Page 281 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes Race

Most modern societies have numerous ethnic and racial groups. India, the USA, the UK, Canada,
etc., are plural societies. Economically and politically, ethnic and racial groups may perform the
same functions in a particular society, though culturally they are generally distinct from each
other. However, in reality, ethnic and racial differences are also marked by inequalities of power
and wealth, tension and conflict, and prejudice and discrimination. There are also ethnic and
racial minorities, and as such they are bound to have unequal access to opportunities and status
distinctions. Discrimination based on ethnic and racial considerations has been reported from
both highly industrialized and less industrialized societies. But ethnic or racial minorities are not
necessarily backward economically and socially. In India, some ethnic groups are minorities, but
economically they are far more ahead of the majority groups. Parsis, Christians, Sikhs are generally
better off than other groups in their respective regions.
Defining Race
Generally, it is believed that people can be separated biologically into different races. Some
anthropologists have categorized people into four or five major races. Such classifications are
mainly based on the colour of skin, shape of hair, physique, etc. The science of genetics has proved
that these are only conjectures and not valid characteristics. Population inbreeding and degree of
contact between people could create physical differences. The same segment of population may
have a variety of physical traits. Physical differences between human beings are partly inherited,
but generally such differences are appropriated for social discrimination and prejudice. Anthony
Giddens observes : “Racial differences, therefore, should be understood as physical variations singled
out by the members of a community or society as ethnically significant.” More than “race”, “racism”
is practised through a false attribution of inherited characteristics of personality.
Physical anthropologists have dealt with the question of “race” in great detail based on physical
characteristics of different sections of population. Anthropologist A.L. Kroeber believes : “Race is
a valid biological concept. It is a group united by heredity : a breed or genetic strain or subspecies.”
Further, Kroeber says that it is not a valid socio-cultural concept, nor usable in socio-cultural
situations. All human beings are homo sapiens; how they have become different types is not known.

Classification of Races
Based on certain traits, such as stature or bodily height, cephalic index, or the ratio of the length
and breadth of the head, nasal index, relation of breath and length of nose, prognathism, or the
degree of the protrusion of the jaws, capacity of the skull, the texture of the hair, hairiness of the
body, hair colour and eye colour, steatopygia, or a heavy deposit of fat in the buttocks, etc.,
classifications of different races have been made out. There are three primary categories of races
: (1) Caucasian, Caucasoid, or Europoid; (2) Negroid; and (3) Mangoloid. These three are also
referred to as “White”, “Black” and “Yellow” races, respectively. The three main groups account
for more than ninetenths of all the nations and tribes of the world. Each of the three great primary
stocks falls into several natural divisions. Primary stocks and races are as follows :
1. Caucasian or “White”
Nordic
Alpine
Mediterranean
Hindu
2. Mangoloid or “Yellow”
Mangolian
Malaysian
American Indian

276 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY