramakrishna Mission etc, debated, discussed and held meetings. The
All-India Muslims Ladies Conference (Anjuman E Khawatn E Islam) was founded in 1914.
Translations of religious writings were done to make them accessible to all. Vishnu Shastri
published a Marathi translation of Vidyasagar’s book in Indu Prakash in 1868.
NATURE OF IDEAS
Ideas of Liberalism, freedom, new ideas about homemaking, new roles of women and self-
conscious pride in one’s tradition and culture emerged. The idea of female education was
widely debated. Jyotiba Phule opened the first women’s school in Pune. All ideas of change
were debated within the context of tradition and modernity. Values of modernity were
embraced but not at the cost of traditions. This was a period of questioning, interpreting and
reinterpreting traditions.
VARIED NATURE OF 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENTS:
- Some movements were concerned with upper caste, middle class men and women.
- For others the injustices suffered by the discriminated castes were issues of primary
importance.
- Some believed that social evils emerged because of the loss of the true essence of
Hinduism.
- For others caste and gender discriminations were inherent in every organised religion.
MUSLIM SOCIAL REFORMERS
- Muslim social reformers debated intensely on the practices of polygamy and
purdah.
- At the All-India Muslim Ladies Conference, Jahanara Shah Nawas proposed the
resolution against the evils of polygamy.
- She argued that the practice is against the true spirit of Islam. She believed that it
was the duty of the educated women of the community to deter the men from
practising it.
- Tehsib e Niswan , a leading journal for women in Punjab, came out in favour of the
resolution but others disapproved of it. However, it was encouraging to see that
people were ready to publicly discuss these issues of religion without the fear of
being blasphemous.
OPPOSITION FACED BY THE HINDU REFORMERS:
- Sati was opposed by the Brahmo Samaj.
- Orthodox members of the Hindu community formed another organisation called
the Dharma Sabha to counter the initiatives taken by the Brahmo Samaj in order
to bring about religious reform.
- These attempts to reform society was seen as interference in the Hindu religion.
- Members of the Dharma Sabha filed a petition with the British that the reformers
had no right to interpret the Hindu sacred texts.
- The Dalits on the other hand spoke in terms of complete rejection of the Hindu
fold. They believed that no amount of reform would be able to change the inherent
and underlying discriminatory practices of the Hindu religion.

NON-DELIBERATE CULTURAL CHANGES:

SANSKRITISATION
- Sanskritization is a term coined by M.N. Srinivas. It refers to the process by which some
members of the low castes or tribes try to emulate the customs, rituals, beliefs,
ideology and lifestyle of a high, in particular, twice born or dwija castes with the
expectation to improve their status in the caste hierarchy or to gain entry within the
Hindu caste fold.
- In places where the upper castes are not dominant and where non Sanskritic castes
are more influential, the process of De-Sanskritization follows.
 - Sanskritization is not seen in places like Punjab where the Persian influence is
predominant.
IMPACT OF SANSKRITIZATION
- Srinivas argued that Sanskritization would lead to the positional improvement of a
lower caste in the local caste hierarchy.
- This would be followed by the improvement in the economic and the political position
of the caste as it encountered source of the ‘Great Tradition’ of Hinduism.
- The transition, however is never smooth. There are bound to be reactions on the part
of the upper castes against the audacious attempts by the lower caste to be considered
as part of the same status position in the caste hierarchy.
- Kumud Pawade in her autobiography shows how as a Dalit woman, she faced
obstacles on her way to becoming a teacher in Sanskrit. The reactions varied from
‘surprise to hostility,’ from ‘guarded acceptance to brutal rejection’.
CRITICISMS OF SANSKRITIZATION
- It has been argued that Sanskritization does not lead to any structural change for a
lower caste but only a positional change for certain members.
- It seems to assume that upper castes are superior and hence are to be imitated. It sees
this as a natural process.
- It justifies the practice of inequality and exclusion as it believes that the principle of
purity and pollution is justifiable.
- The process is also gendered. It is progressive for men. It leads to the adoption of upper
caste practices such as purdah, child marriage, dowry in place of bride price which are
regressive for women.
- It also leads to the erosion of Dalit culture and identity. It reduces the worth of Dalit
labour and treats them as shameful and degraded.
- However, in recent years, the assertion of Dalit identities and Backward Class
movement have led to the rejection of upper caste culture.
WESTERNIZATION
- M.N. Srinivas defines Westernization as the changes brought about in Indian society
and culture as a result of more than 150 years of British rule, changes occurring in
technology, institutions, ideology, and values.
- He believed as lower castes sanskritized, the upper castes were westernized by
considering the British colonialists as reference group.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF WESTERNIZATION
- Emergence of a Westernised sub cultural pattern brought forward by the Western
educated middle class. This group not only adopted the cognitive patterns of Western
thought and Western ways of life but believed that British rule must continue.
- There were also small sections of people who adopted Western life styles and were
affected by the Western ways of thinking. They were inspired by John Stuart Mills’
essay on Liberty and the Magna Carta.
 - There was also the general spread of Western cultural traits in the fields of food and
eating habits, clothes and life styles due to working with or serving the British
colonialists over a long period.
- It also meant the blind imitation of external forms of culture. This group however did
not adopt modern values of democracy and equality.
- Impact of Westernisation could be felt in the fields of art, literature, music,
architecture etc.
- Westernization has resulted in generational conflicts in many middle-class homes.
- For the lower castes, it meant a move towards a cosmopolitan life that critiqued caste.
- For many people in the north eastern region, Westernization opened new educational
and employment opportunities that could result in upward mobility.
MODERNIZATION:
- Modernization refers to the path of development taken by much of Western Europe
and North America and it includes improvements in technology and production
process. The expectation was that the rest of the world would follow the same
trajectory.
- Thus, for much of 19th and the 20th centuries, the term was associated with positive
and desirable values.
FEATURES OF MODERNIZATION (RUDOLPH AND RUDOLPH)
- Modernisation assumes that local ties and parochial perspectives give way to universal
commitments and cosmopolitan attitudes.
- It emphasises on a scientific and a rational approach as opposed to the emphasis on
anything that is sacred, emotional and non-rational.
- It emphasises the importance of the individual over the community.
- Membership in associations would depend on choice rather than on any impositions.
- Work would be based on achievement and not on birth. Thus achieved identity is
emphasised upon rather than ascribed identity.
SECULARISATION:
- In the West, modernisation seems to have led to the process of secularisation -decline
in the influence of religion in the public sphere.
- The indicators of secularisation are the degree of involvement in religious
organisations, the social and material influence of religious organisations and the
degree to which people hold religious beliefs.

SECULARISATION OF RITUALS:
- Rituals today have secular goals and dimensions.
- They provide men and women with opportunities to socialise with friends and family.
- The celebration of religious festivals has also become opportunities to showcase a
family’s wealth.
 - The commercial aspect of rituals and festivals have become very conspicuous keeping
in mind the advertisements that use these festivals to make most profit.
- The secular dimension of rituals can be explained by the fact that it is possible today
to offer online puja at any temple in India after the payment of a fee and the websites
claim to deliver the ‘prasad’ within six to seven working days.
SECULARISATION OF CASTE
- This can be seen in caste based political parties.
- Seeking votes and fielding candidates on caste lines.
- Assertion of Rights by caste based political parties.