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Unit 10: Social Change

his parents, the nature of quality of conjugal relations is bound to be different. However, in India, the Notes
structural approach has rarely been used in the analysis of change, while the cultural approach has
been frequently used.
Integrated Approach
Yogendra Singh (1973: 22-27) feels that none of the above approaches provides a comprehensive
perspective on social change in India. He has, therefore, integrated a series of concepts relating to
social change and developed a new approach or paradigm, what he calls an ‘integrated approach’. In
this approach, he integrates (a) direction of change (that is, linear or cyclical), (b) context of change
(that is, through macro or micro levels of structures), (c) source of change (that is, through external
contacts or internal sources), and (d) substantive domain of phenomena undergoing change (that is,
the culture and the social structure).
Planning and Social Change

Planning is commitment to concerted action. It is adjustment of social institutions to new social,
economic, and political conditions. It is not necessarily rational because it is not always guided by
reliable scientific information. For example, in India, if for eliminating poverty, emphasis is laid only
on increase in production and the issue of control over population explosion is completely neglected,
how could it be called rational planning? Social planning aims at: (i) change is social organization,
and (ii) community welfare (like improving educational facilities, increasing employment
opportunities, doing away with evil social practices, etc.)
According to Riemer, three important characteristics of planning are: (a) prior determination of
objectives and proclamation of values; (b) concreteness, that is, laying down concrete details of its
subject-matter; and (c) co-ordination of diversified skills and diversified professional training. For
the success of a plan, we have to bear in mind a few things: (i) plan must stem from the people
themselves, (ii) people’s participation is extremely necessary, (iii) initiative (for implementing the
plan) is to be taken not by the planners but by the activists in different walks of life, (iv) priorities
have to be decided in advance, and (v) arbitration in decision-making must be by a person who has
technical knowledge and is a trained professional because he has the capability of visualizing
alternative solutions.
In India, the economic planning was advocated by M. Visves waraya in 1940s. The Indian National
Congress appointed a National Planning Committee on the eve of the Second World War (1938-39) to
frame an all-India plan. But it was the Bombay Plan (known as Tata-Birla Plan) which made people
planning-conscious in India. The Government of India set up in 1943 a committee of the Viceroy’s
Council, known as Reconstruction Committee of Council (RCC), which was assisted by Provincial
Policy Committees to chalk out plans for reconstruction. In 1944, the Department of Planning and
Development was also created. However, at this stage, government plans were not concerned with
definite economic targets. They were mainly concerned with issues like raising standard of living,
increasing purchasing power of the people, stabilizing agricultural prices, developing industries,
removing wealth disparities, and raising backward classes. Different provinces were asked to prepare
their own plans. There was no resource budget and no priorities. Thus, it could be pointed out that
induced social change could not be possible in India till its independence because: (i) no priorities for
development were determined through adequate planning, (ii) no adequate statistics were prepared
regarding the need of production, national income, etc., (iii) limited foreign exchange was available
for development purposes, (iv) private entrepreneurs were reluctant to invest huge amounts in
industrial development because of the government’s policies, (v) there was no facility for getting raw
materials, machineries, and capital goods from abroad, (vi) no serious efforts were made to check the
growth of population, (vii) planning mechanism was not possible in the absence of proper co-
ordination among the provincial and the central committees, (viii) inflation had increased due to
world wars, and (ix) the administrative machinery was developed mainly with a view to discharge
the policing function of the state. The bureaucrats were not trained to take interest in the development
schemes.

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