Page 286 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Unit 12: Processes of Change

• The term “secularization” implies that what was previously regarded as religious is now ceasing Notes
to be such, and it also implies a process of differentiation which results in the various aspects of
society, economic, political, legal and moral, becoming increasingly discrete in relation to each
other. The distinction between Church and State, and the Indian concept of a secular state, both
assume the existence of such differentiation.
• ‘Globalization’ has emerged as one of the most important and talked about phenomenon of the
presentage with its social, economic and political dimensions. The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology
(1995) describes globalization as a “process in which social life within societies is increasingly
affected by international influences based on everything from political and trade ties to shared
music, clothing styles, and mass media”. Perhaps, the most powerful form of globalization is
economic in which planning and control expand from a relatively narrow focus such as a single
firm doing business on a regional or national basis to a broad global focus in which the entire
world serves as a source of labour, raw materials, and markets. When business is conducted on
a local level, for example, problems of dealing with workers, obtaining raw materials and other
goods, transportation, and selling the final product all take place within the same social
framework. In a globalized economy, however; Transnational Corporations operate in many
different countries at once and exploit variations in local conditions for their own advantage. If
workers in a more affluent industrial society such as Britain or the United States, for example,
go on strike in order to improve pay or working conditions, a transnational corporation can
simply shift work to another country where workers are more compliant and have lower
expectations.
12.8 Key-Words

1. Vratas : Religious fasts
2. Soma : Consumed alcohol
3. Shrddha : Annual ceremony for dead father or mother
4. Tonsure : Chaula
5. Saptapadi : Seven steps
12.9 Review Questions

1. Discuss the concept of Sanskritization.
2. Explain the factors which promote Sanskritization.
3. What are the pre-requisites of Modernization? Discuss.
4. Write a short note on the process of Modernization.
5. Discuss the process of Secularization.
6. What is the impact of Globalization? Discuss.
Answers: Self-Assessment
1. (i) M.N. Srinivas, 1952 (ii) 1498 A.D. (iii) Jodi
(iv) RSS, Jan Sangh (v) Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Aiyer
12.10 Further Readings

1. Ahuja, Ram, 1994: Indian Social System, Rawat Publication.
2. Srinivas, M.N., 1963: Social Change in Modern India, University of California
Press.
3. Sharma, K.L., 2007: Indian Social Structure and Change, Rawat Publication.

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