Page 285 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change

Notes it as “a process by which a low caste or a tribe or other group changes its customs, rituals,
ideology, and way of life in the direction of a high twice-born caste” (1966: 6). The second
connotation of Sanskritization is thus much broader because first Srinivas talked of imitation of
mere food habits, rituals and religious practices but later on he talked of imitation of ideologies
too (which include ideas of karma, dharma, pap, punya, moksha, etc.)
• Westernization refers to “the changes in technology, institutions, ideology and values of a non-
western society as a result of cultural contact with the western society for a long period “(Srinivas,
1962: 55). Giving an example of Indian society, the technological changes, establishment of
educational institutions, rise of nationalism and new political culture, etc. may all be described
as the bye-products of westernization or of the British rule of two hundred years in India. Thus,
by Westernization, Srinivas primarily meant the British impact.
• Modernization has many dimensions. It may be perceived at society level, group level, or
individual level. It may also be perceived as economic modernization, political modernization,
social modernization, technological modernization, military modernization, police
modernization, educational modernization, administrative modernization, and so forth. The
concept has thus been employed in a diffused manner.
• Modernization is not a philosophy or a movement with a clearly articulated value-system. It is
a process of change (Gore, 1982: 7). Earlier, the term ‘modernization’ was used to refer only to
“change in economy and its related effect on social values and social practices”. It was described
as a process that changed the society from primarily agricultural to primarily industrial economy.
As a consequence of this change in economy, the society simultaneously underwent changes in
values, beliefs and norms (Gore, Ibid: 7). Today, the term ‘modernization’ is given a broader
meaning. It is described as “social change involving the elements of science and technology.” It
involves change based on rationality. According to Alatas (1972: 22), modernization 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 in the broadest sense of the term, as accepted by the
society concerned. In this definition, the phrase ‘modern scientific knowledge’ involves: (i) the
recourse to experimentation to assess the validity of suggested explanations, (ii) the assumption
of laws explainable in terms of a rational and experimental approach as distinct from religious
dogma and philosophical explanation, (iii) the employment of definite methods in ascertaining
the validity of facts, (iv) the use of concepts and signs, and (v) the search for truth for its own sake.
• The impact of the West on India, following Alatas (1972: 121), can be discussed in five phases.
The first phase is that of hostile contact with the conquest of Alexander, etc., followed by contact
of peaceful inter-change as the result of trade and commerce of successive centuries. The second
phase began by the end of the fifteenth century when Vasco da Gama arrived with his ships at
Calicut in 1498 A.D. Within a few years, the Portuguese occupied Goa. But the effect of these
westerners was relatively restricted. The third phase began when East India Company established
its rule in the beginning of the eighteenth century and later on the British rule was established
in the country by the middle of the eighteenth century. This was the first step in the expansion
of western culture in India. The fourth phase commenced with the beginning of the nineteenth
century following the industrial revolution. With the economic exploitation of India by the
British as source of raw materials, began the spread and dominance of western culture in social
and cultural fields too. The fifth and the last phase began after the political independence of the
country in 1947.
• BRITISH rule brought with it a process of secularization of Indian social life and culture, a
tendency that gradually became stronger with the development of communications, growth of
towns and cities, increased spatial mobility, and the spread of education. The two World Wars,
and Mahatma Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaigns, both of which socially and politically
mobilized the masses, also contributed to increased secularization. And with Independence
there began a deepening as well as a broadening of the secularization process as witnessed in
such measures as the declaration of India as a secular state, the Constitutional recognition of
the equality of all citizens before the law, the introduction of universal adult suffrage, and the
undertaking of a program of planned development.

280 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY