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Unit 14: Social Change in Contemporary India

step or blended families. Behavioural problems may be more common among children living in such Notes
circumstances. In turn, behaviour and adjustment problems also have long-term effects, leading to
increased marital and relational problems for the children from families where their parents have
separated or divorced. These effects have been consistently demonstrated over numerous studies
(see Teachman, 2004).

In 2003, 1.1 million Australian children aged under 18 years had a natural parent
living elsewhere, which represented 23% of children of the same age (ABS, 2004).

The extent of perturbation of relationships is clear in the data on second and subsequent marriages.
Second marriages are at higher risk of breakdown, with 54% of women who re-marry divorcing
again. The figures for men are even higher, with 65% subsequently divorcing. Of re-marriages, 37%
will dissolve after 10 years. The pattern these data sketch are of many children who are living in
circumstances that make the formation of stable relationships and the skills to sustain them problematic.
The key variable seems to be, however, family functioning. Type of family seems less important than
the extent to which the family functions well in providing models of social and behavioural adjustment.
Using data from Canada’s National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, both Racine and
Boyle (2002) and Lipman et al. (2002) found that behavioural and social adjustment problems were
related to family functioning and became more pronounced over time. Children in dysfunctional
families were, on average, 40% more likely to display such problems, as opposed to those living in
well-functioning families. They were also significantly more likely to show physical aggression and
emotionally abusive behaviour. The effects were particularly marked during adolescence.
Given that as many as a third of marriages will end in divorce, and that, in 2005, 1% of children aged
0-17 years had parents who were divorced, the extent of disturbance of family relationships in Australia
is quite marked. The rapidity of the increase in sole-parent families with dependent children is clearly
demonstrated. In 1986, these families accounted for 15% of families with dependent children; by
2004, the figure was 20%.

14.2 Contemporary Social Change

The feature of unity in diversity in Indian culture presented is but one aspect of the contemporary
social scene. The second aspect would be the description of the nature, directions and factors of social
change in India. In this chapter, a brief description of this aspect would be given.
1. Change in Social Philosophy: Nothing is static in this universe. No human society remains the
same for all times. The social change is natural to all societies and the Indian Society is no exception
to this rule. Therefore, a historical survey of any period would reveal that alongwith economic,
political and ideological changes, social changes are also taking place. In our country, the process
of integration and disintegration of states has always been going on. At times, small states came
together to become an empire and, at other times, big empires split into small units. This dual
process has had its varying impact on the social structure. The formation of big states cemented
the unity among people and their disintegration encouraged diversity. The viewpoints in social
philosophy in India have always been in a melting pot. It is, of course, a fact that in comparison
with Western countries, social change has been much less rapid in India and this truth can be
more clearly brought out in the discussion on ‘Tradition and Modernity’. However, this should
not give us the impression that there is no tangible social change in India, Whenever, any particular
viewpoint in social philosophy became ascendant, its rival viewpoint appeared on the scene. For
example, atheistic ideologies of Charvaka, Buddhism and Jainism appeared on the scene in reaction
against the Vedic ritualism. They opposed orthodoxy and traditionalism. This reaction gave birth
to many social changes. Historically, these changes were harmful to the country. For example, the
spread of Buddhism eroded into the defense potential and protective capability of the country. In

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