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Unit 14: Social Change in Contemporary India

when there is a change from farming to industry (say, cement industry, or sugar industry, or paper Notes
industry, or steel industry), this will involve the development of new aptitudes and new habits of
work. If we regard the introduction of an industry as a purely mechanical process which will have
certain social consequences, we fail to see that what we regard as the result or consequence is but the
continuous process of change itself. Thus, if workers in the industry are independently housed, or
suffer deficiencies in the standard of nutrition, education or recreation, now necessary in their new
environment, these are not the consequence of the process of change in industry, but rather of a
failure to complete it. Even the direct activity of increasing the production (say, of cement, sugar,
paper or steel, etc.) cannot be brought to optimum efficiency unless all other economic and social
activities to which the task must be related, have been developed. Indeed, an industry cannot even
begin until some changes in the previous attitudes, habits and patterns of social organisation have
taken place.
Let us take another example of what may be regarded merely as a technical change. Let us assume
that it is desired to increase the productivity of land and cattle-ownership of a village community
which has never engaged in the production of butter or other milk products, either for sale or its own
consumption. It is hoped that not only will this community consume these products itself but will
also market some of these as to enable it to increase its income by selling the surplus dairy produce.
At first, the problem might appear to be merely one of introducing new methods of production and
the tools, instruments or machines appropriate thereto. But, what is really involved is a vast change
in social beliefs and practices. Here, let us for a moment consider only what far-reaching social changes
will have to be made to enable technical change to be introduced at all. The utilisation of cattle (besides
possessing land) as a source of income presupposes a basic alteration in social and economic structures
of the community. It also implies recasting of the traditional values of the members of the community.
Thus, it suggests a change in the traditional beliefs as to how and by whom the land is to be cultivated,
whether by men or by women, by individuals working for themselves or for others. This, in turn,
presupposes the growth of new attitudes and patterns of behaviour which will regulate their social
and mutual relations. There is also an assumption of the parallel emergence of a group of persons
concerned not only with dairy production itself but also with transport, distribution, marketing and
finance of all that the new producers have to buy and all that they have to sell. This also necessitates
the political structure—local, provincial and even national—suited to the establishment of these
complementary economic activities. It further implies the willingness of the community to permit the
growth of all legal, political and administrative institutions necessary to harmonize the rights and
duties of persons engaged in this new interdependent economy.
The purpose of this long list of social adjustments is to show that whatever it be that we may care to
designate as technical change, it is but one aspect of mutually determined and determining processes
of growth on many fronts of the social structure as a whole. It is idle to endeavour to ascertain which
change is the innovation or cause and which is the effect. Frankel has said that when we take one
change as cause and other as effect, we are merely examining the process of change itself from different
points of observation.
Sociological Problems of Economic Development

Economic development is not possible without structural change. Scholars like H.W. Singer (see,
Jean Meynaud, 1963: 157) have submitted that for the economic development of the underdeveloped
countries, industrialisation is very necessary. Poor underdeveloped countries have 60 to 80 per cent
of their population engaged in agriculture. Their national income and per capita income are very
low. As such, for the economic development of these countries, there are two alternatives: (i) by
improving the existing predominantly agricultural structure (that is, changing low productivity within
the existing structure); and (ii) by changing the entire structure, that is, shifting away from agriculture
and taking to industry development. The choice between the above two alternatives depends upon
which of the two approaches is more challenging? To our mind, correct approach is to emphasise
both.
As this point, the two main questions arised are: (i) How can agricultural improvement be brought
about cheaply? Agricultural improvement is possible by changing land tenure system, and by

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