Page 7 - DSOC201_SOCIAL_STRUCTURE_AND_SOCIAL_CHANGE_ENGLISH

Social Structure and Social Change
Notes
2 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY
similarity and unity of outlook can be noticed from North to South and East to West. Indian
culture is actually a continuous synthesis, and has absorbed many external influences in the
course of history. A significant recognition of the fusion of cultural trends comes through the
Constitution (Article 51-A), which says, interalia, that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India
to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.
Among the other Fundamental Duties mentioned in that Article is “to promote harmony and the
spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India, transcending religious, linguistic
and regional or sectional diversities, to renounce practices derogatory to women...” All these are
indicative of cultural development. Calm reflection will show that attempts to enforce complete
unity and disallow any differences of thought and approach in a large country like India would
prove counter-productive and self-defeating. People can hold different views on life, religion,
social, economic and political systems and yet they can be cultured. Who, can deny that the people
of India have throughout history honoured saints, sages, religious preachers and philosophers,
seldom showing veneration for military heroes, triumphant warriors and commanders, except
transitory praise and adulation. Those who have fought for cultural freedoms and political
independence, which ensures such freedom and the implicit liberties to pursue cultural pursuits,
have commanded large and loyal following. Had it not been for the tolerance shown by the people
of India during the rule of the Mughals and other outsiders, who brought in their own traditions
and sought to impose them on this country, the amorphous, flexible Indian culture would have
lost its moorings. The Indian mind has assimilated much of the thinking of other cultures, thus
enriching itself and making itself durable and virtually indestructible. The Western concepts and
modes of dress, the English language, the study of English classics and European philosophers’
works, even though they emphasised thoughts and beliefs different from those of the Indian
people, have not been spurned. Rather, a good part of these has become almost a part of the Indian
way of living and thinking, especially in the urban areas. The English-knowing elite exist alongside
the Indian language enthusiasts, without tensions. The Western culture has always laid stress on
materialism, while the Eastern, especially Indian, culture has been closely linked with spiritualism,
simplicity, filial duty and affection, austerity, tolerance and harmony. Both are tolerated in this
country. It is, however, a pity that in recent years the communal clashes, the increasing evidence
of intolerance and disharmony, the apparently endless discord, the open clashes at public meetings,
and the all-too-frequent denunciation of each other have increased so much as to indicate that the
people are forgetting their, true culture, and are allowing themselves to be exploited by selfish,
uncultured people who seek to disrupt and destroy rather than build and consolidate.
The real strength of Indian culture lies in basic unity, vigour and the ability to contain an amazing
diversity within itself. In this country there are people who belong to opposite schools of thought
and who never seem to agree on anything. And yet, the concepts of one basic culture and one
nation have continued. Another notable characteristic of Indian culture is that it has always been
based on moral and religious values; on these values the outlook shows an amazing similarity,
almost throughout the country. Of course, there are groups which seem to be always on the war-
path, and there are dissidents who question the basic framework on which the Indian polity is
based, but they constitute a very small fraction of the total population. Moreover, in every large
country there are always people who are virtual rebels in thought and deed, and who wish to
demolish rather than construct. Even in the advanced countries, such as the U.S.A., there are
people who are outside the pale of law, who do not subscribe to the distinct American way of life.
The same holds good of the British people. Some Britons are opposed to the centuries old institution
of monarchy and regard it as superfluous and an anachronism in the modem age of democracy.
But they are as loyal to their country as the others, and they not only stick to the British culture,
but are proud of it.
India is a secular State, and the people, with a few exceptions, have reverence for every faith; there
is no effort to impose one religion on other. The Constitution itself, framed with the full consent
of the people, guarantees the freedom of thought and expression. The Constitution does not
recognise distinctions based on religion, sex or caste, or any other factor. Modernism co-exists