Sociology Notes From Ignou

Block 4 Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

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Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

Block 4

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

Introduction Social classes are important categories for studying society. Class analysis, as the basis for studying society, has been common in Sociology since Marx raised the issue. The later sociologists tried to refine this analysis, at times to refute Marx’s basic assumptions. For Marx, classes were based on the relationship of groups to the means of production. This definition goes beyond the mere description of class. It tries to understand the political economy of classes. Though at a broad level, this understanding of class is useful for sociological analysis, it is necessary to look at the complexities of rural and urban societies, especially with the proliferation of occupations. In this Block we have tried to look at class from a diverse range of relationships. One of the earlier misconceptions about class was that they are found in industrial areas only. Classes are a product of capitalism; hence they are prevalent only in areas where industrialisation has taken roots. Similarly it was believed that the soil (meaning agrarian societies) gives rise to castes. This contrast between the two sectors is not entirely correct. It would be wrong to think that there are no classes in agrarian societies. In fact the first unit on Agrarian Classes gives an in-depth understanding of this phenomenon. The most natural class as everyone knows is the working class. This class, as explained by Marx, is the contrary class of capitalism. However, even if we know that the working class is a militant class that opposes capitalism, it is not a homogenous class. There are several strata within this class. One of the distinctions is between ‘organised’ and ‘unorganised’ sectors. The former comprises those workers who have permanent jobs and also enjoy some degree of social security. The latter comes under the category of unprotected labour. They are either engaged in jobs that are not permanent or are self-employed. The two sectors also have a range of differences within themselves. There are well-paid employees working in clean environment and there are low paid plantation workers who work under very trying conditions. Hence it is necessary to understand the role of class in our society. The third unit deals with this aspect. If we extend our argument of multiplicity of classes in order to understand social reality, we have to take into account another class that has become very important for influencing social development. This is a class that comes between the capitalists and the working class. This class is called the middle class. How do we understand this class? Is it closer to the working class or to the capitalists? What role does it play in social development? These are the questions that the third unit on “The Middle Class” tries to examine. An analysis of class alone will not give us the real picture of change in India. Classes are there in rural and urban, agrarian and industrial society. Class membership is based on one’s achievement rather than one’s ascription. Parsons distinguished between modern and traditional societies in this manner. Modern societies are achievement oriented while traditional ones were based on ascription. But mere examination of class will not provide the whole picture. There are other factors too that influence social stratification. Thus discrimination based on these may not be basic to modern societies but

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they are there nonetheless. These are, in the Indian context, gender and caste. Though a modern system insists that ideologically there cannot be differences in employment for women or the so-called lower castes, in reality, we find that indeed such distinctions are made. In many ways women face this form of discrimination. The same is true of the Scheduled Castes communities. Ignoring such issues would lead to distortion of reality. The fourth unit in this block, ‘Gender, Caste, Class’ deals with some of these issues. This block is important for our understanding of social stratification and social dynamics in Indian society.

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Unit 13

Agrarian Classes and Categories Contents 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Marx and Weber on Class 13.3 Notions of Agrarian Societies 13.4 The Classical Notion of Undifferentiated Peasant Society 13.5 Feudalism as a Type of Agrarian Society 13.6 Contemporary Agrarian Societies 13.7 Class Analysis of Agrarian Societies 13.8 Agrarian Social Structure and Change in India 13.9 Agrarian Changes during the British Colonial Rule 13.10 Agrarian Changes after Independence 13.11 Agrarian Class Structure in India 13.12 Conclusion 13.13 Further Reading

Learning Objectives After studying this unit you will be able to: l

discuss the difference between views of Karl Marx and Max Weber on class;

l

describe the notion of agrarian societies;

l

explain the classical notion of undifferentiated peasant society;

l

critically assess the idea of feudalism as a type of agrarian society;

l

describe the contemporary agrarian societies;

l

discuss the class analysis of agrarian societies;

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outline the agrarian social structure and change in India;

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explain the types of agrarian changes that took place during the British colonial rule in India;

l

describe the agrarian changes after India became independent; and finally

l

discuss the agrarian class structure in India.

13.1 Introduction Agrarian societies are those settlements and groupings of people where livelihood is primarily earned by cultivating land and by carrying out related activities like animal husbandry. Agricultural production or cultivation is obviously an economic activity. However, like all other economic activities, agricultural production is carried out in a framework of social relationships. Those involved in cultivation of land also interact with each other in different social capacities. Not only do they interact with each other but they also have to regularly interact with various other categories of people who provide them different types of services required for cultivation of land. For example, in the old system of jajmani relations in the Indian countryside, those who owned and cultivated land had to depend for various services required at different stages of cultivation, on the members of different caste groups. In

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exchange, the cultivators were obliged to pay a share of farm produce to the families that served them. As is the case with other social interactions, all these exchanges are carried out in an institutional framework. The most important aspect of the institutional set-up of agrarian societies is the patterns of land ownership and the nature of relationships among those who own or possess land and those who cultivate them. Those who owned agricultural land do not always cultivate it themselves and often lease it out to tenants or share-croppers. Similarly, those who cultivate their own land or leased-in land from others often employ labour. The terms of employment of labour also vary. Some could employ labour on regular basis, some on casual basis and some others could do so on contractual basis. The form of employment of labour and the nature of relationship that labour has with employer farmers or land owners are important aspects of a given agrarian structure. The agrarian structure and the land ownership patterns in a given society evolve historically over a long period of time. Those who own land invariably command a considerable degree of power and prestige in rural society. These sets of relationships among the owners of land and those who provide various forms of services to the landowning groups or work with them for a wage could be described as the agrarian class structure.

13.2 Marx and Weber on Class A category of people are often described as a class if they share some common properties in a given production process. However, all those involved in the agrarian process in a given society need not constitute a class. Some of them could merely be a category of population with a set of socially defined attributes. The classical sociological thinkers, Karl Marx and Max Weber, wrote a great deal on the concept of class. Class was the most important conceptual category for Karl Marx in his analysis of human history and in his theory of social change. Marx’s model of class is a dichotomous one. It is through the concept of class that he explains the exploitation of subordinate categories by the dominant classes. According to Marx, in every class society, there are two fundamental classes. Property relations constitute the axis of this dichotomous system, a minority of ‘non-producers’, who control the means of production, are able to use this position of control to extract from the majority of ‘producers’ the surplus product. ‘Classes’, in the Marxian framework, are thus defined in terms of the relationships that a grouping of people have with the ‘means of production’. Further, in Marx’s model, economic domination is tied to political domination. Control of means of production yields political power.

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Though Max Weber agreed with Marx on the point that classes were essentially defined in economic terms, his overall treatment of the concept is quite different from that of Marx. Unlike Marx, he argues that classes develop only in the market economies in which individuals compete for economic gains. He defines classes as groups of people who share similar position in a market economy and by virtue of this fact receive similar economic rewards. Thus, class status of a person, in Weber’s terminology, is his “market situation” or, in other words, his purchasing power. The class status of a person also determines his “life chances”. Their economic position or “class situation”

determines how many of the things considered desirable in their society they can buy. Thus, in Weberian framework, the concept of class could not be applied to pre-capitalist peasant societies where the market is only a peripheral phenomenon.

Agrarian Classes and Categories

Reflection and Action 13.01 Observe the families in your colony. Think critically about the relationship that your family has with other families in your neighbourhood. In which class or category will you place all of them, in terms of agrarian, semi-rural or urban-based on their occupations? In terms of hierarchy, are all these families at par with yours? If not, make a chart of 10 families in your neighbourhood and place them hierarchically in comparison with your own. Write a report of one page on “My Family Status” based on your earlier observations and understanding. Compare your report with those of other students at your study centre.

However, in the Marxist theory of history, the concept of class is applicable to all surplus producing societies. But, in his own writings, Marx focused mostly on the urban industrial or capitalist societies of the West. It was left to the later Marxists, particularly Lenin and Mao, to apply the concept of class to the analysis of agrarian societies. Box 13.01: Marx’s Outlook “Marx’s philosophical outlook was largely influenced by both Hegel and Hegel’s materialistic successor Ludwig Feurbach. Thus Marx put forward a view of history known as economic determinism. He argued that the mode of production (e.g. hand labour or steam power) was fundamental in determining the kind of economy a society possessed, and the kind of cultural and social structure of that society. The economic base was the sub-structure and the political, religious and artistic features together with social arrangements constituted the super-structure, the latter being conditioned by the former.” (Mitchell G. Duncan, ed. 1968 : 121)

13.3 Notions of Agrarian Societies In the modern industrial societies the nature of class structure is, in some ways, common everywhere. It is also easier to identify various class groups, such as the working class, the industrialists and the middle classes, in urban industrial societies. The social structures of agrarian societies are, however, marked by diversities of various kinds. The nature of agrarian class structure varies a great deal from region to region. The situation is made even more complex by the fact that in recent times, the agrarian structures in most societies have been experiencing fundamental transformations. In most developed societies of the West, agriculture has become a rather marginal sector of the economy, employing only a very small proportion of their working populations. Though the significance of agriculture has considerably declined in countries of the Third world too, it continues to employ a large proportion of their populations. Thus, to develop a meaningful understanding of the agrarian social structure, we need to keep in mind the fact that there is no single model of agrarian class structure that can be applied to all societies.

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Further, there are several different perspectives on the subject. There is a very influential group of scholars in the field of agrarian studies who are critical of analysing agrarian societies in class terms. Peasant societies for them are ‘a type’ of population, fundamentally different from the modern urban industrial societies. The classical anthropological writings on the subject conceptualized peasant societies in similar populist terms.

13.4 The Classical Notion of Undifferentiated Peasant Society Anthropologists developed the classical notion of peasant society during the post-war period (after 1945). This notion was largely derived from the Western experience. Peasant societies were seen to have emerged after disintegration of the tribal form of social and economic life, when human beings began to earn their living by cultivating land. They also started living in small settlements. The typical peasant societies were seen to be pre-industrial in nature. As the economies developed with the onset of the industrial revolution, the traditional “peasant way of life” gradually began to change, giving way to the modern urban lifestyles. Peasantry, in this anthropological perspective, was essentially an undifferentiated social formation. In terms of their social and economic organisation, peasants were all similar to each other. They cultivated their own plots of land with the labour of their families and produced primarily for the consumption of their own families. In other words, there were no significant class differences within the peasantry. While internally the peasantry was more or less homogenous, peasant societies were invariably dominated from outside by the urban elite. Unlike the “primitive” or “tribal” communities, peasant societies produced surplus, i.e. they produced more than what was enough for the subsistence requirements of their families and for the consumption of those who depended directly on them. This surplus was, however, transferred to the dominant ruling elite, who invariably lived in the city mostly in the form of land tax or land revenue (Wolf 1966). In cultural and social terms, peasants were seen to be fundamentally different from the modern entrepreneurs. Their attitude towards work and their relationship to the land was very different from that of the profit-seeking entrepreneurs of the modern industrial societies. Robert Redfield, who pioneered anthropological research on peasantry, argued that “the peasantry was a universal ‘human type’. They were attached to land through bonds of sentiments and emotions. Agriculture, for them, was ‘a livelihood and a way of life, not a business for profit” (Redfield 1965).

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Writing in a similar mode during the early twentieth century, a Russian economist, A.V. Chayanov had also argued that the governing logic of the peasant economies was different from the modern industrial economies. Unlike the industrial societies where economic process was governed by the principal of profit maximisation and laws of capital, the logic of peasant economy was subsistence oriented. The variation in farm size and productivity of land in the Russian countryside were not guided by the quest for profit or class difference but by the demographic factors. As the size of a household grew the requirements for food and availability of labour power with the household also grew. This directly resulted in an enlargement of the amount of land the household cultivated (working assumption being that the land was anyway available in abundance). However, as the size of the household

declined over time with newer members setting up their own independent households, the holding size also declined (see Harrison1982 for a summary of Chayanov’s theory).

Agrarian Classes and Categories

Following this “classical discussion”, Theodor Shanin (1987) developed an “ideal type” of the peasant society. He defined peasants as ‘small agricultural producers, who, with the help of simple equipment and the labour of their families, produced mostly for their own consumption, direct or indirect, and for the fulfilment of obligations to holders of political and economic power’. He further identified four interdependent facets of peasant societies: 1)

Peasant family worked as the basic multi-dimensional unit of social organisation. The family farm operated as the major unit of peasant property, production, consumption, welfare, social reproduction, identity, prestige, sociability and welfare. The individual tended to submit to a formalized family role-behavior and patriarchal authority.

2)

Land husbandry worked as the main means of livelihood. Peasant farming was characterized by traditionally defined social organization and a low level of technology.

3)

Peasant societies followed specific cultural patterns linked to the way of life of a small rural community. Peasant culture often conformed to the traditional norms of behaviour and was characterised by face to face relations.

4)

Peasantry was almost always dominated by outsiders. The peasants were invariably kept at arm’s length from the sources of power. Shanin argued that their political subjugation was also interlinked with their cultural subordination and economic exploitation.

In this kind of a framework, though peasants were seen as being dominated by outsiders, they were not viewed as being different from each other, particularly in terms of their class status. In other words, in this classical notion of the peasant society, there were no internal class differences within the peasantry. The core unit of social organization was the peasant household. However, this conception of peasant society emerged from the specific experience of the European societies. The historical literature on different regions of the world tends to show that the agrarian societies were not as homogenous as they are made out to be in such formulations. Agrarian societies were also internally differentiated in different strata. In India, for example, the rural society was divided between different caste groups and only some groups had the right to cultivate land while others were obliged to provide services to the cultivators. Similarly, parts of Europe had serfdom where the overlords dominated the peasantry. Such societies were also known as feudal societies.

13.5 Feudalism as a Type of Agrarian Society Historically, the concept of feudalism has generally been used for social organisation that evolved in parts of Europe after the tribal groups settled down and became regular cultivators. With the success of industrial revolution during the 18th and 19th centuries, feudal societies disintegrated, giving way to the development of modern capitalist economies. However, over the years, the term feudalism has also come to acquire a generic meaning and is frequently used to describe the pre-modern agrarian societies in other parts of the world as well.

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Compared to the concept of ‘peasant society’, the term feudalism conveys a very different notion of agrarian class structure. Cultivators in feudal societies were seen as a subordinate class. The land they cultivated did not legally belong to them. They only had the right to cultivate the land whose legal owner was usually the “overlord”/ “feudal lord” or the king. The distinctive feature of the agrarian class structure in feudalism was the structures of “dependency” and “patronage” that existed between the cultivators and the “overlords”. The cultivating peasants had to show a sense of “loyalty” and obligation towards their overlords. This sense of loyalty was expressed not only by paying a share of the produce of land to the landlord but very often the peasants were also obliged to work for the overlord and perform certain duties without expecting any wages in return. The system of begar (unpaid labour) popular in many parts of India until some time back would be an example of such a system.

13.6 Contemporary Agrarian Societies The spread of industrialisation in the Western countries during the 19th century and in rest of the world during the 20th century has brought about significant changes in the agrarian sector of the economy as well. We can identify two important changes in agrarian economy that came with industrialisation and development. First, agriculture lost its earlier significance and became only a marginal sector of the economy. For example, in most countries of the West today, it employs only a small proportion of the total working population (ranging from two or three to ten percent) and its contribution to the total national income of these countries is not very high. In the countries of the Third World too, the significance of agriculture has been declining over the years. In India, for example, though a large proportion of the population is still employed in the agricultural sector, its contribution to the total national income has come down substantially. Though it continues to employ more than half of India’s working population, the contribution of agricultural sector to the national income is less than 25 per cent. The second important change that has been experienced in the agrarian sector is in its internal social organisation. The social framework of agricultural production has experienced a sea-change in different parts of the world during the last century or so. The earlier modes of social organisation, such as “feudalism” and “peasant societies” (as discussed above) have disintegrated, giving way to more differentiated social structures. This has largely happened due to the influences of the processes of industrialisation and modernisation. The modern industry has provided a large variety of machines and equipments for carrying out farm operations, such as ploughing and threshing. These technological advances made it possible for the landowners to cultivate larger areas of land in lesser time. Scientific researches have also given them chemical fertilizers and high yielding varieties of seeds. The introduction of new farm technologies has not only increased the productivity of land but has also led to significant changes in the social framework of agricultural production. Reflection and Action 13.02 Visit a village near your own village or a village near your town or city, in case you are living in an urban area. Interview at least two farmers of this village, one who is prosperous and better off, a large landowner, and the second, one who has a very small plot of land. Ask them about :

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i)

How many members are there in their family? How many of them are directly related with the tilling of land? ii) What kind of dwellings do they live in and how big are they? iii) What are the tools and technology they use to produce their crops? iv) How educated are the members of their family? and v) What, if any, are their links with the towns and cities and how frequently do they make use of these links?

Agrarian Classes and Categories

On the basis of this interview write on essay of two pages on “Agrarian classes in ................. village.” Compare your essay with those of other students and discuss your essay with your Academic Counsellor.

The mechanisation and modernisation of agriculture made it possible for the cultivating farmers to produce much more than their consumption requirements. The surplus came to the market. They began to produce crops that were not meant for direct consumption of the local community. These “cash crops” were produced exclusively for sale in the market. The cultivators also needed cash for buying new inputs. In other words, the mechanisation of agriculture led to an integration of agriculture in the broader market economy of the nation and the world. The mechanisation of agriculture and its integration in the broader market economy has also in turn transformed the social relations of production, leading to the development of capitalist relations in the agrarian sector. This capitalist development in agriculture has transformed the earlier relations of patronage and loyalty into those that are instrumental in nature. The growing influence of market and money meant that the relations among different categories of population become formalized, without any sense of loyalty or obligation. However, not everyone benefits from the mechanisation process equally. The market mechanisms put various kinds of economic pressure on cultivating peasants. Some of them get trapped and become indebted eventually, selling off their lands and becoming landless labourers. Similarly, those who worked as tenants are generally evicted from the lands being cultivated by them and are employed as wage servants by the landowners. While some among the cultivating population become rich, others are left with small plots of land. In other words, this leads to differentiation of the peasantry into new types of groupings. The peasantry gets divided into different strata or classes. The attitude of the peasants towards their occupation also undergoes a change. In the pre-capitalist or the traditional societies, the peasants produced mainly for their own consumption. The work on the fields was carried out with the labour of their family. Agriculture, for the peasantry, was both a source of livelihood as well as a way of life. They begin to look at agriculture as an enterprise. They work on their farms with modern machines and produce cash crops that are sold in the market. Their primary concern becomes earning profits from cultivation. Thus the peasants are transformed into enterprising ‘farmers’. The agrarian societies also lose their earlier equilibrium. Farmers, unlike the homogenous peasantry are a differentiated lot. They are divided into different categories or classes.

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13.7 Class Analysis of Agrarian Societies As mentioned above, the concept of class was first used to describe the social groupings in the industrial societies of the West. Over the years scholars have used the concept to understand social structures in other settings as well. Using the Marxist method of class analysis, Lenin, during the early twentieth century, offered an analysis of the agrarian setting and class differentiation of the peasantry in Russia in his well known piece of writing the Preliminary Draft Thesis on the Agrarian Question. Similarly, in How to differentiate the classes in Rural Areas, Mao Tse Tung, the leader of the Chinese revolution applied the Marxist concept of class in his analysis of the Chinese peasantry. Over the years, the writings of Lenin and Mao have become the basis for understanding agrarian class structures in different societies. Lenin and Mao suggested that with the development of capitalism in agriculture, the peasantry, that was hitherto an undifferentiated social category, gets differentiated or divided into various social classes. On the basis of their experience, they identified different categories of peasants in Russia and China respectively and the nature of relations the different categories had with each other. On the basis of their writings, we can broadly identify five or six agrarian classes. They would be the landlords, the owners of large tracts of land who do not work on land directly. They generally lease their lands out to tenants. They are a conservative class and do not like agricultural developments, which they fear, could weaken their hold over the rural society. The rich peasants are those who own substantial areas of land. They invariably lease out a part of their land to tenants but have direct interest in land. Once they begin to use modern technology, they begin to employ wage labour and become capitalist farmers. The middle peasants do not own much land but have enough for their own needs. They typically work with their family labour. Neither do they employ wage labour nor do they work as labourers with others. The poor peasants do not own much land. In order to survive they invariably have to supplement their income through wage labour. The landless labourers or agricultural proletariats are tenants, share-croppers who end up losing their lands when capitalism begins to develop in agriculture. They survive basically by hiring out their labour power to rich peasants. These, according to Lenin, were transitional categories. With further development of capitalism in agriculture, there would be a tendency towards polarization of the agrarian population into two classes, the big capitalist farmers on one side and a large number of rural proletariat on the other. However, the actual empirical experience of capitalist development in agriculture in different parts of the world does not seem to entirely conform to Lenin’s prediction. Though agriculture has been gradually integrated into the market economy and peasantry has also got divided into various classes, there is very little evidence to support the argument that the agrarian population is getting polarized into two classes. In Western countries as well as in the countries of the Third World, the middle and small size cultivators have not only managed to survive, in some countries their numbers have actually gone up.

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As mentioned above, agrarian class structure in a given society evolves over a long period of time. It is shaped historically by different socio-economic

and political factors. These historical factors vary from region to region. Thus though one can use the concept of class to make sense of agrarian structures in different contexts, one must also take the specific context into account while doing so.

Agrarian Classes and Categories

As mentioned above, the traditional Indian “rural communities” and the agrarian social structures were organised within the framework of ‘jajmani system’. This was a peculiarly Indian phenomenon. The different caste groups in the traditional Indian village were divided between jajmans (the patrons) and kamins (the menials). The jajmans were those caste groups who owned and cultivated lands. The kamins provided different kinds of services to the jajmans. While the kamins were obliged to work for the jajmans, the latter were required to pay a share from the farm produce to their kamins. The relationship was based on a system of reciprocal exchange. However, participation in this system of reciprocal exchange was not on an equal footing. Those who belonged to the upper castes and owned land were obviously more powerful than those who came from the menial caste groups. The structure of agrarian relations organised within the framework of jajmani system reinforced the inequalities of the caste system. The caste system in turn provided legitimacy to the unequal land relations. Within this general framework, the actual structures of agrarian relations differed from region to region. While in some parts of the sub-continent, the influence of Brahmanical ritualism was strongs, in some other regions the peasant values were stronger. This had a direct influence on the relative position of Brahmins and landowning castes in the given agrarian setting. Over the years, the jajmani system has disintegrated and rural society has experienced profound changes in its social structure. The agrarian class structure has also changed. These changes have been produced by a large number of factors.

13.9 Agrarian Changes during the British Colonial Rule The agrarian policies of the British colonial rulers are regarded as among the most important factors responsible for introducing changes in the agrarian structure of the sub-continent. In order to maximize their revenues from land, they introduced some basic changes in the property relations in the Indian countryside. These agrarian policies of the colonial rulers had far reaching consequences. In Bengal, Bihar, and in parts of Madras and the United Province, they conferred full ownership rights over the erstwhile zamindars who were only tax collecting intermediaries during the earlier regimes. The vast majority of peasants who had been actually cultivating land became tenants of the new landlords. Similarly, they demanded revenues in the form of a fixed amount of cash rather than as a share from what was produced on the land. Even when bad weather destroyed the crop, the peasants were forced to pay the land revenue. These changes led to serious indebtedness among the peasantry. The poorer among them were forced to mortgage their land in order to meet the revenue demands. In the long run it led to peasants losing their lands to moneylenders and big landowners. The big landowners and moneylenders emerged as a dominant class in the countryside while the ordinary peasants suffered. In

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the new agrarian class structure that emerged during the colonial rule, peasants had no motivation for working hard to improve their lands. As a result the agricultural production declined. The colonial rulers also enforced changes in the cropping pattern and made the local peasant produce cash crops like cotton rather than food grains as they needed cotton for textile mills in England. All this led to frequent famines and general misery of the peasantry. The big landowners gained at the cost of the small and poor peasants.

13.10 Agrarian Changes after Independence The nationalist leadership during the struggle for freedom from colonial rule had mobilized peasantry on the promise of a better life. Leaders of the Indian National Congress had started talking about the urgent need of agrarian reforms even before they took over the reins of power from the colonial rulers in 1947. The process of Land Reforms was initiated almost immediately after Independence. The central government directed the state governments to pass legislations that would abolish intermediary landlords, the zamindars, and would grant ownership rights to the actual tillers of the land. Some legislations were intended to grant security to the tenants. The states also fixed an upper ceiling on the holding size of land that a single household could possess. The surplus land was to be surrendered to the state and was to be redistributed among those who had no land. Box 13.02: Factors of Social Change in Rural India Dreze & Sen (1997 : p. 17) say that both ‘Zamindari Abolition’ and the development in agricultural practices in Western Uttar Pradesh were two episodes, not very dramatic in their impact in themselves (compared with for e.g. land reforms and productivity growth in other developing regions, including parts of India) they do define the broad parameters of change in the economic circumstances of the bulk of the population. The land reforms limited the powers of large feudal landlords, and gave ownership rights to a vast majority of tenant farmers who previously did not own land.

However, though the legislations were passed by all the states, only in some parts of the country the desired effects could be achieved. The evaluative studies of Land Reforms have often pointed out that only in those parts of the country where peasants were politically mobilized and the local state government had the right kind of ‘political will’, the land reforms could be effectively implemented. Similarly, some legislations, such as those on zamindari abolition were much more successful than those on the ceilings (see Joshi 1976).

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The government of free India also initiated several other developmental programmes intended to encourage the cultivators to increase productivity of their lands. These included the Community Development Programme (CDP), the Co-operatives and the Green Revolution technology. These programmes were designed to introduce modern methods of cultivation in the Indian countryside. The cultivating farmers were provided with new technology, seeds and fertilizers at subsidized rates. The state agencies also provided them cheap credit. Though in principle these schemes were meant for everybody, studies carried out in different parts of India tend to reveal that

the benefits of the state support to agriculture were not equally shared by all the sections of rural society. Most of the benefits went to those who were already rich and powerful. However, despite this bias, these initiatives have been able to bring about a significant change in the agrarian economy at least in some parts of the country. This is particularly true about the regions like Punjab, Haryana, Western U.P., Coastal Andhra, and parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Agrarian Classes and Categories

Box 13.03: ‘Green Revolution’ and Social Mobility During the 1960’s and 1970’s the adoption of modern agriculture practices in Western Uttar Pradesh and their subsequent diffusion in parts of Haryana and Punjab regions came to be known as ‘Green Revolution’. It led to a general prosperity of the region. Yogendra Singh (1988 : 5) points out that the “Green Revolution” signifies not merely growth in agricultural production but also the use of new technology and new social relationships in production processes. These developments make this phase of changes in rural economy and society distinctive. A new interaction between technology, social relationship and culture is now taking place in rural society. This has resulted in social mobility, emergence of new power structures and modes of exploitation of the deprived classes. It has generated new contradictions in society.

Apart from increasing productivity of land, these changes have transformed the social framework of Indian agriculture. Agriculture in most parts of India is now carried out on commercial lines. The old structure of jajmani relations has more or less completely disintegrated, giving way to more formalized arrangements among the land owning cultivators and those who work for them. Some scholars have argued that these changes indicate that capitalist form of production is developing in agriculture and a new class structure is emerging in the Indian countryside (see Thorner 1982; Patnaik 1990; Jodhka 2003).

13.11 Agrarian Class Structure in India As mentioned above, traditional Indian society was organized around caste lines. The agrarian relations were governed by the norms of jajmani system. However, the jajmani relations began to disintegrate after the colonial rulers introduced changes in Indian agriculture. The process of modernisation and development initiated by the Indian State during the post-independence period further weakened the traditional social structure. While caste continues to be an important social institution in the contemporary Indian society, its significance as a system of organising economic life has considerably declined. Though agricultural land in most parts of India is still owned by the traditional cultivating caste groups, their relations with the landless menials are no more regulated by the norms of the caste system. The landless members of the lower caste now work with the cultivating farmers as agricultural labourers. We can say that, in a sense, caste has given way to class in the Indian countryside. However, the agrarian social structure is still marked by diversities. As pointed out by D.N. Dhanagare, ‘the relations among classes and social composition of groups that occupy specific class position in relation to land-control and land-use in India are so diverse and complex that it is difficult to incorporate them all in a general schema’ (Dhanagare, 1983). However, despite the

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diversities that mark the agrarian relations in different parts of country, some scholars have attempted to club them together into some general categories. Amongst the earliest attempts to categorize the Indian agrarian population into a framework of social classes was that of a well-known economist, Daniel Thorner (1956). Thorner suggested that one could divide the agrarian population of India into different class categories by adopting three criteria. First, type of income earned from land (such as ‘rent’ or ‘fruits of own cultivation’ or ‘wages’). Second, the nature of rights held in land (such as ‘proprietary’ or ‘tenancy’ or ‘share-cropping rights’ or ‘no rights at all’). Third, the extent of field-work actually performed (such as ‘absentees who do no work at all’ or ‘those who perform partial work’ or ‘total work done with the family labour’ or ‘work done for others to earn wages’). On the basis of these criteria he suggested the following model of agrarian class structure in India. 1)

Maliks, whose income is derived primarily from property rights in the soil and whose common interest is to keep the level of rents up while keeping the wage-level down. They collect rent from tenants, sub-tenants and sharecroppers. They could be further divided into two categories, a) the big landlords, holding rights over large tracts extending over several villages; they are absentee owners/rentiers with absolutely no interest in land management or improvement; b) the rich landowners, proprietors with considerable holdings but usually in the same village and although performing no field work, supervising cultivation and taking personal interest in the management and improvement of land.

2)

Kisans are working peasants, who own small plots of land and work mostly with their own labour and that of their family members. They own much lesser lands than the Maliks. They too can be divided into two sub-categories, a) small landowners, having holdings sufficient to support a family; b) substantial tenants who may not own any land but cultivate a large enough holding to help them sustain their families without having to work as wage labourers.

3)

Mazdoors, who do not own land themselves and earn their livelihood primarily by working as wage labourers or sharecroppers with others.

Thorner’s classification of agrarian population has not been very popular among the students of agrarian change in India. Development of capitalist relations in agrarian sector of the economy has also changed the older class structure. For example, in most regions of India, the Maliks have turned into enterprising farmers. Similarly, most of the tenants and sharecroppers among the landless mazdoors have begun to work as wage labourers. Also, the capitalist development in agriculture has not led to the kind of differentiation among the peasants as some Marxist analysts had predicted. On the contrary, the size of middle level cultivators has swelled. The classification that has been more popular among the students of agrarian social structure and change in India is the division of the agrarian population into five or six classes. In terms of categories these have all been taken from Lenin-Mao schema, but in terms of actual operationalisation, they are invariably based on ownership of land, which invariably also determines their relations with other categories of population in the rural setting, as also outside the village.

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At the top are the big landlords who still exist in some parts of the country.

They own very large holdings, in some cases even more than one hundred acres. However, unlike the old landlords, they do not always give away their lands to tenants and sharecroppers. Some of them organize their farms like modern industry, employing a manager and wage labourers and producing for the market. Over the years their proportion in the total population of cultivators has come down significantly. Their presence is now felt more in the backward regions of the country.

Agrarian Classes and Categories

After big landlords come the big farmers. The size of their land holdings varies from 15 acres to 50 acres or in some regions even more. They generally supervise their farms personally and work with wage labour. Agricultural operations in their farms are carried out with the help of farm machines and they use modern farm inputs, such as chemical fertilizers and hybrid seeds. They invariably belong to the local dominant castes and command a considerable degree of influence over the local power structure, both at the village level as well as at the state level. While the big landlords command more influence in the backward regions, the power of the big farmers is more visible in the agriculturally developed regions of the country. The next category is that of the middle farmers who own relatively smaller holdings (between 5 acres to 10 or 15 acres). Socially, like the big farmers, they too mostly come from the local dominant caste groups. However, unlike the big farmers, they carry out most of the work on farms with their own labour and the labour of their families. They employ wage labour generally at the time of peak seasons, like harvesting and sowing of the crops. Over the years, this category of cultivators has also begun using modern inputs, such as, chemical fertilizers and hybrid seeds. Proportionately, they constitute the largest segment among the cultivators. The small and marginal farmers are the fourth class of cultivators in India. Their holding size is small (less than five acres and in some cases even less than one acre). They carry out almost all the farm operations with their own labour and rarely employ others to work on their farms. In order to add to their meager earnings from cultivation, some of them work as farm labourers with other cultivator. Over the years, they have also come to use modern farm inputs and begun to produce cash crops that are grown for sale in the market. They are among the most indebted category of population in the Indian countryside. As the families grow and holdings get further divided, their numbers have been increasing in most part of India. The last category of the agrarian population is that of the landless labourers. A large majority of them belong to the ex-untouchable or the dalit caste groups. Most of them own no cultivable land of their own. Their proportion in the total agricultural population varies from state to state. While in the states like Punjab and Haryana they constitute 20 to 30 percent of the rural workforce, in some states, like Andhra Pradesh, their number is as high as fifty per cent. They are among the poorest of the poor in rural India. They not only live in miserable conditions with insecure sources of income, many of them also have to borrow money from big cultivators and in return they have to mortgage their labour power to them. Though the older type of bondage is no more a popular practice, the dependence of landless labourers on the big farmers often makes them surrender their freedom, not only of choosing employers, but invariably also of choosing their political representatives.

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This is only a broad framework. As suggested above, the actual relations differ from region to region. The agrarian history of different regions of India has been quite diverse and the trajectories of development during the postindependence period have also been varied.

13.12 Conclusion Agrarian classes and categories are societies which depend largely on agriculture as their main source of sustenance. As you read in the above unit agrarian settlements and groupings of people depend for their livelihood on cultivating land and by carrying out related activities such as animal husbandry. Like all other economic activities, agricultural production is obviously an economic activity and as such is carried out in a framework of social relationships. Those involved in cultivation of land also interact with each other in different social capacities. Not only do they interact with each other but also with other categories of people who provide them with different types of services required for cultivation of land. The social, economic and cultural interaction of different classes and categories of people takes place in an institutionalised framework. The most important aspect of the institutional set-up of agrarian societies is the pattern of landownership and the nature of relationships among those who own or possess land and those who till the land or do the actual cultivation. The form of employment of labour and the nature of relationship that labour has with their employer farmers or land owners are important aspects of a given agrarian structure. You learnt in the above unit that those who own land invariably command a considerable degree of power and prestige in rural society. These sets of relationships among the owners of land and those who provide various forms of services in the landowning groups or work with them for a wage could be described as the agrarian class structure. What is a class? The views of leading scholars and thinkers like Karl Marx and Max Weber vary on this issue. Class for Marx is a dichotomous one. He says that in every class society, there are two fundamental classes. Property relations constitute the main criteria on the basis of this dichotomous system. For Max Weber, class depends on the ‘market situation’ or the purchasing power of a person. The class status of a person also determines his/her life chances. Thus, in Weberian framework, the concept of class could not be applied to pre-capitalist peasant societies where market is only a peripheral phenomenon. In comparison, the concept of class is applicable to all surplus producing societies. The social structures of agrarian societies are, however, marked with diversities of various kinds. The nature of agrarian class structure varies from region to region. In recent times, the agrarian structures in most societies are undergoing fundamental transformations. In most developed societies of the West, agriculture has become a marginal sector of the economy, employing only a very small proportion of their working populations. In the Third World too, the ratio of population dependent on agriculture has begun to decline but it still employs considerable sections of the population.

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There is an influential group of scholars in the field of agrarian studies who are critical of analysing agrarian societies in class terms. Peasant societies for them are ‘a type’ of population fundamentally different from the modern urban industrial societies.

Then you learnt about the classical notion of undifferentiated peasant society. This notion developed during the post-war period (after 1945). It was largely derived from the Western experience. A typical peasant society was seen to be pre-industrial in nature. As the economics developed with the onset of the industrial revolution, the traditional “peasant way of life” gradually began to change, giving way to modern urban lifestyles.

Agrarian Classes and Categories

Theodor Shanin (1987) developed an ‘ideal type’ of the peasant society. He defined peasants as “small agricultural producers, who with the help of simple equipment and the labour of their families, produced mostly for their own consumption, direct or indirect, and for the fulfilment of obligations to holders of political and economic power.” The historical literature on different regions of the world tends to show that the agrarian societies were not as homogenous as they are made out to be in such formulations. Agrarian societies were also internally differentiated in different strata. In India, for example, the rural society was divided between different caste groups and only some groups had the right to cultivate land while others were obliged to provide services to the cultivators. Similarly, parts of Europe had serfdom where the overlords dominated the peasantry. Such societies were also known as feudal societies. With the success of industrial revolution during the 18th and the 19th centuries, feudal societies disintegrated, giving way to the development of modern capitalist economics. However, over the years, the term feudalism has also come to acquire a generic meaning and is frequently used to describe the pre-modern agrarian societies in other parts of the world, besides Europe. This Unit also discussed the kinds of fundamental transformations that have taken place in contemporary agrarian societies. Increased mechanisation of agriculture, advanced technology and communications have all led to a shift in the pattern of social network of interaction. Increased yield, due to the intervention of science and technology, improved seeds, etc. led to a situation where surplus food is generated. The idea of ‘cash crops’ is introduced which further increased the distance between the rich and the poor. Therefore, social inequity increases, feudal valise are lost or declines but instead market relations take over in the rural agricultural sector. The attitude of the peasants towards their occupation also undergoes a change, as you read earlier. In the pre-capitalist or traditional societies, the peasants produced mainly for their own consumption. The work in the fields was carried out with the labour of their family. Agriculture, for the peasantry was both a source of livelihood as well as a way of life. But in modern times, landowners begin to took at agriculture as an enterprise. They work on their farms with modern machines and produce ‘cash crops’ which fetch higher prices in the market and therefore generate more money. Thus, profit motive becomes part of agricultural enterprise. Lenin and Mao, two well known leaders from Russia and China, suggested that with the development of capitalism in agriculture, the peasantry that was hitherto an undifferentiated social category, gets differentiated or divided into various social classes. On the basis of their experience, they identified different categories of peasants respectively in Russia and China and the nature of relations the different categories had with each other.

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However, that actual experience of capitalist development in agriculture in different parts of the world does not seem to entirely conform to Lenin’s prediction. There is very little evidence to support the argument that the agrarian population is getting polarised into two classes. In the West, as in the Third World countries, the middle and small size cultivators have not only managed to survive but in some countries like India, their numbers have increased. Traditionally agrarian societies in India were marked by a pattern of relationship called the “Jajmani system” where the different classes were interdependent on each other in terms of service. The land owners were the patrons or jajmans and the service providing castes were the ‘Kamins’ such as, the caste of carpenters, ironsmiths, etc. But gradually, after Independence, this system has declined. The two significant reasons which led to this decline were the abolition of Zamindari system and the Green Revolution. The process of modernisation and development initiated by the Indian state during the post-Independence period weakened the traditional social structure. While caste continues to be an important social institution in the contemporary Indian society, its significance as a system of organising economic life has nearly disappeared. The agrarian class/caste structure is still the same; but it is not defined by caste any more as it traditionally used to be. The landless members of lower castes now work with the cultivating farmers as agricultural labourers. We can, therefore, say that in this sense, caste has given way to class in the Indian countryside. Finally, in this unit you have learnt about the classification of agrarian population of India into different class categories. One of the well known sociologists who has done this is Daniel Thorner (1956). He divided agrarian class structure into three types, maliks, kisan and mazdoors, based on their relationship with the land.

13.13 Further Reading Beteille, A. 1974 Studies in Agrarian Social Structure. Oxford University Press, Delhi. Beteille, A. 1974 Six Essays in Comparative Sociology. Oxford University Press, Delhi. Bhaduri, A. 1984 The Economic Structure of Backward Agriculture. Macmillan, Delhi. Desai, A.R. 1959 Social Background of Indian Nationalism. Popular Prakshan, Bombay.

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Unit 14

The Working Class Contents 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Defining Working Class 14.3 A Brief History of the Working Class 14.4 Working Class : The Indian Scenario 14.5 Growth of Working Class in India 14.6 Social Background of Indian Working Class 14.7 Conclusion 14.8 Further Reading

Learning Objectives After studying this unit you will be able to: l

define what is meant by the term ‘working class’;

l

provide a brief history of working class generally;

l

describe the working class in the Indian scenario;

l

discuss the growth of working class in India; and

l

explain the social background of the Indian working class.

14.1 Introduction Some level of inequality has existed in all societies since time immemorial. All societies have been stratified, in the sense that all valued resources such as wealth, income and power have been unequally distributed. But inequalities were neither similar in all societies nor in all epochs. In medieval Europe societies were divided into order or estates resulting in groups of people known as aristocracy, peasantry, burghers and church. Each group had prescribed roles and associated legal rights and duties. At other places slavery was widely practised wherein slaves virtually had no social rights. In our own country, as you have learnt earlier, society was traditionally stratified into castes. The castes groups enjoyed different degrees of religious purity and pollution. The remnants of stratification based on caste are still visible, though in a modified form. The Industrial Revolution took place in the middle of the 18th century in England. This led to wide ranging changes in society. It introduced new concepts such as industry, secularisation and community. New forms of stratification based on ‘class’ became prominent during this period. Though the term ‘class’ itself was not new, it acquired new meaning with other emerging concepts. This system of inequality was clearly different from older and known forms of stratification. First, classes were open whereas estates or castes were closed systems. There was no legal or religious barrier, which prevented the mobility of the individual in class hierarchy. In other words, class position could be achieved rather than being ascribed. Second, members of all classes have the same legal rights and duties. In effect all were judged by same laws and courts. Finally, unlike older forms of inequality, economic success was the sole criteria for determining class position.

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In older systems of inequality individuals were grouped together in categories, which were polar opposites. Hence there were lords and serfs, master and slave and in our own society we had pure and impure castes. Similarly, in class-based stratification also there were bourgeoisie and proletariat (Marxian terms). A careful analysis reveals that membership in all such groups were essentially determined by economic relations. In Marxian terminology, relations of production determined the class position i.e. those who own the ‘means of production’ and those who sell their labour for wages. This brings us to the focus of this unit i.e. to discuss ‘those who sell their labour’ in classbased societies. Such people have been labelled as ‘Working Class’. However, Marx himself never used this term to denote them.

14.2 Defining Working Class The question ‘who and what is working class’ is not an easy one to answer. There are several reasons for this. The working class is not a cohesive entity and it has numerous differences and contradictions. There is a problem of where to draw the line. Who belongs to the working class and who does not? The difference further extends in terms of skill, sex, age, income and caste. Hence the working class is a complex, contradictory and constantly changing entity. But it is an entity — in other words, there is a group of people denoted as ‘working class’, who are not just a sum of people. Even though there are differences and contradictions within the working class, they need to be recognised and analysed. So then, can we have a single definition of working class? The answer is that one cannot have a single definition which will be all inclusive. This is because of the blurring of boundaries between classes and the different working class. For example, a worker in 1970 is not the same as a worker in 2005. That is, the composition, the size and the character of a class changes over a period of time. Therefore the requirement is of a series of definitions, which have to change in accordance with the changes in social structure. Reflection and Action 14.01 Observe the labourers working in various capacities - road construction; house construction; digging wells; cleaning drains, etc. Take note of workers in factories, offices, dhabas and shops who are at the lower rung of the socio-economic scale. Recall your experience of workers in other sectors of the economy, as well, and give a definition of the ‘working class’ which you think is suitable to define the wide range of diverse types of workers. Compare your definition with those of other students at your Study Centre.

In the Marxian scheme, the capitalist society is characterised by two principal classes: bourgeoisie and proletariat. Bourgeoisie owns the means of production and proletariat sell their labour for wages in order to live. The Marxist meanings of these terms have been specified clearly by Engels in a footnote to the ‘Communist Manifesto’. By bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern capitalists, and by proletariat the class of modern wage-labourers. Hence, bourgeoisie is synonymous with the capitalist and proletariat with the working class.

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In recent years, the Marxist view on the working class has been countered essentially by two views giving contradictory analysis. The first view is that

working class is literally disappearing. With the automation of industry and apparent displacement of blue-collar jobs, the working class is fast shrinking in size. However, the fact is that it is not the working class as a whole that is disappearing, but blue-collar workers are disappearing. The second view states the opposite. In this view all society is becoming working class. That is, students, teachers, blue-collar workers, white-collar workers and salaried employees of various kind are all workers. The working class is not disappearing by elimination, but is in fact expanding with everybody joining it except a few capitalists at the top. This view emphasizes the so-called blurring of class boundaries but overlooks the important social distinctions between classes. Moreover those distinctions are still very much prevalent in society.

The Working Class

However, the question still remains — who are the working class? As M. Holmstorm (1991) puts it ‘people commonly refer to industrial workers, and sometimes other kind of wage-earners and self-employed workers, as the ‘working class’. Usually this means a group who share similar economic situation, which distinguishes them from others, like property owners, employers and managers. It suggests a common interest and shared consciousness of these interests’. This implies that like other classes the defining feature of working class is their understanding of ‘a common interest’ and ‘shared consciousness’. However, in recent times these two concepts have become difficult to actualise for the working class due to their own internal divisions and diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. It is worthwhile to ask that given multiple divisions and subdivisions among the working class, such as organised formal or unorganised informal industrial workers, casual general labourers, the self employed and small peasants, does any type of ‘common interest’ exist? Or are various types of workers different classes with different and conflicting interest? Or do these classes think or act as if they were classes with distinct interests either in their everyday life, at work or at home? It is difficult to find answers to these questions. The reason is that ‘consciousness’ per se becomes a tricky word, when used for working class consciousness. One of the problems in dealing with the working class is that one is dealing with people who do not have vocal or written expressions of their ideas or beliefs. Even in labour movements or in trade union movements, it is the non-worker labour leaders who make speeches not the worker. The other element is that the working class is a totality that goes far beyond the ordinary intellectual view of consciousness. It is an objective category. The usual way of viewing consciousness is in terms of formal statement of belief. However, in terms of working class and its living reality, this simply does not work. The problem is compounded by the fact that studies of consciousness tend to assume that consciousness is overwhelmingly a matter of mind, of verbalizations. A worker, however, does not have a public platform or press. Hence, verbal responses to formal questions, given the limited range of alternatives allowed to workers in such situations, inevitably give a picture of working class consciousness that is much more conservative than the underlying reality.

14.3 A Brief History of The Working Class The history of the working class can be divided in several eras for simplicity of presentation. Though one tends to see the working class as an offshoot of capitalism, the early roots could be found in pre-capitalism also.

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a)

Pre-Capitalism: There has been a very small working class since the time of the Roman, Greek and Chinese empires. That is, there have been people who were wage labourers rather than artisans from these times. Industries such as iron and coal mining for instance were modelled on capitalistic styles of production long before capitalism itself. As these types of workers were few and far between, they could not be seen as a class.

b)

Early Capitalism: The growth of capitalism witnessed a huge mushrooming of cities and necessitated the creation of a huge working class. Exorbitant cost of machinery and power meant that small-scale production was neither competitive nor possible. Peasants were driven from the land to cities through enclosure acts etc. So, for the first time, there were huge numbers of people who shared a common life experience of living and working close to each other.

c)

Capitalism: In capitalism this new group of people started to define themselves. The process which allowed such emergence of the new class consciousness was the concentration of people who worked together into same geographical areas in situations of grinding poverty. It was clear to the workers that their neighbours and work partners were starving and owners of the means of production were taking the entire surplus. In this regard it is important to mention that capitalism maintained itself through brute force best exemplified by the crushing of the ‘Paris commune’ and attacks on the ‘Chartists’ in Britain.

d)

During world war: Despite a widespread denunciation of the forthcoming war as late as 1912 by the left parties worldwide and pledges by the millions of workers not to fight, in the end, all left parties rallied behind their ruling class. Those that opposed the war outright were a small section of the working class, most notably Bolshevicks in Russia and the bulk of anarchist movement. The mass socialist parties which had developed out of struggles around Europe meekly led their members off to the slaughter. The war saw huge mutinies and revolution in Russia and indeed was to end with a workers’ rising in Germany. This was the first time that throughout Europe socialist parties chose to work with the ruling class. Box 14.01: Stalinism Under Stalinism, the new method of social control had developed in USSR. This method relied on placing power in the hands of the ‘state’ instead of individual bosses. This had important effects on the working class. First, the working class was assured that they were living under socialism. Secondly, the fact that the factor that determined standard of living was access to resources rather than wealth per se tended to lead to individual solutions rather than collective ones. Moreover, wherever collective actions occurred, it was ruthlessly stamped on preventing the development of a tradition of successful collective action. The initial euphoria of the working class soon turned to despair as the Communist Party along with the state bureaucracy made itself the representative of the working class.

e)

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Post war to 70’s: In this period there was a boom of industrialisation and bosses all around the world. The standard of living of the working class rose drastically. Since the late 60’s onwards the idea that class struggle politics was over became popular. A cure for the periodic recession that capitalism had gone through, had been found and the picture for everyone was rosy. It was also a period where the working

class was fragmented by the introduction of cheap mass transport, cheap housing and the reduction of societies to a body composed of individual families. Now the workers no longer lived near their work partners, but lived in huge housing colonies with few social resources.

The Working Class

Box 14.02: Role of Mass Media A new method of social control was also found during the 70’s which was owned by the capitalists. This method was the use of mass media such as television. This further helped in the fragmentation of the working class due to continuous hammering of capitalist ideologies and goodies. However, on the flip side, television also helped in fostering the development of newer forms of class struggle. In other words, the imperfection of capitalism was beamed into the living rooms of everyone. This helped in developing a new sense of consciousness among the working class, which was not only transregional in nature but also trans-national. Hence, the atrocities of capitalism in one part of the world sparked protests in another corner of the world.

f)

The 80’s: The 70’s ended in industrial discontent the world over, as the rate of increase in the standard of living slowed and began to move in the reverse direction. The post war boom ended and capitalism suddenly found itself unable to afford the concessions it had offered to the working class in return of peace. The increasingly multi-national character of capitalism started to have profound effects on the structure of the working class all over the world. The large scale, unskilled and semiskilled heavy engineering, mining and assembly plants began to close in the first world or shifted to the cheaper third world countries. The rate of profit in manufacturing began to decline to the extent that money made through speculation was far greater than investment in the manufacturing unit. In the name of reducing overhead costs, the largescale workforce was shacked. This was the best example of decimation of large-scale workplaces and communities which consequently led to further fragmentation of the working class. This era also witnessed creation of many more ‘white collar’ jobs which gave rise to the new middle class. The need to service the new growing middle class composed of speculators and dealers led to huge growth in the service sector. There was also greater reduction of permanent employment, hence a new sector of employment came up called the voluntary sector. Most of the jobs lost were full time and unionised, most of those created were part-time and anti-union. One final significant change was the huge increase in the numbers of women workers, in part due to the fact that many new jobs were part-time and generally badly paid.

g)

The Working Class Today: The nature of working class today is quite different from that a hundred years ago. In the late 80’s a large section of left parties viewed this as meaning that socialism was no longer possible. Hence the best possible option is to form a rainbow alliance, which would attempt to limit the excesses of capitalism.

14.4 Working Class: The Indian Scenario India has a multi-structural economy where a number of pre-capitalist relations of production co-exist with capitalist relations of production. Correspondingly, here a differentiated working class structure exists i.e. the numerous types of relations of production, consumption and accumulation of surplus combine to produce a variety of forms of the existence of the working class. This is

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further compounded by the structural features of Pan-Indian society along with local conditions. So the composition of the working class is affected by the caste, tribe, ethnic origin and the gender based division of labour between male and female and associated patriarchy. This implies that despite internal structural differences and the relations of productions through which working people have been and continues to be, there exists a group of people denoted as ‘working class’. Then, it becomes pertinent to analyse the growth of working class in India. This is particularly so, when one considers two facts. First, in India prior to 19th century there were vast numbers of working people not working class. Second, the growth of capitalist mode of production along with industrialization was imposed by the colonial masters.

14.5 Growth of Working Class in India The modern working class came into being with the rise of capitalist mode of production. This mode of production brought with it the factory type of industry. In other words, rise of factory system of production and working class happened simultaneously. Conversely, without a factory industry there can be no working class but only working people.

Traditional Indian economy and encounter with colonialists In India, as mentioned above, till the middle of the 19th century, there were working people but not the working class. In other words, Indian economy was characterized by what Marx termed as ‘….small and extremely ancient Indian communities… are based on the possession in common land, on the blending of agriculture and handicrafts, and on the unadulterated division of labour, which serves, wherever a new community is started…’. The colonial rule and exploitation of British Imperialists completely ruined the system of production of these traditional and self-sufficient societies. Though the process started with victory in the battle of Plassey in 1757, the process was fastened with forced introduction of British capital, wherein the old economic system and division of labour was completely shattered. The surplus generated through the old system fell into the hands of the colonialists who then started direct plundering and exporting of the wealth of India to England. Simultaneously, the English capitalists felt the need of marketing in India the industrial products of England. Hence from 1813 onwards the door of free trade with India was opened not only for East India Company but for other British companies also. This was coupled with the imposition of heavy import duty ranging from 70 to 80 per cent on the cost of imported Indian textile and silk products in England. The combined result of these was that Indian economy suffered doubly — that is, not only was the textile industry ruined, but also the artisans were forced to starve. The same scenario existed in Indian metallurgical and other industries. Moreover, Indian raw material was an indispensable item for the development of British manufacturing industry. Hence, colonialists followed the trading policy whereby they not only flooded the Indian market with British industrial products but maintained the constant supply of Indian raw materials and agricultural products to England. In a word, as Sukomal Sen (1997) puts, India was transformed into an agrarian and raw material adjunct of capitalist Britain, simultaneously preserving feudal methods of exploitation. The result of this process was that ‘Indian craftsmen were forced out from their age-long profession. The ancient integrating element of the unity of industrial and agricultural production unique in the traditional economy was shattered and the structure of Indian society disintegrated’ (Sukomel Sen 1997).

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i) The formative period

The Working Class

The forced intrusion of British capital in India devastated the old economy but did not transplant it by forces of modern capital economy. So, traditional cottage industry and weavers famed for their skill through the centuries were robbed of their means of livelihood and were uprooted throughout India. This loss of the old world with no new gains led to extreme impoverishment of the people. The millions of ruined artisans and craftsmen, spinners, weavers, potters, smelters and smiths from the town and the village alike, had no alternative but to crowd into agriculture, leading to deadly pressure on the land. Subsequently, with the introduction of railways and sporadic growth of some industries, a section of these very people at the lowest rung of Indian society who had been plodding through immense sufferings and impoverishment in village life entered the modern industries as workers. The first generation of factory workers, it appears, came from this distressed and dispossessed section the village people. In the words of Buchanan…. “the factory working group surely comes from the hungry half of the agricultural population, indeed almost wholly from the hungriest quarter or eighth of it”. The factory commission of 1890 reports that most of the factory workers in jute, cotton, bone and paper mills, sugar works, gun and shell factories belonged to the lower castes like Bagdi, Teli, Mochi, Kaibarta, Bairagi and Sankara. They also belonged to the caste of Tanti or Weavers. In coal mines the largest single group were Bauris, a caste of very low social rank, the majority of whom were under royts or landless labourers. The next largest group in coal mining were the Santhals, a tribe of crude agriculturists. The remaining section of miners were recruited from similar groups and also from displaced labourers and menials from villages. Among the immigrant labourers in the coalfields, such castes as Pasis, Lodhs, Kurmis, Ahirs, Koeris, Chamars and lower caste Muslims were also there. However, other studies point out a different pattern of migration of workers from the village. The early working class was not the poorest of the poor. Buchanan’s views were based on deduction. The studies of Monis and Chandavarkar show that the lowest castes did not join the industries. Kalpana Ram’s study of mine workers also shows something similar. There were 2 reasons for this. The wages were very low and it was not possible for the poor to migrate to the city with their families and work in factories. It would be difficult to maintain a family on low wages. Hence both Monis and Ram note that initially middle castes — those with some land — migrated. Their families stayed behind and the worker would send small amounts of money to supplement the family earning/subsistence from land. Dalits/lower castes did not migrate, or they could not migrate, as they were required to do the unclean activities in the village. Secondly, being landless, they could not subsist on those meagre earnings. Migration of lower castes took place later (after 30-40 years) due to two reasons. The factories (jute and cotton) faced labour shortage, hence wages were increased. Secondly, there was pressure from the British Govt. on the village community to allow untouchables to migrate outside the village. The view expressed earlier in this unit is Buchanan’s and also Max Weber’s who had written that industrialisation in India attracted the low castes and the dregs of society.

ii) Emergence of working class With the growth of modern factory industries, the factory workers gradually

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shaped themselves into a distinct category. The concentration of the working class in the cities near the industrial enterprises was an extremely important factor in the formation of the workers as a class. Similar conditions in factories and common living conditions made the workers feel that they had similar experiences and shared interests and react in similar fashion. In other words, the principal factors underlying the growth and formation of the working mass as a class in India in the latter half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, I bear similarities with the advanced countries of Europe. Hence, the consciousness of being exploited by the capitalists/ owners of factories was evident as early as 1888, when workers of Shyamnagar Jute Mill assaulted the manager Mr. Kiddie. That is, the reactions against the exploitation in early phases were marked by riots, affrays, assaults and physical violence. Side by side with these forms of protest there were also other forms of struggle characteristic of the working class. Typical working class actions such as strike against long hours of work, against wage cuts, against supervisors extortion were increasing in number and the tendency to act collectively was also growing. As early as 1879/80 there was a threat of a strike in Champdani Jute Mill against an attempt by the authorities to introduce a new system of single shift which was unpopular with workers. Presumably because of this strike threat the proposed system was ultimately abandoned. However, the process of class formation among workers in India was marked by fundamental differences as opposed to their European counterparts. It had far reaching consequences on the growth of the Indian working class. These differences were — a)

Though in Europe also the artisans and craftsmen were dispossessed of their profession, they were not forced out of towns to crowd the village economy. They found employment in the large industries as soon as they were dispossessed of their old professions. In India, after the destruction of traditional handicraft and cottage industry, modern industry did not grow up in its place. The dispossessed artisans and craftsmen were compelled to depend on the village economy and earn livelihood as landless peasants and agricultural labourers.

b)

The gap between destruction of traditional cottage industry and its partial replacement by modern industries was about two to three generations. The dispossessed artisans and craftsmen lost their age-old technical skill and when they entered the modern industries, they did so without any initial skills.

c)

When the workers, after long and close association with agricultural life, entered the modern industries and got transformed into modern workers, they did it in with the full inheritance of the legacy and various superstitions, habits and customs of agricultural life. There was no opportunity for these men to get out of casteism, racialism and religious superstition of Indian social life and harmful influence of medieval ideas. They were born as an Indian working class deeply imbued with obscurantist ideas and backward trends. However, this feature they shared with some of their European counterparts, as well, such as the British working class who too had suffered similar problems.

These peculiarities accompanying the birth of Indian workers acted as hindrances to the development of their modern outlook and class consciousness. In fact the Indian workers were not the only workers

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characterised by these peculiarities, rather these were general characteristics of the working class of the colonies and sub-colonies.

The Working Class

iii) Consolidation of the working class The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th was marked by the organised national movements and consolidation of the working class. The national movement, especially in Bengal and Maharashtra had already assumed a developed form which exerted a great impact on the later national awakening of the entire country. The partition of Bengal in the year 1905 aroused bitter public indignation and gave rise to mass national upsurge. This political development worked as a favorable condition for the Indian working class too for moving ahead with its economic struggles and raising them to a higher pitch. The period from the beginning of the century till the outbreak of the first world war was marked with widespread and dogged struggles of the workers which were not only economic struggles, but political struggles also. That is, these struggles led to the laying of the foundation of the first trade unions of the country. Moreover, the turn of the century was also marked by the advance in industrialization with concomitant swelling of the working class in numerical strength. Box 14.03: Trade Unions In order to defend themselves from the collective might of the employers and the state, the working class organised themselves into trade unions so that they could increase their bargaining power through unity. Therefore trade unions emerged from the spontaneous efforts of the working class. They were not organisations that were preplanned on the basis of some theoretical formulation. In India, the crystallisation of organisations of workers into trade unions took place after the First World War. (IGNOU 2004, BLD102 Evolution of Workers Organisation 1, Unit 1&2)

On the eve of the First World War, the capitalist development in India got accelerated. There was increase in the number of joint stock company i.e. in 1900 the number of joint stock firms was 1360, which in 1907 rose to 2166. It marked the further increase at the beginning of the first world war when the number of registered firms stood at 2553. However, with the outbreak of war the colonial exploitation of India assumed horrible proportions. The government widely used the country’s industrial potential for the needs of war. In all these Indian bourgeoisie got opportunities to prosper. The main advantage accruing to Indian bourgeoisie during war were less competition from major imperialist powers, a large market for country made goods inside and outside the country, war contracts, relatively cheaper raw agricultural materials, lower real wages and higher prices of manufactured goods. But for the working class it was a tough time. This was because the soaring up of prices reduced the living standards of working class. While rural areas were affected by the rise of prices of manufactured goods, the towns faced higher food prices. The expansion of industrialisation saw swelling of numbers of factory workers. In 1919, the large scale industries of the country employed 13,67,000 workers. Of this 306,300 were employed in 277 cotton spinning and weaving mills; 140,800 in 1940 cotton ginning factories and 276,100 in jute factories and presses. The railway shops employed 126,100 workers. The October socialist revolution and subsequent sweeping mass and working class struggles formed the background under which the first organisation of

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the Indian working class called All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was born. In other words, the end of World War I, the success of the October revolution and the first general crisis of capitalism added new strength to the anti-imperialist struggle of India. The working class too did not fail to occupy its own place in the antiimperialist struggle. In this regard it is important to note that the background of political struggle during 1905-8 is the unprecedented dimension of class struggle waged by the Indian working class in the national and international set-up of the post war period against capitalist exploitation bore more significance from the point of view of workers’ class-consciousness. Then the birth of the central class organisation of Indian working class at the right moment when national political awakening was at its peak and they were conscious as class. Box 14.04: Formation of AITUC “The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), the first national federation of trade unions in India was formed in 1920. It was a result of realisation by several people linked with labour that there was a need for a central organisation of labour to coordinate the work of trade unions all over India. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, N.M. Joshi, B.P. Wadia, Diwan Chamanlall, Lala Lajpat Rai, Joseph Baptista and many others were trying to achieve this goal. The formation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) acted as a catalyst for it................................................... . Lala Lajpat Rai became the first president of the AITUC and Joseph Baptista its vice-president. Motilal Nehru and Vithallbhai Patel were also present. The AITUC received a lot of support from the Indian National Congress. There were about 107 unions which were affiliated or sympathetic to the AITUC. Out of these 64 unions had 140,854 members. One notable absence was the Gandhian trade union of Ahmedabad.’ The Textile Labour Union. It was a promising beginning and the AITUC continued to grow until it split in 1929. (Upadhayaya, S.B. 2004. ‘Evolution of Trade Unions in India’, IGNOU BLC102, Organisaing the Unorganised. 1)

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Recession in Indian industry and economy began already in the year 1922 and continued intensifying. In 1929 the impact of the world economic recession and general crisis of world capitalism veritably shook the Indian economy. Though the World War I provided a number of industries with some temporary advantages or opportunities to expand and saw limited growth of some industries, in a real sense India’s industrialisation was absolutely of a sprawling character and without any basic consolidation. The mill owners attempted to reduce wages of the workers. It is the particular misfortune of the Indian working class that they ultimately had to fall victim to the intense rivalry between imperialists and native capitalists. The workers did not lie low before that onslaught, but resisted. So, in order to safeguard its position, the working class of India had to proceed through a path of bitter struggle. The economic offensive reduced the standard of living of the workers. The investigation conducted by the Bombay Labour Office into the working class budget of 1921-23 revealed that the quantity of daily food consumed by the Bombay workers was less than what was available to the prison inmates. An enquiry conducted by the Madras labour department also revealed a similarly shameful state of affairs.

The years 1926-29 constitute an eventful phase of the working class struggle. During this phase the Indian communist movement stood on a firm foundation poised for advance. Communist influence on the working class movement was felt to be very strong. Large scale strikes were conducted during these years. Although the government tried to dub these strikes as ‘communist conspiracies’, these struggles, led by the communists in many cases were in fact, a sharp manifestation of the simmering discontent of a working class afflicted with crushing problems. Sharpening of struggles, side by side, acted to further widen the outlook of the working class and this was borne out by the very nature of its activities at both national and international levels. The government in response tried to root out the militant section of the working class movement by unleashing draconian measures. With a view to keeping the speeding working-class movement under safe control, they on one hand introduced the ‘Trade Union Act. 1926’ and on the other passed ‘The Trade Disputes Act’ and ‘Public Safety Act’ for tightening up their suppressive designs. The government even tried to incite the public opinion against them.

The Working Class

The world economic crisis of 1931-36 was the most profound and destructive of all economic crises capitalism has ever known. It dealt a shattering blow to the economy, the political foundation and ideology of bourgeoisie and in total effect it further aggravated the general crisis of capitalism. In India the repercussion of this crisis was more fatal. India’s economy, where 80 percent of the people were dependent on agriculture came to a breaking point due to a fall in agricultural prices. The plight of the peasantry was beyond all imagination, their purchasing power came down to an all time low. In all industries there was mass retrenchment and wages were slashed. In other words, workers of all categories were hit. It is during these times that building up stiff resistance against the world economic crisis and its effect upon the working class were drastic. In spite of organisational disunity prevailing at that time, the working class waged economic struggle. However, due to the large-scale involvement of the working class also in the antiimperialist movement of the period, the political dimension of the struggle got precedence over the economic struggle. World war II broke out on 3rd September 1939, the Viceroy of India proclaimed India to be belligerent. This had a devastating effect on the Indian economy and working class in particular. The colonial government reoriented the economy, whereby the industrial units introduced double to triple shifts of work and leave facilities were curtailed. This was done to cater to the war needs of England. As far as workers were concerned, their economic conditions were miserable in the pre-war period, and the new war made the situation much worse. This was because of the steady fall in the wage rates across the industry. Though there was a reversal in the trends of wage rate from 1936 onwards, the abnormal rise in prices had not only offset the rise in wages, the wages of the workers in real terms had gone down. In such a situation the working class of India had to wage a struggle for protecting the existing standard of living. The working class embarked on a series of strikes in Bombay, Kanpur, Calcutta, Banglore, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Jharia, Nagpur, Madras, Digboy of Assam or in a word throughout the entire county. Moreover, the greatest working class action in India was the anti-war strike which was organised in Bombay on 2nd October 1939 and was joined by 90,000 workers. This event along with other struggles indicates that during this period the outlook of the Indian working class did not remain confined solely to the economic demands. The working class rather fully kept pace with the

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national and international political developments and played a key role in the political struggles. In such an event the imperialist government directed severe attacks to forestall the struggle of the working class. The defeat of fascism and end of the World War II saw the emergence of the Indian working class as a highly organised, class conscious and uncompromising force against the colonialist. The upsurge of world democratic national liberation forces that followed had its impact in India too. An unprecedented and irresistible struggle for national liberation and democratic advance engulfed the country. Side-by-side the working class had to engage in sharp economic struggles. The reason was that after the war there was large-scale retrenchment of the wartime recruits and reduction of wages. Against all this, the working class resolutely started the struggle. The phenomenal rise in the number of strike actions (1629) in the year 1946 was an indication of the stiff resistance. All India Trade Union Congress raised the demand of stopping retrenchment, minimum wage, eight hours work, health insurance scheme, old age pension, unemployment allowance and several other social security measures. To suppress these, the government took recourse to extreme measures such as police firing and several other repressive measures. In this many workers had to lay down their lives while upholding their cause. As soon as India became independent, the political climate of the country changed. This was particularly so for the working class. That is, till Independence political and economic struggle of the working class was directed against the colonial masters. Moreover, it was a broad political front against imperialism where everybody from the national bourgeoisie to the working class rallied with one common objective. But with Independence began a new political dynamics, where power was in the hands of capitalists and landlords. Their economic interests were directly counter to those of the working class. With this, the objective of the struggle of the working class also saw a change i.e. to end the rule of the capitalist and establish socialism in the real sense of the term. This was thought to be the precondition for growing class-consciousness, which the majority of the working class of India had not yet realised. Though the achievement of Independence, roused immense hopes and aspirations among all sections of the society, it was accompanied by a huge rise in prices and continuous fall in the real wages of the workers. Moreover, the ruling classes had embarked upon a path of building capitalism in the newly independent country. This brought in its wake immense hardships and suffering to the toiling masses which generated powerful resistance of the working classes all over the country.

Nature and Structure of the Working Class Today

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Given such an eventful history and evolution of the working class in India, it is worthwhile to examine the nature and structure of the working class in the present circumstances. As mentioned above, due to the existence of multi-structural economy and effects of primordial affiliations, a variety of forms of the working class exists in India. On top of all the differences, the differences in wage is also the basis of divisions among the working class. On the basis of wage, there are four types of workers. First, those workers who are permanent employees of the large factory sector and get family wage. (By ‘family wage’ it is meant that the wage of the worker should be sufficient to maintain not only the individual but also the worker’s family.

For further details see Nathan, Dev, 1987’). They are mostly employed in the public sector enterprises and modern sectors of petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and engineering. Second, there is a large and preponderant section of the working class that does not get a family wage. This includes workers in the older industries like cotton and jute textiles, sugar and paper. Even the permanent workers in the tea plantation come in the same category because the owners refuse to accept the norm of family wage for an individual worker. Third, there is a section of the working class at the bottom of the wage scale — the mass of contract and sometimes casual labourers in industry, including construction, brick making and other casual workers. Fourth, below all these lie a reserve army of labour, who work in petty commodities production in petty trading, ranging from hawking to rag-picking. They are generally engaged in the informal sector and carry on for the want of sufficient survival wage. The existence of a majority of workers, who are not paid family wage means that either the worker gets some form of supplement from other non-capitalist sectors or the worker and his/her family cut down their consumption below the minimum standard. This also means that there is more than one wage earner per household. As Das Gupta (1986) mentions both men and women work in the plantation or Bidi manufacturing. At the same time they also supplement these earnings with various kinds of agricultural activities including not only cultivation as such but also poultry and milk production. Even in the plantation workers are given plots of land with which to carry on agricultural production. It is the supplementary agricultural activities that enable wages in these sectors to be kept low. In this sense, supplementary activities by the workers under pre-capitalist relations of production is a tribute to the capitalist sector.

The Working Class

Not only is there wage differential among the working class, there is also variation in the terms of working conditions. Hence, better paid labour has also much greater job security. However the workers on the lower end of the wage scale have not only job security but also considerable extra-economic coercion and personal bondage which leads to lack of civil rights. Similarly, working conditions for the low paid workers are uniformly worse than for high paid workers. So, in the same plant or site there is a clear difference in the safety measures for the two groups of workers. The situation worsens further with regard to women workers. For example, women are not allowed to work in the steel plants for safety reasons, but are not prohibited to be employed on the same site as contract labour. Reflection and Action 14.02 Visit a local factory or cottage industry in your city/town or village. Find out about the type of workers in that factory. Ask two workers at least, who belong to the organised sector, about their social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. Do they have links with their villages? Are they members of a Trade Union? If so, what are the benefits of belonging to the Trade Union? Now select atleast two workers from the same factory who are from the unogranised sector. Ask the same questions to them which you asked the organised sector workers. Based on these interviews, write a report of two pages on ‘The Different Positions of Organised and Unorganised sector workers in an Indian Factory.” Compare your report with those of your peers at your Study Centre.

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With such major divisions amongst the working classes of India on the basis of wage, one would expect that there would be large scale mobility among the workers. So a worker would start as casual or contract labour in a firm and then would move to permanent employment either in the same or other firms. A study by Deshpande (1979) of Bombay labour found the reverse to be true. That is, around 87 per cent of the regular employees, who had changed their jobs had started as regular employees and only 13 per cent had started as casual labour. In this regard Harriss (1982), who conducted a study in Coimbatore, reported that ‘ individuals do not move easily between sectors of the labour market. Among the 826 households surveyed there were only less than 20 cases of movement from unorganised into organised sector. Many in the unorganised sector had the requisite skills, experience and education for factory jobs. But they lack the right connections or to put it in another way, they do not belong to the right social network’. This means that mobility to a large extent is dependent upon the way recruitments are done. The above-mentioned study of Bombay labour, though dealing with private sector, found that recruitments are done mainly through friends and relatives. A study in Ahmedabad by Subramanium and Papola (1973) found that 91 per cent of the jobs were secured through introduction by other workers. This in a way then denies the disadvantaged groups, access to the high wage employment. In public sector, though a substantial portion of the vacancies are filled through employment exchange, it does not in any way mean that the casual, contract or other disadvantaged groups have equal access.

14.6 Social Background of Indian Working Class

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Indian working class, as mentioned earlier, came from diverse social backgrounds in which primordial identities such as caste, ethnicity, religion and language played very important roles. In recent years, the significance of these elements has been reduced but they do persist nonetheless. In this regard, the Ahmedabad study (1973), points out that where jobs are secured through introduction by other workers, the latter was a blood relation in 35 per cent of the cases, belonged to the same caste in another 44 percent and belonged to the same native place in another 12 per cent. Friends helped in 7 per cent of the cases. Several other studies have pointed out the role of kinship ties in getting employment (Gore 1970). Kinship ties not only play a significant role in securing employment, but also in the placement in the wage scale. Five studies of Pune, Kota, Bombay, Ahmedabad and Bangalore covering large number of industries found that 61 per cent of workers were upper caste Hindus (Sharma 1970). The dominant position of the workers from upper caste was also brought out in a study of Kerala. This study points out that in higher income jobs upper castes dominate whereas Dalits/adivasis have preponderance in low wage jobs. The middle castes are concentrated in middle to bottom ranges. Even in public sector, the representation of backward castes, schedule castes and tribes is not up to their proportion in the population. Moreover, it seems that caste based division of labour is followed in the class III and IV jobs in government and public sector enterprises. So the jobs of sweepers are reserved for dalits and adivasis. In coal mines, hard physical labour of loading and pushing the coaltubs is done by dalits and advasis. In steel plants the production work in the intense heat of coke oven and blast furnace is mainly done by advasis and dalits. This is because, as Deshpande (1979) points out, of ‘pre labour market characteristic’ such as education and land holding. So those who possessed more land and education ended up in a higher wage sector. But then if upper and lower

caste people own comparable levels of landholding and education, the upper caste worker will get into a higher segment of the wage than the lower caste worker. This is because of the continuing importance of caste ties in recruitment. Caste also serves the function of ensuring the supply of cheap labour for different jobs with the fact of not paying more than what is necessary. In other words, the depressed conditions of adivasis and dalits helps in ensuring a supply of labour, who can be made to work at the mere subsistence level (Nathan 1987). Hence, caste on one hand plays a role in keeping the lower sections of the society in the lower strata of the working class, on the other hand, the upper caste get a privilege in the labour market. Further, caste is not only a matter of marriage and to an extent residence, but more so a continuing pool of social relation for the supply of various kinds of labour for the capitalist mode of production (ibid.).

The Working Class

14.7 Conclusion The working class, which is the product of capitalist relations of production, came into being with the industrial revolution and subsequent industrialisation in England in particular and Europe in general. In this relation of production, unlike other epochs, they did not own anything except the labour, which they sold for survival. At the other spectrum, there were capitalists who not only owned all the means of production but also appropriated all the surplus generated out of these relations of production. The working class at the conceptual level seems to be fairly simple, but if one tries to define it, the problem magnifies. The reason is that this is not a homogeneous entity. Rather it is a complex, contradictory and constantly changing entity. Another reason is that the concept of ‘class-consciousness’, is very slippery with regard to the working class. The consequence of this is that it is often proclaimed that either the working class is shrinking in size or everybody except a few at the top are working class. However the fact is that working class is a distinct entity, with characteristics of its own. In India, the situation is much more complex because of several reasons like, (a) the forced intrusion of British capital in India; (b) simultaneous existence of multiple relations of production; and (c) never ending identification of working mass with primordial features such as caste, religion and other ethnic divisions of the society. The coming into being and consolidation of the working class in the world as well as in India, has been affected by local and international events of both economic and political nature. So for carrying out further studies on the working class, these peculiarities have to be taken into account.

14.8 Further Reading Holmstrom, M. 1991: ‘Who Are the ‘Working Class’?’ in Dipanker Gupta edited Social Stratification. Oxford University Press, New Delhi Sen, Sukomal 1997 : Working Class of India-History of Emergence & Movement 1830-1996. K.P. Bagchi & Cmompany, Calcutta Ramaswamy, E.A & U. Ramaswamy 1987. Industry and Labour. Oxford University Press, Delhi

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Unit 15

The Middle Class Contents 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Concept of Class 15.3 Concept of the ‘Middle Class’ 15.4 Evolution of the Middle Class in India 15.5 Modernity and the Middle Class in Contemporary India 15.6 Values Related to Family, Marriage and Women’s Status amongst the Middle Class 15.7 Conclusion 15.8 Further Reading

Learning Objectives After studying this unit you will be able to: l

explain the concept of class;

l

discuss the concept of ‘middle class’;

l

outline the evolution of middle class in India;

l

l

describe the link between modernity and the middle class in contemporary India; and discuss the values related to family, marriage and status of women amongst the middle class.

15.1 Introduction Analysis of the middle class in contemporary capitalist society has been lacking in systematic discussion. This is also the case in a society such as India. There has been an ongoing debate on what constitutes the middle class in India. However, a comprehensive understanding of the middle class in India is still far from complete. In this Unit, we endeavour to understand the concept of ‘middle class’ in India in contemporary times. We have divided this Unit into four sections. In the first section, we discuss the concept of class from various perspectives following which, in the second section, we focus on the definition of middle class and its evolution in India. The third section will be devoted to understanding the middle class in contemporary India. The fourth section explains the values related to family, marriage and kinship amongst the middle class; and in the final section, we bring the discussion to a conclusion.

15.2 Concept of Class

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Before entering into any theoretical discussion on what constitutes the middle class and whether India has a middle class, it becomes pertinent to understand ‘class’ as a concept. Right from the time of classical thinkers, myriad viewpoints on ‘class’ have been put forth. Karl Marx defined social class as an aggregate of persons who perform the same function in the organisation of production. In Marx’s theory, social classes in different historical periods are given different names such as freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guild master and journeyman, oppressor

and oppressed. Classes are distinguished from each other by the difference in their respective positions in the economy (Bendix & Lipset, 1967: 7). Since social class is constituted by the function which its members perform in the process of production, the question arises why the organisation of production is the basic determinant of social class. Fundamental to this theory was Marx’s belief that work is man’s basic form of self-realisation. Stating the four aspects of production, Marx propounded that these explain why man’s efforts to provide for his subsistence underlie all change in history. Following from this, Marx asserted that the fundamental determinant of class is the way in which the individual cooperates with others in the satisfaction of his or her basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. Other indices such as income, consumption patterns, educational attainment or occupation are so many clues to the distribution of material goods and of prestige symbols (ibid:8). Interpreting Karl Marx’s viewpoint, Lipset and Bendix explain that the income or occupation of an individual, according to Marx, is not an indication of his class position i.e of his position in the production process. Marx believed that a man’s position in the production process provided the crucial life experience, which would eventually determine the beliefs and actions of that individual.

The Middle Class

As Marx saw it, the organisation of production provides the necessary but not a sufficient basis for the existence of social classes. Taking the examples of bourgeoisie and proletariat, Marx illustrated the manner in which he envisaged the emergence of a social class. Put simply, Marx viewed social class as a condition of group life, which was constantly generated by the organisation of production. He went on to elaborate that the existence of common conditions and the realisation of common interests are only the necessary, not the sufficient bases for the development of a social class. Only when the members of a ‘potential’ class enter into an association for the organised pursuit of their common aims, does a class in Marx’s sense exist. Marx did not simply identify a social class with the fact that a large group of people occupied the same objective position in the economic structure of a society. Instead he laid stress on the importance of subjective awareness as a precondition of organising the class successfully for the economic and the political struggle. Marx felt that the pressures engendered by capitalism would determine its development in the future. Subjective awareness, in his view, was an indispensable element in the development of the social class and this would arise with growing contradictions inherent in capitalism. Writing on Marx, Erik Olin Wright points out that although the former did not systematically answer the question ‘ What constitutes a class?’, yet most of his work revolves around two problems: the elaboration of abstract structural maps of class relations and the analysis of concrete conjunctural maps of classes as actors (Wright, 1985: 6). From the abstract structural account of classes comes the characteristically polarized map of class relations that runs through most of Marx’s analysis of the capitalist mode of production in Capital. In contrast to this, the conjunctural political analyses are characterised by a complex picture of classes, fractions, factions, social categories, strata and other actors on the political stage. Elaborating on this further, Wright argues that the distinction between class structure and class formation is a basic, if often implicit, distinction in class analysis. Class structure refers to the structure of social relations into which individuals enter which determine their class interests (ibid:9). Class formation on the other hand, refers to the formation of organised collectivities within that

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class structure on the basis of the interests shaped by that class structure. Put simply, if class structure is defined by social relations between classes, class formation is defined by social relations within classes, social relations which forge collectivities engaged in struggle. Taking the cue from Marx, Max Weber made classifications such as ‘classes’, ‘status groups’ and ‘parties’ based on distribution of power within a community. He defined ‘ class’ as when 1) a number of people have in common a specific casual component of their life chances in so far as 2) this component is represented exclusively by economic interests in the possession of goods and opportunities for income and 3) is represented under the conditions of the commodity or labor markets. In Weber’s theory, class situation is ultimately the ‘market situation’ (Weber, 1946). He goes on to elaborate that the factor that creates class is unambiguously an economic interest and only those interests involved in the existence of the market. Joseph Schumpeter states that there are basically four problems that beset the class theory in Sociology. In doing so he takes into account the scientific rather than the philosophical, and the sociological rather than the immediate economic. The four problems are: 1) There is the problem of the nature of class and as part of this problem, the function of class in the vital processes of the social whole. 2) Problem of social cohesion — the factors that constitute every social class. 3) The problem of class formation — the question of why the social whole has never been homogeneous revealing organic stratification. 4) This problem is wholly distinct from the series of problems that are concerned with the concrete causes and conditions of an individual determined, historically given class structure. Class, as defined by Schumpeter, is more than an aggregation of class members. A class is aware of its identity as a whole, sublimates itself as such, has its own peculiar life and characteristic “spirit”. However, a noted phenomenon is that class members behave towards one another in a fashion characteristically different from their conduct towards members of other classes. They are in closer association with one another; they understand one another better; they work more readily in concert; they close ranks and erect barriers against the outside; they look into the same segment of the world with the same eyes, from the same viewpoint, in the same direction. Social intercourse within class barriers is promoted by the similarity of manners and habits of life, or things that are evaluated in a positive or negative sense, that arouse interest. Classes, once they have come into being, harden in their mould and perpetuate themselves, even when the social conditions that created them have disappeared. Pointing to the history of the term ‘social class’, Stanislaw Ossowski argued that from the second half of the 18th century onwards, class has been an interesting subject for sociologists. He considers two specifying versions of the concept of ‘class’.

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a)

Social class is seen as a group distinguished in respect of relations of property. This is basically the economic version of social class.

b)

The class system is contrasted with group systems in the social structure in which an individual’s membership of the group is institutionally determined and in which privileges or discriminations result from the individual’s ascription to a certain group. This is the result not of birth

or an official document such as title of nobility but is the consequence of social status otherwise achieved.

The Middle Class

In various social systems one can observe two or more coexisting types of the relation of class dependence. Three assumptions which appear to be common to all conceptions of a ‘class society’ can be stated in the following manner: 1)

The classes constitute a system of the most comprehensive groups in the social structure.

2)

The class division concerns social statuses connected with a system of privileges and discriminations not determined by biological criteria.

3)

The membership of individuals in a social class is relatively permanent.

Out of myriad ways of understanding class, one can elicit three or four such characteristics. They are by no means of equal importance in the history of social thought. 1)

The vertical order of social classes: the existence of superior and inferior categories of social statuses which are superior or inferior in respect of some system of privileges and discriminations. Accepting such a class structure would mean class stratification.

2)

Distinctness of permanent class interests.

3)

Class consciousness — involves not only class identification but also a consciousness of the place of one’s class in the class hierarchy, a realisation of class distinctness, class interests and possibly of class solidarity as well.

4)

Social isolation — the absence of closer social contacts: social distance. In the US, according to this definition, a social class is the largest group of people whose members have intimate social access to one another. A society is a class society in respect of this characteristic if there exist within it distinct barriers to social intercourse and if class boundaries can be drawn by means of an analysis of interpersonal relations. Not only is social isolation involved but also the effects of this isolation and the effects of differences in the degree of access to the means of consumption.

These class criteria are not independent of each other. Given the fact that these characteristics are interdependent, Ossowski concludes that there could be various definitions of class. The pertinent question at this juncture is how do we define middle class in India in general and in contemporary times in particular.

15.3 Concept of the ‘Middle Class’ The problems which the middle class pose for the social scientist are typically metropolitan in character and nationwide in scope. C. Wright Mills states that a city’s population may be stratified in the following manner: a) objectively in terms of such bases as property or occupation or the amount of income received from either or both sources. Information about these bases may be confined to the present or may include b) extractions, intermarriages and job histories of members of given strata. Subjectively, strata may be constructed according to who does the rating: c) each individual may be asked to assign himself a position, d) the interviewer may intuitively rate each individual or e) each individual may be asked to stratify the population and then to give his image of the people on each level.

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Citing Dahrendorf (1959: 51-57), one finds that four different positions can be identified regarding the class situation of the new middle class. In the first position it is held that since most middle class occupations have been structurally differentiated from what were previously ruling class occupations, so the new middle class is an extension of the existent capitalist ruling class (Bendix, 1963). In the second position it is held that the middle class is really much closer to the working class because both groups do not own the means of production. Any identification with the ruling class is merely false consciousness that will disappear once the middle class comes to realise their class interests to be coincidental with the working class (Klingender, 1935 & Wright Mills C., 1956). A third position is that there is no such thing as the middle class but instead there are two different groupings with opposed interests, bureaucrats with ruling class authority and white collar workers with a proletarian class situation (Dahrendorf, 1959). Finally there is a position where it is maintained that the middle class is in a structurally ambivalent situation (Lockwood, 1958). Elaborating on the growth of the middle class, John Urry argues that Marx’s account of the rise of the middle class was in terms of a growing surplus that demanded a class or classes to consume more than they produced and an increasingly complicated industrial structure which needed non productive functionaries to service it. In ‘Theories of Surplus Value’, Marx goes on to argue that as capitalism develops there is an expansion of the middle class. Taking the cue from Marx, Urry propounded that a historical analysis of the growth of the middle class has illustrated that with the market structure there has been the development of a highly significant middle class which does not own the means of production but is a powerful favoured status situation in the structure of workplace relationships (Urry, 1996: 255). Like Marx and Weber, most modern sociologists use economic factors as the basic criteria for differentiating social classes. Anthony Giddens identifies three major classes in advanced capitalist society. They are upper class based on the ‘ownership of property in the means of production’, a middle class based on the ‘possession of educational and technical qualifications’ and a lower or working class based on the ‘possession of manual labour power’. These classes, in Giddens’s opinion, are distinguished by their differing relationships to the forces of production and by their particular strategies for obtaining economic reward in a capitalist economy. Another viewpoint regarding class is the functional perspective whereby functional requirements of society determines differential occupational rewards. An alternative explanation is that power is a determinant of occupational rewards. This is a very basic understanding of the concept of the middle class drawing our attention to ‘middle class in India’. First and foremost, it becomes significant to delve into the evolution of the middle class in India. Reflection and Action 15.01 Read carefully the section on ‘middle class’ in India. Observe your own family and your immediate neighbours. Write a report of one page on “Me and My Class” where you state, to which class you think you belong and why? Discuss your report with other students at your Study Centre and your Academic Counsellor.

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15.4 Evolution of the Middle Class in India

The Middle Class

B.B. Misra (1961) in his seminal work on the middle classes in India had concluded that institutions conducive to capitalist growth were not lacking in India prior to the British rule. Pre-British India did witness an Indian artisan industry as well as occupational specialisation and additionally a separate class of merchants. The guild power remained purely money power unsupported by any authority of a political or military nature. The British rule resulted in the emergence of a class of intermediaries serving as a link between people and the new rulers. In Misra’s viewpoint, there was a fundamental revolution in social relations and class structure in India. The emergent class of intermediaries was the middle class that continued to grow in strength and prosperity with the progress of foreign rule. Significantly, the establishment of trading relations followed by the rule of the British East India Company set the stage in the creation of this class. Furthermore, as part of their educational policy, the British attempted to create a class comparable to their own to assist the former in the administration of the country (Misra, 1961:10). The aim of the British was to create a class of imitators and not originators of new values and methods (Ahmad & Reifeld, 2001:8). As Pavan K. Verma points out in his work on the middle class, from the circumstances of their origin and growth, the members of the educated class such as government servants, lawyers, college teachers and doctors constituted the bulk of the Indian middle class. This middle class, in Verma’s opinion, was largely dominated by the traditional higher castes (Verma, 1998: 27). Ahmad and Reifeld argue that in its formation and the role played in history, the Indian middle class bore close resemblance, at least in some parts, to its European counterparts (Ahmad & Reifeld, 2001). Like their counterparts in Europe earlier, some of the entrants to commercial activity either as agents or independently in the 17th and the first half of the 18th century amassed great wealth and acquired social status far beyond what they could aspire to have in the structure of economic relations in the traditional society. But alongside, differences existed, too. While the European middle class was independent, the Indian middle class was under foreign rule. Initially, the middle class helped in the establishment of British power and promotion of European commerce and enterprise in India. It was only after the ‘ Mutiny’ that it began to assume the political role of competitor for power with the British. With the passage of time, the competitor role adopted by an important section of the middle class came to dominate over that of a collaborator and this continued till the very end of the Raj. Ahmad and Reifeld conclude that from the beginning of the 20th century, the Indian middle class had come to pose a serious challenge to the continuance of the British power. It was instrumental in arousing national consciousness and giving a sense of unity as a nation to the people (Ahmad and Reifeld, 2001:10). Sanjay Joshi, in his study of the making of the middle class in colonial India, attempted to explain why traditional sociological indicators of income and occupation cannot take us very far in understanding the category of middle class. Though the economic background of the middle class was important, the power and constitution of the middle class in India was based not on the economic power it wielded, which was minimal, but on the ability of its members to be cultural entrepreneurs. Being middle class was primarily a project of ‘self fashioning’ (Joshi, 2001: 4). Joshi articulated that the definition and power of the middle class, from its propagation of modern ways of life,

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heterogeneity was an attribute of the middle class. The rapid expansion of a new middle class in India during the last decade of the 20th century and its increasing influence in many parts of the public sphere constitute one of the most important changes in India’s contemporary history. Box 15.01: Rural and Urban Middle Class According to Yogendra Singh (1991), if we compare the rural middle classes with the urban, we find one major similarity. The rural middle classes have ideological affinity at one level with the urban middle classes as both of them share conservative and narrow utilitarian ethos. But the rural middle classes also harbour, on another level, intense antagonism and conflict with the urban middle classes, entrepreneurs and professional groups. The antagonism and conflict has arisen due to certain historical reasons. The process of development in agriculture has after a period of time slowed down due to structural technological stagnation. He believes that even the so called rich peasants have over the past few years confronted the prospect of downward mobility in terms of social and economic status due to unfavourable price policy, stagnation in agriculture productivity, fragmentation of landholding due to rise in population and non-availability of other avenues of employment for their youth. He says that this post-Green Revolution under-development in agriculture further reinforces the alienation of middle classes in rural areas from the urban and industrial middle classes. This fact has been a setback to their level of aspiration which had seen its peak during the Green Revolution phase.

Andre Beteille writes that the middle class is not only very large but also highly differentiated internally to such an extent that it may be more appropriate to speak of the middle classes than of the middle class in India, stresses upon the heterogeneous nature of its social composition (Beteille, 2001: 73). The recent shifts in the economic policy in favour of privatisation, liberalisation and globalisation have generated a wide interest in the middle class, its size, composition and its social values. Andre Beteille views middle class in India as part of a relatively new social formation based on religion, caste and kinship. In Beteille’s opinion, middle class values in India are difficult to characterise because they are still in the process of formation and have still not acquired a stable form (Beteille, 2001:74). As such, they are marked by deep and pervasive antinomies meaning contradictions, oppositions and tensions inherent in a set of norms and values. Public discussion of the middle class in the last 10 years has been driven largely by media. There is hardly anything substantial in the structure of the middle class in the sociological literature. The discussion of the middle class values is constrained by the absence of reliable and systematic data on the size and composition of the class. Estimates of its size vary from under 100 million to over 250 million persons. There is no single criterion for defining the middle class (Beteille, 2001: 76). Occupational functions and employment status are the two most significant criteria although education and income are also widely used. The new middle class, according to Beteille is not only defined by occupation but also by education. In India, the origins of the middle class derive not so much from an industrial revolution or a democratic revolution as from colonial rule. In the last 50 years, the middle class has grown steadily.

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Commenting on the growing middle class, Gurcharan Das (Das, 2000) stated that although the middle class is composed of many occupations, commerce has always been at the center- as the businessman mediated between the landed upper classes and the labouring lower classes. The 20th century witnessed an entrepreneurial surge in the last decade after 1991 and the expansion of the middle class in the last two decades after 1980. After growing at a rate of 3.5% a year from 1950 to 1980, India’s economic growth rate increased to 5.6% in the decade of the 80s. It climbed further to 6.3% in the decade of 1990s. In these 2 decades the middle class more than tripled. Between 1998- 2000, $2.5 billion in venture capital funds have come to India (McKinsey’s studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between the availability of venture funds and the proliferation of business start ups). Writing about this middle class, Das argued that as a result of changing trends, a new kind of entrepreneur has emerged in India (Das, 2000:195). As Gurcharan Das notes, although the reforms after 1991 have been slow, hesitant and incomplete, yet they have set in motion a process of profound change in Indian society. It is Joseph Schumpeter who coined the term ‘entrepreneur’. Contrary to earlier times, the new millionaires today are looked up to with pride and even reverence. For they are a new meritocracy — highly educated entrepreneur professionals who are creating value by innovating in the global knowledge economy.

The Middle Class

The emergence of a sizeable middle class in the last decades is widely regarded with hope by the modernisers and fear by the traditionalists as the single most important development in the ongoing transformation of Indian society (Kakar). According to a survey by NCAER the middle class grew from 8% of the population in 1986 to 18% in 2000 which is about 185 million. It appears that for many modern sociologists of India, the emergent middle class is a harbinger of modernity but the question of great relevance is how does one define modernity. Can one define the middle class as modern, based on material progress or is the middle class ethos to be analysed in a more deep rooted manner with regard to the basis of formation of social relations among people who constitute the middle class. In the subsequent section, the focus will be on understanding the rising middle class in contemporary India and whether we can define it as modern, traditional or as Beteille (Beteille, 2001) labels it, as ‘transitional’.

15.5 Modernity and the Middle Class in Contemporary India We live in modern times — times that are witnessing rapid changes in the technological, economic, political and social realms. Microwaves, DVDs, palmtop computers, cloning, genetic manipulation and so on all appear to corroborate how much more technologically advanced contemporary society is in comparison to the society of the past. Today’s world appears to be peculiarly dynamic, a world which is in the process of constant change and transformation. According to Marshall Berman, to live in a modern world is to live in ‘a maelstrom of perpetual disintegration and renewal, of struggle and contradiction, of ambiguity and anguish’ (Berman 1988:15). Essentially, modernity signifies the destruction of past forms of life, values and identities combined with the production of new ones. One of the major outcomes of this has been the emergence of ‘consumer culture’ or ‘consumerism’ whereby culture is constructed through consumption, not just production. Consumer culture is bound up with central values, practices and institutions that define modernity, such as choice, individualism and market relations. Primarily this

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consumerist ideology involves a process of innovation, of constant turnover and novelty. Extending viewpoints of scholars such as Simmel (1972) and Campbell (1987) to present times, it can be stated that along with money making, consumption of goods has become an end in itself. Fundamentally both of these represent a break from tradition. In the 20th century we witnessed consumer culture reaching its apogee in the West. Within this contemporary consumer culture, what has developed is a ‘lifestyle’ connoting individuality, self- expression and stylistic self- consciousness (Featherstone 1991:86). Most often, the terms ‘consumption’ and ‘consumer culture’ are used interchangeably, but a sociological analysis reveals a definite distinction between the two. Two important features that distinguish consumer culture from consumption are: a)

Constant turnover of commodities with emphasis being laid on newer and changed versions of goods. One consumes not because one needs something but to be in fashion.

b)

A generalised consumption — it does not remain confined to the upper echelons of society but becomes all pervading.

In modern consumeristic societies, people are no longer locked in their respective positions. Lifestyles can be and are improved upon constantly. Moreover, it becomes a generalised phenomenon with all classes of people being subjected to a surfeit of images and signs because of advertising and being active participants in consumer culture. What is present is essentially, ‘fluidization of consumption’ i.e. freeing up the previously static and relatively fixed spatial and temporal dimensions of social life (Lee 1993:124-133). Also consumption is viewed as a stage in a process of communication i.e. an act of deciphering and decoding. What is required is to be able to move from the primary stratum of meaning, which one can grasp on the basis of ordinary experience to the stratum of secondary meanings that is the level of meaning of what is signified (Bourdieu 1979:2). Therefore, in a modern society there is a strong tendency for social groups to seek to classify and order their social circumstances as well as use cultural goods as means of demarcation and as communicators that establish boundaries between some people and build bridges with others (Jameson 1991:XX of Introduction). The process by which taste becomes a process of differentiation leading to creation of distinctions between different categories of goods and between social groups is an ongoing one. Contemporary Western societies have been witnessing, what Mike Featherstone refers to as the ‘doubly symbolic aspect of goods’. Symbolism is not only evident in the design and imagery of production and marketing processes, but the symbolic association of goods may be utilised and renegotiated to emphasise the differences in lifestyle which demarcate social relationships (Featherstone 1991:86). This leads us to conclude that a critical aspect of a modern consumer society is the presence of an open system of stratification with avenues of upward mobility being available to all. “Rather than reflexively adopting a lifestyle through tradition or habit, new heroes of consumer culture make ‘lifestyle’ a life project and display their individuality and sense of style in particularity of assemblage of goods, clothes, practices, experience, appearance and bodily dispositions, they design together a lifestyle.”(ibid.: 86)

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Consumer culture through advertising, media and techniques of displaying

goods, is able to destabilise the original notion of use or meaning of goods and attach to them new images and signs which can summon up a whole range of associated feelings and desires (Featherstone 1999:274). This, in turn, results in impulsive purchase of newer and latest versions of products. In fact, the commodity becomes the primary index of the social relations of modern capitalist societies. Modern societies experience the reflexivity process at both the institutional and personal levels that is decisive for the production and change of modern systems and modern forms of social organisation (Giddens 1991:1).

The Middle Class

True modernity cannot be defined only in terms of material progress. In order to be able to get a comprehensive view of whether or not a social order can be called modern, we need to view it through a larger prism, that of the kind of interpersonal relationships existing among people. Modernity confronts the individuals with a diversity of choices in all spheres of life. Universalism, achievement and individualism are the important ingredients of a modern social order. This affects the most personal and intimate aspects of individuals including self- identity. As the ties of tradition are loosened and compulsiveness of repetition disappears, new opportunities are created for individuals in society. The availability of more options implies that people have to make more decisions. Choices are not restricted to consumer items alone but extend into all realms of personal lives of people. This allows individuals to negotiate about conditions of all social relations, norms and ethics that would form the basis of relations between men and women, between friends and between parents and children. Tradition no longer constitutes the basis of individuals’ decisions and actions. Following from earlier discussions whereby it has been reiterated that the pace of growth of the middle class has been accelerated by changing economic policies in the post liberalisation era in India, it becomes pertinent to analyse whether the material progress in India, more so in the case of the middle class, is witnessing commensurate changes in the values and attitudes of those belonging to the middle class to label them as ‘modern’. In a research study undertaken among the urban populace of a metropolitan society such as Delhi (Chandra, 2003), one of the primary objectives was to precisely gauge the level of modernity existing among those belonging to the middle class- upper and lower. To begin with, a class has been defined in terms of income, occupation and quality of dwelling area. Those living in a metropolitan centre such as New Delhi appear to be modern in terms of dress and eating habits. But a more profound issue that needs to be thoroughly investigated is whether a modern ethos is visible in the attitudes of people at a deeper level. It is by analysis of the basis for the formation of interpersonal relationships among individuals, that one can make an attempt to categorise the middle class as ‘traditional’, ‘modern’ or maybe ‘transitional’. The affluent consumers, those belonging to the upper class and upper middle class seem to indulge in a rapid turnover of products in order to differentiate themselves from the masses as well as maintain commonalities with their own kind. For most of the super rich consumers, irrespective of age and sex, possession of the latest consumer durables as well as non- durables connotes being technologically updated and in fashion. They are positively inclined to wearing designer labels and eating out. Acts of consumption are taken as critical indicators of a modern status by them. Even in the upper middle class, possession of durables such as air conditioners, television sets, computers and the like are viewed as necessities in the contemporary age.

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Throughout the research, it was discernible that this group of respondents want to emulate the affluent in their preferences but is unable to replace the goods at the same pace as the rich do because of financial constraints. Significantly, the upper middle class are also buying consumer durables of international brands in the post liberalisation era. On the whole, they appear to be as fashion conscious as the affluent. In fact, apparently the upper middle class are choosing clothes and places for eating out that enable them to categorise themselves with the elite. Reflection and Action 15.02 Do you think you are a modern person? What do you think constitutes modernity in your opinion? Think about it and write an essay of about two pages on “Why I am a modern person?” or “Why I am not a modern person?” Discuss your essay with other students at your Study Centre.

On the other hand, the lower middle class respondents are unable to participate in consumer culture due to lack of adequate resources. Although the politics of culture of consumption has still not trickled down, yet there is a definite change in their patterns of consumption. It is quite important to take note of the fact that even those belonging to the lower middle class are changing their consumption patterns in their endeavour to be categorized as ‘modern’. This has been facilitated by a number of exchange schemes. However, while purchasing durables and non-durables emphasis is laid on the utilitarian aspects and the price of the required product. In clothes, the younger generation are choosing cheaper imitations of the original designer labels as they are affordable. The concept of ‘eating out’ is catching on. What differentiates them from the upper and upper middle classes, is that they do not eat in expensive restaurants. Box 15.02: The Great Indian Middle Class The Indian middle class is not just growing at a rapid pace, it has also become the segment driving consumption of “luxury” goods like cars and air-conditioners, according to a survey by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER). While the middle class, which the survey defines as households with annual incomes between Rs. 2 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh at 2001-02 prices accounted for barely 5.7% of all Indian households in 2001-02, it already owned 60% of all the cars and Acs in the country and 25% of all TVs, fridges and motorcycles. Read that with the projection that the middle class will account for 13% of India’s population by 2009-10 and you can see why the NCAER sees huge growth potential in the market for cars and mobikes. The study predicts that the market for cars will grow at 20% a year, while bikes will clock growth of 16% per annum till 2009-10. Fridges and colour TV makers can hope to cash in on the boom too, with projected growth rates in the range of 10% to 11%. The market for radios, electric irons, bicycles and wrist watches too will grow, though by a more modest 7-9% a year.

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On the flip side, black & white TVs, scooters and mopeds may be hit, with the report suggesting that demand for these goods will actually decline.

The projected consumption boom isn’t just restricted to urban India. On the contrary, the survey sugests that the urban market for some relatively lowend products will be saturated by the end of the decade, while rural demand picks up. As a result, 80% of radios, 65% of colour TVs, 48% of mobikes, 40% of scooters and 33% of fridges will be owned by the rural populace by 200910. Indeed, the projection is that with rural incomes rising, even the demand for cars will grow in the villages to the point where the country-side will account for 11% of all cars by the end of the decade. The survey - The Great Indian Middle Class-categorieses the population into four income groups. The “deprived” are those with household incomes below Rs. 90,000 a year and they constituted just under 72% of all households in 2001-02. By 200910, that share will be down to 51.6%, says the survey.

The Middle Class

The next step up the income ladder consists of the “aspirers” — those with annual household incomes between Rs. 90,000 and Rs. 2 lakh. This category constituted a little under 22% of all households in 2001-02, but is likely to rise to 34% by the end of the decade. The “middle class” households numbered 10.7 million in 2001-2; by 2009-10, they’re expected to rise to 28.4 million. “The rich too are growing in numbers,” points out Rakesh Shukla, senior fellow and head of the survey team, NCAER. From 0.8 million in 2001-02, they’re expected to grow to 3.8 million by the end of the decade. “While the number of crorepatis families was 5,000 in 1995-96, they increased to 20,000 in 2001-02. By the end of the decade, there’ll be 1.4 lakh such households,” says Shukla. Also, most of the deprived (85%) and the aspirers (60%) will be concentrated in rural areas by the end of the decade, while three-fourths of the rich and two-thirds of the middle class will be found in cities. The report is based on extensive surveys covering three lakh households across 858 villages and 660 towns and cities all over India. It covered a list of 20 durables, seven consumables and a host of services including mediclaim, life insurance and credit cards. (TOI, N. Delhi, June 24, 2005)

Thus, on the whole, it can be concluded that with changing economic policies in India, the middle class is witnessing a metamorphosis in their consumption patterns but consumer culture is still in its nascent stage in urban India. Rather than becoming an all-pervasive phenomenon, consumption is still in terms of differences. Therefore consumerism has yet to evolve. It is quite evident that material progress is taking place, albeit at a slow pace but most importantly, it is imperative to delve into the kind of social relations those belonging to the middle class are entering into, to understand whether they are modern in the strict sense of the word. With regards to formation of interpersonal relations, it is found that the middle class as Andre Beteille writes, is still in the process of formation and have still not acquired a stable form (Beteille, 2001:74). As such they are marked by deep and pervasive antinomies meaning contradictions, oppositions and tensions inherent in a set of norms and values.

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15.6 Values Related To Family, Marriage and Women’s Status Amongst the Middle Class Even in the 21st century, marriage is considered an important traditional social institution that all are supposed to enter into. Choices available with individuals, specifically women, are very few as marriage and motherhood are taken to be the ultimate goals. A woman’s identity is seen to be largely dependent on her marital status. Marriage is still seen as a way of life through which an individual entered adulthood in both upper and upper middle classes of urban India, who outwardly appear to be modern. Although marriage is considered essential for both men and women, yet in the case of women, adherence to the social norms becomes more rigid. In the context of remaining single and unmarried, women seem to have a limited choice. In other words, men have more options as they could choose to remain single but women, by and large, do not enjoy such freedom. Particularistic criteria continue to provide the normative basis for the formation of intimate relations among people across all classes. Although arranged marriages, whereby parents choose the prospective mates for their children are the preferred form of marriage, in the upper and upper middle classes, certain changes are observable. Semi- arranged marriages, in which individuals choose their own life partners but marry only with the consent of their parents, are also taking place. In such marriages, inter-caste and inter- religious marital alliances are being tolerated, albeit conditionally. HinduMuslim and Hindu-Christian marriages are still taboo. The main reason cited for disapproval of such alliances is the higher probability of mal-adjustment between spouses because of religious differences leading to breakdown of ties. Other than these exceptional cases, a majority continue to subscribe to the traditional value system with emphasis being laid on marriages taking place within the same caste and religion. However, certain changes have occurred from previous generations as the prospective mates are allowed to meet once or twice before the finalisation of the marital unions. In the lower middle and lower classes, there is strict adherence to social norms. Wedding ceremonies are performed in a traditional way. Choices available with individuals are very few. In case of the lower middle class, such values and norms are comparatively more deep- rooted. Certain ambiguities are quite evident in the attitudes of those belonging to the middle class as they seem to be more open to change while responding to the same queries in questionnaires but adopt a more traditional viewpoint while narrating their life histories without being too conscious during in-depth interviews. Such contradictions are inherent in the set of social norms and values upheld by them.

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Furthermore, the stereotypical roles of man being the ‘breadwinner’ and woman the ‘nurturer’ are perpetuated. In the upper and upper middle classes, certain changes are observable. There is ‘superficial emancipation’ as women are choosing clothes that are in tune with the latest in the world of fashion. Nonetheless, they do not have complete freedom to decide on matters related to their occupations and marriage. Since marriage and motherhood are considered to be the most important goals, all decisions have to be in consonance with these. Women, in the upper class, are not encouraged to be gainfully employed as that is taken to reflect a poor status of the families that they belong to. Vocations with flexible timings are subscribed to making

it convenient for them to complete their primary tasks of home management and therefore not facing any form of role conflict.

The Middle Class

Although women in the upper and upper middle classes in the contemporary age appear to be more autonomous compared to those belonging to the previous generations, they are still considered to be appendages to men. Only in the realm of the size of the family, the former seem to have as much say as the latter. In the upper middle class, parents lay emphasis on their daughters excelling in their studies just as they would wish their sons to. However, emphasis is not laid on higher education as that is taken to be a hindrance in getting good matrimonial matches. A harmonious marital relationship is seen to be dependent on women occupying a sub-ordinate status to men. In the lower middle class, also, women appear to have limited choices in the sphere of education. Education is considered important in order to enable them to be better wives and mothers. Significantly, most women are gainfully employed but they are compelled to join the work force to meet the economic needs of the family. Women are essentially expected to remain within the domains of their households and cater to the needs of their families. This is viewed as a natural phenomenon. Women do not have absolute freedom to decide on matters concerning selves. Thus, it is quite apparent that women in the middle class, both upper and lower are still not self- determining individuals. Social roles continue to be defined in accordance with traditional expectations. Also, while forming friendships, particularistic norms continue to play some role as such relationships are usually based on class similarities i.e. with similar economic background and value systems. Thus, it is quite interesting to note that in contemporary times, the middle class in India has not acquired a stable form and cannot be labeled as ‘modern’.

15.7 Conclusion At the outset, there would be a strong tendency to state that the middle class in urban India is modern, based on the fact that materialistically, there is a marked change, albeit slowly. While there is no denying the fact that consumer culture has still not taken a well-entrenched form in India, yet it must be conceded that consumption patterns of the urban Indian middle class is changing. Overt symbols such as cars, electronic goods, designer clothes are being used to portray progressive attitudes and supposedly modern status of individuals. However, to define class in terms of economic status alone will not be an adequate representation of the class situation in India. In this Unit, we have tried to bring out the fact that the basis for formation of social relations is an important criterion for understanding the middle class in India. Middle class in India cannot be defined as being completely modern. Modernisation is not just about possessing the latest electronic appliances and being technologically updated. Rather it needs to be visible in the attitudes of people that come into effect in their social relations with others. Modernity brings in its wake new forms of social interaction. In the context of the urban middle class in India, lack of modernity is perceptible in most realms of the personal lives of people with social relations continuing to be embedded in traditional

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expectations, norms and mores. Essentially, those living in this cosmopolitan city appear to be grappling with the difficult alternatives of tradition and modernity. Normative patterns and value orientations are still particularistic, ascriptive based and patriarchal. Choices in interpersonal relationships are socially controlled. Furthermore, social conditioning perpetuates reactions and thinking along expected lines that underline the predominant codes of a male dominated society. We are in no way suggesting that Indian middle class has not progressed at all. As Dipankar Gupta argues “though the past is in our present, it is not as if the past in its entirety is our present” (Gupta 2000: 206). Metamorphosis is taking place which is why people are appearing to be ambivalent in their thinking as is evident while conducting research amongst them on these aspects. Modernity brings in its wake contradictions and ambiguities in the minds of people as options available with them expand manifold. This phenomenon is being experienced by the urban middle class of India. Therefore, one can conclude that the social order is in a transitional stage with the traditional value system still being predominant in the traditionmodernity continuum.

15.8 Further Reading Beteille, Andre 2001 In Middle Class Values in India and Western Europe, (ed.) by Imtiaz Ahmad and Helmut Reifeld, Social Science Press, New Delhi. Gupta, Dipankar 2000, Mistaken Modernity–India Between Worlds. Harper Collins, New Delhi. Varma, Pawan, 1998,. The Great Indian Middle Class. Viking: Delhi. Wright, E.O., 1997, Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

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Unit 16

Gender, Caste and Class Contents 16.1 Introduction 16.2 What is Gender? 16.3 Gender and Caste 16.4 Gender and Class 16.5 Regional Variations in Gender, Caste and Class 16.6 Conclusion 16.7 Further Reading

Learning Objectives After studying this unit you will be able to: l

define the concept of gender;

l

explain the relationship between gender and caste;

l

discuss the links between gender and class; and finally

l

describe briefly the regional variations in gender, caste and class.

16.1 Introduction So far you learnt about agrarian classes and categories, the working class and the middle class in India. In this unit we will explain the third kind of social stratification based on gender. Indian society is marked by multiplicity of languages, customs and cultural practices. Within the broad social hierarchy of caste and class, gender cuts across caste and class. In contemporary India gender, caste and class are dynamic phenomena, which vary between different regions and communities. Since the previous units have already described to you the various aspects of caste and class system of stratification, here we will focus on the dynamics of gender a system of stratification and its various dimensions in Indian society. Gender roles are determined through the interaction of several factors such as material factors, the division of labour, constraints which are imposed through the processes of socialisation within family, caste, marriage and kinship organisation, inequality in inheritance and in access to resources for maintaining health, life and livelihood. Social hierarchies that exist within the family are also expressed and are visible outside in the realms of wage work on the basis of gender, caste and class. Some of these factors are ideological factors based on domestic ideologies, religious beliefs, rituals and customs that reinforce inequality, and lead to the internalisation of hierarchies by women themselves. Most of the material and ideological factors are very deeprooted in our society and culture, in our social institutions, which play a significant role in sustaining and reproducing women’s subordination in society.

16.2 What is Gender? Gender is perhaps the oldest and the most enduring source of social differentiation. It is one that has claimed critical address only within the last

243

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

century. Within the academia, the conceptualisation and re-conceptualisation of gender, as an idea and as a set of practices, has occurred during the last three decades, which surely reveals the deeply political character of the issue that it raises. Further, gender encompasses the social division and cultural distinctions between women and men as well as the characteristics commonly associated within femininity and masculinity. It should be remembered, however, that gender could not be abstracted from the wider social relations with which it is enmeshed, that gender intersects other social divisions and inequalities such as class, race and sexuality, and that the meanings of masculinity and femininity vary within, as well as between societies. Gender does not replace the term sex, which refers exclusively to biological difference between men and women. Gender identities are plural, divided and potentially unstable, gender always includes the dynamics of ethnicity and class. Let us see how various sociologists have discussed the concept of gender.

1) Gender and Sex Gender refers to the socially constructed and culturally determined roles that women and men play in their daily lives. It is a conceptual tool for analysis and has been used to highlight various structural relationships of inequality between men and women as manifested in labour markets and in political structures, as well as, in the household. ‘Sex’ on the other hand, refers to the biological differences between male and female, which are much the same across space and time. Gender, the socially constructed differences and relations between males and females, varies greatly from place to place and from time to time. Gender can therefore be defined as a notion that offers a set of frameworks within which the social and ideological construction and representation of differences between the sexes are explained. (Masefield. A. 1991). According to a UNESCO document titled: “The Needs of Women”, the definition of gender given by the international labour organisation refers to the social differences and relations between men and woman, which are learned, which vary widely among societies and cultures and change over time. The term gender does not replace the term sex, which refers exclusively to biological difference between men and woman. The term gender is used to analyse the role, responsibilities, constraints, needs of men and women in all areas and in any given social context. Gender involves power structure and economic relationships. Gender identities are plural, divided and potentially unstable. Gender always includes the dynamics of ethnicity and class.

2) Social Construction of Gender

244

Social scientists like E.D. Grey (1982: 39) believe that social construction is a continuous process in which both individual, as well as, wider social processes take a part. It is the process by which ‘everyday sense of things’ forms the foundation of the social construction of reality. Each and every construction is influenced by the individual understanding of the social actors and therefore it has obviously a subjective bias. Social construction of reality is also shaped, by the interests of particular groups and classes in a society. In this sense too it is biased. Generally, cultural values, norms, customs, languages, ideologies and institutional frameworks of society are used to justify particular social constructions with a view to projecting the subjective bias of groups and classes as rational and to make it broad based and legitimate. Hence, social construction through which we understand our

everyday experience, make moral judgements and classify other people according to religion, sex, caste etc. are culturally determined and can be changed. They shape social norms, values, customs, beliefs etc. and are also inculcated through them. The social processes like socialisation and education also help to make a particular kind of social construction enduring and widely accepted. Gender is a product of such social construction. It is also shaped within the given cultural apparatus of a society. (Kannaviran, K. 2000 FWE-01, IGNOU)

Gender, Caste and Class

Gender or the cultural construction of the masculine and feminine, plays a crucial role in shaping institutions and practices in every society. It is important in order to understand the system of stratification and domination in terms of caste, class, race and especially the relations of power between men and women within a culture. Reflection and Action 16.01 Reflect upon the customs and traditions of your family. Write a description of at least one ritual or ceremony, which discriminates men from women. What are the implications of the ritual for your family and your own status? Discuss your account with other students of your Study Centre.

16.3 Gender and Caste In Block-2 Perspectives on Caste of this course, Sociology in India you have already learnt about the various perspectives on caste in India — how the upper castes like the Brahmins viewed it, how the colonial rulers (the Britishers and other Europeans) viewed caste in India, and how other castes lower in the caste hierarchy perceived caste. Caste as a system of social stratification is said to have subsumed class in India. In the traditional Indian society, the upper castes were generally upper class having all the resources and power, social, political and economic in their favour. The lower castes were generally landless labourers or service castes that were low in status, economically poor and politically powerless. It was only later that this harmony was disturbed during the colonial rule in India when land became a marketable commodity. The traditional power structure was disturbed and social mobility rate increased multifold due to the colonial impact and openening up of different occupational avenues, economic betterment of middle castes and some lower castes as well, such as the Jatavs of Agra (OM Lynch 1968 in Milton Singer (ed.) 1968). There are various theories of the origin of caste in India, such as the theory of racial origin, origin in terms of occupational specialisation etc. But none of the writings on caste has looked at it in politically conscious or gendered terms and they do not address the issues of power, dominance and hegemony as key issues in caste society throughout its history. Kalpana Kannaviran in IGNOU FWE-01, Block 1: pp. 16) writes that any analysis of caste by Indians is by definition political. It either consciously chooses or unconsciously identifies with one of the two positions: a)

supporting the status quo by proposing a case for the concentration of power in the hands of those who already have it, or

b)

engaging critically with the status quo by developing a critique of Indian tradition.

245

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

Needless to say, the most radical critique of caste and by extension, the Indian tradition, have come from intellectuals and political activists, from Dalit groups and anti-Brahmin movements, that is, critiques that have emerged from the life experience and world views of these groups. These critiques re-centre caste firmly within the socio-political and cultural realities of those whose labour and sexuality has been traditionally mis-appropriated by the hegemonic groups in caste society, namely the dominant castes. She believes that the single most important arena for the gendering of caste occurs in the arena of sexuality. The desire to regulate female sexuality has led to a considerable ritual preoccupation with female purity in the caste societies of Sri Lanka and India. Predictably, male sexuality is not ritualised in the same way. Box 16.02: Low Female Male Ratio (FMR) in Uttar Pradesh Leiten and Srivastava (1999 : 71) say that Uttar Pradesh has among the lowest Female-Male ratio (FMR) in the world, and the lowest in India, with the exception of Haryana. A closer look at the regional dissimilarities shows that the ‘epicentre’ of the problem of low FMR is not in Haryana but in western Uttar Pradesh. This region has more than one third of the population of the entire state and nearly three times the population of Haryana. Also, this region has the lowest FMR of only 0.84.

I) Construction of Gender and Rituals As is well known, rituals reveal a lot about the gender construction in a particular society. Amongst the Kandyan Singhalese, Yalman (1963) highlights two important ceremonies. i)

The most important ritual for Kandyan Children, which is gender differentiated is the ear piercing ceremony for girls before they attain puberty.

ii)

The second and by far the most significant ritual is the one that marks the onset of male puberty.

Here, as well as in many caste communities of the South of India, there are specific rituals which are performed when a girl begins to mensurate. The rites of passage marking her entry into adulthood is publicly celebrated and rituals are performed. During the period of mensuration she is confined into a hut or a closed room so that she does not pollute others nor does harm come to her. The segregation is partly to protect her from hostile powers and demons that are attracted to her at this time. Elaborate rituals surround the girl’s purification after her first period. (Yalman, N. 1963 : 25) What is the need for only girls to go through these rituals? As believed by the villagers themselves amongst the Singhalese, Yalman reports, these rituals relate as much to female fertility as to more honour. The villagers say that: i)

It protects the fecundity of the womb of the woman and

ii)

“This is necessary since the honour and respectability of men is protected and preserved through their women”.

II) Caste and Regulation of Sexuality and Reproduction 246

Thus, it is very clear that caste and gender are closely related since the question of sexuality of women is directly linked with the purity of the race,

honour of the men. Therefore, the higher the caste, the more controlled would be the sexuality of their women. In caste societies, such as, Sri Lanka and India, more so in the upper castes than the lower castes, elaborate institutions of hypergamy — where women can cohabit only with men of their own caste or of a superior caste is practised. They cannot marry a man who is lower in caste status than their own. Kannaviran (2000 : 17) says that women as seen through the lens of the dominant castes are mere receptacles for the male seed. The purity of the receptacle (here, women’s womb) then ensures the purity of the offspring and sets to rest doubts about paternity. As said earlier, the control and concern over female sexuality are greatest in the castes which have the highest stakes in the material assets of society i.e. the upper castes and classes.

Gender, Caste and Class

The concern with marriage networks, endogamy and exogamy being crucial to the maintenance of the caste system where men regulate the system through the exchange of or control over women is central to any discussion on caste. The customary right of male family members to exchange female members in marriage, according to Lerner, antedated the development of the patriarchy and created the conditions for the development of the family. In India, the customary right acquired a further economic significance with the development of private property and caste stratification. The primary consideration in the forming of marriage alliances was and still is, the maximising of family fortunes. Women play a crucial economic role not only by providing free domestic labour, but also through their reproductive services. Lerner argues that it was the sexual and reproductive services of women that were cared under patriarchy, not women themselves. (Lerner, G. 1986 quoted in IGNOU 2000 FWE-01, Block 1) The commodification of women in the marriage market in patriarchal, patrilined caste society goes hand in hand with prescriptions for women’s behaviour and restrictions on their mobility, the dispossession of women in property and inheritance matters, and their absence in local level political and decision making bodies. The entire complex constituting the construction of gender in caste society is a construction that radically devalues the status of women in these societies (Kannaviran, K. 2000 : 17)

III) Changing Caste System and its Impact on Women In contemporary India, many constraints on women due to their caste identity have been greatly reduced. In capitalist India, several new social classes have emerged. However, this does not mean that the age-old subordination of women has disappeared. The emergence of new classes has meant control of women in new and different forms from those under the caste system. Let us examine some of the issues related with gender and class in the next section.

16.4 Gender and Class In order to understand women’s status in traditional as well as contemporary Indian society it is imperative to understand the class concept in determining the status of women in society. Many scholars consider caste and class as polar opposites. According to them caste and class are different forms of social stratification. The units ranked in the class system are individuals, and those ranked in the caste system are groups. Therefore, change takes place from caste to class, hierarchy to stratification, closed to open and from organic to segmentary system. In reality both caste and class are real and

247

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

empirical and both interactional and hierarchical, in fact, both incorporate each other. (Kaur, Kuldip 2000 : 34, WED-01, Block-3, IGNOU) The caste and class nexus is highlighted by Kathleen Gough in her analysis of the mode of production as a social formation in which she finds connections between caste, kinship, family and marriage on the one hand and forces of production and productive relations on the other. Class relationships are taken as the main assumptions in the treatment of caste and kinship in India. Some scholars have even explained the Varna and Jajmani system (about which you learnt in Block-4 Perspectives on Caste) in terms of class relations and the mode of production. Therefore, we can say that caste incorporates class, class incorporates caste. (Gough, 1980 quoted in IGNOU: WED-01, Block-3) The caste-class nexus is related with the status of working women in urban and rural India. Andre Beteille in his book “Six Essays in Comparative Sociology” has highlighted this aspect. He asks the relevant question — How are we to view families in which men work in the fields but women are by custom debarred from such work? This is quite prevalent among the families of the upper castes. Even among some families of the intermediate and lower castes who have become economically well off have adopted this norm with a view to elevate their social status in the village community. But it does not mean that this position leads to equal treatment being meted out to women. Withdrawal from work only results in elevation of family status. But as explained by Beteille (1974) this also arises from caste to caste, and also depends upon the economic and social standing of particular families. Box 16.03: “Sanskritisation” of Lower Castes in Uttar Pradesh The negative aspect of ‘Sanskritisation’ (i.e. adopting the norms and values and style of life of the upper castes by the lower castes to gain higher social status) seems to be the fall-out of general upward economic mobility. However, “this economic mobility leads to the ‘domestication’ of women and a fall in their status and value”. (Dreze & Sen A. 1995 : 158)

Andre Beleille also comments upon the process of change in the status of women in the context of manual labour. He points out how women are first withdrawn from the family farm. Finally, with economic mobility, the men, too, either withdraw from work, or change their role from cultivator to supervisor. Therefore withdrawing womenfolk from manual labour on farms is a symbol of high social status in the countryside. Due to variation in life styles, the caste duties differ from one caste to another or one class to another. But inspite of the differences of caste backgrounds, the status of women across castes does not differ in comparison with men. So far as the ideology of the ‘Pativrata’ is concerned, which directs women to maintain male authority in all castes. applies to women of all castes and class. (Kaur, Kuldip 2000 : 35 quoted in IGNOU 2000 : WED, Block-3)

New Social Classes and Status of Women

248

A study of classes in India shows that it is a very complex phenomena. Infact, the rise of new classes among different communities is an uneven phenomena. During, the British period, Indian society was exposed to certain new forces as mentioned earlier e.g. the Western system of education, the new land settlements and the provision of new transport facilities such as the railways. This phenomena led to a lot of changes in the caste/class

relationships. In rural India there emerged a new class especially in Bengal Presidency called the Zamindars. Under the new settlement the right of ownership was conferred on the Zamindars. According to the new settlement, failure on the part of some Zamindars to pay the fixed revenue led to the auction of portions of large estates. This in turn, led to the entry of new classes of landlords who were primarily the merchants and money lenders. Besides the zamindars, the peasants formed an important social class in rural India. The peasantry in India is not a homogeneous category. It consists of (i) the rich class, (ii) the middle class and (iii) the poor peasants. Along with the peasantry the artisan class also formed an important part of the village community. The artisans mainly consisted of carpenters (Badhai), the ironsmith (Lohar), the potter (Kumhar), and the goldsmith (Sonar).

Gender, Caste and Class

Within the above mentioned classes the status of women has varied. Among the above classes women generally occupied a secondary place — interestingly, this phenomenon continues to exist in contemporary times. Given below are some tables that portray the status of women among different economic classes. Table 1 Percentage Distribution of Female Main Workers by Industrial Category in India, 1981 and 1991 1981

1991

Industrial Category

Total

Rural

Urban

Total

Rural

Urban

Cultivators

33.09

36.04

4.63

34.22

38.53

5.13

Agricultural Labourers

46.34

50.36

16.65

44.93

49.32

15.61

Livestock, Forestry, Fishing, Hunting, Plantations and Allied Activities

1.83

1.84

1.77

1.60

1.61

1.52

Mining & Quarrying

0.35

0.31

0.69

0.34

0.29

0.68

a) Household Industry

4.57

3.77

10.44

3.53

2.93

7.53

b) Other than Household Industry

3.60

2.11

14.59

3.88

2.34

14.14

Construction

0.87

0.56

3.10

0.66

0.27

3.30

Trade and Commerce

2.04

1.12

8.92

2.26

1.10

10.01

Transport, Storage & Communications

0.37

0.11

2.24

0.32

0.08

1.94

Other Services

6.94

2.88

36.97

8.26

3.48

40.14

Manufacturing, Processing, Servicing & Repairs

Source: Census of India, 1991, Final Population Totals, series-I, India, Paper 2 of 1992, Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, New Delhi] 1993. The above table clearly depicts that the percentage of female workers in the industrial category has increased over the years. The percentage of women cultivators and agricultural labourers has not only increased but is the largest sector that employs women.

249

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

Table 2 Women in the Organised Sector (In lakhs) Public Sector

Private Sector

Total

Year

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

1971

98.7 (92.0)

8.6 (8.6)

56.8 (84.0)

10.8 (16.0)

155.6 (89.0)

19.3 (11.0)

1981

139.8 (90.3)

14.9 (9.7)

61.0 (82.5)

12.9 (17.5)

200.5 (87.8)

27.93 (12.2)

1991

167.1 (87.7)

23.4 (12.3)

62.4 (81.3)

14.3 (18.7)

229.5 (85.9)

37.81 (14.1)

1993

168.4

24.7

63.0

15.5

231.4

40.27

Source: DGE and T, Ministry of Labour, Government of India, New Delhi. The above table portrays that women are largely employed in private sector enterprise. The state wise break up is given in table (3) Table 3 Table Employment Statistics, 1991 India/State

Public Sector

Private Sector

Total

2810.7

2018.4

4829.2

216.3

183.0

399.3

2. Arunachal Pradesh

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

3. Assam

73.2

238.9

312.1

4. Bihar

90.1

17.4

107.5

-

%

%

6. Delhi

90.7

29.3

120.1

7. Goa

14.9

7.4

22.3

8. Gujarat

144.7

78.1

222.8

9. Haryana

63.4

24.5

87.9

10. Himachal Pradesh

38.8

5.7

44.5

11. Jammu & Kashmir

20.7

1.9

22.6

12. Jharkhand

%

%

%

13. Karnataka

234.6

310.5

545.1

14. Kerala

191.5

275.2

466.7

15. Madhya Pradesh

162.5

26.7

189.3

16. Maharashtra

350.6

207.8

55.84

17. Manipur

17.4

0.8

18.2

18. Meghalaya

14.6

4.3

18.9

India 1. Andhra Pradesh

5. Chhattisgarh

250

Employment of Women (in thousands) as on 31.3.99

19. Mizoram

10.4

0.6

11.0

20. Nagaland

1.6

1.1

12.7

21. Orissa

83.9

10.9

94.8

22. Punjab

100.7

31.1

131.8

23. Rajasthan

129.6

42.0

171.5

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

414.0

325.7

739.8

17.5

4.7

22.1

184.9

54.4

239.3

%

%

%

111.7

128.8

240.4

3.1

0.1

3.3

31. Chandigarh

12.4

4.7

17.1

32. Dadra & Nagar Haveli

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

33. Daman & Diu

0.2

1.4

1.6

34. Lakshadweep

N.A.

N.A.

N.A.

6.6

1.5

8.1

24. Sikkim 25. Tamil Nadu 26. Tripura 27. Uttar Pradesh 28. Uttaranchal 29. West Bengal 30. Andaman & Nicobar Island

35. Pondicherry

Gender, Caste and Class

Source: India, Ministry of Labour, DGET Employment Review January-March 1999, p. 23. It is significant to note that the above table depicts that the status of women has fluctuated in different economic sectors. However in the NorthEast region especially among the Khasis and the Gharos the status of women is high both economically and socially. Among the Khasis in Meghalaya the ancestral property is inherited by females. One of the distinguishing feature of the Khasi family structure is that women hold property. Infact, they are the hub of the economy, and the youngest daughter performs all the religious rites, yet the outside world is dominated by men. They have a saying “war and politics for men, property and children for women” (Tiplut Nongbri 1994). Reflection and Action 16.02 Recount a short incidence about your experience regarding the status of women in a patriarchal family system or a matriarchal set-up. Write a short note of about a page. Compare it, if possible, with other students at your Study Centre.

16.5 Regional Variations in Gender, Caste and Class As stated earlier, gender class and caste relationships are highly complex and dynamic phenomena. In a patriarchal family system which exists in the northern belt of India and among Brahmins, Thakurs, Kayasthas and Banias the womenfolk occupy a secondary place in the family. In such families power is wielded by the eldest male members or other males in the family Prevalent customs like child marriage, enforced widowhood, sati purdah etc. purdah have had an adverse impact on the status of women. The above mentioned customs, along with socialisation practice have led to the girls/

251

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

women occupying a subordinate position in the family. Further, women’s education in such families is not valued. Field studies have shown that violence in patriarchal families have been reported to be higher. According to Vina Mazumdar, “we remember that this region (India) had thrown up some of the most powerful women rulers in the world, but they did not work for restructuring of the social order, eliminating patriarchal institutions. We have taken pride in their successful defence of national sovereignty and leadership role in defending third world interest in global fora. But as prisoners of power in hierarchical global and national social order, they could not be creators or defenders of democracy from below. Nor could they even begin the task of eliminating the subordination of women in the masses.” Leela Dube also states in her work — “Women and Kinship: Comparative Perspectives on Gender in South and South East Asia” that it is a peculiarity of South Asia that the female sex is denied the right to be born, to survive after birth, and to live a healthy life avoiding the risks of pregnancy and childbirth. The under valuing of women across different castes, classes and even regions has had an impact on the educational status of women as well as their ratio in the total population of India. Given below are tables depicting the literacy rate, as well as sex ratio of women in India. These are selfexplanatory where status of women in India is concerned. Table 4 Literate and Literacy Rates by Sex : 2001 S.No.

Literacy rate # Person

Males

Females

2

3

4

5

India

6538

7585

5416

01

Jammu & Kashmir

5446

6575

4182

02

Himachal Pradesh

7713

8602

6808

03

Punjab

6995

7563

6355

04

Chandigarh*

8176

8565

7665

05

Uttaranchal

7228

8401

6026

06

Haryana

6859

7925

5631

07

Delhi*

8182

8737

7500

08

Rajasthan

6103

7646

4434

09

Uttar Pradesh

5736

7023

4298

10

Bihar

4753

6032

3357

11

Sikkim

6968

7673

6146

12

Arunachal Pradesh

5474

6407

4424

13

Nagaland

6711

7177

6192

14

Manipur

6887

7787

5970

15

Mizoram

8849

9069

8613

16

Tripura

7366

8147

6541

17

Meghalaya

6331

6614

6041

18

Assam

6428

7193

5603

19

West Bengal

6922

7758

6022

1

252

India/State/Union Territory*

20

Jharkhand

5413

6794

3938

21

Orissa

6361

7595

5097

22

Chhattisgarh

6518

7786

5240

23

Madhya Pradesh

6411

7680

5028

24

Gujarat*

6997

8050

5860

25

Daman & Diu*

8109

8840

7037

26

Dadra & Nagar Haveli*

6003

7332

4299

27

Maharashtra

7727

8627

6751

28

Andhra Pradesh

6111

7085

5117

29

Karnataka

6704

7629

5745

30

Goa

8232

8888

7557

31

Lakshadweep*

8752

8315

8156

32

Kerala

9092

9420

8786

33

Tamil Nadu

7374

8233

6455

34

Pondicherry*

8149

8889

7413

35

Andaman & Nicobar Islands*

8118

8607

7529

Gender, Caste and Class

Table 5 Population and Sex-Ratio S.No. India/State/Union Territory*

1

2 India

Literacy rate # Person

Males

Females

Sex ratio (females per 1,000 males)

3

4

5

6

1027015247

531277078

495738169

933

01

Jammu & Kashmir

10069917

5300574

4769343

900

02

Himachal Pradesh

6077248

3085256

2991992

970

03

Punjab

24289296

12963362

11325934

874

04

Chandigarh*

900914

508224

392690

773

05

Uttaranchal

8479562

4316401

4163161

964

06

Haryana

21082989

11327658

9755331

861

07

Delhi*

13782976

7570890

6212086

821

08

Rajasthan

56473122

29381657

27091465

922

09

Uttar Pradesh

166052859

87466301

78586558

898

10

Bihar

82878796

43153964

39724832

921

11

Sikkim

540493

288217

252276

875

12

Arunachal Pradesh

1091117

573951

517166

901

13

Nagaland

1988636

1041686

946950

909

14

Manipur

2388634

1207338

1181296

978

15

Mizoram

891058

459783

431275

938

253

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

16

Tripura

3191168

1636138

1555030

950

17

Meghalaya

2306069

1167840

1138229

975

18

Assam

26638407

13787799

12850608

932

19

West Bengal

80221171

41487694

38733477

934

20

Jharkhand

26909428

13861277

13048151

941

21

Orissa

36706920

18612340

18094580

972

22

Chhattisgarh

20795956

10452426

10343530

990

23

Madhya Pradesh

60385118

31456873

28928245

920

24

Gujarat*

50596992

26344053

24252939

921

25

Daman & Diu*

158059

92478

65581

709

26

Dadra & Nagar Haveli*

220451

121731

98720

811

27

Maharashtra

96752247

50334270

46417977

922

28

Andhra Pradesh

75727541

38286811

37440730

978

29

Karnataka

52733958

26856343

25877615

964

30

Goa

1343998

685617

658381

960

31

Lakshadweep*

60595

31118

29477

947

32

Kerala

31838619

15468664

26369955

1058

33

Tamil Nadu

62110829

31268654

30842185

986

34

Pondicherry*

973829

486705

487124

1001

35

Andaman & Nicobar Islands*

356265

192985

163280

846

16.6 Conclusion In this unit an attempt has been made to examine the close relationship between gender, caste and class in the Indian context. An in-depth definition of gender, caste and class is also stated. An analysis of the position of women within the different castes in India has been described. The relationship between caste and class in the context of gender has been explained. Further, an attempt has been made to discuss the participation of women in different sectors of the economy such a the public and private sectors through tables. Finally the regional variation of status of women in patriarchal and matriarchal families is discussed. The table mentioning the literacy rate and sex ratio of women state-wise highlighting the regional variations is also given.

16.7 Further Reading Desai Neera & Thakkar, Usha, 2001, Women in Indian Society. National Book Trust: New Delhi Tiplut Nongbri, 1994, Gender & the Khasi Family structure in Patricia Uberoi, ed., Family, Kinship & Marriage in India. Oxford University Press: New Delhi Ketkar, S.V., 1990 (1909) The History of Caste in India. Low Price Pub., Delhi. IGNOU, 2000. FWE Foundation Course In Women’s Empowerment and Development, Block-1 to 4.

254

Glossary Sociography

:

It refers to descriptive studies of both a qualitative and a quantitative kind. It was used first by Ferdinand Tonnies who placed great emphasis on the use of statistics. For him sociography means descriptive sociological studies using statistics.

Suzerainty

:

The right of a country to rule over another country.

Empirical

:

Any field of study, which may or may not have an explicit theory, is seen as a different order of inquiry from that which either (a) sets out a conceptual language for analysing social relations or (b) outlines a theory or explanation of some aspect of social life without testing its truth or falsity. (Mitchel, Dumcan G. 1968 : 65)

Conservatives

:

Those scholars and thinkers who resisted change from the traditional order.

Utilitarian rationalism

:

Its a philosophical outlook associated with the name of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) in whose thought, ethics and psychology rest on the fundamental fact that pleasure is better than pain. Utility is the greatest happiness of the greatest number. The maximisation of utility is the proper end of humankind. (I vid 1968)

Pragmatic

:

Solving problems in a practical and sensible way rather than by having fixed ideas or theories.

Demographic

:

The changes in the number of births, deaths, diseases etc. in a population over a period of time.

Structural

:

Anything related with the network of social relationships in a society, which are institutionalised.

Ideological

:

A set of beliefs and ideas, especially one held by a particular group of people that influences their behaviour.

Field-View

:

View of social scientists based on first-hand observation or field work of the area of study. It refers to the way a system, for eg. caste system, functions in reality in different communities in India.

Decolonisation

:

It is the process of the colony such as India becoming independent.

Differentiated

:

When each part takes up a different function or specialisation in a society.

Mechanisation

:

Technological advance when dependence on manual labour shifts to the use of machines.

255

Perspectives on Class, Caste and Gender

256

Modernisation

:

The process of becoming more modern or contemporary. It applies to the use of technology, changes in values, beliefs and ideas etc.

Patronage

:

The institution of giving protection to the lower castes, in terms of cash and kind and receiving services from them in lieu of it by the upper castes or the relationship between lords and peasants.

Loyalty

:

Refers to the obligation that the peasants or the lower castes felt for the Lord or the upper caste landowner who gave them protection.

Affinity

:

Relationship by marriage is described as ‘affinity’.

Agnate

:

Related through male descent or on the father’s side.

Alliance

:

In the context of kinship studies, the bond between two families following a marriage is described as relationship of ‘alliance’.

Clan

:

A group united through a belief that they have a common ancestor, is called a clan. In the context of Indian society, subcaste sharing a common gotra is called a clan.

Consanguinity

:

It refers to the state of being related by blood. All blood relatives of a person are his/her consanguine.

Descent

:

Derivation from an ancestor is called descent. There are various ways of derivation and hence different systems of descent are found in human societies.

Endogamy

:

When marriage is specifically required within a group, this specification is called the rule of endogamy.

Exogamy

:

When marriage is specifically required outside a group, this specification is called the rule of exogamy.

Hypergamy

:

When marriage is specifically required in an equal or higher social group or subcaste, this specification is called the rule of hypergamy.

Neolocal

:

This term refers to residence after marriage. In this type of residence, the husband and the wife set up an independent household.

Patrilocal

:

In this type of residence, after marriage, the married couple lives with the husband’s father’s family.

References

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Uberoi, P. 2000 The Family in India: Beyond and Nuclear Versus Joint Debate. Institute of Economic Growth: Delhi Uberoi, Patricia (ed.) 1994 Family, Kinship and Marriage in India, Oxford University Press: New Delhi Unnithan, T.K.N., Indra Deva and Yogendra Singh (ed.), 1965 Towards a Sociology of Culture in India, Prentice-Hall of India: New Delhi Urry, J. 1996 Towards a Structural Theory of the Middle Class, in Class: Critical Concepts (ed.) by John Scott, Routledge: London Vatuk, Sylvia 1972 Kinship and urbanization: White collar migrants in north India. University of California Press: Berkeley Vijayanunni, M. 1999, (19 November) Caste can’t be cast off, Indian Express, New Delhi Visaria, Pravin and Leela Visaria. 2003 Forthcoming. India’s population: Its growth and characteristics, In Veena Das, (ed.), The Oxford Companion Encyclopaedia of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Oxford University Press: New Delhi Weber, M. 1958 The Religion of India : The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism, The Free Press: Glencoe I11. Wilk, R. R. and R. Mc. Netting. 1984 Households: Changing forms and Functions, In R. McC. Netting et al (eds.) Households: Comparative and Historical Studies of the Domestic Group, University of California Press: Berkeley, pp. 1-28. Wiser, W.1936 The Hindu Jajmain System, Lucknow Publishing House: Lucknow Wiser, W.H. 1969 The Hindu Jajmani System, Lucknow Publishing House: Luchnow. (first published in 1936) Wolf, E. 1966 Peasants, Prentice-Hall, Inc.: New Jersey. Wollstonecraft, M. 1792 Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Penguin: Harmondsworth Wright Mills, C. 1956 White Collar: The American Middle Classes, Oxford: New York Yanagisako, S. 1979, Family and Household: The Analysis of Domestic Groups, Annual Review of Anthropology, 8: 161-205. Ambedkar, B.R. 1978, (a), Annihilation of Caste, in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar:Writings and Speeches, Vol. 1, Education Department, Government of Maharashtra: Bombay Ambedkar, B.R. 1987 The Hindu Social Order-Its Essential Principles, in Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar:Writings and Speeches, Vol. 3, Education Department, Government of Maharashtra: Bombay Oomen, T.K. 1989 The Cohesive Role of Sanskritization and Other Essays, Oxford University Press: Delhi Srinivas, M.N. 1954 Varna and Caste : Collected Essays, Oxford University Press: New Delhi Kolenda, P. 1997 Caste in Contemporary India : Beyond Organic Solidarity, Rawat Publications: Jaipur Gould, Harold 1987 The Hindu Caste System : The Sacrilization of a Social Order, Chanakya Publications: Delhi

272

UNIT 2 DEBATE ON MODELS OF DEVELOPMENT Structure 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12

Introduction Background Confusing Overlaps The Debate on Land Policy The System of Control The Issue of Nationalisation The Issue of Planning Industrial Relations The Political Debate The Objectives Resolution of the Constituent Assembly Summary Exercises

2.1 INTRODUCTION In a democracy, it is an essential prerequisite to have an ideal model of development. The formulation and implementation of policies greatly depend on the model of development adopted for this purpose. Several debates took place in the Indian political and business circles, about the time of Independence and Constitution making in India, on the future course of development of India. Infact the very concern of India’s survival as a single entity was foremost in the minds of its founders. The purpose of evolving an ideal pattern was not only to safeguard the democratic principles but also create necessary social and political conditions to ensure an overall development. The debates on the issues of development were complex and diverse ranging from land policies to the industrial development and planning.

2.2 BACKGROUND It has been seen in the previous unit that, about the time of independence, three broad streams of thinking on India’s socio-economic development crystallised: capitalist industrialisation with minimal state control and support, socialist industrialisation under state guidance and the Gandhian view of sarvodaya philosophically based on a distrust of state power. The ideological debate was complicated by the political and economic problems arising out of the Second World War and partition of the country. Thus, the question of control over food supply that had been imposed during the war became critical for a country that had just lost the richest food-producing provinces to Pakistan and had been inundated by a huge refugee influx. Gandhi opposed control on moral ground as it enhanced corruption and control was abolished. As a result food prices rose steeply and control had to be re-imposed.

2.3 CONFUSING OVERLAPS 1

The three broad streams of thinking mentioned above were not clearly demarcated from each other. No Indian political leader was more committed to the poorest of the poor than Gandhi. This placed him close to the socialist position. But no Indian had a greater distrust for the state power than Gandhi and this made him morally opposed to state control of economic activities. This made him a favourite of the Indian capitalist class. Yet the Indian capitalists rejected Gandhi’s stress on the small and cottage industries which, according to them, might be temporarily accommodated but only for meeting the problem of unemployment in the country. Like the capitalists, the socialists believed in large-scale industries as the chief strategy in solving the economic problems of the newly decolonised underdeveloped countries and, naturally, rejected the efficacy of the small and the cottage industry. But, unlike the capitalists, they were firm believers in state control. A part of this debate concerned the traditional socialist policy of nationalisation as had been implemented in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Nehru’s utterances before independence and his installation as the Prime Minister of the Government of independent India raised a certain alarm among the Indian capitalists. The same reason, combined with the rise of militancy among the industrial working class in India, raised critical questions about industrial relations. The Indian capitalists naturally did not like trade unionism and state support to the cause of labour. Gandhi supported trade unionism as long as it worked in amity with the owners of industries and set aside the philosophy of class contradiction. The socialist doctrine was based on class contradiction. This made it possible for the industrial capitalists of India to use Gandhi’s name in aid of their position. It was only on the question of land reforms that the broadest amount of national consensus had been reached. This was partly because permanent settlement of land did not encompass the entire country and a big chunk of the permanent settlement area was transferred to Pakistan – East Bengal. Yet Jagirdari and other intermediate right owners in the rest of British India were unhappy about the new trend.

2.4

THE DEBATE ON LAND POLICY

It may be convenient to start with the question of land reform on which the broadest consensus was obtained. It has been seen in the earlier unit that even the Bombay Plan of the big industrialists of India envisaged land reforms. On 28 June, 1946 the Eastern Economist, house journal of the Birlas, made a strong case for land reform declaring that ‘the landlord has no economic justification for his existence.’ In December 1946 the sub-committee on land reform of the National Planning Committee of the Congress headed by J.C. Kumarappa, a staunch Gandhian, laid down three stages of land reform: abolition of zamindari and other intermediary rights, grant of tenancy right to the actual cultivator and ceiling on land holding. The fate of zamindari and intermediary rights was thus sealed. The debate, therefore, focused on compensation. During discussion on the right to property in the Constituent Assembly of India this issue acquired poignancy. On 2 May 1947 Raja Jagannath Baksh Singh moved an amendment to the draft article on the right to property which allowed acquisition of private property by the state, for public purpose, against compensation inserting the word ‘just’ (before ‘compensation’). Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel rejected the amendment proposal making it clear that the zamindars or some of their representatives could not thwart the programme 2

of land reform in that way. ‘They must recognise the times and move with the times,’ he announced. Legislations had already been undertaken in the provinces for the abolition of zamindari and laws to that effect would be made even before the Constitution came into force. “The process of acquisition is already there and the legislatures are already taking steps to liquidate the zamindaris,’ Patel declared.

2.5

THE SYSTEM OF CONTROL

The system of control and ration on food supply had been necessary during World War II for the Imperial Government for the purpose of food supply to the war fronts. At the end of the War it was continued in view of continued uncertainty of the market. Partition only aggravated the scarcity in the food front. As early as 14 January 1944, the Eastern Economist, had suggested ‘a progressive strengthening of the present system of controls, in scope and character, so that not only may it strengthen the smooth transition to peace economy, but may also become the instrument of long-term economic planning in our country.’ In 1946, however, the issue became contentious. Early that year the Commodity Prices Board, consisting of noted economists A.D. Gorwala and D.R. Gadgil was appointed. It submitted a report in the same year recommending ‘not abolition but the improvement of the system of controls.’ On the other hand, the Food-grains Policy Committee, appointed in September 1947 with mostly industrial magnates as members, adopted by a majority and submitted in December the same year an interim report recommending reduction of the Government’s commitment under the existing system of food controls. As has been noted in the earlier unit Gandhi lent his moral support to the decontrol demand and control was lifted for a period. When the prices rose high, control was again imposed.

2.6

THE ISSUE OF NATIONALISATION

Indian businessmen were alarmed at the talk of nationalisation emanating from the socialists and the left radicals. On 14 June 1946, the Eastern Economist declared: ‘We reject unreservedly the Soviet ideal of complete and immediate socialisation of the whole range of the economy.’ At the twentieth annual session of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Jawaharlal Nehru had to assure the businessmen. ‘It is wrong to imagine,’ he said, ‘that this Government is out to injure industry. It will be folly on our part. We want to provide facilities for industry and facilities for production – technical, scientific and power resources and all that.’ On 4 April 1947, in an address to the All-India Manufacturers’ Organisation he repeated the assurance.

3

2. 7 THE ISSUE OF PLANNING Though there was a general welcome to the idea of planning among all sections of the Indian population, the ideas about the character of the plan varied among them. Indian businessmen firmly rejected the ‘Soviet-type’ planning and welcomed a vague system of state guidance. They would even welcome a state role in the expansion of basic and heavy industries for which the private sector did not have much resource. But the state’s role, according to them, would be minimal. The socialists and the left radicals envisaged a much greater role of the state in the national economic activities. It is believed that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was sympathetic to the first view and Jawaharlal Nehru to the second view. However, Patel is believed to have strongly resisted the establishment of a Planning Commission by the Government which he thought would reflect the Soviet Union’s economic ideology and would encroach upon the domain of the Government. It was only after the death of Patel that a Planning Commission of India could be set up under the cabinet and with the Prime Minister as the chairman.

2.8

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

It was at the trade union front that the sharpest conflict arose. When the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) was set up in 1920, at the instance of the International Labour Organisation, Congressmen, by and large, distanced themselves from it. They joined it only after the Gaya session of the All-India Congress Committee in 1922. The Ahmedabad Textile workers’ Union, directly patronised by Gandhi, never joined it. As a result the AITUC was under strong influence of the communists and the socialists. When, in and after 1942, in the wake of the Quit India movement, Congressmen, including the Congress socialists, went to jail in large number the field was almost entirely left to the communists. The differences were aggravated by two main factors. In 1942 the Communist Party had opposed the Quit India movement on which ground the communist members of the All-India Congress Committee were expelled. Secondly, after the end of the Second World War, Communist militancy in the labour front increased greatly. In view of the smooth transfer of power, that was accompanied by smooth transfer of several British industries to Indian hands, this labour militancy was disliked by the Congress leadership that had the support of the Indian big business. Congress leaders prescribed compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes and disfavoured the workers’ right to strike. In early 1947, Hindustan Mazdoor Sevak Sangh was set up with the Ahmedabad Textile Workers’ Union as the nucleus. In view of the Sangh’s failure to gather strength, in May 1947 the top leaders of the Congress met in New Delhi at a high-level conference under the leadership of Patel and decided to have a separate labour organisation. As a result the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) was set up. Within about another year, two other central labour organisations cropped up: the Hind Mazdoor Sabha (splitting from the INTUC) and the United Trade Union Congress (splitting from the AITUC). At the time of transfer of power, when Indian capitalism was coming to its own, therefore,

4

the issue of class contradiction acquired sharpness and it naturally affected industrial relations. For the capitalists industrial peace was necessary for industrial development and militant trade unionism was inimical to industrial peace. Since Independence the Communists and Socialists wanted that the class relations within the economy to be immediately settled.

2. 9 THE POLITICAL DEBATE The ideological debate had its impact on the politics around the period of independence. The first post-war budget was inflationary. To counteract the inflationary tendency of the national economy, the finance minister of the Interim Government, Liaquat Ali Khan, presented a budget which proposed a 25% tax on all business profits above one hundred thousand rupees. The tax was intended to restrict the spending habits of the wealthy Indians and had a socialistic colour. But it created a furore among the Congressmen who alleged that the budget was aimed at harming the interests of the businessmen who were mostly Congress supporters. This budget practically sealed the fate of the Congress-League cooperation and was one of the major factors leading to the partition of the country. On the eve of independence, in June 1947, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India concluded that though the forces of freedom movement had compelled the imperial rulers to open negotiations with the Indian leaders, the former were trying to forge a new alliance with the princes, big landlords and big business of India in order to control the Indian state and economy. Yet, the party held that the agreement embodied in the Mountbatten proposal of 3 June 1947 – for partition of British India – offered new opportunities for national advance and the two popular governments and Constituent Assemblies were strategic weapons in the hands of the national leadership. It welcomed Independence on 15 August 1947. In December 1947, however, it reversed the position and called the acceptance of the Mountbatten plan an abject surrender on the basis of an imperialist-feudal-bourgeois combine. The resolution led to the communist militancy in 1948-49. In 1947 the Forward Bloc left the Congress. On 28 February 1947 the Congress Socialist Party decided to drop the word ‘Congress’ from its name. Rammanohar Lohia, a socialist leader, accused the Congress of compromising with the vested interests. In March the party opened membership to non-congressmen. In March 1948, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, after having been accused of neglecting the security of Mahatma Gandhi, who had been assassinated in January 1948, decided to quit the Congress. Jayaprakash Narayan declared that the Draft Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly of India was clumsy and not inspiring. The party’s Legislative Assembly members in U.P., who had been elected on Congress ticket, resigned and sought re-elections but were defeated. The period around Independence, therefore, saw sharp ideological debate on the future course of India’s development. No wonder, the ideological debate was partly reflected in the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly of India that framed the Constitution.

2.10 THE OBJECTIVES RESOLUTION OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF INDIA 5

All these issues were sought to be sorted out in the Objectives Resolution that was passed in the Constituent Assembly of India in a fairly early stage of its proceedings. That resolution pledged to establish an independent Sovereign Republic of India which, along with its component parts, would derive all power and authority from the people of India. This would also guarantee to all people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status, of opportunity and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality. Further, adequate safeguards would be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes. These liberal and welfarist ideas, as will be seen, were reflected in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution that presents the essential philosophy of the independent Indian state. The Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy were their elaborations.

2.11 SUMMARY In this unit, you have learnt about the debates on the models of development in the Independent India. Some debates centred on the Gandhian views and their feasibility, while others deliberated on the capital mode of industrialisation. The issues of debate included the system of control, nationalisation, industrial policies and so on. On the whole, the final outcome of these debates pledged to safeguard the interests of the people of India in all aspects- political, social and economic and uphold the liberal and welfarist ideas.

2.12 i)

EXERCISES

What were the major streams of thinking in the Indian political leadership at the time of Independence about the future economic development in India? To what extent did they conflict and to what extent did they overlap?

ii) What was the type of land reform envisaged by the Indian political leadership at the time of Independence? What was the attitude of the Indian business class toward land reform? iii) What was the debate on control and planning at the time of Independence? iv) Why did the Congress Socialists leave the Congress in 1948? v) What was the analysis of the Communist Party of India regarding Independence? vi) Discuss the circumstances leading to split in the Indian labour movement. vii) What did the Objectives Resolution of the Constituent Assembly of India look forward to establishing?

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UNIT 3 CONSTITUTION AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION Structure 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5

Introduction Outlook of the Indian Constitution The Preamble The Rise of the People Rights of the People 3.5.1

3.6

3.7 3.8

3.1

Nature of the Rights

The Directive Principles of State Policy 3.6.1

Common Good and Life of Dignity

3.6.2

In the Sphere of Law

3.6.3

In the Economic Sphere

3.6.4

Rights of Workers

3.6.5

For Children and Weaker Sections

3.6.6

In the Sphere of Agriculture and Environment

Summary Exercises

INTRODUCTION

The Constitution of a country is the highest legal-political document for its government. It also embodies the statement of rights of the people as lawfully established. In a general sense it lays down the structure of power and obligations of the rulers towards the ruled. Such obligations imply not only the limit of the governmental power but also the expectation of the people from the government. A significant point about a Constitution is that it is future oriented, rather than past oriented. People who administer their affairs according to traditions and customs do not need a constitution. The memories of their elders are sufficient for them. Historically, whenever a constitution has been framed, it has followed a revolution. A constitution has been intended to usher in a new social and political order. In the eighteenth century, when the first written constitution in the world appeared – in the United States of America - only the bare structure of a federal republican government was laid down in 1789. That was a break with the monarchical colonial links with Britain. Within two years, the Constitution of the United States went through ten amendments incorporating the rights of the people in the form of limits to governmental power. The assumption was that the people had certain rights, naturally, and the Government could not take them away. Those rights were conceived in terms of the liberal laissez faire doctrine that put premium on the rights to life, liberty and personal property.

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In the twentieth century, this view of rights was considerably widened by the welfare, and even socialist approach. New rights were included in the other constitutions of the world and the scope of old rights were widened by judicial interpretations. Even the form of the statement of the rights was modified. Thus, the Constitution of the now defunct Union of Soviet Socialist Republics incorporates the right to gainful employment as the fundamental right of every citizen. In the USA, affirmative action in favour of the weaker sections of the people was legally validated. The Constitution of Ireland incorporated certain directives to the Government on the people’s welfare.

3.2 THE OUTLOOK OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION The proclamation of the Indian Constitution after the transfer of power from Britain heralded a new era too. First and foremost, it established a Republican Democracy in place of the monarchical empire of the British Government. Expectedly, the Indian Constitution inherited the world trend through the experiences of the people during the freedom struggle. The Indian Constitution retained the liberal democratic framework but broadened the scope of governmental intervention with a view to promoting social reform and welfare. There was prohibition on the state to violate the rights and equality of the citizens – the rights that were essentially of negative character. There was a prohibition on the society to practise untouchability. Permission was granted to the state to take special measures for the improvement of weaker sections of the people. The Constitution also adopted the Irish model of issuing positive directives to the Government for the promotion of welfare measures.

3.3

THE PREAMBLE

Every liberal democratic constitution has a preamble articulating its spirit. The Preamble to the Indian Constitution also has stated the noble aims of the polity. The first point that needs mention is that, according to the Preamble, it is ‘We, the people of India’ who, in the Constituent Assembly of India, adopted, enacted and gave to ourselves this Constitution. In short, the authority of the Constitution, as the Supreme Law of the land, is derived from the people and not from the grace of any external sovereign. Therefore, India is a Democratic, Sovereign country. India is also a Republic. It does not recognise any hereditary rule. The democratic character of the state is ensured by the right of the people to elect the first chambers of the Union Parliament and the state Legislative Assemblies on the basis of adult franchise. Every resident, adult citizen of sound mind, and not legally barred on grounds of crime, corruption or illegal practice, is entitled to be registered as a voter (Article 326 of the Constitution). The Constitution also promises to all its citizens Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity and to promote among them all Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual. By an amendment in 1976 the aims of establishing secularism and socialism and promoting the unity and integrity of the nation were proclaimed.

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3.4 THE RISE OF THE PEOPLE The significance of the universal adult franchise can never be overstressed. The British had introduced an elective system of legislature in India. Until the coming into force of the new Constitution, however, only about 15% of the adult Indians were voters, the voting right being conditioned by property and educational qualifications. By one stroke it was made universal and became a key factor in the making and unmaking of the government. The Constitution not only made the people the ultimate masters of their destiny, but it also made them equal. The traditional Indian social system, fragmented by religious and ethnic differences and stratified by caste, lost its legitimacy. Individual human beings became the fundamental units of polity. All political and economic rights were granted to the individuals. At the same time, some cultural rights were granted to the minority groups.

3.5

RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE

There are two kinds of rights under the Indian Constitution: some granted to all ‘persons’ and some to ‘citizens’ only. The first kind of rights is available to non-citizens too and include equality before the law and equal protection of the law (Article 14), protection against unlawful conviction (Article 20), life and personal liberty (Article 21), protection against unlawful detention (Article 22), right against exploitation in the form of traffic in human beings and forced labour except for public purposes (Article 23), right of children against hazardous employment (Article 24), freedom of religion (Article 25), freedom of religious denominations to manage their religious affairs (Article 26), and freedom from payment of taxes the proceeds of which specifically go to the benefit of any particular religion or religious denomination (Article 27), freedom from enforced religious instruction in schools run by religious denominations (Article 28), protection of minorities (Article 29), right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice (Article 30), right to Constitutional Remedies (Articles 32 and 226) and the right not to be deprived of property save by authority of law (Article 300A). All other rights – right against discrimination by the state (Article 15), equality of opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16), right against practice of untouchability (Article 17), right against creation of state titles other than military or academic (Article 18), right to freedom of speech and expression, to assemble peacefully and without arms, to form associations or unions, to move freely throughout the territory of India and to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India and to practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business (Article 19) are granted to the citizens.

3.5.1

Nature of the Rights

The following points need to be noted about the rights: (1) These rights are negative in form in as much as they restrict the authorities from violating these rights. (2) While most of these rights are against the state, some of them, like the right against untouchability (Article 17) and the right to protection of minorities (Article 29) are against the society. (3) While most of the rights are granted to the individuals, some are granted to groups (Article 27, 29 and 30) (4) Most of the rights are conditional upon considerations of public interest, law and order, decency and welfare of certain weaker sections of the people.

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These points are significant in the understanding of the nature of rights in India. We have said that in the traditional liberal democracies like the United States, the rights are negatively framed so that the state does not take them away. The question of protection of those rights from the assault of other members of the society is tackled by the law and order functions of the state. For instance, race riots in the USA are dealt with exclusively under the criminal law which the State is constitutionally obliged to apply without discrimination. In India, on the other hand, practice of untouchability by members of the upper castes is directly an offence against the Constitution. Similarly, violation of the rights of minorities by members of the majority community is an offence against the Constitution. It is the direct constitutional responsibility of the state to protect the social rights of the dalits ( the people of the Scheduled Castes), the adivasis (the people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes) and the religious and linguistic minorities. The other significant difference with the older liberal constitutions is the specification of limits of the rights by the Constitution of India itself. In the United States such limits are set by the courts of law and depend upon the personal views of the judges. Such personal views are not ruled out in India but they are restricted by the Constitution itself. As has been mentioned, these constitutional restrictions spring from the Constitution’s concern for not only law and order but also public interest in general, including decency, morality and welfare of the weaker sections of the society. Finally, constitutional acknowledgement of groups as well as individuals is the result of the rather unhappy communal history of the country. This concern of the Constitution of India with the plight of the religious and linguistic minorities and the weaker castes is reminiscent of certain European constitutions set up between the two World Wars in pursuit of the minority treaties some of the states had to sign before their establishment. Such countries were Poland, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. The difference is that those European states never seriously implemented them. In India they have been implemented with all seriousness. Thus the structure of rights in the Indian Constitution envisaged an active role of the state in bringing forth social transformation.

3.6

THE DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

A more direct activist role of the state in bringing forth socio-economic transformation was assigned by the Constitution of India through Directive Principles of State Policy. These principles are not directly enforceable by the law courts. But the courts, while interpreting the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights, are to be guided by them. The Constitution enjoins the state to regard them as fundamental in governance and to apply them when making laws.

3.6.1

Common Good and Life of Dignity

The most fundamental directive to the state is to strive to secure a social order in which justice, social, economic and political shall inform all the institutions of their national life. The state shall, in particular, strive to minimise inequalities in income and eliminate inequalities of status,

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facilities and opportunities not only among the individuals but also among groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations (Article 38). In particular the state shall direct its policies toward securing adequate means of livelihood for all citizens, men and women equally, distribution of ownership and control to best serve the common good, preventing concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment, ensuring equal pay for equal work for both men and women, protection of the health and strength of the workers, men and women, prevention of the abuse of the children, and facilitation of the children to grow in a healthy manner and with freedom and dignity (Article 39).

3.6.2

In the Sphere of Law

Most other Articles in this part of the Constitution (Part IV) are elaborations of these basic objectives. The state shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic and other disabilities (Article 39A, added in 1977 by the 42nd amendment to the Constitution). The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India (Article 44). The state shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the state (Article 50). The state shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government (Article 40).

3.6.3

In the Economic Sphere

There is a more guarded promise in the economic sphere. The state shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want (Article 41). The right to work as such cannot be granted by any liberal democratic state simply because it does not control all the means of production. The system of social insurance is also provided by only developed industrial countries though its operation is unstable. For a developing country like India the promise of universal right to work and/or social insurance is obviously too ambitious. The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of the people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating and harmful drugs (Article 47).

3.6.4

Rights of Workers

The State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. The state shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organisation or in any other way, to all workers, industrial, agricultural or otherwise, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular, the state shall endeavour to promote cottage

5

industries on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas (Article 43). By the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution, the State was enjoined to take steps, by suitable legislation or any other way, to secure the participation or workers in the management of undertakings, establishments of other organisations engaged in any industry (Article 43A)

3.6.5

For Children and the Weaker Sections

The state is directed to provide, within a period of ten years (from the proclamation of the Constitution) to all children up to the age of fourteen years (Article 45). The state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation (Article 46).

3.6.6

In the Sphere of Agriculture and Environment

The state shall endeavour to develop agriculture and industry along modern scientific lines (Article 48). It is the obligation of the state to protect every monument or place or object of historic interest declared by the Parliament to be of national importance from spoilation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be (Article 49). Article 48A, incorporated by the 42nd amendment in 1977 enjoins the duty to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.

3.7

SUMMARY

This unit focused on the developmental aspirations of the national movement that were embodied in the Constitution of India, the highest legal- political charter of the Indian polity. The Indian Constitution enshrined in itself the positive aspects based on experiences of the people around the world. Infact, the Preamble remains the soul of the Constitution, with the utmost aim of safeguarding the rights of the people and ensure justice in all aspects. There is also a provision for Directive Principles of State Policy regarded as fundamental in the matters of governance. It also ensures to safeguard the rights of the workers, children, weaker sections and nurture, develop and protect agriculture, environment, forests and wildlife of the country.

3.8 EXERCISES 1)

Discuss the world’s perception of rights that served as the background of rights embodied in the Indian Constitution. To what extent was it transformational?

2)

What place do ‘the people’ have in the Indian Constitution?

3)

What are the negative and the positive rights in the Indian Constitution?

4)

What are the rights in India granted to the individuals? What are the rights of the groups?

5)

How much tansformational potential exists in the Directive Principles of State

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Unit 3

Village Studies in India Contents 3.1

Introduction

3.2

Historical Background

3.3

The Context

3.4

Field and the Fieldwork

3.5

Perceived Significance of the Village

3.6

General Features of the Village

3.7

Social Structure of the Village : Caste, Class and Gender

3.8

‘Field-View’ and the Fieldwork

3.9

Conclusion

3.10 Further Reading

Learning Objectives After going through this unit you will be able to

Provide a historical background to the emergence of ‘village studies’ in India



describe the general context in which the village studies were undertaken



explain the how and why sociologists/social anthropologists chose this field of study



discuss why the study of villages in India came to gain importance



outline the general features of the village





describe the social structure of the village which involves the description of caste, class and gender as significant aspects, and finally explain the nature of the ‘field view’ and the fieldwork done by the sociologists/social anthropologists.

3.1 Introduction So far you have learnt about the social background of the emergence of sociology in India, its later development and growth and some major issues and themes of research. Village studies, during the 1950s and 1960s constituted a major area of concern and several monographs and papers were published during this period of growth and professionalisation of the discipline. In the present unit you will learn more about these village studies. Village occupies an important place in the social and cultural landscape of contemporary India. Notwithstanding India’s significant industrialisation over the last five or six decades, and a considerable increase in its urban population, a large majority of Indians continue to live in its more than five lakh villages and remain dependent on agriculture, directly or indirectly. According to the 2001 Census, rural India accounted for nearly 72 per cent of India’s total population. Similarly, though the share of agriculture has come down to around one-fourth of the total national income, nearly half of India’s working population is directly employed in the agricultural sector.

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Apart from it being an important demographic and structural reality characterising contemporary India, village has also been an important

ideological category, a category through which India has often been imagined and imaged in modern times. The village has been seen as the ultimate signifier of the “authentic native life”, a place where one could see or observe the “real” India and develop an understanding of the way local people organise their social relationships and belief systems. As Andre Beteille writes, ‘The village was not merely a place where people lived; it had a design in which were reflected the basic values of Indian civilisation’ (Beteille1980:108). Institutional patterns of the Indian “village communities” and its cultural values were supposed to be an example of what in the twentieth century came to be known as the “traditional society”.

Village Studies in India

This unit will provide you an overview of the tradition of “village studies” among sociologists and social anthropologists in India. Apart from looking at the manner in which the village social life was studied, the methods used and issues/questions focussed on, the unit will also offer a critical assessment of the tradition of village studies.

3.2 Historical Background Though one may find detailed references to village life in ancient and medieval times, it was during the British colonial rule that an image of the Indian village was constructed by the colonial administrators that was to have far reaching implications — ideological as well as political — for the way Indian society was to be imagined in the times to come. Along with the earlier writings of James Mill, Charles Metcalfe’s notion of the Indian village community set the tone for much of the later writings on rural India. Metcalfe, in his celebrated remark stated that ‘the Indian village communities were little republics, having nearly everything they wanted within themselves, and almost independent of foreign relations. They seemed to last where nothing else lasted. Dynasty after dynasty tumbled down; revolution succeeded revolution but the village community remained the same.’ (as in Cohn, 1987:213). Though not all colonial administrators shared Metcalfe’s assessment of the Indian village, it nevertheless became the most popular and influential representation of India. The Indian village, in the colonial discourse, was a self-sufficient community with communal ownership of land and was marked by a functional integration of various occupational groups. Things as diverse as stagnation, simplicity and social harmony were attributed to the village which was taken to be the basic unit of Indian civilisation. ‘Each village was an inner world, a traditional community, selfsufficient in its economy, patriarchal in its governance, surrounded by an outer one of other hostile villages and despotic governments.’ (Inden, 1990:133). In many ways, even in the nationalist discourse, the idea of village as a representative of authentic native life was derived from the same kind of imagination. Though Gandhi was careful enough not to glorify the decaying village of British India, he nevertheless celebrated the so-called simplicity and authenticity of village life, an image largely derived from colonial representations of the Indian village. The decadence of the village was seen as a result of colonial rule and therefore village reconstruction was, along with political independence, an important process for recovery of the lost self (see Jodhka 2002). In the post-Independence India also ‘village’ has continued to be treated as

41

Emergence of Sociology in India

the basic unit of Indian society. Among the academic traditions, the study of village has perhaps been the most popular among the sociologists and social anthropologists working on India. They carried-out a large number of studies focussing on the social and cultural life of the village in India. Most of these studies were published during the decades 1950s and 1960s. These “village studies” played an important role in giving respectability to the disciplines of sociology and social anthropology in India. Generally basing their accounts on first-hand fieldwork, carried out mostly in a single village, social anthropologists focused on the structures of social relationships, institutional patterns, beliefs and value systems of the rural people. The publication of these studies also marked the beginning of a new phase in the history of Indian social sciences. They showed, for the first time, the relevance of a fieldwork based understanding of Indian society, or what came to be known as “field-view” of the India, different from the then dominant “book-view” of India, which was developed by the Indologists and orientalists from classical Hindu scriptures.

3.3 The Context After the colonial administrators/ethnographers, it was the “young” discipline of social anthropology that took up the study of Indian village during 1950s and 1960s in a big way. This new interest in the village social life was a direct offshoot of the newly emerged interest in the study of the peasantry in the Western academy. Emergence of the so-called “new states” following decolonisation during the post war period had an important influence on research priorities in the social sciences. The most significant feature of the newly emerged ‘third world’ countries was the dependence of large proportions of their populations on a stagnant agrarian sector. Thus, apart from industrialisation, one the main agenda for the new political regimes was the transformation of their “backward” and stagnant agrarian economy. Though the strategies and priorities differed, ‘modernisation’ and ‘development’ became common programmes in most of the Third World countries. Understanding the prevailing structures of agrarian relations and working out ways and means of transforming them were recognised as the most important priorities within development studies. It was in this context that the concept of ‘peasantry’ found currency in the discipline of social anthropology. At a time when primitive tribes were either in the process of disappearing or had already disappeared, the “discovery” of the peasantry provided a new lease of life to the discipline of social anthropology. The ‘village community’ was identified as the social foundation of the peasant economy in Asia. It is quite easy to see this connection between the Redfieldian notion of ‘peasant studies’ (Redfield 1965) and the Indian ‘village studies’. The single most popular concept used by the anthropologists studying the Indian village was Robert Redfield’s notion of ‘little community’. Among the first works on the subject, Village India: Studies in the Little Community (edited by M. Marriot, 1955) was brought out under the direct supervision of Redfield. He even wrote a preface to this book.

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Having found a relevant subject matter in the village, social anthropologists (many of whom were either from the West or were Indian scholars trained

in the Western universities) initiated field studies in the early 1950s. During October 1951 and May 1954 the Economic Weekly (which later became Economic and Political Weekly) published a number of short essays providing brief accounts of individual villages that were being studied by different anthropologists. These essays were later put together by M.N. Srinivas in the form of a book with the title India’s Villages in 1955. As mentioned above Mackim Marriot’s book Village India also appeared in the same year. Interestingly, the first volume of Rural Profiles by D.N. Majumdar also appeared in 1955. S.C. Dube also published his full length study of a village near Hyderabad, Indian Village in the same year.

Village Studies in India

Box 3.01: Views of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru on Village in India Mahatma Gandhi in his letter to Shri Jawaharlal Nehru on October 5, 1945 orignially written in Hindi expressed his views on village, in general and specially in India. He wrote “......... I am convinced that if India is to attain true freedom and through India the world also, then sooner or later the fact must be recognised that people have to live in villages, not in towns, in huts, not in palaces. Crores of people will never be able to live in peace with each other in towns and palaces. They will then have no recourse but to resort to both violence and untruth. I hold that without truth and nonviolence there can be nothing but destruction for humanity. We can realise truth and non-violence only in the simplicity of village life................ .” Jawaharlal Nehru, in his reply to Bapu’s letter, wrote amongst other things, that, “The whole question is how to achieve this society and what its content should be. I do not understand why a village should necessarily embody truth and non violence. A village, normally speaking, is backward intellectually and culturally and no progress can be made from a backward environment. Narrow-minded people are much more likely to be untruthful and violent.” (The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Vol. IV. Selected Letters General Editor Shriman Narian. Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad. pp. 98-101)

There was a virtual explosion of village studies in the sixties and seventies. ‘Although social anthropologists were the first in the field which they dominated throughout, scholars from other disciplines — political science, history, economics, and so on — were also attracted to it’ (Beteille, 1996:235). Though most of the studies provided a more general account of social, economic and cultural life of the rural people, some of the later studies also focused on specific aspects of the rural social structure, such as, stratification, kinship, or religion.

3.4 Field and the Fieldwork An anthropologist typically selected a single “middle” sized village where he/ she carried-out an intensive fieldwork, generally by staying with the “community” for a fairly long period of time, ranging from one to two years, and at the end of the stay he/she was supposed to come out with a “holistic” account of the social and cultural life of the village people. The most important feature that qualified these studies to be called anthropological was the fieldwork component and the use of “participantobservation”, a method of data collection that anthropologists in the West

43

Emergence of Sociology in India

had developed while doing studies of tribal communities. The “participantobservation” method was seen as a method that understood social life from within, in terms of the values and meanings attributed to it by the people themselves. Box 3.02: Participant Observation The method of participant observation also provided continuity between the earlier tradition of anthropology when it studied the tribal communities and its later preoccupation with the village. As Beteille writes: In moving from tribal to village studies, social anthropologists retained one very important feature of their craft, the method of intensive field work.... Those standards were first established by Malinowski and his pupils at the London School of Economics in the twenties, thirties and forties, and by the fifties, they had come to be adopted by professional anthropologists the world over (Beteille, 1996:233-4).

3.5 Perceived Significance of the Village The discovery of peasantry thus rejuvenated the discipline of social anthropology. In the emerging intellectual and political environment during the post war period, anthropologists saw themselves playing an important role in providing authentic and scientific account of the “traditional social order”, the transformation of which had become a global concern. Many of the village monographs emerged directly from the projects carried-out by sociologists and social anthropologists for development agencies. These included studies by Dube (1955), Majumdar (1958), and Lewis (1958). Lewis, who studied a village near Delhi writes: Our work was problem oriented from the start. Among the problems we studied intensively were what the villagers felt they needed in housing, in education, in health; land consolidation programme; and the newly created government-sponsored panchayats (Lewis, 1958:ix). Lewis was appointed by the Ford Foundation in India to work with the Programme Evaluation Organisation of the Planning Commission to help in developing a scheme for the objective evaluation of the rural reconstruction programme. A typical anthropologist, unlike his/her economist counterpart, saw the village ‘in the context of the cultural life lived by the people’ and the way ‘rural life was inter-locked and interdependent’ which ‘baffled social engineers as it could not be geared to planned economy. It was here that the economists needed the assistance of sociologists and anthropologists’ (Majumdar, 1955:iv). Though they were supposed to only assist the ‘big brothers’ economists in the planning process, the anthropologist viewed their perspective as being “superior” because ‘they alone studied village community as a whole, and their knowledge and approach provided an indispensable background for the proper interpretation of data on any single aspect of rural life. Their approach provided a much-needed corrective to the partial approach of the economist, political scientist and social worker (Srinivas, 1955:90).

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Anthropologists criticised economists and official planners view because they tended ‘to treat people like dough in their hands. The fact that people had

resources of their own, physical, intellectual and moral, and that they could use them to their advantage, was not recognised by those in power’ (Srinivas, 1978:34).

Village Studies in India

While economists used quantitative techniques and their method was “more scientific”, the anthropological approach had its own advantages. Anthropological studies provided qualitative analysis. The method of anthropology required that its practitioners selected ‘a small universe which could be studied intensively for a long period of time to analyse its intricate system of social relations’ (Epstein, 1962:2). However, not all of them were directly involved with development programmes. In fact most of them saw the relevance of their works in professional terms. Taking a position against the close involvement with official agencies, Srinivas argued that ‘the anthropologist has intimate and first hand knowledge of one or two societies and he can place his understanding at the disposal of the planner. He may in some cases even be able to anticipate the kind of reception a particular administrative measure may have. But he cannot lay down policy because it is a result of certain decisions about right and wrong’ (Srinivas, 1960:13). Thus maintaining a “safe” distance from the political agencies was seen to be necessary because, unlike economics, social anthropology did not have a theoretical grounding that could help them become applied sciences. The relevance of studying the village was viewed more in methodological terms. The village and its hamlets represented “India in microcosm” (Hoebel in Hiebert, 1971:vii). For the anthropologist, they ‘were invaluable observation-centres where he/she could study in detail social processes and problems to be found occurring in great parts of India’ (Srinivas 1955: 99). Villages were supposedly close to people, their life, livelihood and culture and they were ‘a focal point of reference for individual prestige and identification’. As ‘an important administrative and social unit, the village profoundly influenced the behaviour pattern of its inhabitants’. Villages were supposed to have been around for ‘hundreds of years’, having ‘survived years of wars, making and breaking up of empires, famines, floods and other natural disasters’. This perceived ‘historical continuity and stability of villages’ strengthened the case for village studies (Dasgupta, 1978:1). Carrying-out village studies during the fifties and the sixties was also important because the Indian society was changing very fast and the anthropologist needed to record details of the traditional social order before it was too late. Underscoring this urgency Srinivas wrote ‘We have, at the most, another ten years in which to record facts about a type of society which is changing fundamentally and with great rapidity’ (Srinivas, 1955: 99)

3.6 General Features of the Village Unlike the tribal communities, the Indian villages had a considerable degree of diversity. This diversity was both internal as well as external. The village was internally differentiated in diverse groupings and had a complex structure of social relationships and institutional arrangements. There were also different kinds of villages in different parts of the country. Even within a particular region of the country, not all villages were alike. The stereotypical image of the Indian village as a self-sufficient community

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was contested by anthropological studies. Beteille, for example, argued ‘at least as far back in time as living memory went, there was no reason to believe that the village (he studied) was fully self-sufficient in the economic sphere (Beteille, 1996:136-7). Similarly Srinivas too contested the colonial notion of the Indian village being a completely self-sufficient republic. The village, he argued, ‘was always a part of a wider entity. (Srinivas, 1960:10). However, despite this contention about the village having links with the outside world and explicating the diversities that marked the rural society of India, it was the ‘unity’ of the village that was underlined by most anthropologists. The fact that the village interacted with the outside world did not mean it did not have a design of its own or could not be studied as a representative unit of Indian social life. While villages had horizontal ties, it was the vertical ties within the village that governed much of the life of an average person in the village. Village provided an important source of identity to its residents. Different scholars placed different emphasis on how significant the village identity was when compared to other sources of identification, such as those of caste, class or locality. Srinivas argued that individuals in his village had a sense of identification with their village and an insult to one’s village had to be avenged like an insult to oneself, one’s wife, or one’s family (Srinivas, 1976:270). Similarly, Dube argued that though Indian villages varied greatly in their internal structure and organisation, in their ethos and world-view, and in their life-ways and thought-ways, on account of variety of factors, village communities all over the Indian sub-continent had a number of common features. The village settlement, as a unit of social organisation, represented a kind of solidarity which was different from that of the kin, the caste, and the class. Each village was a distinct entity, had some individual mores and usages, and possessed a corporate unity. Different castes and communities inhabiting the village were integrated in its economic, social, and ritual pattern by ties of mutual and reciprocal obligations sanctioned and sustained by generally accepted conventions. Notwithstanding the existence of groups and factions inside the settlement, people of the village could, and did, face the outside world as an organised, compact whole (Dube,1960:202). Reflection and Action 3.01 Read a sociologists study of an Indian village and then read a novel, such as, Shreelal Shukl’s ‘Ragdarbari’ in Hindi or R.K. Narian’s Malgudi Day’s in English. Write down an essay on the depiction of an Indian village, as given by a sociologist and compare it with the account of an Indian village by a creative writer. Compare your essay with those of other students at your Study Centre.

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It was W.H. Wiser who had initially, in his classic study of The Hindu Jajmani System, first published in 1936, had conceptualised the social relationships among caste groups in the Indian village in the framework of ‘reciprocity’. The framework of reciprocity implied that though village social organisation was hierarchical, it was the ‘interdependence’ among different caste groups that characterised the underlying spirit of the Indian village. Reciprocity implied, explicitly or implicitly, an exchange of equal services and nonexploitative relations. Mutual gratification was supposed to be the outcome of reciprocal exchange.

Each serves the other. Each in turn is master. Each in turn is servant (Wiser 1969:10).

Village Studies in India

Though the later studies were much more elaborate and contained long descriptions of different forms of social inequalities and differences in the rural society, many of them continued to use the framework of reciprocity particularly while conceptualising ‘unity’ of the village social life. However not everyone emphasised the unity of the village the way Srinivas and Dube or earlier Wiser did. Some of the anthropologists explicitly contested the unity thesis while others qualified their arguments by recognising the conflicts within the village and the ties that villagers had with the outside world. For instance, Paul Hiebert in his study of a south Indian village, although arguing that the caste system provided a source of stability to the village, also underlined the fact that ‘deep seated cleavages underlie the apparent unity of the village and fragmented it into numerous social groups’ (Hiebert, 1971:13). Similarly, Beteille had argued that his study of village ‘Sripuram as a whole constituted a unit in a physical sense and, to a much lesser extent, in the social sense’(Beteille, 1996:39). Among those who nearly rejected the idea of the communitarian unity were Lewis and Bailey. F.G. Bailey, for example provided a radical critique of the ‘unity-reciprocity’ thesis and offered an alternative perspective. Stressing on the coercive aspects of caste relations, he writes: ... those who find the caste system to their taste have exaggerated the harmony with which the system works, by stressing the degree of interdependence between the different castes. Interdependence means that everyone depends on everyone else: it means reciprocity. From this it is easy to slip into ideas of equality: because men are equally dependent on one another, they are assumed to be equal in other ways. Equality of rank is so manifestly false when applied to a caste system that the final step in the argument is seldom taken, and exposition rests upon a representation of mutual interdependence, and the hint that, because one caste could bring the system to a standstill by refusing to play its part, castes do not in fact use this sanction to maintain their rights against the rest. In fact, of course, the system is held together not so much by ties of reciprocity, but by the concentration in one of its parts. The system works the way it does because the coercive sanctions are all in the hands of a dominant caste. There is a tie of reciprocity, but it is not a sanction of which the dependent castes can make easy use (Bailey, 1960:258). However, this kind of a perspective did not become popular among the sociologist anthropologists during 1950s and 1960s. They continued to work largely within the ‘unity-reciprocity’ framework, with varied degrees of emphasis.

3.7 Social Structure of the Village: Caste, Class and Gender The intellectual and historical contexts in which social anthropologists worked largely guided the kinds of research questions they identified for their studies. The tradition of studying tribal communities that emphasised a ‘holistic’ perspective also had its influence on the way village was visualised. Despite their primary preoccupation with kinship, religion and ritual life of

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the ‘little communities’, documenting their internal structures and village social life could not be completed without looking at the prevailing social differences. Theoretically also the emphasis on ‘unity’ did not mean absence of differences and social inequality. Neither did it mean that these questions were not important for social anthropology. Though not all of them began their work with a direct focus on understanding the structures of inequalities, almost every one of them offered detailed descriptions of the prevailing differences of caste, class and gender in the village social life. Being rich in empirical description, one can construct a picture of the social relations, which may not necessarily fit within the framework with which these studies were actually carried out.

i) The Caste System Caste and hierarchy have long been seen as the distinctive and defining features of the Indian society. It was during the colonial period that caste was, for the first time, theorised in modern sociological language. The colonial administrators also gathered extensive ethnographic details and wrote detailed accounts of the way systems of caste distinctions and hierarchies worked in different parts of the sub-continent. Social anthropology in the postindependence India continued with a similar approach that saw caste as the most important and distinctive feature of Indian society. While caste was a concrete structure that guided social relationships in the Indian village, hierarchy was its ideology. An individual in caste society lived in a hierarchical world. Not only were the people divided into higher or lower groups, their food, their dresses, ornaments, customs and manners were all ranked in an order of hierarchy. Anthropologist invariably invoked the varna system of hierarchy which divided the Hindu society into five major categories. The first three, viz., Brahmins (the priests or men of learning), Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors) and Vaishyas (traders) were regarded as dvijas or the twice born. The fourth category was that of Shudras, composed of numerous occupational castes that were regarded as relatively ‘clean’ and were not classed as “untouchables”. In the fifth major category were placed all the “untouchable” castes. Hindus all over India, according to Dube, accepted this classification. The legitimate occupations to be followed by people in these major categories (varnas) were defined by tradition. Within each category there were several sub-groups (jati or castes), which could be arranged in a hierarchical order within them. In this general framework of the varna system, with considerable variations in different regions there were several socially autonomous castes, each fitting into one of the five major divisions but otherwise being practically independent in their socio-religious sphere of life (Dube 1955: 35-36). Though the essence of caste lay in ‘the arrangement of hereditary groups in a hierarchy’, the popular impression derived from the idea of varna that arranged groups in an order with Brahmins at the top and Harijans at the bottom was right only partly. The empirical studies pointed out that ‘in fact only the two opposite ends of the hierarchy were relatively fixed; in between, and especially in the middle region, there was considerable room for debate regarding mutual position’ (Srinivas, 1994:5).

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Caste divisions determined and decided all social relations. Most scholars saw caste as a closed system where ‘entry into a social status was a function of heredity and individual achievement, personal quality or wealth had,

according to the strict traditional prescription, no say in determining the social status’ (Majumdar, 1958:19). However, there were some who admitted that the way caste operated at the local level was ‘radically different from that expressed in the varna scheme. Mutual rank was uncertain and this stemmed from the fact that mobility was possible in caste’ (Srinivas, 1976:175).

Village Studies in India

Dube identified six factors that contributed towards the status differentiation in the village community of Shamirpet: religion and caste; landownership; wealth; position in government service and village organisation; age; and distinctive personality traits (Dube, 1955:161). Attempts to claim a higher ritual status through, what Srinivas called sanskritisation, was not a simple process. It could not be achieved only through rituals and life-style imitation. The group had to also negotiate it at the local power structure. Similarly, stressing secular factors, Dube pointed to the manner in which the caste panchayat of the lower or the menial castes worked as unions to secure their employment and strengthen their bargaining power vis-à-vis the land owning dominant castes. However, a large majority of them viewed caste system as working within the framework of jajmani system and bound together different castes living in the village or a cluster of villages in enduring and pervasive relationships. Reflection and Action 3.02 You just read about the sociologists’ opinion about caste in India based on their own studies/field-work. As a person you may have come across caste as a social reality. Think about your own experiences and write a report on ‘Caste in India’ in about two pages. Discuss your report with other students of sociology at your Study Centre, as well as, your Academic Counsellor.

ii) Land and Class As is evident from the above discussion, the social anthropologists studying India during the fifties and sixties generally worked in the framework of caste. The manner in which social science disciplines developed in India, class and land came to be seen as the concerns of economists. However, since anthropologists advocated a perspective that studied “small communities” in holistic terms, agriculture and the social relations of production on land also found a place in the village monographs. While some of them directly focused on economic life as one of the central research questions, most saw it as an aspect of the caste and occupational structure of the village. Land relations to them reflected the same patterns of hierarchy as those present in the caste system. ‘There was a certain amount of overlap between the twin hierarchies of caste and land. The richer landowners generally came from such high castes as Brahmins, and Lingayats while the Harijans contributed a substantial number of landless labourers. In contrast to the wealthier household, the poor one was almost invisible (Srinivas, 1976:169). Some others underlined the primacy of land over all other factors in determining social hierarchy in the village. Comparing a Brahmin dominated village with a Jat dominated village, Lewis argued that ‘While the landowners are generally of higher caste in Indian villages, it is their position as landowners,

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rather than caste membership per se, which gives them status and power’ (Lewis, 1958:81). However, despite such references to the crucial significance of land ownership in village social life, village studies did not explore the details of agrarian social structures in different regions of the country. Caste, family, kinship and religion remained their primary focus.

iii) Gender Differences It is rather interesting to note that although ‘gender’ as a conceptual category had not yet been introduced in the social sciences when the social anthropologists were doing their field studies during 1950s and 1960s, village studies were not completely “gender blind”. Since the concept of gender and the accompanying theoretical issues had yet to be articulated, the social anthropologists did not look at man-woman relations in the manner in which it was to be conceptualised and studied later. Still, many of the village monographs provide detailed accounts of the patterns of social relations between men and women in the rural society of India. Some of these monographs even have separate chapters devoted to the subject. In the absence of a critical theoretical perspective, the village studies constructed gender and patriarchy as a ‘natural social order’. Further, accounts of man-woman relations provided in these studies were largely based on the data collected from male informants. Most of the anthropologists themselves being males, it would have been difficult for them to be able to meet and participate in the “private” life of the village people. Some of them were quite aware of this lacuna in their fieldwork and have written about it in their reflections on their fieldwork experience. Most village studies looked at gender relations within the framework of the household, and participation of women in work. These studies highlighted the division of labour within the family and the overall dominance that men enjoyed in the public sphere. Women, particularly among the upper castes, were confined within the four walls of the house. ‘The social world of the woman was synonymous with the household and kinship group while the men inhabited a more heterogeneous world’ (Srinivas, 1976:137). Compared to men in the Central Indian village studied by Mayer ‘women had less chance to meet people from other parts of the village. The village well provided a meeting place for all women of non-Harijan castes, and the opportunity for gossip. But there was a limit to the time that busy women could stand and talk while they drew their water and afterwards they must return home, where the occasions for talking to people outside their own household were limited to meeting with other women of the street’ (Mayer, 1960:136). In the Telangana village also, Dube observed that women were secluded from the activities of the public space. ‘It was considered a mark of respectability in women if they walked with their eyes downcast’ (Dube, 1955:18).

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The rules of patriarchy were clearly laid out. After caste, gender was the most important factor that governed the division of labour in the village. Masculine and feminine pursuits were clearly distinguished (Dube, 1955:169). Writing on similar lines about his village in the same region, Srinivas pointed out that the two sets of occupations were not only separated but also seen as unequal. ‘It was the man who exercised control over the domestic economy. He made the annual grain-payments at harvest to the members of the artisan and servicing castes who had worked for him during the year. The dominant

‘male view’ thought of women as being ‘incapable of understanding what went on outside the domestic wall’ (Srinivas, 1976:140-1).

Village Studies in India

Men also had a near complete control over women’s sexuality. In the monogamous family, popular among most groups in India, ‘a man could play around but not so a woman. A man’s sense of private property in his wife’s genital organs was as profound as in his ancestral land. And just as, traditionally, a wife lacked any right to land she lacked an exclusive right to her husband’s sexual prowess. Polygyny and concubinage were both evidence of her lack of such rights. Men and women were separate and unequal (ibid, 155). Patriarchy and male dominance were legitimate norms. ‘According to the traditional norms of the society a husband is expected to be an authoritative figure whose will should always dominate the domestic scene. As the head of the household he should demand respect and obedience from his wife and children. The wife should regard him as her ‘master’ and should ‘serve him faithfully’ (Dube, 1955:141). Box 3.03: Village under Duress Not every thinker, sociologist or anthropologist agrees with the general opinion of village India as an idyllic social reality. Infact, sociologist like Dipankar Gupta begs to differ. He says that — “The village is shrinking as a sociological reality, though it still exists as space. Nowhere else does one find the level of hopeless disenchantment as one does in the rural regions of India. In urban slums there is squalour, there is filth and crime, but there is hope and the excitement that tomorrow might be quite different from today. Rarely would a villager today want to be a farmer if given an opportunity elsewhere. Indeed, there are few rural institutions that have not been mauled severely from within. The joint family is disappearing, the rural caste hierarchy is losing its tenacity, and the much romanticised harmony of village life is now exposed for the sham it perhaps always was. If anything, it is perhaps B.R. Ambedkar’s analysis of the Indian village that strikes the truest of all. It was Ambedkar who said that the village was a cesspool of degradation, corruption and worse. That village India was able to carry on in spite of all this in the past was because there was little option for most people, rich or poor outside the confines of the rural space. (Gupta, Dipankar, Whither the Indian Village, Culture and Agriculture in ‘Rural’ India, EPW Vol. XL No.8, Feb. 19-25, 2005, pp. 751-758)

3.8 ‘Field-View’ and the Fieldwork More than anything else, it was the method of participant observation that distinguished the social anthropological village studies from the rural surveys that were conducted by economists and demographers. And it was this method of qualitative fieldwork that helped social anthropology gain a measure of respectability in the Indian academy. The ‘field-view’ was a superior way of understanding contemporary Indian society as it provided a “corrective” to the “partial” ‘book-view’ of India constructed by Indologists from the classical Hindu texts. The ‘book-view’ was partial not only because it was based on texts written in “ancient times”, it was partial also because, the texts used by the Indologists were all written by the ‘elite’ upper caste Hindus.

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In contrast, the anthropological perspective which used a “scientific method” of inquiry and provided a “holistic” picture of the way social life was organised in the Indian society at the level of its “grassroots”. Even though some of the scholars were themselves from India and therefore had pre-conceived notions about rural society, ‘a proper scientific training’ could take care of such biases. However, despite this ‘self-image’ of a scientist and a repeated emphasis on “value-neutrality” towards the subjects being studied, a close reading of what these students of Indian village have written about their experiences of fieldwork provides a completely different picture. Apart from pointing to the kinds of problems they faced in getting information about the village social life from different sections of rural society, they give vivid descriptions of how their own location and social background influenced and conditioned their observations of the village society and their access to different sections of people in the rural society. The place they chose to live in the village during the field work, the friends they made for regular information, the social class they themselves came from, their gender, the caste status bestowed upon them by the village, all played important roles in the kind of data they could access. The manner in which an individual anthropologist negotiated his/her relationship with the village determined who was going to be his/her informant. One of the first questions asked of a visitor was regarding his/ her caste. Accordingly the village placed the visitor in its own structure and allocated him/her a place and status. The anthropologist was not only expected to respect this allocation of status bestowed on him/her by the village, but he was also asked to conform to the normative patterns of the caste society. The anthropologist could not avoid negotiating with the village social structure mainly because the method of participant observation required that he/she went and stayed in the village personally for a fairly long period of time. The routine way of developing contact with the village was through the village leaders or the head of the panchayat who invariably came from the dominant upper caste. Most of the anthropologists themselves being from upper caste and middle class background, it was easier for them to approach and develop rapport with these leaders. This also helped them execute their studies with lesser difficulties. Majumdar is explicit about this: The ex-zamindar family provided accommodation and occasionally acted as the host, and this contact helped ... to work with understanding and confidence; little effort was needed to establish rapport (Majumdar, 1958:5).

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However, finding a place to live was not merely a matter of convenience. It identified the investigator with certain groups in the village and this identification had its advantages as well as disadvantages. While it gave them access to the life ways of the upper castes, it also made them suspect in the eyes of the lower castes. Betelle, for example, was “permitted” to live in a Brahmin house in the agraharam (the Brahmin locality), ‘a privilege’, he was told, ‘never extended to an outsider and a non-Brahmin before’. His acceptance in the agraharam as a co-resident was not without any conditions. I could live in the agraharam only on certain terms, by accepting some of the duties and obligations of a member of the community.... The villagers of Sripuram had also assigned me a role, and they would consider it most unnatural if I decided suddenly to act in ways that were quite contrary to what was expected (Beteille, 1975:104).

Living in the agraharam also gave him an identity of a Brahmin in the village. “I was identified with Brahmins by my dress, my appearance, and the fact that I lived in one of their houses”(ibid:9). For the Non-Brahmins and AdiDravidas, he was just another Brahmin from North India. This meant that his “access to these groups was therefore, far more limited than to the Brahmins”(ibid:9). His visits to the Harijan locality received loud disapproval from his Brahmin hosts and he was also suspected by the Harijans, who ‘regard a visit to their homes by a Brahmin as unnatural, and some believe that it brings then ill luck’(ibid:278).

Village Studies in India

The village was not only caste conscious, it was also class and gender conscious. As Beteille writes: If I asked the tenant questions about tenancy in the presence of the landlord, he did not always feel free to speak frankly. If I arranged to meet the tenant separately to ask these questions, the landlord felt suspicious and displeased (ibid:284). Underlining the role gender played in “fieldwork”, Leela Dube, one of the few Indian women anthropologists who worked in a village writes, “I was a Brahmin and a woman, and this the village people could never forget” (Dube, 1975:165). Srinivas tells us a similar story about his experiences in the field. Since his family originally came from the region where he did his field study, it was easier for his villagers to place him. For the villagers he ‘was primarily a Brahmin whose joint family owned land in a neighbouring village’ (Srinivas, 1976:33). The older villagers gave him the role of a Brahmin and a landowner. By so doing they were able to make him behave towards them in certain predictable ways, and they in turn were able to regulate their behaviour towards him. More significant here perhaps is the fact that he very consciously conformed to the normative patterns and the local values as he came to understand them. It did not even occur to me to do anything which might get me into trouble with the village establishment. I accepted the limitations and tried to work within them (ibid:47 emphasis added). A similar kind of anxiety is expressed by Leela Dube when she writes: if I had to gain a measure of acceptance in the community, I must follow the norms of behaviour which the people associated with my sex, age, and caste (Dube,1975:165). This conformist attitude towards the village social structure and its normative patterns as received through the dominant sections had such an important effect on their fieldwork that some of them quite consciously chose not to spend much time with the “low” caste groups. Srinivas, for example, admits that while he was collecting genealogies and a household census, he ‘deliberately excluded the Harijan ward’. He thought that he ‘should approach the Harijans only through the headman’. The consequence was that his account of the village was biased in favour of the upper caste Hindus. It was not merely the “insider” Indian scholars who, while doing “participant observation”, had to negotiate with the social structure of the village, even the scholars from the West had to come to terms with the statuses that the

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village gave them and which caste groups they would get more closely identified with. The British scholar, Adrian Mayer, who studied a Central Indian village writes that it was impossible for him merely to “observe” the caste system. He had to participate in it, merely by the fact of my living in Ramkheri. He was accorded the status of ‘an undesignated upper caste’ and by the time he left the village he was most closely identified with Rajputs, the locally dominant caste (Mayer 1975). Though the village social structure invariably imposed itself upon the “participant observer”, it was not completely impossible to work without being identified with one of the dominant castes. There were some who made concerted efforts to understand what the caste system meant to those who were at its receiving end. It is not surprising that the image of hierarchy as it appeared from the bottom up was very different from its “mainstream” constructions. Mencher, who chose deliberately to spend more time among the “Harijans” writes: ...most of the Harijans I got to know tended to describe their relations with higher-caste people in terms of power, both economic (in terms of who employed whom, or their dependence on the landed for employment) and political (in terms of authority and the ability to punish). For Harijans both old and young, the exploitative aspect of hierarchy was what seemed most relevant, not the “to each his own” aspect….To them it was all quite clearly a system in which some people worked harder than others, and in which those who were rich and powerful remained so, and obviously had no intention of relinquishing their prerogative voluntarily (Mencher, 1975:119 and 127). However, apart from a few exceptions of those doing agrarian studies (Mencher,1978; Djurfeldt and Lindberg,1975; Harriss;1982), it was only later when the Dalit movement consolidated itself in different parts of the country, that social anthropologists and sociologists began to examine the question of power and politics of caste relations.

3.9 Conclusion The studies of Indian villages carried-out by social anthropologists during the 1950s and 1960s were undoubtedly an important landmark in the history of Indian social sciences. Even though the primary focus of these studies was on the social and ritual life of the village people, there are enough references that can be useful pointers towards an understanding of the political and economic life in the rural society of India during the first two decades of independent India.

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More importantly, these studies helped in contesting the dominant stereotype of the Indian village made popular by the colonial administrators. The detailed descriptive accounts of village life constructed after prolonged field-works carried out, in most cases, entirely by the anthropologists themselves convincingly proved how Indian villages were not ‘isolated communities’. Village studies showed that India’s villages had been well integrated into the broader economy and society of the region even before the colonial rule introduced new agrarian legislation. They also pointed to the regional differences in the way social village life was organised in different parts of the country.

Social anthropological studies also offered an alternative to the dominant “book-view” of India constructed by Indologists and orientalists from the Hindu scriptures. The “field-view” presented in the village monographs not only contested the assumptions of Indology but also convincingly showed with the help of empirical data as to how the idealised model of the varna system as theorised in Hindu scriptures did not match with the concrete realities of village life. While caste was an important institution in the Indian village and most studies foregrounded caste differences over other differences, empirical studies showed that it was not a completely closed and rigidly defined system. Caste statuses were also not exclusively determined by one’s position in the ritual hierarchy and that there were many grey and contestable areas within the system. It was from the village studies that the concepts like sanskritisation, dominant caste, segmental structures, harmonic and disharmonic systems emerged.

Village Studies in India

However, village studies were also constrained by a number of factors. The method of participant observation that was the main strength of these studies also imposed certain limitations on the fieldworkers, which eventually proved critical in shaping the image they produced of the Indian village. Doing participant observation required a measure of acceptability of the field worker in the village that he/she chose to study. In a differentiated social context, it was obviously easy to approach the village through the dominant sections. However, this choice proved to be of more than just a strategic value. The anxiety of the anthropologist to get accepted in the village as a member of the “community” made their accounts of the village life conservative in orientation. It also limited their access to the dominant groups in the local society. They chose to avoid asking all those questions or approaching those subordinate groups, which they thought, could offend the dominant interests in the village. The choices made by individual anthropologists as regard to how they were going to negotiate their own relationship with the village significantly influenced the kind of data they could gather about village life. Unlike the “tribal communities”, the conventional subject matter of social anthropology, Indian villages were not only internally differentiated much more than the tribes, they also had well articulated world views. Different sections of the village society had different perspectives on what the village was. Though most of the anthropologists were aware of this, they did not do much to resolve this problem. On the contrary, most of them consciously chose to identify themselves with the dominant caste groups in the village, which apart from making their stay in the village relatively easy, limited their access to the world-view of the upper castes and made them suspect among the lower castes. Apart from the method of participant observation and the anxiety about being accepted in rural society that made the anthropologists produce a conservative account of the rural social relations, the received theoretical perspectives and the professional traditions dominant within the disciplines of sociology and social anthropology during the time of village studies also had their influences on these scholars. Anthropologist during the decades of fifties and sixties generally focussed on the structures rather than changes. This preoccupation made them look for the sources that reproduced social order in the village and to ignore conflict and the possible sources of social transformation.

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3.10 Further Reading Beteille, A. 1980 ‘The Indian Village: Past and Present’ in E.J. Hobsbawm et. al. eds. Peasants in History: Essays in Honour of Daniel Thorner, OUP, Calcutta Beteille, A. 1975 ‘The Tribulations of Fieldwork’ in A. Beteille and T. N. Madan ed. Encounters and Experience: Personal Accounts of Fieldwork. Vikas, Delhi Cohn, B.S. 1987, An Anthropologist among Historian and other Essays. OUP, Delhi

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UNIT 4 DIVERSITY AND PLURALISM Structure 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9

Introduction Towards an Understanding of Democracy Democracy and Development Democracy and Development in the Post-colonial Societies Political Democracy and Economic Development in India: 1947-1967 Political Democracy and Economic Development in India: 1967- 1990 Political Democracy and Economic Development in India: 1991 Onwards Summary Exercises

4.1 INTRODUCTION

As most of the old certitudes of Indian politics gradually crumble in a ‘transforming’ India, it is the ‘idea of democracy’ that has survived and endured thus providing one powerful continuity in it. It is remarkable given the fact that very few post-colonial states of Asia and Africa including those who shared the same colonial legacy i.e. Pakistan have been able to remain ‘actually existing democracies’ despite emphasis on the processes of democratisation and localisation in the present era of globalisation.

The above may be considered not a mean achievement if we reflect about India- the largest and the most diverse democracy in the world- as it was at the time of decolonisation. India almost lacked all the ingredients that make a liberal democracy a success. India had low levels of literacy, industrialisation and democratic consciousness. Another obstacle in the pathway to democracy building was in the form of centuries old hierarchical social order that was ‘almost deliberately designed to resist the idea of political equality’. The partition legacy in the form of the flared up cultural and religious distinctions was another hurdle.

How can we explain the survival and remarkable endurance of Indian democracy? Is it due to the limited exposure to the ‘democratic’ institutional politics provided to the nationalist leadership by the Britishers in the twentieth century? Or is it due to the translation of our traditional cultural values like pluralism, consensus, tolerance, inclusion and accommodation into modern political culture as an independent India experienced its first years?

The democracy in India in a significant way was prefigured in the form of the colonial legacy as the British introduced the representative legislative bodies albeit with limited power vide the 1 limited in nature, Acts of 1909, 1919 and 1935. Even though the grant of the voting rights was the sheer number of the voters i.e. 40 million was the second largest in the non-communist world at that time. The groups who were accorded political representation were identified as religious communities with immutable interests and collective rights.

creation of a nation out of the country’s diverse social order. The political leadership of an independent India inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru emphasised over the responsibility of the nation-state to recognise and accommodate the enormous diversity of India. Values of tolerance, pluralism and inclusion were actively promoted and these became the foundational principle of the nation formation and state formation projects that were set in motion simultaneously. The pluralist form of Indian democracy in its procedural form has been evident in the form of federalism, three language policy, reorganisation of the states on linguistic basis, affirmative action in favour of the marginal groups and the decision to desist from imposing a uniform civil code, secular citizenship defined by civic and universalistic criteria - all have been among the significant constitutional measures, legislative enactment and government policies indicating the constitutional/ legal recognition to four specific categoriesreligion, language, region and caste. Whether it is the above two or more reasons that explain the resilience of democracy in India, it remains an irrevocable fact that democracy remains deep-rooted in India. India continues to have parliaments and courts of law, rights and a free press. In the words of Sunil Khilnani: ‘as an idea as well as a seductive and puzzling promise to bring history under the command of the will of a community of equals, democracy has irreversibly entered the Indian political imagination’. The greatest signifier of the success of Indian democracy, however, has been in providing space for political contestation and creating an opportunity for the assertion of a variety of claims articulated by the different groups. In the process democratic politics has even begun to corrode the authority of the traditional social order in India.

4.2 TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF DEMOCRACY What do we understand by democracy in political theory? Democracy has increasingly been viewed as a form of good governance that paves the way for arriving at decisions among a group of individuals organised as a polity. The essential value of democracy lies in its moral superiority over any other way of arriving at decisions which take every citizen’s interests into account, and are equally binding on everyone. The core principles that underpin and justify democracy in this sense are twofold. First, the individuals are autonomous rational beings who are capable of deciding what is good for them. Second, all individuals should have equal say in the determination of collective decisions, which affects them all equally. It has been argued that unanimity is generally impossible to achieve when collectivity makes an attempt to arrive at a commonly agreed upon decision. Thus the most plausible procedure for arriving at a commonly agreed upon decision is the principle of majority rule which is most practical and morally acceptable. Due to the large and complex societies it is not possible to gather together to make decisions on every issue [say like in the city-state of Athens], even in the advanced capitalist democracies as C B Macpherson visualised in his enunciation of the participatory model of democracy [Life and Times of Liberal democracy]. Modern democracy therefore works with a set of procedure and the representative institutions by which people can elect their representatives and hold them periodically accountable. If we see the democracy purely as a set of institutions- encompassing free and fair elections, 2

legislative assemblies, general legal framework and constitutional governments, then we are essentially privileging the procedural form of democracy. However if we have an idea of a democracy being peopled by the truly equal citizens, who are politically engaged, tolerant of different opinions and ways of life and have an equal voice in choosing their rulers and holding them accountable, then we are privileging the substantive notion of democracy. In liberal political theory, these two contrasting models of democracy are referred to as procedural [or formal] and substantive [or informal] democracy respectively. It follows that in the limited proceduralist view of democracy the level of the electoral participation, the frequency of elections and the peaceful change in political power are taken as indicators of the health of democracy. However such a view is endangered by the fallacy of electoralism, as the social and economic inequalities involving the ethno-cultural communities (including the minorities and women) make it difficult for them to participate effectively are largely ignored in such a perspective. The proponents of the substantive form of democracy, on the other hand, argue that the democratic project is incomplete until the meaningful exercises of the equal rights of citizenship have been guaranteed to all. On this account, free and fair elections, freedom of speech and expression, and the rule of law and its protection to all are necessary, but by no means sufficient conditions for a democracy to be meaningful. The project of democracy is not accomplished by merely securing legal and political equality; it may be severely restricted by inequalities, which deny many from having a truly equal opportunity to influence government decisions (Social agenda of democratisation). In the contemporary post-industrial / information societies the concentration of expert knowledge, symbolised by the increasing influence of public policy specialists over government policy and public opinion is another limitation. The experts have made the economic policy making insulated from the democratic pressures.

4.3 DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT The present era of globalisation is characterised by an upsurge of market economy and political democracy. These are both considered as virtue and necessity: whether it is the East European post-Communist societies or the post-colonial Asian, African and Latin American societies. This can be explained in terms of the collapse of communism / socialism that inspired economies based on development planning in the form of excessive or inappropriate state intervention in market economies. In social sciences a great degree of literature, rich - both in terms of range and depth - is available on the themes of economic development and political democracy. Unfortunately they remain divided into two different worlds of politics and economics with little interaction. What is needed is to theorise the nature of democracy in such a manner that the evolving processes of economic development can be understood in the wider context of political democracy. 3

The theorists of political economy like Deepak Nayyar have drawn attention to the fact that there has always been an inherent tension between the economics of markets and politics of democracy. It is explained in terms of the exclusionary nature of markets as against the

That the notion of majoritarian democracy is preferable to monarchies or the oligarchies has been questioned on the basis that it leads to the tyranny of majority. At the same time the argument that the markets protect the interests of individuals and minorities is limited. It has been argued that the markets are indeed the tyranny of minorities. Now in the market people vote with their money whereas in political democracy every one has equal vote. Thus there is always an inherent tension between the two institutions. Then can we say that the combination of democracy and markets is sufficient or say necessary to bring economic development of the masses? What about the egalitarian development in planned economies without political democracy in the erstwhile communist states of East Europe and also in the South East Asian countries that had market economies without political democracy? And then in the post-communist countries where we have both market economy and political democracy we have so far witnessed prosperity for very few and misery for the majority. We must understand that the markets tend to exclude people as consumers if they do not have any income or sufficient income [entitlement for Amartya Sen]. Markets also exclude the people as producers or sellers if they have neither assets nor capabilities [natural talents, skills acquired through teaching, learning from experience, education] commanding a price and also demand in the market. And then market excludes both the consumers and producers if they do not accept, or conform to, the values of the market system i.e. tribal communities or the forest people. Economic exclusion further accentuates the social and political exclusion. So the lower classes would suffer if the marketisation of economies take place, as the roll back of the state from the social and economic sectors would mean dilution of social security for the disadvantaged. Moreover the people devoid of entitlement, assets, or capabilities would not have the resources to claim or the power to assert their rights. Thus to conclude this part of argument we may concur with Niraja Gopal Jayal that in this cruelly Schumpeterian political world, there is an almost complete disengagement between the lives and aspirations of ordinary men and women, on the one hand, and the world of important national issues often revolving around the interests of the advantaged ones on the other. It follows that economic stratification is inevitable in the market economies and societies, which systematically integrate some and marginalise others to distribute the benefits of economic growth in ways that include a few and exclude others. In such a situation the institutional arrangements that mediate between the economic development on the one hand and social development on the other become critical. Otherwise the economic growth would lead to regional unevenness and class inequality.

4.4 DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE POSTCOLONIAL SOCIETIES Democracies in the postcolonial societies have been distinct from their western counterparts due to their historical specificities. Colonialism, as Ralph Miliband argued in ‘Marxism and Politics’, distorted the social, economic and political structures, thus making them unique. It follows that the theoretical tools developed for the advanced capitalist societies cannot be transposed simply to these very different societies. That explains the ongoing debates in

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democratic theory concerning the ‘new’ democracies. Most significant among these are the debates on democracy and development; democracy and diversity; and democracy, state and civil society. Thus there has been a debate as to whether democracy and development are compatible in the post-colonial states. The economic ‘miracle’ experienced in the East Asian states have thus been attributed to their ‘soft authoritarian’ regimes. Given the fact that the postcolonial societies are multicultural and are riven by racial and ethnic conflicts, serious apprehension has been expressed towards the need to recognise the diversity and the inequality arising out of the embedded discriminatory practices that undermine the post-colonial democracies. As for the relationship between the democracy, state and civil society, it has been debated whether there can be a democracy or a market (read effective exercise of citizenship rights as well as the social aspect of democracy) without an effective state in the postcolonial societies.

4.5 POLITICAL DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: 1947-1967 In the first years of independence the strategy of economic development was shaped by a political consensus. There was a long-term perspective in Nehruvian India. Congress accommodated the poor peoples under the rubric of socialism articulated effectively in the form of the Bombay Plan of 1944 and the new industrial policy resolution in 1948. Under this ‘Nehru- Mahalanobis strategy’, Indian state was to take responsibility for the provision of infrastructure as well as large and heavy industrial investment. Democracy came to India neither as a response to an absolutist state nor as the realisation of an individualist conception of society. It also did not follow capitalist industrialisation and development. Hence there was a contrast with the experience in the advanced capitalist liberal societies of the West. The anti-colonial struggle was based more on the demand for an autonomous space for the nation than about individual freedom. Gandhian notion of a just state was premised on the idea that the collective interest must take precedence over individual interests. The nationalist leadership visualised a democratic republic with pledges to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for all its citizens. Universal franchise was thus granted in one go in a predominantly agrarian society lacking in terms of democratic consciousness. In the above situation the state had an important role to play that was of a mediator between political democracy and economic democracy. Thus if the logic of the market meant exclusion of a significant proportion of people, particularly the poor, it was necessary for the state to ensure the inclusion of such people in the economic sphere. As the colonial past and the nationalist present shaped the above strategy of economic development, conscious efforts were made to limit the degree of openness and of integration with the world economy, in pursuit of a more autonomous, if not self-reliant, development. It was a departure from the colonial era marked with open market and unregulated market that favoured metropolitan capital. What were the objectives? They were to catch up with the industrialised world and to improve the living conditions of the people. It was believed that primacy of the market mechanism would lead to excess consumption by the rich and under-investment in sectors critical for development. At the same time, it was assumed that agriculture was subject to 5

diminishing returns so industrialisation should be preferred, as it was supposed to bring increasing returns and greater employment opportunities. So the main inputs were: the lead role of public investment, industrialisation based on import substitution, the emphasis on the capital goods sector, industrial licensing to guide the investment in the private sector, relative neglect of agriculture, more emphasis on heavy industries than the traditionally small or cottage ones. Large doses of public investment created a physical infrastructure and helped in setting up of intermediate goods industries, that reduced the cost of inputs used by the private sector and increased the demand for goods produced by the private sector. Import substitution was implemented through the market protectionism guaranteeing market for the domestic capitalists not for the present but for the future also as demand exceeded the supply as a result of import restrictions. Due to its legacy of leading an anti-colonial struggle based on the core principles of nationalism and development, the Congress, became the ruling dominant party. There was a political consensus that industrialisation meant development and national interest was to be equated with people’s interest. Redistribution as a policy was not encouraged, as redistribution could be only of poverty that would have harmed savings. The foreign capitalists and the Zamindars were excluded from the political economy of development. Land reforms could not be implemented as the lower level bureaucracy in alliance with the local landed politician lobby obstructed it. The glaring loopholes in the legislation did not help as also the position of the upper caste landlords. The net result was that the owners turned into cultivators. Community development programmes, Panchayati system, social legislation including reservations in the educational institutions and employment were subsequently introduced. Let us make an appraisal of the development-planning model as it was implemented during this phase. What were the major gains? First, we can mention massive step up in terms of both industrial and agricultural growth. There was acceleration in the manufacturing industry in the 1950-1964 followed by deceleration until 1970s and again a renewed spurt led by an expansion of state expenditure. Second, there was a considerable diversification of industrial production as the capital goods sectors and other infant industries came up and achieved some level of production. Earlier only cotton, sugar and jute textiles existed. Third, domestic selfsufficiency in food production was achieved though food consumption remained low. It was a major achievement considering the fact that as late as in 1964-6, 12 percent of food grains required was imported. As for the major criticism of the development-planning model, it was in terms of the failure of land reforms and the rise of a high cost industrial economy. The strategy of import substitution based on export pessimism also came under question. What emerged was a complex and wasteful system involving corruption in an institutionalised manner. Despite its phenomenal success the green revolution came to be criticised for being energy intensive and not labour intensive. Then dry land farming neglected. Urban–rural [India vs. Bharat] divide in economic terms got accentuated despite massive government expenditure. In class terms a ‘dominant coalition’ comprising the proprietary classes namely the industrial

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capitalist class, the land owning class and the bureaucracy, as Pranab Bardhan and Sudipta Kaviraj among others have argued, have benefited most from the ‘developmental’ policies under socialism like the grant of subsidies both to the rich farmers as well as the industrial capitalist classes. The governments became the ‘hospital’ for the sick industrial units as nationalisation took place in the name of helping out the working class. The professionals in the public sectors holding the ‘intellectual capital’ benefited from the institutionalised corruption as the state played the regulatory role in the economic arena. In all fairness, however, there was always a conscious effort on the part of the Indian State to reconcile economic policies with the compulsions of the political process so that the conflicts in the interaction of economics and politics could be minimised. Politics of accommodation was followed. Welfarist policies were very much in place. That the sharing of the spoils was on agenda was evidenced in the form of the aim to have a socialistic pattern of society based on the twin objectives of eradication of poverty and equitable distribution of resources. Call for Industrial capitalism always combined with the radical rhetoric of a political democracy. In sociological terms it was thought, very much under the influence of the post-war western liberal modernisation/ political development theory, that modernisation would reduce the linguistic diversities. Secularism would do away with the religious identities and affirmative actions would make caste wither away. Overall, welfarist policies were also to contribute in the homogenising agenda of nation building. Thus, in India, the ideal of social democracy and a welfare state along the non-capitalist path to development seemed achievable.

4.6 POLITICAL DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: 1967-1990 The above consensus about the nature of democracy and development was broken as qualitative change took place in the interaction between the politics of democracy and economics of welfarism. The social groups who were on the margin of the society and were lying dormant became empowered with political voice. They now started making economic claims on a state that has successfully mediated between the politics and economics of Indian democracy. The ensuing process of mediation and reconciliation on the part of the Indian State had long-term economic and political consequences. The discordant voices were due to the non-fulfillment of the promises and expectations as there was a rise in the level of poverty. (34 percent in 1957 to 57 per cent in 1970-71) Crisis in the economy in the mid-1960s was evident in the form of food crisis, as India became a basket case having a ‘ship to mouth existence’. The devaluation of rupee followed and planning was to be suspended for three years as industrial sector as well as savings and investments suffered. The consensus was also broken because the second generation of political leadership that emerged in the aftermath of the Kamraj plan was devoid of the legitimacy, acceptance and charisma of the nationalist leadership. Regionalisation and ruralisation of the Indian politics took place, as the Congress no longer remained the dominant party having declined in both organisational and ideological sense. In the words of Yogendra Yadav, a ‘second democratic 7

upsurge’ took place in the form of a fundamental transformation in the terrain of politics which in turn is anchored in the process of social change. This transformation was a product of the change in the size, the composition and the self-definition of the voters as more and more citizens from the lower rungs of society participated in the electoral politics articulating and asserting their democratic rights. There was also the rise of the dominant caste rich peasantry like Jats, Kammas, Kapus, Yadavas and Reddis in the face of the decline of semi-feudal landlords. These castes deserted the Congress to join or to create opposition parties. The newly entrant class of the rich peasantry asked for its due share of the benefits derived from the economic policies and sought an upward mobility in the political process. The response of the state was in the form of a strong, new, emphasis on agriculture in the form of green revolution. Thus for achieving food security ‘betting on the strong’ policy was adopted. Under the policy the better-endowed peasants and regions received extensive support. Though land reforms measures that had received partial success with the notable exception of the states like Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir were now not pursued, the Poverty alleviation programmes like DPAP, DWARKA were launched. In the absence of serious programmatic efforts, the Congress under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, increasingly resorted to the Populist rhetoric in the form of the sloganeering, nationalisation of banks, abolition of privy purses. Dissent and regionalism in the Congress was met by a strategy of divide and rule by the ‘high command’ of the ruling Congress. The rich peasantry was co-opted into the dominant coalition as the majoritarianism under a representative democracy during the first phase gave way to authoritarianism. It all culminated into emergency that marked the overall failure of democracy in its procedural and substantive forms. In class terms the imposition of emergency can be also explained in the form of the lack of cohesion in the dominant coalition as the landed rich peasantry emerged in a big way being economically strong and numerically powerful. Political democracy had provided the institutional mechanisms to sustain the ruling coalition; lack of institutional mechanisms set in the crisis eventually. Nevertheless the victory of the Janata Party not only reflected the sagacity of the Indian electorate but also proved conclusively that the democratic spirit had embedded in the political imagination of the Indian people. The failure of Janata party government reflected the limitation of the coalition politics devoid of ideological unity and purpose. The return of a much chastened and insecure Indira Gandhi also saw the return of the politics of populism and patronage. Proliferation of subsidies resulted in massive state expenditure and loss of revenue, soft loans, loan waivers, sick firms being nationalised, cheap inputs being provided for the industrial capitalist class. In short, it was same regime under Indira Gandhi and later under Rajiv Gandhi in terms of its policies. The centralisation of political power, politics of nomination, marketisation of polity-all continued to remain the features of the period between 1980 to 1990. Massive allocation of funds was made under employment generating programmes like RLEGP, NREP, and IRDP. As Deepak Nayyar observes succinctly, there was hardly much interaction between the economics and democratic politics now unlike the Nehruvian India. The money and muscle factor entered into electoral arena now dominated by what Rajni Kothari called the vote contractor. Those with money gained in the battle of ballot, as suitcase politics became the order of the day. Caste, ethnicity and religion now played far more significant role as the identity politics asserted in

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continuation with the colonial legacy as it was first the colonial state that recognised different castes and communities and introduced separate electorate.

4.7 POLITICAL DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA: 1991 ONWARDS The post 1991 India has been witness to an absence of consensus regarding its strategy of economic development as well as the evolving nature of its democracy. The long-term vision of political leadership of Nehru has been replaced by short-term strategies, as the adoption of the new economic policies of liberalisation and the emergent politics of empowerment seem to be moving the economy and polity in the opposite directions. What is of most significance is the unwillingness of the Indian State to mediate in order to effect the conflict resolution. At this juncture it would be pertinent to address to the cause of a radical shift from the development-planning model to the model of economic liberalisation just after a minor economic crisis, when, despite decades of poverty, the mixed economy model continued unabated. And then, how come a minority government of Narasimha Rao could take such far-reaching policy change when the predecessor governments with the overwhelming majority like the Congress regime under Rajiv Gandhi were unable to do so despite apparent willingness? The possible answer can be in the form of the immediate economic compulsion of crisis management. The political economists like Jayati Ghosh, Pranab Bardhan, Amit Bhaduri and Deepak Nayyar have referred to a combination of the national and international factors that explain that the shift was a crisis-driven and not a strategy-driven change in the economic policies. These factors included the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union and the Communist regimes in the East European countries that were the biggest trading partners of India. The external debt crisis resulted as the short-term loans taken by Rajiv Gandhi administration could not be returned due to failure of the capital goods sector to export. Remittances from migrants in the gulf tapered off even as the oil prices increased in the aftermath of Gulf War. There was a flight of capital from the exchange market by the NRIs as they lost confidence in the social and political viability of the Indian State in the aftermath of the Mandal and Mandir controversy. Rise in consumerism indulged by the rising middle class, increased defence imports, inadequate resource mobilisation, competitive politics of populism were some of the immediate factors. And then the direct taxes were progressively reduced under the liberalising policies of Rajiv Gandhi regime while indirect taxes could not be raised. The international factors included the conditionalities imposed from above by the international monetary institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. The Latin American and Sub – Saharan Africa examples along with the success stories of the South Asian countries were also put forward under the influence of rise of the neo-liberalism as the only viable model of ‘good governance’. It was argued that economic growth and economic efficiency could be achieved with the reduction in the role of the state. Fiscal discipline, access to foreign capital and foreign technology were other factors that led to a shift from the state led capitalism to market driven capitalism.

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Do we have a future of the economic reforms in India? What are its implications for the democracy and development in India? It is very clear that the political instability in the present coalition era with frequent elections explains the prevalence of the short- term interests driven politics. Instead of taking hard measures to stabilise the economy and risking the adverse electoral verdict winning popular support in the elections, the continuation of populist measures have become the dominant factors in the policy making especially at the state level as a chief minister has an average of less than 3 years of tenure. Thus, the long-term perspective of the earlier phase is absent. In terms of democratic politics also, the consensus is gone. The corrupt and inefficient state level bureaucracy remains incompetent to carry out the reforms. Patronage, corruption and nepotism continue unabated. The nature of investment, whether foreign or domestic, remain suspect as most of the investments are in the consumer sector and not in the primary or capital goods sectors. Most of the investment, as Prabhat Patnaik argues, is in the form of ‘Hot money’ seeking quick returns. The rich state- poor state syndrome is also posing a challenge to the Indian federal democracy as the rich states, with their developed economic infrastructures, are acting as magnets where as the poorer states are being asked to fend for themselves without central assistance. Regionalism- an offshoot of colonialism and nationalism has been on rise as the regional imbalance increases. Initially it was the ethniccultural identity that was the basis for the reorganisation of the states but now the need for greater development and democratisation that is becoming the basis of the demand for separate statehood as was the case with the movements for the creation of Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Dialect communities are also joining the chorus as in the case of the demand for Bundelkhand and Ruhelkhand in UP. In the new economic regime, such demands are likely to receive impetus. The withdrawal of the state from the social sector has been hitting the poor people as the whole notion of welfarism has come under question. In the name of fiscal discipline the state investment in the primary sectors of employment, health and education has been dwindling. New economic policies driven by the market laws of demand, supply and maximisation of profit are hardly concerned with the labour especially those employed in the informal sector. The competing federal states also tend to overlook the labour rights as they look for private investment. There are other challenges to the success of the politics of economic reforms. The Gandhian values that still command influence among the masses are opposed to market economy as they emphasise on groups than individual interests. Profit making was not appreciated. The opposition to the economic reforms by the new political elite, failure to insulate the policy making from the populist politics, the contentious centre- state relations, competitiveness among the states are the other obstacles. Thus the ongoing neo-liberal project of development based on the processes of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation has come to be questioned by the advocates of sustainable development strategies as well as by new social movements questioning the rationale of the prosperity of some social groups at the cost of others constituting majority.

4.8

SUMMARY

The above projects of social transformation arose out of deliberative legislation rather than the 10

participative democratic process. However they were products of a consensus negotiated and evolved in the course of the anti-colonial movement. They were to be realised within the framework of a democratic polity. The idea of democracy is expected to inform, inspire and cohere with the state’s initiatives in the areas of welfare, secularism and development. As discussed above, the traditional cultural values of pluralism and tolerance provided substance to the task of democracy building in India. The recognition of the diversities and accommodation of their concerns was the hallmark of the constitutional project of nation building involving the overarching goal of achieving development. However the challenges before the Indian Democracy as of today remain formidable. The identities of caste and religion have bent the democratic idea to their own purpose. This is despite the fact that the social reforms and constitutional law have led to the dissolution of the oppressive bonds of caste and the social order and is no longer able to make the state redundant as in ancient past. As the social agenda of Indian democracy weakens due to the policies of economic liberalisation the challenge to the pluralist character of the Indian democracy from the ultra- rightist communal forces is coming up in the form of the demand to redefine democracy in emphatically majoritarian terms. Notwithstanding the upsurge of the new social movements taking up the issues relating to human rights, gender rights, backward classes and minority rights, environment, the civil Society in India is increasingly becoming the site of intense struggle involving the social groups. Ironically commitment to cultural rights for minority communities has been coming in the way of the principle of gender justice and also the Constitutionally guaranteed rights of equal citizenship as the simmering debate over the uniform civil code reveals.[refer Shah Bano case, 1986 and Supreme Court decisions most recent in 2003]. Identities have indeed been created through electoral politics leading to their empowerment but then the process has led to more conflict than competition. So new political entrants consider themselves as members of groups and communities, rather than liberal individuals. As for the interface between the ideas of democracy and development is concerned, the challenge to create a more equal society remains formidable as the economic disparities continue to mount in the era of globalisation [refer the external pressure from the WTO regime; Need to legislate global regimes in the matters such as trade, environmental regulation and intellectual property and setting the global standard for ‘good governance’]. To conclude, the economics of liberalisation and the politics of empowerment are going in opposite directions in the contemporary India. Willingness and ability of the Indian state as in the past to play the mediating role is simply not there. In such a situation there is a critical need to emphasise the role of the civil society and its citizens. For the politics of common goods and rights, it is imperative that the Indian State should adopt a strategy of selective globalisation that can enrich the pluralist character of the Indian democracy.

4.9

EXERCISES

1) Explain briefly the evolution of political democracy and economic development in India during the phase 1947-67.

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2) Analyse the process of transformation in the terrain of politics in the post 1967 era. 3) ‘The economics of liberalisation and the politics of empowerment are going in opposite directions in the contemporary India’, comment. 4) Write short notes on (1) Democracy and Development in the post colonial societies (2) Democracy as a form of good governance.

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UNIT 4 SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHY Structure 4.0

Objectives

4.1

Introduction

4.2

Size and Growth of Population of India 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3

4.3

Fertility 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4

4.4

Age Structure Sex Structure

Family Planning and Family Welfare 4.6.1 4.6.2

4.7

Measurement of Mortality Levels and Trends of Mortality in India Determinants of Declining Mortality Implications of Declining Mortality Levels and Trends of Infant Mortality in India Determinants of Infant and Child Mortality Implications of High Infant and Child Mortality

Age and Sex Structure 4.5.1 4.5.2

4.6

Measurement of Fertility Levels and Trends of Fertility in India Determinants of High Fertility Implications of High Fertility

Mortality 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.4.4 4.4.5 4.4.6 4.4.7

4.5

Size and Growth of Population Determinants of Population Change Implications of the Size and Growth of Population

Concept of Family Planning and Family Welfare Barriers to Family Planning

Population Policy of India 4.7.1 4.7.2 4.7.3

Components of the Current Population Policy Achievements of the Family Welfare Programme The Changing Trends

4.8

Let Us Sum Up

4.9

Key Words

4.10 Further Readings 4.11 Answers to Check Your Progress

4.0

OBJECTIVES

In this Unit, we have discussed various aspects of social demography in India as a social problem. After going through this Unit, you should be able to: z describe various aspects of the demographic situation in India, like the size and growth of the population, the fertility, mortality, age and sex structure of the population; 5

Structure in Tranistion – I

z z z z

4.1

explain the determinants and implications of these aspects of the demographic situation in India; examine the concept of family planning and family welfare and the barriers to the acceptance of family planning; state and describe the current status of the population policy of India; and describe the future prospects of family welfare programme in the light of the current achievements.

INTRODUCTION

The term ‘demography’ is derived from the Latin word ‘demos’ meaning people. Hence, demography is the science of population. On the one hand, demography is concerned with a quantitative study of the size, structure, characteristics and territorial distribution of human populations and the changes occurring in them. On the other hand, demography is also concerned with the study of the underlying causes or determinants of the population phenomena. It attempts to explain population phenomena and situations as well as the changes in them in the context of the biological, social, economic and political settings. Social demography looks at the population phenomena mainly at the social level. Keeping these perspectives in mind, Section 4.2 of this unit describes the size and growth of the population of India and their implications. Section 4.3 is devoted to fertility in India, its determinants and implications of high fertility. A detailed discussion of mortality in India, its determinants and implications of declining mortality and high infant and child mortality is undertaken in Section 4.4. The age and sex structure of the Indian population is described in Section 4.5, which also examines the determinants and implications of the age structure and the determinants of the sex structure. Section 4.6 is on family planning and family welfare and the barriers to family planning. Finally, section 4.7 is focused on the Population Policy of India, its evolution and components, achievements, achievements of the family welfare programme and its future prospects.

4.2

SIZE AND GROWTH OF POPULATION IN INDIA

The size and growth of population are two important components of the demographic phenomena in a developing country like India. These have severe implications on the social and economic spheres of our life. Hence, let us begin with a discussion on the size and growth of the population and its socio-economic implications.

4.2.1 Size and Growth of Population India is the second most populous country in the world, ranking only after China. In the last Census, taken in 2001, the population of India is found to be 103 crores; 18 crores of people were added to the population since the last Census taken in 1991. This means that more than around 1.8 crores of persons are added to India every year. This is more than the population of Australia.

6

India’s population has more than doubled since Independence. In the first postIndependence Census, taken in 1951, the population stood at 36 crores, with an average annual growth rate of 1.25 per cent for the decade 1941-51. However, the average annual growth rate for 1991-2001 was 2.1 per cent and the decadal growth rate was 21.32 per cent.

4.2.2 Determinants of Population Change

Social Demography

Three factors determine the change in the size of the population of any country: how many persons are born, how many persons die, and how many persons are added to the population after considering the number of persons leaving the country and the number of persons coming into the country. The last of these factors, that is, migration does not play a large role in determining population growth in the Indian context. It, therefore, becomes necessary to consider in greater detail the other two factors, that is, fertility and mortality.

4.2.3 Implications of the Size and Growth of Population The size of the population of India is itself staggering, and it is growing at a high rate. Despite intensive efforts through development programmes, the achievements have not been able to keep pace with the needs of the growing population. The per capita production of food grains has increased over the years, but the per capita increase has been only marginal because of the high growth rate of the populations. The housing shortage has also been increasing over the years. The norms for the health and medical services have not been met. The upward trend in the gross and net national products is not reflected in the per capita income to the same extent. The situation related to unemployment and underemployment reflects the inability of the employment market to absorb the pressures of increasingly large labour force. The growth rate of the population may not appear to be too high. Yet when applied to a large base population, the addition to the population is quite staggering. Check Your Progress 1 1)

Mark the correct answer. According to the 2001 Census, India’s population was: a) b) c) d)

2)

65 crores 85 crores 103 crores 113 crores

What are the implications of the large size and high growth rate of India’s population? Answer in about seven lines. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

4.3

FERTILITY

As you know, fertility is an important determinant of population growth. In this section, we shall discuss the measurement, levels and trends and implications of high fertility.

7

Structure in Tranistion – I

4.3.1 Measurement of Fertility At the outset, it is necessary to differentiate between fecundity and fertility. Fecundity refers to the physiological capacity to reproduce. Fertility, on the other hand, refers to the actual reproductive performance of an individual or a group. While there is no direct measurement of fecundity, fertility can be studied from the statistics of births. The crude birth rate is an important measure of fertility for which only live births, that is, children born alive are taken into account. The crude birth rate is calculated by dividing the number of live births occuring during a calender year in a specified areas by the midyear population of that year. The crude birth rate is generally expressed per thousand of population. It is computed in the following manner: Total number of live births during a year 1000 Total population in the middle of that year The crude birth rate directly points to the contribution of fertility to the growth rate of the population. It suffers from certain limitations mainly because it has in the denominator the total population which includes males as well as very young and very old women who are biologically not capable of having babies. There are other more refined fertility measures like the general fertility rate, the age-specific fertility rates, etc., that overcome these limitations, but these do not concern us here.

4.3.2 Levels and Trends of Fertility in India As in other developing countries, the crude birth rate has been quite high in India. In the first decade of the twentieth century, the estimated birth rate for India was as high as 49.2 per thousand population. In the decade 1951-61, that is, the decade immediately following Independence, the birth rate declined by only four points, and was around 45 per thousand population. Since 1961, however, the birth rate has been progressively declining, though not at a very fast pace. According to the estimates of the sample registration system, the birth rate in India, in 1988, stood at 31.3 per thousand population. For the same year, while it was 32.8 per thousand population for the rural areas, it was 26.0 per thousand population for the urban areas. According to the Sample Registration System, the birth rate in India in 2002 was 25.8 per thousand population. Significantly there have been much regional variations among the states.

4.3.3 Determinants of High Fertility Several factors contribute to the high fertility of Indian women. Let us examine some of these factors:

8

i)

All the religions of the world, except Buddhism, contain injunctions to their followers to breed and multiply. It is, therefore, not surprising that belief in high fertility has been strongly supported by religions and social institutions in India, leading to appropriate norms about family size.

ii)

Another factor contributing to high fertility is the universality of the institution of marriage. Amongst the Hindus, a man is expected to go through the various stages of his life (Ashramas), performing the duties attached to each stage. Marriage is considered one such duty. For the

Hindu woman, marriage is considered essential, because it is the only sacrament she is entitled to, though the Hindu man goes through several sacraments throughout his life.

Social Demography

iii) Till recently, the custom in India required the Hindu girls to be married off before they entered puberty. Even today, despite legislation forbidding the marriage of girls before they are 18 years of age, many girls are married off before they attain that age. In India, traditionally women start childbearing at an early age, and continue to do so till they cross the age at which they are no longer biologically capable of bearing children. iv) As in all traditional societies, in India too, great emphasis is laid on bearing children. A woman, who does not bear children, is looked down upon in society. In fact, the new daughter-in-law attains her rightful status in the family only after she produces a child, preferably a son. v)

The preference for sons is deeply ingrained in the Indian culture. Sons are required for extending the family line and for looking after the parents in their old age. Among the Hindus, a son is desired not only for the continuation of the family line and for providing security in old age, but also for ceremoniously kindling the funeral pyre and, thus, effecting the salvation of his father’s soul. The preference for sons is so high in the Indian society that a couple may continue to have several daughters and still not stop childbearing in the hope of having at least one son.

vi) In Indian society, a fatalistic attitude is ingrained and fostered from childhood. Such an attitude acts as a strong influence against any action that calls for the exercise of the right of self-determination with reference to reproduction. Children are considered to be gifts of God, and people believe that it is not upto them to decide on the number of children. High infant and child mortality rates also contribute to a large family size. A couple may have a large number of children in the hope that at least a few of them will survive upto adulthood. The low status of women is also a contributing factor to high fertility. Women, unquestioningly, accept excessive childbearing without any alternative avenues for self-expression. vii) Children in the Indian society have a great economic, social, cultural as well as religious value. Fertility of Indian women is, therefore, high. Often, there is no economic motivation for restricting the number of children, because the biological parents may not necessarily be called upon to provide for the basic needs of their own children since the extended family is jointly responsible for all the children born into it. viii) Again in the absence of widespread adoption of methods of conception control, the fertility of Indian women continues to remain high. It is important that none of these factors is to be seen in isolation. Indeed, it is the combination of several factors, that contribute towards the high fertility rate in India. While considering the factors contributing to high fertility, it is necessary also to consider traditional Indian norms which regulate the reproductive behaviour of couples. Breast-feeding is universally practiced in Indian sub-continent and this has an inhibiting influence on conception. Certain taboos are also practiced during the postpartum period when the couple is expected to abstain from sexual activity. The practice of going to the parental home for delivery, specially the first one, common in some parts of the country

9

Structure in Tranistion – I

also ensures abstinence after childbirth leading to postponement of the next pregnancy. Cohabitation is also prohibited on certain specified days in the month. It is also common knowledge that a woman would be ridiculed if she continued to bear children after she had become a grandmother.

4.3.4 Implications of High Fertility Apart from contributing in a big way to the population problem of the country, high fertility affects the family and, in turn, society in many ways. Women are tied down to child-bearing and child-rearing for the best years of their productive lives. They are, therefore, denied the opportunity to explore other avenues for self-expression and self-development. This could lead to frustration. Excessive child-bearing affects their own health and that of their children. Looking after a large number of children puts a further strain on the slender physical and emotional resources of such women. The burden of providing for a large family sits heavily on the bread-winner of the family. The constant struggle to maintain a subsistence level is exhausting. To escape from the problems of everyday life, he may take to drinking. This would lead to further deterioration of the economic and emotional well-being of the family. The children, often unwanted, unloved and neglected, are left to their own devices to make life bearable. Indulgence in delinquency is sometimes the result. The children in large families often have to start working at a very early age to supplement the slender financial resources of the family. They are, therefore,

10

Social Impacts of High Fertility

denied the opportunity to go to school and get educated. The girl child is the worst sufferer. She is often not sent to school at all, or is withdrawn from school at an early age to help her mother in carrying out domestic chores and to look after her younger siblings when the mother is at work. Early marriage pushes her into child-bearing, and the vicious cycle continues. The children, both boys and girls, in a large family are thus often denied the joys of childhood, and are pushed into adult roles at a very early age.

Social Demography

Happy and healthy families are the very foundation on which a healthy society is built. Excessive fertility, as one of the factors leading to family unhappiness and ill health, needs to be curbed in order to build up a healthy society. Check Your Progress 2 1)

Write down the formula for computing the crude birth rate. Use about two lines. ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

2)

List the determinants of high fertility in India. Use about five lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

3)

What are the implications of high fertility for the family and society? Use about ten lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

4.4

MORTALITY

Mortality is an important determinant of population. Let us examine a few important aspects of mortality.

11

Structure in Tranistion – I

4.4.1 Measurement of Mortality Various measures of mortality are employed in the analysis of mortality. For a general understanding of the process of mortality, it is sufficient to describe three basic measures of mortality: the crude death rate, the expectation of life at birth, and the infant mortality rate. i)

Crude Death Rate

The Crude death rate is the ratio of the total registered deaths occurring in a specified calendar year to the total mid-year population of that year, multiplied by 1000. It is computed in the following manner: No. of registered deaths during a year 1000 Total population in the middle of that year As in the case of the crude birth rate, the crude death rate also suffers from several limitations, mainly because it considers the mortality experience of different groups in the population together. The age and sex structure is not taken into account. For instance, a country having a very large proportion of elderly people may have the same crude death rate as that in another country where this proportion is very low. The mortality conditions of these countries cannot be considered to be similar. It is, therefore, customary to calculate age specific death rates, and report them separately for the males and the females. ii)

Expectation of Life at Birth

The average expectation of life at birth is a good measure of the level of mortality because it is not affected by the age structure of the population. The term “average expectation of life” or life expectancy represents the average number of years of life which a cohort of new-born babies (that is, those born in the same year) may be expected to live if they are subjected to the risks of death at each year, according to the age-specific mortality rates prevailing in the country at the time to which the measure refers. This measure is complicated to calculate but easy to understand. iii) Infant Mortality Rate Infants are defined in demography as all those children in the first year of life who have not yet reached age one, that is, those who have not celebrated their first birthday. Infants are studied separately, as mortality during the first year of life is invariably high. In countries like India, where health conditions are poor, infant deaths account for a substantial number of all deaths. The infant mortality rate is, therefore, often used as an indicator for determining the socio-economic status of a country and the quality of life in it. Box 1

Measurement of Infant Mortality

The infant mortality rate is generally computed as a ratio of infant deaths (that is, deaths of children under one year of age) registered in a calendar year to the total number of live births (children born alive) registered in the same year. It is computed in the following manner: Number of deaths below one year registered during the calendar year Number of live births registered during the same year

12

1000

It needs to be noted that this rate is only an approximate measure of infant mortality, for no adjustment is made for the fact that some of the infants dying in the year considered were born in the preceding year.

4.4.2 Levels and Trends of Mortality in India

Social Demography

Up to 1921, the crude death rate in India was quite high (between 40 and 50 per thousand population), the highest being for the decade 1911-21, mainly because of the influenza epidemic in 1918, when more than 15 million persons died. Since 1921, the death rate has been declining. From 1911-21 to 1971-81, that is, in a period of 60 years, the average annual death rate declined from 48.6 per thousand population to 14.9 per thousand population – a reduction of more than 69 per cent. The estimates of the Sample Registration System indicate that for the year 1988, the crude death rate was 11.0 per thousand population. In 2000 the crude death rate has declined to 8.5 per thousand population. The average expectation of life at birth has also increased over the years. During 1911-21, it was 19.4 years for the males, 20.9 years for the females, and 20.1 years when both sexes were considered together. These figures may be considered to be the lowest for the country, and one of the lowest anywhere in the world. For the 1941-51 decade, these figures were 32.5 years for the males, 31.7 years for the females, and 32.1 years when both sexes were considered together. During the period 1981-86, life expectancy was 55.6 years for the males, 56.4 years for the females, and 56.0 years when both sexes were considered together. The latest statistics indicates that the average life expectancy in India is 63.3 years. While the female life expectancy is 63.8 years, for male it is 62.8 years.

4.4.3 Determinants of Declining Mortality The decline in mortality in India has been mainly due to public health and diseasecontrol measures, which were mostly imported from the developed countries. These include DDT spraying, the use of antibiotics like penicillin and vaccines against many communicable diseases like tuberculosis, polio, typhoid, cholera and several childhood diseases. Dreaded “killer diseases” like plague and smallpox have been completely eradicated. The extension of health and medical services to different parts of the country and the application of advances in the medical sciences have contributed in a big way to the decline in mortality in India. The effect of severe famines have also been considerably reduced by preventive and relief measures. Much still remains to be achieved for bringing about further decline in mortality.

4.4.4 Implications of Declining Mortality The decline in the death rate and high birth rate have been the main factor responsible for the rapid growth of population, as the declining death rates have not been accompanied by corresponding declines in the birth rates. The increased average expectation of life at birth has resulted in a higher proportion of persons in the older age group, that is, those above the age of 60. At present, the percentage of the aged in India (6.49 in 1981) is not as high as that in the developed countries (for example, 16.47 in the United States, in 1984). The absolute numbers are, however, quite high. In our country aged persons, do not necessarily contribute to the national income or the family income. They have to be looked after, and the expenditure on their health and medical needs has to be met. When strong supports are not

13

Structure in Tranistion – I

provided by the joint family, the burden falls on society. Old-age homes or foster care homes for the aged have to be provided through the State funds, when the aged are not in a position to incur the expenditure involved. Many of the state governments have introduced the scheme of pensions for the aged in a limited scale. However, for a poor country like India, all such success of such measures needs a political commitment.

4.4.5 Levels and Trends of Infant Mortality in India In India, the infant mortality rate was as high as 140 per thousand live births in 1969. In 1989, the infant mortality rate was less than 100 per thousand live births. India has still a long way to go for achieving the goal of an infant mortality rate of below 60 per thousand live births by the year 2000 A.D.–one of the goals to be reached for securing ‘Health for All’ by 2000 A.D. However in 2002 the infant mortality rate of India was 68 per thousand life births. Box 2. Variation in the Estimated Death Rates of the Children Aged 0-4 years by Sex and residence in India and in its Major States, 1998. Total

M

F

India

22.5

21.0

24.1

Andhara

18.1

17.8

18.4

Assam

27.5

29.2

25.6

Bihar

22.9

21.2

24.8

Gujarat

19.6

18.5

20.9

Haryana

22.4

19.4

26.2

Himachal

16.7

14.1

19.7

Karnataka

16.7

16.5

16.8

3.6

4.2

3.0

Madhya Pradesh

32.6

31.6

33.7

Maharashtra

12.7

11.2

14.3

Orissa

29.0

28.7

29.4

Punjab

16.8

15.9

17.9

Rajasthan

27.7

27.3

28.1

Tamil Nadu

13.0

12.3

13.8

Uttar Pradesh

29.6

25.3

34.5

West Bengal

15.0

16.2

13.8

Kerala

Source : Registrar General of India, Sample Registration System

14

All India : Rural Total 24.8

M 23.2

Social Demography

F 26.6

All India : Urban Total 12.8

M 12.0

F 13.6

4.4.6 Determinants of Infant and Child Mortality The determinants of mortality during the neonatal period (that is, the first four weeks of the baby’s life) on the one hand, and the post–neonatal period (that is, the period between one and 11 months) together with the childhood period (that is, the period between one and four years) on the other, are quite different. i)

Neonatal Mortality

Biological factors play a dominant role in determining the level of neonatal mortality. These factors are also known as endogenous factors. a)

It is known that neonatal mortality rates are higher when the mother is below the age of 18 or above 35, when the parity is above 4, and when the interval between two births is less than one year. These conditions are fairly common in our country, leading to high infant mortality.

b)

While the standards laid down by the World Health Organisation specify that babies with a birth weight of less than 2,500 grams should be considered as “high risk” babies, needing special care, 24 to 37 per cent of Indian babies have a birth weight below 2,500 grams without the possibility of receiving any special care.

c)

Ante-natal care, which is generally concerned with the pregnant woman’s well-being is lacking in our country. It is, therefore, not possible to identify high risk cases requiring special care, to administer tetanus toxoid injections for immunising the unborn child against tetanus, and to provide iron and folic acid tablets to prevent anaemia among pregnant women. An anemic mother gives birth to a low-weight baby with slender chances of survival.

d)

Proper hygienic conditions and medical care during delivery are not ensured, specially in the rural areas. The delivery is generally conducted by an untrained traditional birth attendant (dai) or an elderly relative. The scheme of providing dais with training has not yet reached all parts of the country.

e)

Fortunately, the practice of breast-feeding is widespread in our country. This protects the baby from exposure to several infections. Breast-feeding is, however, initiated only after 48 to 72 hours of birth, and is absolutely prohibited during the first 24 hours. If the baby is put to the breast soon after birth, it acquires several immunities which are passed on by the mother through colostrum (the first flow of breast milk).

This opportunity to acquire immunity against several diseases is denied to the baby, exposing it to the risk of neonatal mortality. 15

Structure in Tranistion – I

ii)

Post-neonatal and Child Mortality

The factors contributing to the post-neonatal and child mortality are generally not biological, but arise out of the environment and the behavioural response to it. These factors are also known as exogenous factors. a)

Common childhood diseases, such as, diptheria, pertusis (whooping cough), measles and polio as well as tuberculosis contribute substantially to the post-neonatal and child mortality. Deaths due to these diseases can be prevented, but immunisation services are either not available or easily accessible in the rural areas, or may not be accepted by the rural population either because of ignorance and superstition or sheer apathy.

b)

Diarrhoea and its consequence, and dehydration, is another factor contributing heavily to post-natal and child mortality. It has been estimated that every year about 1.5 million children under the age of five years die due to diarrhoea, of which 60 to 70 per cent die of dehydration. The oral rehydration therapy introduced in recent years does not involve heavy expenditure or undue efforts on the part of those who look after the affected child. The oral rehydration solution can be prepared at home with a tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of salt and a glass of boiled water. The material for preparing the solution can also be obtained from the government health workers or the local Health Guide. The obstacle, however, is in the form of the age-old traditional belief that a child should not be given milk or any kind of food during an attack of diarrhoea. The dehydration that sets in due to diarrhoea can be so severe that the slightest delay in treatment can cost the child its life. On the other hand, the oral rehydration solution, which can be considered a household remedy, not only prevents dehydration, but also controls diarrhoea.

c)

Nutritional deficiency is another factor contributing to child mortality. The National Institute of Nutrition found in a study conducted in 1981 that around 85 per cent of the children under four years were malnourished, of whom almost 6 per cent were severely malnourished. These malnourished children are also more prone to contact diarrhoea and other debilitating diseases, exposing them to the risk of dying during childhood. Malnourishment itself could also be a result of attacks of childhood diseases. This vicious circle, unless broken effectively through an educational and service programme, will continue to result in high infant and child mortality rates.

4.4.7 Implications of High Infant and Child Mortality

16

It has been observed that wherever infant and child mortality is high, fertility is also high and vice-versa. A couple is interested in the number of surviving children and not in the number of children born. Because of the high levels of infant and child mortality, a couple may go in for a large number of children in the hope that at least a few would survive to adulthood. Also, when a child dies, the parents are keen to replace it as soon as possible by another. It is also known that when a child dies in infancy, the mother is denied the natural protection from pregnancy provided through breast-feeding. She is then likely to conceive early, leading to high fertility.

Thus, apart from the emotional trauma caused to parents, high infant and child mortality rates result in high fertility rates leading to a population problem. Looking after these children, who die before they can start contributing to the country’s well being, also places a heavy burden on the country’s meager resources. It needs to be reiterated that the level of the infant mortality rate of a country is considered as an important indicator of the socio-economic status of that country and the quality of life in it.

Social Demography

Check Your Progress 3 1)

Define “average expectation of life” or “life expectancy”. Use five lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

2)

What is meant by neo mortality? Use three lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

3)

What are the factors contributing to high neo natal mortality in India? Mention at least seven factors. Use three lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

4)

List three factors contributing to high infant and child mortality in India. Use two lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

4.5

AGE AND SEX STRUCTURE

Age and sex are the basic characteristics or the biological attributes of any population. These characteristics or attributes affect not only the demographic structure, but also the social, economic and political structure of the population. Age and sex are also important factors, because they are indicators of social status. Each individual is ascribed a certain status in society on the basis of sex and age. Status and roles are culturally determined, and vary from one culture to another. Even within the same culture, status and roles may undergo changes over a period of time. While in traditional societies, age demands respect, modern societies may be more youth-oriented. While the age structure of a

17

Structure in Tranistion – I

population may have implications for the status and roles of older persons, the sex structure may be a reflection of the social reality. The age-sex structure of a population is both the determinant and consequence of birth and death rates, internal and international migration, marital status composition, manpower, and the gross national product. Planning regarding educational and health services, housing, etc., is done on the basis of the age structure of the population.

4.5.1 Age Structure i)

Measurement of the Age Structure

It is customary to classify age data in five year age groups, such as 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, and so on. The simplest measure to study the age structure of any population is the percentage distribution of the population based on the absolute numbers in various five-year age groups. This percentage distribution indicates the number of persons in an age group, if the total number of persons considered is 100. This measure is useful for understanding and describing the age structure of any population. It can also be used to compare the age structure of two or more populations at a point of time, or to compare the age structure of the same population at different points of time. Age-sex pyramids can also be constructed with the help of age-sex histograms. Box 3. Dependency Ratio An important measure to study the structure of the population is the dependency ratio. This measure indicates the number of dependents per 100 workers. Three age groups are considered for this purpose. The population in the age group 15-50 or 15-64 is considered to be the working population, the population below 15 is considered as young dependents and the population above either 60 or 65 is considered to be old dependents. The dependency ratio is computed by using the following formula. Dependency Ratio =

Population in the age group 0-14 + Population in the age group 60 + or 65 + Population in the age group 15-59 or 15-64

The dependency ratio gives us only a broad idea of economic dependency in any population, and it is not a full measure for assessing the dependency burden. It needs to be noted that not all persons in the working age group (15-59 or 15-64) are employed and not all those in the dependent age groups (0-14 and 60+ or 65 +) are economic dependents. In a country like India, children start working at a very early age as helping hands to the parents among craftsmen, poor agriculturalists or newspaper hawkers or as hotel boys. In rural areas, old people continue to engage themselves in some kind of economic activity, as there is no retirement age in an agricultural economy. Then there are activities like those of doctors, lawyers, traders and other self-employed persons for whom the age factor does not lead to retirement from economic activity.

ii)

Age Structure in India

Determinants and Implications 18

India is an old country with a large young population belonging to the age group of 0-14 years and a growing number of aged population in the age group of above 50 years.

According to the 1991 Census, the young dependency ratio in India was 67.2, meaning that 100 persons in the working age group (15-59) had to support 67.2 children in the age group of 0-14 years. Simiarly old dependences in India is to the extent of 12.2.

Social Demography

The age structure of any population is determined by the levels of fertility, mortality and migration. Of these three factors, migration can affect the age structure of any population only when the migrants are concentrated in any one age group and the volume of migration is large. India has a large “young” population because the birth rates are high and the number of children born is large. The sustained high level of birth rates has resulted in a large proportion of children and a small proportion of old population. On the other hand, in economically developed countries, the birth rates are low and less children are born. The low birth rats result in a higher proportion of old people. Compared to the role of fertility, the role of mortality in determining the age structure of a population is limited, specially when mortality is high. Rapid reductions in mortality and lengthening of the lifespan result in a “younger” population. This is mainly because the improvement is first experienced by the infants and children. More infants and children survive, leading to an increase in the proportion of the young persons in the population as in the case of India. On the other hand, when the mortality level is very low, there is no further scope for any large increases in survivorship during infancy and early childhood, and any improvement in mortality conditions would affect the older age group and lead to a further aging of the population, that is, increase in the proportion of older persons in the population. Such a situation prevails in developed countries like Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, France and Australia. A young population implies a heavy burden on the economy of the country as they have to be educated, clothed and provided shelter, while they themselves are not expected to contribute immediately to the family or national economy. One other implication of the young age structure of the Indian population is that it also has the potential of the high growth rates of the population in further years. Within a few years, these children will grow up, get married and start reproducing. When the number of couples in the reproductive age group (wife in the age group 15-44) is high, the birth rate can also be expected to be high, even with moderate fertility. This, in turn, leads to a high population growth rate.

4.5.2 Sex Structure In this section we shall discuss the measurement of sex structure, sex ratio and its determinants in India. i) Measurement of Sex Structure Two measures are generally used for studying the age structure of any population–(1) the percentage of males in the population or the masculinity proportion, and (2) the sex ratio. Of these two measures, the sex ratio is more frequently used in the study of the population. The sex ratio of a population may be expressed either as the number of males per 100 females or the number of females per 100 males. The Indian Census

19

Structure in Tranistion – I

has preferred to define the sex ratio as the number of females per 1000 males, though the definition of the sex ratio followed the world over is the number of the males per 100 females. ii) Sex Ratio in India and its Determinants Generally, in most countries, the overall sex ratio of the population is favourable to the females, that is, there are more females than males in the population. When the situation is different, that is, when there are more males than females in the population, this is considered unusual. The population statistics available through the Census indicate that the sex ratio in India has always been adverse to the females, that is, the number of the females per 1,000 males has always been less than 1,000. In fact, the sex ratio has been declining from 972 in 1901 to 930 in 1971. A slight improvement was registered in the 1951 Census, and again during the 1981 Census, but the 1991 Census registered a fall by five points-from 934 in 1981 to 929 in 1991. In 2001, female sex ratio was 933, which was an improvement over the 1991 figure. The following three factors are responsible for determining the sex ratio of any population: (1) the sex ratio at birth, (2) the sex ratio of the deceased persons and (3) the sex ratio of the net migrants. In a developing country like India, another factor could be added to this list. There is always a possibility that women are under-enumerated because they are not reported as members of the household by the head of the household, when the Census enumerator collects the information. Of all these factors, high mortality of the females appears to be the most plausible explanation for the sex ratio in India, which is adverse to the females. Though biologically stronger than the male, the female in India is in a socially and culturally disadvantaged position, and has been accorded an inferior status over the centuries. The death rates for the females in most age groups are higher than those for the males. Of the other factors, the sex ratio of new born babies is not much different from that in other countries. Hence, a sex ratio that is adverse to the females, a peculiarity of the Indian demographic picture, need not be attributed to this factor. As for international migration of men, it is quite insignificant and is, therefore, not found to affect the sex ratio in India. Under-enumeration of the females cannot explain more than a very small part of the numerical imbalance between the males and the females in India. Check Your Progress 4 1)

Why is India known as an old country with a large young population? Use four lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

2)

Why is the sex ratio not favourable to women in India? Use three lines to answer. ...............................................................................................................

20

............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

4.6

FAMILY PLANNING AND FAMILY WELFARE

Social Demography

In India, the concepts of family planning and family welfare are very important. Let us know the meanings of the concepts.

4.6.1 Concept of Family Planning and Family Welfare At the level of the family, family planning implies having only the desired number of children. Thus family planning implies both limitation of the family to a number considered appropriate to the resources of the family as well as proper spacing between the children. The adoption of family planning, obviously, requires conscious efforts made by the couple to control conception. As a social movement, family planning implies an organised effort by a group of people to initiate change in the child-bearing practices of the people by creating a favourable atmosphere. The birth control movement, as it was initially called, aimed at relieving women of excessive child-bearing, and was seen as a way of achieving the emancipation of women through the right of selfdetermination. A family planning programme involves a co-ordinated group of activities, maintained over a period of time, and aimed at fostering a change in the childbearing behaviour of the females. The aim of the family planning programme may either be to improve the health status of women and their children and/or of reducing the birth rate, and thus reducing the population growth rate of the country. Most countries with a population control policy also emphasise the health aspects of family planning. The various components of the family planning programme are : (1) Information, Education and Communication Activities, (2) Contraceptives: Supplies and Services, (3) Training of Personnel, (4) Research, and (5) Administrative Infrastructure. When the government concerns itself with promoting the total welfare of the family and the community, through family planning, the programme consists of a wide range of activities, covering education, health, maternity and child care, family planning and nutrition. Since 1977, the Indian family planning programme is known as the family welfare programme with greater emphasis on the welfare approach to the problem.

4.6.2 Barriers to Family Planning Most of the reasons mentioned in Sub-section 4.3.3, under Determinants of High Fertility, act as barriers to the acceptance of family planning, which implies controlling fertility. These barriers include fatalism, and emphasis placed on having children in the Indian culture and religious beliefs. In addition, the use of various methods of family planning also pose certain difficulties. The methods are not always acceptable because of the possible side-effects, perceived unaesthetic attributes or the discipline their use demands. All methods are not equally effective. While sterilisation, male and female, can be considered one hundred per cent effective, a method like the IUD is considered to be 95 per cent effective, and the conventional contraceptive like the condom is considered to be only 50 per cent effective. Oral pills are almost

21

Structure in Tranistion – I

one hundred per cent effective, but their effectiveness depends on taking them regularly and on following a certain regime. The easy availability of supplies and services is a necessary condition for the practice or adoption of family planning. When supplies and services are not easily available, it becomes difficult for people to practise or adopt family planning, even when they are inclined to do so. Activity 1 Read Sub-section 4.3.3 (Determinants of High Fertility) and Sub-Section 4.6.2. (Barriers to Family Planning) very carefully. Then write an essay comparing the factors mentioned in these sections with the situation prevailing in your society. Exchange your note, if possible, with your co-learners at the Study Centre.

4.7

POPULATION POLICY OF INDIA

India has the distinction of being the first country in the world to have a fully government-supported family planning programme. This is not an overnight development. The foundations were laid in the early part of the twentieth century. Even during the pre-independence period, the intellectual elite among the Indians showed some concern about the population issue, and supported the cause of birth control. Their British rulers, however, kept aloof from this controversial issue. Support for birth control was evident when the Health Survey and Development Committee set up by the Government of India, in 1945, under chairmanship of Sir Joseph Bhore, recommended that birth control services should be provided for the promotion of the health of mothers and children. The pressure from the intellectuals that the government formulate a policy for disseminating information on birth control and for encouraging its practice was mounting during the pre-independence period.

4.7.1 Components of the Current Population Policy With the advent of Independence, family planning as a measure of population control has been given top priority in the development plans of the country, starting with the First Five Year Plan (1951-56). The increasing financial allocations for the family planning programme in each sucessive plan are also indicative of the growing emphasis accorded to the family planning programme. a)

National Population Policy 1976 and 1977

Though implied in the family planning programme undertaken by the government, the population policy of the country was not explicitly stated, and it remained unarticulated in the formal sense. It was on April 16, 1976 that the National Population Policy was declared. It underwent some modifications in June, 1977.

22

Till the National Population Policy was first declared in April, 1976, the Population Policy of India was generally equated with the family planning policy. One of the grounds on which India was criticised in international circles was that other solutions to the population policy were ignored. The statement of the population policy took into account some of the complex relationships

between the social, economic and political aspects of the population problem. It included appropriate measures to tackle the population problem, many of which went “beyond family planning”. The policy statement also contained several approaches to the improvement of the family planning programme.

Social Demography

The statement of policy regarding the Family Welfare Programme issued on June 29, 1977, eliminates all measures which have the slightest element of compulsion or coersion, and emphasis on the welfare approach to the problem. The name of the family planning programme, has also been changed to the family welfare programme to reflect the government’s anxiety to promote through the programme the total welfare of the family and the community. Many of the measures outlined in the National Population Policy, declared in 1976, have been retained. These include the following: (1) raising the minimum legal age at marriage for girls to 18 and for boys to 21, (2) taking the population figure of 1971 till the year 2001, in all cases where population is a factor in the sharing of the Central resources with the States, as in allocation of the Central assistance to the State Plans, devolution of taxes and duties and grants-in-aid, (3) accepting the principle of linking 8 per cent of the central assistance to the State Plans with their performance and success in the family welfare programme, (4) including population education in the formal school education system, (5) plans to popularise the family welfare programme and use of all media for this purpose, (6) participation of voluntary organisations in the implementation of the programme, (7) improvement of women’s educational level, both through formal and non-formal channels. The Policy Statement also declared that the government would give special attention to the necessary research inputs in the field of reproductive biology and contraception. b)

National Population Policy 2000

India has framed a new National Population Policy in 2000. It enumerates certain socio-demographic goods to be achieved by 2010 which will lead to achieving population stabilisation by 2045. The policy has identified the immediate objectives as meeting the unmet needs for contraception, health care infrastructure and trained health personnel and to provide integrated service delivery with the following interventions: i)

Strengthen community health centres, primary health centres and subcentres,

ii)

Augment skills of health personnel and health care providers

iii) Bring about convergence in the implementation of related social sector programme to make Family Welfare Programme people centered. iv) Integrate package of essential services at village and household levels by extending basic reproductive and child health care through mobile health clinics and counselling services; and explore the possibility of accrediting private medical practitioners and assigning them to defined beneficiary groups to provide these services (Govt. of India 2003)

4.7.2 Achievements of the Family Welfare Programme As of March, 1989, the number of couples protected through some method of family planning was estimated to be 64.79 million, forming 46.7 per cent of the estimated 138.9 million eligible couples (with wife in the reproductive age

23

Structure in Tranistion – I

group 15-44) in the country. Taking into account the use-effectiveness of various methods, which is assumed to be 100 per cent for sterilisation and oral pills, 95 per cent for IUD and 50 per cent for conventional contraceptives like the condom, the number of couples effectively protected as of March, 1989, was 58.14 million, forming 41.9 per cent of the total eligible couples. Sterilisation is the most widely accepted method, effectively protecting 29.8 per cent of the eligible couples. Of the total eligible couples, 5.9 per cent are effectively protected by IUD, 4.5 per cent by conventional contraceptives, 1.7 per cent by oral pills. While terminal methods, like the male and female sterilisation, continue to be the major share, it is worth noting that the female sterilisation is more highly favoured than the male sterilisation; 86.8 per cent of the total sterilisations done in 1988-89 were female sterilisations. The statistics for 1987-88 indicate that, on an average, the age of the wife for vasectomy acceptors is 32.4 years, for tubectomy acceptors it is 30.2 years and for IUD it is 27.4 years. These couples have, on an average, 3.6, 3.3. and 2.3 living children at the time of the acceptance of vasectomy, tubectomy and IUD respectively. During 2001-2002, 47.27 lakh sterilisations were performed in the country. The number of Intra-Ulterine Device (IUD) insertions during the same period was 62.02 lakhs. Besides, there were 145.69 lakhs of candom users and 74.75 lakhs of Oral Pill (OP) users. The use of contraceptives has been increased from 40.06% in 1992-93 to 48.2% in 1998-1999. (Govt. of India 2003) It can be observed that family planning is accepted generally after the most fertile period in a woman’s life (up to 29 years) is over, and when the couple has exceeded the norm of two children advocated by the government. Inter-State variations in family planning performance are also observed. States like Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Union Territories like Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi and Pondicherry have a higher percentage of effectively protected couples than the all-India average. All the other States have recorded a lower percentage of effectively protected couples than the all-India average, except for Andhra Pradesh, where this percentage is identical to the all-India average.

4.7.3 The Changing Trends It is obvious that the family welfare programme slowly recovering from the setback it received after the Emergency, during which some coercive methods were used for achieving spectacular results.

24

The long-term goal to be achieved for the country is to reach a replacement level of unity (net reproduction rate of one, when each woman will be replaced by only one daughter). The demographic goals laid down as part of the National Health Policy are to achieve by 2000 A.D., a birth rate of 21 per thousand population and an effective protection rate of 60 per cent. The corresponding mid-term goals to be reached by the end of the Seventh Plan (1990) are: crude birth rate of 29.1 and effective couple protection rate of 42 per cent. The Changing Trend in the population in India is shown in the table below.

Social Demography

Growth of Population in India Census Year

Decadal Growth (per cent)

Average Exponential Growth (per cent)

1971

24.80

2.20

1981

24.66

2.22

1991

23.86

2.14

2001

21.34

1.93

Parameter

1951

1981

1991

Current Level

Crude Birth Rate (per 1,000 population

40.8

33.9 (SRS)

29.5* (SRS)

25.8 (SRS 2000)

Crude Death Rate (per 10,000 population)

25.1

12.5 (SRS)

9.8* (SRS)

8.5 (SRS 2000)

Total Fertility Rate 6.0 (per woman on average) (SRS)

4.5 (SRS)

3.6* (NFHS-II)

2.8

Maternal Mortality Rate 437 (per 1,00,000 live birth) (1992-93)

N.A.

N.A. (1998)

407

Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births)

110 (SRS)

80* (SRS)

68 (SRS 2000)

Couple Protection Rate10.4 (1971) (per cent)

22.8

44.1

48.2 (NFHS-II)

Life Expectancy at birth years (M)

37.2

54.1

60.6

63.87# (2001-02)

Life Expectancy at birth years (F)

36.2

54.7

61.7 (1991-96)

146 (1951-61)

66.9# (2001-02)

*Excludes Jammu and Kashmir # Projected SRS = Sample Registration System of Office of Registrar General India. Check Your Progress 5 1)

What are the major “Beyond Family Planning” measures included in the National Population Policy of India? Use seven lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

25

Structure in Tranistion – I

2)

On what factors does the future of India’s family welfare programme depend? Use six lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

4.8

LET US SUM UP

This unit begins with defining demography and examines its scope: mortality, fertility, composition of population and migration. Techniques of measurement are mentioned and the need for highlighting their social and cultural aspects stressed. Then we described the size and growth of the population of India and examined their implications. The determinants and consequences of fertility and mortality in India are explained. The age and sex structure of the Indian population, their determinants and implications are classified. The concept of family planning and family welfare and the barriers to family planning are discussed. The Population Policy of India, its evolution and components, achievements of the family welfare programme and its future prospects enable us to see how social problems at the demographic level could be solved.

4.9

KEY WORDS

Fertility

Life Expectancy/Average Expectation of Life at Birth

Neonatal and Post-neo natal Mortality

Population Growth Rate 26

: Fertility refers to the actual reproductive performance, whether applied to an individual or to a group, measured in terms of the number of children born alive. : The average number of years of life which a cohort of new born babies (that is, those born in the same year) may be expected to live if they are subjected to the risks of death at each year according to the age specific mortality rates prevailing in the country at the time to which the measures refer. : When a baby dies within the first four weeks of life, it is known as neo natal mortality. When a baby dies after it has survived beyond four weeks, but before the first year is completed, it is known as postneonatal mortality. : One way of measuring population growth is to calculate the rate at which population grows. This is done by first finding out the difference in the population size of a

specified area at two points of time, and then by dividing the absolute change by the population at the earlier point of the time. Sex Ratio

Social Demography

: The sex ratio of a population may either be expressed as the number of males per 100 females or the number of females per 100 males. The Indian Census has preferred to define the sex ratio as the number of females per 1000 males.

4.10 FURTHER READINGS Bhende, Asha A. and Kanitkar, Tara, 1992. Principles of Population Studies. Himalaya Publishing House: Bombay (Fifth Edition), (Chapters 7,8, 9 and 15). Misra, Bhaskar D., 1981. An Introduction to the Study of Population. South Asian Publishers Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi: (Chapters 3 and 11).

4.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 1)

b) 844 million

2)

The development programmes are not able to keep pace with the needs of the growing population. The country is facing shortages in housing, health and medical services and employment opportunities. The increase in the per capita production of food grain is only marginal, and the per capita income is low. These problems have arisen because of the large size of the population and the high rate of the population growth.

Check Your Progress 2 Total No. of live births during a year 1)

Total population in the middle of the year

× 1000

2)

i) Most religions encourage high fertility, ii) Universality of marriage, iii) Low age at marriage, iv) Emphasis on bearing children, v) Preference for sons, vi) Fatalistic attitude, vii) High infant and child mortality, viii) Low status of women, ix) Joint family.

3)

Women are tied down to childbearing and childbearing for the best years of their productive lives. Excessive childbearing affects their health. The bread-winner is unable to provide for a large family and becomes frustrated. The children are often neglected. They may indulge in delinquent behaviour. They are often required to drop out of school, and to start working at an early age. The girl child is denied education and pushed into early marriage and early child-bearing.

Check Your Progress 3 i)

The term “average expectation of life” or “life expectancy” represents the average number of years of life which babies born in the same year (cohort) may be expected to live according to the mortality conditions prevailing at that time.

27

Structure in Tranistion – I

ii)

Neonatal mortality refers to deaths occurring in the first four weeks of the babies life.

iii) a) Mother below 18. b) Parity above 4. c) Interval between births less than one year. d) Low birth weight. e) Lack of ante-natal care. f) Home deliveries conducted in unhygienic conditions g) Colostrum (first flow of breast milk) not given to the baby. iv) a) Common childhood diseases not prevented through immunisation. b) Diarrhoea and dehydration c) Nutritional deficiency. Check Your Progress 4 i)

India is an old country because its history goes back to several centuries. It has a young population in the sense that about 40 per cent of the population is below the age of 15. In a developed country like the United States of America this percentage is only about 22.

ii)

The sex ratio in India is not favourable to women mainly because of the low status of women leading to their neglect. The death rates are higher for women than for men in most age groups.

Check Your Progress 5 i)

a) Raising the minimum age at marriage. b) Population education in schools. c) Improving the status of women, specially through education. d) Freezing the population figure of 1971 till 2001 in all cases where population is a factor in the sharing of the Central resources with the States. e) Linking Central assistance to the State Plans with the performance of the family welfare programme.

ii)

a) Widespread acceptance of family planning. b) Improved performance of the family welfare programme in low performing States, such as, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh etc.

iii) Acceptance of family planning at a lower age and limitation of the family size to two children, whatever the sex composition.

28

UNIT 5

MIGRATION

Structure 5.0

Objectives

5.1

Introduction

5.2

Migration : Significance, Concept, Forms and Characteristics 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.4

5.3

Reasons for Migration 5.3.1 5.3.2

5.4

Sociological Significance Concept Forms Characteristics

Economic Factors Socio-Cultural and Political Factors

Consequences of Migration 5.4.1 5.4.2 5.4.3

Economic Demographic Social and Psychological

5.5

Problems of Refugees and Displaced Persons

5.6

Migration Policy

5.7

Let Us Sum Up

5.8

Key Words

5.9

Further Readings

5.10 Answers to Check Your Progress

5.0

OBJECTIVES

In this unit our emphasis is on migration as a demographic process and as an agent of social change in society. After going through this unit, you should be able to: z

describe what migration is;

z

examine the importance of migration as an agent of social change;

z

explain the various reasons of migration;

z

discuss the consequences of such migration in the national and international situation; and

z

analyse the migration policy.

5.1

INTRODUCTION

Migration is usually defined as a geographical movement of people involving a change from their usual place of residence. But it is distinguished from temporary and very short distance moves. Migration can be internal (within the national boundaries) or international (across the international borders). After discussing the sociological significance and the definition and concepts of migration in Section 5.4, we discuss the major determinants of migration in terms of social,

29

Structure in Tranistion – I

economic, psychological, political and religious factors. Types of migration, like rural and urban, as well as voluntary or involuntary migration are explained in Section 5.5. What consequences follow when people move to different places whithin the national boundaries or across the national boundaries are discussed in Section 5.6. Section 5.7 highlights the problems of the refugees and displaced persons in national and international situations. Section 5.8 of the unit deals with national and international policy on migration and future trends in migration.

5.2

MIGRATION : SIGNIFICANCE, CONCEPT, FORMS AND CHARACTERISTICS

In this section, we shall be introducing to you the various aspects of sociological significance and characteristics of migration. Let us begin with its significance.

5.2.1 Sociological Significance Migration is the third component of population change, the other two being mortality and fertility, studied in Unit 4 of this block. However, migration is different from the other two processes, namely, mortality and fertility in the sense that it is not a biological factor like the other two, which operate in a biological framework, though influenced by social, cultural and economic factors. Migration is influenced by the wishes of persons involved. Usually each migratory movement is deliberately made, though in exceptional cases this may not hold true. Thus migration is a response of human organisms to economic, social and demographic forces in the environment. The study of migration occupies an important place in population studies, because, along with fertility and mortality, it determines the size and rate of population growth as well as its structure and characteristics. Migration also plays an important role in the distribution of the population of any country, and determines the growth of labour force in any area. Migration is thus an important symptom of social change in society.

5.2.2 Concepts

30

In a layman’s language, the world ‘migration’ refers to the movements of the people from one place to another. According to Demographic Dictionary, “migration is a form of geographical mobility or spatial mobility between one geographical unit and another, generally involving a change in residence from the place of origin or place of departure to the place of destination or place of arrival.” Such migration is called permanent migration, and should be distinguished from other forms of movement, which do not involve a permanent change of residence. Everett Lee, a well known demographer, defines migration broadly “as a permanent or semi-permanent change of residence”. No restriction is placed upon the distance of the move or upon the voluntary and involuntary nature of the act. Migration, according to Eisenstadt, refers to “the physical transition of an individual or a group from one society to another. This transition usually involves abandoning one social-setting and entering another and different one.” Mangalam also stresses the permanent shifting of people in his definition and considers migration as a relatively permanent moving away of a collectivity, called the migrants, from one geographical location to another.

It is preceded by decision-making on the part of the migrants. They weigh and consider sets of values in two comparative situations, resulting in changes in the interactional system of the migrants. Holiday trips or sailor’s occupations are not included in it. Mehta, in his study of Rajasthan, treats migration as an act of movement or spatial mobility.

Migration

A perusal of all these definitions indicates that almost all scholars emphasise time and space, and define migration as a movement from one place to another, permanently or semi-permanently. In brief, when a person leaves his native place or village, comes to an urban area, takes up a job, and starts living there, he is known as a migrant and his move is referred to as migration.

5.2.3 Forms People may move within a country between different states or between different districts of the same state or they may move between different countries. Therefore, different terms are used for internal and external migration. Internal migration refers to migration from one place to another with a country, while external migration or international migration refers to migration from one country to another. a)

Immigration and Emigration : ‘Immigration’ refers to migration into a country from another country and ‘emigration’ refers to migration out of the country. These terms are used only in connection with international migration. For example migrants leaving India to settle down in the United States or Canada are immigrants to the United States or Canada and emigrants from India.

b)

Inmigration and Outmigration : These are used only in connection with internal migration. ‘Inmigration’ refers to migration into a particular area while ‘outmigration’ refers to movements out of a particular area. Thus, migrants who come from Bihar or Uttar Pradesh to Punjab are considered to be immigrants for Punjab and outmigrants for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The term ‘inmigration’ is used with reference to the area of destination of the migrants and the term ‘outmigration’ is used with reference to the area of origin or place of departure of the migrant.

The main forms of migration can be summarised in a chart. Chart 1 MIGRATION INTERNAL INMIGRATION

OUTMIGRATION

EXTERNAL IMMIGRATION

EMIGRATION

There are three important sources of information on internal migration in a country. These are national census, population registers and sample surveys. In India, the most important sources of data on internal migration are national census and sample surveys. c)

Forms of Internal Migration in India : Information on migration for India, as a whole, and its different parts is obtained through the use of the Census. Better and more detailed questions have been asked in recent census counts. They show improvements in the studies on migration.

31

Structure in Tranistion – I

Indian census gives information regarding migration streams made from ‘birth place’ statistics from 1872 onwards. However, in 1961, the birth place was classified as rural or urban, and put into four categories of space migration (i) within the district of enumeration, (ii) outside the district but within the state of enumeration, (iii) outside the state of enumeration, i.e., inter-state, and (iv) outside India. The 1971 Census defined these statistics by including a question on place of last residence, and 1981 Census included a question on reasons for migration. In India, the migrants are classified into four migration streams, namely, rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to urban and urban to rural. Rural to rural migration has formed the dominant migration stream since 1961. There have been substantial increases in the proportion of rural to urban, and urban to urban migration with the passage of time. Another important point is that the proportion of the females is much higher in rural to rural migration, while in the other three streams the proportion of the males is comparatively much higher. This is simply because the females change their residence on getting married, and new places could be in the neighbouring districts. Researchers have, from time to time, suggested various types of migration while taking into account space, time, volume and direction. On the basis of space, there are four important streams of internal migration. These are: i)

Rural to rural

ii)

Rural to urban

iii) Urban to urban iv) Urban to rural Indian census gives this fourfold typology. However, in some developed and highly urbanised countries there have also been migrations from cities to the suburbs.

32

The relative size and importance of these migration streams may vary from country to country. In some countries, rural to rural migration is the dominant type of migration, while in others it is rural to urban and yet in many others the highest proportion of migrants are found in urban to urban migration. In India, as stated earlier, rural to rural migration formed the dominant migration stream in the 1961, 1971, 1991 and 2001Census. However, there have been substantial increases in the proportion of rural to urban and urban to urban migration with the passage of time, the increase being much more during the decades of 1970s, 1980s and 1990s than of the 1960s. However the dominant form of internal migration in the country is rural to rural. In all other streams (rural to urban, urban to urban and urban to rural) there is dominance of rural to urban migration among the males could be due to better developed agriculture in certain states and districts, which may attract migrants from other parts of the country. Development of industries in certain states or cities may be another important factor in rural to urban migration. Rural to rural migration is mostly dominated by the females. The female migration is largely sequential to marriage, because it is a Hindu custom to take brides from another village (village exogamy). According to the National Sample Survey, more than 46 per cent migration to urban areas is also caused by marriage. The custom of women returning to urban areas is also caused by marriage. The custom of women returning to her

parents to deliver her first child also accounts for significant internal migration.

Migration

Typology based on time classified migration into long range migration and short range or seasonal migration. When a move is made for a longer period, it is called long range migration. However, when there is permanent shift of population from one region to another, it is known as permanent migration. But when people shift to the sites of temporary work and residence for some or several months, it is known as periodic or seasonal migration. For example, during peak agricultural season excess labour is required, and people from the neighbouring areas is also caused by marriage. The custom of women returning to her parents to deliver her first child also accounts for significant internal migration. Typology based on time classifies migration into long range migration and short range or seasonal migration. When a move is made for a longer period, it is called long range migration. However, when there is permanent shift of population from one region to another, it is known as permanent migration. But when people shift to the sites of temporary work and residence for some or several months, it is known as periodic or seasonal migration. For example, during peak agricultural season excess labour is required, and people from the neighbouring areas go to these places for seasonal work. Apart from these two important types, migration could be voluntary or involuntary or forced, brain drain (migration of young skilled persons) and migration of refugees and displaced persons.

5.2.4 Characteristics There are some important characteristics of the migrants and migration. An important characteristic is the age selectivity of the migrants. Generally, young people are more mobile. Most migration studies, especially in developing countries, have found that rural-urban migrants are predominantly young adults and relatively better educated than those who remain at the place of origin. It is obvious that migration for employment takes place mostly at the young adult ages. Also a major part of the female migration consequential to marriage occurs at the young adult ages. Thus people have a tendency to move when they are between their teens and their mid-thirties (15-35 years) than at other ages. Another important characteristic is that the migrants have a tendency to move to those places where they have contracts and where the previous migrants sere as links for the new migrants, and this chain is thus formed in the process, and is usually called chain migration. Various studies show that people do not blindly go to a new place. They usually have kinship chains and networks of relatives and friends who help them in different ways. In some cases, the migrants not only tend to have the same destination but also tend to have the same occupation. For example, research reveals that in certain hotels in Jaipur almost all the workers belong to one particular sub-region of Kumaon. The agricultural labourers in Punjab and Haryana are mainly from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Check Your Progress 1 i)

What is the sociological significance of migration? Use six lines to answer. 33

...............................................................................................................

Structure in Tranistion – I

............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ii)

What are the important variables taken into consideration in defining migration? Use four lines to answer. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

iii) Classify the following types of migration:

5.3

a)

From Kerala to the Gulf-countries.

b)

From Kerala to Delhi.

c)

From Bihar to the West Indies.

d)

Arrival of people from Bangaldesh to India

e)

Arrival of people to Rajasthan from Karnataka.

REASONS FOR MIGRATION

It is important to know why some migrate while others do not. The important factors, therefore, which cause migration or which motivate people to move may broadly be classified into four categories: economic factors, demographic factors, socio-cultural factors, and political factors.

5.3.1 Economic Factors The major reason of voluntary migration is economic. In most of the developing countries, low agricultural income, agricultural unemployment and underemployment are the major factors pushing the migrants towards areas with greater job opportunities. Even the pressure of population resulting in a high man-land ratio has been widely recognised as one of the important causes of poverty and rural outmigration. Thus, almost all studies indicate that most of the migrants have moved in search of better economic opportunities. This is true of both internal as well as international migration. The most important economic factors that motivate migration may be termed as ‘Push Factors’ and ‘Pull Factors’. In other words it is to see whether people migrate because of the compelling circumstances at the place of origin which pushed them out, or whether they are lured by the attractive conditions in the new place. Now we shall discuss these factors. 34

i)

Push Factors

Migration

The push factors are those that compel or force a person, due to various reasons, to leave that place and go to some other place. For example, adverse economic conditions caused by poverty, low productivity, unemployment, exhaustion of natural resources and natural calamities may compel people to leave their native place in search of better economic opportunities. An ILO study reveals that the main push factor causing the worker to leave agriculture is the lower levels of income, as income in agriculture is generally lower than the other sectors of the economy. According to the estimates of the Planning Commission over one-third of the rural population is below the poverty line. Due to rapid increase in population, the per capita availability of cultivable land has declined, and the numbers of the unemployed and the underemployed in the rural areas have significantly increased with the result that the rural people are being pushed to the urban areas. The non-availability of alternative sources of income in the rural area is also another factor for migration. In addition to this, the existence of the joint family system and laws of inheritance, which do not permit the division of property, may also cause many young men to migrate to cities in search of jobs. Even sub division of holdings leads to migration, as the holdings become too small to support a family. ii)

Pull Factors

Pull factors refer to those factors which attract the migrants to an area, such as, opportunities for better employment, higher wages, better working conditions and better amenities of life, etc. There is generally cityward migration, when rapid expansion of industry, commerce and business takes place. In recent years, the high rate of movement of people from India as well as from other developing countries to the USA, Canada and now to the Middle-East is due to the better employment opportunities, higher wages and better amenities of life, variety of occupations to choose from and the possibility of attaining higher standard of living. Sometimes the migrants are also attracted to cities in search of better cultural and entertainment activities or bright city lights. However, pull factors operate not only in the rural-urban migration, but also in other types of internal as well as international migration. Sometimes a question is asked which factors are more important, push or pull? Some argue that the push factor is stronger than the pull factor as they feel that it is the rural problems rather than the urban attractions that play a crucial role in the shift of the population. On the other hand, those who consider the pull factors as more important emphasise high rates of investment in urban areas leading to more employment and business opportunities and greater attraction for the city way of life. This classification of motives for migration into push and pull factors is very useful in analysing determinants of migration, but all migratory movements cannot be explained by these factors alone. Moreover, sometimes migration may occur not by push or pull factors alone but as a result of the combined effect of both.

35

Structure in Tranistion – I

iv) Push Back Factors In India, and in some other developing countries also, another important factor which plays crucial role in migration is ‘push back factor’. In India, according to Asish Bose, the urban labour force is sizeable, and the urban unemployment rates are high, and there also exist pools of underemployed persons. All these factors acts in combination as deterrents to the fresh flow of migration from the rural to urban areas. He calls this as a ‘push back factor’. He further adds that if new employment opportunities are created in the urban areas, the first persons to offer themselves for employment are the marginally employed already residing in those areas, unless of course special skills are required.

5.3.2 Socio-Cultural and Political Factors

36

Besides these push and pull factors, social and cultural factors also play an important role in migration. Sometimes family conflicts also cause migration. Improved communication facilities, such as, transportation, impact of the radio and the television, the cinema, the urban-oriented education and resultant change in attitudes and values also promote migration. Sometimes even political factors encourage or discourage migration. For instance, in our country, the adoption of the jobs for ‘sons of the soil policy’ by the State governments will certainly affect the migration from other states. The rise of Shiv Sena in Bombay, with its hatred for the migrants and the occasional eruption of violence in the name of local parochial patriotism, is a significant phenomena. Even in Calcutta, the Bengali-Marwari conflict will have farreaching implications. And now Assam and Tamil Nadu are other such examples. Thus the political attitudes and outlook of the people also influence migration

to a great extent. There have also been migrations from Kashmir and Punjab because of the terrorist activities.

Migration

Box 1. Reasons of Migration An Analysis of Census Data In the Indian Census, data on reasons for migration were collected for the first time in the 1981 Census.These reasons are given in the following table. Table 1 : Per cent distribution of life-time migrants of each sex by reasons for migration, India 1981 Sex

Reasons for migration

Male

Employment Education Associational Marriage Others

Female Employment Education Associational Marriage Others

Total

Rural to Rural to Rural to Rural to Rural Urban Urban Urban

30.79 5.15 30.57 3.05 30.44

19.49 4.18 33.74 5.46 37.12

47.49 8.07 23.54 1.17 19.73

41.12 6.20 31.52 0.99 21.18

27.00 3.17 31.89 2.23 35.73

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

1.92 0.88 14.72 72.34 10.14

1.13 0.43 8.64 81.73 8.07

4.20 2.58 29.27 51.53 12.42

4.46 2.21 35.89 43.56 13.88

3.34 1.00 21.23 59.33 15.10

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

It is clear from the data that among the male migrants from rural to urban and urban to urban, employment was the most important reason. Education accounted only for about 3 to 8 per cent of migration according to these migration streams. Among women, as expected, marriage was the most important reason for migration, followed by associational migration. Employment and education accounted for a very small proportion of th females. Besides economic factors, sometimes lack of educational opportunities, medical facilities and many other facilities including the desire to break away from the traditional constraints of rural social structure may push people out of the rural areas. However, all migration caused by push factors are not confined to the rural areas only as there are also migration flows between rural areas and urban areas, indicating movement of people out of comparatively poor areas to areas with relatively better opportunities. Activity 1 Find out if any of the members in two neighbouring families were born outside your city, when they come, and what reasons they had in mind for coming there? Then try to illustrate the types of migration and causes of migration from these cases. Compare your note if possible with other students of the study centre.

Check Your Progress 2 Tick mark the correct answer : i)

One of the important reasons for the out migration of the rural people is: a) b)

growing pressure of population, rural poverty

37

Structure in Tranistion – I

c) d) ii)

rural unemployment all of the above.

Factors which attract the migrants for migration are known as: a) b) c) d)

Push factors, Pull factors, Push back factors, All of the above.

iii) Which one of the following is not a type of migration: a) b) c) d)

5.4

Rural to Rural. Rural to Urban Urban to urban None of the above.

CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION

The consequences of migration are diverse. However, some of the important consequences discussed in this unit are economic, demographic, social and psychological. These consequences are both positive as well as negative. Some of these affect the place of departure while others influence the place of destination.

5.4.1 Economic Migration from a region characterised by labour surplus helps to increase the average productivity of labour in that region, as this encourages labour-saving devices and/or greater work participation by the remaining family workers. On the other hand, there is a view that migration negatively affects the emigrating region and favours the immigrating region, and that migration would widen the development disparity between the regions, because of the drain of the resourceful persons from the relatively underdeveloped region to the more developed region. But the exodus of the more enterprising members of a community cannot be considered a loss, if there is lack of alternative opportunities in the rural areas. As long as migration draws upon the surplus labour, it would help the emigrating region. It will have adverse effects only if human resources are drained away at the cost of the development of the region. Another important point is that when migration draws away the unemployed or underemployed, it would enable the remaining population of the region to improve their living conditions as this would enable the remaining population to increase the per capita consumption, since the total number of mouths to be fed into is reduced as a result of emigration.

38

However, the labour-sending regions may gain economically by the money brought in by the emigrants. In India, the influx of the rural migrants to cities and towns has resulted in a steady outflow of cash from the urban to rural areas. Most migrants are single males, who after securing urban employment generally send a portion of their income to their village homes to supplement the meagre incomes of their families. At the same time, it also affects the savings of the family as sometimes the migrants take money (family savings) with them, which is necessary for their travel and stay in a new place. In recent

times, a sudden increase in migration to the Middle East has resulted in steep rise in the remittances of foreign money in our country. In 1979, it was found that the annual remittances to the tiny state of Kerala were estimated to Rs.4000 million.

Migration

The rising inflow of money from the Gulf countries has resulted in the building of houses and buying of agricultural land, and even investments in business and industry. This has also resulted in the rise in the levels of consumption in the family. Money is also being spent on children’s education. On the other hand, the outflow of men has caused labour shortages and has pushed wages upwards.

5.4.2 Demographic Migration has a direct impact on age, sex and occupational composition of the sending and receiving regions. Migration of the unmarried males of young working age results in imbalances in sex ratio. The absence of many young men from the villages increases the proportion of other groups, such as, women, children and old people. This tends to reduce the birth rate in the rural areas. Further the separation of the rural male migrants from their wives for long durations also tends to reduce the birth rate.

5.4.3 Social and Psychological Urban life usually brings about certain social changes in the migrants. Those migrants who return occasionally or remain in direct or indirect contact with the households of their origin are also likely to transmit some new ideas back to the areas of origin. Several studies attribute technological change to the dynamism of the return migrants, who bring money as well as knowledge and experience of different production techniques, and this may lead to mechanisation and commercialisation of agricultural activity. A number of ex-servicemen, on retirement go back to their native areas and promote such practices in the villages. Contact with the urban and different cultures also brings attitudinal change in the migrants, and helps them to develop more modern orientation, including even the consumerist culture in their own areas. On the other hand, migration which results in the absence of the adult males for long periods of time may cause dislocation of the family, and, under such circumstances, women and children often have to take over more and different types of work and other more important roles in household decision-making. Studies have revealed very disturbing effects of the male migration from Kerala. Neurosis, hysteria and depression are said to be on the increase among the emigrant workers’ wives in Kerala. The gulf boom has also taken a toll of mental health of the families. Check Your Progress 3 i)

How is the labour-sending region benefited by the process of migration? Answer in about seven lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

39

Structure in Tranistion – I

................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ii)

Write in about seven lines the socio-psychological consequences of migration. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

iii) Tick mark the correct answer. Large exodus of refugees may_______.

5.5

a)

create no problem for the countries of destination,

b)

create only economic problems for the countries of destination,

c)

create only health and ecological problems for the countries of destination,

d)

create social, economic and political problems depending on the dimensions of the exodus of refugees.

PROBLEMS OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED PERSONS

Sometimes forced movements of people take place due to political and religious disturbances or wars. Such movements shift people to the neighbouring countries as refugees. The United Nations defines “a refugee as every person, who owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.” (U.N. 1984) Thus many international movements of population involving very large numbers have occurred due to compelling reasons of political, religious or racial character. Perhaps the largest movement of people in this century has occurred in the Indian sub-continent. The partition of the country in 1947 into the Indian Union and Pakistan led to large exodus of the refugees into each nation from the other. Estimates indicate that not less than 7 million persons went to Pakistan from India and more than 8 million people came to India from Pakistan. IndoPakistan war in 1971 also caused a large number of people from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to move into the north-eastern states of India as refugees, and this became a permanent problem for the region, as much as “Bihari” Muslims continue to be problematic for Pakistan and Bangladesh. 40

Some of the largest forced international migrations in history have occurred in

recent times in Asia. For example, in the 12 years following 1975 more than 1.7 million refugees have left Vietnam, Kampuchea and Laos. Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, in 1979, produced a flow of refugees which has led to some 2.7 million being temporarily settled in Pakistan and 1.5 million in Iran. Most of these refugees are still in the camps in the neighbouring countries. Recently, due to political disturbances in Sri Lanka, large numbers of Tamilians have entered India, and are staying in Tamil Nadu.

Migration

It is found that on humanitarian grounds the refugees are often given shelter by the governments of various countries. However, the sudden influx of the refugees creates enormous pressure on the native society. It leads to short supply of essential commodities, ecological imbalances and health hazards in the countries of asylum. The large magnitude and the various economic, political and social dimensions of the exodus of the refugees create many problems, particularly for the countries of destination. Sometimes they cause political complications in the receiving countries. They organise themselves by forming groups, and pressurise the governments for some concessions. For example the United Kingdom, Canada and Sri Lanka are facing political and racial crises due to migration. Sometimes this causes clashes between the natives and migrants. Sri Lanka is a recent example of this. But, in some instances, the refugees do make a positive contribution to the development of the host country, when settled in sparsely populated areas, by clearing and cultivating land.

5.6

MIGRATION POLICY

In India, little attention has been paid at the policy level to control the pattern of either international or internal migration. At the international level, the country does not have even up to date statistics of the immigrants and the emigrants although most of the international migration is controlled by passports and visa permits, etc. Questions have been raised about the brain drain from India in various forums, but nothing has been done to stop it as there are considerable numbers of educated unemployment in the country. It is only recently that the ministry of labour established a cell to protect the interests of the Indian emigrants, who are working as skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers in other countries, especially in the Middle East. At the national level, the government has not shown any concern for the problems relating to internal migration, and has, therefore, not formulated any policy. Although rural to rural migration, as indicated earlier, constituted the dominant migration stream among both the males and the females, very little is known about the factors that govern this migration except through the 1981 Census. Since major part of rural to rural migration is associational or for unspecified reasons, it is necessary to understand it more clearly. There has been significant seasonal migration of agricultural labourers in different parts of the country, especially those parts which are experiencing the green revolution. Not much information is available about the volume of this stream of the migrants or their duration of stay. As rural to urban migration is next only to rural to rural migration, and is quite sizeable, it is influenced by the urbanisation policies and programmes. In the Fourth and Fifth Five Year Plans, the need for a balanced spatial distribution

41

Structure in Tranistion – I

of economic activities was emphasised, and stress was laid on the need to prevent the unrestricted growth of big cities. Recognising the problems associated with the rapid growth of big cities (million plus), the government is now trying to adopt policies which would help in controlling migration to big cities and metropolises. During the 1980s, emphasis was on the provision of adequate infrastructural and other facilities in the small, medium and intermediate towns so that they could serve as growth and service centers for the rural region. The Planning Commission emphasised the needs for positive inducements to establish new industries and other commercial and professional establishments in small and medium towns. In the next unit (Unit 6) of this block, we shall take note of these problems in a detailed manner. Thus, in the absence of any specific migration policy, it is difficult to predict the major directions of future migration flows. However, considering government’s emphasis on developing small, medium and intermediate cities, it is expected that intermediate cities and medium towns will attract more migrants in the future. Although industrial cities, with expanding industries, will continue to attract new migrants, the young educated males and females may have a greater tendency to seek white collar employment in small towns and cities. Check Your Progress 4 Tick mark the correct answer. i)

ii)

5.7

42

In recent years, the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, has established a cell to protect the interest of the Indian emigrants who are working _________. a)

only as skilled workers in other countries,

b)

only as unskilled workers in other countries,

c)

only as semi-skilled workers in other countries,

d)

All of the above are correct.

Considering the government’s emphasis on developing small, medium and intermediate cities, it is expected that a)

intermediate cities will attract more migrants in future and big cities will reduce their importance.

b)

Although big cities will continue to attract the migrants, the young educated migrants may have greater tendency to seek white collar employment in small towns and cities.

c)

Rural to urban migration will stop in future.

d)

All are correct.

LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we have explained that migration, which refers to the movements of people from one place to another, is an important demographic process, which affects the spatial distribution of the population in a country. Then we have highlighted the factors which motivate people to move from one area to another. Related to this are the types of moves which people make in terms of

direction and duration of move, and whether the move are voluntary or involuntary. Then we came to the consequences of migration. In other words, what happens to the place from where the migrants move and to the place where they arrive. We have discussed the problems created by the refugees and displaced persons. Lastly, we have highlighted the Migration Policy.

5.8

Migration

KEY WORDS

Fertility

: Biological potentiality of reproduction.

Migration

: A process of movement of the population from one place to another for a considerable period of time.

Mortality

: It is the proportion of death to the total population of the country in a particular period of time.

5.9

FURTHER READINGS

Sinha and Ataullah, 1987. Migration: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Seema Publishers, Delhi. Premi, M.K. 1980. Urban Out-Migration : A Study of its Nature, Causes and Consequences, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.

5.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 i)

Migration is a response of the human beings to the economic, social and political and demographic forces operating in the environment. It determines the size and rate of population growth of the labour force in that area. It is an important symptom of social change.

ii)

Scholars emphasise time and space as the important variables, and define migration as a movement from one place to another permanently or semipermanently.

iii) a) b) c) d) e)

Emigration Out-migration Emigration Immigration Inmigration

Check Your Progress 2 i) d) ii) b) iii) d) Check Your Progress 3 i)

It helps increase the average productivity of the labour in that region, since migration encourages the labour-saving devices and greater work participation by the remaining labourers. This region also gains

43

Structure in Tranistion – I

economically by the money brought in by the emigrants. It results in the level of rise in the levels of consumption, education, technology of production as well. ii)

Many times migration results in the absence of the adult males for long periods of time. This causes dislocation of the family. Under these circumstances, women and children often have to undertake more responsibility. They may have to work harder than before. Studies show that neurosis, hysteria and depression have increased among the migrant workers’ wives in Kerala.

iii) d) Check Your Progress 4 i) ii)

44

d) b)

Unit 5

Brahminical Perspective Contents 5.1

Introduction

5.2

Varna-Jati Theory

5.3

The Ideology of Purity-Impurity

5.4

Jajmani System

5.5

Emergent Concerns

5.6

Conclusion

5.7

Further Reading

Learning Objectives After going through this unit, you will be able to

explain the position of Brahmins in society



explain the Brahminical interpretation of the caste system



discuss the pattern of interaction between Brahmins and people of other castes.

5.1 Introduction In the previous unit you learnt about the colonial Perspective on Caste. This unit seeks to explain the viewpoint of Brahmins on the caste system. The Brahmins being experts in conducting and interpreting rituals laid out in the sacred texts emphasised the scriptural and ritual aspects of caste. They quoted chapters and verses from the scriptures and in doing so justified the caste system and their own position in it to a large extent. Interestingly, Brahmins were conversant with Sanskrit language, which is regarded as ‘Deva bhasha’, or the language of the gods. It is also the language in which incantations in rituals are made. Agreeably, Brahmins who are fluent in the language of the gods treat themselves as superior to the rest of the people. This consolidates their position in society a great deal. Since the lifestyle and the world-view of the Brahmins including their ideas about the caste system are derived from the scriptures, the Brahminical perspective on caste is, in essence, based on the scriptural dictates and their articulation in the lives of Brahmins1. We begin the unit with the traditional theory of the origin of Brahmins and their essential attributes in the larger framework of varna and the jati. Subsequently, we discuss the principle of purity-pollution, which forms the basis of interaction between Brahmins and non-Brahmins, and then go on to exploring the inter-dependence of Brahmins and members of other castes in society, which is guided by their occupational specialisation.

5.2 Varna-Jati Theory

70

The term ‘varna’ means colour. In the religious texts, the concept of varna is used for grading people. Rigveda bears reference to the Arya varna comprising the Aryan people (who were of light complexion) which has been contrasted with the Dasa varna comprising the non-Aryan people (who were of dark complexion).What the Rigveda does mention, however, are four

orders in society, Brahma enfolding the priests, Kshatra enfolding the warriors, and Visha enfolding the common people. Ghurye (1950:46) writes, ‘These classes or orders are regularly referred to in later literature as varnas, so much so that popularly Hindu religion has come to be defined as ‘Varnashrama Dharma’. Yet in the Rigveda the word ‘varna’ is never applied to any of these classes. It is only the Arya varna, or the Aryan People, that is contrasted with the Dasa varna. The Shatapatha Brahmana, on the other hand, describes the four classes as the four varnas. ‘Varna’ means colour, and it was in this sense that the word seems to have been employed in contrasting the Arya and the Dasa, referring to their fair and dark colours respectively. The colourconnotation of the word was so strong that later on when the classes came to be regularly described as varnas, four different colours were assigned to the four classes, by which their members were supposed to be distinguished.’ In later literature, these orders are referred to as varnas.

Brahminical Perspective

One of the later hymns better known as the ‘Purushasukta’, established that there are four orders in society and that each order has emerged from particular body part of the Purusha — the primeval man as described in the previous unit also. These varnas are, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra. It is said that they have emerged from mouth, arms, thighs, and feet of the Purusha. Following the varna scheme, there are only four orders into which people are divided. In addition to the varnas, the vedic literature mentions groups such as Ayogava, Chandala, Nishada, and Paulkasa who lay outside the varna scheme. They were required to perform ‘unclean’ tasks such as scavenging, were despised and treated as untouchables. In the Mahabharata2, each varna is associated with a particular colour, Brahmin with white, Kshatriya with red, Vaishya with yellow, and Shudra with black. It was believed that each varna could maintain its purity and its colour by avoiding marriages between people belonging to different varnas. Interestingly, the people of the varna, which was able to retain its purity and colour, gained precedence on the social scale. Largely Brahmins refrained from marrying outside their varna so they were able to maintain their colour and purity. While it may be accepted that normatively the Brahmins did avoid marrying outside their varna, there is no denying that such marriages and/ or associations did take place, though infrequently. The considerations of purity of blood and colour were set-aside on some occasions. The case of Satyakam Jabala (son of a maid servant who could not tell the name of the man from whom she conceived him), Visvamitra (of unknown parentage) loom large in the sacred texts. Furthermore, Ghurye’s analysis of anthropometric data (1961) suggests that Brahmins of Uttar Pradesh bear close physical affinity with Churas of the Shudra varna and the Khatris of the Vaishya varna in Punjab. The division into varnas applies, in addition to people, to planets, even soil. This means that planets, soil are distinguished into four varnas. In the words of Bose (1932:11) “Soils can be recognised by means of certain indications. The Brahman [Brahmin] soil is white in colour. It smells like clarified butter and is astringent to the taste. The Kshatriya soil is blood red in colour, smells like blood and is bitter to taste. The Vichy soil is yellow in colour, smells like alkaline earth and is sour to the taste. The Shudra soil is black in colour,….and has the taste like that of wine.” Equally important to note is the classification of people in Indian astrology according to which every person, apart from the varna into which he/she is born, has a varna which is determined by the rashi or the sign of the zodiac at the time of birth. It is possible that a

71

Perspectives on Caste

person born into a Brahmin varna has a Vaishya or Shudra varna according to the sign of the zodiac at the time of birth. The varna ascribed by virtue of birth under a particular sign of the zodiac is important in identifying his/her gunas (elements or features of quality). In common parlance and in mundane social contexts, the varna of a person refers to the one he/she acquires because of birth and not the sign of the zodiac (See Saraswati, 1977). Basically there are three gunas, sattva guna (associated with brightness, intelligence), rajo guna (associated with energy, rigorous activity), and tamo guna (associated with darkness and inactivity). It is believed that these gunas combine different proportions, which brings about variation in behaviour of people. It is stated in the Gita that the four varnas were created on the basis of the gunas in the sense that sattva guna enjoining serenity of mind, self control, forbearance, wisdom, and aptitude for acquiring spiritual knowledge are the attributes of the Brahmins; rajo guna enjoining bravery, fury, steadiness, and inclination for acquiring kingship are the attributes of the Kshatriyas; skill to till the land, maintain herds of cattle and other animals for sustenance, trade and commerce are the attributes of the Vaishyas; and tamo guna enjoining aptitude for serving others, performing manual work are the attributes of the Shudras (Kane,1962). These also define the duties ascribed to the people of the four varnas in the scriptures. More clearly stated, the Brahmins are ordained to master the sacred texts. According to the Vishnusmriti (2-1.17), ‘A Brahmin teaches the Veda….A Brahmin sacrifices for others, and receives alms….’ The Kshatriyas are ordained to fight in wars and battles and to protect the people of other varnas from enemies. They could also perform administrative and military services. The Vaishyas are ordained to make a living by engaging in trade and merchandise, cultivation of land and breeding of cattle. The Shudras are ordained to serve the people of other castes with modesty and humility. . It is commonly held that dharma or righteous action is one, which is in line with the caste rules. Apart from these norms, Manu prescribed activities that people of different varnas could take up in times of crisis. He laid out the following, work for wages, service, rearing cattle, seeking alms, receiving interest on money, among others, as activities that could be undertaken by people of all varnas for subsistence in difficult times. The laws of Manu enshrined in the Manusmriti mention that failure of the observance of caste rules leads to dire consequences. Those who digress from the sacred code were relegated a lower position in the social order. The injunctions were more impinging on Brahmins who set standards for others to follow and who sat in judgment over others’ performance in society. Notwithstanding the prescriptions in the sacred texts, the laws for adopting an occupation were not always adhered to strictly even by the Brahmins. Instances of departure from the code laid down by Manu are found in the early Buddhist literature. Following the Brahmnopattimartanda, there are at least six kinds of degraded Brahmins on the basis of undertaking occupations other than those laid out by Manu, rendering service to the king as personal servants, engaging in trade and selling, making sacrifices for others because of greed for money, acting as priests of the entire village, serving as cooks, and refraining from their daily sacrifice. These Brahmins are like Shudras (see Saraswati,1977).

72

A Brahmin has the ritual power to ensure the safety of the king through his prayers, offerings and rituals that appease the deities. It is believed that the deities do not accept the offerings from a king till a Brahmin priest mediates the rituals that accompany them. An enraged Brahmin can curse kings and their subjects. There is widespread fear that a Brahmin’s curse will come true.

Box 5.1: Position of the Brahmin and the King

Brahminical Perspective

‘At times the king is above the Brahman, as for example in the royal consecration ceremony. At other times the Brahman appears to be superior to the king, as for example in the Manavadharmasastra, and in passages from the Mahabharata. This conundrum is often addressed in terms of the postulation of two levels of truth, a higher level at which the Brahman is clearly pre-eminent, the source of everything else, and a lower level at which kings must protect and sponsor Brahmans in order for them to exist, as gods, on earth’ (cited from Dirks, 1990 :59).

The position of the Brahmin stood out in sharp contrast to that of an untouchable. Now, while the Kshatriyas and the Vaishyas like the Brahmins could read the Vedas or hear readings from them, these were required to be taught and explained to them by a spiritual preceptor. The untouchables, on the other hand, were not allowed to hear the Vedas. The Vedas mention that molten lead should be poured into the ears of the untouchables who listen to readings or chanting from them. While the Brahmin was revered, the untouchable was looked down upon and treated with disgust. The untouchables remained marginalized in society to the extent that access to temples, water sources, and other places of social interface with the twice born were denied to them. They were forced to maintain physical and social distance from the rest of the people. They would not be allowed to enter the premises of the twice born. The Brahmins in Tamil Nadu lived in distinct areas called the agraharams. They confined most of their activities within the agraharam. Surely the non Brahmins, particularly untouchables were not allowed to enter it except for scavenging for which they were instructed to use the back lanes and in a way that they were not seen, neither did their shadow fall on a Brahmin. Untouchables could not wear footwear or keep moustache. If they did grow moustache, they could not twirl them up. The women were not allowed to wear the upper garment. In addition, untouchables were not heard on important matters that concerned everybody in the village including them. They had no say in decisions taken neither about their own affairs nor on issues that were of pertinence to them directly. Dumont (1988:67) explains, ‘The set of four varnas divides into two: the last category of Shudras, is opposed to the block of the first three, whose members are ‘twice- born’ in the sense that they participate in initiation, second birth, and in the religious life in general. These twice-born, in turn divide into two: the Vaishyas are opposed to the block formed by the Kshatriyas and the Brahmanas, which in turn divides into two.’ Here, the second birth (first birth being that from the mother’s womb) implied in the expression ‘twice-born’ refers to the initiation ceremony in which men wear the sacred thread for the first time over the left shoulder and across the body. This symbolises the second, and spiritual birth of a person and qualifies him to perform certain rituals, recite certain mantras (sacred incantations). The Tamil Brahmin boys, for instance, are encouraged to recite the gayatri mantra (verse invoking the sun god) only after they have undergone the sacred thread ceremony. In the Pali texts the word, ‘jati’ is used for caste. It may be noted that the word does not appear in vedic literature. In the Katyayana Srautasutra it is used for family. It occurs in the Nirukta (X11.13) and in Panini (V.4.9) who explains brahmanjati as meaning one who is a Brahmin by caste (see

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Kane,1962:1633). Saraswati writes (1977:18), ‘Though some authorities (for instance, Yajnavalkya) have clearly pointed out the difference between jati and varna, many others have used these words synonymously. Manu (X.31) used the word varna for mixed castes, and, often conversely, jati for varna (V11.177, IX.85-6)’. Manu propounded that children inherit character –types from their parents and that a person adopts the occupation for which he is temperamentally equipped by heredity. Jatis are, in essence, groups sharing an occupation (see Bose 1962). Manu has laid down detailed rules of hypergamous (anuloma) marriages and hypogamous (pratiloma) marriages. The laws of Manu prescribe that children born out of parents belonging to the same varna are savarna meaning ‘same varna’ while those born out of parents belonging to different varnas are golaka. When people belonging to a varna marry those belonging to a higher one repeatedly over five or seven generations only then their varna gets upgraded which means that they are treated as belonging to the higher one. Further, Manu states that jatis originate because of mixed marriages i.e. between people belonging to different varnas. Saraswati (1977:21) states, ‘The following law operates consistently in the case of jatis : the children begotten from wedded wives equal in jati belong to the jati of their fathers, but if the mothers are bijati (not of the same jati) then children born of such union are called apasad (base born) and placed under a jati which is neither of their fathers nor of their mothers. This is how the various jatis have sprung up.’ It may be mentioned, however, that children born out of niyoga (union for the sake of begetting children) inherit the varna of their mothers and not the biological fathers. Several Brahmin jatis are believed to have been the descendants of sons born out of the mind or the intellectual prowess of the gods. These are the manasputras—manas means mind and putra means son. There are others that have descended from sons born from the body fluids of the gods. There are yet others that have descended from sons born from wedlock and by natural birth. Such births are, however, mediated by divine intervention (see the Brahmnopattimartanda for details). Brahmins are believed to have descended from a sage or seer after whom their gotra (an exogamous division the members of which are believed to have agnatically descended from a common ancestor) is named. It is commonly believed that the Brahmins of an earlier generation, like the sages who were their ancestors, were often endowed with brahmatejas, a quality which gave to their appearance of a particular glow and serenity (see Beteille, 1996:48).

5.3 The Ideology of Purity-Impurity The ideology of purity – pollution regulates relationship between different castes significantly. It also provides a basis of hierarchy of castes. Thus, more pure a caste is, the higher is its place in the social hierarchy. The Sanskrit word for purity is sodhana It is derived from the root, sudh meaning ‘pure’. The cognate of sudh is saucha meaning cleanliness. The Hindu scriptures lay down several means for attaining purity. Spiritual purity comes from studying the Vedas and other sacred texts; meditating on a deity; undertaking pilgrimages; repeating the name of god; practicing continence (brahmacharya), asceticism (tapas), non-violence (ahimsa); and avoiding food (such as onion, garlic, non–vegetarian food) that raise anger, lust, and passions. (see Walker, 1983).

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When purity is lost or contaminated (because of, for example, infringement

of some critical caste rules as of a Brahmin who touches an untouchable by accident, or because of birth or death in the family, or any other reason), purification through performance of specific rituals is necessitated. Dumont (1970) situates the contrast between Brahmins and untouchables in the opposition between purity and impurity. For him, the opposition of pure and impure lies at the very root of hierarchy to an extent that it merges with the opposition of superior and inferior. He suggests that specialisation in impure tasks in practice or in theory leads to the attribution of permanent impurity to certain categories of people such as the untouchables. The untouchables regularly perform unclean tasks (such as scavenging, washing dirty linen, disposing dead animals and human bodies, making shoes). One example is that of the washermen who, in most parts of the country, clean the soiled linen at the time of birth and menstruation. The other example is that of cobblers who have to use leather (which is an impure material) for making or repairing footwear. Since these are the traditional tasks of the untouchables, they remain perpetually impure. This is permanent impurity. The impurity is contagious in the sense that it gets transmitted to those who touch or are touched by them. The defilement is corrected after performing a prescribed set of rituals. On the other hand, Manu has identified bodily secretions such as excrements, semen, saliva as impure and their presence on the body makes a person impure. In addition, some events as those of birth and death, menstruation, are considered to ‘harbour a danger which lends to the temporary seclusion of the affected persons, to prohibitions against contact etc. A person’s closest kin often becomes impure, therefore, untouchable for a specific period of time. Touching a menstruating woman or one who is observing taboos after child-birth or a man who has returned from the cremation ground after lighting a funeral pyre all impart temporary impurity. This is temporary impurity. Water is a purificatory agent; bath in running water, better still in sacred water as of the Ganges is particularly efficacious in cleansing impurity. In order that the Brahmin retain their purity, the untouchables and people of lower castes are believed to absorb the temporary impurity of the Brahmins by cleaning their premises, and their soiled clothes, and performing the tasks that are treated as unclean and impure by them and in the process, become impure themselves. In doing so they ensure that the Brahmins remain in a state to perform rituals and act as intermediaries between gods and people (see Basham, 1954, Hocart, 1950, Gould, 1958). In the broad sense, one of the factors identifying the purity of a caste is whether or not a Brahmin accepts drinking water from the hands of its members. Surely, there are local variations. Hutton (1983) cites the example of Brahmins in north India who take water poured into their own drinking vessels by men of Shudra who are regarded as relatively clean e.g. Barhai (carpenter), Nai (barber), Barbhuja (grain-parcher), Kahar (fisherman, well sinker, and grower of water-nut). Brahmins in south India are extremely particular in this regard. Like water, exchange of food and dining between castes is fraught with several regulations. The glance or the shadow of an untouchable on the cooking pot of a Brahmin is enough to throw away its contents. Interestingly, food cooked in water as by boiling known as Kachha khana is subject to more restrictions than pakka khana or food cooked in ghee or clarified butter. Just as the restrictions on water and food, those on smoking are observed too. At this juncture it may be mentioned that the material of which the cooking utensil is made is of much importance. Hutton (1983) records that the higher caste people does not use earthenware because it cannot be completely clean. Furthermore, pollution can be contracted through bodily contact too.

Brahminical Perspective

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Orenstein (1965 ) explains that basically there are two types of pollution an individual may be subjected to, intransitive pollution, and transitive pollution. The intransitive pollution is one which is incurred when a birth or death occurs in the kin group of an individual. On such occasions, defilement is said to spread throughout the kin group. Importantly, kinship assumes importance here. Near relatives stay impure for a longer time than distant ones. What is interesting to note is the belief that the extent of intransitive pollution is proportionate to the level at which the varna is located. This means that higher the rank, lesser is the pollution. Thus a Brahmin gets less intensely polluted than the Kshatriya, Vaishya, or Shudra. Similarly, a Kshatriya gets more polluted than a Brahmin but less polluted than the Vaishya or Shudra. Transitive pollution, on the other hand, is incurred by way of coming in contact with polluted material. It is of two kinds: external pollution and internal pollution. External pollution is that which is acquired by touch or contact with polluted material. It can be removed by cleansing of the polluted person or polluted object. A spoon touched by an untouchable for example, becomes polluted. This pollution can be removed by washing it thoroughly. Similarly, a person who becomes polluted when an untouchable touches him/ her has to take a bath in order to remove the pollution and re-gain his/her purity. Internal pollution is that which is acquired when a person consumes polluted foodstuff, polluted water, or any other substance, which gets absorbed in the body. The criterion of touch or contact as a means of contracting pollution is not as simple as it seems to be. The pertinent question here is, why a washerman is treated as impure and polluted when he goes to the house of a high caste man on the occasion of a marriage but not treated so when he comes to collect dirty cloth or to deliver clean ones. One of the plausible explanations is that he does not pollute the house when he comes to collect dirty clothes or deliver clean clothes because at that time he is an ‘agent of purification’ (Dumont,1970). On other occasions as that of marriage he is not an agent of purification but a man belonging to an untouchable caste. So he is treated as impure. If an untouchable pollutes an earthen pot of a person belonging to a higher caste, it has to be replaced. If the same person pollutes a bronze pot, it may be washed scrupulously and need not be replaced. Stevenson (1954) suggests that since the earthen pot is porous it is difficult to purify it by washing. Moreover, it comes cheap so may be replaced easily. The bronze pot, on the other hand, can be washed rigorously; is more expensive so cannot be replaced easily. The people of impure caste are said to pollute the premises of temples by their sheer presence. It is for this reason that they were forbidden to enter the temples and the residential areas of the upper caste people. Radhakamal Mukerjee proposes the following degrees of social avoidance in ascending order: ‘(1) against sitting on a common floor; (2) against interdining; (3) against admission in the kitchen; (4) against touching metal pots; (5) against touching earthen pots; (6) against mixing in social festivals; (7) against admittance in the interior of the house; (8) against any kind of physical contact’ (cited from Murphy, 1953: 63-64). Hindu conception about purity pollution governing how people interact with and behave towards each other may be consolidated in the following ideas that have been widely drawn from Kolenda(1997).

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i)

Dietary and Marital Customs

Brahminical Perspective

According to Kolenda, one of the basic means of determining the place of a caste group in the ritual rank in its diet and marital customs. It has been found that vegetarianism characterises purer caste. A Brahmin is pure because he/she is a strict vegetarian. This does not, in any way, mean that there are pure castes comprising of those that are vegetarian and impure castes comprising of those that are non-vegetarian. It may be noted that Kolenda’s ascription of vegetarianism to Brahmins does not apply universally, for there are fish and meat eating Brahmins in Bengal, Kashmir and in other parts of the country. Stevenson (1954) identifies the dietary and marital customs an indicative of the ritual status of castes. There are degrees of impurity based on the kind of non-vegetarian food consumed by the people of different castes. It is especially defiling to eat pork and/or beef. He mentions that it is worst to eat beef followed by pork, mutton, chicken and eggs (in this sequence). So castes that eat pork are lower than those who eat mutton, and castes that eat mutton are lower than those who eat chicken. Vegetarian castes are more pure. The next in hierarchy are the castes that eat mutton, chicken and eggs followed by untouchables who eat all these in addition to pork sometimes beef. So far as martial customs are concerned, high castes are associated with the practice of monogamy. This is particularly stringent for women. Divorce and remarriage, particularly widow re-marriage is not allowed. Men may, however, marry more than once, middle and lower castes are permissive of widow re-marriage. This is, however, not preferred because it lowers the rank of a caste. ii)

Inheritance of pollution Lower castes are said to suffer from permanent impurity. All the members of a caste inherit the defilement. Stevenson (1954) explains that any waste product from the body is treated as impure; death makes the entire body waste and those who deal with these incur impurity. The barber who deals with hair and nail chippings both waste products of the body is impure. What makes him impure to further extent is his duty to wash the male corpse of his clients while his wife washes the female corpse before cremation. Similarly, the washerman washes dirty clothes, those soiled by bodily excretions; the sweeper removes feaces and filth; he eats from pots and other utensils that have been polluted because of birth or death in the family, he wears the clothes in which a man dies. In effect the barber, washerman, sweeper and other castes are treated as polluted because of the kind of material they handle. Pollution spreads through touch, which means that one who is polluted passes on the pollution to other persons when he/she touches them. This is most explicit when water and/or food are exchanged. A Brahmin, as mentioned earlier does not accept food or water from anyone belonging to a lower caste. He may accept food, which is coated with ghee or clarified butter from castes belonging to middle ranks; he may take raw ingredients from anyone because it is believed that fire would purify these in the process of cooking.

iii) Dividual- Particle Theory Marriot and Inden based their understanding on Hindu writings — Vedas, Brahamanas, Upanishads, classical books of moral and medical sciences, and late medieval moral code books of certain castes in Bengal. It is

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believed that these writings reflect the Hindu native models and bespeak of the people’s own view of a person as ‘individual’ which also implies indivisibility into separable portions. Marriott and Inden (1977) explain the theory of pollution in terms of coded-substance, which is itself, made up of coded particles. These particles (consisting of saliva, sweat, bits and pieces of hair) get exchanged among people through food water etc., in the course of interpersonal interactions. Each varna is believed to have received a specific coded substance from the creator and it is only proper that the people maintain or else improve the code and not indulge in anything that would make it inferior. Each person gives off and also receives these coded particles in social interaction. Now, better-coded particles are received from gods and people of higher castes while worse coded particles are received from those belonging to castes lower than one’s own. It is suggested that one may get better particles through right eating, right marriage, and other right exchanges and actions. These may get consolidated because the inferior particles are got rid off through excretion etc. Further, they propose that the particles of different kinds separate, combine, and re-combine in different permutations because of the heat in the body which is generated in the process of digestion, sexual intercourse etc. It is for this reason that hot bodily and nutritive substances need to be carefully managed when one is associated with serving or eating warm food. Marriot and Inden maintain that the coded substance may break up into particles that may combine and recombine with each other. This determines the degree of a person’s pollution or purity, which suggests that the Hindu view of a person is one, that is dividual (meaning divisible into separable portions). iv) Guna Theory

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The Guna theory of pollution was proposed by Marvin Davis (1976) who was a student of Marriott and Inden. This theory was derived after interviewing the Hindus of West Bengal but it is also mentioned in the sacred books such as Bhagavada Gita, Srimad Bhagavata Mahaprurana, Purushasukta and the Manva Dharamasastra. According to this theory, the feminine principle called prakriti joins with the male matter called purusha. The union of prakriti and purusha forms three basic materials called gunas. The three gunas are sattvaguna, rajoguna and tomoguna. The sattvaguna is a white substance, generates goodness and joy and inspires all noble virtues and action; rajoguna is red, ‘produces egoism, selfishness, violence, jealousy, and ambition; tamoguna is black, engenders stupidity, laziness, fear, and all sorts of base behavior.’ (Davis,1976:9). The sattvaguna may be treated as symbolic of purity while the tamoguna may be treated as symbolic of impurity. It is believed that all the gunas are present and well balanced in the body of the Brahma while one or the other guna predominates among the four varnas. The proportion of guna in each varna is maintained through the lifestyle, diet, marriage pattern or the inter caste relation. Vegetarian food builds up sattvaguna, non-vegetarian food builds up rajoguna, and beef, left over food, spoiled food, and alcohol build up tamoguna. It is believed that disproportionate admixture of the tamoguna with the sattvaguna or the rajoguna creates, what Stevenson referred to as ‘permanent pollution.’ Brahmins involved in reciting sacred chants, performing sacrifices, and preaching the scriptures largely have sattvaguna. Similarly, untouchables involved in the work of scavenging, tanning, and that which involves dealing with dirt and filth, animal hide, body excretions

largely have tamoguna, and Kshatriyas or Vaishyas who are involved in warfare, and activities that sustain life such as cultivation, herding, trading respectively, largely have rajoguna.

Brahminical Perspective

It may be understood that people of different varnas and jatis may improve their guna through diet, work, and performance of religious rituals, meditation and learning. Another way in which the guna may be improved is through marriage. In the words of Davis (1976:16), ‘Through activities in accord with dharma and through mixing one’s own physical nature with that of sattvik substances, for example, the defining features of a birth-group are transformed positively and its rank elevated; for in this way individuals of the group and the birth- group as a whole become more cognizant of Brahma and lead a more uplifting, spiritual life.’

5.4 Jajmani System The mundane relationships between castes are governed by what is known as the ‘jajmani system which may be viewed from the standpoint of the dayto-day interactions through which economic values are economically expressed and economic behavior is invested with religious meaning’ (Gould,1987:8). The Brahmin performs rituals on different occasions for people of other castes. In return, the Brahmin receives grain or service from those he has obliged. Now, while the rendition of ritual is from the Brahmins to the Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, the grain is dispensed in the opposite direction i.e. from the other varnas to the Brahmins. Box 5.2: Alternative view-point on the Jajmani system ‘Fuller’s argument presumes, with Heesterman, Pocock, and Dumont, that the prestations made by the dominant cultivators were primarily matters of the ‘rights’ of the recipients, and not of the ritual functions carried out, through gift- giving, by these donors in their capacity as jajmans. More recently, Good(1982) has accepted Pocock’s reasons for denying the existence of a ‘jajmani system’, and goes on to argue that jajman and jajmani are Hindi terms whose equivalents in the other Indian languages, or at least in Tamil, are not much used and to speak therefore of a ‘jajmani system’ outside of the Hindi-speaking region is to impose an alien interpretation on the data’ (cited from Raheja, 1990:93).

In the jajmani system, the patron is addressed as ‘jajman’ while the render of the service is addressed as ‘kamin’. It is essential that both the Brahmin priest himself as also the place where he performs the service are pure or are purified before the ritual. This can happen when pollution that would otherwise defile a ritual is removed. The only way this is possible is by engaging specialists who perform such tasks as barbering, washing cloths, sweeping and mopping the floor. The pollution is removed or absorbed by those who perform such tasks. For the kamin, as mentioned earlier, there are ‘payments in cash and kind made daily, monthly, biyearly, per piece work, and on special occasions, depending on the type of service rendered and in part on the good will of the jajman’ (Wiser, 1936: XXIV). A kamin may serve several twice born patrons within his village and/or those in neighbouring villages. Often his network with the patrons is used for negotiating marital relationships between them. In several villages, the marriage negotiations are conducted through the nai or the barber. He is required to find out the economic standing and resources

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of the bride’s family. Later, when the bride joins her husband after marriage, the barber’s wife helps her in adjusting in the husband’s house and dealing with his family members amicably. Gould (1987) mentions that there are several reasons for expansion of jajmani relations beyond the confines of a village. The first reason is that an average village may not contain representatives of all the castes (specialising in different occupations) that participate in the jajmani system. It is, therefore, inevitable to draw the services of specialist(s) from adjoining village(s) when other caste members have not adopted the occupation. The second reason is the initiative of the specialists to expand their clientele with the purpose of raising their income. There is no restriction on the number or the location of clients a specialist may engage in. A specialist may engage with as many patrons as he is able to serve. The third reason is the dissatisfaction of the jajman. If a jajman is not satisfied with the service of the kamin, he may seek another one often from an adjoining hamlet or village. This is because the people of the caste to which the erring kamin belongs may not agree to serve the dissatisfied jajman because of casteist loyalty. Three attributes of the jajmani system need elaboration. The first attribute of the jajmani system is functional interchangeability. Kolenda (1963) explains that functional interchangeability refers to a situation in which the occupation of a caste is adopted by another one when the specialist caste is absent. This may be explained with the following example. People belonging to the Chamar caste do sweeping. If there is nobody belonging to the Chamar caste in the village, then sweeping is done by people belonging to another caste. This may happen with other castes too. The second attribute of the jajmani system is its temporal continuity. A jajmani relationship lasts over generations. It is inherited from father to sons by both jajmans and kamins. When a joint family divides into nuclear ones, the clients are divided in the same manner as property. This implies that a kamin continues to serve the sons of an old man (who had been his jajman for several decades) even after they have separated and set up different households. Similarly, the sons of a kamin continue to serve the patrons of their father when he is no longer in a position to render service or after he dies. The third attribute of the jajmani system is the interchangeability between the roles of jajman and kamin. Some persons are both jajmans and kamins depending on the context. A person serves one or many jajman(s). An ironsmith, for example, may serve the Brahmin households as a kamin and himself may be a jajman to the washerman and the barber.

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The jajmani system defines the basis for the exchange of services between different castes who specialise in different occupations3. In doing so it also lays out the pattern of interaction between the different castes. Now, the fundamental assumption here is that members of a particular caste specialise in a specific occupation inherited from their ancestors and which is sanctified in the sacred texts. Gupta (1984) explains that this does not always happen in reality. The sacred texts, however, make mention of only a limited number of jatis. The number of jatis that exists today far exceeds that mentioned in the sacred texts. What has happened is that there has been much diversification in the occupation of different castes. This means that people of a particular caste who were earlier engaged in only one occupation now specialise in more of them. Brahmins, for example, have taken to cultivation, warfare and even business. In the present day, the jajmani system is not operative in its full.

5.5 Emergent Concerns

Brahminical Perspective

What is important to note is the fact that the rigidity with which the upper caste people maintained casteist restrictions is on the decline due to several factors. Out of these, at least three seem to be particularly significant. One factor is the increase in mobility of people more so in public transport as trains, buses etc. in which people of several castes are compelled to travel together. Since defilement is so common in such situations that its removal is neither always possible nor convenient. The second factor is the spread of education which dispels superstitions and beliefs in unfounded explanations such as the one that the untouchables are impure by birth and therefore, need to be kept away from. The third factor is the initiatives taken by the government in overcoming untouchability. It is widely popularised that anybody found guilty of practicing untouchability is liable to be punished. Moreover, the government offers reservation in educational and vocational institutions as also jobs in the public sector. In addition, several NGOs are engaged in the endeavour of abolishing untouchability and all kinds of discrimination on the basis of caste. The chief concern is with strengthening the economic and social base of the lower caste people who have remained marginalised and Peripherised in society. Interestingly, overthrowing the place assigned to them and the sanctions imposed on them in the sacred texts, the people—particularly those belonging to the lower castes aspire to acquire a place in the upper rungs of the caste hierarchy. In order to achieve this, they begin with adopting the customs and lifestyle of the upper castes. M.N. Srinivas coined the term ‘sanskritisation’ to explain this phenomenon. In the words of Srinivas (1952:32), ‘A low caste was able, in a generation or two, to rise to a higher position in the hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism and by sanskritising its ritual and pantheon. In short it takes over, as far as possible, the customs, rites and beliefs of Brahmin and the adoption of Brahmanic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent, though, theoretically forbidden. This process has been called ‘sanskritisation’…’A jati sanskritising itself may begin to assert itself as a Brahmin, Kshatriya, or Vaishya over a span of one or two generations. While the lower caste people adopt the lifestyle and code of conduct of the upper caste people, the upper caste people themselves are tremendously influenced by Western thought and Western way of life. This is explained as the process of westernisation. Joan Mencher (1974) brought out the viewpoint of the lower caste people on the caste system and said that, (i) the caste system does not merely provide every caste with special privileges, rather it leads to and strengthens economic exploitation of the lower castes;(ii) it kept the people in the lower wings of the caste hierarchy so isolated that they could not unite with each other for bringing about change in the system, and improving social and economic condition. On the other hand, the high caste people with greater wealth and political power could readily unite and establish inter-regional communication networks which the lower caste people could not even think of. You will learn more about the view of caste ‘from below’ i.e. from the point of view of the lower castesim the next unit. The supremacy of Brahmins in religious, social and political spheres was collectively and systematically challenged by non-Brahmins in the form of a movement. This entailed mass mobilisation of non-Brahmins against Brahmin dominance. The earliest non-Brahmin movement was launched in the mid-

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nineteenth century in Maharashtra. After that similar movements were initiated in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu ‘where laws relating to government service and places in government–run universities have been written to pointedly discriminate against Brahmans’ (Kolenda, 1997: 119). Berreman (1991) has criticised the Brahmanical view of caste which is drawn heavily from classical Sanskrit texts and focuses on ritual hierarchy leading to strict regimentation of society on the following grounds: i)

The Brahminical view takes a position that the people conform to universal values unquestioningly while the truth is that individuals have their own will. They doubt and sometimes defy universal values.

ii)

The Brahminical view lays excessive emphasis on ritual hierarchy as the basis of caste organisation undermining the importance of economic and political factors, and power. In real life situations it is neither appropriate nor possible to delineate singular basis (such as ritual hierarchy as done by Dumont) for caste ranking.

iii) The Brahminical view dismisses any scope of cross-cultural comparison of caste system in India. While it needs to be accepted that caste in India is indeed unique, it is not correct to safeguard it from comparison with similar forms of gradation in other cultures. iv) The Brahminical view is based on sacred Sanskrit texts. These texts are, in fact, biased and of limited scope. The perspective that emerges from them, therefore, presents caste as rigid, stiff, stereotyped, and idealized construct. People at the grass-roots, however, maintain that this perspective is far from reality. Dumont does not take note of the numerous social and political movements in Indian history that sought to overthrow the burden of caste4. He does, however, refer to Bhakti movements but notes that they are not able to make any significant impact on caste hierarchy. Most people, especially those belonging to lower castes concede that the Brahminical perspective holds good for the high castes only and does not have a bearing with their own lives. They maintain that it has provided legitimisation of the high handedness and dominance of the Brahmins. More significantly, the subaltern view, among others, the distinct dalit perspective (which is greatly influenced by Ambedkar, Lohia and others) provides an alternative interpretation of the sacred texts and their position on the caste system. Notwithstanding the criticism, the Brahmanical perspective has been a significant component of studies on caste system in academic circles. It has been hotly discussed and debated upon by sociologists, social anthropologists and other social scientists alike.

5.6 Conclusion

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We have noted that Brahmins, in effect, draw legitimisation of their position from Hindu religious texts. These texts bestow a degree of sacredness to all that they say and do. Brahmins, in effect, draw legitimisation of their position from Hindu religious texts. These texts bestow a degree of sacredness to all that they say and do. Brahmins, in effect, draw legitimisation of their position from Hindu religious texts. These texts bestow a degree of sacredness to all that they say and do. It is equally true that the Brahmin is not a monolithic, uniform category. The Brahmins are themselves grouped into hierarchical groups based on the nature of their engagement. Those who, accept pratigraha or offerings at centers of pilgrimages (better known as pandas in

north India and pandarams in south India) as the Maithil and Bengali Brahmins of Deoghar, Chaubes of Mathura, Dikshattars of Tamil Nadu and others; accept food and pratigraha in mortuary rites and/or at the time of sickness as the Sawalakhi Brahmins of Varanasi, Bhattas of Punjab and others; keep genealogies as the Hakaparas of Bihar and others; and practice agriculture or perform act as cooks or the Tyagi of western Uttar Pradesh are treated as degraded Brahmins (see Saraswati,1977).

Brahminical Perspective

Quintessentially the Brahminical perspective on caste as mentioned earlier, is largely drawn from the sacred texts in that it focuses on the principles and ideas that provide the basis on which, ideally, the rituals and conduct of the Brahmins has to be organised. It is in the unceasing flux between the textual constructs and their practice that the dynamism is contained. These principles and ideas that are interpreted and articulated in myriad of ways that make for local variations and yet make for the identity of the Brahmin as a social group. Notes (comments of the editor) 1.

There is an implicit assumption that the Brahminical view is the view expressed by the Brahmins in the scriptural texts. Since this is the most popular view, we accept it in this unit even as we find it necessary to interrogate the issue.

2.

There is a need to question the widespread view that Mahabharata is a Brahminical text.

3.

It ignores the relations of production in agriculture.

4.

It is not appropriate to equate Dumont with Brahminical view.

5.7 Further Reading Dumont,L.,1988 Homo Hierachicus: The Caste System and its Implications. Oxford University Press: Delhi Ghurye,G.S.,1950, Caste and Race in India, Popular Prakashan, Bombay Kolenda,P.,1997, Caste in Contemporary India: Betond Organic Solidarity, Rawat Publications. Jaipur Saraswati,B.N.,1977, Brahmanic Ritual Traditions. Indian Institute of Advanced Study: Simla

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UNIT 5

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY IN INDIA - II

History and Development of SociologyofIndia-II

Structure 5.0

Objectives

5.1

Introduction

5.2

The Pioneers of Indian Sociology

5.3

Radhakamal Mukerjee (1889-1968) 5.3.1 Biographical Sketch 5.3.2 Central Ideas 5.3.2.1 5.3.2.2 5.3.2.3 5.3.2.4 5.3.2.5 5.3.2.6

Relationship between Economic and Social Behaviour Social Ecology Plea for Conservation of Forests An Ameliorative Approach to Urban Social Problems Theory of Values Indian Culture and Civilisation

5.3.2.7 Mukerjee’s concept of universal civilisation

5.3.3 Important Works

5.4

Dhurjati Prasad Mukerji (1894-1962) 5.4.1 Biographical Sketch 5.4.2 Central Ideas 5.4.2.1 Role of Tradition in Indian Society 5.4.2.2 Integrated Development of Personality 5.4.2.3 D.P. Mukerji’s Views on Unity in Diversity 5.4.2.4 D.P. Mukerji as an Economist

5.4.3 Important Works

5.5

Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1893-1984) 5.5.1 Biographical Sketch 5.5.2 Central Ideas 5. 5.2.1 Caste and Kinship in India 5.5.2.2 5.5.2.3 5.5.2.4 5.5.2.5 5.5.2.6 5.5.2.7

New Roles of Caste in India Study of Tribes in India Rural-urbanisation in India Religious Beliefs and Practices in India Role of the Sadhu in Indian Tradition Indian Art and Architecture

5.5.2.8 Hindu-Muslim Relationships

5.5.3 Important Works

5.6

Let us Sum Up

5.7

Key Words

5.8

Further Reading

5.9

Specimen Answers to Check Your Progress 105

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5.0

OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit you will be able to z

describe the contributions of the three pioneers of Indian sociology

z

outline the biographical details of Radhakamal Mukerjee, D.P. Mukerji and G.S. Ghurye

z

explain some of their central ideas in sociology

z

list some of their important works.

5.1 INTRODUCTON In Unit 4 History and Development of Sociology India – I of this block, you learnt about the emergence of sociology in India. We gave you a broad outline of how sociology came to be established as a discipline in Indian universities. You learnt about the role played by several Indian and foreign scholars in the development of sociology and its link with social anthropology and Indology. You have thus obtained a broad idea of the background in which sociology developed in India. In this unit, we will deal with the contributions of three of the major pioneers of Indian sociology, namely Radhakamal Mukerjee (1889-1968), D.P. Mukerji (1894-1962), and G.S. Ghurye (1893-1984). We mentioned their names in the previous unit also but here we are going to discuss their central ideas. They worked during a time when the spirit of freedom was alive in the soul of every Indian. The National Movement was part of the background of these scholars and critically shaped their writings. In this unit, section 5.2 gives a general picture of the three pioneers, Radhakamal Mukerjee, D.P. Mukerji and G.S. Ghurye. Section 5.3 describes the biographical sketch, central ideas and important works of Radhakamal Mukerjee. Section 5.4 provides the biographical sketch, central ideas and important works of D.P. Mukerji and finally, section 5.5 gives the biographical sketch, central ideas and important works of G.S. Ghurye.

5.2

THE PIONEERS OF INDIAN SOCIOLOGY

In this unit, some detailed references will be made to the contributions of Radhakamal Mukerje, D.P. Mukerji, and G.S. Ghurye to Indian sociology. They were contemporary figures in the Indian academic works. Radhakamal Mukerjee taught in Lucknow Unviersity’s department of economics and sociology along with D.P. Mukerji, while G.S. Ghurye taught in the department of sociology, Bombay University. Their works as teachers, research guides and writers left a deep imprint on Indian sociology, especially in the first half of 20th century. They shared a common approach to sociology. Their works covered a number of social sciences in addition to sociology. Radhakamal Mukerjee criticised the compartmentalisation in social sciences. In his writings he combined economics, sociology and 106

history. He was always in search of linkages or common grounds between social sciences. D.P. Mukerji was a Marxist who wrote on Indian society in terms of the dialectical relationship between tradition and modernity. He was in search of an Indian personality whose modernity was based on Indianness. In his views, an Indian uprooted from his or her cultural heritage could not be called a balanced person. G.S. Ghurye was an ethnographer of tribes and castes but he also wrote extensively on other topics. In his writings, Ghurye emphasised integration. According to him, the guiding force in Indian society was the Hindu ideology. Even the Indian secularism was a product of the tolerant spirit of Hinduism. He used history and statistical data to supplement his sociological writings. However, there was a difference between D.P. Mukerji and Radhakamal Mukerjee. Radhakamal Mukerjee remained an economist in a broad sense throughout his career. Even D.P. Mukerji was an economist. He taught economics and sociology at Lucknow University. But Ghurye did not discuss economic topics in his works.

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Neither Radhakamal Mukerjee nor Ghurye employed rigorous research methods to conduct their studies. They did not also employ hypotheses to test Indian social reality. They wrote articles and books partly in response to personal preferences and partly in response to pressures of public life. Hence, in their academic careers there was no consciously laid out plan. They wrote on a variety of topical themes such as family system in India, castes and classes, urban centres and agrarian or rural life. In their works, there were many references to Indian scriptures, canonical works, epics and Puranas. Radhakamal Mukerjee translated some important Sanskrit works into English during the later phase of his career. Ghurye was a Sanskritist by training before he entered the discipline of sociology. His work on Vedic India, written in the later years, was an example of his interest in Sanskrit works. Now, let us examine one by one the biographical details, central ideas and important works of each of the three thinkers.

5.3

RADHAKAMAL MUKERJEE (1889-1968)

Radhakamal Mukerjee was pioneer in the areas such as social ecology, interdisciplinary research and the social structure of values. We will first describe the biographical sketch and then discuss his central ideas.

5.3.1 Biographical Sketch Radhakamal Mukerjee was born in 1889 in a large Bengali Brahmin family, in a small country town of West Bengal called Berhampur. He spent the first sixteen years of his life in this town. His father was the leader of the bar, that is a lawyer and was an accomplished scholar with a great interest in history. Mukerjee, while describing his early years, says that his home was full of books on history. literature, law and Sanskrit (Singh 1956: 3). The general atmosphere in which he grew up was scholarly. His elder brothers were always reading books from which he, being a child, was kept at a distance. His father used to have long meetings with clients throughout the day and long intellectual and religious discussions during the evening. The interior

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of the house, where the ladies of the house presided, there were rituals, ceremonies and devotional songs. Mukerjee remembered that his house used to be full of pet animals, especially a golden-hued cow which yielded milk throughout the year. He wrote that these early years were marked by “peaceful tenor of life with its play and schooling, piety and devotion punctuated by the periodic celebration of fasts and feasts, rituals and sacraments, story telling from the Epics and Puranas and visits of ascetics and saints and guest of the household” (Singh 1956: 3). Mukerjee’s early memories, which left an imprint on his mind, consisted of the picture of sorrow and misery of a large population devastated by famine in Madras and Orissa during the early years of the twentieth century. He was deeply moved by the pictures of human skeletons on the verge of starvation and death published in the newspapers. This was further deepened by the Bengal famine of 1942-43 which he had witnessed in Calcutta. He also vividly recalled the childhood experiences of Muharram processions, Durgapuja festivals, and so on. It was during the same period of his life that Bengal saw its socio-cultural and intellectual renaissance. In 1905 every city in Bengal was in a state of intellectual and political fervent. The partition of Bengal into East and West Bengal, introduced by Lord Curzon, led to a mass uprising against this event. Political meetings, street processions and singing parties, boycott of British goods and propagating swadeshi products introduced him to the mass movement of time. Mukerjee had his early education in Berhampur. He went to the Krishnath College in Berhampur. He got an academic scholarship in the leading educational institution in India, the Presidency College in Calcutta. He took his honours course in English and History in this college. Here he came in contact with such scholars as H.M. Percival, M.Ghosh , brother of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and the linguist Harinath De. He admired these scholars very much. It was here that he read books by Comte, Herbert Spencer, Lester Ward, Hobhouse and Giddings, besides many others, from cover to cover. As you must be aware by now many of these scholars are the leading men of sociology in Europe and America. During this period of his life, Mukerjee launched himself into the area of adult education which remained his interest till the end. The country was going through a political and cultural upheaval during this period which, according to Mukerjee, completely changed the scale of values. This change was seen far more outside the Governmental institutions, taking the form of a literary and artistic renaissance. This renaissance slowly took the form of a mass movement. It was in order to help the process that Mukerjee started an Adult Evening School in 1906 in the slums of Mechaubazar of Calcutta. He wrote simple texts for adult education which sold in thousands. This school became a Community Centre and even the local physicians started taking interest in this movement of social education. They treated without charging any fee the adults and children of the slums (Singh 1956: 5).

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Mukerjee valued his early training in the discipline of History very much but “the face-to-face contact with misery, squalor and degradation in the

slums of Calcutta” turned the focus of his interests towards the disciplines of Sociology and Economics. He wrote that there was a definite call in the country for the tasks and responsibilities of education of the masses, and that call could be answered by an Indian student best through the knowledge of the social sciences (Singh 1956: 5). Social sciences during Mukerjee’s time in Calcutta University included the disciplines of Economics, Politics and Sociology at M.A. level.

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It was during this period that Mukerjee came in close association with Benoy Kumar Sarkar (We have mentioned Benoy Kumar Sarkar’s contributions to sociology in the previous unit.) Mukerjee and Sarkar shared the same flat and B.K. Sarkar was at that time Professor at Bengal National College, an institution which had given support to such leading thinkers of Bengal as Tagore and Aurobindo Ghosh. Mukerjee, like many other Indians of his time, was impressed by the fiery political speeches of Bipin Chandra Pal, one of the Congress extremists. But the main interest of Mukerjee was at that time educational rather than political. He and his friends called themselves “Ministers of the Poor” and dressed poorly, giving up western dresses like shirts, coats and shoes (Singh 1956: 6). In 1910 Mukerjee went back to his old college in Berhampur as a teacher in Economics. He says that this was the busiest period of his life and it was during this period that he wrote his early works in Economics, such as the Foundations of Indian Economics. His interest in social ecology and the study of regions also originated during this period. The Principal of his College, Rev. E.M. Wheeler, was deeply interested in the sciences, especially Botany. Therefore, the teachers, including Mukerjee, spent a lot of time collecting specimens of plants and insects of all kinds and studying them. This experience developed Mukerjee’s interest in ecology and he became aware of its link with human community. At this time Mukerjee also became the editor of the renowned Bengali monthly, Upasana. He wrote for this monthly regularly and kept in touch with the literary development in Bengali literature. He was a voracious reader and his interest in literature was very deep. During 1915 when there were persecutions by the British Government, Mukerjee was once arrested for a day and all his adult schools were liquidated. The charges against him were that he was a “terrorist” or had sympathy with terrorism under the disguise of adult education. Thanks to his lawyer brother he was released very soon. He was offered a position in Lahore College in Punjab and he went there thus, nipping in bud any interest in politics. He went back to the University of Calcutta where Asutosh Mookerji had established in 1917 the Post-Graduate Council of Arts and Science. He stayed here for five years and taught Economics, Sociology and Political Philosophy. In 1921 he went to the University of Lucknow as Professor and Head of the Department of Economics and Scoiology on the very day when the university started functioning (Singh 1956: 10). He introduced an integrated approach in Economics, Sociology and Anthropology in both research and teaching in Lucknow university.

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According to Mukerjee, using comparative methods in the study of social sciences in India, we must aim at the scientific study of the race and culture origins. In his intellectual career he was deeply influenced by three social thinkers. First was Professor Brajendra Nath Seal; second was Professor Patrick Geddes; and the third one was an old, intimate colleague who died early, Narendra Nath Sen Gupta. The first two, Prof. Seal and Prof. Geddes contributed to the establishment and development of sociology as a discipline in the Indian Universities. Mukerjee always consulted Seal in all his works. His stress on comparative method in cultural sciences was due to Seal’s influence on his work. Patrick Geddes too, influenced Mukerjee’s work on study of regions, ecology and population while Narendra Nath Sen Gupta helped generate Mukerjee’s interest in Social Psychology. Besides these Indian thinkers there were many Western social thinkers with whom Mukerjee worked and who influenced his writings. Some of these were sociologists like, Edward Allsworth Ross, Robert Ezra Park of Chicago, Mckenzie and P. Sorokin. Most of these Americans sociologists were interested in the study of region, urban disorganisation, human ecology, social change and so on. The friendship and intellectual interaction with these sociologists stimulated Mukerjee’s own efforts in social sciences to which he gives due credit (Singh 1956: 3-20). Mukerjee taught economics and sociology in Lucknow University for nearly thirty years. He also became the Vice-Chancellor and Director of the J.K. Institute of Sociology and Human Relation of the University. He wrote erudite volumes on several issues. The basic nature of his writings is the integration of the social sciences and he has been a path-finder in many fields. Many of his students and associates reflect this approach in their writings (Singh 1956: 3-20). He died in the year 1968 but his contributions have left a deep imprint on the students of sociology.

5.3.2 Central Ideas In the Indian universities, the compartmentalisation of disciplines has dominated the scene. Disciplines such as sociology, psychology and statistics have existed side by side in the same college or university but there has been very little interaction between them. In his teachings and writings, Mukerjee emphasised the need for mutual interaction between social sciences on the one hand and between social sciences and physical sciences on the other. For example, Indian economics, modeled on British economics, mostly neglected the traditional caste networks in indigenous business, handicrafts and banking. Economic development was mainly viewed as an extension of monetary economics or market phenomenon. The Western model in economics focused on the urban-industrial centres. 5.3.2.1 Relationship between economic and social behaviour

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In a country like India where many economic transactions take place within the framework of caste or tribe, the “market model” has a limited relevance. Mukerjee tried to show the relationship between traditional networks and economic exchange. The guilds and castes of India were operating in a non-competitive system. The rules of economic exchange were derived from the normative Hinduism, in other words, according to the norms of

Hindu religion wherein interdependence between groups was emphasised. Hence, to understand rural India, the economic values should be analysed with reference to social norms. Religious and/ or ethical constraints have always lent a direction to economic exchange. Values enter into the daily life of people and compel them to act in collectively sanctioned ways. For example, a hungry upper caste Hindu would not eat beef; likewise, an orthodox Muslim or Jew would not eat pork, however urgent may be the need for food. Therefore, it is wrong to always treat economic behaviour as separate from social life or collectivity.

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5.3.2.2 Social Ecology Social Ecology was another theme which preoccupied Mukerjee. He wrote a number of books on the theme. For him social ecology was a complex formulation in which a number of social sciences interacted. The geological, geographical and biological factors worked together to produce an ecological zone. In its turn, ecology is conditioned by social, economic or political factors. For example, in the past many Indian ecological regions were opened up for human settlement and agrarian development through political conquests. As there is a definite link between ecology and society the development of ecological zones must be seen in terms of a dynamic process: that is, challenge of the environment and response of the people who establish a settlement. Ecological balance is not a mechanical carving out of a territory and settling people thereon. Such an attempt weakens or destroys social fabric. For example, in building irrigation dams in India, very often people of the concerned locations are moved to new settlements. The lack of a proper perspective on involuntary resettlement and rehabilitation has often caused damage to social life of these people. In many parts of India, there is a traditional system of interdependence known as jajmani in the north or by its equivalents in other regions. If people are moved into other locations such arrangements abruptly come to an end. Only by planning suitable alternatives in advance, can this disruption be overcome. For example, the cooperatives can help people, in the absence of old social patterns of interdependence. Hence, social perspective is necessary for orderly and systematic transformation of India into an urban-industrial economy. In his works on social ecology, Mukerjee took a point of departure from the Western social scientists. In the USA, the Chicago School of Sociology gave importance to empirical studies of such social problems as social disorganisation, urban deterioration, etc. To this school belonged sociologists like Park and Burgess, Louis Wirth, Giddings and so on. This school emphasised the study of human ecology. Here, the focus was on social engineering involving transfer of slum dwellers to new settlements, improvements in living conditions, better prospects of employment, etc. But, according to Mukerjee, social ecology was the better alternative to the havoc caused by rapid industrialisation. India, with its long history, was a storehouse of values. Therefore, in building a new India the planning must not be confined to immediate and concrete problems but must be directed towards value-based developments. 111

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As part of his interest in social ecology, Mukerjee developed the regional sociology. He argued for a better understanding of regional dimensions of national development. If the regions in modern India were developed so as to make them self-sufficient, then the nation as a whole would stand to benefit. Otherwise, some regions would dominate the rest resulting in a lopsided development. As India was a country of diverse regions, each with a distinctive ethno-history i.e. the history of its various ethnic groups, it was imperative to coordinate the developments schemes for maintaining ecological balance. In sum, he stood for a balance between economic growth and ecological fitness. In achieving this end, many skills, such as weaving, engraving etc., were inherited by caste groups in India. These crafts could be well incorporated into the modern cooperatives. In other words, the modernisation of Indian society should not neglect its traditional economic networks. Incidentally, in the post-Independent India, the traditional crafts have been organised into handloom cooperatives, etc. in Tamil Nadu and other states. Likewise, the Khadi Gramodyog has also used the traditional skills for modern production. 5.3.2.3 Plea for conservartion of forests Mukerjee wrote extensively on the danger of deforestation. The cutting of trees subjects the soil to the fury of floods and reduces the fertility of soil. The topsoil which is washed away by floods or excess rainfall cannot be replenished. Therefore, the forest and woods of India were an ecological asset. His plea for conservation has been taken up at present by a number of activists, voluntary organisations such as Chipko and Apko, which focus on halting the destruction of trees. Mukerjee also referred to the danger of mono-cultivation, that is, raising a single cash crop (such as cotton or sugarcane) to the detriment of rotation of crops. Such practices as deforestation and mono-cultivation disturbed the fragile ecosystem and gave rise to severe environmental problems. Every year some parts of India especially in the north suffer either from floods or from droughts. Of course, cyclones of the coastal regions are beyond human control, but the manmade disasters, such as the depletion of natural resources through deforestation can be slowed down or prevented. Mukerjee advocated the integration of village, town and nation into a single, broad-based developmental process. Urban development at the expense of the village should be kept in check. Agriculture should be diversified and industries decentralised. A more equitable distribution of wealth and resources, not only between sections of people but also between regions, would bring about a more balanced development. 5.3.2.4 An Ameliorative Approach to Urban Social Problems

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Mukerjee was also interested in the ameliorative approach to the problems of working class. The industrialisation in India, which has been taking place during the last several decades, succeeded in bringing together people from diverse regions and languages. But the living conditions of workers in the urban centres such as Mumbai, Kanpur, Kolkata and Chennai were adversely affected by slum life. In the early days of industrialisation, urban slums gave rise to vices such as prostitution, gambling and crime. It was, therefore, necessary to bring about drastic changes in the lives of workers to improve their economic and moral conditions.

Today, many private industries and the public section units have provided facilities for the social welfare of a number of workers. Besides, the central and state governments have promulgated legislative acts which are binding on the employers. However, unorganised workers (i.e. who are underemployed, or temporarily employed) continue to live in slums. The rampant problems in the Indian slums at present are consumption of illicit liquor and drugs, crimes, and worsening housing conditions and civic facilities. Therefore, Mukerjee’s analysis of the working class is relevant even for the present industrial organisation in India.

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5.3.2.5 Theory of Values As noted previously, Radhakamal Mukerjee had a sustained interest in the impact of values on human society. In the middle of the twentieth century, the notion of a value- free social science became dominant in academic circles both in the West and in India. Mukerjee held that a separation between “fact” and “value” was arbitrary. The facts and values could not be separated from each other in human interactions. Even a simple transaction like taking food, wearing dress or greeting others was a valuebased or normatively conditioned behaviour. Each society has a distinctive culture and its values and norms guide the behaviour. Therefore, the positivistic tradition of the West which (on the analogy of sciences) wanted to separate facts from values, was not tenable to R.K. Mukerjee, especially in the study of a society like India. In the West, there was a compelling need to free scientific enquiry from the hold of church theology. Hence, it was perhaps necessary to hold that facts and values were separate. Activity I Note down at least five types of social behaviour that you perform in your daily life and state the values related with them. Some examples of social behaviour are wearing a sacred thread, going to the mosque, temple or church, touching the feet of elders, and so on. Do you agree or disagree with Radhakamal Mukerjee’s opinion that we cannot separate facts of social behaviour from the values which are associated with them? Write a note of one page about this and compare your note, if possible with those of other students at your Study Centres. Mukerjee underlined two basic points in relation to values. Firstly, values are not limited only to religion or ethics. Economics, politics and law also give rise to values. In other words, human needs are transformed into social values and are internalised in the minds of members of society. Older civilisations such as India and China were stable. Hence, values were formed and organised into a hierarchy of higher and lower levels. Secondly, values are not a product of subjective or individualistic aspirations. They are objectively grounded in humankind’s social aspirations and desires. In other words, values are both general and objective i.e., measurable by empirical methods. In general, the great civilisations of the world have subordinated instrumental or materialistic goals to intrinsic or spiritual goals. To sum up, there are three salient points in Mukerjee’s theory of values. Firstly, values satisfy the basic impulses of men and women in an orderly

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fashion. This means that the selfish desires and interests are modified by collective living, wherein people give and take from each other. Secondly, values are generic in scope and include both individual and social responses and attitudes. This means that the values are shared by all through their symbolisation. The national flag, for example, is a common symbol for all individuals and groups who constitute a nation. Thirdly, in spite of diversities of human society, some universal values are discernible. The major religions of humankind are repositories of these universal values and norms. A dynamic approach to society will aim at an adaptation of inherited values to the needs of contemporary times. 5.3.2.5 Indian culture and civilisation Mukerjee also wrote extensively on Indian art and architecture, history and culture. Mukerjee (1964) believed that Asiatic art aimed at collective developments and wrote, “Art in Asia became the torch-bearer of social and spiritual upheavals for millions …..Oriental art is most intensely charged with community feeling and is thus chiefly responsible for the historical continuity of Oriental Cultures”. In contrast, such artistic endeavour in the West had been dominated either by individualism or the feeling that art was an end in itself. This was just not conducive to either social solidarity or spiritual development. Indian art was embedded in social or ethical sphere. R.K. Mukerjee wrote “The myriad temples, stupas and viharas of India bear witness to the link between art and ethics, religious and social values. Art in India is an enduring component of people’s interaction with each other which shows in concrete forms the active relationship between people’s aspirations and their artistic creativity”. Indian art was constantly associated with religion. In his historical study of India Mukerjee was impressed by the non-aggressive nature of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The remarkable quality of Indian religions was their insistence on ultimate truth rather than on a particular set of beliefs or rituals. The Indian influences spread to many countries not through war or conquest but through friendship and goodwill. Right from the time of Ashoka, the peaceful “colonisation” of Sri Lanka, Cambodia. Tibet, and other countries of Outer India took place. Indian art and religion enriched the local cultures and by doing so gave rise to a new culture. For example, even today, different styles of Ramayana, the Hindu religious epic, are performed in these countries and several others like Indonesia, Sumatra, Trinidad. Thus, there was the harmony between foreign and indigenous elements. In India itself, the Hindu legal texts such as Dharmasastra are flexible codes to accommodate the ethnic diversities of India. Correctly interpreted, these texts provide a framework of values and norms for the orderly living of diverse groups. Thus, art and religion in India have been tolerant of diverse forms and styles. 5.3.2.6 Mukerjee’s concept of universal civilisation

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Mukerjee’s general theory of society sought to explain the values of a universal civilisation. He used the term “civilisation” in an inclusive sense; culture was part of it. He proposed that human civilisation should be studied on three inter-related levels. These are:

i)

Biological evolution

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The biological evolution of human beings has facilitated the rise and development of civilisation. They have the capacity to change the environment as an active agent. The animals can only adapt to an environment; but human beings can mould it in different ways. The human beings, as a biological species, are capable of overcoming competition and conflict and attain cooperation (symbiosis). ii)

Psycho-social dimension There is a psycho-social dimension. In social psychology the people are often depicted within the framework of race, ethnicity or nationhood. Human beings are seen as prisoners of little selves or egos, whose attitude is parochial or ethnocentric. On the contrary, human beings have the potentiality to overcome the narrow feelings and attain universalisation that is, to identify oneself with the larger collectivity such as one’s nation or even as a member of the universe itself. In the process, common values help to subordinate the particularistic values to universal values. According to Mukerjee, ethical relativism which means that values vary from society to society) is not helpful in the present times; there is need for ethical universalism which affirms the unity of the humankind. In the new perspective, men and women become free moral agents who are capable of recognising the common strands binding the humanity. They are no longer dictated by divisiveness or relativity.

iii) Spiritual dimension In Mukerjee’s views, the civilisation has a spiritual dimension. Human beings are gradually scaling transcendental heights. That is, they are moving up to the ladder of spirituality by overcoming the constraints of biogenic and existential levels i.e. the physical and material limitations. In this endeavour, art, myth and religion provide the “impulsion” or the force to move upward. As the social sciences have hitherto ignored these cultural elements, they are incapable of providing a spiritual perspective. Incidentally, a similar observation was made by Karl Mannheim, a German sociologist, who wrote on sociology of culture. Mannheim noted that the Western social sciences had neglected cultural dimensions (arts, myths, symbols, etc.) under the rigid code of positivism or structural functionalism. This resulted in a lopsided view of social reality. According to Mukerjee, humankind’s search for unity, wholeness and transcendence highlight the spirituality of civilisation. In this respect, he commended the Indian and Chinese civilisations which had endured as stable entitles since sixth century B.C. Their strength is derived from their universal myths and values which foster spiritual quest. Mukerjee noted with satisfaction that the search for university was embodied in the Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations Organisation (U.N.O.) in the twentieth century. These rights upheld liberty and dignity of people, in whichever country they might be living. Mukerjee’s emphasis on spirituality was not an escapist dream. He stated that human progress (in the ultimate sense) was possible only if glaring

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disparities of wealth and power between countries were reduced. So long as poverty persisted or political oppression continued, further integral evolution of mankind was not a practical proposition. The persisting human awareness of misery in the world had stimulated the search for universal values and norms.

5.3.3 Important Works Some of Radhakamal Mukerjee’s important works in sociology are i)

The Regional Balance of Man (1938)

ii)

Indian Working Class (1940)

iii) The Social Structure of Values (1955) iv) Philosophy of Social Sciences (1960) v)

Flowering of Indian Art (1964)

Check Your Progress 1 i)

ii)

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences: a)

Radhakamal Mukerjee was a pioneer in the areas such as social …………….. interdisciplinary research and the social structure of values.

b)

He was against the ………………. of social sciences.

c)

In his writings he combined ………………. sociology and history.

Describe in about two lines what is meant by an ecological zone. ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

iii) What is the regional sociology, according to Radhakamal Mukerjee? Describe in about ten lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... 116

iv) Discuss in about five lines Radhakamal Mukerjee’s opinion about “facts” and “values”.

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5.4

DHURJATI PRASAD MUKERJI (1894-1962)

D.P. Mukerji (1894-1962) was a Marxist who analysed Indian history in terms of a dialectical process. Tradition and modernity, colonialism and nationalism, individualism and collectivism could be seen as dialectically interacting with each other. In the next sub-section (5.4.0) we will give you a biographical sketch of D.P. Mukerji. This will help you to understand his central ideas in their proper perspective.

5.4.1 Biographical Sketch Dhurjati Prasad Mukerji was popularly known as “D.P.”. He was born in 1894 in a middle class Brahmin family of Bengal. It was during this period that the literary influence of Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra and Sarat Chandra Chatterjee was at its peak. There was renaissance of Bengali literature at this time. D.P. Mukerji did his graduation from Bangbasi College, Bengal. First he was a student of history which included economics at that time, then he took a degree in economics. He was a man of letters in Bengali and wrote some fiction also but he did not pursue this line for long. He did not confine to the boundaries of a particular discipline. It was perhaps for this reason that he became a sociologist, as Sociology is the most comprehensive social science. He attained not only national but international fame as a sociologist. In 1922 he joined the Lucknow University as a lecturer in Economics and Sociology. He was in his own words a Marxologist. His roots in middle class Brahmin family led him instinctively to blend Marxism with Indian tradition. D.P. Mukerji always thought that ideas of Karl Marx were relevant in India when adapted to conditions of Indian history and tradition. He, therefore, always emphasised the study of social processes and social movements. He was born in the golden age of criticism and reflected this age in true senses in his own work. To every subject he brought critical criteria from as many fields as possible. He had the faculty of looking at every problem from a new angle. He was an art critic, music critic, a drama critic and a critic of life. In him we find a blend of Anglo-Bengalee culture. D.P. Mukerji was a man of aesthetic sensibilities. He was interested in style, even in the style of his dress. He was a slim man who disliked gaining even an extra pound of weight. In thinking also he hated padding or writing

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anything superfluous or irrelevant. His style of writing was sharp, spare and incisive. He was a sophisticated man who rarely revealed his emotions. For him, emotions should not be exhibited but should be fused with the intellectual process. He loved to be a teacher and was very popular amongst his students. He encouraged dialogue and interchange of ideas with his students. Thus, he was co-student, a co-enquirer who never stopped learning. He was such an influence on his students that he lived in the minds of his students even after his death. For sometimes D.P. Mukerji became the Director of Information when the Congress assumed office in U.P. His influence brought the spirit of an intellectual approach to public relations. He was also part of the foundation of the Bureau of Economics and Statistics. He returned in 1939 to the Lucknow University when Congress relinquished office on the war issue at the beginning of the Second World War. In 1947 he was appointed as a member of U.P. Labour Inquiry Committee. It was in 1951 that he was made a professor. This was a late recognition but D.P. never felt bitter about it. A year before his retirement at Lucknow, in 1953, he was invited to head the Department of Economics at Aligarh. He stayed there for five years. He went to the Hagure as a visiting professor of sociology at the International Institute of Social Studies. He was a founder member of the Indian Sociological Association and one of the members of its Managing Committee and its Editorial Board. He also represented the association at the International Sociological Association of which he became the Vice President. He wrote several books and articles in diverse fields. After Independence he watched political movements with great interest but was not a politician in any sense. He was influenced by two national leaders, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai and Jawaharlal Nehru. He used to correspond with Nehru. As an intellectual he did not have a cloistered mind. He brought refinement to his subject. He was influenced by many but till the end he remained a scholar who influenced many others. He died of throat cancer in 1962. But as stated earlier, he survives through his students.

5.4.2 Central Ideas Marxism, according to D.P. Mukerji, helped one to understand the historical developments well but it could not offer a satisfactory solution to human problems. That solution was to be found in the regeneration and reinterpretation of India’s national culture. He was opposed to the positivism of modern social sciences which reduced individuals into biological or psychological units. The industrial culture of the West had turned individuals into self-seeking agents; the society in the West had become ethnocentric. By emphasising individuation (i.e., recognition of the roles and rights of the individual) positivism had uprooted the social anchors of humanity. 5.4.2.1 Role of tradition in Indian society 118

Mukerji held that tradition was the mainspring of culture. The individuals drew their nourishment from the tradition. They did not lose a sense of

purposes or direction. But tradition often became a deadweight, as in India. Also, people made fetish of it, that is, they idealised it and worshipped it. Cultural stagnation was bound to result on account of the people’s uncritical attitude towards it. Therefore, individuation must also be encouraged. The individuals can recreate culture by infusing it with new vigour. The individual is to be neither totally free nor unfree. For the evolution of a healthy personality, there must be a balance between individuation and sociation. Sociation is the bond of the individual with society. Individual’s freedom must not be anarchy but a creative expression of the tradition.

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5.4.2.2 Integrated development of personality Mukerji did not commend to Indians the positivistic construction of personality. The Western personality made a fetish of achievement. Science and technology had been harnessed to great improvements in the living conditions of masses. The capacity of human beings to control nature and use it to their advantage were the notable achievements of the modern age. However, the Western approach could not lead to an integrated development. For an integrated development of personality there was need for a balance between technological development and human freedom. Even a socialist society such as Soviet Russia had failed to evolve a balanced personality. There, the individuals had been dominated by the state or the political party. D.P. Mukerji’s dialecticism was rooted in humanism which cut across narrow ethnic or national consideration. In the West, the individuals had become either aggressive or docile. The Western progress was devoid of humanism. The Renaissance and Industrial Revolution had freed individuals from the grip of stagnant medieval tradition but at the same time reduced the humanist content of progress. The modern nationalism is essentially nurtured in the positivistic aspects of the West. It could not be an appropriate model for India. Besides, India’s middle classes were a product of Western impact on India. They were uprooted from their own indigenous tradition. They had lost contact with the masses. India could become a modern nation if the middle classes reestablished their links with the masses. Only then a genuine development was possible. For D.P. Mukerji growth was a mere quantitative achievement, development was a qualitative term denoting value-based progress. 5.4.2.3 D.P. Mukerji’s views on Unity in Diversity D.P. Mukerji was involved in depicting Hindu-Muslim relations. His search for truth led him to discover humanistic and spiritual unity in the diversities of Indian culture. He was examining many of the areas within the broad framework of Hindu-Muslim interaction. There were three areas of interaction which were worthy of note. i) Politically, the Islamic kings ruled over the Hindu subjects from eleventh to seventeenth centuries A.D. in North India. At the same time, there were established alliances between Muslim rulers and Hindu rajas. Hence, there was a sense of partnership between Muslim rulers and Hindu subjects; this was more evident during the Mughal rule. ii) In economic relations, during the Islamic rule while the jagirdars (military chiefs) were Muslims, most of the zamindars were Hindus. These two groups shared many interests in common. Thus, together

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these two classes formed an alliance. iii) Culturally, in literature, music, costumes, cultivation of fine arts, etc., there were reciprocal influences. Both Sufism and Bhaktism in the north encouraged mutual interactions. However, the Muslims and Hindus differed in their world view. Mukerji noted that the Hindu mind thought in terms of cycles: the good and the bad succeeded each other. The Hindus had a fatalistic view. Further, the Hindu world view was the product of a distinctive territory, a subcontinent. Islam by contrast was a multi-ethnic, multi-national religion. Hindu approach to nationhood was idealistic, Islamic approach was pragmatic. For the Hindu freedom was a “birth right”; for the Muslim it was an opportunity. The Muslim view was non-cyclic and non-fatalistic. Hence the Muslim view favoured direct action to make the best use of a political crisis or opportunity. 5.4.2.4 D.P. Mukerji as an economist D.P. Mukerji was by training an economist. His approach to economics was, however, distinct from that of other economists. He viewed the economic development in India in terms of historical and cultural specificities. The economic forces in India were influenced by social values. During ancient times, the king and the members of royal court did not own the lands. The powers conferred on the king were limited to fiscal obligations; that is to say, the tillers of land had to give a portion of their produce to the treasury as tax or revenue in return for the royal protection. The ownership of the land was mainly vested in the village councils. During the heyday of Buddhism, the Sangha (monastic organisation) often managed extensive lands, which were granted to them by kings. Although the individual monks (Bhikshus) could not possess or own property, the Sangha owned properties. One-sixth of the agricultural produce called as tax by the Sangha was utilised for the cultivation of learning and pursuit of ethical and spiritual goals. Just as village lands were controlled by kin and caste groups, which were internally autonomous, even trade and banking in India were managed by kinship and caste networks in pre-modern times. The guilds which carried on regional trade were usually based on castes. Commercial banking was also controlled by castes. There were important money-lending Hindu families on the West coast whose influence was widespread especially during Mughal rule. Mukerji did not treat the merchants as mere parasites; on the contrary, he regarded them as those who established trade networks between urban centres and rural hinterland. But during the colonial rule they began exploiting as they shed their earlier cultural constraints. The Indian merchant princes often travelled to foreign countries to display their wares; thereby they linked India to the outside world not only through trade but through the spread of culture.

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The British rule in India brought about widespread changes in Indian economy. The urban-industrial economy introduced by the British set aside not only the older institutional networks but also the traditional classes. This called for a new social adaptation. In the new set-up the educated middle classes of India’s urban centres became the focal point of society. However, these middle classes were dominated by Western life styles and

thinking. The future of India would be secure if the middle classes reached out to the masses and established an active partnership with them in nationbuilding.

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5.4.3 Important Works Some of the important sociological works of D.P. Mukerji are: i)

Basic Concepts in Sociology (1932)

ii)

Personality and the Social Sciences (1924)

iii) Modern Indian Culture (1942) iv) Problems of Indian Youths (1946) v)

Diversities (1958)

Out of these books, Modern Indian Culture (1942) and Diversities (1958) are his best known works. His versatility can be seen from his other contributions too, such as, his books, i)

Tagore: A Study (1943)

ii)

On Indian History (1943)

iii) Introduction to Indian Music (1943) Check Your Progress 2 i)

Describe D.P. Mukerji’s sociology in about six lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

Give the names of the two of D.P. Mukerji’s major works in sociology. ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

5.5

GOVIND SADASHIV GHURYE (1893-1984)

G.S. Ghurye, as you know, taught in the Department of Sociology, Bombay University. He was an ethnographer who studied tribes and castes of India using historical, Indological and statistical data. Let us first learn the biographical details about him. Then we will examine his central ideas and important works in sociology.

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5.5.1 Biographical Sketch In this sub-section we have described the biography of G.S. Ghurye based on his own book (1973) I and Other Explorations. Govind Sadashiv Ghurye was born on 12th Dec. 1893 in a small town called Malvan on the west coast of India. Malvan is some two-hundred miles away from Mumbai. He belonged to a fairly prosperous Brahmin family, which owned shops and other property. He was named after his grandfather who died the same year when he was born. His family was very religious and well known in that region for piety. Due to loss in business and the death of his grandfather G.S. Ghurye’s father had to take up a job. His job proved to be very lucky for the family. Ghurye was one of four children of his parents. He had an elder brother whom he admired very much, another brother and a sister. He joined school in Malvan. In 1905 his “thread ceremony” was performed. At this time he had completed his fifth standard examination and joined an English school. His mother tongue was Marathi and his early schooling was also in Marathi. But knowledge of Sanskrit was there in the family. His grandfather knew Sanskrit. He too, started learning Sanskrit. The religious atmosphere of the family and its reputation for piety and learning had a deep influence on G.S. Ghurye. He grew up learning English and received modern education but his roots in Hindu culture and tradition were very deep. He was sent by his mother to complete his matriculation from Junagad in Gujarat. Here his eldest brother was already studying. He became a student of the Bahauddin College in 1912. Here he became very proficient in Sanskrit. He joined Bombay university which used to have an entrance exam then. He cleared this examination with twenty other boys. There were no girls at that time but later a Christian girl joined their class. He had obtained first position in his college. In the university he secured fourth position. His brother was teaching physics at the university when Sadashiva joined it. G.S. Ghurye was a very hard working student and in spite of the short phases of illness he managed to do very well in his studies. In 1916 when G.S. Ghurye had completed his B.A. examination and stood first in it, he was married to a girl of a fairly rich family of Vengurla (Maharashtra), of his own sub-caste. His parents named his wife Rukmini after the marriage as per the practice amongst the Maharashtrians. But Ghurye reverted back to calling her Sajubai, which was her original name when they established their own household in 1923. He was against the practice of changing the personal name of a girl after marriage. He was also against the traditional practice of tattooing the skin because he considered it barbaric. For his B.A. result he received the Bhau Daji Prize, named after the great Indologist Bhau Daji Lad who was one of the first physicians of Mumbai, trained in the western system of medium. G.S. Ghurye had secured seventy four per cent marks in Sanskrit in his college.

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Sadashiv was appointed a Fellow of the college and completed his M.A. degree. The languages he chose in his M.A. course were English, Sanskrit and later he took Pali. He also did a course which was newly introduced in the university on comparative philology. He got first class in M.A. also.

He was awarded the Chancellor’s Gold Medal, a top most honour in the whole university. His success was unique in the history of the university because nobody before him had ever got first class in M.A. with Sanskrit.

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He later applied for a scholarship to go abroad for studies in sociology, which the Bombay university had advertised earlier. He was asked to meet Prof. Patrick Geddes of sociology in Bombay university. During his interactions with Prof. Geddes he wrote an essay on “Bombay as an Urban Centre” which was highly appreciated by Geddes. This enabled Ghurye to get the foreign study scholarship. Ghurye went to England by ship. He became a student of L.T. Hobhouse. Besides many other people, he met Dr. A.C. Haddon who was the world famous ethnologist studying preliterate cultures. It was Haddon who introduced Ghurey to Dr. W.H.R. Rivers whose influence on Ghurey was considerable. Rivers was at the pinnacle of his intellectual glory and was founder of the Cambridge School of Psychology. Rivers later came to India and studied a polyandrous tribe called the Todas of the Nilgiri Hills. Ghurye wrote several articles in sociology at this time and got them published in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute and in the journal, Anthropos. He wrote his most important work, Caste and Race in India, during the 1930s. He was awarded the degree of Ph.D. from Cambridge university. He came back to India after W.H.R. Rivers’ death. He worked in Calcutta for 7 months on a scholarship which he received from Bombay University. Then he and K.P. Chattopadhya of Calcutta University got appointments as Readers in Sociology at Bombay university, in 1924. He got this appointment due to the great respect and recognition given to him by the late Dr. W.H.R. Rivers. G.S. Ghurye joined the Bombay Asiatic Society as a member in the same year. He guided several students under him. Some of his students are now famous sociologists. They made significant contributions to the growth of sociology and social anthropology in India. G.S. Ghurye was made a Professor of Sociology in 1934, ten years after he joined the Bombay university as a Reader and the Head of the Department of Sociology. He was elected the President of the anthropological section of the Indian Science Congress in 1934. In the same year he was elected as the nominee of the Royal Asiatic Society by the Managing Committee of its Bombay branch. In 1942 he became the President of the Bombay Anthropological Society and continued to hold this position till 1948. He wrote several books and articles and his knowledge of Sanskrit enabled him to study the religious scriptures in the context of Indian society. He studied castes and tribes, rural-urbanisation, about the Indian Sadhus, about Indian costumes and so on. During his life time he won several top honours accorded to any intellectual in India. He became not only a nationally but internationally known sociologist of India. He died in the year 1984.

5.5.2 Central Ideas G.S. Ghurye’s contributions to Indian sociology were mainly in the areas of ethnography of castes and tribes, rural-urbanisation, religious phenomena,

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social tensions and Indian art. Let discuss his ideas in the following subsub-section. 5.5.2.1 Caste and Kinship in India In the early 1930s, G.S. Ghurye published a book, Caste and Race in India which still is an important source book on Indian castes. In this work, he examined the caste system from historical, comparative and integrative perspectives. Later, he made a comparative study of kinship in IndoEuropean cultures. In his studies of kinship and caste, Ghurye emphasised two points: (a) the kin and caste networks of India had parallels in some other countries also; and (b) the kinship and caste in India served as integrative framework. The evolution of Indian society was based on the integration of diverse racial or ethnic groups through these networks. The gotra and charana were kin-categories of Indo-European languages which systematised the rank and status of the people. These categories were derived from names of the sages of the past. These sages were the real or eponymous founders of the gotra and charana. In India descent has not always been traced to the blood tie; the lineages were often based on spiritual descent from sages of the past. Outside the kinship we might notice the guru-shishya relationship, which is also based on spiritual descent; the disciple is proud to trace his descent from a master. Likewise, caste and sub-caste integrated people into a ranked order based on norms of puritypollution. The rules of endogamy and commensality which marked off castes from each other, were in fact integrative instruments to organise them into a totality or collectivity. The Hindu religion provided the conceptual and ritualistic guidelines for this integration. The Brahmins in India played a key role in legitimising the caste ranks and orders through their interpretation of Dharmashastras, which were the compendia of sacred codes. 5.5.2.2 New Roles of Caste in India

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Ghurye’s work on caste contained some interesting speculations, which have been proved to be correct. Firstly, he noted that the Indian castes had fostered voluntary association for furtherance of education and reformist aims. The Nadars, Reddys and Kammas of South India, Saraswat Brahmins of Maharashtra and Vaisyas, and Kayasthas of North India, to mention only a few, founded caste associations. Ghurye presumed that in the future they would give rise to a political consciousness based on caste ties. In the post-Independent India, the caste associations have been quite vocal about getting political concessions to their members. In the later decades of twentieth century, Rajni Kothari, a political analyst, extensively analysed the caste associations. Unlike Ghurye, Kothari recognised the positive roles of these caste associations such as taking up welfare activities, etc. According to Ghurye, they have served to mainly articulate the people’s political aspirations in a democratic framework. Secondly, Ghurye referred to the various agitations of the backward classes for better privileges. These struggles seemed to be undermining the integrity of the Indian society. Thus, the caste system was becoming “pluralist” in the sense that each caste was in competition or conflict with the other for bigger share of the nation’s wealth. Hence, according to Ghurye this scramble for privileges was damaging the unity of society.

5.5.2.3 Study of tribes in India

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Ghurye’s works on the tribes were general as well as specific. He wrote a general work on scheduled tribes in which he dwelt with the historical, administrative and social dimensions of Indian tribes. He also wrote on specific tribes such as the Kolis of Maharashtra. Ghurye was of the view that the Indian tribes were like “backward Hindus”. Their backwardness was due to their imperfect integration into Hindu society. The Santhals, Bhils, Gonds, etc. who live in South-Central India are examples of it. Ghurye (1963) wrote, “While sections of these tribes are properly integrated in the Hindu society, very large sections, in fact the bulk of them are rather loosely integrated…….. Under the circumstances, the only proper description of these peoples is that they are the imperfectly integrated classes of Hindu society”. For Ghurye, the incorporation of Hindu values and norms into tribal life was a positive development. With increasing contact with the Hindu social groups the tribes had slowly absorbed certain Hindu values and style of life and came to be considered part of the Hindu caste society. The tribes gave up liquor-drinking, received education and improved their agriculture under Hindu influence. In this respect, Hindu voluntary organisations such as Ramakrishna Mission and Arya Samaj played a constructive role. In his later works on north-eastern tribes, Ghurye documented secessionist trends. He felt that unless these were held in check, the political unity of the country would be damaged. 5..5.2.4 Rural-urbanisation in India Ghurye was interested in the process of rural-urbanisation. He held the view that the urbanisation in India was not a simple function of industrial growth. In India, the process of urbanisation, at least till 1980s, started from within the rural area itself. Ghurye quoted Sanskrit texts and documents to illustrate the growth of urban centres from the need for markets felt in rural hinterland. In other words, owing to the expansion of agriculture, more and more markets were needed to exchange the surplus in food grains. Hence, in many rural regions, one part of a big village was converted into a market; in turn, this led to a township which developed administrative, judicial and other institutions. We may add here that urban centres were also based on feudal patronage. In the past, demand of royal courts for silk cloth, weapons, jewellery, metal artifacts led to the growth of urban centres such as Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Jaipur, Moradabad etc. In sum, Ghurye’s approach to “rural-urbanisation” showed the indigenous source of urbanism. The growth of metropolitan centres during colonial times altered the Indian urban life. The towns and cities were no longer the outlets for agricultural produce and handicrafts; but they became the major manufacturing centres, which used rural hinterland for producing raw-materials and turned it into a market for selling industrial products. Thus, metropolis came to dominate the village economy. In contrast to previous pattern, now the urbanisation has started making inroads into the rural hinterland. Ghurye made the study of a village in Pune district of Maharashtra to highlight the continuity of the social structure. This village named Lonikand

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had been studied by a British officer in 1819. He described its general layout, economic infrastructure, caste composition, market transactions and political and religious dispositions. The re-survey of the village made by Ghurye in 1957 did not reveal any far-reaching differences in the demographic, economic and social dimensions of the village. Besides, he found that the layout of the village corresponded to the pattern laid down in a text of antiquity. He also noted that the village did not have a very well-knit social structure; there were loose strands in its social fabric. In spite of it the village had survived as a viable unit.

Figure 5.1: RURAL - URBANISATION

Activity 2 Read carefully the paragraphs in sub-section 5.5.2 on central ideas of G.S. Ghurye on rural-urbanisation in India. Discuss with two elders about the kind of changes they have seen taking place in their city, town or village after the colonial period. Ask them about the changes in the layout of the village, that is, how it has been planned, where the market is situated, where the residential areas are situated and so on. Write a note of about a page on the – “Rural-Urban growth in My City or Town or Village”. Compare your note, if possible, with notes of other students at your Study Centre. 5.5.2.4 Religious Beliefs and Practices in India

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Ghurye made original contributions to the study of Indian religious beliefs and practices. He wrote three books on this in the period between 1950 and 1965. He argued that the religious consciousness in ancient India, Egypt and Babylonia was centered around the temples. There were also similarities between Indian and Egyptian patterns of worship and temple architecture. In his work on the role of Gods in Indian religion, Ghurye traced the rise of major deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and Durga to the need to integrate local or sub-regional beliefs into a macro-level system of worship. The diverse ethnic groups in India were integrated into a religious complex around these deities. Political or public patronage was often the basis for the spread of popular cults in India. The Ganesha festival in

Maharashtra and Durga festival in Bengal gained popularity due to the efforts of nationalists such as B.G. Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal who were using religious idiom for the propagations of political ideas during the freedom struggle. Even in the beginning of the twenty first century, these festivals have retained some political overtones.

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5.5.2.5 Role of the Sadhu in Indian tradition In his work, Indian Sadhus, Ghurye (1953) examined the paradoxical nature of renunciation in India. In Indian culture, the Sadhu or Sannyasin is supposed to be detached from all caste norms, social conventions, etc. In fact, he is outside “the pale of society”. It is the usual practice among Shaivites to conduct a “mock funeral” of one who is entering the path of renunciation. It means that he is “dead” to society but is “reborn” in spiritual terms. Yet, interestingly enough since the time of Shankara, the eigth century reformer, Hindu society has been more or less guided by the Sadhus. These Sadhus are not individual hermits. Most of them are organised into monastic orders which have distinctive traditions. The monastic organisation in India was a product of Buddhism and Jainism. Shankara introduced it into Hinduism. Indian renouncers have acted as the arbiters of religious disputes, patronised learning of scriptures and even defended religion against external attacks. So, renunciation has been a constructive force in Hindu society. Ghurye considered in detail the different groups of Sadhus. Important among them were the Shaivite Dashnamis (literal meaning: ten orders) and Vaishnavite Bairagis. Both these groups had the Naga (militant naked ascetics) contingents which were ready to fight off those who threatened the Hindu religion. Incidentally, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Bengali novel, Anand Math recounts the story of a group of Shaivite monks who put up an armed struggle against the British forces in the nineteenth century. They were no doubt defeated by the British but they thereby revealed their staunch commitment to Hinduism. These Sadhus who assembled on a large scale at Kumbh Mela were the very microcosm of India; they came from diverse regions, spoke different languages but belonged to common religious orders. Asceticism, according to Ghurye, was not a relic of the past but a vital aspect of the current practices of Hinduism. The well-known ascetics of the recent times, Vivekanand, Dayanand Saraswati and Sri Aurobindo worked for the betterment of Hinduism. 5.5.2.6 Indian art and architecture Ghurye was also keenly interested in Indian art. According to him, the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist artistic monuments shared common elements. By contrast, Hindu and Muslim monuments were grounded in diverse value systems. The Indian temples were indigenous in inspiration. The Veda, epics and Purana provided them with popular themes. But Muslim art was Persian or Arabic and had no roots in this soil. He did not agree with the view that the Muslim monuments in India represented a synthesis. The Hindu elements remained decorative in Muslim buildings. By contrast, the Rajput architecture retained its commitment to Hindu ideals, in spite of political control of Rajasthan by Muslim rulers. Ghurye traced the costumes in India from the ancient to the present time. He drew upon Hindu, Buddhist

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and Jain artistic works (architecture and sculpture) to illustrate the variations in costume over the ages. Radhakamal Mukerjee, as noted earlier, wrote on Indian art. There was, however, a difference in his approach to art. Mukerjee viewed it as a vehicle of values, norms and ideals of a civilisation which had thrived through centuries. Ghurye, by contrast, was looking at art as a specifically Hindu configuration. Ghurye wrote that Rajput architecture was the assertion of Hindu faith in its own destiny. Mukerjee looked at the same phenomenon of artistic activity somewhat differently. He held that the Rajputs were fervently engaged in building monuments which they believed would outlast them as their artistic heritage. Thus, in spite of their continuous battles with Muslim overlords, they used their resources to patronise art. 5.5.2.7 Hindu-Muslim relationships Ghurye’s works often discussed Hindu-Muslim relationships. He regarded Hindus and Muslims as separate groups, with little possibility of mutual give and take. The pro-Hindu stance of Ghurye was based on the conflicts engendered by nearly seven centuries of Islamic rule in India. The forced conversions, destruction of places of worship, etc. no doubt damaged the Hindu psyche. Looking critically at Ghurye’s views, it is necessary to add here that the predatory acts of Muslim rulers find no sanction in Koran. Islam does not advocate violence. What happened was that political expediency rather than commitment to faith made the Muslim rulers use force against their subjects. Besides, Hindu-Muslim interactions have been culturally productive and socially beneficial. Sufism stimulated Bhakti movement in India; the growth of Urdu literature, Hindustani classical music and shared patterns of life style showed that Islamic rule had a positive side. Communal tensions were in fact mainly a product of colonial rule. It was a political strategy of the British to divide the Indian society, especially the Hindus and the Muslims, after the 1857 Mutiny so that they could not fight them as a united force. Communalism also received a fillip by the expansion of urbanism due to conflict of interest. Mostly, the communal riots have almost always taken place in India’s urban centres due to political and economic reasons under the garb of religion. Ghurye’s works have focused on the disturbances during his life-time. In reality, in pre-British times there was good cooperation between the two communities.

5.5.3 Important Works Some of the important works of Ghurye in sociology are i)

Indian Sadhus (1953)

ii)

Family and Kin in Indo-European Culture (1961)

iii) Gods and Men (1962) iv) Anatomy of a Rururban Community (1962) v) 128

Scheduled Tribes (1963)

vi) Caste and Race in India (1969, Fifth Edition)

Some of his other works which show us the range of his interests are i)

Bharatnatyam and its Costume (1958)

ii)

Cities and civilisation (1962)

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iii) Indian costume (1962, 2nd Edn.) Check Your Progress 3 i)

Name the British anthropologist who influenced G.S. Ghurye very much. Use about one line. ...................................................................................................................

ii)

What was the approach of Ghurye in studying caste in Indian society? Describe using about two lines. ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

iii) Give in about three lines the opinion of Ghurye regarding tribes in India. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... iv) Describe Ghurye’s approach to the study of urban growth in India. Use about six lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

5.6

LET US SUM UP

In this unit you have learnt about the three pioneers of Indian Sociology, namely Radhakamal Mukerjee (1889-1968). Dhurjati Prasad Mukerji (18941962), and Govind Sadashiv Ghurye (1893-1984). You learnt about the biographical details of the three thinkers. We have described some of their major ideas in the field of sociology. All three thinkers have dealt with the study of society in their own ways. These thinkers have also studied Indian cultural tradition, art and civilisation. Finally, we have listed some of the important works of the three thinkers.

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5.7

KEY WORDS

Ameliorative

A measure which leads to the welfare or betterment of a social group

Canonical

The laws, rules or general principles of a religion

Compartmentalisation

To divide anything into separate sections. In the unit, it refers to the limits put to the boundary of a social science like history, economics, political science or sociology.

Ecological

The study of plants, animals people or institutions related with the environment

Ethical Relativism

Variation of values from one culture to another is called ethical relativism.

Mono-cultivation

The cultivation of one cash crop year after year which depletes the soil of its nutrients making it infertile

Patronage

The protection and encouragement given to certain arts, crafts and architecture by a ruler, landlord or a rich and powerful person

Renaissance

It means a rebirth or revival in a literal sense but it also refers to the great revival of art, literature and learning in Europe in the fourteenth, fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries.

Universalisation

The process in which culture specific values become part of the value system of a larger society, such as a nation or the universe.

5.8

FURTHER READING

Ghurye, G.S. 1986. Caste and Race in India. Popular: Bombay. Mukerjee, Radhakamal 1984. The Culture and Art of India. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers: New Delhi. Mukerji, D.P. 1986. Diversities, Popular: Bombay Rau, Chalapathi M. in Unithan, T.K. N. et. al. (ed.), 1965 Towards a Sociology of Culture in India, Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd.: New Delhi.

5.9

SPECIMEN ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 1 130

i)

a)

ecology

ii)

b)

compartmentalisation

c)

economics

History and Development of SociologyofIndia-II

An econological zone is a result of the combination of a certain kind of geological, geographical and biological factors.

iii) Radhakamal Mukerjee’s interest in social ecology led him to the study of regions in India. He call this study regional sociology. According to Mukerjee, if the regions in modern India were developed to the extent that they became self-sufficient then India will benefit as a whole. But if some regions lag behind they will be dominated by the developed regions and this will result in a lop-sided development of India. iv) Radhakamal Mukerjee was against the Western trend of separating “facts” from “values” as done by the positivists in sociology. According to him “facts” and “values” are inseparable elements of human interaction and such behaviour as taking or giving food, wearing a dress, etc. are value-based and normatively determined by the society. Check Your Progress 2 i)

D.P. Mukerji was keenly interested in social processes taking place in a rapidly changing society like India. He was a Professor of sociology at Lucknow University which he had joined in 1922. He was trained in both economics and history and he too like Radhakamal Mukerjee combined sociology with economics and history. He called himself a Marxologist due to his belief that Marx’s ideas were very relevant when adapted to Indian history and civilisation.

ii)

Two of his important works are a)

Modern Indian Culture (1942)

b)

Diversities (1958)

iii) a)

uprooted

b)

Marxist

c)

spiritual

Check Your Progress 3 i)

The British anthropologist, who influenced G.S. Ghurye deeply, was Dr. W.H.R. Rivers.

ii)

Ghurye studied the historical, comparative and integrative aspects of caste system in India. His approach was ethnographic, using historical, Indological and statistical data.

iii) According to G.S. Ghurye, the various tribes such as Bhils, Gonds, Santhals, etc. in India are like “backward Hindus”. The backwardness of these tribes is a result of their imperfect integration in the Hindu society.

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132

iv) The process of urbanisation in India, according to Ghurye, is unique since it is not as a result of industrial growth. In India urbanisation process began from the rural areas because of the need for exchanging surplus food grains. Markets developed in the rural areas slowly and became centres of small towns with their own administrative, judicial machinery and other institutions. These urban centres were also sometimes dependent on feudal patronage, some examples of such towns are Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Jaipur, Moradabad, etc.

REFERENCES

History and Development of SociologyofIndia-II

Becker, H. & H.E. Barnes. 1961. Social Thought From Lore to Science. 3rd Edition, Vol. 3. Dover Publications: New York Berger, P. 1963. Invitation to Sociology, A Humanistic Perspective. Anchor Books, Doubleday and Company: New York Bottomore, T.B. 1962. Sociology, A Guide to Problems and Literature. George Allen and Unwin Ltd.: London Coser, L.A. 1971. Masters of Sociological Thought, Ideas in Historical and Social Content. Under the General Editorhsip of Robert K. Merton. Second Edition Harcourt Brace Janonovich: New York Darwin, Charles, 1859, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. John Murray: London Ghurye, G.S. 1973. I and Other Explorations. Popular Prakashan: Bombay Ghurye, G.S. 1986. Caste and Race in India. Popular Prakashan: Bombay Inkeles, A. 1975. What is Sociology? Prentice Hall: New Delhi Lingam, Lakshmi 2002 Women’s movement and the State Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.) 2002 Social Movements and the State Sage Publications New Delhi 310-334 Guha, Ramchandra 2002 Chipko Social History of an ‘Environment’ Movement Shah, Ghanshyam (ed.) 2002 Social Movements and the State Sage Publications New Delhi Mukerjee, Radhakamal 1984. The Culture and Art of India. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers: New Delhi Mukerji, D.P. 1986. Diversities. Popular: Bombay Oommen, T.K. & P.D. Mukerji (ed.) 1986. Indian Sociology. Popular Prakashan: Bombay Paul, Sillitoc, Alan Bicker and Johan Potties (ed.) 2002, Participating in Development: Approaches to Indigenous knowledge Routledge: London (ASA Monograph 39) Raison, T. (ed.) 1969. The Founding Fathers of Social Science. Penguin Books: Middle-sex, England Seligman, Edwin R.A. 1963. Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Vol. IIV, the Macmillan Company: New York Sinha, Surajit 2002. Tribal Solidarity Movements in India: A Review. IN Ghanshyam Shah (ed.) 2002. Social Movements and the State. Sage Publications: New Delhi pp. 251-266 Singh, K.S. 2002. Ambedkar and After: The Dalit Movement in India. IN Ghanshyam Shah (ed.) 2002. Social Movements and the State. Sage Publications: New Delhi pp. 293-309 133

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Singh, Baljit (ed.) 1956. The Frontiers of Social Science. (In Honour of Radhakamal Mukerjee), Macmillan and Co. Ltd.: London Timasheff, Nicholas S. 1967. Sociological Theory, Its Nature and Growth. Third Edition, Random House: New York Uberio, Patricia 1993. Family, Kinshp and Marriage in India. Oxford University Press: New Delhi Unnithan, T.K.N., I. Deva, Y. Singh (ed.) 1965. Towards A Sociology of Culture in India. (Essays in Honour of Professor D.P. Mukerji), Prentice Hall of India: New Delhi Jain, Shobhita, 1984a. Standing Up for Trees: Women’s Role in the Chipko Movement. UNASYLVA (FAO, UN Journal of Forestry) 36 (146): 12-20 Jain Shobhita, 1984 b. Women and People’s Ecological Movement: A Case Study of Women’s Role in the Chipko Movement in Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh, India. Economic and Political Weekly 19(41): 1788-1794 Jain Shobhita, 1994. Land: Access, Control and Management. in Ecology and Natural Resources (Module 7 of Social Problems in India). Indira Gandhi National Open University: New Delhi. pp. 5-24,1994 Jain Shobhita, 1995 Women and the Management of Forests. IN Asha Kanwar and N. Jagannathan (ed) Speaking for Ourselves: Women and Distance Education in India. Manohar: New Delhi. pp. 111-129 Jain Shobhita, 1995. Habitat, Human Displacement and Development Cost: A Case Study. Social Action 45:299-317, July -September Jain Shobhita, 1998-1999. 1.Diversity of Forest Habitats and People; 2. Sustainable Use of Resources: Regeneration Perspective; 3. Principal Stages of Forest Management; 4. What has to be Managed? 5. How to Manage? 6. Who Manages? 7. Participatory Approaches; 7. Types of Participation; 8. Constraints and Problems of Participation; 9. Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs); 10. From the Archives: Foresters of Yesteryear; 11. Rank and File Today; 12. Challenges Facing the Foresters; 13. The Rhetoric of Participation; 14. Leveling the Playing Fields: Recognizing Local Know-how; 15. Women in Forest Service and their Role in Decisionmaking Process—all 15 lessons in the four courses of Participatory Forest Management, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, 19981999 Jain Shobhita, 2001a. Plantation Labour in South and Southeast Asia. IN Susan Vishvanathan (ed) Structure and Transformation: Theory and Society in India. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, pp.183-197 Jain Shobhita 2001b. 1. Participation:Philosophy, Nature and Approach; 2. Operationalisation of Participatory Processes; 3. Data Collection Techniques for Mobilizing Participation; 4. Techniques of Data Analysis and Modes of Analysis (co-authored with Ms Neeti Bhargava),lessons in MRR 02 of Participatory Management of Displacement, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi

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Jain Shobhita, 2001c. Participatory Learning and Discourse on Local and Global Culture of the Disadvantaged. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 10 (2): 159-173

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Jain Shobhita 2003. Panchayats, Women and Empowerment. IN Bidyut Mohanty and Shashi Narayan (ed) Women and Political Empowerment. Institute of Social Sciences. pp 60-66

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UNIT 5 INEQUALITY: CASTE AND CLASS Structure 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9

5.1

Introduction Notion of Social-Inequality Nature of Caste-Inequalities in India Caste as the Invention of Colonial Modernity or a Legacy of Brahmanical Traditions Nature of Class-Inequality in India Interrelation of Caste and Class Hierarchies Social-Inequalities, Development and Participatory Politics Summary Exercises

INTRODUCTION

The normative and democratic pillars of institutions and doctrines enshrined in the Constitution of India set the agenda of post-colonial state in India in terms of abolition or at least reduction of social-inequalities. The objective of ‘welfare’ state was to make a modern caste-less society by reducing centuries old disabilities inflicted upon the ‘depressed’ and attempt to improve their lot by providing them ‘reservations’ and ‘quotas’ in education as well as job market especially in state-bureaucracy and over-sized public sector enterprises. The Constitution of India requires the state to treat all citizens equally, without regard to birth, gender or religious belief. However, society does not function merely on the basis of formal principles. Enforcement of legal doctrines and attempt to remove social discrimination is a process entangled in the complexities of social formation. The pernicious aspects of jati, varna and class, therefore, still permeate our families, localities and political institutions. In this unit, our focus will be on various aspects of social inequality and their impact on democratic polity and political economy of development in the post-colonial state of India.

5.2

NOTION OF SOCIAL-INEQUALITY

Human societies vary in the extent to which social groups as well as individuals have unequal access to advantages. Rousseau had made a distinction between natural and social inequality. The former emerge from the unequal division of physical and mental abilities among the members of a society. The latter arise from the social entitlement of people to wealth or economic resources, political power and status regardless of potential abilities possessed by individuals. Not only economic resources of societies vary according to the level of development and structural features of society, but also different groups tend to have differential access to these resources. Power enjoyed by the social groups also differ and offers another related social advantage. Similarly, conventions, rules, customs and laws confer greater prestige and status on certain groups and occupations in most human societies. Hierarchy, stratification, class-divisions are notions used by anthropologists, sociologists and political scientists to describe and denote social-inequality. Anthropologists generally distinguish three types of societies in terms of social-inequality. These are classified as egalitarian, rank and class societies. 1

Egalitarian societies contain fair amount of equality and no social group enjoys greater access to economic resources, power or prestige. Rank societies do not have unequal access to wealth or power, but they do contain social groups that enjoy greater honour and status. A pre-literate tribal society in which social ranking is based on rules of descent and alliances belong to this category. The complex class societies have unequal access and entitlement to economic resources, power and status. In many pre-industrial agrarian societies, access to social opportunities and status was determined by birth. The ascribed role or status of individual was assigned by virtue of factors outside his or her own control such as birth, sex, age, kinship relations, and caste. This assigned role was rationalised as divinely ordained and natural. The estates or orders of medieval Europe were unequally ranked and this hierarchy of ranks was legally recognised and approved by religious-normative order of the society. Indian caste system was another type of validation of social hierarchy. The individual’s professional or occupational role came to depend on individual effort and ability in the modern industrial and democratic society. This new role was emphasised in the political discourse of modernity and was seen as consonant with the democratic ideal. It involved an exercise of effort and choice as well as a fair deal of competition to occupy a given position. The society moved from the principle of hierarchy to stratification. According to the sociologists, hierarchy prevailed in societies based on castes or estates and social-inequalities were legitimated as naturally given. Stratification, on the other hand, is a feature of modern industrial societies in which inequalities do exist but are not considered as a part of natural or divine order. In this process of social change, inequality did not vanish or reduce, but changed its nature. Now class boundaries became more porous and permeable, individual mobility is possible and society’s normative order is based on formal equality. However, there is still a large area of industrial society where roles are allocated by virtue of being male or female, black or white and so on. G.D. Berreman suggests that out of ‘differentiation’ of persons, which is a natural and universal phenomenon, inequality or social evaluation of differences arises. He terms the behavioural expression of inequality as ‘dominance’ and combination of inequality and dominance is socialinequality. Dominance and status in egalitarian societies is often negotiable and contextual whereas in ranked or inegalitarian societies, inequality is institutionalised. It is embedded in a hierarchy of statuses and is not linked to individual differences of ability. Marxists generally tend to view gradations of power and status as correlated to the distinctions of class defined by economic position and accessibility of economic entitlements. In the Weberian paradigm, however, status and power are not entirely governed by economic divisions or control over economic entitlements. Although the term stratification reminds us of a geological image which signifies a sort of vertical layering or arrangement of social strata, social organisation is much more fluid and complex. A multiple set of factors affect a particular social formation and it is never a simple vertical or hierarchical arrangement of layers like the earth’s crust. Political thinkers like Pareto, Mosca and Michels assigned primacy to power as the real source of inequality in society. According to them, power is the ability to make others do what they do not want to do and the elite groups exercise this power as they occupy the top positions within the institutions of a given society. Similarly, French scholar Bourdieu employs terms symbolic capital and distinction to identify social groups who enjoy more prestige and honour in society simply because they are endowed with more symbolic capital reflected in their pattern of

2

behaviour and taste. The notion of social-capital also has similar connotations. It demonstrates how certain social groups have greater capacity to form social-relations and competence to associate with others. They indicate that differences in terms of esteem, prestige and status rather than neat economic or political hierarchy may play the dominant role in some systems of stratifications.

5.3

THE NATURE OF CASTE-INEQUALITIES IN INDIA

Caste is the most contentious issue that has fascinated and divided scholars who have wished to study this system of stratified social-hierarchy in India. There is an enormous body of academic writing and political polemic on the issue. These are basically the part of debate on the transformation of Indian society under the impact of colonialism and its administrative mechanisms. Some argue for the continuities of pre-colonial social-structures including caste. Others stress the basic qualitative changes introduced by the colonial rulers. Louis Dumont, the French scholar and writer of a famous book on caste, Homo-Hierarchicus, constructed a textually-informed image of caste. In this image, two opposing conceptual categories of purity and pollution are the core elements of caste-structure. These unique core principles of caste-hierarchy, according to Dumont, are observed in scriptural formulation as well as the every-day life of all Hindus. In other words, these values separate Indians culturally from the Western civilisation, making India a land of static, unchangeable, ‘oriental’ Brahmanical values. This notion of caste has been challenged by Nicholas Dirks and others. Dumont’s notion was criticised as it failed to explain the social change, dynamism and individualistic strivings even within the traditional Indian society. Gerald Berreman pointed out that the principle of Brahmanical hierarchy was not uniformly followed by all Hindus. He also criticised the Dumontian notion that power and economic factors are distinct and epiphenomenal to caste. It has been pointed out by others that caste hierarchy is not a fixed hierarchy; rather it is context-specific and fluid and contains seeds of contestation among various castes. Nicholas Dirks cites ethnographic and textual evidence to demonstrate that Brahmins and their texts were not so central to the social fabric of Indian life. According to this view, powerrelations and command over men and resources were more important. Brahmins were merely ritual specialists, often subordinate to powerful ruling families. The caste-based scriptural or Brahmanical model of traditional India was an invention of the British Orientalists and ethnographers, according to this view. However, caste played a very critical role in the Indian social-reformers’ and nationalists’ perception of caste. It was certainly not a mere product of British imagination.

5.4 CASTE AS THE INVENTION OF COLONIAL MODERNITY OR A LEGACY OF BRAHMANICAL TRADITIONS As we hinted above, two opposing viewpoints see caste differently. Some view it as an unchanged survival of Brahmanical traditions of India. According to this view, Brahmanism represents a core civilisational value and caste is the central symbol of this value. It is the basic

3

expression of the pre-colonial traditions of India. Contrary to this view, Nicolas Dirks, in his Castes of Mind (2001), argues that caste is a product of colonial modernity. By this he does not mean that caste did not exist before the advent of British. He is simply suggesting that caste became a single, unique category under the British rule that expressed and provided the sole index of understanding India. Earlier there were diverse forms of social-identity and community in India. The British reduced everything to a single explanatory category of caste. It was the colonial state and its administrators who made caste into a uniform, all-encompassing and ideologically consistent organism. They made caste a measure of all things and the most important emblem of traditions. Colonialism reconstructed cultural forms and social-institutions like caste to create a line of difference and demarcation between themselves as European modern and the colonised Asian traditional subjects. In other words, British colonialism played a critical role in both the identification and production of Indian ‘tradition’. The colonial modernity devalued the so called Indian traditions. Simultaneously, it also transformed them. Caste was recast as the spiritual essence of India that regulated and mediated the private domain. Caste-ridden Indian society was different from the European civil society because caste was opposed to the basic premises of individualism as well as the collective identity of a nation. The salience of this pre-colonial identity and sense of loyalty could easily be used to justify the rule by the colonial modern administrators. So, according to Dirks, it was the colonial rule of India that organised the ‘social difference and deference’ solely in terms of caste. The attempts to downplay or dismiss the significance of Brahmins and Brahmanical order is not in accordance with familiar historical records and persistence of caste-identities even in the contemporary Indian social life. Caste-terms and principles were certainly not in universal use in pre-colonial periods. Caste in its various manifestations and forms was also not an immutable entity. However, starting from the Vedas and the Great Epics, from Manu and other dharmasastras, from puranas, from ritual practices, the penal system of Peshwa rulers who punished culprits according to caste-principles, to the denunciations of anti-Brahmanical ‘reformers’ of all ages, everything points towards the legacy of pre-colonial times. It is true that there were also non-caste affiliations and identities such as networks of settlements connected by matrimonial alliances, trade, commerce and state service in the pre-colonial times. However, caste was also a characteristic marker of identity and a prevailing socialmetaphor. Caste was not merely a fabrication of British rulers designed to demean and subjugate Indians. It did serve the colonial interests by condemning the ‘Brahmanical tyranny’, colonial administration could easily justify their codes to ‘civilise’ and ‘improve’ the ‘fallen people’. Moreover, strengthening of the caste-hierarchy could also act as a bulwark against anarchy.

5.5

NATURE OF CLASS INEQUALITY IN INDIA

Class societies are characterised by the horizontal division of society into strata. In Marxist terms, classes are defined by their differential access to the means of production. The dominant classes appropriate the ‘surplus’ produced by other classes through their control of means of production, and thus exploit their labour. The actual configuration of social classes varies from one society to another. The rise and growth of Indian social classes was organically linked to the basic structure of colonialism and bore the imprint of that association.

4

What constitutes the dominant proprietary class in the urban-areas is marked by plurality and heterogeneity in its composition. A clear-cut demarcation along the lines of merchant, industrial and finance capital is not possible in case of India. The Indian business classes exhibit a complex intertwining of functions. Under the colonial rule, the Indian businessmen were initially relegated to small private trade, money lending and acted as agents of foreign British Capital. The British capitalists and merchants controlled the upper layer of Indian economy represented by the big joint stock companies, managing houses, banking and insurance and major exportimport firms. Despite obstacles and constraints, the Indian capitalist class grew slowly and steadily and breached white ‘collective monopoly’. With all structural constraints, colonialism also guaranteed the security of private property and sanctity of contract, the basic legal elements required for a market-led growth. The expansion of foreign trade and commercialisation eased the capital shortage and accelerated the growth of sectors where cost of raw-materials was low such as cotton textiles, sugar, leather, cement, tobacco and steel. Certain groups of Parsis, Marwaris, the Khojas, the Bhatias and Gujarati traders benefited from their collaboration with the European companies and pumped their resources into the manufacturing sector. This Indian capitalist class grew, diversified to some extent and acquired important position by 1940s. This class thrived during Independence under the government’s policy of importsubstitution and quantitative controls. The ‘Public- Sector’ units provided the infrastructure and the intermediate and capital goods to this ‘protected’ class while the public lending institutions provided it with cheap sources of finances. The assets of the biggest 20 industrial houses increased from Rs. 500 crores in 1851 to Rs 23,200 crores in 1986. This was the result of benefits derived from state-developed infrastructural facilities, subsidised energy inputs, cheap capital goods and long-term finance made available to these by big monopoly industrial houses under the planning. On the other hand, almost 70% of the people exist on merely subsistence level and 76.6 million agricultural labourers earn only one-tenth of what an organised sector worker in the city earns. In the 1980s, unemployment reached about 10% of total active population. In the urban centres, the bulk of labourers are working in unorganised informal sectors. The vast army of pavement vendors, domestic servants, porters and street hawkers represent a kind of disguised urban unemployment. The class-composition in the rural areas also bears the stamp of colonialism. The older group of rural gentry, although its wings were clipped away by the British colonial regime, was retained and transformed into a kind of rentier class of landlords invested with newly defined property rights on land. This was especially true of permanently settled Zamindari areas of Bengal and Taluqdari areas of Awadh. This landlord-rentier class generally emerged from the pre-existing groups’ of Zamindars and Taluqdars who had enjoyed the rights of revenuecollection under the pre-British regimes. They exercised “extra-economic’ feudal coercion over their small marginal share-croppers. Since the Congress Party favoured a bureaucratic rather than mobilisational form for carrying out a gradual social transformation after Independence, the power and privileges of these semi-feudal agrarian magnates remained intact in some areas. These classes now managed the new democratic polity. The failure to implement radical agrarian reforms meant that the availability of resources and accessibility to spaces within the new polity to the socially marginal groups remained limited. The rich farmers, however, are numerically the most important proprietary class in the rural areas. In areas outside Zamindari settled areas of Bengal, the colonial state settled land-

5

revenue with dominant cultivating groups. A class of rich farmers emerged from these groups. They took advantage of the expanding market networks under the colonial economy and they had resources like sufficient arable land, livestock, implements and better access to credit. They also became less dependent on money lenders and they took to usury themselves. The Jat peasants of Punjab and the Upper Doab, the Vellalas in Tamilnadu, the Kanbi-Patidars of South Gujarat, the Lingayats of Karnataka and the Kamma-Reddy farmers of Andhra constituted this group. The tenancy legislation under colonialism and after Independence initiated the process of transfer of landed resources from non-cultivating, absentee landlords to the enterprising rich farmers. Some older groups of rentier landlords also converted themselves into this class. The political clout of this class grew as it drew encouragement from state’s policy of providing price-supports to agricultural produce and from liberal provisions of subsidised inputs such as water, power, fertilizers, diesel, credit and agricultural machinery. This class is easily identifiable by the ownership of landed and other agricultural resources. In 1970s, about 20% households of the rich farmers owned about 63% of rural assets such as land, livestock, building, and implements. This disproportionate access to rural assets is combined by its control over wage labour which is used to produce a sizeable marketable surplus by this class. The other pole of rural social-structure is the world of semi-proletariat having little or no control over productive resources. The agricultural labourers are a predominant group with little or no guarantee of a regular employment, often burdened by coercive domination of rich farmers. The bureaucratic-managerial elite also constitute a significant class in India as the relatively weak capitalist class at the time of India’s Independence was not in a position to completely subordinate the highly developed administrative state apparatus. The growth of non-market mechanisms and planning in the allocation of resources and economic patronage also resulted in the expansion of bureaucracy. This class expanded in the post-colonial phase with the spreading out of education and need for professional and white-collar jobs involving new skills and expertise. This is not merely an auxiliary class of bourgeois as there are conflicts of interests between the public sector professionals and private capital. The command over knowledge, skills, tastes and networks of relationships are notable features of this class.

5.6 INTERRELATION OF CASTE AND CLASS HIERARCHIES Caste and class point towards inequality and hierarchy. In both the cases, however, the principle of organisation differs. The core features of caste are: endogamy or marriage within caste, occupational differentiation and hereditary specialisation of occupations, notion of pollution and a ritual hierarchy in which Brahmins are generally at the top. Classes, on the other hand, broadly refer to economic basis of ownership or non-ownership relation to the means of production. But how does caste and class correlate to each other? Classes are sub-divided in terms of types of ownership and control of economic resources and the type of services contributed to the process of production. The Brahmanical ritual hierarchy of the caste is also not universally applicable and upheld by all. In many cases, ritual hierarchy is only contextual. The prosperous Jats in North India enjoy social and political dominance without equivalent ritual status. In most popular renditions of caste, hierarchy alone is emphasised and that too

6

from Brahmanical point of view. Sometimes, however, caste works as a discrete community, without hierarchical relationship to other segments of society. Our conceptual categories do not always recapture the existing social reality. For instance, a conceptual distinction is often made between sharecroppers and agricultural labourers. In actual life, however, there is a high degree of overlap and they do not constitute discrete entities. Similar overlap is found in the rentier-landlord and cultivator-owner categories. The picture becomes hazier when we turn to caste-class configuration. Caste and class resemble each other in certain respects and differ in others. Castes constitute the status groups or communities that can be defined in terms of ownership of property, occupation and style of life. Social honour is closely linked to ritual values in this closed system. Class positions also tend to be associated with social honour; however, they are defined more in terms of ownership or non-ownership of means of production. The classes are much more open and fluid and have scope of individual upward social mobility. In caste system, only an entire segment can move upward, and hence, the mobility is much slower. Although there is considerable divergence between the hierarchy of caste and that of class, the top and bottom segments of the class system are largely subsumed under the caste structure. The upper castes own means of production (land in rural areas) and act as rentiers. The landless agrarian proletarian coincides with the lower castes or dalits who provide labour services for the rentier upper caste people as well as rich prosperous farmers of intermediate level. At the intermediate level, articulation of class-identities is more complex. The process of differentiation of communities dislocates class-relations from the caste-structure. If caste and class show a fair degree of overlap at the top and bottom level and in some cases appear almost co-terminus, the picture is quite ambiguous at the intermediate level of caste hierarchy. Similarly, the processes of modernisation especially urbanisation, acquisition of education and new skills act as the forces of dislocation that puncture the forces of social inertia and modify caste-rigidity.

5.7 SOCIAL INEQUALITIES, DEVELOPMENT AND PARTICIPATORY POLITICS If social inequalities are so deeply entrenched, then how do they affect the developmental process and participation of deprived sections of society in a democratic polity? This key question has been answered in different ways. Kothari, while analysing the intrusions of caste into politics and politics into caste, distinguishes three stages in the progression of political modernisation after Independence. In the first stage, he says the struggle for political power was limited to the entrenched and the ascendant castes. In the second phase, competitions within these castes for power led to factionalism and in the third stage, lower castes have been mobilised and are asserting themselves in the political domain. In his words “It is not-politics that gets caste-ridden; it is the caste that gets politicised”. With the extension of franchise in the post-colonial India, each social group and sub-group got mobilised for a share in the developmental process and competed for positions in the state-bureaucracy. The Indian polity is, thus, governed both by vertical mobilisation by the dominant castes and horisontal alliances in the name of jati and varna. The political parties exacerbate the existing cleavages in a developing society like India. The salience of primordial ties of kinship, caste and community 7

play significant role in hindering the establishment of civil society. Moreover, there is never a set chronology of mobilisation and political modernisation, especially any pre-ordained and unconditional progression along a set path. In the rural hinterlands, cleavages of caste and community and articulation of kinship and territorial affinities work against implementation of a piece of redistributive land-reforms. The rich prosperous farmers use the existing social networks in the multi-class agrarian mobilisation in the electoral arena to mobilise and harness marginal and small farmers for their own economic interests such as lower taxes, higher prices for agricultural produce, better subsidies and cheaper credit facilities. So, despite the egalitarian ideal of post-colonial Indian state, there are still disproportionate access to resources, power and entitlements between different social classes and castes. The relationships between the upper and lower castes in the rural areas are still governed by the ideology of caste. According to Andre Beteille, professionalisation and specialisation of modern service sector in the post-colonial Indian society has increased the role of formal education, technical skills and training; ‘family’ and not caste plays critical role in the social reproduction of inequality, especially in urban areas. However, it is still a debatable point whether the increasing bureaucratisation of professional activities per se enhances the chances of social mobility and equality of opportunities. Although, there may be no legal barriers to entry into new occupation, the unequal distribution of life chances, status and power on the grounds of birth determine the social and political trajectories that accord positions, ranks and power to the individuals. The establishment of a formal democracy in itself is no guarantee that all citizens will enjoy equal access and participation in the political processes. Political privileges are retained and ingrained in many non-elective institutions, the civil bureaucracy and the police in particular. They protect the interests of the dominant proprietary classes and the upper castes. The lower castes and classes are not yet sufficiently empowered to shape and mould the political processes or the state’s social and economic policies. The powerful landed magnates of upper castes in the countryside and the industrial and business classes of urban rich make use of authoritarian streak inherent in the non-elective institutions to deny genuine democratisation of polity. The apparent assertion of their rights and mobilising capacity by the backwards and scheduled castes is used by the crafty politicians to augment their power and wealth. Such mobilisations, thus serve the interests of a spoils system and a thoroughly corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy instead of articulating a programme of equitable development and social empowerment. Apart from other institutional constraints, the failure of democracy to grant substantive democratic rights and deliver the promise of redistributive justice is rooted in the class and caste-based inequalities in India. Dreze found evidence of subtle forms of deprivation in the rural areas of the Eastern U.P. in terms of accessibility of the disadvantaged groups to schooling, health services and exclusion of marginal sections of population from effective participation in the political processes.

5.8

SUMMARY

The post- colonial state in India accepted the formal principles of equality and social-justice in its governance. However, no social-entity exists in a vacuum. The functioning of our democratic polity is profoundly and unfairly influenced by the caste and class-based inequalities. The

8

Unit 5

References

Modernisation Contents 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9

Introduction Understanding Modernisation Giddens’s Theory of Modernity Decline of the Paradigm Postmodernism The Debate Modernisation and Globalisation Conclusion Further Reading

Learning Objectives After going through this unit, you will be able to:

•

understand the concept of modernisation;

•

critically discuss the contemporary theories of modernity; and

•

explain how modernity is cross-linked with development.

5.1 Introduction Through the four units of Block 1 we have already acquired a basic understanding of the concept and process of development and other related concepts. We also understood that there are varied perceptions about the concepts and process of development and that these perceptions are not static but keep on changing. Although we did refer to some of these perceptives in Block 1, in the present Block (Block II), we will be dealing with them in greater detail. Let us start with modernisation. The concept of modernisation emerged as the response of the western social science to the many challenges faced by the Third World. With the process of political decolonisation following the Second World War, the new nations were in a hurry to launch massive programmes of economic development and technical change. The need for developing new paradigms to shape and order their development programme was strongly felt. Modernisation was one such formulation which held out considerable promise. In this unit, we explore the concept of development in the context of modernisation. At the outset we discuss the notion of modernisation as a paradigm in sociological literature, particularly in the writings of Giddens. The purpose here is to develop an understanding of modernisation theory and then go on to its criticism and emergence of postmodernism as a paradigm. In the course of tracing this trajectory we explore the many dimensions of development that acquire importance at different stages.

5.2 Understanding Modernisation Modernity may be understood as the common behavioral system that is historically associated with the urban, industrial, and literate and participant societies of Western Europe and North America. It is characterised by a rational and scientific world-view, growth and the ever increasing application of science and technology, which is coupled with the continuous adaptation of the institutions of society to the imperatives of the world-view and the emerging technological ethos.

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Box 5.1: Concept of Modernity Modernity involves the rise of modern society (secularised societies with an institutional separation of the state from civil society, a much greater degree of social and technical division of labour, and the formation of nation-states uniting cultural and political borders), a rationalistic epistemology, and an individualistic and objectivistic ontology” (Torfing 1999: 303).

A series of societal changes are implicit in the process of modernisation. Agrarian societies are characterised by the predominance of ascriptive, particularistic and diffused patterns; they have stable local groups and limited spatial mobility. Occupational differentiation is relatively simple and stable; and the stratification system is deferential and has a diffused impact. The modern industrial society is characterised by the predominance of universalistic, specific and achievement norms; a high degree of mobility; a developed occupational system relatively insulated from other social structures; a class system often based on achievement; and the presence of functionally specific, non-ascriptive structures and associations. Historically evolved institutions continuously adapt themselves to the changes dictated by the phenomenal increase in the human knowledge that has resulted from the control humanity has over its environment. Modernisation theory does not clearly spell out its distributive objectives. The emergence of an implicit egalitarian and participative ethos does, however, indicate the narrowing of social gaps and promotion of greater equality as desirable ends. Modernisation, as a form of cultural response, involves attributes which are basically universalistic and evolutionary; they are pan-humanistic, trans-ethnic and non-ideological (Singh 1961). The essential attribute of modernisation is rationality. Rationality transforms thought processes at the level of the individual and in the process permeates the entire institutional framework of society. Events and situations are understood in terms of cause and effects. Strategies of action are determined by careful means-ends calculations. Rationality begins to characterise all forms of human interaction and enters into people’s vision of a new future as well as into their strivings for the attainment of the objectives they set for themselves. The concomitant structural changes and value shifts bring about fundamental changes in the entire cultural ethos. Box 5.2: Meaning of Rationality The term rationality denotes thought and action which are conscious in accord with the rules of logic and empirical knowledge, where objectives are coherent, mutually consistent and achieved by the most appropriate means. The conviction that rationality, or reason, is the distinctive characteristic of human beings has made it a central theme in western philosophy for over two thousand years. In so far as this has led to an over-estimation of the place and power of reason in human society, it has been criticised as the doctrine of rationalism. Max Weber, especially in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, 1921, has been responsible for the most extensive use of the term in sociology. He classifies all action into four types : purposively rational, (‘Zweckrational’) action, where means are correctly chosen to obtain ends; value rational (‘Wertrational’) where action is in accord with conscious value standards; affectual; and traditional; the last two types being regarded as deviations from rational action” ( Albrow 1968: 154).

In his essay The Change to Change: Modernisation, Development, and Politics Huntington (1976: 30-31), has identified the following characteristics of the modernisation process. i) 80

Modernisation, and by implication development, is a revolutionary process. Efforts are made to transform rural agrarian cultures into urban industrial

cultures. This is what Alvin Toffler (1980) would describe as the move from the first wave to the second wave. ii)

References

The process of both modernisation and development are complex and multidimensional with a series of cognitive, behavioral and institutional modifications and restructuring.

iii) Both are systemic processes since variation in one dimension produces important co-variations in other dimensions. iv) They are global processes. v)

They are lengthy processes.

vi) Movement towards the goals of modernisation and development takes place through identifiable phases and sub-phases. vii) They are homogenising processes. viii) Except temporary breakdowns, both are irreversible processes. ix) They are progressive processes. In the long run they contribute to human well-being, both culturally and materially. Reflection and Action 5.1 What do you understand by modernisation?

Modernisation theory evolved from two ideas about social change: the conception of traditional vs. modern societies, and positivism that viewed development as societal evolution in progressive stages of growth (Deutsch 1961; Rostow 1960). Concern with development emerged in the 1940s as a fallout of the process of decolonisation and reconstruction after the Second World War against the backdrop of the Cold War. Developing countries could evolve the traditional society by rationalising them through a linear process in the course of which they could “evolve” into becoming a country in a modern and developed society. The evolutionary theory of development identified the different stages, variables and processes through which a society develops. Positivist evolution implied that all societies would pass through the same set of stages from traditional to modern society that the western society had passed. These stages were: (i) the traditional society; (ii) preconditions for take-off; (iii) take-off; (iv) the drive to maturity; and (v) the age of high mass consumption. The progression of society through these stages of modernisation is better known as Rostow’s stage theory (for more details refer unit 2 of this course). Modernisation theory took development into a more inter-disciplinary realm. It advocated social and institutional change to facilitate economic transformation. It was through theorisation on modernity that sociologists made their first foray into development studies. Discussion on modernity in the present day centers on “multiple modernities.” The notion of multiple modernity expounded by Eisenstadt explains that modernity in the West has brought up consequences that have a wide bearing across the world. These consequences, however, have not resulted from the global transplanting of the western mode of modernity, but are modern situations of various types and characteristics in various non — western countries. Eisinstadt, (1996: 1-2) one of the major advocates of this idea, said, “The actual developments in modernising societies have refuted the homogenising and hegemonic assumptions of this western programme of modernity. While a general trend towards structural differentiation developed across a wide range of institutions in most of these societies in family life, economic and political structures, urbanisation, modern education, mass communication and individualistic orientation — the ways in which these arenas were defined and organised varied greatly, in different periods of their

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Approaches to Sustainable Development

development, giving rise to multiple institutional and ideological patterns”. He thought that the best way of explaining modern society and the history of modernity is to regard it as “a story of continual constitution and reconstitution of a multiplicity of cultural programs”. Through the notion of multiple modernities Eisenstadt, however, does not mean only to propose a new description or narrative of the history of modernity. He argues that modernity and westernisation are not identical. His notion of multiple modernity is not only descriptive but also normative, though in a negative sense. Diffused benefits which leave a large section of humankind untouched, homogenisation in the face of rising ethnicity and pluralities of culture consciousness, the social cost and cultural erosion implicit in the process pose serious concerns. Following Parsons’s well-known “pattern variables”, modernisation assumes that status is determined by achievement rather than ascriptive criteria; patterns of interaction are governed by universalistic rather than particularistic norms; expectations and obligations in the system of role relationship acquire greater specificity and replace the diffuse system that characterised the traditional order. Units of society tend to be more specialised and self-sufficient. There is increasing evidence of role differentiation, solidarity and integration. Eisenstadt (1996) suggested that modern society emerges as a consensual mass society and crystallises as a nation-state. Modernised societies operate through institutional structures that are capable of continuously absorbing the changes that are inherent in the process of modernisation. A series of organisations that are complex and differentiated, relatively self-sufficient and functionally specific seek to discharge functions in diverse and disparate fields. Simultaneously, the roles of family and kinship based organisations get more narrowly defined. Government and associated units – the bureaucracy, economic and financial institutions, armed forces and organisations dealing with specific functional areas such as education, health, housing, public transport and recreation assume increasingly important roles. Box 5.3: Role of the Government in Modernisation By and large, the government is vested with an important role in modernising the country and planning the economy. In the words of Wilber and Jameson (1988: 9), “The government must intervene in the economy to offset the anti-development impact of the two types of obstacles to development. On the side of non-rational behaviour, the government can attempt to convince its citizens of the need for ‘modernisation’ while, at the same time, substituting its own enterpreneurial ability and knowledge to fill that vacuum. On the side of markets, the government can again offset the difficulties through economic planning. By developing a coherent overview of the economy through the various means at its disposal, the orthodox result of growth in income can be attained”.

5.3 Giddens's Theory of Modernity

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Recent social changes have led to debates over the very nature of the contemporary social world. There is a debate between those who continue to see contemporary society as a modern world and those who argue that a substantial change has taken place in recent years and that we have moved into a new, postmodern world. Most of the classical sociologists were engaged in an analysis and critique of modern society which is clear in the works of Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Simmel. As we move into the 21st century, it is obvious that today’s world is a very different place. The issue is whether the changes in the world are modest and continuous with those associated with modernity or are so dramatic and discontinuous that the contemporary world is better described by a new term, “postmodern.”

A host of social changes are fundamentally altering our world, and traditional “class politics” and faith in progress are being replaced by “identity politics” and “new” social movements such as feminism, gay liberation, ecologism, ethnic revivalism, religious neofundamentalism” (Tucker Jr 1998: 126). These changes have brought with them a challenge to the “philosophical discourse of modernity”. The conceptual framework of social science and the historical legacy of Enlightenment rationality have been challenged by new postmodern knowledge, of which contends that reason is a form of illegitimate power that marginalises and excludes cultural vocabularies that do not conform to its categories.

References

Giddens said that in order to understand and conceptualise contemporary society, we need a new sociological theory capable of grasping its complexity. He describes the modern world as a “juggernaut”. Modernity in the form of a juggernaut is extremely dynamic, it is a “runaway world” with great leaps in the pace, scope and profoundness of change over prior systems (Ritzer 2000 : 424). Giddens defines modernity in terms of four basic institutions. The first is capitalism, characterised by commodity production, private ownership of capital, propertyless wage labor and a class system derived from these characteristics. The second is industrialism, which involves the use of inanimate power sources and machinery to produce goods. Industrialism is not restricted to the workplace, and it affects an array of other settings, such as “transportation, communication and domestic life” (Giddens 1990: 56). The third, is surveillance capacities which is defined as “the supervision of the activities of subject populations (mainly, but not exclusively) in the political sphere” (Ibid 1990: 8). The fourth is military power, or the control of the means of violence, including the industrialisation of war. It should be noted that at the macro level, Giddens focuses on the nation-state (rather than the more conventional sociological focus on society), which he sees as radically different from the type of community characteristic of pre-modern society. According to Giddens, modernity is given dynamism by three essential aspects: i)

Time-space separation: With modernisation, time was standardised. In large part, social interaction does not take place at the same time and in the same place. Relationships with those who are physically absent and increasingly distant become more and more likely. New technological measures also call for expansion of our space which means that we can be in the same space though not necessarily in the same locale. The modern rational organisation, for example, has been able to connect the local and the global in new ways. A modern company can function because it has been possible to break the time-space connection.

ii)

Disembedding of social systems: Earlier the institutions and actions of society were embedded in the local community. The condition has changed because social relations are lifted out of the local interaction context by disembedding mechanisms. Giddens distinguishes between two types of disembedding mechanisms which contribute to the development of modern institutions: i) symbolic tokens; and (ii) expert systems. Together these are called abstract systems. Money is an example of a symbolic token. It places time in a bracket as it functions as a means of credit. It represents a value that can be later used to purchase new goods. The standardised value allows transactions to be carried out without actually meeting, thus fracturing the notion of space. New patterns of interaction are created across time and space. Expert systems are defined as, “systems of technical accomplishment or professional expertise that organise large areas of the material and social environments in which we live today” (Ibid: 27). The most obvious expert systems involve professionals like lawyers and physicians. Consider the following example. In travel by bus one enters a large network of expert

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systems including the construction of the bus, roads and the traffic control system. The bus can be taken without possessing knowledge of how these systems are constructed. One only needs the money for the ticket (another expert system). The expert systems also help to move social relations from one given context to another. Such a disembedding mechanism requires a time-space separation. iii) Reflexivity of Modern society: According to Giddens, reflexivity, the third contributing factor in society’s profound process of transformation, is of two forms. The first is a general feature of all human action. The second type of reflexivity is unique to modernity. Modern society is experiencing a reflexivity at both the institutional and personal levels, and this is decisive for the production and change of modern systems and modern forms of social organisation. Giddens defines reflexivity as institutions’ and individuals’ regular and constant use of knowledge as the conditions for society’s organisation and change. The firm undertakes market surveys in order to establish sales strategies; the state conducts censuses in order to establish the tax base. This increased reflexivity is made possible by the development of the network of mass communication. With an expansion of the time-space dimension, the social practices are constantly investigated and changed on the basis of newly acquired information. Today we reflect on tradition and act in accordance with it only if it can be legitimised via reflexivity. To sum up, Giddens states that modernity’s culture of incessant reflexivity creates a post-traditional social world. As modernity spreads throughout the globe, it encourages the rise of expert, abstract systems of knowledge, represented by the social and natural sciences. These expert systems encourage constant change and reflexivity, which separates time and space from their particular context, re-embedding them in new ones. He also views new social movements, centered on a new life politics, as integral to the texture of modern life. He rejects the claim of surpassed modernity and rejects most, if not all, tenets associated with postmodernism. Reflection and Action 5.2 What are the main features of Giddens’s theory of Modernity?

5.4 Decline of the Paradigm The modernisation approach dominated the social science domain in the West and in several parts of the Third World for a decade and developed most between the late 1950s and the mid-1960s. Towards the end of the 1960s, however, it began to lose appeal. The gap between promise and performance of modernisation was too wide to escape attention. The absence of results generated mass apathy and anger and left the modernising elite confused. In the process, the concept of modernisation got demystified.

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It was observed that the paradigm of modernisation sought to transfer technology without effecting necessary institutional changes. Imaginative and systematic efforts were to be directed towards institution building for accomplishing the highly specialised and differentiated tasks implicit in the process of modernisation. The notion of rationality, which was the cornerstone of modernisation paradigm, was itself ambiguous. It is now recognised that rationality can be of different kinds operating at different levels and in different contexts. The explanatory power of the paradigm was limited and the guidelines for action embodied in it were somewhat obscure. It was evasive on the vital issue of the poverty of the masses, especially in the less developed countries. The formulation did not take into account the qualitative changes in the problems that humanity faces. The prospects of modernisation and development against the backdrop of the realities of the contemporary world order were

not clear. Thus the global context of modernity remained unexamined. The notion of ceaseless and limitless modernisation has been challenged powerfully from other quarters, especially by environmentalists and conservationists. Nonrenewable natural resources, on which the edifice of modernisation is built, are being rapidly depleted; and adequate, efficient and economic substitutes are not yet in sight. The consequences of environmental pollution and ecological imbalance are dangerous. Many vital questions regarding the desirability and possibility of modernisation remain unanswered. This arrests the search for meaningful alternatives and inhibits reflection and action aimed at appropriate solutions.

5.5

References

Postmodernism

A major challenge to sociological theories of modernity came from the theoretical position of postmodernism. Postmodernism denies any meaningful continuity in history. It is a new historical epoch that is supposed to have succeeded the modern era or modernity. As Habermas states, postmodernism is akin to “the anarchist wish to explode the continuum of history”, demolishing theories of modernity in doing so (Tucker Jr. 1998: 131). Giddens distinguishes between postmodernism and post-modernity. Postmodernism refers to the recent changes in architecture, literature, art, poetry while post-modernity refers to recent institutional changes in the social world. He finds the latter more important but does not believe that post-modernity theoretically captures the meaning of these social changes. In his view, the contemporary pervasiveness of reflexivity makes useless the distinction between modern and postmodern eras. For some theorists postmodernism means that we have entered a new, postindustrial world, which problematises old assumptions, including ideals of social progress, the importance of class as a source of social identity and the very idea of a unified self. A new social world requires new knowledge. Postmodernism destabilises contemporary social theory. It values difference, as there are no absolute values that command our allegiance. Postmodernism critiques all limiting assumptions in social and political life, especially those based on rationality that seek to exclude multiple perspectives on the world. It is suspicious of any evolutionary theory and all centralising tendencies and celebrates a diversity of approaches to social life and decentralised social movements.

5.6

The Debate

Giddens shares many of these themes with contemporary sociological theorists such as Habermas, Touraine and Melucci. These authors attempt to grasp the distinctive culture of late modernity that is fragile, ever-changing and different from that which preceded it. Due to the worldwide spread of capitalism, the mass media and industrialism, contemporary society is a global society. More and more people realise that their identities and moral systems can no longer rely on taken-for-granted traditions. With the decline in tradition hence, there has been a rise in reflexivity (Giddens 1990). These theorists view modernity as an unfinished project and construct a narrative of modernity which culminates in a reformed vision of rationality, universality and evolutionary development. For Giddens, as for these theorists, in the late modern era of highly differentiated and specialised Western societies, conflicts arise in the areas of information and communication. The line between public and private issues becomes blurred. Reflexivity relates self with society in ever changing ways. 85

Approaches to Sustainable Development

Critiquing postmodernism, Giddens and other contemporary sociological theorists reconstruct modernity viewing it as internally complex. Like Weber, they are especially aware of the problems created by a rationality which destroys meaning. Like the postmodernists, they recognise that a major problem of modern culture has been the destructive potential of a rationality that is not sensitive to social and natural contexts. Such a concept of rationality also undermines the conditions of self-government, largely by translating social questions into issues of technical, undemocratic policy. Habermas is the strongest defender of the legacy of modernity against the postmodern criticisms of it. He sees in modernity tendencies towards rampant instrumental rationality that destroys alternative, more democratic visions of social life. Like Parsons, he states that a universalistic rationality is a major achievement of modernity, which must integrate an increasingly differentiated and complex modern society. Rise of different types of reasoning constitute the key feature of the modern world. Modernity cannot rely on traditional justifications of rule and action and must ground its criteria for evaluation within its own history. In the absence of tradition, communicative rationality takes on the ethical role of coordinating diverse social actions. He sees the culture of modernity embodied in communicative rationality as concerned with establishing autonomy and justice. For Habermas, this communicative context informs the acquisition of knowledge, the transmission of culture, the formation of personal identity and more general processes of social integration. He further contends that new social movements provide avenues for the development of new values and identities. Arising in a post-traditional and post-industrial society, new social movements represent the main vehicle by which a non-instrumental, communicative rationality can be brought into public life. New social movements associated with late modernity, such as feminism and environmentalism, have fundamentally changed the nature of politics. In sum, Habermas contends that modernity establishes inseparable links between rationality and freedom as demonstrated in the great modernist accomplishments such as democracy and human rights. New social movements are expressing and attempting to implement these achievements in new ways. His championing of the legacy of modernity distances him from the postmodernists. Like Touraine and Melucci, Giddens theorises a reformed view of modernity that is much more critical than that of Habermas. They argue that new social movements raise novel issues of cultural identity in a global context marked by rapid increases in communication technologies and recognition of the importance of cultural differences. Melucci and Touraine contend that modern societies exist in a post-industrial context, and cultural strife between diverse groups has replaced class struggles over the distribution of resources as central social conflicts. Modern societies are in chronic combat over the possession and very definition of cultural codes and information. New social movements are the primary agents and carriers of innovative discourses and practices in the struggles of the late modern era. These theorists critically engage the postmodern persuasion, arguing that modernity has not been superseded but remains an unfinished project, as modernist beliefs and practices are still central to contemporary societies. They believe that rational reflexivity has replaced tradition as the main form of social solidarity in the modern world. Giddens differs from these theorists in that he takes tradition more seriously. In the new distinctively modern-risk society, people draw on expertise, reevaluate it in terms of their own particular cultural context and then utilise this knowledge to evaluate their everyday actions. He argues that modernity excludes and marginalises particular groups of people who do not fit into

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these categories. He agrees with the postmodern claims that the foundations of knowledge are fragile and there is no inherent progress in history, and the new social movements are raising qualitatively new issues about social life. He believes that personal identity has also become less firm and more fragmented in the modern world. However Giddens disagrees with many postmodern tenets. He prefers the idea of late modernity to that of post-modernity. “People do not live in fragmented, unconnected lives; they still construct narratives about their selves, but they do so in ‘post-traditional’ conditions” (Tucker Jr. 1998: 143).

5.7

References

Modernisation and Globalisation

The intellectual portrayal of modernisation was, as a political and economic proposition, coming to the fore following World War II. It equated the intellectual, cultural and technological advance of victorious nations as something that needed to be emulated by the “poorer less civilised” people of the world. This is connected to the process of “modernity” which was a project of global conquest – originating in Europe. By Globalisation, we mean the profound reorganisation of manufacturing, trade and services within a globally encompassing system. It points to a phenomena identified interchangeably as a process, a historical event or the end result of shifting “ethno – techno, media – finance and ideo – scapes” ( Appadurai 1996: 32). Accordingly, it replaces the unavailing verb, modernisation, because modernists and their opponents depended on model dualistic analysis such as “centre periphery”, “north – south”, “First World – Third World”, “developed – developing”, etc. The concept of modenisation was very much tied to the idea of recreating the world in the image of America and Western European principles and culture. More recently, discussions on Globalisation describe a process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and unified, subject to homogenous and uniform processes of cultural unification. Characters such as Michael Jackson or the corporate logos of McDonald and Nike are examples of global awareness.

5.8 Conclusion The similarities between classical modernisation studies and new modernisation studies can be observed in the constancy of the research focus on Third world Development. There are important distinctions between the classical studies and the new studies of the modernisation school. For example, in the classical approach, tradition is seen as an obstacle to development whereas in the new approach tradition is an additive factor of development. With regard to methodology, the classical approach applies a theoretical construction with a high level of abstraction; the new approach applies concrete case studies given in a historical context. Regarding the direction of development, the classical perspective uses a unidirectional path which tends towards the United States and European model, the new perspective prefers a multidirectional path of development. Finally, the classical perspective demonstrates a relative neglect of the external factors and conflict. This stands out in sharp contrast to the greater attention to the external factors and conflicts bestowed by the new approach. Development, in the changed context, poses a challenge and, at the same time, presents an opportunity. This unit begins with an attempt to understand the process of modernisation and the evolution of modernisation theories. The unit goes on discussing how the theoretical position of post-modernism pose challenge to the sociological theories of modernity. We also saw how Giddens and other advocates of 87

Approaches to Sustainable Development

modernisation thoeries defend their theories and why they prefered the idea of late-modernity to that of post-modernity. The unit sums up with an analysis of interrelationship between modernisation and globalisation.

5.9 Further Reading Dube S.C. 1988. Modernisation and Development. Vistaar publications: New Delhi Ritzer, George 2000. Modern Sociological Theory. 5th edition. McGraw Hill Higher Education Singh, Y. 1977. Modernisation of Indian Tradition. Thomson. Faridabad

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Unit 6

View from the Field Contents 6.1

Introduction

6.2

An Overview of Caste Situation in Different Societies

6.3

Field Based Studies

6.4

Conclusion

6.5

Further Reading

Learning Objectives After going through this unit, you will be able to

distinguish between book-view and field-view of caste



identify the operative aspects of castes in different societies



discuss recent changes in the caste system.

6.1 Introduction Field-view or the view from the field refers to an orientation to the experiences of people, with their inner tensions and contradictions which one seeks to understand and interpret (Beteille, 1997). In fact, Srinivas proposed the distinction between the ‘book-view’ and the ‘field-view’ of Indian society. He maintained that there is a book-view of every major institution: of castes, of joint family, and of village community. Accounts based on fieldwork reveal a distinct departure from accounts drawn from the texts. The book-view of the caste system upholds the superior position of Brahmins in the social hierarchy while the untouchables occupy the lowest rungs. There is strict restriction on commensality and mobility. More importantly, the book-view is projected as uncontestable and immutable. View from the field particularly in the context of caste situation, brings out lived reality of the people, the articulation of what is contained in the scriptural texts in real life situations Here, social mobility assumes importance. Further, accounts base on fieldwork reveal a distinct departure from accounts drawn from texts in the sense that the latter bring out the actual working of the caste system at the grassroots. This unit focuses on the operation of caste at the grass roots. In doing this it takes a departure from the earlier unit on the Brahminical perspective on caste that dealt with ideas about caste contained in the sacred texts. Here we will explore how caste system works in different societies by reviewing some field based studies.

6.2 An Overview of Caste Situation in Different Societies Many sociologists and anthropologists have tried to analyse the basic tenets of caste system on the basis of their experience in the field. All of them have found new dimensions of caste that were either not present in the bookview of the caste system or was not specifically highlighted by the authors.

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Srinivas adds a significant dimension to field-based studies of caste system

in proposing the concepts of sanskritisation and dominant caste. Sanskritisation is the, “process by which a low caste or tribe or other group takes over the customs, rituals beliefs, ideology, and style of life of a high and in particular ‘twice-born’ (dwija) caste. The Sanskritisation of a group has usually the effect of improving its position in the caste hierarchy” (Srinivas, 1989:56). The other concept that assumes importance in the field-view of caste is that of dominant caste which he explains is one which is numerically preponderant and wields economic and political power. What is important to note is that ritual status does not necessarily determine dominance of a caste group over others.

View from the Field

Box 6.1: Sanskritisation and Westernisation “The idea of hierarchy is central to caste. The customs, rites and way of life were different among the higher and lower castes. The dominant caste punished those who encroached on forbidden ground, but the process could not be stopped. This adoption of the symbols of higher status has been celled Sanskritisation. The Lingayats of Mysore Sanskritised their way of life over eight centuries ago. In recent times, Sanskritisation has been widespread both spatially as well as structurally. The Ilavans of Kerala, the Smiths of South India, the Ramgharias of Punjab, the Chamars of Uttar Pradesh and many other castes have all tried to sanskritise their way of life. Liquor and forbidden meals are given up. Sanskritic ritual is increasingly adopted and there is an increasing demand for the services of a Brahmin priest at wedding, birth, funeral rites and sraddha. On the other hand, the higher castes, especially those living in the bigger cities, are undergoing a process of Westernisation. Westernisation, like Sanskritisation, is a blanket term: it includes Western education as well as the adoption of Western ways of life and outlook. It also implies a degree of secularisation and rationalism, and in these two respects it stands opposed to Sanskritisation. In certain other respects, Westernisation helps to spread sanskritisation through the products of its technology ___ newspapers, radios and films. In some exceptional cases, the lower castes and tribes are being Westernised without undergoing a prior process of Sanskritisation. Again, Sanskritisation occurs generally as part of the process of the upward movement of castes while Westernisation has no such association. In fact, unlike Sanskritisation, Westernisation is more commonly an individual or family phenomenon and not a caste phenomenon, though some groups (Kodagus) and some areas (Punjab) may be said to be more Westernised than the others. Again, some groups may be more Westernised in the sense that they are highly educated, whereas some others may be Westernised in their dress, food habits and recreation” (Srinivas, 1980:77-78).

Mencher analyses the caste system from bottom-up approach on the basis of fieldwork among ‘untouchables’ in Tamil Nadu. She argues that the functionality of the caste system is only for those castes that enjoy the privileges. On the other hand, the caste located at the lowest rung of the caste hierarchy suffers from economic and social exploitation. She reveals that there has been a protest from the castes located at the lowest rung of the hierarchy, sometimes explicitly other times tacitly. But the fact of the matter is that these protests were not recorded so they do not constitute

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Perspectives on Caste

significant part of historical evidence. One of the reasons why this happened was because the untouchables could never gather enough courage to lodge their complaint against the so-called upper castes, as they were economically dependent on them. In a study of Jatavs of Agra, Lynch (1974) has highlighted the fact that the Jatavs who once wanted to sanskritise, rejected the complete process of sanskritisation when they got other avenues of mobility. These avenues, he argues, have been thrown open by the process of parliamentary democracy, and possibilities of political participation of the Jatavs. In this context the Jatavs, hitherto untouchables, with stigmatised identity have taken refuge in the democratic constitution of the social fabric in independent India. They assert their right on the basis of equality and argue for provision of equality of opportunity. The Jatavs formed secular association instead of traditional panchayats. They also contested elections by forming political parties and thereby tried to enhance their social status. They also attained political and economic powers that were denied to them in the traditional caste system. In another case, Singh (1994:55) discussing patterns of sanskritisation reveals another fact about the rejection of traditional caste hierarchy by the hitherto untouchables. In his words, “The third pattern in Sanskritisation is even more important from a sociological point of view. Sanskritisation in such cases takes place through increased Puritanism and traditionalism in a caste along with rejection of the superiority of the ‘twice born’ castes.” Certain casts of eastern Uttar Pradesh refused to accept water even from the Brahmins, considering them less pure than themselves. Similarly, in many other untouchable castes, the process of Sanskritisation includes the rejection of some models of book-view of caste system’. In this regard Cohn (1955:215) writes: “Literacy has enabled the Chamars to relate to aspects of the Hindu Great tradition, through reading stories available in vernacular books. Urban employment has enabled Chamars to participate in rituals, derived from the Hindu Great tradition, at low caste temple in the cities. Simultaneously, there continues an earlier movement, the Siva Narayan sect, whose goal was Sanskritisation. Another strand is represented by the celebration of Rai Das birthday, which now is in hands of Chamar college students, who are, among other things, using political action. Their stories about Rai Das have an antiBrahmin tint to them and they stress right action and right principles rather than the more orthodox activities, worship and rituals”. Another aspect that deserves mention is the protest of the non–Brahmin communities against the domination of Brahmins in different parts of the country. The apical position accorded to the Brahmins in the sacred texts was challenged.

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Further, we have noted that the caste system has often been considered a system which is maintained rigidly through the practice of endogamy and the ideology of purity-pollution ignoring conflict of power and privileges. The field-view of caste has, however, revealed that the caste system was (and is in the present day too) much influenced by political and economic factors. The study of Nadars of Tamil Nadu is a case in point. Defining the importance of caste in Indian politics, Rudolph and Rudolph (1987) reveal that political clout can be used to change even the status in the caste hierarchy and many rights can be acquired which were once denied to a caste. They took the case of an untouchable community i.e. Shanans of

Tamil Nadu and explained how it could change the social status with the help of political mobilisation and association. In their words, “In 1921, the Shanans succeeded in officially changing their name. Their metamorphosis was wrought neither by the institutions of traditional society nor by findings of the legal system, of the British state customs or the sacred texts of traditional society justified shanan claims. It was government of Madras that wrought this important symbolic change, and its reasons for doing so were in considerable measure political. Nadars (as they were later on called) had brought increasing political pressure to bear on government to recognise the changes in self and social esteem resulting from a century of social change and mobility “ (Rudolph and Rudolph, 1987:45).

View from the Field

Box 6.2: Pollution Rules “Pollution rules are much less strictly observed in cities than in villages. In fact, in certain areas of urban life pollution has ceased to have any application. People mix freely in factories and schools, and very few bother about the caste of fellow-passengers in train and buses. In cities pollution is being increasingly confined to the house, to women and to ritual occasions In older days the higher castes regarded contact with the lower castes as polluting, and the latter were also subjected to some disabilities. For instance, the lower castes were not allowed to build tiled houses, wear the clothes that the upper castes wore or take out wedding processions in streets inhabited by high castes. Punishment for an offence varied according to the caste of the persons who committed it and against whom it was committed. Mahatma Gandhi roused the conscience of educated Indians about the practice of untouchability. Apart from the injustice, educated Indians realised the political dangers of trying to deny basic conditions of decent living to large numbers of people on the ground of birth in a particular caste. It is this awareness that has led to the adoption of various measures in independent India to put an end to untouchability and to enable the scheduled castes and tribes to advance to the level of the high castes. The grosser expression of untouchability have disappeared in the cities, but in rural areas it still holds sway. The economic emancipation of the Harijans and their increased migration to urban areas are necessary for the complete eradication of untouchability” (Srinivas, 1980:78-79).

The caste system in its traditional form has undergone tremendous change because of politicisation. In the domain of politics, both caste and kin seek to establish new identities and strive for enviable positions. Politicians find caste groupings readily available for political mobilisation. Kothari (1970) explains that, traditionally, there were two aspects of the secular organisation of caste: the governmental aspect which included caste councils, village arbitration procedures and so on; and the political aspect which included the intra-caste and inter-caste authority and status alignments and cleavages. These were dispensed through authority relationships of the local elites and the central political system(s). In the present day, electoral and party politics assume tremendous importance. There is continuous co-option of more and more strata in political-decision making processes. In some regions the Brahmins got involved readily, in others particularly where the Brahmins were not dominant, certain agricultural upper castes got involved According to the dalits, the caste system was framed by the Aryans to subjugate them. They say that since the Aryans were few in number and,

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Perspectives on Caste

needed to control the indigenous people i.e., the dalits who were egalitarian, they devised the caste system. Various caste movements as the Adi-Dravid, were led by this ideology (Omvet, 1994). Dalits assert that their conversion to different religions –Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity introduced the element of caste in them too. Later the dalit leaders mobilised the untouchables and Shudras (who constitute the Dalit and other backward classes category in contemporary times) under the banner of majority-minority communities. They argue that the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas constitute only 15 per cent of the population, hence they are in minority to Dalits who constitute the remaining population.

6.3 Field Based Studies The field-view of caste comes out most clearly from studies at the grass roots by sociologists and social anthropologists. Further, in specific terms the field view localises our understanding of caste and makes the researcher aware about the historical forces operating in the particular village or region down the ages. The field view also equips the researcher to take into account the internal factions within the caste. A researcher can observe everyday interaction between various castes in a village in economic, political and socio-religious spheres in a field situation and then develop a holistic framework for exploring the social status and mobility of different castes. What follows now are specific, field based studies that bring to light the working of the caste system in the lives of people. Let us turn to a detailed study of some important aspects of field-view with specific examples. Here we have tried to evaluate the analysis of caste undertaken F. G. Bailey, Adrian C. Mayer, McKim Marriott, and O.M. Lynch. The contribution made by these authors is significant because their understanding of caste is based on field view. This means they have tried to look at the caste system in India in operational terms. All the scholars have closely observed and recorded the intra/inter-caste interactions in the villages/regions of their studies and have discussed the implications of such an inter-caste interaction for the ranking of castes in the hierarchy. Nevertheless, they vary in their emphasis and focus of study.

a) Kishangarhi Village in Aligarh In the village of Kishangarhi located in Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh, McKim Marriott set out to study the nature of social hierarchy. The village was one with people belonging to different castes, practicing different occupations. Interestingly, all the people did not give the same rank order to castes. Again, there was disparity between the rank ascribed to a caste in the scriptures and that ascribed to it by the people. What this means is that, the castes did not seem to derive their position in the social hierarchy from the highness or lowness of their attributes. In fact some of the attributes such as diet and occupational restrictions were not determinate in ascription of rank to a caste. This stood out in contrast to the emphasis on the two attributes in the texts. He found that the categorisation of food into pucca and kuchha and its acceptance from those equal in caste rank or refusal from those lower in caste rank was not a sufficient criterion of determining the position of a caste in the hierarchy. In the Kishangarhi village itself the vegetarian castes (as the washerman i.e., Dhobi) and the non- vegetarian caste (as the leather workers i.e., Chamar) occupied the same position in the caste hierarchy.

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Marriott found that in relation to the occupational hierarchy or ranking of castes on the basis of purity of occupations, the placement of castes did not follow from the highness or lowness of occupation. Thus, those castes that followed clean occupations were ranked differently; the carpenter was higher than the gardener who was considered higher than the cultivator and so on. The barber, shepherd and several others were, however, placed on the same level of the local hierarchy.

View from the Field

Other scholars note that, castes following clean and pure occupations and food habits are often ranked below those castes that follow the less pure or more polluting occupations. In a Mysore village studied by Srinivas, for example, there were both vegetarian and non-vegetarian castes, and castes following both clean and unclean occupations. The trader’s caste is both a vegetarian and follows a clean occupation as compared to other castes such as the peasants. But castes such as the peasants rank above the traders. This shows a discrepancy between the attributes of the caste and its rank. It is found that a caste may follow a pure occupation and be non-vegetarian or an impure occupation and be vegetarian. Thus both the castes combine the pure and impure attributes. In such a caste, determination of rank is not easy. A caste often consists of an admixture of attributes that are treated as pure and those that are treated as impure. Often, a caste cannot be said to be completely pure or completely impure. Take for instance the case of Brahmins in different parts of the Indian subcontinent. According to the book-view of the caste system, the Brahmins practice pure occupations, such as priesthood, observe purity of diet i.e. strict vegetarianism and teetotalism (i.e., avoidance of alcohol) and, among other reasons, because of these attributes they occupy the highest rank in the hierarchy. But, when we take the example of the Brahmins of Kashmir, Bengal and several other regions we find that they are non-vegetarians and in spite of such dietary habits they continue to occupy important social position in the caste hierarchy. The book-view remains silent on the question of vegetarianism and nature of occupation as being sufficient criteria for determining the position of a caste in social hierarchy neither does it take note of the different permutations in which the attributes combine and recombine in actual lives. Just as Marriott (1955) found in his village study that castes having the same attributes of diet and occupation, often get ranked differently, F.G. Bailey (1957) in his study of village Bisipara in Orissa, points out how there are many castes in the village each of which is non-vegetarian yet they are ranked differently by the villagers.

b) Caste in Bisipara Village of Orissa Bailey studied the Bisipara village of Orissa which had several caste groups represented by different population size that varied from one person to 150 people said that caste groups are united into a system through two principles namely segregation and hierarchy. “Castes”, according to Bailey (1963:123), “stand in a ritual and secular (political, economic) hierarchy expressed in rules of interaction.” Here Bailey sees the caste system as a dynamic one in which different castes are held together by the power of dominant caste. According to him, the component of ritual status of a caste group goes hand-in-hand with the political and economic status. The relationship between castes is simply based on practice of rituals. The concern is with

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Perspectives on Caste

power because, many castes are subordinate to the dominant caste. In fact, the caste system is held together because of the concentration of power (and force) in the hands of the dominant caste. Since ritual rank is always consistent with political and economic status, once a caste becomes wealthy it changes its pattern of interaction with other castes so that it may claim a higher rank in hierarchy. In other words, a caste’s rank in the hierarchy is expressed through its pattern of interaction with the other castes. Here, the pattern of interaction becomes an indicator of its ritual status in the hierarchy. The pattern of interaction includes the acceptance and distribution of food; acceptance of water; willingness to smoke together and/ or to sit together may also be treated as an indicator of pattern of interaction. Exchange of gift is included in the list. Bailey also talks about the interaction between people of same caste spread over different villages in the region. A caste spread over a particular region may come together and strengthen ties through marriage. When this region-wide relationship matures, the caste may strive for power in the political sphere. Bailey explains the aforesaid issue by looking at inter-caste interaction in Bisipara. Box 6.3: Recent Changes “Dr. Bailey’s study, Caste and The Economic Frontier (1958), provides a good example of kind of changes which came in the wake of British rule. In Bisipara, a village in Khondmals in Orissa, two non-landowning castes made money because they could get a monopoly of the profitable trade in hides and liquor. It would have been polluting for the higher castes to handle liquor or hides. Of the two castes one was able to raise itself up in the hierarchy by Sanskritising its ritual and way of life; the other, found that untouchability came in the way of its mobility” (Srinivas, 1986:76).

According to Bailey, generally speaking, in the upper and lower extremes of the hierarchy, one can find perfect correspondence between ritual, political and economic status. In Bisipara, the warriors stood at the top of the caste ritual hierarchy next only to a sole Brahmin family in the village. But in the secular hierarchy consisting of political and economic statuses, warriors were the dominant caste. They owned a large part of the land and dominated the village council. But what happened after the change that swept Bisipara in the post-independence period is more important to note from the vantage point of field-view of caste system. After experiencing the winds of change, the warriors’ position came to be ambiguous in the ritual hierarchy because they lost much of their land. Moreover, the merchant caste as well as the distiller caste people came to claim a position next to that of Brahmins. None of these castes would accept food or water from one another anymore. Thus, conflict developed between the distillers and the warriors regarding their position in the ritual hierarchy.

90

Warriors like the Brahmins, accepted water from the herdsmen caste but not from the distillers. Thus implicitly, the warriors placed the distillers below herdsmen in the ritual hierarchy. The herdsmen, accepted food and water from warriors but refused it from the distillers. The distillers now reacted by accepting food and water only from the Brahmins and no one else. Thus, distillers of Bisipara claimed for themselves a position next to the Brahmins, after attaining wealth and weakening of the economic status of warriors. The Bisipara case of distillers reveals that whenever there is an improvement in political and economic status, castes tend to change their pattern of

interaction only to claim a higher rank in the ritual hierarchy. This is contrary to the book-view that assigns a fixed ritual hierarchy for all the times with Brahmins at the top and the Shudras at the bottom.

View from the Field

Reflection and Action 6.1 Discuss the major factors bringing about change in inter-caste relations.

c) Caste in Ramkheri Village in Madhya Pradesh Ramkheri village is situated near a small town by the name of Dewas, in Madhya Pradesh. Ramkheri had twenty-five Hindu and two Muslim castes. Commensal relations were strictly regulated, though flexibility was possible occasionally. To understand the hierarchy of commensal relations, Mayer observed the following: i) type of activity: eating, drinking water, smoking ii) type of food: pacca food, kaccha food iii) the place and context of eating: wedding or mourning iv) who is seated next to whom while eating? v) who provides the food? who cooks the food? vi) in what vessel is water given, brass or earthen pot? Mayer projects the village as a concrete reality affecting human relationships. It is from the interaction between the various castes in a village that a hierarchy of caste emerges. (See unit of ESO-12 of B.A. Programme) Mayer analyses inter-caste relations and their relation with the unity of the village. Mayer identifies economic and political interaction and more importantly, commensality (inter-dining) as the factors, which determine caste hierarchy in the village. According to Mayer (1970), it is difficult to measure the ranks on the economic and political basis of caste ranking. The problem with economic and political factors is that, all members may not come together or have interaction in the economic and political sphere. It is also a fact that economic wealth may cut across caste divisions. In other words, a person of a ‘high’ caste may have a poor economic status and vice versa. These problems are resolved in the context of ritual status. Ritual status in the caste hierarchy uniformly applies to everyone in the caste. Even in the patterns of interaction, it is only the ‘commensal hierarchy’ that can give an intricate system of relations between castes. In the words of Mayer (1970:59), “The ranking of castes is nowhere more clearly seen than in the commensal rules of eating, drinking and smoking”. Caste hierarchy is not determined solely by economic and political factors, although these are important. For him, the single most important factor is commensality, which clearly indicates the hierarchy prevalent in the village. It is a fact that, “The commensal hierarchy is based on the theory that each caste has certain quality of ritual purity which is lessened, or polluted by certain commensal contacts with castes having inferior quality”(Mayer, 1970: 33). Hence, a superior caste does not eat from the cooking vessels or the hands of a caste that it regards as inferior, nor will its members sit next to the inferior people in the same unbroken line (pangat) when eating. Drinking and smoking follow similar rules of exclusion. According to Mayer, “The position

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Perspectives on Caste

of a caste on the commensal hierarchy can be assessed on the principle that eating the food cooked or served by another caste denotes equality with or inferiority and that not to eat denotes equality and superiority… To put it another way, those from whom all will eat are higher than those from whom none will eat” (Mayer, 1970:34). Mayer explains, that the Brahmins come first in the undisputed position. The Brahmins of Ramkheri village eat kaccha food cooked only by members of their own caste or sub-caste. All the other castes accept the food cooked by the Brahmins and drink freely from their earthen pots. Moreover, according to Mayer, next to the Brahmin in the hierarchy are two groups of castes, one group is vegetarian while the other is non- vegetarian. Rajputs eat nonvegetarian food, but consider barbers and the potters as inferior because they accept kaccha food from the inferior carpenter or farmer. The dairymen of Ramkheri accept kaccha food only from the Brahmins but from no other caste. Only some most inferior castes (weaver, tanner, sweeper) accept food from them. In a similar way, oil-pressers of Ramkheri are ranked slightly above the dairymen, because at least a few castes above them eat from them. Carpenter, gardener, smith, farmer and tailor castes accept kaccha food only from the Brahmins. Carpenter is placed high because he eats only from the Brahmins and the farmer is placed lower than carpenter because he accepts food from Rajputs and potters as well. Still lower in the hierarchy are the bhilala, mina, nath and drummer. None of these castes accept kaccha food from each other. Weavers, tanners and sweepers are at the lowest order of the hierarchy. Sweeper is considered to be the lowliest of all castes in Ramkheri village because he alone eats the left-over from the plates of other castes. Now from the above description of caste hierarchies it becomes clear that the commensal relations in Ramkheri village indicate and express the ritual status of various caste groups. The other indicators of hierarchy as emphasised in the sacred scriptures have been rendered inconsequential. Reflection and Action 6.2 Discuss how the book-view of caste differs from the field-view of caste. Illustrate your answer with suitable examples.

6.4 Conclusion

92

We have come to realise that the caste situation at the grass roots presents several dimensions that are not contained in the sacred scriptures. The view from the field lays emphasis on the secular, day–to–day interactions between people belonging to different castes and among people belonging to the same caste. Now, while the texts classify people into four varnas (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra) based on a theory of their origin from different parts of the body of the creator (later the fifth varna comprising those presently known as ‘untouchables’, harijans’ was added) at ground-reality, there are several jatis or castes based on occupation. The book-view of caste was a rigid and closed system with negligible scope for social mobility. The thrust was on rituals, hierarchy based on purity-impurity. Surely, then caste emerged as a static entity. It may be safely concluded that the ‘bookview’ of caste gives us only partial reality of the structure and functioning of the caste system in India. It gives a normative and prescriptive order that does not work in all situations. It can also be ascertained from the above

that the normative principles enshrined in the sacred texts on the basis of which most of the notions of book view of caste are carved for individuals and groups are governed by different principles in a given geographical and socio-political situation. The field situation is plagued with social change and conflict. It also points to the possibility of an alternate way of explaining caste.

View from the Field

The field view brings to light the dynamics of caste relations in which the element of ritual does not remain excessively significant. Wealth and power rather ritual assume greater importance and determine and social hierarchy. Dominant caste (defined by Srinivas as one which preponderates numerically over the other castes, and wields preponderant economic and political power) governs inter-caste relations. Education and constitutional provisions for the backward caste have had a profound impact on the operative aspect of the caste system. There is fuzziness of hierarchy in the caste occupying the middle rungs.

6.5 Further Reading Lynch, Owen, M., 1974 The Politics of Untouchability. National Publishing House, Delhi Mayer, Adrian, C, 1970 Caste & Kinship in Central India: A Village and its Region, University of California Press. Berkeley and Los Angeles Rudolph, I, L.& Rudolph, Susanne, Hoeber., 1987, The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India. Orient Longman

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UNIT 6

URBANISATION

Structure 6.0

Objectives

6.1

Introduction

6.2

Demographic and Social Dimensions 6.2.1 6.2.2

6.3

Problems of Urban Areas 6.3.1 6.3.2 6.3.3 6.3.4 6.3.5 6.3.6

6.4

Slum Population Emergence of Slums

Social Consequences of Urbanisation 6.5.1 6.5.2 6.5.3 6.5.4

6.6

Over-urbanisation Inadequate Housing Unsafe and Insufficient Water Supply Inefficient and Inadequate Transport Pollution Environmental Decay

Problems of Slums 6.4.1 6.4.2

6.5

Demographic Dimensions Social Dimensions

Crime Isolation Maladjustment Efforts to Curb Undesirable Consequences

State Policy on Urban Problems 6.6.1 6.6.2 6.6.3

Social Legislation Relating to Urban Land and Housing Programmes of Slum Clearance and Construction of New Houses The Five Year Plans

6.7

Let Us Sum Up

6.8

Key Words

6.9

Further Readings

6.10 Answers to Check Your Progress

6.0

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this unit are to explain the meaning of urbanisation and point out some of the major problems which have assumed a massive proportion due to unprecendented rate of urban growth in India. To be more specific, after reading this unit, you should be able to : z

explain the meaning and social dimensions of urbanisation,

z

describe “over-urbanisation” and its problems with special reference to the question whether India is really over-urbanised,

z

discuss the problems of housing, water supply, transport and environment pollution in urban India,

z

examine problem of slums in Indian cities,

45

Structure in Tranistion – I

z

analyse the major social consequences of urbanisation in relation to the life and activities of urban dwellers, and

z

discuss the state policy on urban housing, water supply, sanitation, etc.

6.1

INTRODUCTION

In the earlier two units of this block we discussed the social demography and migration in the context of social problems in India. In this unit we shall deal with the important facets of the social problems of the urban areas. This unit begins with a discussion on the various dimensions of urbanisation, viz., demographic and social. The demographic aspects cover the growth of urban population and cities and metropolitan towns and their recent trends. In the social aspects, we discuss urbanism as a way of life, the primary and secondary urbanisation and the changing social and economic institutions. The social problems of urban areas are discussed in great length in this unit with special reference to the problems of over-urbanisation, housing, water supply, transport, pollution and environmental decay. Problems of slums are also dealt with in this unit. There are various negative social consequences of urbanisation, viz., crime, isolation, maladjustment, etc. These undesirable consequences and measures undertaken to curb these consequences are discussed in this unit. Lastly, we discuss the state policy on urban housing, water supply and sanitation. In this section, we discuss social legislation relating to urban land and housing programmes of slum clearance and urban development in the Five Year Plans.

6.2

URBANISATION : DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS

In Unit No.4, Block 1, of ESO-02, we introduced you to the patterns of urbanisation in India. In this unit we shall discuss the social problems associated with the process of urbanisation in contemporary India. Before discussing these problems, let us have an overview of the demographic and social dimensions of urbanisation in India.

6.2.1 Demographic Dimensions In simple words, the process of urbanisation denotes population growth of the cities and towns. Sociologically, it also denotes the spread of urban way of life to the country-side. Thus, the process of urbanisation has demographic as well as social dimensions. In present times, with the spread of industrialisation, the process of urbanisation has received unprecedented momentum all over the world and more specifically in the third world countries. It is predicated, on the basis of the current rates of urbanisation, that within a few decades the urban population of the third world countries will grow twice that of the present industrialised societies. i)

46

Growth of Urban Population and Metropolitan Cities

Though India is known as a country of villages the size of her urban population is second largest in the world with 307 million (30.7 crores) of population living in the urban areas. According to 2001 census 30.5% of Indian population

live in the urban areas. Over the years there have been a steady increase in the urban population in India from 17.29% in 1951 to 30.05% in 2001. However, there have been variations in the decennial growth rate of urban population caused by various socio-economic and political factors. The broad picture of urbanisation in India is given in table 1 below:

Urbanisation

Table 1 Total Population and Urban Population in India Year

Towns Cities (UAs Urban (No.) with million+ population population) (million)

Urban population (%of total)

Decennial UA growth rate population of urban (million) population (%)

Decennial growth rate(%)

1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991

1827 1815 1949 2072 2250 2843 2365 2590 3378 3768

1 2 2 2 5 7 9 12 23

228.9 252.1 251.3 279,0 318,7 361,1 437,2 548,2 683.3 844.3

10.84 10.29 11.18 11,99 13,86 17,29 17,97 19,91 23.34 25.72

0.17 8.30 19,07 32,04 41,34 25,84 38,93 46.12 36.16

28,10 40,07 62,21 95.69 141.15

42,61 55,27 53.81 47.51

2001

NA

40

1027.0

30.5

44.25

213.00

50.90

-

Source : Census of India (2001)

In ESO-2, Block 1, you have studied in details the patterns of urbanisation in India. However, for further clarification you would be interested to know that: (a) more than two-third of the urban population live in Urban- Agglomerations (UA), i.e., cities having a population greater than one million (see table 2); (b) the patterns of urbanisation have been very uneven in India (see table 3); (c) though there are several positive sides of urbanisation, the process has been accompanied by several urban problems. Table 2 Distribution of Urban Population, 2001 India/State/Union Territory

Total

Urban

% of Urban

Delhi Chandigarh Pondicherry Andaman & Nicobar Islands Goa Mizoram Tamil Nadu Lakshadweep Maharashtra Daman & Diu Gujarat Punjab Karnataka Haryana

13 0.9 0.97 0.23 1.3 0.8 62.1 0.06 96 0.15 50.5 24 52.7 21

12 0.8 0.6 0.12 0.67 0.4 27.2 0.026 41 0.057 18.9 8.2 17.9 6

92.31 88.89 61.86 52.17 51.54 50.00 43.80 43.33 42.71 38.00 37.43 34.17 33.97 28.57

47

Structure in Tranistion – I

West Bangal Manipur Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Kerala Jammu & Kashmir Dadra & Nagar Haveli Uttaranchal Rajasthan Arunachal Pradesh Jharkand Uttar Pradesh Chhatisgarh Meghalaya Tripura Orissa Assam Sikkim Himachal Pradesh Bihar Nagaland

80 2 75 60.4 31.8 10 0.2 8.5 56 0.87 26.9 166 20.8 2 3.2 36.7 26.6 0.5 5.4 82 1.9

22.5 0.56 20.5 16.1 8.3 2.5 0.05 2.1 13 0.2 6 34.4 4.2 0.4 0.5 5.5 3.4 0.06 0.6 8.7 0.2

28.13 28.00 27.33 26.66 26.10 25.00 25.00 24.71 23.21 22.99 22.30 20.72 20.19 20.00 15.63 14.99 1278.00 12.00 11.11 10.61 10.53

India 1027 285 Source : Census of India, Government of India Press, New Delhi.

27.75

Table 3 Name

1951 1961 1971 1981 1991

Kolkata 4.67 5.98 Greater 2.97 4.15 Mumbai Delhi 1.43 2.36 Chennai 1.54 1.95 Hyderabad 1.13 1.25 Bangalore 1.2 Ahmedabad 1.21 Pune Kanpur Lucknow Nagpur Jaipur M. Corp. Surat Coimbatore Cochin Vadodara Indore Madurai Bhopal Vishakhapatnam Varanasi Ludhiana M. Corp. Patna Agra Meerut

48

2001

Decennial growth rate in 50s(%)

Decennial Decennial Decennial Decennial growth growth growth growth rate in rate in rate in rate in 60(%) 70s(%) 80s(%) 90s(%)

7.42 5.97

9.19 10.86 8.23 12.56

13.2 16.4

28.1 39.7

24.1 43.9

23.9 37.9

18.2 52.6

21.5 30.6

3.65 3.17 1.8 1.65 1.74 1.14 1.28

5.71 4.28 2.53 2.91 2.51 1.68 1.69 1.01 1.3 1.00

12.8 6.4 5.5 5.7 4.5 3.8 2.7 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.8 2.8 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.3 1.2

65.0 26.6 10.6

54.7 62.6 44.0 37.5 43.8

56.4 35.0 40.6 76.4 44.3 47.4 32.0

46.6 25.2 68.8 41.2 30.3 45.2 24.3 64.4 26.9 51.0

52.9 19.4 28.8 38.7 37.6 55.7 28.6 38.6 27.3 52.3 85.4 85.4 23.9 35.1 45.5 10.1 41.5 25.0 18.8 38.6 56.0 28.7 20.0

8.37 5.36 4.27 4.11 3.27 2.44 2.1 1.66 1.65 1.51 1.51 1.51 1.13 1.11 1.1 1.09 1.06 1.04 1.01 1.01 1.09 1.01 1

Note : Data refers to the entire urban agglomeration around each city except for Jaipur, Ludhiana, Agra and Meerut. Source : Census of India, 2001, Government of India Press, New Delhi.

Visakhapatnam has shown the highest rate of growth, i.e., 73.9 per cent followed by Hyderabad (67.9 per cent), Ludhiana (66.7 per cent), Surat (66.0 per cent), Lucknow (65.7 per cent) and Bhopal (55.8 per cent) during 1981-91.

Urbanisation

iii) Recent Trends In brief, the demographic trends reveal that although the proportion of urban population in India is relatively less, yet in terms of absolute numbers, India’s urban population is more than the total population of several developed countries. It is projected that at the beginning of the twenty-first century as many as 32 crores of people will be living in urban centres in India. The rapid growth of urban population in the third world countries has led to the availability of public utilities becoming scarce. In India, such a situation in big cities has made it very difficult for the local administration to cope with the increasing population and arrive at any enduring solution. In social science, this has led to formulation of the controversial notion of over-urbanisation. In order to ameliorate the fast deteriorating conditions of urban living systematic urban policy and effective measures, urban renewal have become inevitable in India and all other third world countries.

6.2.2 Social Dimensions The process of urbanisation has to be explained both in demographic and social contexts. In demographic sense, the term “urbanisation” is largely used to explain the process of urban growth. In this sense, it refers to the proportion of a total population living in cities and towns at a given point of time. In sociology, the term urbanisation is also used to denote a distinct way of life, which emerges in cities due to their large, dense and hetrogeneous population. Such a life is distinct from the life and activities of the people living in villages. In this section, we shall discuss the social aspects of urbanisation. Let us begin with the formulation of Louis Wirth. i)

Urbanism as a Way of Life

Louis Wirth’s formulation of ‘urbanism as a way of life’ explains that the city, characterised by a relatively large, dense and permanent settlement of socially heterogeneous individuals, gives rise to various kinds of social relationships and patterns of behaviour among the city-dwellers. Further, Louis Wirth also argues that the city effects are wider than city itself. Thus, the city draws the surrounding villages and even remote communities into its orbit. In other words, urbanism as a way of life is not peculiar to city-dwellers alone as the influences of the city (i.e., impact of urbanisation) stretch far behind its administrative boundaries. In brief, urbanisation in its demographic sense refers to the trends of growth of the urban population. In societal context and in its sociological sense it also denotes a distinct way of life typically associated with living in the city and the process of transforming rural ways of life into urban ones. ii)

Primary and Secondary Urbanisation

Robert Redfield and Milton Singer elaborate the role of cities in the light of the impact of urban growth and urbanisation on a culture. They describe the city as a centre of cultural innovation, diffusion and progress. They have classified the process of urbanisation into two categories:

49

Structure in Tranistion – I

a) Primary urbanisation, and b) Secondary urbanisation. According to them, “the trend of primary urbanisation is to coordinate political, economic, educational, intellectual and aesthetic activities to the norms provided by Great Tradition. The process of secondary urbanisation works in the industrial phase of the city, and is characterised by heterogenetic development. Thus, the effects of secondary urbanisation are those of disintegration. They opine that: “the general consequence of secondary urbanisation is the weakening of suppression of the local and traditional cultures by states of mind that are incongruent with those local cultures.” The first type carries forward the regional tradition, and the city becomes its epi-centre, the second type bring external elements to the city. iii) Changing Social and Economic Institutions Urbanisation has its bearing on social relationships in community living. The relationships of community-living tend to become impersonal, formal, goaloriented, contractual and transitory. With urbanisation, transformation of economic activities from the agricultural sector to the non-agricultural sector takes place, and the proportion of population engaged in secondary and tertiary sectors of activities increases with division of labour and specialisation of work. Further, the process of urbanisation also leads to breakdown in the functioning of traditional institutions and patterns of behaviour and of social control. It leads to a situation of continuity and change in the sense that the traditional forms often continue to persist, but their functions undergo major re-adaptations in the face of urbanisation. As pointed out by Yogendra Singh, “many new roles, often rational and modern in orientation, are added on to the traditional institutional forms.” In India, the traditional institutions like caste, joint family and neighbourhood, etc., offer ample evidence of such continuity and change in cities. Urban growth coupled with industrial development induces rural-urban migration whereby the cities of bigger size, offering opportunities of improving life, tend to overflow with the rural migrants. On the one hand, such migration accelerates the pace of urbanisation and, on the other, it creates excessive population pressure on the existing public utilities with the result that cities suffer from the problems of slums, crime, unemployment, urban poverty, pollution, congestion, ill-health and several deviant social activities. In this context, it is essential to know the various facets of over-urbanisation and urban problems in India. Check Your Progress 1 i)

According to the 2001 Census, what percentage of the total population live in the urban areas? a) b) c) d)

50

17% 27% 30.5% 47%

ii)

Who among the following sociologists formulated the concept of ‘urbanism as a way of life’? a)

Emile Durkheim

b)

Karl Marx

c)

Max Weber

d)

Louis Wirth

Urbanisation

iii) In the process of urbanisation, the relationships of community living tend to become ………

6.3

a)

personalised

b)

informalised

c)

goal-oriented

d)

casual

PROBLEMS OF URBAN AREAS

Many scholars have tried to explain the social problems of urban India in terms of over-urbanisation. It would be interesting to know the meaning and dimensions of urbanisation and their applicability in the Indian context.

6.3.1 Over-urbanisation Over-urbanisation in one sense implies excessive urbanisation in relation to employment growth. It also means that the urban population has grown to such a large size that the cities fail to ensure a decent way of life to the urbandwellers on account of excessive population pressure on civic amenities, housing, etc. In the Indian context, the idea of over-urbanisation has been advanced on the grounds that (a) there is an imbalance between the levels of industrialisation and urbanisation in India, (b) the process of urbanisation takes away a lion’s share of resources and, thus, impinges upon the rate of economic growth of society, (c) the availability of civic amenities and facilities is so poor that these have now reached a point of break-down and become almost incapable of bearing further growing urban pressures. Contrary to the idea of over-urbanisation, several scholars have stressed that India does not suffer from the problem of over-urbanisation. In order to support this argument, it has been pointed out that the trends of industrial-urban growth in India conform to similar trends in as many as 80 per cent of the developing societies. Secondly, it has also been argued that with the rise of urbanisation in India diversification of economy providing for new opportunities of employment have also considerably increased. This has also led to a rise in the levels of the income of the urban-dwellers. The analysis offered by the Institute of Urban Affairs does not support the idea that rapid urbanisation in India is causing a distortion in the allocation of resources between urban and rural areas, and thereby negatively affecting the pace of economic development. In other words, the urban problems in India area not a result of over-urbanisation but are largely due to lack of effective urban policy governing the patterns of urbanisation. Let us now turn to some of the major problems of urbanisation in India.

51

Structure in Tranistion – I

6.3.2 Inadequate Housing The rapid growth of population in cities has given rise to numerous social problems among which the problem of housing is the most distressing. In fact, a vast majority of urban population live under conditions of poor shelter and in highly congested spaces. It is estimated that nearly 70 per cent of population in big cities live in sub-standard houses, which they call their homes. Special mention may be made here of the old houses, which are deteriorating in the sense that they are unserved, overcrowded and dilapidated. Usually, such decaying houses are found in the middle of most of the cities. Similarly, there are hundreds of such people who are living in cities as pavement-dwellers, without any kind of shelter at all.

Problems of Urbanisation

52

The available statistics show that in India more than half of the urban households occupy a single room, with an average occupancy per room of 4.4 persons. In Greater Bombay, as many as 77 per cent of the households with an average of 5.3 persons live in one room, and many others are forced to sleep on the pavements at night. The conditions of other big cities and others are forced to sleep on the pavements at night. The conditions of other big cities and

industrially growing towns are believed to be equally disturbing. It is estimated that more than 3 lakh persons in Delhi are without a shelter of their own.

Urbanisation

In order to solve the problem of urban housing, systematic efforts are being made through various programmes of urban development. Among these efforts, special mention may be made of the schemes of subsidised housing for economically weaker sections and the schemes of slum-clearance and improvement. These schemes are relevant and beneficial to the urban poor.

6.3.3 Unsafe and Insufficient Water Supply Availability of water for domestic use constitutes one of the basic civic amenities. Unfortunately, in the cities of the third world countries including India there are only a few urban dwellers, who enjoy this amenity on a regular and satisfactory basis. Nearly 30 per cent of the urban population in India is deprived of safe drinking water facility. Largely, the municipal pipes and handpumps are the major sources of procuring water in towns and cities. But in most of the cities, specially the rapidly growing ones, the slum-dwellers have to suffer acute problems in procuring water for domestic use. Several systematic studies have brought out the plight of the slum-dwellers in this regard. Not only have they to wait for long hours at the water-tap but many a times fights and unpleasant disputes for the sake of drinking water arise owning to the heavy rush of the slum-dwellers to procure water before it stops running through the water tap every day. In some cases, it was found that more than a hundred families depended exclusively on one water tap. The problem of regular water supply in smaller cities and towns too is assuming an accute form with rapid and unmanageable stream of urbanisation.

6.3.4 Inefficient and Inadequate Transport The lack of efficient transport facility is yet another major problem which has become, almost in all big cities, a headache for the local authorities. In fact, an efficient and well-knit network of transport facilities is essentially required for the movements of the city-dwellers between their residence and place of work and to the central business area. It also facilitates the movements of the daily commuters, who depend upon the city for their earning without living there permanently. The narrow roads and streets, their poor conditions, on the one hand, and, on the other, numerous vehicles, public-buses, rickshaws, twowheelers, cars, bullock-carts, trucks and bicycles, all plying together create a unique scene of traffic congestion and traffic jams practically in every part of the city, more so in the central business area and other important zones of the city. The problem of transport in the wake of rapid urbanisation has become so serious that any effort to check it hardly yields a permanent solution. In the old and pre-industrial areas of the city, narrow roads and still narrower residential streets hardly offer any scope for efficient transport facilities. Moreover, whatever little transport network is seen in the cities, that too has become a major source of environmental pollution due to traffic jams and poor conditions of vehicles.

6.3.5 Pollution The recent trends of industrial urban growth in India and several third world countries have created a very serious problem of pollution threatening the health and happiness of human beings. The problem of pollution is so different from many other problems that common people hardly comprehend its seriousness although everyone slowly and continuously becomes the victim of ill-effects.

53

Structure in Tranistion – I

Margaret Mead observed that pollution is one of the greatest problems by modern industrial urban civilisation. The problem of pollution is becoming increasingly acute with the rise of urbanisation on account of the following reasons: a) b) c) d)

Indiscriminate growth of industrial and chemical plants in spite of the efforts through legal measures to check such growth. Pre-industrial structure of cities with narrow streets and roads, which have become defective and inefficient in regulating traffic. High-rise buildings, representing vertical growth of cities, ultimately causing high density of population, congestion on roads and pollution. Lack of effective and systematic use pattern on account of scarce land and its commercial speculation.

Today, in India, Bombay (now Mumbai) and Calcutta (now Kolkata) belong to the category of world’s very densely populated cities. The situation of other class I cities is also equally worse. Some years ago, R.S.Kamat carried out a study in Bombay with a view to compare the health of 4000 persons living in the Chembur and Lalbaugh areas of pollution with posh areas of Khar. He found that the inhabitants of the Chembur and Lalbaugh areas had shown high incidence of diseases like asthma, allergy, T.B., burning of eyes and cancer, etc., whereas the inhabitants of the Khar area showed much less. Similarly, under the auspices of K.E.M. Hospital, Bombay, a study was conducted a few years ago. It revealed that nearly 16 per cent of the textile workers in Bombay were suffering from respiratory diseases. In Calcutta, it was found that almost 60 per cent of the population was suffering from respiratory problems due to polluted environment. One of the studies on slums in Kanpur has revealed that more than 55 per cent children were suffering from T.B., because of dirt, filth and pollution in and around slums. Laster Brown, Cristopher Flavin and their colleagues in the World Watch Institute, based in Washington D.C. and engaged in environmental research, have recently said that air pollution has assumed such alarming proportions in several cities and rural areas around the world that merely breathing the air in Bombay is now equivalent to smoking ten cigarettes a day.

54

One of the greatest sources of pollution in cities is ever-increasing traffic. The vehicles plying on the congested roads release smoke, carbondioxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbon, aldehydes and Ieadoxide, etc. J.N. Dae of Jawaharlal Nehru University conducted a study in Bombay and Delhi, and found that the means of transportation plying in these metropolises released 70 per cent carbon monoxide, 40 per cent hydrocarbon and 30 to 40 per cent other pollutants along with smoke and fumes, causing serious environmental pollution affecting the health of the city-dwellers. According to the report of the National Policy Committee of the Planning Commission (1978), there were more than nine lakhs and 50 thousand vehicles in the four metropolises – Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi and Madras (now Chennai). This figure has possibly reached to over 20 lakh vehicles by now. In addition to all these vehicles, the industries, factories, slums, and the high density of population are equally responsible sources is also found as a major source of pollution. The availability of liquid petroleum gas has not yet reached a large section of the population, hence, a majority of people still depend upon traditional fuel for cooking purposes. It is estimated that till the end of 1988 the facility of LPG become available only in 805 urban centres covering about 11 million households.

Urbanisation

INDIA DEVELOPMENT REPORT Do You Know 1 Availability of Electricity, Safe Drinking Water, Sanitation and Health Infrastructure (1997-98) Type of facility

Percentage of households Total Rural Urban

Electricity

52.4

36.5

86.2

Safe drinking water

32.9

14

73

Electricity and safe drinking water

42.4

29.2

73.2

Safe drinking water and toilet

30.8

15.3

64.1

Electricity and toilet

29.7

11.1

69.3

All the three facilities

28.0

12.3

61.2

None of the three facilities

16.4

22.5

3.5

Beds per 10,000 population in Public hospitals

10.1

2.4

26.3

Source : World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2001.

Do You Know 2 Air Pollution Levels in various Cities 1998 City

Total suspended Particulates (Microgrammes per cubic metre)

Sulfur dioxide (microgrammes per cubic metre)

Nitrogen dioxide (microgrammes per cubic metre

Ahmedabad

299

30

21

Bangalore

123

-

-

Kolkata

375

49

34

Chennai

130

15

17

Delhi

415

24

41

Hyderabad

152

12

17

Kanpur

459

15

14

Lucknow

463

26

25

Mumbai

240

33

39

Nagpur

185

6

13

Pune

208

-

-

Source : World Development Indicators, 2001, World Bank, 2001.

55

Structure in Tranistion – I

Do You Know 3 Delhi Slums - the Reality Delhi has seen a swelling of its population from 2 million in 1947 to over 13 million today. The government has been unable to meet the infrastructure and social challenges that have arisen from this growth, and shanty towns have emerged as a response. For those living in shanties the outlook is bleak. Record show: 1. 1500 shanty colonies in Delhi over 3 million people. 2. The average population density in a shanty town is 300,000 people per square kilometer. 3. An average dwelling houses 6-8 people, yet measures 6ft (2mt) 8ft (2.5 mt). 4. The under-five mortality rate is 149 per 1000 live births. 5. 1 water pump on average serves 1000 people. 6. Many slums have no facilities. Where latrines are provided, the average is 1 latrine per 27 households. 7. 40 per cent of children are severely malnourished in Delhi, about 40,000 children are labourers, 30,000 assist in shops, another 30,000 work in teashops and 20,000 in auto repair shops. 8. 100,000 children are part-time or full-time domestic helps. 9. 75 per cent of men and 90 per cent of women living in shanties are illiterate. Source :

6.3.6 Environmental Decay Added to all these demographic and technological sources of pollution, the human factor involved in causing environmental decay needs attention. The apathy of the city-dwellers and industrialists towards cleanliness of the environment, lack of seriousness on the part of local civic authorities in maintaining environmental standards, stronghold of the vested interest groups on available land, poor maintenance of public utilities, such as, latrines, drainage, dustbins, water-taps and bathrooms, etc., contribute to the environmental pollution so much that many parts of the city become the living examples of dirt and filth. At times, it is seen that even the hospitals and gardens are also very poorly maintained from the standpoint of cleanliness. With the ever-increasing pace of urbanisation and resultant population pressure on the available land and public utilities the environmental pollution in cities has now become a great challenge to the health and happiness of the urban people. The fast deteriorating conditions of urban living can only be ameliorated through systematic programmes flowing from a well-conceived and effective rational policy on environment as well as emergence of a serious awareness among the city dwellers and commuters for pollution control. 56

Check Your Progress 3 i)

Urbanisation

What are the major features of over-urbanisation in India? Answer in about six lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

Write a short note, in about six lines, on the housing problems in the Indian urban areas. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

iii) What are the main reasons for the increase in the pollution problems in urban areas? ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

6.4

PROBLEMS OF SLUMS

In the wake of rapid urbanisation, slums in cities have become an almost inevitable and necessary evil.

6.4.1 Slum Population The figures relating to urban population living in slums are not accurately available, nevertheless it is commonly accepted that nearly one-fifth of the total urban population in India lies in slums. According to the statistics provided by the Seventh Plan document, nearly 10 per cent (or 3 crore of the total 16 crore) of the urban population in India live in slums. The Task Force on Housing and Urban Development, appointed by the Planning Commission of India, estimated nearly 23 per cent or over 3 crore 60 lakh persons as the urben slum-

57

Structure in Tranistion – I

dwellers in India. The proportion of the slum-dwellers increase with the size of the urban population. Cities with less than one lakh population have 17.5 per cent; cities with the population between one lakh and ten lakhs have 21.5 per cent, and cities having more than ten lakhs of population have 35.5 per cent slum-dwellers in the total population. In the case of Calcutta and Bombay, it is estimated that 43.86 lakhs and 41.26 lakhs, respectively lived in slums, in the year 1990. The four metropolitan centres, Calcutta, Bombay Delhi and Madras, have around 50 per cent of the total population living in slums by now. A similar situation prevails in African and Latin American countries.

6.4.2 Emergence of Slums The National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi, has recorded that the emergence of slums is essentially the product of three forces: a)

demographic dynamism of a city attracting more people from the rural areas offering greater potential for employment;

b)

its incapacity to meet the rising demand for housing; and

c)

the existing urban land policies, which prohibit the access of the poor to the urban land market.

It is further observed that the urban poor are left with no choice but to make or take shelter illegally on any available piece of land. Sometimes a slum is the consequence of blight in the old parts of the city. At times, a slum is inherited in the form of an old village or a haphazardly growing locality within the extended territorial limits of a town. The magnitude of the problem of slums is alarming. The Government of India, for purposes of the implementation of various schemes relating to urban development, has defined a slum area as follows: “A slum area means any area where such dwellings predominate, which by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design of buildings, narrowness and faulty arrangement of street, lack of ventilation, lack of sanitation facilities, inadequacy of open spaces and community facilities or any combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health or morale.” These slum areas are also referred to as the ‘blighted area’; ‘renewal area’; ‘deteriorated area’, ‘gray area’; ‘lower class neighbourhood’; ‘lower income area’; etc. In India, these areas are also known as ‘Jeropadpatti’; Juggi Jhounpadi’; ‘Bastee’; ‘Akatas’ and ‘Cherri’, in regional vocabularies. Michael Harington says that in the face of rapid industrial-urban growth in the technologically advanced and capitalistic country like the United States of America also there are such slums, which at times are referred to as the ‘other America’. Box 1 : Characteristics of Slums The physical aspects and general conditions of the slums are by and large the same everywhere. The foremost characteristics of slums can be briefly enumerated in the following manner: 58

1) Dilapidated and poor houses in slums are made of poor design and scrap materials. These are often raised on unauthorised land.

2) High density of population and housing leads to over-crowding and congestion; one room is often used for all practical purposes of domesticating living. In Bombay and in many other big cities, it can be seen that in the slum areas one room tenement with 100 sq.f. to 150 sq.f. of space is occupied by more than 10 persons.

Urbanisation

3) Lack of public utilities and facilities, such as, drainage, sanitation, water taps, electric light, health centres, common latrines and public parks, etc., are widely observable characteristics of slums. 4) The slum-dwellers are functionally integrated with the mainstream of the city life, yet the high incidence of deviant behaviour such as crime, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, drug use, beggary, illegitimacy, illicit distilling of liquor, gambling and other social evils are associated with slum areas. It does not mean that all those residing in slums are necessarily associated with such deviant behaviour. The slum areas, socially and physically provide greater opportunity for such kinds of deviant behaviour. 5) Slums have a culture of their own, which Marshall Clinard has termed as ‘a way of life’. It is said to be largely a synthesis of the culture of the lower class and of that which Lewis has referred to as the ‘culture of poverty’. 6) Though the slum-dwellers are functionally integrated to the city life, apathy and social isolation characterise a slum. It means that largely slums are subject to neglect and apathy of the larger community. These areas are looked down upon and considered inferior. Such a reaction from the larger community renders slums into social isolation, detached from the city as a whole. Under these circumstances, the slum-dwellers find it almost impossible to improve these conditions through their own efforts.

Slums are dilapidated and overcrowded areas with lack of adequate public utilities, yet their existence in the city does serve a purpose, especially for the urban poor and migrants coming for some job opportunities in the city. It is in slums that poor people like industrial workers, casual labourers, hawkers, petty shopkeepers, vegetable-sellers and several others offering useful services to the city find a place to stay. These poor people belonging to different castes, religions, regions and languages live together even amidst extreme poor conditions. At times, these slums play a very vital role in orienting the new migrants to the city environment. In other words, the slum-dwellers, by providing social comfort and support to the new migrants, help them to adjust to the conditions of city-living and finally integrate themselves with the mainstream of city life. In India, the slums are usually classified into the following three categories: (1) the old building which have become dilapidated and deteriorated in course of time; (2) the slums which are characterised by poor and inadequate housing conditions, constructed legally around mills and factories, (3) the slums which illegally come up in different parts of the city through unauthorised occupation of open land. Activity 1 Visit a slum area, preferably of your home town. Try to find out, either through observation or through interaction, the major problems faced by these slumdwellers. After the collection of information is over, try to develop a note on the ‘Problems of Slum-dwellers in My Home Town’ in about two pages. If possible, discuss your note with the coordinator and the co-learners of your Study Centre.

59

Structure in Tranistion – I

6.5

SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES – CRIME, ISOLATION AND MALADJUSTMENT

The rapid urbanisation over the last few decades in India (and elsewhere in the third world countries) has latently led to rise in several problems. In fact, in the modern developed societies, these problems came into existence since the emergence of industrialisation during the 18th century. Today, the developing societies are acquiring the characteristics of the developed societies even in crime, juvenile delinquency, rape, murder, prostitution, gambling, suicide and alcoholism. Moreover, the unprecedented pace of urbanization, causing high density of population and conditions of urban anonymity, have given rise to socio-psychological problems of adjustment, especially in the case of the migrants to the city of their destination. Here, we shall briefly look into the problems of crime, isolation and maladjustment.

6.5.1 Crime The metropolises and the big cities provide greater environmental opportunities for committing crimes and acts of juvenile delinquency. The rate of crime is very high in cities compared to the rural and tribal areas. With the rise of urbanisation, the rate of crime gets further accentuated as the opportunities of success through socially legitimate means remain scarce as against the number of aspirants. Moreover, urban anonymity in a way encourages resorting to unlawful activities, as the traditional agencies of social control and law and order become noticeably weak. Under these conditions of urban living, crimes such as theft, burglary, kidnapping and abduction, murder, rape, cheating, criminal breach of trust, gambling, prostitution, alcoholism and counterfeiting, etc., have become almost routine affairs in most cities, especially the “million” cities. Further, in all big cities the criminal gangs indulging in organised crimes have become a grave social problem. These criminal gangs have their network stretching beyond a given city, spread over more than one city. At times, these gangs are so resourceful that, even when caught by the police, they easily succeed in escaping punishment. Modern research points out that the great amount of crime in modern urban centers reflects the inability of the urban community to integrate all its members and to control those who resist integration. Crime and city are thus casually connected. Scholars pointed out that the urbanisation of rural areas and an increase in crime go hand in hand. Several years ago it was found that among the rural areas and an increase in crime go hand in hand. Several years ago it was found that among the rural inmates in an Iowa performatory in the USA characteristics associated with an urban way of life played a significant role in their criminal behaviour.

60

Compared to western societies, the rate of crime in urban India is low; nevertheless, the problem of crime is becoming grave in all big cities in India. The most significant reasons for this deteriorating situation lie in an unprecedented rate of population growth of these cities, widespread economic insecurities, and decline in the management of law and order. In 1974, out of the total crimes reported all over the country, more than 12 per cent crimes were committed in eight big cities – Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The accompanying table shows some

details about the crimes reported under the Indian Penal Code in the eight major cities, in 1979.

Urbanisation

The Crime reported in eight Indian cities under IPC in 1979 City

Number of Crimes

Rate of crime per lakh & population

7,178

345.1

Bangalore

24,693

1240.9

Bombay

36,417

447.9

Calcutta

13,103

391.1

Delhi

41,516

784.8

Hyderabad

7,359

336.0

Kanpur

7,192

496.0

Madras

8,843

264.8

1,46,301

526.1

Ahmedabad

Total

Source: Drawn from Hand Book on Social Welfare Statistics 1981, Govt. of India, Ministry of Social Welfare, New Delhi.

The national capital, Delhi, continued to be the crime capital of the country, recording a crime rate that is more than double the national average among the metropolitan cities. During 2002, Delhi’s crime rate was put at 385.8 per lakh of population, much higher than the national average of 172.3. While the crime rate of Chennai stood at 113.5 per lakh of population, Kolkata reported at an even lower rate of 90.6 and Mumbai at 177 was slightly above the national average. The highest crime rate among large urban centres was reported in Bhopal (740.9), followed by Vijayawada at 666, Indore 626 and Jaipur 524. Activity 2 Read any national daily for at least 30 days to classify the crimes reported from various cities in India.

In Western societies, the unskilled labour is identified with the ‘blue collar’ shirts and the office-going people with the ‘white collar’. Generally, people think that the ‘blue collar’ has close links with crime. It has, however, been found that wrong behaviour is not limited to this group, and even persons associated with clean dress commit objectionable behaviour that at times goes unnoticed. The white-collar crimes, which are committed largely by violating the rules and regulations of trade, business or profession during the conduct of these activities also become widespread, especially in cities which are the victims of rapid urbanisation. Usually, individuals and groups resorting to the white-collar crimes enjoy power, prestige and clandestine relations with the authorities due to their professional or business activities. On account of such social connections, many among them find it easier to escape punishment even if the consequences of their unlawful activities are grave in the larger interests of society. 61

Structure in Tranistion – I

6.5.2 Isolation Social interaction with others is a basis of all forms of social relationships and social groupings. It plays a very vital and meaningful role in all forms of social life: rural, urban or tribal. In smaller communities, such interactions in different aspects of life provide for personal and intimate social relationships, whereas in the cities due to the large, and heterogeneous population, the possibilities of such relationships are considerably minimised. With the rise of urbanisation, a city-dweller, while living amidst a sea of fellow city-dwellers, is detached from them socially . In other words, a city-dweller is physically in proximity with others in different walks of life, but socially he is under conditions of relative isolation, if not absolute isolation. Socially, isolated persons are rarely found in village communities. In the city, people are usually unable to make intimate and emotionally strong relationships. This tendency goes on increasing as the city grows in the face of rapid population growth. Older people, the migrants who are still strangers in the city, people who are unable to get along with others, socially rejected persons and persons who do not find people of their liking often feel acute isolation even amidst thousands of the urbandwellers. The rapid growth of urban population leads to greater divisions of labour and specialisation of work which, in turn, creates interdependence among individuals participating in a given economic activity. Such an interdependence is partial and restricted only up to the fulfillment of a given fraction or a portion of the total activity. Thus, there is extremely limited scope for sharing a totality of experiences and social life. The heterogeneity of population, especially in matters of social status, caste, class, religion, income, occupation, etc., creates partial isolation under which, as K. Dais says, integrity of particular groups is reinforced by maintaining social distance (avoidance) toward other groups. Residential segregation is one of the manifestations of partial isolation in cities. In a broad perspective, Kingsley Davis observes that partial isolation, whatever its specific form, tends to be associated with the individuals positions and to be expressed in the rights and duties of these positions. It implies that between individuals of different status there is a difference of ends. It is, therefore, one of the means by which societies are organised. Some mutual avoidance, social distance, and ethnocentrism emerge. A similar, by and large, prevails in the face of rapid urbanisation.

6.5.3 Maladjustment

62

The process of urbanisation adds to the complexities of city - life. It generates and strengthens the forces of social change, leading to new social reality and inevitable pressures of conformity. As the process of urbanisation accelerates, the city life tends to be rapidly characterised by cultural diversities, socioeconomic inequalities, competition, conflict and several other manifestations of complexities of social reality. The fact of social mobility also affects the life of the city-dwellers. In a way, all these social forces impose a functional adjustment on the part of the city-dwellers to lead a peaceful and fuller life. However, all the city-dwellers are not fortunate enough to satisfactorily adjust to the diverse challenges of a growing city. For example, in the field of economic activities, even in a rapidly growing city, the number of opportunities for successful adjustment are smaller than the number of competitors. In such a

situation, several among those, who are the losers, fail to suitably adjust to the reality, and become victims of frustration, inferiority complex and loss of a meaningful integration with the totality of city-life. All such failures give rise to the problem of maladjustment. Similarly, even among the successful ones, many fail to conform to the new situations, and become maladjusted.

Urbanisation

The problem of maladjustment becomes all the more acute in the case of those city-dwellers, who are relatively recent migrants. They, in fact, present cases of “Marginal Man”–a concept developed by Robert E.Park and later elaborated upon by Everett V.Stonequist. The marginal-man, in simple words, is said to be one who is in the process of changing from one culture to another. Some scholars have also used the term “transitional man” in the sense that the individual in question is in the process of assimilation with the culture of the place of his destination. Further, a marginal man suffers from the problems of maladjustment precisely because he feels lost amidst the pressures of two cultures, as he cannot completely change from one cultural system to another. On the one hand, he tends to retain some traits of his cultural past and, at the same time, he is forced to acquire the traits of new culture. In such a situation, he experiences internal conflicts, intense anxiety and socio-psychological tensions, which often tend to enhance the incidence of maladjustment. Apart from these adverse consequences of urbanisation, it is also found that various forms of social disorganisation are associated with the rapid growth of cities. Special mention may be made here of family, kinship and community disorganisation endangering the cohesive and integrated social life. These forms of social disorganisation are reflected through the disruption of mutually expected roles and obligations in the wake of unequal rates of social change in different aspects of city-life. In the case of the family, the increasing rate of divorce and break down of jointness in the joint-family are indicative of dissociative and break down of jointness in the joint-family are indicative of dissociative implications of urbanisation. The withering away of kinship obligations provide similar examples. In like manner, the enormous expansion of the city area and the increasing pressure of its heterogeneous population raise several problems and lessens the normative integration of the city. The net result, as observed by William Foot Whyte, is that a large, heterogeneous, and widely dispersed population faces many new problems for which solutions do not exist in the culture of that society.

6.5.4 Efforts to Curb Undesirable Consequences The increasing proportion of these evil consequences of urbanisation has led to some systematic efforts for effectively curbing their incidence. These efforts include legislative measures for the removal of urban poverty and unemployment as well as measures of slum clearance and urban community development programmes. From the Sixth Five Year Plan onwards, special attention is being paid to the socio-economic development of small towns and cities to divert the flow of the rural migrants. It is hoped that, with the rise of new opportunities of employment in towns and small cities, the metropolitan centres will be relieved of further increase in the pressure of excessive population, which has by now made it almost impossible for the civic authorities to ensure efficient and adequate supply of public utilities to the citizens. In addition to these planned efforts, social legislation relating to suppression of immoral traffic in women and girls, prevention of beggary, prevention of

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Structure in Tranistion – I

alcoholism and drug abuses, correctional programmes for criminals and juvenile delinquents, and rehabilitation schemes for deviant persons under the programmes of social defence are equally significant steps taken towards the amelioration of these problems of urban living. In Section 6.7, you will come to know about the policy of the State specifically addressed to the solution of several urban problems so as to make urban living a decent way of life. Check Your Progress 3 Tick the correct answer. i)

Crime is usually a) b) c) d)

ii)

Higher in rural than in urban areas Higher in big cities than in rural areas Similar in rural and urban areas Lower in metropolitan cities than in small towns

Compared to the Western societies, the crime rate in urban India is a) b) c)

high low no different

iii) Tick the correct statements a) b) c) d)

A city-dweller is usually socially far detached from his fellow citydwellers while living in the sea of humanity. Socially isolated persons are often found in villages. A city-dweller is usually unable to make intimate and emotionally strong relationship with his fellow dwellers. Rapid growth of urban population leads to greater division of labour.

iv) The concept of the marginal-man is developed by a) b) c) d)

6.6

64

Robert E.Park Robert Redfield. Louis Wirth. Louis Dumont

STATE POLICY ON URBAN PROBLEMS

In India, it is now recognised that urbanisation is not a trivial aspect of the processes of economic development and social change. This has led to a demand that there ought to be a national policy statement on urbanisation, as it is true in matters of industrial development, population growth, and education. Several reasons account for the lack of national policy on urbanisation, foremost among which have been the issues of overwhelming concern for self-sufficiency of villages and the inclusion of urbanisation in the state subjects of our Constitution. However, in our efforts of planned development, the five year plans do reflect the general policies being followed for the management of the urban problems, which are assuming massive proportion due to unprecedented rise in the rate of urbanisation. It should be noted here that, by and large, the

emphasis of these efforts has been towards the amelioration of the conditions of the poor and the lower income groups. A brief appraisal of the efforts to solve the problem of housing, sanitation and water supply, along with several other problems of urban development, is presented here.

Urbanisation

We have seen that one of the grave problems of urbanisation has been acute shortage of housing facilities in cities. This problem has reached almost a breaking point in the case of the metropolitan cities. In order to meet this problem, planned efforts are made in the following two directions: a)

Social legislations relating to urban land and housing;

b)

Programmes of slum clearance and construction of new houses.

Let us see what has been done under these heads to solve the problem of urban housing.

6.6.1 Social Legislation Relating to Urban Land and Housing The Constitution gives the fundamental right of the freedom of movement to every citizen of India, but does not guarantee the right of housing to either the urban-dwellers or the village people. In our Constitution the responsibility of urban development and related welfare programmes has been assigned to the state governments. The social legislation governing rent and sale of land and houses include the following two important enactments: 1)

Rent Control Act (RCA), 1948, and

2)

Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA) 1976.

i)

The Rent Control Act, 1948

The Rent Control Act was enacted with a view to control and regulate the rent of the houses. It was first enacted in the then Bombay State, in 1948, and later on in several other states. The Rent Control Act also protects the tenants from the atrocities of the house-owner, especially in the sense that the owner of a house can neither force the tenant to vacate house, nor can he raise the rent of the house at his own will. Further, the Rent Control Act also imposes the responsibility of repairs of the house on the owner rather than on the tenant living in it. Systematic studies evaluating the impact of the Rent Control Act have revealed that the Act has not been able to bring about a solution to the problem of urban housing in the desired direction. Kiran Wadhava’s study reveals that the said Act has hardly been able to make any noticeable progress in solving the problem of urban housing, and its need continues to be equally significant even today. In fact, there have been some latent consequences of this Act, adding to the already acute problem of housing. The owners are now not eager to rent out the house, as it will never come back in their possession due to the conditions of the Rent Control Act. Similarly, now people do not like to build houses with a view to earn rent. All such calculations ultimately add to the scarcity of houses. It is also observed that the owners hardly show any interest in the repair of houses, which have already been rented out, simply because all such expenses are finally going to be a burden on them alone, without any possibility of raising the rent. Owing to such apathetic attitude of the owners towards

65

Structure in Tranistion – I

timely repairs, a large number of buildings in cities have deteriorated and become dangerous for living. The ill-effects of the Rent Control Act are not systematically recognised and in order to put a curb on such effects the Ministry of Urban Development has taken some serious steps. In 1987, The National Commission on Urbanisation was appointed under the auspices of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. The Commission also went into the details of the Rent Control Act, and recognised the seriousness of the adverse effects of the Act. In its interim report, the National Commission on Urbanisation made several recommendations relating to the amendments in the terms and conditions of the existing Rent Control Act relating (1) the continuation of the protection of the interests of the existing tenants, (2) the inclusion of the possibility of raising rent, (3) the separation of the rules the regulations of renting houses for commercial purposes from houses to be rented for residential purposes, (4) the provisions of providing incentives to build new houses, etc. It is believed that the inclusion of these amendments, while not necessarily solving the acute problem that has been growing over the years, will certainly lessen the adverse effects of the existing Rent Control Act. ii)

Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act , 1976

The second important step relating to the management of urban land is the enactment of the Urban Land Ceiling Act of 1976. This Act has the following three fundamental objectives: a)

Redistribution of land,

b)

Prevention of speculation in land, and

c)

Regulation of construction on vacant land.

Under the provisions of this Act, the excess land, i.e., land excluding the prescribed size of the available plot, can be procured by the local authorities or the state government for wider public interests. Usually, the excess land under this Act is procured for the construction of houses for the urban poor and the low income groups. Moreover, this Act imposes restrictions on the sale of excess land so as to curb speculation in urban land. Critics have pointed out that despite the existence of this Act the prices of land in every city have reached far beyond the capacity of common-man and speculation in land is flourishing almost unchecked. Moreover, the land procured for construction of houses for the urban poor and other public utilities is also negligible in size. In several cases, the owners of excess land have been successful in escaping the demands of the Land Ceiling Act through corrupt practices and use of their political connections.

6.6.2 Programmes of Slum Clearance and Construction of New Houses

66

We have seen that, in the face of rapid urban growth, a large section of urban population is living in slums and suffering from acute shortage of houses, water-supply, sanitation and other public facilities. These urban problems have assumed massive proportion, warranting social legislation and special attention in our national planning. Following from these efforts, one of significant

programmes is the slum clearance scheme and programme of construction of new houses for the urban poor and the low income groups. Under this scheme, low cost houses, equipped with latrine, bathroom, water-tap, sanitation and drainage facilities, are made available to the poor people, who can afford to pay a token amount as rent from their meagre earnings. Moreover, under the scheme of slum clearance an entire area inhabitated by economically and socially weaker sections is provided with these common utilities to be shared by all. These programmes under the slum clearance scheme are subsidised to provide assistance to the state governments for construction of one crore and 40 lakh new houses at the rate of Rs.5000 per house for the benefit of the urban poor and the low and middle income groups. In addition, the state governments and the local bodies of the cities also provide necessary funds for execution of such projects. It should, however, be noted that the voluntary agencies have still lagged behind in taking up the activities of slum clearance and construction of houses for the poor people.

Urbanisation

The following schemes have been executed in several cities with financial and other support from the state governments and local bodies for the construction of new houses: a)

In 1952, a scheme for the construction of houses for the industrial workers came into existence.

b)

A scheme was introduced, in 1954, for the construction of houses for the low income groups.

c)

Since the implementation of the Second Five Year Plan (1956), the scheme of slum clearance and improvement came into existence on a regular basis.

d)

The Life Insurance Corporation of India started giving loans since the Second Five Year Plan to the middle-income groups for the construction of houses.

e)

Since the Fifth Five Year Plan, the programme of building houses for the higher-income groups were taken on hand with the objective that profit earned through such projects will be diverted for the construction of houses for the urban poor and the low-income groups. Special instructions were issued to the Housing Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) in this respect.

However, systematic studies have revealed that most of the advantages of these schemes have been taken away by the middle and high income groups. The plight of the urban-poor has more or less remained the same. One of the greatest obstacles in effective implementation of the slum-clearance programme has been lack of adequate funds. The issue received significant attention in the Seventh Five Year Plan. It led to the establishment of a National Housing Bank (NHB) with an assistance of Rs.100 crores from the Central government. It is proposed that the following shall be the objective of the National Housing Bank: 1)

To provide a national body for financing the programmes only for the construction of houses.

2)

To raise the sources for procuring finance for the construction of houses and make effective use of all such sources.

67

Structure in Tranistion – I

3)

To raise financial institutions at local and regional levels for advancing loans for construction of houses and institutions giving loans for other purposes.

4)

To establish meaningful links between financial institutions advancing loans for construction of houses and institutions giving loans for other purposes.

All these efforts are made with a hope that conditions of the slum-dwellers and the urban poor can be suitably improved so that they can also lead a fuller urban life free from dirt, disease and pollution.

6.6.3 The Five-Year Plans The policy of decentralisation in our national planning has lately been found useful in matters of urban development also. In the First Five Year Plan no special attention was paid to the solution of urban problems. Yet, it did recognise the acute shortage of housing and steep rise in land prices in big cities. By the end of the First Five Year Plan several institutional set-ups to ease this problem came into existence. For example, a new ministry of works and housing was first established and later renamed as the Ministry of Urban Affairs. The National Building Organisation was established to design low cost housing. Steps were taken to train personnel in town planning. The Second Five Year Plan emphasised the need for planned development of cities and towns, and advocated an integrated approach to rural and urban planning in a regional framework. During this plan, The Urban Development Authority came into existence, and a master plan was prepared for the first time for the development of Delhi. This was a major step in urban planning and its implementation, which was later followed in the case of other big cities in several states. The Third and Fourth Five Year Plans laid emphasis on town planning for which the responsibility was shifted from the Centre to the states. A model town-planning Act was prepared in 1957 by the Town and Country Planning Organisation in Delhi, and this led to the enactment of laws in other states. The Third Five Year Plan extended financial support for the preparation of master plans for the development of cities and towns in the states. As a result of such efforts, nearly 400 master plans were prepared. Moreover, the Third Plan also initiated urban community development schemes in selected cities as an experimental scheme to solve social and human problems associated with urban slums. The Fourth Plan recognised the need of financing urban development schemes. It was during this plan period that an agency – Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) – came into existence to provide funds for the metropolitan authorities, State Housing Boards and other urban institutions for the construction of houses in urban areas. The Fifth Plan document, in a separate chapter on urban and regional planning, laid down the following objectives of its urbanisation policy: (a) to augment civic services in the urban centres, (b) to tackle the problems of the metropolitan cities on a regional basis, (c) to promote the development of small towns and new urban centres, (d) to assist inter-state projects for the metropolitan projects, and (e) to support industrial townships under government undertakings. 68

The Sixth Plan also had a special chapter on urban problems but greater emphasis was given to the problem of housing both urban and rural areas. In this plan, necessary attention was drawn, for the first time, to regional variations

in the levels of urban development. It should also be mentioned here that, during the Sixth Plan, provisions were made to develop adequate infrastructural and other facilities at the small, medium and intermediate towns so as to make them ‘growth centres’ in promoting rural development. Further, 200 towns were to be identified for integrated development of water supply schemes in 550 towns, and sewerage projects in 110 towns in the country.

Urbanisation

Thus, the Sixth Plan recognised the problems of basic needs of the urbandwellers and took some concrete steps towards amelioration of their conditions. The Seventh Plan, on the one hand, stressed the need for integrated development of small and medium towns and, on the other, minimising the growth of the metropolitan cities. To attain this objective, special incentives are offered for the establishment of industries in small and medium towns. It also advocates for greater financial support to local bodies by the state governments. In terms of institutional set up, the Seventh Plan recommended the establishment of the National Urban Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, to provide capital for the development of infrastructure in small and medium towns. Apart from these steps, the emphasis on housing for the urban poor and the low income groups, integrated development and provisions for promotion of basic amenities for the urban-dwellers are continued in the Seventh Plan and proposed draft of the Eighth Five Year Plan. In brief, although the Five Year Plans do not as yet exhibit any comprehensive policy on India’s urbanisation and urban problem, there are obviously certain aspects which have received greater attention to ameliorate the conditions of the urban-dwellers. Special mention may be made of (a) finance for housing, (b) slum clearance and improvement, (c) town water supply and sewerage, (d) urban transporation, and (e) the preparation of master plans for the development of cities, especially bigger ones. Check Your Progress 4 i)

What are the major objectives of the Rent Control Act, 1948? Answer in about five lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

Write a short note on the social legislation on the urban land in India. Use about six lines to answer. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

69

Structure in Tranistion – I

iv) What are the major features of the Slum Clearance Programme in India? Answer in about seven lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

6.7

LET US SUM UP

Urbanisation refers to a social process. In demographic sense, it exhibits the proportion of the urban population to the total population of a society. In sociological sense, it also refers to a way of life typically associated with the city. The haphazard and steep rise in the population of big cities has led to the notion of over-urbanisation in India, which, in the societal context, is not true. Even today only less than one-third of the total population of India lives in towns and cities. The industrial-urban India has given birth to several social problems among which the problems of slums, crimes, housing, pollution and inadequate public utilities have become grave. In the absence of a national policy on urbanisation, the matters of urban planning and development remain largely confined to the efforts of the state governments. The schemes of slum clearance and housing for the urban poor and the low-income groups are in a way addressed to the solution of these problems. The five year plans have also made significant efforts through making provisions of financial support to several programmes of urban renewal.

6.8

70

KEY WORDS

Marginal man

: A marginal man is one, who has not been able to give up the traits of his cultural past, nor has been able to assimilate with the new culture. Thus, he is a man in transition, placed between two cultures.

Million city

: A city with a population over ten lakhs.

Over-urbanisation

: A term describing the process of excessive growth population in cities (mainly through migration) in relation to employment and other facilities available in them.

Primary urbanisation

: A process of coordinating the activities of local tradition to the norms provided by the Great Tradition.

Slum

: Broadly speaking, it is a locality characterised by inadequate and deteriorated housing, deficient public utilities, overcrowding and cogestion and usually inhabited by the poor and socially heterogeneous people.

Urbanisation

: A process in demographic sense, which refers to the proportion of a total population living in towns and cities. In sociological sense, it refers to a way of life associated with living in the city.

White-collar crime

: It refers to malpractices employed during the conduct of any profession, business or trade.

Secondary urbanisation

: A process of heterogenetic development associated with the industrial phase of the city.

6.9

Urbanisation

FURTHER READINGS

Institute of Urban Affairs. 1988. State of India’s Urbanisation, Institute of Urban Affairs : New Delhi. Rao, M.S.A (ed.) 1974. Urban Sociology in India. Orient Longman : New Delhi.

6.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 i)

b)

ii)

d)

iii) c) Check Your Progress 2 i)

The main features of over-urbanisation in India are as follows: a) There is a seeming imbalance between the levels of industrialisation and urbanisation in India. (b) The process of urbanisation takes away a large share of national resources and, thus, impinges upon the rate of economic growth in society. (c) There has been excessive population pressure on the civic amenities and housing.

ii)

It is estimated that nearly 70% of the urban population in India live in sub-standard houses. Here, more than half of the urban households occupy only a single room with an average occupancy per room of 4.4 persons. Besides, there are a large number of homeless persons. Only in Delhi there are more than three lakh homeless persons.

iii) (a) Indiscriminate growth of industrial and chemical plants. (b) Preindustrial structure of cities with narrow streets of roads. (c) High-rise of buildings with high density of population, congestion on roads and pollution. (d) Lack of effective measure for systematic use of land.

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Structure in Tranistion – I

Check Your Progress 3 i)

b)

ii)

b)

iii) a), c), d) iv) a) Check Your Progress 4 i)

The main objectives of this law are to (a) regulate the rent of the house, (b) protect the tenant from the atrocities of the houseowners, (c) make the landowner responsible to undertake the repair of the house regularly.

ii)

The Urban Land Ceiling Act, 1976, covers on broad aspect of urban land management. This Act has three fundamental objectives : (a) distribution of surplus land, (b) prevention of speculation in land, (c) Regulation of construction on vacant land. However, despite the provisions of this Act, the price of urban land has gone beyond the reach of the common man, and speculation in land is also flourishing without being checked.

iii) Under this scheme, low cost houses equipped with latrine, bathroom, water tap, sanitation and drainage facilities are made available to the poor people, who can pay a token amount as rent from their income. These schemes are subsidised by the government. However, one of the greatest obstacles for the speedy implementation of this programme has been that of adequate funds. The Seventh Five Year Plan has given emphasis on the issue of slum clearance.

72

UNIT 7

CHANGING FAMILY STRUCTURE

Structure 7.0

Objectives

7.1

Introduction

7.2

Family : Definition and Types 7.2.1 7.2.2

7.3

Definition Types

Social Processes Affecting Family Structure 7.3.1 7.3.2 7.3.3

Industrialisation Urbanisation Modernisation

7.3.4

Change in the Family Structure : A Perspective

7.4

Change in the Joint Family System

7.5

Change in the Rural Family System 7.5.1 7.5.2

7.6

Factors Responsible for Change Impact of the Breakdown of the Joint Family

Change in the Urban Family System 7.6.1 7.6.2 7.6.3

Family in the Urban Setting Direction of Change Some Emerging Trends

7.7

Let Us Sum Up

7.8

Key Words

7.9

Further Readings

7.10 Answers to Check Your Progress

7.0

OBJECTIVES

In this Unit, we shall discuss the changing family patterns in India. After going through this unit, you should be able to: z

describe a family;

z

discuss its various types;

z

explain the factors responsible for change in the family system;

z

examine the changes in the traditional joint family system; and

z

analyse the changes in the rural and urban family system in India.

7.1

INTRODUCTION

In the previous Units of this Block, we introduced you the various dimensions of social demography, migration and urbanisation in India. In this Unit, we shall discuss the changing family structure in India. This Unit begins with a short discussion on the definition and types of the family. Industrialisation, urbanisation and modernisation are the important social forces affecting the traditional family structure in India. We discuss these factors briefly and

73

Structure in Tranistion – I

describe a perspective to understand the change in the family structure in Section 7.3. In Section 7.4, we discuss the change taking place in the traditional joint family system in India. The change in the rural family and the impact of the breakdown of the rural joint family are discussed in this Section. Change in the urban family system and its various facets are examined in section 7.6

7.2

FAMILY : DEFINITION AND TYPES

In Unit No. 6. Block 2 of ESO-02, we discussed in detail the institution of the family in India. There we discussed the continuum between the nuclear and the joint family. In this Unit, we shall discuss the form and direction of changes in the family system in India. To begin with, let us study the definition and types of family.

7.2.1 Definition Ordinarily, a family, particularly an elementary family, can be defined as a social group consisting of father, mother and their children. But in view of the variety as found in the constituents of a family, this definition in rather inadequate. Bohannan (1963), in his definition of the family, emphasised the functional as well as the structural roles of family. According to him, “a family, contains people who are linked by sexual and affinal relationships as well as those linked by descent who are linked by secondary relationships, that is, by chains of primary relationships”. Box 1. Characteristics of Family For a comprehensive understanding of what the family stands for today, William J. Goode (1989) suggests the following characteristics: a) At least two adult persons of opposite sex reside together. b) They engage in some kind of division of labour i.e., they both do not perform exactly the same tasks. c) They engage in many types of economic and social exchanges, i.e., they do things for one another. d) They share many things in common, such as food, sex, residence, and both goods and social activities. e) The adults have parental relations with their children, as their children have filial relations with them; the parents have some authority over their children and both share with one another, while also assuming some obligation for protection, cooperation, and nurturance. f) There are sibling relations among the children themselves, with a range of obligations to share, protect, and help one another.

Individuals are likely to create various kinds of relations with each other but, if their continuing social relations exhibit some or all of the role patterns noted here, in all probability they would be viewed as the family.

7.2.2 Types of Family 74

On the basis of the composition of the family, three distinct types of family organisation emerge.

a)

Nuclear Family

Changing Family Structure

The most basic among the families is called natal or nuclear or elementary, or simple family, which consists of a married man and woman and their offspring. In specific cases, sometimes one or more additional persons are found to reside with them. Over a period of time, the structure of a family changes. Often additional members, viz., an aged parent or parents or unmarried brother or sisters may come to like with the members of a nuclear family. It may lead to the development of varieties of nuclear families. While discussing the nature of the joint family in India, Pauline Kolenda (1987) has discussed additions/ modifications in the nuclear family structure. She gives the following compositional categories : i)

Nuclear family refers to a couple with or without children.

ii)

Supplemented nuclear family indicates a nuclear family plus one or more unmarried, separated, or widowed relatives of the parents other than their unmarried children.

iii) Sub nuclear family is identified as a fragment of a former nuclear family, for instance, a widow/widower with his/her unmarried children or siblings (unmarried) or widowed or separated or divorced) living together. iv) Single person household v)

Supplemented sub nuclear family refers to a group of relatives, members of a formerly complete nuclear family along with some other unmarried, divorced or widowed relatives who were not member of the nuclear family. For instance, a widow and her unmarried children may be living together with her widowed mother-in-law.

In the Indian context, it is easy to find all these types of family. However, in terms of societal norms and values, these types relate to the joint family system (cf. ESO-02, Unit 6) Nuclear families are often combined, like atoms in a molecule, into larger aggregates. Although such families are generally referred to as composite forms of family, on the basis of their structural characteristics they can be differentiated into two distinct types; like i) polygamous family and ii) family. b)

Polygamous Family

A polygamous family ordinarily consists of two or more nuclear families conjoined by plural marriage. These types of families are statistically very few in number in general. There are basically two types of polygamous family based on the forms of marriage, viz., polygyny, i.e., one husband with more than one wife at a time, and polyandry, i.e., one wife with more than one husband at the same time. c)

Extended Family

An extended family consists of two or more nuclear families affiliated through the extension of parent-child relationship and relationship of married siblings. The former can be designated as a vertically extended family, whereas the latter would be referred to as a horizontally extended family. In a typical patriarchal extended family, there lives an elderly person with his son and

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wife and their unmarried children. You may be interested to know what constitutes the jointness in the joint family. Usually, the jointness is depicted in a number of factors, viz., commensality (eating together from the same kitchen), common residence, joint ownership of property, cooperation and common sentiments, common ritual bonds, etc. You may also be interested to know who constitute the joint family. It is the kin relationships. Hence Pauline Kolenda (1987) points out the following types of the joint family in India: i)

Collateral Joint Family comprises two or more married couples between whom there is a sibling bond.

ii)

Supplemented Collateral Joint Family is a collateral joint family along with unmarried, divorced and widowed relatives.

iii) Lineal Joint Family consists of two couples, between whom there is a lineal link, like between a parent and her married sons or between a parent and his married daughter. iv) Supplemented Lineal Joint Family is a lineal joint family together with unmarried, divorced or widowed relatives, who do not belong to either of the lineally linked nuclear families. v)

Lineal Collateral Joint Family consists of three or more couples linked lineally and collaterally. For example, a family consisting of the parents and their two or more married sons together with unmarried children of the couples.

vi) Supplemented Lineal – Collateral Joint Family consists of the members of a lineal collateral joint family plus unmarried, widowed, separated relatives who belong to none of the nuclear families (lineally and collaterally linked), for example, the father’s widowed sister or brother or an unmarried nephew of the father. This discussion should have given you a broad picture of the existing family structure in India. In this Unit, we shall discuss the changing family structure. Before we introduce ourselves to this discussion, let us know the social factors that affect the family structure. In the following section, we shall discuss these factors. Before that you must complete this ‘check your progress’ exercise. Check Your Progress 1 1)

2)

76

Which one of the following is not a characteristic of the family? a)

At least two adult persons of opposite sex reside together.

b)

These persons engage in some kind of division of labour.

c)

They engage in many types of economic and social exchanges.

d)

None of the above.

In a polyandrous family there………….. a) b) c) d)

is a wife with more than one husband at the same time. is a husband with more than one wife at the same time. is one husband and one wife at the same time. is a married couple without children.

3)

a) b) c) d)

7.3

Changing Family Structure

An extended family can be …………… only vertically extended. only horizontally extended. both vertically and horizontally extended none of the above.

SOCIAL PROCESSES AFFECTING FAMILY STRUCTURE

A host of inter-related factors, viz., economic, educational, legal and demographic like population growth, migration and urbanisation, etc., have been affecting the structure of the family in India. We shall take care of these factors while discussing the changes, in the following sections. Here, let us discuss the broad processes of industrialisation, urbanisation and modernisation as factors affecting the family structure. U D

M

E P MR O O E D E G S R R S N A U I P R S H E A I T C I O N

E D U C A T I O N

R B A N I S A T I O N

N

S

O

I

T

S A

A C

M I

N

U

M

M

O

C

Nuclearisation of Joint Family

7.3.1 Industrialisation There are innumerable published accounts demonstrating that changes have taken place in the structure of the family due to exposures to the forces of industrialisation. Nuclearisation of the family is considered as the outcome of its impact. Such an interpretation presupposes existence of non-nuclear family

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structure in such societies. Empirical evidence sometimes does not support this position. Further, industrial establishments have their own requirements of human groups for their efficient functioning. As a result, people are migrating to industrial areas, and various kinds of family units have been formed adding extra-ordinary variety to the overall situation. It is, nevertheless, important to note down in this context that despite definite visible trends in the changing structure of the family due to industrialisation, it is not yet possible to establish any one-to-one relationship.

7.3.2 Urbanisation In most of the discussions on impact of urbanisation on the family structure, one specific observation is fairly common: that, due to the influence of urbanisation, the joint family structure is under severe stress, and in many cases it has developed a tendency toward nuclearisation. When there is no disagreement on the authenticity of such a tendency, the traditional ideal joint family was perhaps not the exclusive type before such influence came into existence. Nevertheless, various accounts demonstrate how both nuclear and joint structures have evolved innumerable varieties due to the influence of urbanisation.

7.3.3 Modernisation Both industrialisation and urbanisation are considered as the major contributing factors toward modernisation. In fact, modernisation as a social-psychological attribute can be in operation independent of industrialisation and urbanisation. With the passage of time, through exposures to the forces of modernisation, family structure underwent multiple changes almost leading to an endless variety. There are instances too, where family structure has become simpler due to its impact. There are also contrary instances indicating consequent complexity in family structure.

7.3.4 Change in the Family Structure : A Perspective One of the important features of the family studies in India has been concerned with the question of whether the joint family system is disintegrating, and a new nuclear type of family pattern is emerging. “It seems almost unrealistic”, Augustine points out, “that we think of a dichotomy between the joint and nuclear family. This is especially true given the rapidity of social change, which has swept our country.” In the context of industrialisation, urbanisation and social change, it is very difficult to think of a dichotomy between the joint and the nuclear family in India. In the present contexts, these typologies are not mutually exclusive. Social change is an inevitable social process, which can be defined as observable transformations in social relationships. This transformation is most evident in the family system. However, because of structures of our traditionality, these transformations are not easily observable (Augustine 1982:2).

78

Against this backdrop, to understand the dimensions of changes taking place in Indian family system, the concept of transitionality may be used. This concept, according to Augustine, has two dimensions : retrospective and prospective. The retrospective dimension implies the traditional past of our family and social system, while the prospective one denotes the direction in

which change is taking place in our family system. Transitionality is thus an attempt to discern the crux of the emergent forms of family (Augustine 1982:3).

Changing Family Structure

Keeping in mind this perspective, we shall examine the emerging trends of change in the family system in contemporary India. However, at the outset, we are to make it explicit that, within the given space, it would not be possible for us to document the changes individually taking place in the family system of various castes or ethnic groups spread over diversified socio-cultural regions of this country. Hence for your broad understanding, we shall concentrate on three broad areas of our enquiry : change in the traditional extended family, rural family and urban family. Let us begin with change in the traditional extended family. Before that complete this activity. Activity 1 Try to know the past 40 years’ history of your family from some elderly member. It may have undergone significant changes over the years. List down the factors responsible for changes in your family. Write a note on these changes of about 2 pages. If possible, discuss your findings with the Counsellor and the students at your Study Centre. You should find it sociologically interesting.

7.4

CHANGE IN THE JOINT FAMILY SYSTEM

The extended family in India is known as joint family. The ideals of the joint family are highly valued throughout the country, especially among the Hindus. However, studies conducted in several parts of the country show that the joint family system in India is undergoing a process of structural transformation due to the process of modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation. But the fact remains that the values and attitudes of the Indian society have favoured the joint family tradition for centuries, and these are still favoured. Many scholars have viewed the transformation in the joint family system in terms of the concept of the family cycle. A nuclear family develops into a joint family after the marriage of a son; that is with the coming in of a daughter in-law. Hence the process of fission and fusion take place in the family system due to various reasons. In most parts of India , where patriarchal families exist, sons are expected to stay together with the parents till the siblings of the family are married. After this they tend to separate. Thus the process of fission takes place, and the joint family is broken into relatively smaller number of units - sometimes into nuclear units. Nicholas, on the basis of his study in rural West Bengal, concludes that if a joint family between a father and his married sons divides, a joint family among brothers rarely survives. The father seems to be the keystone of the joint family structure. Despite the solidarity among the male siblings, after the father’s death, many forces tend to break the joint family into separate hearths, even though at times the property may be held in common (Cf. Ishwaran, 1982 : 8). I.P. Desai, in his famous work, Some Aspects of Family in Mahuva (1964), points out that in Gujarat ‘a residentially nuclear group is embedded in social, cultural and other non-social environments, which are not the same as those in the societies of the West’ . He defines the structure of a family in terms of one’s orientation to action. When action is oriented towards the husband, wife and children , the family can be categorised as a nuclear unit; and when the action is oriented towards a wider group, it is defined as a joint family. To

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him, through the nuclear family does exist in India, it is, however, not the prevalent pattern. In his sampling, only 7% of the households considered nuclear family as desirable, while around 60% considered jointness as desirable. Significantly, elements of jointness were found among all religious groups. Their greater degree was available among the business and the agricultural castes. It is important to note that property was an important factor behind the jointness. Kapadia also found that though most families are nuclear, they are actually ‘joint’ in operation. These families maintain their connections through mutual cooperation and rights and obligations other than those of property. To him, not the common hearth, but mutual ties, obligations and rights, etc., have been the major elements of jointness in the contemporary functionally joint family in India (Kapadia 1959 : 250). In his study of a village in South India, Ishwaran (1982) found that 43.76% nuclear (elementary) families and 56.24% were extended (joint) families. The villagers attach a wealth of meaning to the term ‘jointness’ and in their opinion one either belongs to the joint family or depends upon the extended kin. In fact, the isolated independent elementary family does not exist for them, and indeed its actual existence is largely superficial due to heavy reliance upon the extended kin group. The extended family is the ideal family, reinforced by religious, social, economic and other ideological forces. He concludes that even though the nuclear families are on the increase, perhaps because of the greater geographical and social mobility found in a society being modernised, these families cannot live in isolation without active cooperation and contact with the extended kin (Ishwaran 1982 : 20) There is no denying the fact that the trend of modernisation has been dominant in India. However, the physical separation does not speak for the departure from the spirit of jointness of the family structure. The sense of effective cooperation in need, and obligation to each other, have remained prevalent among the family members in spite of being separated from the erstwhile joint family. Hence, we are required to understand not only the manifestation of nuclearisation of the family structure in India, but also the latent spirit of cooperation and prevalence of common values and sentiments among the family members. The extent of cooperation and the prevalence of common values and sentiments may vary in the rural and urban areas. We shall discuss the patterns of change in the rural and urban family structure, separately, in the following sections. Check Your Progress 2 i)

Write a note, in about six lines, on the fission in the traditional joint family system in India. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

80

................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

How can you define the structure of a family in terms of one’s orientation towards action. Answer in about five lines.

Changing Family Structure

................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

7.5

CHANGE IN THE RURAL FAMILY SYSTEM

Scholars have identified the joint family as typical of rural India. These families are exposed to various forces, viz., land reforms, education, mass media, new technology, new development strategies, urbanisation, industrialisation, modernisation, and so on. These above-mentioned forces are found to exercise tremendous influence on the contemporary family systems in rural India. Let us examine these forces in detail.

7.5.1 Factors Responsible for Change There are various factors affecting the family structure in rural India. We shall discuss some of these factors here. i)

Land Reforms

Earlier, the members of the joint family normally lived together due to common ancestral property, which was vast in size. Land reforms imposed ceiling restriction on the landholdings. In many cases, the heads of the family resorted to theoretical partition of the family by dividing the land among the sons in order to avoid the law of the land ceiling. During their life-time the sons live under his tutelage, if he was powerful; otherwise, sons gradually began to live separately during their parents life-time. Thus the theoretical partition hastens formal partition, and sows the seeds for separate living (Lakshminarayana, 1982 : 44). Again, in many cases, real partition has taken place in the joint family, immediately after the implementation of the land ceiling laws. ii)

Education and Gainful Employment

Education, industrialisation and urbanisation have opened the scope for gainful employment to the villagers outside the village. Initially, a few members of the joint family move to the city for education. After successful completion of education, most of them join service or opt for other avenues of employment in the urban areas. They get married and start living with their wives and children. Gradually, such separate units become the nuclear families. However, the members of these nuclear units keep on cooperating with the other members of their natal family on most occasions. iii) Economic Difficulties in Rural Areas The rural development strategies in India, aimed to eradicate poverty and unemployment, enhance a higher standard of life and economic development with social justice to the rural people. However, in reality these have generated

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regional imbalances, sharpened class inequality, and have adversely economic and social life of the lower strata of the rural people. In the backward areas, people face enormous hardship to earn a livelihood. Hence, people of these areas are pushed to migrate to the urban areas. This migration has affected the family structure. Initially men alone migrate. Then they bring their family and gradually become residentially separated from their natal home. iv) Growing Individuals A high sense of individualism is also growing among section of the villagers. Penetration of the mass media (viz., the newspapers, the T.V., the radio), formal education, consumerist culture and market forces have helped individualism grow at a faster rate than ever. The rural people and the members of the rural joint family have started believing more in their individuality. In the past, the size of the family was relatively big. The kinship network was large and obligations were more. It was imperative that relatives were given shelter. Today, every individual strives to improve his/her standard of living and enhance his/her status in the community outside the purview of the family and the kingroup. This is possible if the individual has lesser commitments and fewer obligations (Lakshminarayan 1982 : 46). This situation grows at a faster rate immediately after the marriage of the sons and coming of the daughtersin-law. Many times value conflicts between an educated individualistic daughter-in-law and old mother-in-law lead to the break down in the joint family system.

7.5.2 Impact of the Breakdown of the Joint Family The transition in the rural family structure has certain significant impacts on the status and role of the family members. One impact is that of the diminishing authority of the patriarch of the joint family. In a joint family, traditionally, authority rests on the eldest male member of the family. Once the family splits into several units, new authority centres emerge there, with the respective eldest male member as the head of each nuclear unit. Authority is also challenged frequently by the educated and the individualistic young generations. Youngmen exposed to modern ideas of freedom and individualism show resentment to the traditional authority (Ibid.). After the split in a joint family, women, who earlier had no say in the family affairs, also emerge as mistresses of the nuclear households with enormous responsibility. In this process of transition, the oldest woman also tend to lose their authority. Many of young women also challenge the dominating attitudes of the mothers-in-law. Similarly, many of the traditional mothers-in-law also face an uneasy situation due to growing disproportionate individualism among the daughters-in-law.

82

With the breakdown of the joint family system, the aged, widow, widower and other dependents in the family face severe problems. The joint family system provides security to these people. After the breakdown of this family system, they are left to themselves. In the rural area, the day care centres for the old or the children’s home for the orphan are not available. Hence, their position becomes very critical. Many widows, widowers, children, and even old couple become beggars. Many leave for old people centres around pilgrim centres as the last resort of their social security and mental peace.

Check Your Progress 3 1)

Changing Family Structure

Describe the impact of land reforms on the joint family system in India. Use five lines to answer. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

2)

What has been the impact of the mass media on the joint family? ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

7.6

CHANGE IN URBAN FAMILY SYSTEM

Significant numbers of studies have been conducted on the urban family structure in India. T.K. Oommen (1982), after surveying all these studies, points out that most of these studies have been obsessed with a single question; Is the joint family in India breaking down and undergoing a process of nuclearisation due to urbanisation? A group of sociologists postulated this assumption that the joint family system is breaking down and the trend is toward the formation of nuclear units in the urban areas. While another group is of the opinion that joint family ethic and the kinship orientation still exist even after the residential separation.

7.6.1 Family in the Urban Setting Scholars point out that industrial urbanisation has not brought disintegration in the joint family structure. Milton Singer (1968) studies the structure of the joint family among the Industrialists of Madras City. He finds that joint family system has not been a blockade for entrepreneurship development. Rather, it has facilitated and adapted to industrialisation. Orensten, in his study on the Recent History of Extended Family in India analyses the census data from 1811 to 1951. He finds that joint and large families in India are not disappearing by the processes of industrialisation and urbanisation. However, the prevalence of the joint family structure has not been of uniform one across society. Ramakrishna Mukherjee finds that (a) the joint family is over-represented in the trade and commerce sector of national economy and in the high and middle grade occupations; (b) nuclear family is over-represented in the rural rather than in the urban areas. Based on his study on the family structure in West Bengal, he concludes that the central tendency in the Indian society is to pursue the joint family organisation (cf. Oommen 1982: 60). Joint family sentiments

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widely prevail over nuclearisation of family units in spite of residential separation, etc.

7.6.2 Direction of Change T.K. Oommen is of the opinion that so far urban family has been viewed from within as a little society. To him, for a proper understanding, the urban family should be placed in a broad social context. For this purpose, the urban families are to be distinguished through the mode of earning a livelihood and sources of income, structure of authority, urban social milieu and social ecology and the emerging value patterns. He points out that the type of family postulated in the Indian Constitution is an egalitarian, conjugal and nuclear family. Besides the Constitutionality, the socio-ecological factors, like the settlement patterns, native cultural environments of the urban migrants, and associations to various occupational, political, ideological, cultural-recreational, economic groups influence and reorient the style and pattern of the urban familial life. He mentions that urban centres have been the melting pots of traditional and modern values. Individualism is growing at a significant speed in the urban areas. It admits freedom of individuals in the decision-making process in the family, choice of mates, acquisition and management of personal property, establishment of separate households after marriage, etc. Individualism is, however, against the spirit of the joint family and questions the established authority of the elder male. There may be contradictory emphasis on the value hierarchies and individualism. This is also likely to influence the urban family life. However, the influence of the above-mentioned factors may be of a diverse nature, based on the typology (metropolis, city, town, etc.) of the urban areas and the extent of industrialisation as well. Along with these, the traditional cultural patterns of the family also continue. To him, there are three broad categories of urban families on the basis of their income. These families have distinct socio-cultural and ecological milieu, patterns of familial authority and value. Forces of urbanisation have affected these families diversely. Let us examine these families.

84

i)

Families of Proprietary Class. Their basic resource is the family of capital. The elder males in the family have substantial authority, as they own and control property. These are mostly the joint-households. Socially, they are the local people or the old migrants from the same region and same cultural milieu. In these families, traditional hierarchies are accepted and individualism is incipient.

ii)

Families of the Entrepreneurial-cum-Professional Category. The basic resources of these families are capital and expertise/skill and their simultaneous investment for generating income. Small commercial/trade/ industrial establishments owned and managed by the family, practitioners of professions, etc., belong to this category. The adult males have less authority. Though these families are joint in nature, there is a tendency of breaking up as adult sons marry. Socially, they are mostly the local and the old migrants. However, new migrants are also there. In these households, hierarchy and traditional authority is questioned and individualism is visible.

iii) Families of Service Category. These families generate income exclusively through selling their expertise skill or labour power in the service sector. This category is again divided into three sub-categories.

a)

Families in the service sector. The major source of their income is professional/managerial or administrative expertise. In these families, the domination of the male and the old members are not sustained. Neolocal nuclear households are the dominant patterns. Socially, they are mostly the new migrants from diversified socio-cultural regions. In these families, hierarchy erodes and individualism is strong.

b)

Families in the service sector. The main source of their income is administrative skill and semi-professional expertise. There are decentralisation of authority because of women’s contribution in the family income, retirement from work, dependency on sons or daughters, etc. These are neolocal households with dependent kins. Socially, they are a mixture of locals, old and new migrants and come substantially from various regions. Traditional authority and hierarchy are questioned, and individualism slowly emerges there.

c)

The labour families in the service sector. The only source of their income is the labour power. These are essentially the nuclear households. However, due to poverty, they share housing with kins. There have been the sharing and decentralisation of authority among the family members, based on the extent of their economic contribution. They are a mixture of locals, old and new migrants from same cultural regions. In these families, hierarchy breaks down with the growth of individualism.

Changing Family Structure

An analysis of the changes in the above-mentioned families shows that the forces of change have diversely affected these families. The old migrants and the local people, who earn absolutely from their household investment, have accepted the traditional authority. Individualism has not penetrated there. The tendency toward nuclearisation is more among the new migrants and among the families in the servicing sector. Individualism has also grown because of diverse socio-economic conditions. T.K. Oommen, however, points out the possibility of overlapping between these types of urban families.

7.6.3 Some Emerging Trends In the context of rapid technological transformation, economic development and social change, the pattern of family living has been diverse in urban India. Today, life has been much more complex both in the rural and in the urban areas than what it was few decades ago. In the urban areas, even in the rural areas as well, many couples are in gainful employment. These working couples are to depend on others for child care, etc., facilities. With the structural break down of the joint family, working couple face a lot of problem. For employment, many rural males come out of the village, leaving behind their wives and children in their natal homes. The rural migrants are not always welcome to the educated westernised urban family for a longer stay. Their stay many times creates tension among the family members. In the lower strata of the urban society, however, the rural migrants are largely accommodated. Many times, they become the members of these families also. The 1991 Census has revealed an important trend of the changing family pattern in India. Data suggested that though nuclearisation of the family has been the dominant phenomenon the extent of joint living is also increasing, especially in the urban areas. Experts point out that the increase in the joint living is mostly because of the migration

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of the rural people to the urban areas, and their sharing of common shelter and hearth with other migrants from the same region. In the process of structural transformation, the old structure of authority and value have been challenged. The growing individualism questions the legitimacy of the age old hierarchic authority. The old value system also changes significantly. However this system of transformation has minimised the importance of mutual respect, love and affection among the family members belonging to various generations. Penetration of consumerist culture has aggravated the situation further. In a situation of generation gap, many of the aged feel frustrated, dejected and neglected in society. Since the emotional bondage has been weakened; many young members feel a sense of identity crisis in the family. The lack of emotional support in the family often leads the youth to the path of alcoholism and drug addiction. The aspect of joint family sentiments, which has been so emphasised by the sociologists, has not been always operational and effective in the changing context of the society. Check Your Progress 4 Tick Mark the correct answers i)

ii)

According to Milton Singer, the joint family system a)

has not been a blockade for entrepreneurship development.

b)

Has been a blockade for entrepreneurship development.

c)

Is breaking down among the business community.

d)

Is the dominant pattern among the servicing poor.

According to Ramakrishna Mukherjee the nuclear family is over represented in the ……… a)

rural areas.

b)

urban areas

c)

both of these areas

d)

none of these areas.

iii) T.K. Oommen distinguishes urban families through

7.7

86

a)

mode of earning and changing value pattern.

b)

structure of authority

c)

urban social milieu and social ecology.

d)

all of the above.

LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we have defined and discussed various types of family. We have also discussed various factors, viz., urbanisation, industrialisation and modernisation affecting family structure in India. Changes in the traditional joint family system are also explained. Families of the urban and rural India are affected diversely by the forces of development and change. We have discussed changes in the rural and urban families separately. Among the rural families, we discussed the factors responsible for the change, and the impact

of the breakdown of the joint family are also discussed. Lastly, the change in the urban family structure, the direction of its change and some emerging trends are also discussed.

7.8

Changing Family Structure

KEY WORDS

Family Cycle

: It denotes that the elements of family life take shape in a certain direction. It relates essentially to the process of fission in the residential and compositional aspects of the family.

Neolocal Residence

: The custom for a married couple to reside apart from either spouse’s parent or other relatives.

Patriarchal Family

: A family in which the eldest male is dominant.

Patrilocal

: The custom for a married couple to reside in the household or community of the husband’s parents.

Polyandry

: A form of marriage in which a wife has more than one husband at the same time.

Polygamy

: Marriage involving more than one woman at the same time.

Polygyny

: A form of polygamy in which a husband has more than one wife at the same time.

7.9

FURTHER READINGS

Augustine, J.S. (Ed.) 1982. The Indian Family in Transition. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. Shah, A.M. 1992. “Changes in the Indian Family”. In Yogesh Atal (Ed.) Understanding Indian Society. Har-Anand Publications, New Delhi.

7.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 1)

d)

2)

a)

3)

d)

Check Your Progress 2 i)

In traditional patriarchal–patrilocal families in India, sons are expected to stay with the parents till the marriages of the siblings are over. The sons tend to separate after this. Hence, the process of fission takes place, and the joint family breaks down into relatively smaller units-sometimes into nuclear households.

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ii)

According to I.P.Desai, when action is oriented towards husband, wife and children, the family can be categorised as a nuclear unit; and when the action is oriented towards wider group it is defined as joint family.

Check Your Progress 3 1)

Land reforms put ceiling restriction on landholdings. In many cases, the heads of respective family made theoretical partition of the family to avoid the land ceiling. However, the sons gradually began to live separately hastening the formal partition.

2)

Penetration of the mass media helped individualism grow at a faster rate in the rural areas. The rural people started believing more in their individuality. Today, the individual strives to improve his/her standard of living. It is possible if the individual has lesser commitments and fewer obligations.

Check Your Progress 4 i)

a)

ii)

a)

iii) d)

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REFERENCES

References

Augustine, J.S. (Ed.) 1982. The Indian Family in Transition. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. Barcley, G.W., 1958. Techniques of Population Analysis, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Bhande, A. and Kanitkar, T. 1992. Principles of Population Studies. Himalayan Publishing House, Bombay. Bongarts, J. and Potter, G.R. 1983. Fertility, Biology and Behaviour : An Analysis of the Proximate Determinants. Academic Press, New York. Davis, J. and Potter, G.R. 1983. Fertility, Biology and Behaviour : An Analysis of the Proximate Determinants. Academic Press, New York. Davis, K. and Balake, J.1956. “Social Structure and Fertility : An Analytical Framework”. Economic Development and Social Change. Vol.3 No.2. Desai, I.P., 1964. Some Aspects of Family in Mahuva. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. Goode, W.J., 1965. The Family. Prentice Hall, New Delhi. Government of India. 1961. Census of India 1961. Ministry of Broadcasting and Publication: New Delhi. — 1971. Census of India 1971. Ministry of Broadcasting and Publication, New Delhi. — 1981. Census of India 1981. Ministry of Broadcasting and Publication, New Delhi. — 1991. Census of India 1991 (Provisional). Govt. of India Press, New Delhi. Government of India 1958. Draft Third Five Year Plan. Planning Commission, New Delhi. — Draft Fourth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New Delhi. — Draft Fifth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New Delhi. — Draft Sixth Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New Delhi. — Draft Seventh Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, New Delhi. — 1990. Hand Book on Social Welfare Statistics. Department of Social Welfare, New Delhi. — Family Welfare Programme in India, Year Book 1988-89. Department of Family Welfare, New Delhi. Ishwaran, K.1982. “Interdependence of the Elementary and Extended Family”. In J.S. Augustine (ed.), The Indian Family in Transition. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. Lakshminarayana, H.D. 1982. “The Rural Family in Transition”. In J.S. Augustine (ed.), The Indian Family in Transition. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi.

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Kapadia, K.M. 1955. Marriage and Family in India. Oxford University Press, Bombay. Kolenda, P. 1987. Regional Differences in Family Structure in India. Rawat Publications, Jaipur. Government of India, 1958. National Sample Survey 13th Round NSSO. New Delhi. Nanda, A.R. 1991. Census of India Series-I. Provisional Population Totals. New Delhi. Mukherjee, R.K. 1965. Sociologists and Social Change in India Today. Prentice Hall, New Delhi. Oommen, T.K. 1982. “Urban Family in Transition”. In J.S. Augustine (ed.), The Indian Family in Transition. Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi. Orenstein. H. 1956. “The Recent History of Extended Family in India.” Social Problems. Vol. VIII. No.2 : 341-50. Shryock, H. (et al) 1973. Methods and Materials of Demography. US Bureau of Census, Washington D.C. Vol. I & II. Singh, Y., 1988. Modernisation of Indian Tradition. Rawat Publications, Jaipur. Singer, M., 1968. The Indian Joint Family in Modern Industry. In M. Singer (ed.), Structure and Change in Indian Society. Aldine Publishing Co., Chicago. UNO, 1973. The Determinants and Consequences of Population Trends. Vol. 1 Population Studies No. 50. ILO, Geneva. Wirth, L., 1981. “Urbanism as way of Life”. American Journal of Sociology. 44: 1-24. Govt. of India, 2001. India 2003. Govt. of India, New Delhi. Govt. of India, 2001. Census of India. Govt. of India, New Delhi. UNDP, 2003. Human Development Report. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

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Unit 7

References

Marxian Perspective on Development Contents 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 7.10

Introduction Marxian Idea of Development Capitalism, Class Relations and Development Marx’s Plan of Action Marx and Historical-Sociological Perspective Neo-Marxian Approach: World-Systems Analysis Implications of World-System Analysis Critical Theory: Frankfurt School Conclusion Further Reading

Learning Objectives This unit aims to introduce you to:

•

Marx’s idea of development;

•

Marx’s idea of capitalism, class relations and development and his plan of action;

•

neo-Marxian approach to development; and

•

criticisms of Marxian approach to development.

7.1 Introduction This unit deals with the central Marxian idea on development. Marx has tried to explain development in terms of the progression of society through various stages — tribal, asiatic, ancient, feudal and capitalist. He has visualised conflict inbuilt in the material condition of existence to be the core factor in development. To carry forward this conflict he has identified the agency of social class as the main vehicle of class conflict. In the earlier units of this block we have discussed modernisation and the liberal approaches to development. By now you must be acquainted with the significance of market forces in development. In this unit we shall be dealing with Marxian approach to development. In MSO-001 Sociological Concepts and Theories, you have read Marxian concepts of class and class conflict, and capitalist mode of production and change. In this unit we touch upon all these issues again from the perspective of development. Here we shall briefly discuss Marx’s idea of development, capitalism and his plan of action. The social conditions of the working class in the capitalist mode of production has been especially examined. We have also discussed neo-Marxian approaches to development, i.e., the world system analysis and critical theory. This unit ends with discussion on critical theory.

7.2 Marxian Idea of Development Karl Marx (1818-1883) was the most influential socialist thinker on development in the 19th and 20th centuries. Of late, against the backdrop of the collapse of the socialist economy, Marxian thought has been a subject of critical review. Around half of the world population followed his suggested path of restructuring

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the social and political organisation and economic development. His contribution to the theory of development is simply unparalleled and path-breaking. After his death on 14th March 1883, his life time collaborator and close friend, Friedrich Engels, wrote in his obituary: Just as Darwin discovered the law of development or organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of development of human history: the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of ideology, that mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc.; that, therefore the production of the immediate material means, and consequently the degree of economic development attained by a given people or during a given epoch, form the foundation upon which the state institutions, the legal conceptions, art, and even the ideas on religion, of the people concerned have been evolved, and in the light of which they must, therefore, be explained, instead of vice versa, as had hitherto been the case.

The development of human society through various stages, development and change in the material condition, existence, development of capitalism, and the corresponding change in the class relationship and transformation in the mode of production were the major concerns of Karl Marx. Let us examine some of these concerns. a)

Production Relation and Development

Marx had a profound philosophical vision of the development of human society which may be understood in terms of the material condition of existence and the dialectic, i.e., contradiction inbuilt in the material condition of existence. Though he has not denied the significance of non-material forces in the process of development of human society through various stages, he emphasised that material forces and their contradiction provided the very basic and fundamental condition of development and change in human society. Marx’s idea of development is best understood in terms of his analysis and interpretation of the capitalist society, its evolution, structure and functioning. As a prolific writer, Karl Marx has touched upon all these issues in several of his writings, especially in the Communist Manifesto (1848), in the Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859, 1976) and The Capital (1887). According to Karl Marx all the legal relations, politics, forms of the states, etc. are to be understood, not in terms of development of human mind but in terms of the material condition of life. To him, in the process of development of human society human being has emerged to be a producing animal and thereby tied with several production relations. To quote him: In the social production of their life, men enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will, relations of production which correspond to a definite stage of development of their material productive forces. The sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political and intellectual life process in general (Marx 1859).

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He was very categorical to mention that with the change in the economic foundation the inter superstructure, that is the legal, political, religious, aesthetic or philosophical, get transferred. In the process of such transformation individual consciousness is determined not by what he thinks but by the contradiction of material life that is the conflict between the social productive forces and relation of production. Consciousness is a part of development in human society. To him, it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence but on the contrary their material condition of

existence that determines this consciousness. As pointed out earlier antagonistic production relation is the key factor for change and development to Marx.

References

He points out that at a certain stage of development “the material productive forces come in conflict with the existing relation of production,……. with the property relation within which they have been at work hitherto. From forms of development of productive forces this relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an epoch of revolution” (Marx 1976: 504).

To him the asiatic, ancient, feudal and capitalist are the progressive epochs in the economic formation of society. The capitalist relation of production to him is the last antagonistic form of the social process of production. b)

Class Relation and Change

In all the stages of economic transformation of society, there have been specific forms of class struggles. Social classes according to Karl Marx are the main agents of social change. The change is however based on class conflict. Thus to him. The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes (Ibid).

Classes, to Marx, are formed based on objective material conditions. These are groups of people with a common economic position vis-a-vis those of other class. In essence, this economic interest is conflicting and contradictory to each other’s class position. These class relations get transformed to hostile action against each other with the intermediation of class consciousness. The objective material conditions form the basis for the formation of “class-initself” which get transformed into “class-for-itself” in the process of transversing of subjective class consciousness. To Karl Marx, though the class relation was very complicated in the earlier epochs of history, in the modern stage of capitalism this has been simplified. In the modern capitalist society new classes however have emerged with new condition of operation and new form of struggle between the bourgeoisie (the owners of the of production i.e., the ‘haves’) and the proletariat (i.e. the ‘have-nots’). According to Marx, under capitalism wage labourers are paupers who grow more rapidly than the population and wealth. The essential conditions both for the existence and sway of the bourgeoisie class is the formation and augmentation of capital. The advance of industry, whose involuntary promoter is the bourgeoisie, replaces the isolation of the labourer, due to competition, by their revolutionary combination, due to association. The development of modern industry, therefore, cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products. What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, is its grave diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable (Ibid: 119).

7.3 Capitalism, Class Relations and Development Modern industry has established the world market that has given immense scope of development to commerce, navigation and communication by land. These developments again have paved the way for the extension of industries and free trade. 101

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The bourgeoisie class constantly maximises its profit through the expansion of new markets, introduction of new technology, extraction of surplus value and exploitation of the proletariat. However, along with these developments there emerge new forces of contradiction within the capitalist system. Nothwithstanding the emergence of new forces of contradiction, the bourgeoisie was very revolutionary in their outlook and action. According to Marx, “The bourgeoisie, historically, has played a most revolutionary part….. the bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.” Through the exploitation of the world market the bourgeoisie has given a cosmopolitian character to the production and consumption process. The old industries got destroyed. The old national industries got dislodged. Industry in the capitalist system no longer worked only on indigenous raw materials but raw materials drawn from the remotest zones, whose products are consumed in every quarter of the globe. In place of old wants satisfied by the productions of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes. In place of the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal interdependence of nations. And as in material, so also in intellectual production. the intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. National onesideness and narrow mindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures there arises a world literature”(Ibid: 112).

The capitalists according to Marx also subjected the nature to the force of man and machinery through the application of chemistry to industry and agriculture, and modern technologies such as steam-navigation, railways, electric telegraph, canalisation of rivers, etc. All these facililated the scope of free commodification of the economy at world scales. There also emerged free competition accompanied by social and political institutions to adopt to it. The modern capitalist however, according to Marx, has inherited and nurtured the seeds of its destruction in its own womb. In proportion to the growth of the bourgeoisie there has emerged the modern working class — the proletariat, “These labourers, who must sell themselves piecemeal, are a commodity, like every other article of commerce, and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition, to all the fluctuations of the market.” (Ibid: 114)

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For Marx the essence of the captor is to maximise profit through commoditisation of the production process. As long as capitalism is based on private ownership of the means of production, it maximises profits of the private producers. This profit is again maximised by exchange proceeding from money to money by way of commodity. Gradually the proceed from money to money by way of commodity ends up with more money than one had at the outset (Aron 1965: 128). To explain the sources of profit, Marx talked about the theory of value, wage and surplus value. To him, the value of any commodity is roughly proportional to the quality of human labour contained in it. The wage capitalists pay to the workers, as the compensation for the labour power the worker rent to the capitalist, is equal to the amount necessary for the existence of the workers and their family to produce the merchandise for the capitalist. Under the capitalist system, workers receive the wage which is less than the actual duration of the work; that is less than the value of the commodity he or she produces. Here comes the notion of “surplus value” which refers to “the quality of value produced by the workers beyond the necessary labour time”. Under the capitalist system the workers do not get the wage for the quality of the value produced beyond the necessary labour time.

In return the wage received by a workman is restricted only to the means of his subsistence and survival. Marx calculated that the price of a commodity and therefore “also of labour is equal to its cost of production”. In proportion, therefore, as the repulsiveness of work increases the wage decreases. With the increase in the proportion of the use of machinery and division of labour the burden of toil of the labour also increases in terms of increase in the working hours, and increase in the quantum of work.

References

The proletariat is without property. His relation to his children and wife has no longer anything in common with the bourgeoisie family relations; modern industrial labour, modern subjugation to capital, the same in England, as in France, in America and Germany, has tripped him of every trace of national character. Law, morality, religion are to him so many bourgeois prejudices, behind which lurk in ambush just as many bourgeois interest” (Ibid: 118).

Gradually the number the proletariat also increases to gain more strength and awareness. The lower middle class, the small manufacturer, artisans, peasants also join the army of the proletariat in their fight against the bourgeoisie. To Marx “All previous historical movements were movements of minorities, or in the interests of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interests of the immense majority.” And again Marx writes; in depicting the most general phases of the development of the proletariat, we traced the more or less veiled civil war, raging within existing society, up to the point where that war breaks out into open revolution, and where the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie lays the foundation for the sway of the proletariat.

7.4 Marx’s Plan of Action After the revolution by the working class, the proletariat would be raised to the position of ruling class to win the battle of democracy, to centralise all instruments of production in the hand of the state, to increase the total productive forces as rapidly as possible, to entirely revolutionalise the mode of production. He suggested the following measures: i)

Abolition of private property in land and application of all rents of land to public purpose.

ii)

A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

iii) Abolition of all rights of inheritance. iv) Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. v)

Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

vi) Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state. vii) Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-land, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. viii) Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. ix) Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equable distribution of the population over the country. x)

Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production. 103

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Reflection and Action 7.1 What are the major features of capitalism according to Marx?

7.5 Marx and Historical-Sociological Perspective Historical analysis can develop a critical approach to the study of the past, present, and future. It can illuminate the varieties of cultural and social diversity that have existed, and show how changes in these have occurred. Many historical approaches in sociology have assumed that history is associated with human progress and reaching higher stages of development of society – Marxian theories and liberal theories of modernisation generally adopt this approach. But historical approaches to sociology need not make this assumption and can consider human experience to have many forms of diversity, society to have made great progress in some areas and little in others, and to consider the possibility of regression rather than progression. It would be best to adopt a historical approach that does not consider human history to have a particular direction or to necessarily evolve to more progressive forms of social organisation. Further, there may be no inevitability or purpose to historical change — change certainly occurs but is a product of myriad influences, some intended and others unintended, with coincidence and chance along with intersection of various unforeseen social circumstances and forces. There are certainly social forces leading in specific directions (markets, exchange) and powerful individuals and groups attempting to further their influence and power, but people in the social world can also change these social forces. For example, some contemporary analysis assumes that globalisation, standardisation, and the decline of the nation-state are dominant forces that have a certain inevitability. While there is no doubt that these forces are strong, there are other aspects such as traditional cultures, resistance to change, local grounding, and communication and discussion (as highlighted by Habermas and others) that must be considered as well. Writers in the nineteenth century often adopted a view that human history passed through various identifiable stages. The sociology of Comte with focus on the theological, metaphysical, scientific stage of society and the analysis of Enlightenment writers tended to assume that human history has gone through various stages of development, with each of the stages at a higher level than earlier stages. The Enlightenment thinkers assumed that the stage that had been reached at the time they were writing was an advance over earlier stages, in that humans had developed a better understanding of the world and could now improve the social world. The view that the stages of history represented progress is reflected in concepts such as primitive and backward to refer to traditional forms, and civilisation and modern to refer to the European societies of the nineteenth century.

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Marx and Engels, and later writers in the Marxian stream have generally adopted a similar view and developed a historical analysis as a major part of their analysis. For Marx, the modes of production were historical in nature, with each representing a particular stage of historical evolution, and containing forces for change, but also being limited in form. Thus markets and cities emerged in feudal society, but the power of these emergent social forces required change in the mode of production. As a result, the forces of the bourgeoisie and capitalism broke the power of feudal forms of social and economic organisation, creating a new society in the nineteenth century. For Marx, each mode of production is historical in nature, having emerged at a particular time, but also having an historical dynamic built into it. Marxian analysis is thus essentially historical in content and form. While it is theoretical, the concepts and models of Marxian analysis are simultaneously historical and theoretical.

There had been several criticisms against this Marxian model of development. Let us look into some of them here.

References

Marx has forecasted the disappearance of the State after the successful implementation of the programme of action by the dictatorship of the proletariat. However, historical experiences show that, the state System has not only got reinforced, it has at times taken an oppressive form. Again it is a fact that centralised planning can’t be implemented without wellorganised State mechanism. Thus Marx’s idea of the State withering away remains in essence contradictory both in terms of historical experiences and execution of centralised planning. It is assumed that the dictatorship of the proletariat would usher in an era of classless society. However after the seizure of state power, not the proletariat, but the political elites occupy the power. Ownership of power is an important dimension of defining social class. Indeed here new political classes emerge with a few occupying the power position, while the vast majority being the powerless. Marx has generalised the idea related to class formation, class transformation and the role of the economic structure in determining the course of history. Marx has defined social collectivities or group in terms of the economy. Here “class” has been seen as the sole agent to bring change in society through revolution. However, the significance of nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, caste, estate, etc. within these collectives are grossly ignored. Indeed Marx has defined all social relations and conflicts in terms of class relations and conflicts by ignoring the social and historical roles played by these collectives in various societies. The Marxian idea of capitalism has not taken into cognisance the advancement of new technological inputs and new employer-employee relationship in the changing world. Many of the aspects are covered in the theory of modernisation and the critical theory. The process of advancement of capitalism may also follow the path of rationalisation of religious thoughts as depicted in Protestant ethics, highlighted by Max Weber. Reflection and Acton 7.2 Write a critique of the Marx's perspective on development.

Karl Marx's core idea on development was furthered by several school's of Marxian approach. In the following section we shall be presenting a glimple of Neo-Marxian approach.

7.6 Neo-Marxian Approach: World-Systems Analysis One of the primary historical-sociological perspectives is that of the worldsystems analysis, a neo-Marxian approach built around analyses of modes of production. This approach developed from an analysis of the economic and material world, specifically capitalism as it emerged and developed in Europe beginning in the 1500s. The world-systems analysis generally argues that this new economic and social system broke the power of earlier political and economic empires and systems, and developed towards a dominant world system. While originating in Europe, the world system that has emerged over the last five hundred years is without limits and extends for its reach throughout the globe. In contrast to some Marxian approaches, this world system is not always progressive in its effects, it encompasses a variety of modes of production, and could ultimately be replaced by a socialist world system. 105

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The world-systems analysis was developed by Immanuel Wallerstein (1930-) who has been a professor at Columbia University, McGill University, and currently the State University of New York at Binghamton. Wallerstein is best known for his The Modern World-System, published in 1974. In this work he analyses the origins of the modern system, beginning around 1500, where there began a shift from political and military forms of dominance to economic influences and power. In later volumes, Wallerstein traces the development of this new system, showing how it is creating core, periphery, and semi-periphery regions of the world. While political structures are connected to economic ones, Wallerstein argues that a variety of political structures are compatible with the capitalist world system. The world-systems theory abandons national economies and the nation state as the unit of analysis. Marxian theory generally works within the framework of national social structures, with a capitalist and a working class being rooted in the organisation of production and distribution on a national scale. The world-systems theory considers the division of labour, exploitation, and inequality on a world rather than a national level. That is, capitalism is not just organised on a national level, it develops and uses resources, labour, production, and markets on a world scale. The development of Canada could easily be interpreted within a world-systems approach. European expansion led to the development of Atlantic fisheries to supply food for Europe. Later the development of the fur trade made Canada supply furs for European consumption. These were connected to the development of industry and consumer markets in Europe – with an emerging bourgeoisie and working class. The development of trade and European expansion across North America destroyed many of the aboriginal economies that existed earlier. Agricultural and industrial changes in Europe led to export of dispossessed and poor Europeans to settle in North America. Forest, mining, and agricultural products were exported to Europe, thereby assisting in the growth of European and North American capitalism. While some areas benefited, others became disadvantaged as a result of these developments. Social and class structures have a connection to this international division of labour and the forms of development of production and markets on a world scale. In world-systems analysis there are three types of regions. The core areas of the world system are the wealthy countries of Europe and North America that dominate and exploit much of the rest of the world. These countries tend to have relatively free labour markets with relatively well paid skilled workers. In contrast, the periphery is poor and exploited, exporting raw materials to the core economies. Conditions for workers in the periphery tend to be very poor, and workers in these countries are often coerced through slavery or threat of starvation. The core countries benefit by maintaining the peripheral countries in a backward state. Semi-peripheral countries combine aspects of the core and periphery, being exploited and exploiting. Examples might include some of the poorer parts of Europe (Portugal or Greece) or some of the better off South American countries such as Argentina. The key to the division, however, is not so much the countries but the position any area occupies within the international division of labour. For example, there may be peripheral areas of core countries (some parts of northern Saskatchewan or the Maritimes) and core areas in primarily peripheral countries.

7.7 Implications of World-System Analysis In terms of sociological analysis, there appear to be at least three implications of the world-systems analysis. 106

a)

Expansion: Unlike earlier empires, which had limits to expansion prescribed by the ability to politically govern a wide area, there appears to be little limit to the capitalist world system, especially today. It has expanded over the last five hundred years and shows no signs of ending the domination of the world economy. Wallerstein argues that this is one difference of the current world system from earlier ones – there was a decisive break around the period 1500, whereby capitalism, technology, and science combined to create an expansive and global system.

b)

International scope: Social structure has an international basis. Any analysis of the social structure must consider the international aspect of this. That is, the particular place any group occupies in an international division of labour may be more important than the seeming place within the national economy and society.

c)

Difference and Inequality: In contrast to theories of modernisation or globalisation that argue that there may be a single, more uniform world in the future, the thrust of world-systems analysis is that continued inequalities and backwardness are furthered at the same time that wealth and progress occur in the core. This world system does not require similar culture, politics, or even modes of production in different regions. Rather, the capitalist world system can accommodate many different political forms (democracy, totalitarianism, monarchies, military rule) and different forms of production (slavery, semi-feudal forms of large estates and impoverished peasants, market-oriented agriculture). While the economic power of capitalism makes its effects felt on a world wide scale, this system creates wealth in some places and takes wealth away from others. As a result, poverty and inequality are essential aspects of such a system. This creates strains and can lead to redistribution of power and wealth on a world wide scale.

d)

Study of Change: The world-systems analysis provides a useful way of examining changes that have occurred and continue to occur across the globe. For example, the migration of large numbers of people from poor to richer countries is a result of the developments on the world system — destroying traditional ways of life and livelihood in the sending countries and filling labour supply needs in receiving countries. At the same time, this approach may be overly economistic in much the same manner as much Marxian analysis. That is, the world-systems analysis does not pay much attention to culture and does not appear to consider it as an independent aspect. Further, the assumption of dominance of European and North American capitalist forces may be somewhat ethnocentric.

References

Reflection and Action 7.3 What is the essence of the World-system theory? How is it significant in exploring development in contemporary society?

7.8 Critical Theory: Frankfurt School Critical theory has different meanings for different writers. As critique it is usually considered to be a critique of modernity and the developments and institutions associated with modern society. It can also be a critique of particular schools of thought within sociology, or of sociology and social science as a whole. A large part of critical theory has been to critique art and culture, in particular the consumer culture, advertising, the media, and other forms of popular culture. Some of the arguments in Giddens Dilemmas of the Self, such as the evaporated self and commodified experience, are very similar to critical theory. In fact, it is in the sphere of culture that critical theory continues to be relevant and innovative. 107

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Marxism is one form of critical theory, since Marxism provides a critique of capitalism and modernism. The Marxism of many communist parties and established socialist societies is generally not regarded as critical theory – it is rather Marxist theories that attempt to show the shortcomings of existing society and institutions that are considered critical theories. Kellner (1989: 3) notes: Critical Theory has been deeply concerned with the fate of modernity, and has offered systematic and comprehensive theories of the trajectory of modernity, combined with critical diagnoses of some of the latter’s limitations, pathologies and destructive effects – while providing defences of some of its progressive elements.

In Kellner’s view, critical theory has generally been committed to the idea of modernity and progress, while at the same time noting the ways that features of modernity can create problems for individuals and society. Critical theory is usually more closely associated with a group of theorists called the Frankfurt school. It were German Marxist theorists such as Benjamin, Horkheimer, Adorno, Fromm, Marcuse and, more recently, Habermas and Offe, who usually identified as establishing and developing a critical theory of modern society. Others, such as the Hungarian Marxist Lukacs, and some contemporary North Americans, most notably Calhoun and Kellner, are also considered to be critical theorists. It will be primarily this tradition that will be examined in this section. Box 7.1: Post Modern vs Critical Theory Note that critical theory differs from post-modern approaches to social theory. Theorists in the latter perspective tend to argue that modernity has ended, or that modernity must be rejected in its totality. Post-modernists may even reject social theory and political practice whereas critical theorists tend to theorise extensively and some argue that politics can be used to pursue progress. Critical theorists generally tend to have a comprehensive and overall social theory and an idea of progress and a better world, even if they are unable to find ways of getting there. In contrast, a post-modern approach is more likely to be associated with rejection of comprehensive, universal theory.

a)

Historical Background

When critical theory is mentioned in connection with social theory, it is usually associated with what is called the “Frankfurt School.” The Institute had begun in 1923, with a financial endowment from a wealthy German grain merchant, and was attached to Frankfurt University in Germany. German universities had been quite conservative, but with the political turmoil following World War I, new ideas developed and were influential within the universities. For a time, many Marxists thought that Germany would become socialist, following the Russian revolution. When this proved unlikely to occur, some of the intellectuals attracted to Marxism argued that Marxist-oriented research was necessary to re-examine Marxist theory in the light of the changes that had occurred in Europe. In particular, some of these Marxists considered that while the objective conditions for socialism existed, the subjective consciousness of workers was not conducive to overthrow capitalism and creating socialism. In particular, “revolutionary consciousness, culture and organisation and a clear notion of socialism seemed to be lacking.” As a result, it was necessary to reconsider various aspects of Marxism and focus on “consciousness, subjectivity, culture, ideology and the concept of socialism … in order to make possible radical political change” (Kellner 1989: 12). The Institute began its work in Germany and continued through 1933, when the Nazis came to power. Most of those who were members of the Institute went to the United States at that time, with some like Marcuse staying there, 108

while others returned to Germany after World War II. The Institute was established in New York City and became affiliated with Columbia University and it was there that the term “critical theory” became associated with the Institute. After World War II, the Institute was re-established in Germany and continues to operate there. Following the death of Horkheimer and Adorno, Jurgen Habermas became the leading critical theorist, a position he continues to hold.

References

The periods of a few major critical theorists: Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) Max Horkheimer (1895-1973) Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) Erich Fromm (1900-1980) Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) Jurgen Habermas (1929- ) Let us now look at the features of Frankfurt school and how it can put as an extension of Marxist thought. b)

Materialism and Idealism

Critical theory is thus primarily a European social theory, influenced by the German tradition of Marx and Weber and by the experience of fascism, but also by the changing aspects of modern capitalism. Critical theory began by putting Marxian political economy at the centre of analysis, and thus the early critical theory was materialist and committed to socialism. One of the major features of this perspective was that all of social life is a reflection of the economic system and the role of social theory was to investigate the ways in which this changed and affected people. “Rather, critical theory describes the complex set of ‘mediations’ that interconnect consciousness and society, culture and economy, state and citizens” (Kellner 1990: 3, 4). Critical theory thus developed an approach which incorporated both the economic and material, and an analysis of individuals and their social psychology, attempting to deal with aspects of what we might refer to as the agencystructure issues today. But neither the material nor consciousness was primary in determining the other. Rather, these theorists paid much attention to culture, law, ethics, fashion, public opinion, sport, life style, and leisure (Kellner 1989: 18), topics which had not previously been incorporated into Marxian analysis. Calhoun notes how “Marx shared with the young Hegel an attempt to conceptualise the absolute creativity of the human being through the example of art, but unlike Hegel he extended this into a more general analysis of labour” (Ibid 441). The Frankfurt school theorists took up this challenge once again and made art and aesthetics a central feature of their analysis. c)

Supradisciplinary

Critical theorists are critical of Marxism when it is mechanically materialist or too determinist. They were especially critical of branches of philosophy, especially positivism and scientific methods associated with it. They are also critical of sociology and other social sciences for being insufficiently critical and having only partial analyses. They thus set very high standards for social science, ones that they themselves were ultimately unable to meet. Given that the initial concern of these theorists was to understand the reason why class consciousness had not developed among the working class, their first project was to conduct an empirical study of the white-collar working class in Germany, to obtain information concerning their psychological, social, and political attitudes and combine this with theoretical ideas from the various 109

Approaches to Sustainable Development

social sciences (Kellner 1989: 19). The findings of this study were that “the actual revolutionary potential of the German working class was less than what usually assumed, and that, while the workers might resist a fascist attempt to take over the government, it was unlikely that they would undertake the sacrifices necessary for a socialist revolution” (Ibid: 20). While this approach provided interesting results, it is not clear that in studies of this type, the approach of these critical theorists differed all that much from some of the conventional social science approaches. d)

Commodity Exchange

Beginning with commodity and commodity production as the key feature of capitalist society, they argued that capitalist market relations and values were penetrating ever more areas of life. Exchange was becoming the primary way in which people related to and interacted with each other in a capitalist market society. Consequently reification — the turning of humans, culture, nature and everything else into commodities whose fundamental substance was exchange value — came to dominate relationships and activity within the capitalist society (Ibid: 53). That is, rather than human relationships between individuals, exchange relationships come to dominate inter-personal relationships. Marx had noted this; but this line of thought was much further developed by the critical theorists. They looked on capitalism in the twentieth century as extending this to many aspects of society previously untouched or relatively unaffected by exchange relations. They saw aspects of personal life such as love, friendship, and the family being reduced to such form of exchange. Consumption became organised by such forces as well, so that there were increasingly “oppressive uniformities and identities”. The concern was with rising sameness and conformity in society that did not let underlying tensions and contradictions to surface and be amenable to public attention and action (Calhoun 2002). They viewed such forces as stifling individuality and particularity and producing a certain sameness among all members of society. This aspect of capitalism has developed much more than in the 1920s and 30s, so that this part of their critique certainly has an important resonance in today’s economy, media and society. Consumer and media capitalism have vastly extended their reach into all aspects of the consumer society and life in general, and a critical approach to contemporary society can benefit from and use the ideas developed by these critical theorists. e)

Administered Society

A major feature of the political sociology of critical theory is the notion of an administered society. Weber had argued that forces of rationality and rationalisation were becoming increasingly dominant in western society. Rather than traditional or charismatic forces being dominant in social organisation, Weber argued that calculation, accounting, considered decision-making, and guided social action by careful examination of how means could be used to accomplish particular ends were forms that had become more forceful in western society. These forces are clearest in economics, business, and formal organisations, but Weber argued that these same forces made their effects felt in politics, education, and even the arts.

110

Critical theorists added these ideas of Weber on bureaucracy, rationalisation, and administration to the Marxian ideas of exchange and commodification. While Marx was primarily concerned with the economic sphere, the critical theorists extended their analysis to the political and social sphere, combining the ideas of exchange and administered society. The result was a view that capitalism and the society associated with it “was a totalising system which attempted to penetrate every area of life from self-constitution to interpersonal relations to education.” These totalising processes were leading to the destruction of “individuality and particularity” (Kellner 1989: 54).

One form this took was an economic analysis which argued that capitalism had been transformed from uncontrolled and relatively free markets to a form of state capitalism. While Marx and some earlier economists may have foreseen some aspects of this, they did not foresee the manner in which the state would intervene in the economic sphere. Friedrich Pollock, one of the economists associated with the Frankfurt School, developed a model of state capitalism, whereby “the state acquires power over money and credit, and regulates production and prices. Furthermore, management becomes separate from ownership” (Ibid: 60-61). While these critical theorists may have overestimated the role of the state in economics, and underestimated the vibrancy of capitalism as an economic system, theories of this sort have contributed to our understanding of capitalism and how it evolves. There is a strong political aspect to the economic sphere and many aspects of the economy are administered. f)

References

Totalising Societies

An important part of critical theory is related to their critique of totality and totalising forces. They were always opposed to any form of totalitarianism, whether it was the totalitarian society of fascism in Germany or the totalising form of administered socialism in the Soviet Union. Their arguments here make sense given the system that emerged in Nazi Germany and in the Soviet Union, where the structures to “control more and more aspects of life” (Kellner 1989: 54) were established and acquired great power. Totalitarian here could mean any system which attempts to govern many or all aspects of social life. Since the critical theorists came from, were living in, and were affected by the fascist form of political and social organisation, it is no surprise that they developed a model of this totalitarian system. Their intimate knowledge of this system and their later observation of it from exile in the United States each provided them with useful insights concerning the nature of totality. Critical theorists looked on fascism as a new form of monopoly or state capitalism, whereby “the state assumed functions previously carried out by a market economy and thus became the primary arbitrator of socio-economic development” (Ibid 1989: 67). They looked on this system as a result of political and economic disorder, a system that capitalism developed to survive in the face of challenges from the working class and its own inability to govern itself. This was then a new phase of capitalism, “a new synthesis of monopoly capitalism and the totalitarian state which threatens to dominate the world and to eliminate its opponents and all vestiges of the earlier forms of liberal economy and politics” (Ibid 1989: 67). Attractive as this analysis was, this prediction turned out to be incorrect and capitalism has taken a different form, perhaps totalising, but in a different manner. However, the experience of the critical theorists with fascism and totalitarianism helped shape their later analysis. In particular, they focus on the ways such a political-economic system achieves a rational, efficient form of production, but eliminates alternatives and debate over them. The reading from Marcuse will show how he interpreted and developed these ideas of totality and administered society as applying to societies that are normally considered more democratic and liberal. An additional aspect of the discussion is the relative autonomy of the political and the economic spheres. Marxists tended to argue that the state and political forces operate in the interest of the owners of capital. Some of the arguments of the critical theorists questioned this, pointing out that the political sphere sometimes was dominant, and the interests of the administered, totalitarian society might dominate the economic in some aspects. Another aspect of the analysis of such a system was the “socio-psychological analysis of the cultural roots of fascism in attitudes towards the family and

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Approaches to Sustainable Development

authority” (Ibid: 66). For Marxists, this was a new direction for social analysis to take and Erich Fromm, one of the key critical theorists, incorporated Freudian and other psychoanalytic theories into the social theory of the Frankfurt School. g)

Individual and Human Nature

For the Frankfurt theorists, human nature was related to the historical conditions in which it emerged. Humans beings are creative, but their creativity gets dominated by certain conditions under capitalism that appear to be natural and immutable. The critical theorists argued with the model of the absolute individual consciousness and identity that characterised the era of enlightenment, and liberal thought gave legitimate place to individuals’ subjectivity and their relationships with others. In addition to identity, nonidentity and multiple involvements of the individual meant that self-identity took many different forms. It was in this that the individual can develop creativity and reach beyond an unchanging individual identity. If society allowed the individual to explore and critique different ideas and situations, this would allow the individual to be free. But more and more the increased sameness and uniformity of society is forced on individuals and prevents this freedom from occurring. Calhoun notes that critical theorists looked on essential human characteristics as crucial for the pursuit of happiness, the need for solidarity with others, and natural sympathies. These, of course, were developed in particular ways in each specific form of social organisation, since people are products of the historical conditions in which they live. But they connect a critical form of reason to this, with Horkheimer arguing that “a form of reason implicitly critical of civilisation” is part of human nature. The problem is that administered and totalising societies attempt to stifle and constrain this and channel it in particular directions. Erich Fromm argued that there is an essential human nature that is “repressed and distorted by capitalist patterns of domination”. Erich Fromm’s contribution to critical theory involved an analysis of the individual, the family, sexual repression, the economy, and the social context of the individual. His writings outline one way in which the work of Freud and Marx can be integrated. Fromm argues that there are basic instincts of motive forces for human behaviour, but that these are adapted, both actively and passively, to social reality. For Fromm, “psychoanalysis … seeks to discover the hidden sources of the obviously irrational behaviour patterns in societal life – in religion, custom, politics, and education” (Kellner 1989: 37). In this way, he combined social psychological approaches with the materialism of Marx, that is, synthesising the instinctual, psychological forces in humans with the effects of economic and material forces on human life. For Fromm, the nuclear family as it exists in capitalist society is key to understanding the connections between these. That is, the individual is raised in a family, and the family stamps a specific part of the social structure on the child. This is the manner in which “society reproduces its class structure and imposes its ideologies and practices on individuals” (Ibid). While individuals growing up in a different society would develop differently, the particular effects of modernity create forms of domination and inner struggles in each individual. Forms of social behaviour such as submissiveness and powerlessness become part of the self in these circumstances. In contrast to Marxian theories, critical theorists made analysis of art and culture a central focus of their studies, and noted developments in culture that were not purely economic in origin. Rather, the dialectic of enlightenment was used as critique of culture. Kellner (1989: 121) notes that they argued: 112

Culture, once a refuge of beauty and truth, was falling prey, they believed, to tendencies towards rationalization, standardization and conformity, which they saw as a consequence of the triumph of instrumental rationality that was coming to pervade and structure ever more aspects of life. Thus while culture once cultivated individuality, it was now promoting conformity and was a crucial part of the “totally administered society” that was producing “the end of the individual.

References

For the most part, critical theorists developed critiques of mass or popular culture. For example, Adorno “criticized popular music production for its commodification, rationalization, fetishism and reification of musical materials” (Ibid: 124). In particular, Adorno attacked jazz as being standardised and commercialised, arguing that “seeming spontaneity and improvisation are themselves calculated in advance, and the range of what is permissible is as circumscribed as in clothes or other realms of fashion” (Ibid 1989: 126). While Adorno’s critique has some truth to it, he is unable to explain innovation and new developments using this one-sided approach. Adorno tended to look on traditional forms of “high culture” such as the art of art galleries or the music of German composers as more authentic and creative than were forms of popular culture. In my view, Adorno adopted a very elitist approach to culture, one that would lead to limiting accessibility to and understanding of culture by large parts of the population. Walter Benjamin, one of the individuals associated with the Institute, disagreed with Adorno and argued that there were not such dramatic differences between high culture and popular culture. Benjamin was interested in the copy, the mechanical reproduction of artistic images, a relatively new development in the early part of the twentieth century. While Benjamin regarded the copy as questioning the authenticity of the original work of art and the aura and aesthetic quality of the work of art, he also argued that: “For the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual. To an even greater degree the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility” (Ibid: 124). Benjamin considered these to be progressive features of this new development, with the new forms becoming more accessible to more people, becoming more politicised, and possibly leading the situation where many images could be brought to the masses could raise political consciousness. This was particularly the case with film where Benjamin is somewhat reminiscent of Simmel. Reflection and Action 7.3 Explain the major contribution of critical theory in evaluating Marxian perspective on development.

7.9 Conclusion This unit has dealt with the central Marxian idea on development. Marx has tried to explain development in terms of progression of society from various stages that is tribal, asiatic, ancient, feudal and capalist. He has visualised conflict inbuilt in the material condition of existence to be the core factor in development. To carry forward this conflict he has identified the agency of social class as the main vehicle of class conflict. In this unit we have explained all these facets of development as formulated by Karl Marx. The Marxian plans of action and thought, the limitations of his scheme of thought are discussed in this unit. We have also discussed neo-Marxian approaches to development with special reference to dependency theory and critical theory on Marxism after Marx. 113

Approaches to Sustainable Development

7.10

Further Reading

Benjamin, Walter 2000. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. http://pixels.filmtv.ucla.edu/gallery/web/julian_scaff/benjamin/benjamin.html Braaten, Jane 1991. Habermas’s Critical Theory of Society. State University of New York Press: Albany Farganis, James 1996. Readings in Social Theory: The Classic Tradition to PostModernism. McGraw-Hill: New York Kellner, Douglas 1989 Critical Theory, Marxism and Modernity. Polity Press: Oxford Kellner, Douglas 1990. Critical Theory and the Crisis of Social Theory. from Illuminations http://www.uta.edu/huma/illuminations/kell5.htm Kellner, Douglas 1995. Media Culture: Cultural studies, Identity and Politics Between the Modern and the Postmodern. Routledge: London and New York

114

UNIT 8

UNEMPLOYMENT

Structure 8.0

Objectives

8.1

Introduction

8.2

Unemployment: Socio-economic Contexts and Dimensions 8.2.1 8.2.2 8.2.3

8.3

8.4

Types of Unemployment 8.3.1

Seasonal Unemployment

8.3.2

Disguised Unemployment

Educated Unemployed 8.4.1 8.4.2

8.5

The Socio-economic Context Problems of Identifying Unemployment Estimating Unemployment

Extent of Unemployment Consequences of Educated Unemployment

Government Policies on Unemployment 8.5.1 8.5.2 8.5.3

Schemes for Educated Unemployed Schemes for Rural Areas Schemes for Women

8.6

Right to Work and its Implications

8.7

Let Us Sum Up

8.8

Key Words

8.9

Further Readings

8.10 Answers to Check Your Progress

8.0

OBJECTIVES

This unit deals with the problems of unemployment in India. After reading this unit you should be able to: z

examine the problems in creating employment;

z

discuss and define unemployment;

z

analyse the nature and extent of unemployment among the educated and its social consequences;

z

explain the schemes introduced for tacking unemployment problems in India; and

z

narrate the constitutional provisions of right to work and its implications.

8.1

INTRODUCTION

This is the first unit of this Block. In this unit we shall be discussing the various aspects of unemployment problems in India. This unit begins with a discussion on the socio-economic context of the problem of unemployment, problems of identifying unemployment and present an estimate of this problem in India. The various types of unemployment viz. the seasonal, disguised etc. are discussed here. The problems of educated unemployment are discussed in great

5

Structure in Tranistion – II

length in this unit. Various government policies related to unemployment are also discussed in this unit. Lastly we discussed the concept of right to work and its implications. Now let us begin with the socio-economic context of this problem in India.

8.2

UNEMPLOYMENT: SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXTS AND DIMENSIONS

The problem of finding employment for all able-bodied persons willing to work in common to all countries, developed as well as developing. Every country wants to provide employment to all its citizens. However, this is not always possible. Even developed countries like England and the USA face problems of unemployment. There are a large number of people who want to work but are unable to get jobs. In developing countries the problem is more serious because the number of unemployed are usually very large. Hence it may not be possible for the state to provide employment for these people in a short period of time. Moreover, a developing nation, being poorer than the developed countries, may not be in a position to give employment to a large number of people within the given economic infrastructure.

8.2.1 The Socio-economic Context In India unemployment is a major problem. There are already a large number of unemployed people in the country. At the same time, because of the high rate of population growth, there are more and more people seeking employment. Therefore we find all major programmes to provide for employment for all fall short of expectations. Employment basically means work. If more people work there will be grater production of goods and services in society. Similarly, in a society where there are a large section of people ready to work, but only few people get the opportunity to work, there will be less production. Greater production of goods and services ensures that these are available to a larger number of people. Hence more and more people are able to improve their standard of living. Employment, therfore should not be viewed merely as a means of livelihood for people. It also means that if more people are employed in a country, the more prosperous it is: because it is able to produce more and provide more goods and services to the people as a whole.

6

Therefore we can argue that the best way for a country to develop is to provide employment for all. Only then can there be economic advancement. This is of course true but it is easier said than done. Developing countries face several constraints and the most important is the lack of resources. For example, a person can work either in agriculture or in industry. For work in agriculture you require land. But this is not enough. You also require implements (plough, bullocks, tractor etc.). Therefore, for work on land you require all these investments, which we call capital. Similarly for work in industry factories have to be set up. Most developing countries do not have the resources to invest in creating employment in this manner. They have either to get loans or aid from developed countries or they have to plan their resources in such a way that the maximum number of people get the benefits with minimum investment. We shall discuss these problems in a later section in this unit.

Unemployment has several dimensions. The most evident is that a prison who does not have work has no income and he is unable to support himself/herself and his/her family. Moreover, as we have discussed earlier, unemployment means that the country is unable to use the labour power of a large number of people and this results in low production. These are mainly economic consequences of unemployment. There are also serious social consequences of unemployment which makes it not only an economic problem but a social problem. For a person unemployment means that he is unable to meet his basic needs. He has to depend on others for these. This makes him insecure or frustrated. Such people can take resort to anti-social activities in order to get some income. We will discuss these issues in another section of this unit. However, before we proceed any further let us first try to understand what do we mean by unemployment. We will see that there are various types of unemployment and it is not easy to identify them.

Unemployment

8.2.2 Problems of Identifying Unemployment For many of us the notion of unemployment is one of those who do not have a job or, are paid no salary. This is partly correct but not wholly. Such a notion would apply largely to the educated people who are not able to find work or to those in urban areas who come to seek employment. We will leave out a large section of people, in fact the majority, who are engaged in agriculture and who may not be paid wages. For example, a person cultivating a small piece of land which he owns is also employed, through he is not paid a wage. He is more known as self-employed in agriculture. Similarly there are vast number of people in rural and urban area who do not get wages for the work they do. These are farmers, artisans, petty shop owners, small and big industrialists, taxi drivers, mechanics etc. These people are also regarded as being employed. All these people as well as those drawing salaries are regarded as being “gainfully employed” because they get some material rewards (in cash or kind) for the work they do. Those who are not gainfully employed are unemployed. The next problem is of identifying the unemployed. This is not an easy task. Normally in our country we regard those people who are between the ages 15 and 58 as being “economically active”. In other words these people have the potential of being gainfully employed. Therefore those who are not gainfully employed in this age group are unemployed. This supposition will again not be fully correct. There could be a large number of people in this age group who do not wish to seek employment. They could be students or people who can depend on other people’s earnings and they do not wish to be employed. Till recently women were considered in this category since a large section of women (married women mainly) do household work. However, in recent years, this has been considered as economic activities. The Census of 1991 and 2001 have taken this into consideration.

8.2.3 Estimating Unemployment Assessing the extent of unemployment is a very important, but difficult task. The government needs this information so that it can formulate the plans to ensure that maximum people find some employment. It is also necessary to assess where employment is needed. For this we have to assess the situation in urban and in rural areas, among various sections of the population, namely,

7

Structure in Tranistion – II

male, female, agricultural workers, industrial workers, educated people and illiterates etc. The number of unemployed persons has increased tremendously in India since Independence. In 1983 the number of unemployed in Indian was 21.76 million. In 1999-2000 there absolute number has increased to 26.58 million. However, the rate of unemployment had decreased over the year from 8.30% to7.32% (Planning Commission of India 2002). However a very recent estimate shows that the unemployment rate in India is to the extent of 9%. The past and present scenario of employment and unemployment and their state wise variations are shown in table no. 1 & 2 Table 1 : Past and Present Macro-scenario on Employment and Unemployment (CDS basis)

(person years) 1983

(Million) 193-94

Population Labour Force Workforce Unemployment rate (%) No. of Unemployed

718.20 261.33 239.57 (8.30)

894.01 335.97 315.84 (5.99)

21.76

20.13

Population Labour Force Work Force Unemployment rate (%) No. of Unemployed

546.61 204.18 187.92 (7.96)

658.83 255.38 241.04 (5.61)

16.26

14.34

Population Labour Force Work Force Unemployment rate (%) No. of Unemployed

171.59 57.15 51.64 (9.64)

234.98 80.60 74.80 (7.19)

5.51

5.80

Source : Planning Commission 2002.

8

1999-2000

All India 1003.97 363.33 336.75 (7.32) 26.58 Rural 727.50 270.39 250.89 (7.21) 19.50 Urban 276.47 92.95 85.84 (7.65) 7.11

Growth per annum (%) 1983 to 1993-94 to 1993-94 1999-2000 2.00 2.43 2.70

1.95 1.31 1.07

-0.08

4.74

1.79 2.15 2.40

1.67 0.96 0.67

-1.19

5.26

3.04 3.33 3.59

2.74 2.40 2.32

0.49

3.45

Unemployment

Table 2 : Employment Scenario in States (CDS Basis)

Sl. No.

1.

Selected States

Andra Pradesh 2 Assam 3 Bihar 4 Gujarat 5 Haryana 6 Himachal Pradesh 7 Karnataka 8 Kerala 9 Madhya Pradesh 10 Maharashtra 11 Orissa 12 Punjab 13 Rajasthan 14 Tamil Nadu 15 Uttar Pradesh 16 West Bengal All India

Employment Employment Unemployment Employment GDP (‘000) growth) rate elasticity growth 1993-94 to (% per 1999-00 1993-94 to 1999- 19931999-00 annum) 1999-00 (% 00 94 p.a) (%) (%) 1993-94 to 1999-00 30614

0.35

8.03

6.69

0.067

5.2

7647 30355 18545 5982 2371

1.99 1.59 2.31 2.43 0.37

8.03 7.32 4.55 4.77 2.96

8.03 6.34 5.70 6.51 1.80

0.737 0.353 0.316 0.420 0.052

2.7 4.5 7.3 5.8 7.1

20333 8902 28725

1.43 0.07 1.28

4.57 20.97 4.45

4.94 15.51 3.56

0.188 0.013 0.272

7.6 5.5 4.7

34979 11928 8013 19930 23143 49387

1.25 1.05 1.96 0.73 0.37 1.02

7.16 7.34 4.03 3.13 11.78 4.08

5.09 7.30 3.10 1.31 11.41 3.45

0.216 0.262 0.426 0.104 0.052 0.185

5.8 4.0 4.6 7.0 7.1 5.5

22656 336736

0.41 1.07

14.99 7.32

10.06 5.99

0.056 0.160

7.3 6.7

Source : Planning Commission 2002.

Check Your Progress 1 i)

Why is higher level of employment necessary for the country? Answer in about six lines ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

Tick whether the given statements are true or false: i) Employment means having a permanent job.

True/False

ii) Those performing gainful economic activities are employed. True/False iii) Unemployment is much lower in urban areas as compared to rural areas. True/False

9

Structure in Tranistion – II

8.3

TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT

We have seen so far that though employment is a serious problem it is not always easy to identify. The figures on unemployment quoted in the previous section show what is actually known as visible unemployment. There are other types of unemployment which are not very visible. A person can be employed but he may be actually unemployed. How is this possible? Let us try and find out. Hence we shall be discussing the typology of unemployment to understand this phenomenon.

8.3.1 Seasonal Unemployment Normally when we talk of employed people we mean those who have work throughout the year. But this may not possible for all. In agriculture, work is seasonal even though agricultural activities are performed throughout the year. During the peak agricultural seasons (when the crop is ready for harvesting) more people are required for work. Similarly in the sowing, weeding and transplantation period more labour is required. Employment therefore increases at this time. In fact we will find that there is hardly any unemployment in rural areas during these peak agricultural seasons. However, once these seasons are over the agricultural workers, especially those who do not own land or whose land is not sufficient to meet their basic requirement (these are landless labourers and marginal farmers respectively), remain unemployed. This type of unemployment is known as seasonal unemployment. This also means that the persons who get seasonal employment are unemployed for the rest of the year. If these workers move away from the villages in search of employment elsewhere then there will not be sufficient people to work during the season and this will lower productivity. Hence it is necessary to find work during the season and this will lower productivity. Seasonal employment is most common in agriculture but it can be found in industries as well. There are some industries, such as tea, sugar, jute etc., which are agro-based and they too employ people during the peak seasons of their operation. Seasonal employment results in large scale migration of the agricultural labourers from agriculturally backward regions to that of the developed regions.

8.3.2 Disguised Unemployment

10

There are also instances where we find too many people working when so many are not required. In agriculture we may find that all members of the family work. It is possible that 3-4 people can do a given work in the farm, but we find that the whole family of say 10 people doing the job. This may be because the excess people are not able to find employment elsewhere, so rather than remain unemployed they prefer to do the work along with others. This is known as disguised unemployment. This occurs when more than the necessary number of people are employed for the specified work. Disguised unemployment is found in agriculture because of the lack of employment opportunities elsewhere. Similarly disguised unemployment can be found in industry and offices as well. It is not uncommon to find a lot of staff in some offices who have very little or no work to do. In some factories also we find that many more people than required are enployed. We may think that given the present situation of high unemployment, there is nothing wrong if more people are employed. However, just as employing too few people for the job

Unemployment

Types of Unemployment

reduces productivity, employing too many also has the same effect. Understaffed government offices may be inefficient as the staff cannot cope up with the given work load. Similarly overstaffed offices can also be inefficient because there may be overlap of work because the same work is done by many people. In agriculture disguised unemployment means that the excess workers are being paid or they are taking a share of the agricultural products without actually helping to increase production. With the result the surplus viz. the amount remaining after those involved in actual production take their share, is reduced. For example, 10 people are required to work on a piece of land which will yield, say around 100 quintals of grain. The requirements of these 10 will be met by 50 quintals of grain. Now if instead of 10 we have 15 people working on the same land and they produce around 100 quintals of grain the requirements of the 15 will be 50% more than that of 10 i.e. 75 quintals. Hence only 25 quintals will be surplus whereas in the earlier situation 50 quintals was surplus. In industry if more people than necessary are employed then the wage bill will increase and the profits of the unit will be lower. This will also mean that the industrial unit will have less resources to reinvest in improving production (e.g. new machinery, better raw materials etc.). Therefore disguised unemployment or surplus employment may look attractive in the short-run as a means of providing more employment, but in the long run it can become a cause for concern. We can thus see that the problem of unemployment has several dimensions. First of all we have to identify who the unemployed are. This as we have seen occurs at two levels. Those who do not have gainful employment and who are

11

Structure in Tranistion – II

seeking it. The last is the active factor for determining the unemployed as there may be people who are not gainfully employed but they may not be seeking employment for various reasons. Disguised unemployment and seasonal employment are two such instances. Let us now turn our attention to another problem of unemployment which affects most of us, namely, educated unemployment. Check Your Progress 2 i) Seasonal employment is: a) found only in agriculture b) found only in industry c) most common in agriculture but it can be found in the industries as well. ii) We find disguised employment where: a) less people are working when many are required b) too many people are working when so many are not required c) people are employed as per the requirements.

8.4

EDUCATED UNEMPLOYED

The problem of educated unemployed is serious in our country. There are a large number of young educated people who are unable to find employment or even if some of them do they are engaged in work which require less qualifications. This means that these people accept work which does not give them the income which persons with similar qualifications get elsewhere. For example a person holding a Ph.D degree works as a lower division clerk in an office, or a highly trained engineer working as a sales assistant in a shop. We find though the overall picture of employment in India has shown an improvement, the situation among the educated unemployed has remained the same.

8.4.1 Extent of Unemployment There has been enormous increase in the rate of unemployment among the educated in India. The number of graduate unemployed increased from 9 lakhs in 1965 to 5.6 million in 1977 with an annual growth rate of 21%. During 1980-88 there has been an annual growth rate of 23% of the graduate unemployed. The number is much larger for matriculate, higher secondary, and undergraduates. However, one has to take into account that many of these people may not be looking for employment as they would be engaged in higher studies. It seems strange that in a country like India where only a fraction of its population has had college education there should be difficulty in finding employment for these people. Let us try and find out the reasons.

12

The recent data available form the 939 employment exchanges in the country indicate that as on September 2002, the number of job seekers registered with the employment exchange (all of whom are not necessarily unemployed) was to the order 4.16 crore out of which, approximately 70% are educated (10th standard and above). The number of women job seekers was of the order of 1.08 crores (26% of the total job seekers). The maximum number of job seekers waiting for employment were in West Bengal (63.6 lakh), while minimum were

in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli (0.06 lakh) and in the state of Arunachal Pradesh (0.2 lakh). The placement was maximum in Gujarat. (Indiabudget.nic.in).

Unemployment

Growth in education is linked with economic development. As a country develops it requires larger number of educated people to meet its requirements for running the administration, for work in industry at different levels. As the services sector (also known as the tertiary sector) expands, and the requirement for educated, trained personal also increases. Graduates are required for work in offices of these various organisations. Moreover the teaching profession expands as there is a greater number of schools and colleges. Education therefore contributes to production as it supplies the requisite manpower. However, problems arise mainly because of the slowing down of economic growth that results in the surplus supply of the trained/educated manpower. This results in a situation where there is educational development but the growth in the economy does not keep pace with it. This results in unemployment among the educated. There is also lacunae with the education system in contemporary India. Our education system is not producing the required manpower as per the need of our society. Thus it is producing a large number of educated manpower whose knowledge and skill are not fully used at the present juncture of the transition of the society. They have remained as surplus educated manpower, unemployable and unemployed. The Kothari Commission (1964-66) pointed that there is a wide gap between the contemporary education system and practical need of the nation at present.

8.4.2 Consequences of Educated Unemployment The social consequences of the educated unemployed are quite serious. We will find that people with superior qualifications are doing jobs which could be done by less qualified people. This results in under-utilisation of one’s capacity. We can find graduate engineers doing jobs which could be performed by diploma holders. Similarly there may be clerks and typists with postgraduate qualifications where perhaps matriculates could do the work. This is because people with lesser qualifications (matriculates) are unable to find jobs so they go for higher education with the hope that they will be in a better position to qualify for the same jobs. We therefore find that there are over qualified job seekers. This ultimately leads to the devaluation of education. An eminent educationist, A.R.Kamat, sums up the situation: “Education here is not so much an investment in human capital as a quest for a credential which will yield preference to its holder over those who do not possesses it”. Apart form this, the educated unemployed become more frustrated than the uneducated unemployed because their aspirations are higher. An uneducated unemployed person may be willing to do any type of manual work but a graduate would not be willing to do this even if such work is freely available. In fact doing a job which is not suitable for ones qualification is not only frustrating but it is also a waste of national resources. An engineer working as a clerk because he is unable to find a job in his profession will make him frustrated. In addition it also means that the investment made in making him an engineer has been wasted. Similarly a graduate working as a coolie or as a taxi-driver does so in most cases not because he prefers the work but because he has no other option. This makes him feel frustrated. It also means that the resources

13

Structure in Tranistion – II

spent on his education has been wasted because one does not need such high qualifications for these jobs. As mentioned earlier, unemployment makes the person feel insecure. He may out of frustration take to anti-social activities. Many thieves, pickpockets, smugglers, drug traffickers etc. take up these activities because they are unable to find gainful employment. What is worse is that once they are in these professions it is very difficult for them to take up respectable work later even if it is available. They have been branded as anti-socials and no employer would like to offer them jobs.

Social Consequences of Unemployment

Moreover the existence of a large number of unemployed in any country can challenge the stability of the government. Not all the unemployed take to crime as an alternative means of livelihood. In fact the vast majority of them search for legitimate work. If they do not get work they become frustrated. Their families too are unhappy. This means that the dissatisfaction of not having work is not confined to only the unemployed but to many more people. If there is large-scale unemployment, this may lead to the accumulation of discontent against the government. This discontent usually manifests in the form of uninstitutionalised action and mass mobilisation. This is why we find in our country that any government or political party which wants to be in the government makes eradication of unemployment as one of the main planks of its programmes. At the same time the government tries to start schemes which are employment oriented and also provides some aid to the unemployed in order to contain the discontent of the people. 14

The increase in educated unemployed is therefore a threat to the harmonious working of the economic system and to the political system. The social impact of educated unemployed results in deviant behaviour. As mentioned earlier,

educated people have higher ambitions for work and rightly so. If these are not fulfilled they may take to drugs, crime etc. The drug problem among the youth in our country is largely due to the bleak employment prospects. The unemployed youth are frustrated and they take recourse to drugs or alcohol to overcome their frustrations. Even the students when they find that jobs will not be available for them when they pass out try to overcome their depression through narcotics and drinks.

Unemployment

The frustrations of unemployed youth can also lead to terrorism. The highly educated unemployed have anger against society for their state of affairs. They feel that if this system cannot meet their aspirations for getting proper jobs it should be destroyed. This leads them to take to organised violence against the state. Terrorism in Assam and in many other parts of the country is largely a result of the large number of educated unemployed youth in these states, among other factors. Though Punjab is the most developed state and Assam one of the more economically backward states both have the common problem of a large number of educated unemployed youth. Punjab is agriculturally the most developed. This has led to spread higher education among its youth. However its urban-industrial sector and the educated are unable to find suitable jobs. Therefore the need to provide proper jobs to the educated is not just an economic problem. It is also a social problem which perhaps is more dangerous than the economic dimension of waste of resources. Check Your Progress 3 i)

Explain in five sentences how growth in education is necessary for economic development. Answer in about six lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

Show how unemployment is linked with anti-social activities. Answer in about six lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

8.5

GOVERNMENT POLICIES ON UNEMPLOYMENT

We have seen how unemployment is a severe restraint in our economy and society. In order to overcome some of the problems created by unemployment,

15

Structure in Tranistion – II

the government has tried to formulate some programmes. These are directed towards creating avenues for gainful employment for the unemployed. There are a number of programmes for counteracting unemployment. It is neither possible nor realistic to have only one scheme because, as we have seen, there are different types of unemployment. We have educated unemployment, unemployed among women, people in rural areas who are unable to find secured work and so on. The features of each of these sectors are different and hence each requires a separate scheme. Let us examine some of these schemes.

8.5.1 Schemes for Educated Unemployed There are mainly two approaches to help the educated unemployed. Some states such as West Bengal, Kerala etc. provide stipends for unemployed for a limited period. In most cases the minimum qualification is matriculation. The amount varies from Rs.100 to Rs.200 per month for three years. It is expected that persons availing of this scheme will be able to find employment within this period. The other scheme is aimed at promoting self-employment among unemployed graduates. This is known as the Graduate Employment Programme. Here the government provides loans to graduates to start small industries or business with the help of the District Industries Centre. Preference is given to groups of graduates (3-5) who come together with a viable scheme. One can find a large number of them in the transport sector. The state government usually gives them priority in allotting route permits and license to set up industries. Unemployed engineers, both graduates and diploma holders, are encouraged to set up small industries or take up civil contract work after they form cooperatives. They are able to get loans at low rates of interest and they are given priority in getting government contracts. Various training centers have also been open by the government to promote the entrepreneurship and selfemployment among the youth.

8.5.2 Schemes for Rural Areas The educated are not the only ones who face the problem of unemployment in the urban areas. There are large numbers of people in the rural areas who do not have a high level of education and who are unemployed. There are two main schemes for tackling this problem. These are the National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY). Under these schemes the government creates public works programmes such as road building, construction, land reclamation, irrigation work etc. which provide employment to the rural poor. The advantages of such schemes are that firstly they are located in or near the villages of the unemployed so that they do not have to migrate out of their villages to seek work. Secondly they help overcome the problem of disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment. The excess workers in agriculture can be drawn out and given work in these schemes.

16

There is another scheme for rural youth known as Training of Rural Youth for Self-employment (TRYSEM). This operates in selected development blocks. It imparts skills to rural youth so that they can start employment generating activities. These include weaving, training as mechanics, fitters etc.

8.5.3 Schemes for Women

Unemployment

Apart from the above schemes which cover both males and females, there are schemes which are directed mainly towards women. These schemes attempt to provide self-employment to women through home-based work. The Khadi and Village Industries Corporation (KVIC) provides various schemes for this purpose. These include spinning and weaving, making papads, agarbattis and other consumer products. The raw material is supplied to the women and they make the final products in their homes. The KVIC pays them their labour costs and markets the products. These schemes help increase the family income of the rural poor. Activity 1 Interview a self-employed youth of your area. Try to find out the problems faced by him or her in starting his/her activities. Also try to find out the reasons for their being opting for self-employment. Prepare a note of around 20 lines and if, possible, exchange it with your co learners in the Study Centre.

8.6

RIGHT TO WORK AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

The growing rate of unemployment in our country is a serious problem which has been the focus of government policy. In order to ensure that government takes this up seriously it has been argued that the right to work should be included as a fundamental right to work for its citizens. The Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution however are the guidelines on which government policies should be formulated. They do not have legal backing for implementation. Hence if the right to work is made a fundamental right then every government will be forced to take measures which ensure that people get work. What exactly is meant by right work? Essentially it means that every adult citizen should have the right to do physical labour for eight hours a day, at the minimum wages. It does not mean that every citizen has a right to government employment. Nor does it mean that a person must be provided employment of his/her choice. In other words the right to work is like an employment guarantee scheme. In order to achieve the right to work it will be necessary to go in for large scale rural employment. This would essentially mean that our investments have to be directed to this sector. It would mean ensuring that artisans, craftsmen and the small farmers get enough inputs in the form of credit and raw materials so that they do not have to leave their work in the villages and join the unskilled unemployed in the cities. This will help reduce urban unemployment. In order to achieve this goal the infrastructure in the rural areas has to be improved. There has to be irrigation facilities so that there is water for land cultivation. The communication network has to be built up, roads have to be constructed and transport improved so that the farmers and the artisans can get a wider market for their product. Box 1 Constitutional Provisions for Right to Work The Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution speak of the right to work for Indian citizens. Article 30 reads “The state shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing – (a) that the citizens men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.”

17

Structure in Tranistion – II

Article 41 especially speaks of the “Right to Work, to education, and to public assistance in certain cases” It reads”: The state shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in case of unemployment.

Other facilities have to be improved as well. People can work hard and produce more only if they are healthy. Therefore health facilities and proper nutrition has to be ensured. Moreover the vast section of illiterates can be made to learn new skills only if their illiteracy is removed. Hence education and schooling facilities must be expanded to cover the entire population. These are some of the requirements for ensuring that all able bodied people get work. To achieve this it requires not only ore investment in the rural sector but also a change in the orientation of our planning. Perhaps this is why most governments promise to take steps to ensure the right to work but do not translate this into reality. Check Your Progress 4 i)

ii)

8.7

Right to work is included in the: a)

Directive Principles of the State Policy

b)

Ninth Schedule of the Constitution

c)

Article 370 of the Constitution

d)

Article 356 of the Constitution

Right to work means every citizen has the right to: a)

government employment

b)

non-government employment

c)

semi-government employment

d)

do physical labour eight hours a day at the minimum wage.

LET US SUM UP

In this unit we have covered various aspects relating to unemployment in our country. We have first of all discussed the meaning of unemployment and its dimensions. We have tried to identify the unemployed on this basis. This has led us to define unemployment and then discuss it in all the aspects, namely, visible, invisible, seasonal etc., and its consequences. We have also discussed at length the problem of educated unemployment and why it is so common in our country. The social consequences of unemployment have also been discussed. We have seen that there are over-qualified job seekers which results in a wastage of resources. Educated unemployment causes frustration and frequently leads to anti-social activities. We have examined some of the schemes initiated by the government to overcome unemployment. There are separate schemes for the educated, for the unemployed rural poor and for women. Lastly, we have also examined the meanings and implications of right to work in Indian context. 18

8.8

Disguised unemployment

Educated unemployed

Seasonal employment

8.9

Unemployment

KEY WORDS : a situation in which more than the optimal (required) number of people are employed to undertake certain tasks. Hence the excess people are actually unemployed as they are not doing required work though they may be paid. : in most cases (unless notified otherwise) a person who has finished schooling (metric) and is on the look out for employment is regarded as educated unemployed. The important period here is that the person must be actively seeking a job, because there will be a large number of cases where matriculates may not be interested in being employed as they will be engaged in higher education. : a situation in which employment opportunities exist during some parts of the year but in regular annual cycles. In other words employment is available during the some few months every year. This happens mainly in agriculture.

FURTHER READINGS

Behari, B. 1983, Unemployment, Technology and Rural Poverty, Vicaes Publishing House: New Delhi.

8.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 i) Employment basically means work. If more people work there will be greater production of goods and services in society. The greater production of goods and services ensures that these are available to a larger number of people. It will help improve the standard of living. The country will also be more and more prosperous. ii) a) False b) True c) False Check Your Progress 2 i) c) b) Check Your Progress 3 i) Growth in education is linked with economic development. As a country develops it requires larger number of educated man power to meet its requirements for running the administration, work in the industry etc.

19

Structure in Tranistion – II

20

The service sector also expands and the requirement for the educated trained man power also increases. Hence education contributes to the growing needs. ii) Unemployment makes the person feel insecure. He may out of frustration take resort to various anti-social activities. Many thieves, pickpockets, smugglers, drug trafficers etc. take up these activities because they are unable to find gainful employment. They may also be involved in violence. Check Your Progress 4 i) a) ii) d)

Unit 9

The Household and the Family Contents 9.1

Introduction

9.2

Meaning of the Terms : Family and Household

9.3

Joint and Nuclear Family in India

9.4

Views on the Family in India

9.5

The Myth of Disintegration of the Joint Family

9.6

Types of Family Structure

9.7

Changes in Family Structure

9.8

Perspectives on the Family

9.9

Conclusion

9.10 Further Reading

Learning Objectives Unit 9 aims to look at the family in India as an institution and to see what sociological research has to offer in this regard. Going through the unit should enable you to: l

l l

l

l

define the family and learn of the variations in family types, structure and composition; distinguish between family and household; understand the joint and nuclear forms of family and question if these are essentially evolutionary forms (i.e. examine the modernization thesis with the family as a case); to find out the distinction between the family in scriptural texts and empirical studies; learn the process of phases of household development in relation to joint and nuclear family types;

l

study the functional, conflict, power and cultural dimensions of the family;

l

discuss the changes in the family in contemporary India;

l

ask if there is an alternative to the family as an institution; and

l

to see that family studies have commonly focused on the upper caste Hindu family in India and identify a paucity of research on the family among other groups.

9.1 Introduction The family is a unique institution in that it is both a private and a visibly public institution at the same time. It oscillates between the most intimate to the most public in its various contexts. The family is near universal as well. All of us for most of the time live in families. The very visible and commonplace presence of the family has perhaps lent itself to the impression that the sociology of the family is a soft subject. Or it could be the other way round, in that it is too intimate and private to be brought up to the level of sociological analysis. Notwithstanding either of the possibilities, Uberoi thinks that being commonplace enables everyone to have an opinion on the family, thus inhibiting its consideration seriously. She also points to the intrusive fears that make the family too sensitive to critical inquiry, “It

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is as though critical interrogation of the family might constitute an intrusion into that private domain where the nation’s most cherished cultural values are nurtured and reproduced, as though the very fabric of society would be undone if the family were in any way questioned or reshaped” (1993: 1-2). Social philosophers have all through history, though at long intervals, reflected and commented upon the family. The family constituted an important area of study in Sociology in its early infancy. The high status accorded to the family in early Christianity might have influenced the genre of family studies in that period. This continued to be the case until the early 60s of the 20th century. In the Indian context too, family studies have been through ups and downs in popularity and focus. The family has remained a central social institution. However, it has, of late, received somewhat inadequate attention in comparison with the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Given the universality of prevalence of marriage in India, the study of the family has been given somewhat less attention in the last two decades of the 20th century. The study of the family in Anthropology also had its ups and downs. Being intertwined with marriage and kinship, the institutions that structure rules and behaviour regarding relationships both by descent and alliance, gained predominance over the study of the family (see Uberoi 1993 for elaboration). We do know that these principles and rules routinely get enacted out of the family and the household. Somehow this dimension of the family happened to be glossed over despite Fortes’ (1958) view that the domestic group is the workshop for kinship and marriage. It is worth serious consideration that the family is, to use Goffman’s (1958) dramaturgical notion, both the back stage and the front stage of a very substantial part of people’s behaviour throughout their lives. The family as an omnipresent institution stages and witnesses the drama of life as it unfolds throughout people’s lives. Such an approach to the family is less likely to fall under the clearly chartable principles of kinship that Anthropology found more fascinating to study. It largely dealt with neater categories than the existential messiness that the family offered (see Simpson 1994 for analysis of the messiness of the contemporary British family). The numerous variations in the dynamics of everyday behaviour of the family did not lend itself easily into the fold of certain structural principles. The family was thus best left marginalised from conventional structural Anthropology. Nevertheless, it is a platform from which most of the structural principles of sexuality and relations of reciprocity, hierarchy and exchange are enacted, regulated and reproduced. Let us halt a bit here and see what is meant by the term family.

9.2 Meaning of the Terms : Family and Household

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The concept, family, broadly refers to the primary group comprising husbandwife unit (parents) and their children. This definition keeps three types of ties in mind. The ties are: of marriage between the spouses, (i.e. the parents) and of siblingship between children. The two ties are connected through the genealogical one between parents and their children. (For details on the meaning of family you may see Unit 6 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B. A. Programmme.) We shall see below that some families comprise persons descended from a common male parent, while in others from a common female parent. For example a couple, their married sons and latter’s’ wives

and children make the primary group, stated at the outset of this section as a family, a somewhat larger one. Thus a family may be large or small depending on the prevailing principles of organisation of descent relations between the dependents of married persons. Thus, the family is based on the principles of kinship whose members usually share a common residence. They reside in a house/homestead. This residential unit is called the household. The members of a household have a set of relational ties amongst them. These ties are linked with the statuses held and the corroborating role complexes members of the family are expected to constitute. The household (ghar) is a residential and domestic unit composed of one or more persons living under the same roof and eating food cooked in the same kitchen (hearth/chulah). It may so happen that not all the members of a family live in the same household all the time. Geographically distanced homes may be occupied by a few of the members of a given family. These members then reside in two or more households but they consider themselves as belonging to the same family. The household is a commensal and coresident group/ unit (with provision for the phenomenon of single person households). Thus kin and residence rules distinguish between family and household (see Shah 1973, page 3 for an elaboration of the concepts and to see how the household is one of the several dimensions of the family).

The Household and the Family

Kolenda (1998) is another sociologist who has consistently worked towards clarifying the conceptual issues about family and household. She has proposed the 12 type classificatory scheme in her comparative study of the Indian joint family based on 26 post-1949 ethnographic studies and household censuses (Kolenda 1968). These classes of obtained household compositions take the reader beyond the joint-nuclear or extended-elementary types of families. This scheme does not obscure the phenomenon as a simple joint versus nuclear family one does. The 12 type classes are as follows: 1) Nuclear Family, a couple with or without unmarried children; 2) Supplemented nuclear family; 3) Subnuclear family; 4) Single person household; 5) Supplemented subnuclear family; 6) Collateral joint family; 7) Supplemented collateral joint family; 8) Lineal joint family; 9) Supplemented lineal joint family; 10) Linealcollateral joint family; 11) Supplemented lineal collateral joint family; and 12) other, a residual class (See Shah 1973: 220-227 for a critical appreciation of Kolenda’s classification scheme). See Unit 6 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B. A. Sociology Programme to clarify how these classes of households are useful in the understanding the continuum between variations of joint and nuclear family forms over a life cycle. Reflection and Action 9.1 1)

2)

See Table 3 in the book by A.M. Shah (1973) on page 13 for household size in 1951 in village and town areas in Gujarat (India) if possible. Take ten houses on a street each in a nearby village and/or town and make a table of household size and compare the Indian census figures for 1951 with your own figures. Compare the 1991 and 2001 census figures for rural and urban India and your state with those given in Shah. See Table 17 in Shah (1973) for working out the basis of composition of households. Now prepare a basis for such a composition for the data you have gathered from the twenty households in rural and urban surroundings.

Discuss the difference in figures and patterns of households at your study/ Counselling Centre.

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9.3 Joint and Nuclear Family in India In the two most significant Hindu epics, ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharat’, the central families are large joint families. Dashrath’s sons in ‘Ramayana’ and Dhritrashtra’s and Pandu’s in ‘Mahabharata’ live together along with their wives for a good part of their lives. Even when separated by force of circumstance, the jointness of concern, respect for togetherness and emotional bonding is visibly a desirable feature of the family in the epics. The epics hold a great deal of influence on the Hindus in India and a large joint family with filial (father-son relationship) piety is considered the ideal. These families are cited as examples to emulate whenever any threat to the family unity is perceived or if the younger generation is to be reminded of norms of filial piety. The husband-wife couple of Ram and Sita of Ramayan is the ideal for others to emulate as filial ties are underscored over conjugal ties in their life. The two kinship links between i) parent-child and ii) siblings are found to exist in reality in various permutations and combinations. In the manner of their organisation, these links enable the separation between nuclear/ elementary and joint/extended families. A nuclear family is defined as a group consisting of a man, his wife and their unmarried children. When there are additional relatives to any of the relations in the nuclear family it turns into a joint one. Thus a joint family is a nuclear family plus all kin belonging to the side of husband and /or wife living in one homestead. The term joint and extended are used interchangeably in Sociology/Social Anthropology. Such a family is a combination of more than one nuclear family based on an extension of the parent-child relationship. By implication it may also include an expansion of the number of siblings of a certain sex and their spouses and children. When descent is traced through the male line, the extended/joint family is based on the extension between father-son relationship. On the other hand, an extension based on mother-daughter relationship forms a matrilineal extended/joint family. A horizontally extended family between brothers, their wives and children is called fraternal or collateral family (see Kapadia’s essay in Patel 2005 for illustrations of lineally/ vertically and laterally/horizontally extended families). The ideal Hindu joint family consists of a man, his wife and their adult sons, their wives and children, and the younger unmarried children of the parental couple. This is called a patrilineal, parivirilocal (the newly married couple taking residence in the husband’s father’s home) family. The oldest male heads the family and authority is hierarchically ordered along the lines of age and sex. In such a family, conjugal ties are considered subordinate to filial and fraternal (relationship between brothers) ties. Members of the family are related by kinship bonds lineally or collaterally or both. As elaborated in Unit 6 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B. A. Programmme, a joint family is seen by the number of generations present, ideally three or four generational family (Desai 1964, Madan 1965). The joint family holds property in common. However, not all members have the same right over the family property. Gore (1968) defines a joint family as a group consisting of adult male coparceners and their dependents. Thus some members do not constitute coparceners even if they are members of the family, and have a right of residence and use of family resources.

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We shall see the details of property rights (in both schools of law— Dayabhaga, adopted in Bengal and Assam, and Mitakshara, adopted in most other parts

of India) to different members of the family when we deal with the feminist perspective.

The Household and the Family

9.4 Views on the Family in India Research on the family in India has adopted different approaches. Like any knowledge on a cultural reality, family research has also been conducted from different points of view. You will see in Unit 12 of this Block that kinship has been approached differently in Indological studies than in empirical sociological and social anthropological research. Similarly, family in India has been studied through the Indological and the empirical approaches. We shall now examine these.

a) The Textual View The family in Hindu thought is derived from the idea of pitri rin, i.e. ancestral indebtedness. Every man has to repay the debt of his ancestors (the other two being of the teacher and gods) through procreation. The birth of a child, especially a son was not only a reason for being, but also being free of ancestral debt. Raising the next generation, i.e. sons, to adulthood ensures one’s way to heaven. The son’s privilege and obligation to light the funeral pyre and observe certain death rituals symbolises this indebtedness and the way out of it. Thus the Hindu family was defined as the closest group bound by mutual ties of giving and receiving the funeral oblation (a person and his three immediate ancestors). The family was a three or four generation group depending on how and whom you count in or out. Shradha and property were linked in the notion of the family. The text-based dimension of the Hindu family is one of a property holding and shradha performing unit. The Hindu family became coterminous with the Indian joint family through the engagement of British colonial administration with indigenous systems of kinship and marriage as reflected through the Hindu sacred texts, the ‘Dharmshastra’ (see Kane 1930-62). Maine (1972) projected the Indian joint family as a surviving example of the ancient form of human family. He had discerned the outlines of the ancient family in the legal system in ancient Rome and in the Celtic and Slavic survivals of earlier forms of social organisation. To Maine, this patriarchal family worked as a corporation, with its members as its trustees. Many early Indian sociologists were trained in the Indological approach. Prabhu (1955[1940]) described the patriarchal form of joint family as the family form of all Hindus, rich, poor, urban and village folk. Ghurye (1955) claimed an Indo-European pedigree for the Indian joint family. The Hindu family had for long found itself analysed, commented upon and prescribed as the ideal norm. The upper caste and upper class Indians derived their family morality and norms from liturgical texts and this became an ideal for other castes to emulate, in the process of their Sanskritisation, to use Srinivas’ concept. The ideological amalgam was further complicated by the British legal reinterpretation of liturgical concepts. “The hereditary literati had their own traditions, attitudes, biases, and interests which influenced their comments and interpretations. As if this was not sufficiently complicated, during the British rule certain ideas and myths regarding the Indian family organisation obtained wide currency through the British law courts and judges, and the new class of lawyers” (Srinivas’s Foreword in Shah 1973: vii). Historians as well as sociologists had used textual (literary, sacerdotal and legal) sources to comment on social institutions, including the family (see

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Unit 12 of this block). Karve (1953) in her extensive survey of the Indian kinship system with kinship vocabularies had identified four main types of kinship organisation in India. Karve’s study brought out the Dravidian kinship system and its family form as distinct from the form in most parts of India. It is through the Indological approach that the Hindu joint family came to be considered as the ideal and often the real family in India (See Uberoi 2000 for an elaboration of the Indological approach to family studies). Whether it is the Ramayana family or the upper caste and class Hindu family, the large joint family is not the universal form of family in India, both at present and in the recorded past. It may be reiterated that the joint and the nuclear types of the family are Indological constructs. The family as obtained in the field through empirical social anthropological and sociological studies is much more varied rather than the ideal joint family.

b) The Field View Goody’s (1962) influence took some time to show itself in Indian family studies. However, empirical study of the family was still under the strong influence of the basic difference between the oriental and the occidental family types, and this type-cast remained a given fact as though the empirical reality had to be pigeonholed into either of the compartments. Of course, the terms ‘domestic group’ as well as ‘household’ provided a processual view of the family, which brought to attention the lived reality of family closer to sociological scrutiny. Though Rivers (1906) had given the lead for providing empirical cases and actual figures through the genealogical method, the jural and textual influence continued its preponderance for nearly half a century, in the family studies in India. The discourse on the native category of the family was influenced by colonial administration and Anthropology. Box 9.1 : Nuclear and Joint Family Although for at least three decades since the 1950s, Sociology and Social Anthropology both in the West and in India have provided a great deal of rigorous research on the family and its various dimensions and aspects, it is a sad state that many social science research students in India today have to ask their respondents if theirs is a nuclear or a joint family. People’s terms may vary. Their terms range from being together to being separated, with reference to the ego’s (male’s in patrilineal society) residence in relation to other members of the family and the household. While the sociologist’s categorisation deals with the structure of residence derived from its composition, people’s categorisation is based on the context of the ego’s residence vis-a-vis other household and/or family members. A household in itself is neither joint nor nuclear, but becomes either of these by virtue of its being under progression and regression in a developmental process. For example, a married son’s moving out of his father’s house in patrilineal society makes the son’s house a nuclear one, or rather a separate one. This act may or may not simultaneously make his father’s household a nuclear one. This dimension of behaviour projecting the residents as living together or as separate (in joint or nuclear households) has to be investigated further. It is here that the family is seen not just as a noun but as an adjective constituting actors and agents.

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The family received a great deal of interest during the first few decades of the emergence of Sociology and Social Anthropology in India. In her comprehensive survey Dube (1974) describes the overwhelming interest in

family studies as being next only to those in caste. It is an interesting coincidence and a case for comparative study that with India’s political independence and following the formation of the Indian Sociological Society, the sociological study of the family experienced a watershed from, what Srinivas calls, the book view to the field view. Almost simultaneously came up the Western field-based anthropological and sociological studies (Goody 1958, Goode 1963).

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These studies provided a break from the studies of the Indological school based on legal and liturgical arguments. A shift occurred from the textual Indology to the contextual in the study of the family in India. Sociologists and social anthropologists began to study the various extant forms and structures of the family as they existed in reality rather than the erstwhile text-based dimension of the family as a property-holding and shradhaperforming unit. The effect of liturgical and legal texts continued to linger in studies of the joint family and the changes therein. The overlap of the ideal, normative and behavioural with that of value and fact in family studies continued until the concept of the household as a heuristic device seemed to rescue family sociology from the confusion (Shah 1973). The overwhelming influence of the Hindu, upper caste, North Indian ideal of the family was assumed, somewhat erroneously, as the all India Hindu and Indian family, notwithstanding the fairly early studies among non-Hindu South Indian communities in India by Kapadia (1958) and Dube (1969).

c) Process View: Phases of Household Development We have earlier mentioned the continuum between nuclear and joint family as one changes into another over time. In this way of studying the family, it is clear that the family is not a static institution. It goes through a developmental cycle. This cycle interrelates the nuclear and the joint families with each other. The structure of a family changes over time with changes in its size, composition and the status and roles of its members. Thus a family is not likely to always remain nuclear, nor does a family always remain joint. Similarly, not all nuclear families are identical nor are all joint families so. At any given point in time, a nuclear family may have one or more persons. When it turns into a joint one it may have at least two and usually many more members. You have already seen the 12 classes Kolenda (1998) found in the 26 studies she analysed. This process of the developmental cycle has been improvised by Shah’s (1973) study of the household and its developmental phases. A household may experience progression and/or regression or both on the basis of birth, adoption and in- and out-marriage, and death, divorce and separation of members over a period of time. A household in itself is neither joint nor nuclear, but becomes either of these by virtue of its being under progression and regression in the process of its developmental phases. For example, a married son’s moving out of his father’s house in a patrilineal society makes the son’s house a nuclear one, or rather a separate one. This act may or may not simultaneously make his father’s household a nuclear one. Thus at any given time the family forms in a society are likely to vary from a single member to a large group residing together. Thus the term household is used for the residential grouping and family for the group related through kinship, emotional, ritual and legal dimensions. Thus Shah (1973) uses the terms simple and complex for the household rather than joint or nuclear. Each person in a household is involved in a complex pattern of behaviour with every other member. Life in a household is marked by proper code of

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conduct for each member. To analyse a household in its entirety, all the relatives in a household need to be taken into account. ‘The compositional types are not discrete and haphazard but are interrelated in a developmental process. The pattern of the developmental process in each society is affected by three major factors. The first is the demographic factor, which not only includes the phenomena of birth, adulthood and death but also the sex and number of members. While these phenomena are demographic in origin, they are social in operation. The second factor is the series of explicitly stated norms regarding the residence of various relatives in a household. The third is the pattern of interpersonal relations in a household, largely dependent on the norms or codes of proper conduct attached to kinship relationships in the household’ (Shah 1973: 81-81). When a simple household becomes a complex one through addition of other family members (by birth or marriage) the process is called fusion. Contrariwise, when members are lost (by birth, out-marriage, migration) the household is said to undergo fission. A household goes through the process of fusion and fission and accretion and attrition and in its wake turning itself into simple and complex one. Each attrition may or may not change the household and the family into a nuclear or a joint one. Reflection and Action 9.2 We have seen above that a family does not remain static in its size, composition and structure. In fact, it goes through phases of development which may be progressive as well as regressive. The concept of household and its developmental phases, therefore, is of heuristic value in research. Prepare a chart of a your family tree with the help of your parents and/or grand parents for upto at least four generations. I may refer you to units 8 and 9 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B.A. Sociology Programme and Unit 12 of this Block to make the chart. Mark the time when your family was nuclear and when it became a joint one over the entire period you have covered in the chart. Point out if some members/sections of the family reside/d in separate houses but remained joint in property, rituals, pollution, sentiments etc. Discuss at your study centre, how different households of your family were set up, and how these were composed of varying forms of family class types at different periods. This exercise should enable you to see that classifying households simply as nuclear and joint families hide the actual developmental phases that families go through over time. Families experience fission and fusion and this is visible through the households in which the family members reside. This should enable an understanding of the significance of kinship ties and principles in family and household organisation. Discuss the usefulness of the concept of household in empirical research on the family with your Academic Counsellor at your Study Centre.

The period in Indian Sociology that marked a shift from the book-view to the field-view coincided with the influence of the idea of modernisation and development. Bombay was assumed, as it were, to be the pinnacle of industrialisation and modernisation, and the teaching community the leading light. Therefore, the family in Bombay, might have been assumed to provide evidence of the influence of modernisation and industrialisation on the family. As will be evident from the essays in Patel (2005), the Indian family received maximum attention in Maharashtra and Gujarat and much less in other parts of India, especially South India by Sociologists in India.

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9.5 The Myth of Disintegration of the Joint Family

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Sociology shared with Social Anthropology the unilinear evolutionary path that the family was to take over time. Maine’s evolutionary path in his Ancient Law (1861) on the origin and nature of human society was summed up in the famous shift from status to contract. For Maine, the movement from status to contract might be visualised through the movement in the institution of marriage centred on family and kin (i.e. status orientation) to individual choice (i.e. contract orientation). The ensuing family eventually became a nuclear one with a strong conjugal orientation like the Christian nuclear family. He found in the Indian joint family the earliest form of the patriarchal family. Bachofen and Engels disagreed with Maine’s views in a certain way as their ancient family was matriarchal. Engels was influenced by Morgan’s (1877) conjecture of the latter day patriarchal family formation. He is well-known for attributing the woman’s historic fall from grace with the formation of the institution of private property and the patriarchal monogamous family. Yet they all remained evolutionary in their perspective regarding the institution of the family (for related elaboration, see Zimmerman’s essay in Patel (2005). Even though the charge of assumed evolutionist perspective was to be dismissed, there is another analytical trend that strengthens the thesis of the disintegration of the joint family. The empirical data on post-independent India were being unquestioningly contrasted with the ideal and textual image of the three or four-generational patrilineal Hindu joint family. A historical analysis of the family can provide interpretations of the contemporary family both of its own gradual transformation and the all round transformation experienced by the society as a whole. Serious empirical studies of the family dealt with conceptual and analytical categories more carefully and raised issues like jointness and its meaning and variations in its various contexts. The question of the meaning of jointness and its implications was put under critical scrutiny. Two major contemporary influences made a significant impact not only on the field view of the family but also on how family studies in India were to unfold over the following decades. First, by the turn of the 20th century, population censuses were administered in many western countries and their colonies. The Indian census data on the household size revealed that the Indian household was decreasing in size compared to the textual Indological image of the family. It was much smaller than the three-generational joint residential unit it was understood to be. Secondly, this datum along with the data on the disintegrating European family was interpreted with the evolutionary perspective on social institutions including that of the family. The view was further substantiated with the census data obtained in India. To the evolutionists and Euro-centrists, the census data and inferences on the Indian family were evidence of all roads leading to Rome, i.e. monogamy and the nuclear family were the final destination. The assumed evolutionary path of the gradual reduction in the size of the family is an erroneous one. Laslett and Wall (1972) highlight the small size of the European family in the past substantiated by historical demographers. Historical studies both of the European and the Asian family have challenged the unilinear assumption of the reducing size and the changing structure and content of the family (See Wilk and Netting 1984 and Yanagisako 1979). The well known Parsonian thesis of the fit between the nuclear family and the American industrial society which other societies would eventually follow was not only an evolutionary thesis but was also delegitimising of

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other family patterns. See Uberoi’s (2000: 7-13) perceptive appraisal of the modernisation thesis in this regard. But historical analysis in a comparative framework is also possible without following the evolutionary perspective. Weber’s (1975) Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism focussed centrally on the origins of modern society and conditions of its emergence rather than with a whole series of types of societies of which the modern was seen as but the latest. Closely related in some way, though not reiterating the unilinear evolutionary model of family change, was the assumption that the conjugal unity of the couple and their children with ever fewer kin ties provided the structural keystone of the system. Its intense concentration on the socialisation of children was associated with the advanced industrial society. This family was particularly compatible with the demands of the dominant economic order of the industrial society. The developing countries would also behave in ways compatible. This over-simplistic assumption was visible in the thesis of the joint family’s disintegration. It was devoid of serious historical data and insightful analysis (see Desai’s essays 2005). Even the large sized family with a set of kinsmen (though in reality servants were more common) that existed among the more affluent upper class in Europe was found to be erroneously assumed. The cosy family of mum-dad and the kids assumed by planners and policy makers had long been declared stereotypical than real. Laslett and Wall (1972) revealed it for the European family, especially in British society, on the basis of historical data. Anderson (1980) studies recent times (196171) in England and states that 40 per cent of the people at any given point of time lived in households that did not conform to this pattern. There is a danger in viewing quantitative data too superficially, i.e. to look at time series for a misleadingly short period of time or to contrast quantitative data against an ideal or normative practice as was done after the initial censuses in India regarding the household size and composition. Several sociologists, Desai (2005) and Shah (1973) in particular, had picked up debates with the census data and pointed out the flaws in the interpretation of concepts and data. Nevertheless, Shah (1999) finds a potential in census data despite its limitations. Fitting in the nuclear family with industrialisation was not a straightforward thesis in terms of Indian data. Despite the family-household conceptual distinction, other dimensions remained to be understood. Singer’s work (1968) on the adaptation to western values and ways in a neatly compartmentalised manner to suit the public domain without being allowed to permeate into and affect the private domain of industrialists in South India revealed the resilience of traditional family values and norms. Adapting to Western ways and yet supporting joint family and caste values was characteristic of Singer’s Indian industrial family. Though Singer’s work is not a direct response to the Parsonian fit between industrial society and the nuclear family, it makes a strong case for an Indian family’s way of adaptation. On the other hand, the issue of jointness was delinked from the sole criterion of joint residence. Thus retaining the jointness of the family is possible without living jointly. Though nuclear residence is on the rise in what Beteille (1993) calls the service class in urban India, Sharma’s (1986) and Vatuk’s (1972) field studies in North India suggest a different picture. They find a branch of the joint family residing separately in the city and acting as a buffer for members of the joint family to join them for studies and urban jobs. The articles by Kaldate (1962), and Kapadia, Morrison, and the

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deliberations at the symposium on caste and the joint family (2005) deal with the transition from the joint to the nuclear family.

The Household and the Family

The conceptual distinction between the kinship oriented family and the residence oriented household led to a great deal of analytical clarity in the understanding of the family both as a social ideal and a social fact. Shah (1998) has shown that the proportion of joint families has remained the same if not increased over the past several decades. Kolenda (1970) too reiterated the popularity of the prevalence of the joint family. To Shah (1973) the kinship dimension of the household pattern is important to make meaningful analysis of quantitative data. Norms and interpersonal relations are not to be left behind.

9.6 Types of Family Structure We have already discussed the nuclear and joint types of families. From the empirical field studies in India (Shah 1973, Kolenda 1987 and essays in Patel 2005), we have learnt that families assume different class types of simple and nuclear households. Family structures based on the principle of descent distinguish between different types of families. Let us see the two main structural types of families.

i) The Patrilineal Family The genealogical and siblingship links of kinship among a group of relatives in a family signals its structural formation. When the central kinship link in the organisation of a family is between father and son/s, the family is patrilineal. We have seen above that such a family could be nuclear and/or joint. A joint patrilineal family may be lineally or laterally joint. We have also seen how the patrilineal joint family has been assumed to be the typical Indian family. Most of the studies cited above in this Unit are studies of the patrilineal family.

ii) The Matrilineal Family Now we shall see alternative family types which are not patrilineal in structure. A family composed of genealogical and sibling relations of kinship with primary focus on the mother-daughter bond and descent principle, is a matrilineal family. A matrilineal family too could be nuclear or joint and have varying household forms over its members’ life-cycle. The joint family in South India, particularly among the matrilineal Nayars, did not resemble the textual and scriptural family of the Indian liturgical texts. Not the whole of South India is matrilineal. Unlike the village, gotra, and sapinda exogamy in North India, the south Indian family formation is influenced by cross-cousin and uncle-neice marriages. Unlike the joint family of the Nambudiris (illam) based on patriliny, the Nayar family (tarawad) was based on matriliny. The patrilineal family in South India is different from that in North India in some respects. There are variations in family formation among the Nayars within Kerala, for instance, between South-West Kerala and Central and North Kerala. Malabar and Travancore differed in their practice of polyandry. Yet the institution of tarawad was strong. Dube’s (1974) review gives an extensive coverage of the studies of matrilineal systems and families therein, both by Indian and non-Indian scholars. Sardamoni’s recent book (1999) deals with Travancore, an area taken up by Puthenkalam (2005). Both have dealt with the tarawad as an intimately linked manifestation of the

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central feature of matrinily which gives women certain entitlements, such as permanent rights to maintenance by and residence in their natal home (tarawad). The relatively greater autonomy of women in the tarawad is a reflection of both the principle of matriliny and the consequent tarawad formation. Polyandrous unions, visiting husbands, and ritually sanctioned Nambudiri husbands and children from these husbands, were typical features of the tarawad. The members of the tarawad ranged from 20 to 30 and more. This family system was rather complex and posed a certain difficulty in fitting with the family in patrilineal society. Matriliny is not the mirror opposite of patriliny and thus the difficulty. LeviStrauss (1971) considers the South Indian Nayar family as family at times, and does not view this grouping as the family at others. The matter is resolved when he sums up that the family is the emanation, on the social level, of those natural requirements without which there could be no society. Another difficulty is posed by the variation in the Indian family forms which did not easily match with the nuclear family of the industrial West. However, Puthenkalam (2005) gives a peep into the matrilineal joint family (tarawad), among the Nayars in Kerala. Neverthelss, the institution of tarawad gradually weakened, as Puthenkalam describes, during the colonial rule (for more on this transformation, see Saradamoni 1999). Whether the decline of the tarawad is a reflection of the disintegration of the matrilineal joint family is difficult to claim. It is not that the illam has replaced the tarawad. Nevertheless, in the process of disintegration of the tarawad, women’s autonomy has been curtailed. The erosion of Nayar women’s autonomy and entitlements raises a research question on the importance of materiality in kinship structures.

iii) Caste, Community and Family Structure We have learnt earlier that the Indological approach had posited the patrilineal joint family prevalent among the higher castes as the ideal Indian family. This bias had generated a problem with regard to the family among the nonpatrilineal as well as the non-Hindu communities in Indian society. Chakravarty and Singh (1991) found a slightly higher proportion of nuclear over joint families for India as a whole. Of course, joint families are larger in size, the proportion of population residing in them is also larger. Based on the census data, Shah (1998) shows that the proportion of joint over nuclear households has not decreased over the decades. He suggests that increased life expectancy and pressures on urban living space are likely to increase joint living, while Visaria and Visaria (2003) estimate increased nuclear family living for similar reasons. However, it is clear that urbanization has not led to nuclearization of the family. The evolutionary and Euro–centric bias was so strong that despite a lack of any conclusive evidence that the family in the past was a large joint one, Goode (1963) claimed so, and predicted that the family was moving forward to assume the form of the western family (see Uberoi 2000: 10-13 for a detailed discussion on Goode’s analysis).

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We are now clear that the patrilineal Hindu joint family is considered an ideal by most Hindus. But geographical mobility, among other factors, has increased various forms of household composition, and not necessarily just nuclear family households. Shah (1973) describes migrants and their residential

arrangements. Sharma (1986) and Vatuk (1972) respectively discuss the strategy of rural families in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh where a part of the rural family moves to an urban area to access urban resources for the family’s upward mobility through jobs, education etc. The rural families in both the studies make residential arrangements in urban areas to maximise the family’s advantages through both rural and urban households and yet do not deviate from the joint family norm. By practising the dual residence pattern (rural and urban household), such a family enhances its economic, social, cultural as well as symbolic capital.

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Lower caste Hindus are found (Cohn 1955, CSWI 1974, Shah 1998, Kolenda 1987) not following the norm of joint family. This should not mean that they do not consider the joint family as an ideal. Cohn (1955) delineates the factors responsible for the absence of joint families among the Chamars of Senapur. You are referred to unit 6 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B.A. Sociology Programme for the details. It is not sure if the lower castes also do not consider joint family as the ideal family. Careful research is needed to explore the family among the lower castes. Similarly, the family among tribals, the ideal, the norm and the actual, needs to be studied for better information. Though there is at least some research on the Muslim family (Ahmad 1976), there is a paucity of data on the family in the non-Hindu communities in India. Action and reflection 9.3 Take five households of lower caste and five of upper caste in your locality. Make a chart of the household composition. See 6.4 of unit 6 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B.A. Sociology Programme and ask if there is joint property, cooperation and sentiments and ritual bonds of jointness among the members of the household with other collaterals who may not be residing in the (your selected) households. Discuss the comparative findings at your Study Center.

9.7 Changes in Family Structure Research involving the application of the modernisation thesis on the Indian joint family discussed earlier (see also Patel 2005) viewed the changes in the size, structure and composition of the family over time. Patel (2005) views the family as the workshop of kinship and marriage norms and practices. Studies on changes in the family in the last quarter of the 20th century have been scarce. Societal and structural changes have influenced the family size and structure (see unit 6 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B.A. Sociology Programme for the factors influencing the changes in the joint family). Since the second wave of feminism in the 1960’s, the family has been viewed with some amount of skepticism at least by feminist scholars. Increased female labour force participation, legislation impacting gender, personal law and international migration, advances in science and technology including new reproductive technologies among others, have interacted with the family. How has the family dealt with change? Whether it moved in the ‘cultural lag’ thesis direction or the resilience one, is yet to be explored. The past two decades have seen a decline in total fertility rate on the one hand and increased life expectancy on the other. This is bound to impact family living. Simultaneously, emigration to foreign countries is on the rise leading to the

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phenomenon of the emptiness. Also the marital breakdown i.e. divorce is on the rise, and so is remarriage of widows and divorced women even among upper castes where it was earlier prohibited. It is not unheard of for a female to remain unmarried today. How the family deals with these changes is not yet studied seriously in Sociology. What is happening in the family in matrilineal communities? See Jain (1996) and Shardamoni (1999) for family, kinship and marriage and changes in matrilineal communities in India. What happens to families and households in the following contexts: a) intercaste marriage, b) inter-religious marriage, c) economic liberalization, and d) religious conversion? The way in which these contexts impact family formations in India is not yet studied.

9.8 Perspectives on the Family After having studied the concepts of the household, its privileging over the family and the studies in this respect, we shall study the theoretical perspectives on the family.

1) Functionalist Perspective On the basis of the institution of the family in 250 societies varying from small hunting bands to large industrial societies, Murdock (1949) drew two conclusions: that the nuclear family is a universal institution and it is a functional group indispensable to society. In the post-War transition period, the eminent sociologist and social theorist Talcott Parsons’s (1959) structural, functional and comparative theory of society and social change predicted an isolation, differentiation and specialisation of the nuclear family as a bounded sub-system of the American society, while denying the growing post-War perception that the declining sexual morality and the marital breakdown portended the eminent breakdown of the American family. Two basic and irreducible functions, common to the family in all societies, Parsons said, would be performed by the American family. These are the primary socialisation of children and stabilisation of adult personalities of the population. It is in this context that the fit between nuclear family and the industrial society was forwarded. The functions performed by the wider kin group, Parsons’ said would be taken over by formal institutions in the industrial society and be shared with the conjugally bounded nuclear family. This way the two essential functions of the family continued to be performed and the American family would remain stable. To Parsons the genealogical and siblingship links in the family were retained in their basic elementary form. Power and authority of parents over children and both instrumental and expressive functions between spouses and generations enabled the nuclear family to continue to perform its basic functions. Typical of the integrated and harmonious view of the functionalist perspective, Parsons saw the generational hierarchy and division of labour in the American family as functional. Secondly, the ideal middle class American nuclear family, to him, had reached the ultimate level in the evolutionary process. Parsons’s evolutionary perspective was adopted by Goode (1963) in his study of world revolution in family patterns.

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The functionalist perspective has been out of favour for sometime now. Parsons was criticized for assuming the white middle class American families as the ideal nuclear families. Morgan (1975) finds no class, regional or religious variation in Parsons’ family. Like Mudock, Parsons assumed the family to be universal. Besides, there was no exploration of alternatives to the family.

Besides, as stated earlier, the parent-child hierarchy and gender roles in the family were in harmony, but it was only partially true. Family tensions and conflicts (Vogel and Bell) and exploitative relations (Laing 1971) do exist in families. Leach (1967) has found that members of nuclear families take immense emotional toll on each other.

The Household and the Family

2) Conflict Perspective Engels’ famous work on the state, family and private property (first published in 1884) was the first Marxian attempt to analyse the family. Like Parsons, Engels too took an evolutionary approach alongside the materialist interpretation of history. Restrictions on sexuality and sexual relations and control over women’s reproduction were linked with the emergence of the state and the emergence of private property. Control over sexuality and the monogamous family came to be closely related in Engels’s work drawn from different historical epochs, conjectures, and the work of Morgan (1871). The monogamous family was based on the supremacy of man for undisputed paternity to enable certainty of a natural heir to the family inheritance. The marriage between Marxian ideas and feminism during the second feminist wave in the 1960s and 1970s employed Marxian concepts in critiquing the family. Women as producers of one of the basic forces of capitalism, the labour force, were tied down with reproduction and the domestic space without any payment for their contribution. Rowbothom (1973) elaborates through other research how reproduction functions as a hidden subsidy to the capitalist and hidden tax on the proletariat. Raising children discourages workers from bargaining (by withdrawing/holding back) in the wage market. Women’s oppression and their acceptance of male aggression is viewed as an expression of workers’ legitimate anger at their powerlessness in the public domain. David Copper (1972) in “The death of the family” extends reproduction to incorporate ideological conditioning for an obedient and submissive labour force. Thus parental authority is also viewed in Marxian terms as a means to reproduce human beings who would accept the hierarchical order of the capitalist society. The family works as the facilitating institution for capitalism. Feminists found reproduction as the main source of women’s oppression which essentialises and oppresses the woman. Property rghts, rights over children and such other entitlements follow from gender relations in the family (Agarwal 1994, 1997). Motherhood had to be overcome if women were to be liberated and achieve equality with man. Everingham (1994) analyses the shifts in feminist positions since the 1970s with respect to women’s autonomy, (as form of subjectivity). The ‘domestic mode of production’ is Delphy’s (1970) thesis on the domestic unit’s and thereby women’s oppression in the capitalist society. The capitalist state works in a manner exploits women and families through family ideology and sentiments. The sentimentality veils the exploitative character of capitalist relations of production through the domestic mode of production.

3) Cultural Perspective Family studies achieved a conceptual advancement in privileging the ‘household’ over the ‘family’ that enabled more rigorous cross-cultural comparative research in the field. The stress of numerical composition somehow came into limelight through perhaps the popularity of the term ‘household’ in the census, while the principles of relationship and family

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organisation got lesser attention. Of late, other aspects of family have attracted academic attention. Attempts at understanding the ideology of the family and particularly the joint family has thrown up a few interesting studies. Research on emotions in the family has found some favour. Shah (1998) comments on norms and values held by different members of a family and their comportment and behaviour in relation to others for commensality in the family.(Se Lynch 1990 for more on other societies) Theories of procreation are related with differential power, rights and entitlements by age and sex in the family in India (Dube 1986, 1997). The ubiquitous procreation metaphor of seed and earth, assume the male as the active principle, while the female as the passive one. She is a vessel, a passive principle in the unequal contribution of reproductive resources for the family (see del Valle 1993 for a somewhat differential contribution of genders in reproduction in Nepal). The Nepali mother is not simply a passive field but is believed to contribute in forming some parts of the foetus, while the father is the important one. Dube (1997) also acknowledges the significance of the mother in forming the child’s identity, since the caste of both parents goes in placing the child in the caste hierarchy. Hypergamy and hypogamy practices are linked to this conception about parental contribution as are rules of sapinda exogamy. In matrilineal communities such as the Khasi, the perception about the contribution of different sexes in reproduction is quite contrary to that in patrilineal societies (see Nongbri 1993). The cognitive character acknowledged in the descent principle translates into social, symbolic, reproductive and material rights and entitlements at most stages in a person’s life in the family, both in matrilineal as well as patrilineal societies (see Agarwal 1994, Gray 1995, Uberoi 1996, Dube 1997, and Patel 1994) The impact of this on reproduction is studied by Dyson and Moore (1981), Basu (1992). For related dimensions of autonomy through the life cycle approach, see Patel (1994 and 1999). A somewhat different understanding of the contribution of genders is found in communities operating the alliance principle (see unit 12 of this block for details and Dumont 1966). The household as a structure of consciousness (see Gray 1995 for the Nepali householders’ views), its priority over individual interests (Patel 1994) translates into everyday life forms. Love (Anpu in Tamil) as a holistic emotion in society, not merely erotic or conjugal in Trawick (1990) is a fresh insight into family relationships [see the restraint on expressive affection for one’s infant over other family members’ children in Patel (1994)]. Dube (1998), Chodorow (1978) and Gilligan (1982) provide a different voice regarding the social reproduction of gendered beings in the context of socialisation in the family. The ideology of care lends itself into a heavier burden of care on women in the family (Dalley 1988). At the state legislation level welfare programmes are critiqued (Rissew and Parliwala 1996).

4) Cooperative — Conflict Perspective

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We have seen above that the 1960s was a watershed in the history of family studies. It was discovered that Love, conjugality and oppression co-exist in

the family alongside unequal gender relations. The post War development project came under critical scrutiny when feminist economists pointed out the futility of some of the assumptions of economic theory applied on the family as a unit of the analysis in state policies and development programmes. The dialectical relationships at family level rather than viewing the family as a safe haven in the unkind world or as an institution on the verge of breakdown need to be seriously explored. We shall see the cooperative conflict perspective in unit 11 in greater detail.

The Household and the Family

9.9 Conclusion In this unit you have learnt about the institution of family. It is a unique institution since it has both a private as well as a visibly public characteristic at one and the same time. The family is more or less a universal institution since most of us, all over the world belong to a family. The very visible and commonplace presence of the family gives the impression that it can be understood by anyone and is rather a soft subject in Sociology or vice-versa. Research on family therefore is full of constraints as it also deals with sensitive details. However, traditionally, the family has been considered to be significant and social philosophers throughout history have attempted to understand its nature. You learnt about the meaning of the terms ‘family’ and ‘household’ and their interlinkage with marriage and kinship. Family has been broadly described as the primary group comprising husband-wife unit (parents) and their children. Household is the residence shared by a family or a part of the family. The family is based on the principles of kinship, and its members usually share a common residence, which is called a household. A brief description about the large joint families, as described in the Hindu epics like the ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharat’ has been given. The ideal type of joint family as described by these epics is greatly admired by most Hindus in India. Notions of filial piety i.e. the relationship between father and son is held in high estimation. ‘Ramayan’ is the ideal for people to emulate as filial ties are underscored over conjugal ties. You learnt that the two kinship links between (i) parent-child and (ii) siblings are found to exist in reality in various permutations and combinations. It is in this manner that one can distinguish between nuclear/elementary and joint/extended families. Research on the family in India has adopted different approaches. Like any knowledge of a cultural reality, family research has also been conducted from different points of view. In this unit you have learnt about the textual view of family as well as the field view. The research on family has a history of nearly three decades from 1950s onwards in Sociology and Social Anthropology both in the West and in India. Goody’s (1962) influence on family studies took some time to influence studies of the family in India, but empirical studies of the family continued to be under the influence of the basic difference between the oriental and the occidental types of family. This type cast remained a given fact. However the notion of the ‘domestic group’ as well as the developmental cycle of ‘the household’ provided a processual view of the family, which brought the lived reality of family structure and composition closer to sociological scrutiny. You learnt about the contributions of Indian sociologists and social anthropologists in the field of family and kinship studies. There has been an

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Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship

over-whelming interest in family studies (Dube 1974). It was only next to caste in significance at the time of the emergence of Sociology and Social Anthropology in India. The effect of liturgical and legal texts continued to linger in studies of the joint family and the changes therein. The overlap of the ideal, normative and behavioral with that of value and fact in family studies continued until the concept of the household as a heuristic device rescued the sociology of family. In this unit the in-depth description of ‘household’ and its development providing the processual aspect of a ‘domestic group’ has been critically analysed. The pattern of the developmental cycle in each society is affected by three major factors, such as, demographic factor, series of explicitly stated norms regarding residence of different relatives in a household and the interpersonal relations of the members. The processes of ‘fusion’ and ‘fission’ have been explained. The myth of the disintegration of the joint family is related to the evolutionary thesis that the nuclear family characterised industrial societies while joint families were characteristic of feudal Asiatic societies. Most sociologists have studied the ‘patrilineal’ forms of family. However, some studies for example, of the ‘Nayars’ of Kerala have focused on the ‘matrilineal’ family. The joint family in South India, particularly among the Nayars who were matrilineal, did not resemble the textual and scriptural family of the Indian liturgical texts. Both the matrilineal, as well as, patrilineal families of South India differed from those of the patrilineal joint families of North India. In this unit the changes in the family structure have been described. Family has been viewed as the workshop of kinship and marriage norms and practices. Societal and structural changes have influenced the family size and structures. You read about the feminist scholars’ skeptical views on family after the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. Finally, the brief outline of different sociological perspectives has been provided to you in this unit. These are the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective which included the feminist views of the family, the cultural perspective and the cooperative conflict perspective. In the next unit you will learn further about the household as a cooperative-conflicting unit.

9.10 Further Reading Anderson, M. (ed.) 1980 [1971]. Sociology of the Family. Penguin Books: Harmondsworth. Chakravorty, C., and A.K. Singh. 1991. Household Structures in India. Census of India, Occasional Peper 1. Census of India: New Delhi. Dube, L. 1974. Sociology of Kinship. Popular Prakashan: Bombay. Karve, Irawati. 1953. Kinship Organization in India. Deccan College Monograph Series: Poona.

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UNIT 10

AGRARIAN TRANSFORMATION AND LAND REFORMS

Structure 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Land Reforms 10.2.1

Zamindari Abolition

10.2.2

Cooperative Societies

10.2.3

Bhoodan Movement

10.2.4

Green Revolution

10.3 Impact of Land Reforms: Agrarian Transformation 10.3.1

The Kulaks

10.3.2

The Small Farmers and Landless Labourers

10.4 Summary 10.5 Exercises

10.1 INTRODUCTION India has witnessed enormous agrarian transformation in the post-independence period. This has occurred due to the policies introduced by the state, which included land reforms, community development programmes, Green Revolution and several welfare schemes. As a result of the agrarian transformation a set of new classes and have emerged in rural society, while old groups or classes have either disappeared or have got transformed. The agrarian transformation has affected politics in India to a significant extent. This unit discusses the agrarian transformation in India and reasons for this transformation including the impart of land reforms.

10.2 LAND REFORMS 10.2.1

Zamindari Abolition

The first attempt to bring about the agrarian transformation was by the implementation of land reforms by states in India. Immediately after independence zamindari abolition bills or land tenure legislations were introduced in a number of states as UP, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Madras and Assam. Land reforms in India may be divided in to two phases. The first phase of land reforms started almost immediately after independence. It focused on institutional reforms and lasted till the early sixties, aimed at abolition of the intermediaries like zamindars and jagirdars. It provided ownership of land to the tenants or the security of tenure to tenants, reduction in rents and conferment of ownership rights on tenants. Another feature of this phase of land reforms was ceilings on landholdings. Apart from achieving these goals, the land reforms of this 1

phase also aimed at community development programmes and cooperatives. The origin of the second phase can be traced to the middle of late sixties. This phase marked the beginning of the Green Revolution in India. Green Revolution attempted to introduce technological changes in certain states of the country, where favourable conditions for such change existed. Some of these states were Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It introduce dHYV (High Yielding Varieties of Seeds), new technology like tractors and irrigation facilities, etc. The main focus of the second phase has been technological reforms. The land reforms i.e., zamindari abolition and Green Revolution have brought tremendous changes in the agrarian sector. It has affected not only the ownership pattern but also impacted discernible changes in social structure, pattern of dominance and the complexion of politics. The first phase of the land reforms especially the abolition of land reforms, were result of the impact of the peasant movements in the preindependence period. Leaders like NG Ranga and Charan Singh played very decisive role in it. The second phase of land reform were implemented by the Indian government to make India self-sufficient in food production. A major problem faced at the time of implementation of zamindari abolition act was the absence of adequate land records. By the year 1956 the intermediaries (zamindars and jagirdars) were abolished through a peaceful democratic method without use of coercive method. Because mostly the zamindars had sided with the British during the freedom struggle so they were an isolated class. The abolition of the zamindari changed the status of nearly twenty million tenants who now became landowners. The compensation paid to the zamindars in exchange of the acquisition of estates was generally small and it varied from area to area. The zamindari abolition Acts in different parts of the country suffered from many weaknesses. In UP the zamindars were permitted to retain land under their personal cultivation. Personal cultivation was so loosely defined that it included even those who only supervised land personally or even through a relative or provided only capital or credit. This was not in conformity with the Kumarappa Committee report on agrarian reforms. The committee appointed by the Congress Party in its report in 1949 had held that only those could be said to be doing personal cultivation that put in a minimum amount of physical labour and engaged in actual agricultural operation. To undermine the full impact of the zamindari abolition the zamindars resorted to other obstructionist technique. Various techniques were used to delay the passage of such bills by the state legislatures. Then the landlords took recourse to litigation to delay implementation of the zamindari abolition laws. The collusion between the zamindars and the bureaucracy made the implementation of zamindari abolition even more difficult. The zamindars could put resistance through all the three arms of the government executive, legislature and judiciary. In spite of all these obstructionist measures resorted to by the landlords the objective of zamindari abolition was achieved except for some pockets of Bihar within ten years of independence. Only half of the land at the time of Independence was under zamindari system but the practice of tenancy existed even in the other half of the area, which were under the ryotwari system. Another important component of land reform–tenancy reform was also implemented not without hurdles. The legislations aiming at tenancy reforms passed by legislatures of different states and the methods of their implementation differed immensely because of different political and economic situation prevalent in different parts of the country. Apart from these differences tenancy reform legislations all over the country shared some common objectives. The manner of their implementation also led to the emergence of some broad features. These reforms aimed at three 2

main objectives. The first objective was to provide security of tenure to those tenants who had cultivated a piece of land without break for a fixed number of years. The exact number of years differed from region to region. Another objective of the tenancy reforms was reduction of rents paid by tenants to a just level. This ranged between one fourth to one sixth of the value of the produce of the leased land. Yet another objective of the tenancy reforms was to give to the tenants the ownership right over the land they cultivated. That is why the second plan envisaged that very small landowners could resume self-cultivation over their entire land. This provision was made to safeguard the interests of very small landowners but with the connivance of the bureaucracy it was misused by big landowners for their benefit. The big landowners transferred their lands in the name of their relatives and others to get the tag of small landowners and evict the tenants exercising the right of resumption given to small landowners. The big landowners had indulged in dilatory tactics in both the enactment and implementation of the legislations to get enough time to evict the tenants from their lands who could have benefited from the law. The thing that compounded the problems of the tenants was that most of the tenancies were oral without any records. Such tenants could not benefit from any legislation in their favour. In spite of all these limitations of tenancy legislations succeeded in providing security and even permanent occupancy rights to a substantial proportion of the tenants. The Operation Barga launched by the Left Front government of West Bengal in 1978 aimed at the objective of a time bound registration of share-croppers to give them occupancy rights and a crop division of 1:3 between the landowner and the sharecropper. A remarkable aspect of the Operation Barga experiment was that it involved the targeted beneficiaries to neutralise the negative role played by revenue officials and thus making tenancy reforms a great success. Another important component of the land reforms in the first phase was imposition of ceilings on the size of landholdings. The objective of fixing land ceiling was linked with more equitable distribution of landholding. The idea of fixing a ceiling on landholdings and distributing the surplus land among the landless was faced with stiff opposition everywhere. It was seen as a threat to the right to property. Even the tenants who had benefited from the zamindari abolition and had become landowners opposed this next step of the land reforms. N.G. Ranga, Secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party had sent a letter signed by hundred members of parliament criticising the idea of ceilings on landholdings to Nehru. Leaders who were not very enthusiastic about this idea dominated state legislatures. That is why they caused the delay in passing legislation for this purpose. Both the inordinate delay in the passage of such legislation and the nature of the legislation undermined its impact. It succeeded in releasing little surplus land for distribution among the landless. Ceiling laws could not deliver much because of its major shortcomings. One such shortcoming was that in India more than seventy per cent of the landholdings were less than five acres while the ceilings fixed by the states were very high. Another problem was that initially the ceilings were imposed on individuals not holdings among family members and relations and save themselves from ceiling laws. Another provision in this law was that if the size of the family was more than five members then the ceiling limit could go up at times even by hundred per cent as was the case in Bihar. The second plan recommended that certain categories of land could be exempted from ceilings. This recommendation led to most of the states giving exemptions of different kinds. These exemptions included tea, coffee and rubber plantations, farms used for cattle breeding, dairy and efficiently managed farms on which heavy investments had been made. The intention was not to hinder capitalist farming. But the idea of efficiently managed farm was so vague that it was used by very large number of landlords to get themselves declared efficient farmers and flout the provisions of the ceiling laws. Even the long delay caused 3

in first getting the legislation passed through state legislature and then in implementation to a very large extent defeated its purpose. The landowners used this delay to either sell their lands or transfer them in the names of family members or relatives. At times they even resorted to benami transfers. The landowners used this delay to evict the tenants from their lands. The ineffectiveness of the ceiling legislations is borne out by the fact that while the ceiling legislations were passed by most of the states by the end of 1961 till the end of 1970 not a single acre was declared surplus in large states like Bihar, Mysore, Kerala, Orissa and Rajasthan.

10.2.2

Cooperative Societies

Another important component of the first phase of land reforms was to encourage setting up of the cooperative societies in agriculture. It could be termed as cooperativisation of agriculture. Many of the top leaders of the Congress Party including Nehru and Gandhi along with the leaders of the Socialist and the Communist Parties were convinced about the benefit of cooperativisation. They shared this view that it would lead to major improvement in agriculture and which would also be beneficial to the poor. Cooperativisation constituted an important component of the fist phase of land reforms. But the goal of cooprativisation was also faced with the problem. Like in the case of land reforms there existed no consensus in favour of it among the peasantry. The Kumarappa committee on Agrarian Reforms set up by Congress Party in 1949 recommended that the states should be empowered to enforce the application of varying degree of cooperation for different types of farmings. The family farmers could use cooperative societies for marketing, credit and other matters. The first five year plan recommended that small and medium farmers should be encouraged to group themselves in to cooperative farming societies. Another recommendation of the same plan was also that if majority of the occupancy tenants and landowners owing at least half of the land in a village wanted to enter into cooperative arrangement of the village land, their decision should be binding on other residents of the village also. The second five year plan declared that its objective was to provide sound foundations for the development of cooperative farming so that substantial portion of land could be cultivated on the lines of cooperative within a period of ten years. In the field of cooperativisation China was the model because it had achieved dramatic results in agricultural production and extension of infrastructure through cooperativisation. In the middle of 1956 two Indian delegations consisting of the leaders of the cooperative movement, members of parliament bureaucrats with experience in the field of cooperatives and technical experts were sent to China to gain from their experience. The Nagpur Resolution of the Congress Party in 1959 underlined the twin needs of village panchayats and village cooperatives. This resolution also emphasised that these institutions should have enough powers and functions to discharge the functions allotted to them satisfactorily. This resolution aimed at achieving the goals of joint cooperative farming within and period of three years. The programme of cooperativisation was subjected to severe criticism both in the press and on the floor of the parliament. Apprehensions were expressed that this programme was a step towards ending private property and would lead to expropriation of the landed classes. Even senior Congress leaders like N G Ranga, C. Rajgopalachari and Charan Singh accused this programme of being totalitarian. They were of the view that Communist programmes were being imposed on India. To allay such apprehensions Nehru assured in the parliament no coervice method was going to be used to implement the 4

programme of cooperativisation. The strong criticism of the 1959 Nagpur resolution of the Congress Party weakened the resolve of the Congress to go ahead with the intent of the original resolution. A climb down was reflected in the Congress proposal put forward to set up service cooperatives all over the country within a period of three years and leaving the idea of setting up farm cooperatives in the cold storage. Even the objective of setting up service cooperatives did not succeed. State Congress leaders did not evince much of interest. The plan was finally abandoned in 1959. The third five year plan further watered down the objective of cooperativisation. So far as cooperative farming was concerned, it aimed at setting up ten pilot projects in every district. It also made it clear that cooperative farming had to develop through the community development movement. It could come about with cooperation in credit, marketing, distribution and processing. It is obvious that the third five year plan did not have any concrete plan of action on how to achieve the goals of cooperativisation. The cooperative movement in India cannot be called a success. As far as joint farming was concerned two types of cooperatives had come up. The first type of cooperatives had come up to avoid the provisions of ceiling and tenancy laws. The influential members of big land holding families gave bogus membership to agricultural labours and ex-tenants to keep the management of the cooperatives in their hand flout the provisions of land ceiling and tenancy legislation and at the same time benefiting from financial assistance, improved seeds, fertilizers made available by the state. Another type of cooperative farms was where poor quality of land was made available to poor landless labour and dalits. These lands had non-existent irrigation facility. These were government sponsored cooperative farms. They lacked initiative and motivation. They proved to be an expensive affair without any commensurate returns. Service cooperatives did not do that badly. Yet, they faced some major shortcomings. They reenforced the hierarchical structure of the rural economy. The office bearers of these cooperatives invariably came from families that not only controlled land but also trade and money lending. By capturing the key positions in these cooperatives these influential families could corner the benefits like agricultural inputs and credits. The rural notables used the funds of the credit societies for their business and some times even for money lending. These institutions were virtually taken over by the dominant sections of villages. The benefit of these organisations was not reaching the poor in the countryside. The cooperatives insisted on giving loans against land as security. This virtually ruled out the benefit of credit to landless but enterprising farmers. The report of the All India Credit Review Committee, 1969 and the Interim Report on Credit Services for Small and Marginal farmers by the National Commission on Agriculture in 1971 confirmed the virtual exclusion of the landless and only nominal benefits reaching to small and marginal farmers. One of the major weaknesses of the Cooperative movement was bureaucratic nature of its approach to the problem. The cooperative societies resembled any other government department at state, district or block level. Even the officials of this department were amenable to pressure and influence from local notables. Another defect that plagued the cooperative credit societies was the recovery of loans. Surprisingly the defaulters were not only the poor and small farmers but also the well to do farmers.

10.2.3

Bhoodan Movement

Bhoodan {land-gift} Movement launched in April 1951 by Acharya Vinoba Bhave. The purpose of this movement was to appeal to the landowning classes to donate their surplus land to the 5

poor. But the method adopted for this purpose by the movement was completely different from the one used in the abolition of Zamindari. Inspired by Gandhian technique the Sarvodya Samaj of Vinoba Bhave used the ideal of non-violent method of social transformation in to Bhoodan movement. The Vinoba Bhave and his band of followers traveled through villages on foot requesting the large landowners to donate one sixth of their land as bhoodan for distribution among the landless. Although the movement claimed to be independent, yet it enjoyed the support of the Congress Party. The All India Congress Committee had urged the Congressmen to support the movement. Vinoba Bhave’s experiment of Bhoodan started in 1951 Pochampali village in the Telangana region of Andhra. The choice of Telangna was significant because that area still felt reverberation of the armed peasant revolt led by the Communist Party of India. After its considerable success in Andhra the movement shifted to the northern part of the country. In north Bhoodan was experimented in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In its initial years this movement achieved considerable amount of success in receiving land gift and distributing them. But after the initial years of success the movement lost its vitality. A problem faced by the Bhoodan movement was that a good part of the land donated was simply not fit for cultivation. There were no takers for such land. In 1955 Vinoba Bhave’s experiment took another form, the form of gram-dan (village-gift). The idea had its origin in Gandhian belief that all the land belonged to God. This movement was launched from a village in Orissa. In gram dan villages the movement declared that all the land was owned collectively or equally. The movement was very successful in Orissa. Later on it was launched in Maharashtra, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The movement was particularly successful in tribal areas of the country where class differentiation had not yet appeared and there was very little disparity in ownership pattern. By the sixties both bhoodan and gram-dan had come to an end. Many critiques dismiss the movement bhoodan and gram-dan as utopian. There is another charge against the movement that it stifled class-consciousness of the poor and the landless and served as a brake on the revolutionary potential of the peasants. It seems that a proper assessment of the Bhoodan and Gramdan movement is still to be made. The remarkable thing about this movement was that it aimed at the goal of equitable distribution of land not through government legislation but through a movement involving concerned people. And it did so without use of any violent or coercive method but by appealing to the good sense of big landowners. Apart from the considerable success this movement achieved, it also succeeded in creating sufficient propaganda and agitation for redistribution of land.

10.2.4

Green Revolution

The Green Revolution has been the main plank of the second phase of the land reforms. After independence in the rural sector the main focus was on institutional reforms in agriculture. By the late fifties and early sixties benefits from land reforms was reaching its limit. Around this time Nehru realised the need of technological solutions. The New Agricultural Strategy of picking up select areas with certain natural advantages for intensive development with package programme. The Intensive Agricultural District Programme was launched in the third five year plan. This 6

programme picked up one district from each of the fifteen states on an experimental basis. In spite of these traces of the New Agricultural strategy the big push to it came only in the middle of the sixties. India was faced with chronic food shortage. The country had to resort to import of food grain from America under an agreement called PL480. In Bihar and UP there existed a famine like situation. In this kind of background some critical breakthrough in agricultural science showing promises of higher growth and possible solution of the food shortage launched India on the path of Green Revolution. The New Agricultural Strategy received wholehearted support from Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Food Minister C. Subramaniam and Indira Gandhi who succeeded Shastri after his sudden death as Prime Minister. The areas with assured irrigation and other natural and institutional advantages were provided with critical inputs like High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers in these areas were also given agricultural machinery like tractors, pumps– sets and tube–wells at convenient terms. They could avail the facility of soil testing agricultural credits and guidance from agricultural universities. Apart from providing these facilities to the farmers the government also set up an Agricultural Prices Commission in 1965. The purpose of this commission was to promise sustained remunerative price to the farmers. In this way the package of public investment, institutional credit, remunerative prices and easy availability of technological help made agriculture a profitable proposition. This New Agricultural Strategy or the Green Revolution led to phenomenal growth in agricultural production. Between 1968 to 1971 food grain production rose by 35 per cent. Very soon India buried its begging bowl image and by the 1980s emerged as a country not only with buffer food stock but also as a food supplier. There has been a criticism of the Green Revolution that it further accentuated regional inequalities by focussing on areas that already had some advantages. Scholars like G.S. Bhalla are of the view that over a period of time the benefits of Green Revolution have gone to all agrarian classes in varying degrees. Its benefits are also no more limited to any particular region of the country only. Another charge against the Green Revolution was that it was making the rich richer and the poor even poorer. Daniel Thorner and Wolf Ladejinsky both confirm this charge. According to them while inequality increased the poor including small farmers and landless labour benefited from the Green Revolution.

10.3 IMPACT OF LAND REFORMS: AGRARIAN TRANSFORMATION 10.3.1

The Kulaks

Land reforms, especially the Zamindari abolition and Green Revolution had enormous impact on the agrarian transformation. On the one hand these accelerated the agriculture growth; on the other, entire pattern of the relations in agriculture underwent transformation. The latter was reflected in the rise of a class of economically and politically powerful groups in several parts of India. They came to be popularly known as Kulaks or rich farmers. L.H. Rudolph and Sussan Rudolph categoried them as “bullock capitalists”. These groups emerged to control the political affairs in several states, and from the 1990s they have become influential in the national politic as well. In terms of the caste composition, they belonged to the intermediary castes like Jats, 7

Yadavs, Lodhs, Gujars, Kurmie, etc., in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan; Marathas in Maharastra; Lingayats and Vokaliggas in Karnataka; and Reddies and Kammas in Andhra Pradesh. They have been identified as the OBCs in the states inhabited by them. Having become the owners of land following the Zamindari abolition, they benefited from the modern technologies and inputs through Green Revolution. The land reforms made them the most powerful groups in the agrarian society in many regions of the country. The emergence also resulted in the decline of the erstwhile dominant groups. The developments, however, did not benefit the socially and economically vulnerable groups – dalits and the lower backward classes. The welfare measures like the poverty alleviation programmes, etc. have been mainly the populist measures. Besides, these have been hampered by large scale corruption. Nevertheless, due to the spread of education, awareness and impart of the ideas of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and mass media, there has been the assertion of dalits in certain including the rural areas states like Uttar Pradesh. The emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party is an indication of this. Kulaks or rich farmers have made their presence felt through their political parties and nonpolitical organisations. The first example of such attempt was foundation of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal (BKD) by Charan Singh. In the late 1970s and 1980s – the organisation like the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) in North India, Shetkari Sangathan in Maharastra and Karnataka Ryat Sangha in Karnataka played important role in articulating the interests of Kulaks.

10.3.2

The Small Farmers and Landless Labourers

In the 1960s and 1970s large part of the country witnessed the emergence of the movement of the small farmers and landless labour. This movement started from Naxalbari in West Bengal and very soon spread to different parts of country like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa till the end of the 60s. In 1970 a land grab movement of the landless led by the Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India was witnessed in Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Although these movements could not achieve much yet they succeeded in attracting the attention of the countrymen towards agrarian question. The Left front government introduced land reforms in West Bengal during its tenure. This ensured the security to the tenants and land to the tiller. In 1970 while addressing Chief Ministers conference on land reforms the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi held that the cause of discontent in the countryside was the failure of the land reforms to meet the expectation of the people in the countryside. Reduction in ceiling limits was the main proposal discussed in this conference. Most of the Chief Ministers rejected this proposal. Then this matter was referred to the Central Land Reforms Committee. This committee made quite a few recommendations in 1971. The 1972 Chief Ministers’ conference approved some national guidelines for reforms in India. The national guidelines made a departure from the history of ceiling legislation in India. It reduced the ceiling limits on all categories of lands. Family, not individual was taken as unit for the purpose of ceiling. Preference was to be given to landless labourers, particularly belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in distribution of surplus lands. The compensation this time was much below the market price. The landowners again went to court and indulged in other deceitful methods to undermine the ceiling laws. Nevertheless, in the 1970s the ceiling legislation moderately succeeded in its objective of collecting and distributing surplus land. Another good thing was that the major-beneficiaries of the ceiling laws this time were the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

8

10.4

SUMMARY

In this unit we have discussed the agrarian transformation in India, which has been result of the impact of land reforms mainly the zamindari abolition and land to the tillers. The agrarian transformation is best seen in the rise of the class of Kulaks in parts of the country. The landless labourers and dalits did not benefit from these in most parts of the country. The Kulaks came to wield considerable influence in the politics of several states, and since the 1990s of the country. In some parts of country, the agrarian transformation has resulted in the increased participation of dalits in politics.

10.5

EXERCISES

1)

Explain the relationships between land reforms and agrarian transformation.

2)

What were the limitations of land reforms?

3)

Write a note on the role of Kulaks in politics.

9

Unit 10

The Household as a Cooperative— Conflicting Unit Contents 10.1

Introduction

10.2

The Socio-economic Dynamics of the Household

10.3

Capabilities, Well-being, Agency and Perception

10.4

Social Technology, Cooperation and Conflicts

10.5

Conclusion

10.6

Further Reading

Learning Objectives Unit 10 has the objective of introducing a critical thought process in the minds of students on the basis of research in the field of family and household as operational sites of human behaviour. After going through this unit, you should be able to see that ‘household’ in this unit connotes a co-residential unit of the family. Also you will be able to: l

l

l

l

l

l

See the household as a workshop of family life; Understand that functionalist and conflict perspectives have contributed to the cooperative-conflict perspective and that feminist thought has substantially contributed to this perspective; Understand that a household is not a unified and undifferentiated category; Explore the idea that sex, reproduction and economic considerations impinge on household members differently according to age, sex, gender relations and kin ties; Find out how state impinges upon the household and its members; and See that the cooperative-conflict perspective initially focussed on the household economy alone but we are extending the argument in this unit to include reproduction, state, religion, community and violence.

10.1 Introduction In Unit 9 we have seen that the household and family are organised along the lines of residence and kinship respectively. The two may or may not coincide with each other at all times and places. Desai (1964) and Shah (1973) have shown us that the census of India analysed the household data on the basis of the numerical size of the household and arrived at the conclusion that the joint family was giving way to nuclear family in India. This was challenged by examining the numerical data from the dimension of kinship and jointness of the family. In a somewhat similar manner, feminists, and particularly feminist economists challenged the conventional assumptions in economic theory that all members in a family are identical for purposes of economic analysis. We have seen that like Marxists, radical feminists saw the family as an exploitative and oppressive institution that was in turn exploited by the capitalist structure. But liberal and socialist feminism did not, unlike radical feminism, think that

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Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship

the family was dispensable and technology could liberate women by taking over the reproductive functions. To them, the family was the chief institution of patriarchy. The alternative institution did not surface as a viable possibility, despite efforts such as the ‘kibbutz’. The family has been the bone of contention in feminist thought. Socialist feminists did think that the family and reproduction tied women down. Their resolve was for women to move into the public sphere and be like men to be equal with them both inside and outside the domestic sphere. Women’s entry into the public sphere was to prove that women were as good as men. This would not keep them reduced to the status of the ‘second sex’, to use Beauvior’s (1972) expression. While socialist feminists’ route to equality with men was through the entry of women into the public sphere, liberal feminists wanted liberty, justice and equal rights as citizens. Wollstonecraft (1792) argued against the wife’s dependency within marriage and being an ornamental symbol of man’s success rather than his partner. She spoke against the suspension of the very legal existence of the wife, or at least her incorporation and consolidation into that of the husband. It was in this context that Wollstonecraft insisted that women had an independent right to education, property and the protection of the civil law. The woman’s rights as a citizen were needed to ensure that women were not forced into marriage through economic necessity, and wives were not dependent on the goodwill of their husbands. Reproduction and mothering roles of women in the family do not easily lend themselves into the public/ private dichotomy when citizenship rights are at stake. But motherhood as a form of citizenship which Wollstonecraft argues for, does not solve the problem of male privilege in formal political and legal power while leaving women as dependents of men. The dilemma between motherhood and citizenship rights without being dependent on men is termed as ‘the Wollstonecraft dilemma’ (Pateman, 1988). Wollstonecraft, like liberal feminists today, was seeking citizenship for women on genderneutral grounds, at the same time recognizing their specific qualities and roles, especially mothering, within a framework that allowed women to become full citizens only by being like men. Today feminists look at difference among women obtained in class, race and community differentials, as interfering with the project of gender equality. Thus questions of inequality between men and women cross-cut those with class, race and community (caste and religious). See ICSSR 1974 for a comprehensive coverage of gender inequalities in India. It is in the above context that intra-family differences gained privilege in research. We shall learn about this perspective below.

10.2 The Socio-economic Dynamics of the Household The standard literature on economic development was, until the 1970s, frequently reluctant to consider the position of women as a separate problem of importance of its own. Gender-based analysis was often seen as unnecessarily divisive. In economic development studies, many writers insisted on keeping the deprivation of entire families (actually meaning households) as the right focus of studying misery and for seeking remedies, thus placing households in the class-structure and in the economic strata for analysing the poverty-prosperity range in a given setting.

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As mentioned in 10.1 above, feminist thought, especially feminist economics literature was critical of standard economic development studies in late

1970s and early 1980s. Besides, socio-economic development instead of economic growth driven development also emerged as an alternative perspective and possibility around the same period. The challenge to the modernist project was to incorporate a range of socio-political and cultural variations rather than take societies/ communities as monolithic, undifferentiated categories. Gender sensitive development literature (Moser 1993) too critiqued the undifferentiated analysis in economic development literature as it evolved its analysis from the women in development (WID) approach to the gender and development (GAD) approach.

The Household as a Cooperative —Conflicting Unit

Though the non-gender view may have a plausibility in some contexts, in others, income and class categories are over-aggregative and even misleading. Gender is a crucial parameter in social and economic analysis in relation to variables such as class, income, ownership, occupation and household status. It is now well-known that women have a lower status within and outside the household compared to men; even in women-headed households, women face adversity in economic terms. Women-headed households constitute a majority of the poor households. Feminisation of poverty speaks about the gender dimension of poverty. Thus concentrating on household poverty without looking at the gender dimension is misleading in understanding the causation, consequences and relationships that work in the poorer households. Sen (1987) argued for promoting research incorporating the gender dimension order to arrive at a better understanding of the household dynamics. You can refer Sen (1993) where he has taken up three different analytical views of the family (actually meaning, household) and evaluated their contributions and shortcomings and privileged the cooperative-conflict perspective. Though the family was criticized by Marxists as a selfish and individualising institution, there exists contrary evidence where love, care and sacrifice/ selflessness, conflict and violence go on simultaneously in the family. We have seen above that there has not yet been an alternative to the institution of the family though its size and structure, including the normative structure has not remained the same over time (see Patel 2005 for the changing unchangeable of the family i.e. that aspect of family which is considered to be beyond changes, such as, the norms, values etc. In this light let us consider the three kinds of assumptions about the family discussed by Sen (1993). The Glue-together family (household) assumes the family as a unit which takes decisions about income, occupation, distribution and allocation among its members and other expenditure heads. In such a view, there are no individual decisions, individual utility, etc. but only family decisions. This model aggregates all individuals in the household into a unit and adds other households in a society to be analysed only according to their income, expenditure, property ownership, etc. disregarding age, sex, kinship and relationship differentials which are socially and culturally organised. The latter constraints are also stretched and bended as household members strategise even while acting in typified ways. The second case, Sen takes up is based on Becker’s (1981) assumption that the household is ‘the super-trader family’. Becker views the family from an economic approach where each individual in the household is maximising individual utilities, through their activities including entering into marriage and reproduction, besides everyday, routine behaviour. Becker ignores that this utility maximisation is not carried out uncompromisingly – without constraints of propriety, norm and convention (see Patel 1994 for more on Becker and his thesis of ‘a baby or a car’ in the socially organised and

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situated fertility behaviour in rural Rajasthan). The ‘bargaining model’ brings into the arena of the household, principles of rational self-interest — a needed demystification of the ‘veil of enchanted relationships’ which obscures family dynamics. The relational character of the family — household is eclipsed though, in focusing on family members’ actions solely in their capacity as individuals. Perhaps one could see ‘negotiation’ as a key principle in the arena of the family-household, where men and women perceive themselves as operating in and through relationships, and where, using the structural gaps and ambivalences in the system, pushing the limits, drawing upon the available alternate conceptions, women work their way through kinship structures which are both oppressive and — particularly in the absence of state responsibility for social security — supportive, providing them their primary security network (Ganesh 2001:29-30). The third assumption Sen takes up is that of ‘the despotic family’. This approach assumes that the despotic head of the family takes all decisions and others just obey. Sen points to the literature produced on ‘status of women’ and ‘feminisation of poverty’ which shows a variance from ‘the despotic family’ view. Besides, it ignores the constraints of propriety and norms which too are not uniform for entire societies. For gradual shifts in the position of different members of the household during their life course, see Patel 1994 (chapters 6 and 7) on how women are able to negotiate their fertility preferences after a certain stage in their life. The ability to negotiate and decide does not remain static but varies over time and in different permutations and combinations with differential experiences of the household members and invocation of norms, constraints and propriety. It is here that the household is visible in its cooperative-conflict unit form (see Sen 1993 for capabilities and comparisons by gender in health, education, survival, including sex-ratio and such other human capital development parameters). Reflection and Action 10.1 Interview 5 women of different age groups 16-20, 25-30, 35-40, 45-50, and 55-65. Ask them about the different roles they play in their household; socially, economically, in decision making. Write a note of about 5 pages on “Role and Status of Women in an Indian Household” comparing the data collected through the interview. Share your note with other students at your Study Centre.

The systematically inferior position of women inside or outside the household in many societies points to the necessity of treating gender as a force of its own in development analysis. The economic hardship of women-headed households is a problem both of female deprivation and of family poverty. Furthermore, females and males in the same family may well have quite divergent predicaments, and this can make the position of women in the poorer families particularly precarious (on female-headed households see Gulati 1981 Profiles in Female Poverty).

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Over the last few decades, there has been substantial documentation from a women’s studies perspective of the gender bias in the household which lead to measurable negative outcomes for women. In view of the dominance of patrilineal kinship over large parts of India, it is an obvious step to ascribe

to it the devaluation of daughters and the son-preference which are salient features in contemporary Indian families. But this is too broad a generalisation to capture nuances and retain a cutting edge. It is necessary to scrutinize the family-household to see in what ways and to what extent it is the site for working out of rules and principles not derived from descent or even from kinship. There is a need to keep in mind the distinction between household as a site of gender bias, family as an agency for socialisation of members to accept and transmit the bias and as a monitoring agency responsible for punitive action, and the ideology of the descent system as a source of devaluation of females, insofar as it permeates the family – household. The household as a concrete institution is only partly constituted by patrilineal kinship. Other traditional and modern institutions contribute to the articulation of patriarchy. These include caste-based institutions and their ideology, the state and its policies, religious institutions, economy, media — thus, the culture and society at large. Insofar as they assume and project certain ideas of male and female, these inevitably percolate into the matrix of the family- household. The source of these ideas is not necessarily the descent system. Patriarchy has often been used to describe a society which at various major institutional levels codes and expresses male dominance and in such a society, kinship is often but not necessarily patrilineal. There is no doubt that entitlements to familial resources are based largely on kinship rules, and in this regard, patriliny is unbalanced and works to the disadvantage of women (see unit 6 of ESO-02 Society in India of IGNOU’s B.A. Sociology Programme). But the specific character of patriliny in India also reflects what could be called cultural concepts and values such as the idea of marriage as destiny, the spiritual merit of dana particularly kanyadana (‘gift of the virgin’), the auspiciousness of the married woman and the inauspiciousness of the widow, the anuloma-pratiloma rule of intercaste marriage, the idea of transformation (or ‘transubstantiation’ as it is sometimes called) of a woman’s body upon marriage, and the sacramental character of her ritual incorporation into the affinal household. These are not inherent in patrilineal systems, but are specific to Hindu India and they have definite implications for women’s life trajectories in the subcontinent. More critically, many aspects of the workings of the household, including what can be called familial ideology, are derived from the exigencies of caste (Ganesh 2002: 26-27). There are also systematic differences among the developing countries in the survival rates of females vis-à-vis males. Asia has a sex ratio (female per 1000 male) of only 950, but Africa comes closer to Europe and North America with a sex ratio of 1020 indeed considerably higher than in sub-Saharan Africa. Even within Asia the sex ratio is higher than unity in some regions such as South east Asia (1001), but much lower in China, India, Bangladesh and west Asia (940) and in Pakistan (900). There is substantial variation within a given country: for example, in India the sex ratio varies from 870 and 880 in Haryana and Punjab to 1030 in Kerala. It is clear that had the average African sex ratio obtained in India, and then given the number of men; there would have been about 30 million more women in India today (see Sen 1988). The corresponding number of ‘missing women’ in China is about 30 million the cumulative contrast of sex specific mortality rates – not unrelated to social and economic inequalities between men and women-find expression in these simple statistics, which form something like the tip of an ice berg much of which is hard to observe. Later studies (Agnihotri 2000) and Bose and Shiva (200?) highlight the sharper unfavourable differences in sex ratio over time and regions in India.

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There is no dearth of evidence on the gender discriminatory ethos in the contemporary scene. John Hoddinott (1996) contributes to the literature in this area. Presenting evidence from the Phillippines and Bangladesh, Hoddinott points out that nutritional adequacy at the household level correlates poorly with that at the level of the individual household member. The data he cites show that of the individuals comprising study households, a substantial proportion were subject to relatively low food intake even when aggregate levels of household nutrition were high, and further, that within households, food allocations favoured males over females. Disparities such as these have ofcourse been explained in terms of the social and cultural manifestations of gender discrimination. Hoddinott shows in his paper that there is another dimension involved as well. In making his point, he invokes the economic principles of efficiency, equity and bargaining. Of these, the first makes for a distribution of food such that the household’s nutritional resources accrue preferentially to its economically more productive members. This forms the basis of food allocations deliberately tilted in favour of males. Maximisation of the household’s productivity and income is the rationale here. One implication of this, the author points out, is that school meals programmes targeted at girls can be thwarted when households ‘compensate’ by reducing the quantities of food given to girls at home and reallocate the ‘surplus’ to the family’s economically more productive members. Gender discrimination in the household is thus overlaid with an economic rationale. But the principle of efficiency is not inexorable, for there are times when it is eclipsed by the principle of equity. Evidence from rural India suggests that the former is likely to operate less during seasons of plenty, at which time equity considerations are likely to come to the fore. The third principle — bargaining — draws upon non-cooperative game theory. The advantage to household members when they pool their resources, Hoddinott (1996) says, is jeopardized when any member implicitly threatens to go for an ‘outside option’, i.e. an economic opportunity that is available outside of a familial pooling arrangement. That forms a bargaining lever for laying claim to a greater share of a household’s food resources. This empirical problem of perception and communication is indeed important. On the other hand, it is far from obvious that the right conclusion to draw from this is the non-viability of the notion of personal welfare. There are considerable variations in the perceptions of individuality even within such a traditional society, and here the lack of perception of personal welfare is neither immutable nor particularly resistant to social development. Indeed the process of politicisation — including a political recognition of the gender issue — can itself bring about sharp changes in these perceptions. The systematically inferior position of women inside and outside the household in many societies points to the necessity of treating gender as a force of its own in development analysis. The economic hardship of woman-headed households is a problem both of female deprivation and of family poverty. Furthermore, females and males in the same family may well have quite divergent predicaments, and this can make the position of women in the poorer families particularly precarious. To concentrate on family poverty irrespective of gender can be misleading in terms of both causation and consequences.

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The fact that the relative deprivation of women vis-à-vis men is by no means uniform across the world does not reduce the importance of gender as a

parameter of analysis. This variability is an important reason for giving serious attention to the causal antecedents of the contrasting deprivations. To take an extremely simple and crude example, it is clear that despite the evident biological advantages that women seem to have over men in survival and longevity (when there is some symmetry in the attention they receive on basic matters of life and death, such as nutrition, health care, and medical attention), there is nevertheless a remarkable preponderance of surviving men over surviving women in the population of less developed countries taken as a whole, in sharp contrast with the position of the more developed countries. Whereas there are about 106 women per 100 men in Europe and North America, there are only 97 women per 100 men in the developing countries as a whole. Since mortality and survival are not independent of care and neglect, and are influenced by social action and public policy, even this extremely crude perspective cannot fail to isolate gender as an important parameter in development studies.

The Household as a Cooperative —Conflicting Unit

It is, however difficult to translate this elementary recognition into practice and to find an adequate framework for the use of gender categories and sex specific information in social analysis. Sen (1990) asserts that the problem is far too complex and basic to be ‘resolved’ by any kind of simple model, but one could go some distance toward a better understanding of the problem by broadening the conceptual structure and the informational base of gender analysis in economic and social relations. He thus extends the income and distribution of resources within the household to incorporate the following elements in his analysis.

10.3 Capabilities, Well-being, Agency and Perception Sen (1990) examines different theories of household economics such as standard models of “household production”, “family allocations”, or “equivalence scales” in capturing the coexistence of extensive conflicts and pervasive cooperation in household arrangements. But these too have an inadequate informational base and are particularly negligent of the influence of perceived interests and perceived contributions. In this light, not only are capabilities, well-being and agency important but so is perception regarding these qualities and such other attributes. An alternative approach to ‘cooperative-conflicts’ is then sketched, identifying certain qualitative relation in the form of directional responses of the outcome to certain determining variables in the informational base. These relations are translated into a format of ‘extended entitlements’, based on sharpening the concept of ‘entitlements’ (already used in studying famines and deprivation of households) by incorporating notions of perceived legitimacy in intrahousehold divisions. Each person has several identities. Being a man or a woman is one of them. Being a member of a family is another. Our understanding of our interests, obligations, objectives, and legitimate behaviour is influenced by the various — and sometimes conflicting — effects of these diverse identities. In some contexts the family identity may exert such a strong influence on our perceptions that we may not find it easy to formulate any clear notion of our own individual welfare. Based on empirical observations of the familycentred perception in some traditional societies (such as India), some authors have disputed the viability of the notion of personal welfare in those societies (Das and Nicholas 1981). It has often been observed that if a typical Indian

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rural woman was asked about her personal “welfare”, she would find the question unintelligible, and if she was able to reply, she might answer the question in terms of her reading of the welfare of her family. The idea of personal welfare may not be viable in such a context. This happened not only with women but with men also. This was observed during the fieldwork among the elderly in Rajasthan (Shah, Patel and Lobo 1987). Neither men nor women found meaningful and relevant the questions on income (personal) and having a room for oneself. The nearest they could go to was personal expenses on items no one else in the household consumed, e.g. tobacco, snuff, opium etc. Insofar as intrafamily divisions involved significant inequalities in the allotment of food, medical attention, health care, and the like (often unfavorable to the well being- even survival- of women), the lack of perception of personal interests combined with a great concern for family welfare is, of course, just the kind of attitude that helps to sustain the traditional inequalities. History bears evidence to the fact that acute inequalities often survive precisely by making allies out of the deprived. The underdog comes to accept the legitimacy of the unequal order and becomes an implicit accomplice. It can be a serious error to take the absence of the consciousness of that inequality as evidence of the absence of that inequality (or the non viability of that question) argues Sen. We can go back to the example given earlier from fieldwork experience with the elderly. Not only the women but even the men found questions of personal/ individual income and room absurd. These men were by no means the underdogs in their families, nor were the elderly women. Perception is based both on facts and on cultural notions, connotations and values about those facts, thereby making the study of deprivation and interests of family members a complex one. Sen further states that personal interest and welfare are not just matters of perception; there are objective aspects of these concepts that command attention even when the corresponding self- perception does not exist. For example, the ‘ill fare’ associated with morbidity or undernourishment has an immediacy that does not await the person’s inclination or willingness to answer detailed questions regarding his or her welfare. Indeed, the well being of the person may plausibly be seen in terms of the person’s functionings and capabilities; what he or she is able to do or be (e.g. the ability to be well nourished, to avoid morbidity or mortality, to read and write and communicate, to take part in the life of the community, to appear in public without shame). It is here, that Sen’s economics comes back rather strongly. He argues for individualism and this is in accordance with western liberal thought in the utilitarian tradition. It is also possible to distinguish between a person’s ‘well-being’ and ‘agency’. A person may have various goals and objectives other than the pursuit of his or her well being, although there are obvious links between a person’s well being and the fulfilment of his or her other objectives. The overall success as an agent may not be closely connected- and certainly may not be identifiedwith the person’s own well-being. It is the agency aspect that is most influenced by a person’s sense of obligation and perception of legitimate behaviour.

10.4 Social Technology, Cooperation, and Conflicts 148

The ‘social’ content of technology is what Marx called ‘the combining together of various processes into a social whole’. The so-called ‘productive’ activities

may be parasitic on other work being done, such as housework and food preparation, the care of children, or bringing food to the field where cultivators are working. Technology is not only about equipments and its operational characteristics but also about social arrangements that permit the equipment to be used and the so-called productive processes to be carried on.

The Household as a Cooperative —Conflicting Unit

Household activities have been viewed in many contradictory ways in assessing production and technology. On the one hand, it is not denied that the sustenance, survival, and the reproduction of workers are obviously essential for the workers being available for outside work. On the other hand, the activities that produce or support that sustenance, survival or reproduction are not typically regarded as contributing to output and are often classified as ‘unproductive labour’. Sen (1990) gives a hypothetical example of a household to combine the material (monetary), the capabilities and the perceptions as co-existing in a household. He says that an integrated view should be formed of the pattern of activities outside or inside the home that together make up the production processes in traditional as well as modern societies. The relations between the sexes are obviously much conditioned by the ways these different activities sustain and support each other, and depend inter alia on the particular patterns of integration. The prosperity of a household depends on the totality of various activitiesgetting money incomes, purchasing or directly producing (in the case of, say, peasants) food materials and other goods, producing edible food out of food materials, and so on. But in addition to aggregate prosperity, even the divisions between sexes in general, and specifically those within the household, may also be deeply influenced by the pattern of gender division of work. In particular, the members of a household face two different types of problems simultaneously. One involving cooperation (adding to the total availabilities) and the other conflict (dividing the total availabilities among the members of the household). Social arrangements regarding who does what, and who takes what decisions can be seen as responses to this combined problem of cooperation and conflict. The sexual division of labour is one part of the social arrangement. Seeing social arrangements in terms of a broader view of technology and production has some far reaching effects. First, it points to the necessity of examining the productive aspects of what are often treated as purely ‘cultural phenomena’. Contributions that are in effect made by labour expended in activities that are not directly involved in ‘production’ narrowly defined. Second it throws light on the stability and survival of unequal patterns of social arrangements in general and deeply asymmetric sexual division in particular. An example is the resilient social division of labour in most societies by which women do the cooking and are able to take on outside work only insofar as that can be combined with persisting as the cook. Third, it points to the division between paid and unpaid work in the context of general productive arrangements, and fourth, the specific patterns of sexual divisions outside and within the household. The nature of cooperative arrangement implicitly influences the distributional parameters and the household’s response to conflicts and perception of interest. Systems of kinship orient members of different kinship systems differentially to many activities. Perceptions of activities may differ in societies with patrilineal, matrilineal

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and bilineal kinship systems. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge the spread and influence of patriliny as a macro ideology in the world. Dube (2001) has contrasted the three kinship systems by which the quality of gender relations and position of women vary in and outside the household. By introducing the capabilities, agency and perception dimension to the household as a cooperative –conflict unit, Sen (1990) has broadened the scope of this perspective to cover a number of dimensions other than income and distribution of resources. Action and Reflection 10.2 1)

2)

Read Dube 2001 (chapter 6) and discuss the comparative position of women in the household in the three kinship systems she describes in her essay or Take five households in your neighbourhood. Make a list of activities and dietary intake of each of the members. Classify this data by sex, age and kinship ties with the head of the household.

Discuss the differentials both within and outside the household in work and diet among the members.

10.5 Conclusion This unit focussed on the perspective that views the household as a cooperating and at the same time a conflicting unit. In the previous unit, unit 9 we had seen how emotions in the family and the household include not just the positive emotions of love and affection but also those such as tensions, hate, rivalry and jealousy. The cooperative conflict perspective came up in the backdrop of feminist thought and struggle. This thought also influenced economic analysis and questioned the value of studying the household as a unified whole without internal differentiation by gender. Subsequently, further advancement in the analytical parameters took place by incorporating issues of capabilities, well-being, agency, perception and social technology. We have seen how kinship systems have differential meanings for similar activities. This will be further clarified in units 11 and 12 of this Block. We have also included the dimension of ‘reproduction and gender differentials’ in the household as cooperation combined with conflict in varying measures. We have discussed this issue in the introduction to this unit. We can also include the role of perceptions and see how perceptions regarding distribution of resources and inputs of different members in fertility decisions are influenced by the state through its policies. In a similar vein, the influence of caste and religious community on the household is strong and can affect the social technology, capability, agency and perception of activities in the household. These may range from franchise, political representation, choice of marriage partner, divorce and remarriage, biological and social reproduction, access to healthcare, etc. Population policies of India and China have impacted reproduction in the household quite differentially. State policies and the household / family may be analysed from the cooperativeconflict perspective.

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10.6 Further Reading Agnihotri, S.B. 2000. Juvenile Sex Ratio Patterns in the Indian Population: A Fresh Exploration. Sage Publication, New Delhi.

The Household as a Cooperative —Conflicting Unit

Dube, L. 2001. Anthropological Explorations in Gender. Sage, New Delhi. Gulati, L. Profiles in Poverty, Hindustan, New Delhi. Sen, Amartya. 1993. Economics and the Family, In Uberoi, P. ed. Family, Marriage and Kinship in India. Oxford University Press. 452-463, Delhi.

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UNIT 11 LABOUR : WOMEN Structure 11.0 Objectives 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Extent and Nature of Women’s Work Participation 11.2.1 Women’s Work Participation 11.2.2 Nature of Work Done by Women Workers 11.2.3 Categories of Women Labour 11.2.4 Factors Affecting Women’s Work Participation

11.3 Women Workers by Various Sectors of Employment 11.3.1 Unorganised Sector 11.3.2 Organised Sector

11.4 Labour Laws for Women Workers 11.4.1 Equal Remuneration Act 11.4.2 Minimum Wage Act 11.4.3 Maternity Benefits Act

11.5 Women’s Work Participation : Challenges and Response 11.5.1 Mobilising and Organising Efforts 11.5.2 Institutional Efforts : Anti-Poverty Programme

11.6 Let Us Sum Up 11.7 Key Words 11.8 Further Readings 11.9 Answers to Check Your Progress

11.0 OBJECTIVES After going through the unit you should be able to : z

describe the nature and extent of women’s labour force participation;

z

explain reasons for the ‘invisibility’ and under enumeration of women’s labour contribution in the home and outside;

z

examine reasons for over concentration of women in certain sectors of economy;

z

discuss various legislations for the protection of women labour;

z

narrate the need for organising the poor rural and urban women; and

z

analyse the various policies for training and income generation for poor women.

11.1 INTRODUCTION 54

This unit aims to introducing you to various dimensions of women’s labour and factors affecting their productive roles in the Indian society. The unit discusses the nature and extent of women’s involvement in key sectors of

economy, socio-economic determinants of women’s labour force participation, their access to productive resources, and opportunities for skill development through training and education within the family and outside. The unit also looks into government interventions and direct measures to alleviate poverty and responses of the rural and urban women’s organisations to improve their access to resources and bargaining capacities.

Labour : Women

The unit begins with an analysis of the context of women’s paid and unpaid labour within and outside home. It also analyses the socio-cultural, developmental and locational (rural-urban, agro-climatic zones) factors responsible for variations in women’s labour utilisation patterns. In the units on Women’s Status and Women and Work in Block 7, ESO-02, we discussed at length about various facets of women’s work participation. In this unit we shall look into those issues in relation to social problems in India. You may like to look into those units before start working on the present one.

11.2 EXTENT AND NATURE OF WOMEN’S WORK PARTICIPATION Women play an important role in the Indian economy and are engaged in a variety of occupations in rural and urban areas. The report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India (1974) pointed out that “the status of any given section of population in a society is ultimately connected with its economic positions which (itself) depends on roles, rights and opportunities for participation in economic activities”. The Report further observed that “sex inequality cannot in reality be differentiated from the variety of social, economic and cultural inequalities in India society”. The inequalities inherent in our traditional social structure based on caste, community, class and gender, influence women’s economic roles and opportunities. Their participation is also affected by the state of development and rural urban locations. In an earlier unit (ESO-12, Unit 31) Women and Work you have learnt that traditional role expectations, differential socialisation of girls and boys and sexual division of labour affect women’s labour force participation. In this unit we shall begin with a brief discussion on the nature and extent of women’s work participation.

11.2.1 Women’s Work Participation Accurate data regarding the extent and nature of women’s work is limited because of the limited definition of ‘work’ in the Census which excludes much of the work women do within the household for the family’s survival and maintenance. The data is also not comparable because of changes in the definitions of ‘worker’ from Census to Census and lack of uniformity in the classification of workers by age, sex and educational levels. Earners and earners’ dependents have been classified differently in various census. Again, the 1971 census used the labour time disposition criterion over the reference year, and defined workers as only those who spent the major part of their time in economic activities. Thus all irregular, marginal and part-time workers come under the category of non-workers. However, the marginal, irregular workers were more likely to be concentrated among women, children and aged persons. Therefore, the census report does not give the real picture (Chattopadhyay, M. 1982:44). The Labour Bureau has brought out a document titled Statistical Profile on Women Labour. Many of these sources underestimate women’s labour

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contribution in so far as the work that women do on family farms and homebased family occupations remains unpaid and ‘invisible’ to data collectors. No economic value is givens to work such as collection of fuel, fodder and water, collection of minor forest produce for subsistence and household maintenance activities as it does not come under the purview of market economy. Sexual division of labour relegates women’s primary responsibility to providing goods and services to the family. For the poor women, all work is for subsistence and survival of the family. Even if one does not take into account the above mentioned aspect of the women’s contribution to the economy there exists a difference in assessing the workforce participation of women. Table 1: Workforce by Gender and Rural-Urban Location: All India, 1993-94 to 1999-2000 (in ’000)

Population Segment

Usual status crude worker Population ratios (per 1000) 1993-94

1999-2000

553 328 444

531 299 419

520 154 347

518 139 337

544 283 418

527 254 395

Rural Males Females Total Urban Males Females Total All Areas Males Females Total

Note: Usual Status = principal status + subsidiary status. Source: Sundaram, K., ‘Employment and Poverty in 1990s: Further Results from NSS 55th Round Employment—Unemployment Survey, 1999-2000, Economic and Political Weekly, 11 August 2001, pp. 3039-49. cf. India Development Report. 2002.

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Majority of the women workers are employed in the rural areas and in agriculture. Amongst rural women workers 87% are employed in agriculture as labourers and cultivators. Amongst the women workers in the urban areas 80% are employed in unorganised sector like household industries, petty trade and services, building and construction etc. The employment of women in the organised sector (both public and private) as on March 2000 was about 4.9228 million. This constitutes 17.6% of the total organised sector employment in the country. The distribution of women employees in major industries reveals that community, social and personal services sectors continued to absorb the majority of women employees. The lowest employment of women was noticed in electricity, gas and water sectors. In the factory and plantation establishment women workers constituted 14% and 51% respectively of the total workers in 1997. In mine establishments, women workers constituted 5% of the total workers (India 2003). According to the Human Development Report in South Asia female labour force constituted 32% of the total labour force in India in 2000.

According to 2001 Census of the total female population 25.7% are workers (main and marginal. Again of the total workers 32.5% are cultivators and 39.4% are agricultural labourers, 6.4% work in the household industry and 21.7% are other category workers.

Labour : Women

According to Dr. Asok Mitra ‘the under-reporting of female work force participation rates in the Census varies from 30 to 40 per cent’. The measurement and analysis of female labour force participation suffers from underestimates, inadequate attention to unpaid work at home and outside, and lack of support services to reduce their drudgery i.e. provision of drinking water, fuel and fodder, childcare etc. All these have adverse impact on the status of women labour force.

11.2.2 Nature of Work Done by Women Workers In the unit on Women and Work in ESO-02 we discussed in detail the nature of women’s work participation and work done by women workers. It was pointed out that women’s work had been subjected to invisibility because of the census bias and conservative estimate of work done by women. Here let us describe the nature of work done by women.

Women and Work

The NSSO has identified the following household activities in which women area regularly engaged. Maintenance of kitchen garden, orchards etc, work in household poultry, work in household dairy, free collection of fish small game, etc., free collection of firewood, cattle feed. etc., husking paddy, preparation

57

Structure in Tranistion – II

of gur, grinding of foodgrains, preparation of cow dung cakes for use as fuel, sewing, tailoring, tutoring of children, bringing water from outside the household premise, bringing water from outside the village. However, a major part of the work done by women in the household is not recognised as work since these are not paid in the economic sense and not visible in the public eye as well.

11.2.3

Categories of Women Labour

On the basis of their work status, women labour can be grouped under the following three categories: — Self-employed both within and outside home. — Wage Workers outside home e.g. agricultural workers, construction workers, factory workers, contract workers etc. and inside home (homebased workers engaged in work on out put basis) — Unpaid Family Labour on their own farm or family occupations like weaving, pottery, handicrafts etc. Let us discuss these categories in detail. i)

Self-employment

They constitute the predominant sector of employment in our country. According to the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 1987, 57.3 per cent of total workforce was absorbed by this sector. The choice of activity depends on family situation, women’s control over the means of production, skills, technology and work organisation. A significant number of self-employed women are working outside the home (57 per cent) with irregular income and many a time operating from the pavements (vegetable sellers, vendors, hawkers etc.). The distribution of female work participation by status of employment indicates that there is a pronounced declining trend in the importance of the self employed category in both rural and urban areas and an overall increase in the casualisation of the women work force from 31.4 per cent in 1972-73 to 40.9 per sent in 1997 in rural India with a marginal decline to 39.6 pr cent in 1999-2000. In urban India there is a reversal of this trend with an increase in work participation rates of females under regular employment category and a decline in casualisation. Further, as per the NSSO 55th Round on Employment and Unemployment in India 1999-2000, women trend to enter the labour market later than men. Work participation of males is considerable higher in the age group of 15-29. In rural areas female work participation rate has been the highest at 58.6 per cent in the age group of 40-44 and is above 50 per cent in the age group 30-54. In urban areas female work participation rate is highest at 28.5 per cent in the age group 35-39 and is 38.3 per cent in age group 40-44. Early marriage and multiple child bearing depress the female work force participation rates in the 15-29 age group. In most developed and developing countries, the age group 15-25 exhibits a peak in women’s work force participation rates. 58

In the construction sector the proportion of casual labour is high. The proportion of women workers has increased from 9.1 to 9.91 per cent during 1971-1981.

The increase is primarily in rural areas as numerous public works programmes for employment generation were taken up under anti-poverty programmes of the government.

Labour : Women

Box 1 Wage Disparities The average earnings of female casual workers are extremely lower than the average earning of regular wage earners and salaried workers. The wag inequality between men (Rs. 10.27) and women (Rs. 4.49) is higher in rural areas than in urban ones. Women workers are mostly employed as piece-rate workers doing manual work for contractors and middlemen. They provide cheap labour to industries and contractors. Average Wage Salary Earnings Per Day for Casual Wage Labour (in Rupees) Rural

Urban

Male

Female

Male

Female

0-5-14

5.68

3.57

5.19

3.50

15-59

10.53

5.11

5.11

5.30

60+

9.35

3.77

9.94

4.65

All ages

10.27

4.89

11.09

5.29

Source : NSSO, 1987 (Quoted in National Commission on Self-employed Women, 1988)

Usual, Weekly and Daily Work Status by Sex Male

Female

Male

Female

Usual Status

2.12

1.41

5.86

6.90

Weekly Status

3.72

4.26

8.69

7.46

Daily Status

7.52

8.98

9.23

10.99

Source : NSSO, 1987

It is again to note that the incidence of unemployment and under-employment is higher among women causal workers than among men. An important category of working women, is home-based workers. They are engaged in a variety of activities like bidi-making, food processing, garment making, agarbati making, spinning, toy making, fish processing, pottery, cane and bamboo work, lace making Zari work etc. No reliable statistics are available regarding the number of home-based women workers as their work is not always ‘visible’. Home-based workers fall in two categories: the self-employed, and those engaged in piece-rate work. There is a large section of women who are doing piece-rate work. The employers have tremendous advantage in giving out work to women on a piece-rate basis as they don’t have to invest in tools and machinery or any extra cost for providing the work benefits. There are not trade unions and hardly any legislation to protect their rights relating to wages, social security benefits (health and maternity benefits) etc. A lot of child labour is used in home-based

59

Structure in Tranistion – II

production activities. The industrial units specially smaller ones have financial advantage in not employing them directly. You will read more about child labour in the next unit (Unit No. 12). iii) Unpaid Family Workers Women provide unpaid labour on family farms, home-based small industries, family maintenance activities. The average hours of unpaid work done by women within and outside home varies from 6-8 hours per day. Women from poorer households have a heavier burden of work.

11.2.4 Factors Affecting Women’s Work Participation Women’s work participation rate in general has been declining over the decades. The decline has occurred due to several factors: a)

Absence of a comprehensive and rational policy for women’s development aiming at improving their employability through education, training and improving their access to resources (land, credit) and technology.

b)

The perception of ‘male as the bread winner’ of the family conceals the fact that in low-income households woman’s earning is crucial for the sustenance of the family. This perception adversely affects investment in women’s education and training. Employers also visualise women workers as ‘supplementary earners’.

c)

Structural changes in the economy e.g. decline in traditional rural industries like pottery, blackmithy, weaving and handicrafts due to competition from modern industries have increased the dependence of women on agricultural sector and have adversely affected the status of women workforce.

d)

Lack of assets (land, house) in their own name in order to have access to credit and self-employment opportunities has been the important hurdle in the upward mobility of women workers.

e)

The heavy demand on the time and energy of women for subsistenance tasks (fuel, fodder and water collection) and burdens of child-bearing and rearing in addition to participation in labour force, leave them little time for education, training and self development. Besides working as labourer, they spend 6-8 hours per day on collection of fuel, fodder, water, child care and other domestic chores. Efforts to reduce women’s drudgery have been highly inadequate.

f)

Division of labour between women and men and technological changes in the production system also work against women. They are the first to lose their jobs and the last to be hired. Higher illiteracy and low skill development among women also result in low wages and insecure or casual employment.

Check Your Progress 1 i)

What are the different categories of women labourers? Use about five lines to answer. ...................................................................................................................

60

................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................

Labour : Women

................................................................................................................... ii)

Tick mark the correct box (true or false) a)

In India most of the women workforce are self-employed. True

b)

More women are employed in the non-agricultural sector. True

c)

False

False

Men and women get equal wages in all sectors of employment. True

False

11.3 WOMEN WORKERS BY VARIOUS SECTORS OF EMPLOYMENT Almost 90% of women workers are in the primary sector which include agriculture (87%) and livestock, forestry, fishing, plantation and orchards (1.8%). Agriculture remains the major sector of women’s work. Women engaged in agricultural operations work on an average about 12 hours a day on the farm in taking care of the cattle at home. There is a division of labour between the tasks men and women do in agriculture. Although it is not rigid and there are regional variations, however, some patterns are uniform. Women do not plough the field due to social taboos. Women are mainly engaged in sowing, weeding, transplanting and spraying chemical pesticides. In agriculture, women work mostly as casual labour. As agriculture labourers they comprise 60% of all agricultural workers. Other activities where the number of women workers exceeds the number of male workers are cashewnut processing, cotton and wool spinning and weaving, manufacturing of bidis, tobacco processing, canning and preservation of fruits and vegetables. Activity 1 Identify about 20-25 workers in your neighbourhood and place their work in the different types of economic activities as discussed in earlier sections. Analyse the gender differentials. If possible, exchange your note with your colearners at the Study Centre.

Let us examine the nature and extent of women’s work participation in terms of various sectors of employment. You may be interested to know about the unorganised sector first.

11.3.1 Unorganised Sector The nature and extent of women’s work participation in the rural unorganised sector is qualitatively and quantitatively different in the rural areas from that of the urban areas. Hence we should discuss the rural and urban areas separately for a better understanding. 61

Structure in Tranistion – II

i)

Rural Unorganised Sector

A little over 87 per cent of women are employed in the unorganised sector in rural and urban areas. Employment in this sector is characterised by lack of job security, low wages, long hours of work; and unhealthy working conditions. There are very few workers’ unions to bring pressure on employers to provide more humane conditions of work. Inadequate legislation for these workers and totally ineffective enforcement of the few legislations enacted to protect their interests further aggravate their situation. Women workers in this sector are mostly illiterate. They are drawn from the poorer sections and they lack opportunities to improve their skills through training and education. A large share of work in the rural unorganised sector is done by women. Government programmes to increase employment and productivity are focused more on men; and women are seen as beneficiaries rather than active participants. The predominantly male bureaucracy and extension workers are not very sensitive to women’s needs and problems. Land ownership and division of labour often works to women’s disadvantage. ii)

Urban Unorgansied Sector

A large number of women are engaged in services. Forty per cent of the selfemployed women are in the service sector and 30% are in petty trades. Eight per cent of the women are engaged in construction activities . A majority of the self-employed women are in petty business selling pan-bidis, fruits and vegetables, leaf, cane and bamboo products and sale of firewood etc. A significant number of self-employed women (57%) are working outside the home with irregular income and many a time operating from the pavements. Domestic service is another area where a large number of women workers are engaged as part-time or full-time workers. In manufacturing, the percentage share of female workers in traditional industries i.e. food, tobacco and textiles has not changed. In some industries like cashew processing, coffee curing etc. it has declined due to mechanisation. Women have been employed more where ‘putting cut system’ is common like garments, engineering products, plastics, rubber and tobacco processing.

11.3.2 Organised Sector The organised sector (both public and private) accounts for about 13.0 per cent of the female labour force. In the public sector as well as major industrial groups in coal, iron ore and metal mining, women’s employment during the last two decades has either remained static or has declined. There has been a sharp decline in the number of women workers in coal mining, particularly after the nationalisation of the industry. There are reports that the public sector coal mines have encouraged women to ‘retire voluntarily’ after nominating a male from the family for the job. In both public and private sector there is an extensive use of women contract and casual labour with a view to avoid provision of labour laws i.e. providing child-care centers, minimum wages and maternity benefits. Here we can sum up the main characteristics of female labour working in various sectors of economy as follows: 62

i)

Low overall participation rate of women vis-a-vis men.

ii)

Regional variations in female work participation rate.

iii) Large concentration of women workers in the agricultural sector and household industries in all states.

Labour : Women

iv) Majority of women i.e. 87% are working in the ‘informal sector’ which is characterised by low wages, non-unionisation, bad working conditions and irregular work. v)

Women are mostly engaged in low productivity and lowpaid occupations. Wage discrimination is widely prevalent in such jobs. About 89% of women in rural areas and 69.48% of women in urban areas are unskilled workers.

The entry of majority of women from socially and economically disadvantaged section into the labour market as unskilled workers had to be understood in terms of the factors leading to it. In the units on Women’s Status and Women and Work of Block 4. ESO-02, you have learnt that not only that women’s labour within the home is unpaid and undervalued but also traditional role expectations, differential socialisation of boys and girls and gender role stereotyping have an adverse impact on women’s roles and educational opportunities. Society’s perception of their contribution and value of caste and community also have a significant influence on women’s labour participation. Check Your Progress 2 i) Which are the activities where women exceed the number of male workers? Use about three lines to answer. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ii) What are the employment characteristics of informal sector? Answer in about four lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... iii) Mention a few important occupations for women in the informal sector in the rural areas. Use about four lines to answer. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

11.4 LABOUR LAWS FOR WOMEN WORKERS Invisibility of women’s work, marginalisation of women workers by the process of development and their concentration in the unorganised or informal sector (about which you have learnt earlier) make it difficult for women to benefit from labour laws enacted to protect them and regulate their working conditions. Labour laws are enacted to provide safe working conditions like health and maternity benefits prevent their exploitation and regulate wages. Since majority of women are in the unorganised sector, we will discuss the legislation which affects this group of women workers.

63

Structure in Tranistion – II

11.4.1 Equal Remuneration Act This Act states that there should be no wage discrimination between male and female workers when they are engaged in the same type of activity. In other words men and women would get the same wages if the nature of work is similar. The Act applies to workers in the organised sector, it has been largely ignored in the unorganised sector. Women in agriculture, construction, household industry etc. continue to receive lower wages than men. However the Act has been effective in the organised sector, especially in plantations where nearly half the workers are women and also in mines and factories. Wage differences between the sexes have been abolished in these industries.

11.4.2 Minimum Wages Act For workers in the unorganised sector, this law provides a mechanism for fixing up minimum rates of wages which should reflect the basic minimum needs of the workers. While notifying minimum wages, certain types of work done by women are classified as ‘light work done by women’ and ‘heavier work done by men’. This is one of the methods to fix lower wages for women. In addition women in the organised sector are entitled to maternity benefits. Employers are also expected to provide creche where more than 30 women are employed.

64

Law and Women Labourers

11.4.3 Maternity Benefits Act

Labour : Women

This Act provides that women workers are entitled to 24 weeks of leave with full pay during pregnancy. Usually the female worker is allowed to take leave for 4 weeks before the birth of the child and 8 weeks leave after the birth of the child. They are also allowed to take leave for 6 weeks for abortion. It is usually being argued that one of the reasons for the decline in the employment of women in the organised sector is that the employers have to pay maternity benefits to female employees. Since the number of women employed in the organised sector is very small, the amount paid as maternity benefit is very low in comparison to other social security benefits paid to male employees. The National Commission on Self Employed Women suggested that maternity benefits and child care should be recognised as a package and a fund should be created to provide necessary assistance to women. Various women’s organisations have been demanding that child care should be included under the basic needs programme of the government and suitable steps should be taken to implement it. Activity 2 Interview 10-15 working women engaged in the informal sector and find out if they are aware of any of the three Acts we have discussed. If possible exchange your note with your colearners at the Study Centre.

Check Your Progress 3 i)

Write a note on Equal Remuneration Act in about four lines. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

ii)

The Maternity Benefit Act provides that women workers are entitled to: a) b) c) d)

11.5

12 weeks of leave without pay during pregnancy 12 months of leave without pay during pregnancy 12 weeks of leave with full pay during pregnancy 12 days of leave with full payment.

WOMEN’S WORK PARTICIPATION : CHALLENGES AND RESPONSE

In recent years there have been significant efforts to organise women workers. Efforts have been also made by the government to launch various programmes. Let us discuss the efforts made and initiatives undertaken for the mobilisation and upliftment of poor women who form the bulk of the workforce in our country. 65

Structure in Tranistion – II

11.5.1 Mobilising and Organising Efforts Increasing emphasis is now given to organisation and mobilisation of unorganised women workers in order to give them voice and collective strength for the improvement of their working conditions and wages. A few organisations like Self-employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Ahmedabad, Working Women’s Forum (WWF), Madras, Annapurna Mahila Mandal (AMM), Bombay and several grassroots organisations have mobilised urban and rural poor women workers in order to strengthen their bargaining capacities and improve their access to credit and other resources. SEWA is a trade union of over 40,000 poor women workers in Gujarat. WWF has a membership of 15,000 women and has now spread its activities to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Women have struggled for land ownership, minimum wages, access to forest produce, water resources, rights of hawkers and vendors etc. The revitalisation of women’s movement in the 1970s and 1980s, has resulted in an increasing awareness about women’s rights and their participation in local and larger struggles. Housing, water and sanitation are the other major concerns of poor women workers. They have also organised for legal and policy changes and against sexual exploitation of women workers. The Report of the National Commission on Self-employed Women, widely known as Shram Shakti has observed that “today we are witnessing the gradual rise of a movement of poor women organising on issues, asserting themselves, articulating their needs and bringing themselves to the forefront of our political consciousness……… It has been possible only because of many earlier movements and attempts to organise by these women.” Such example are however, few and far between. Some of the trade unions and most of the political parties have also set up women’s wing within their organisations. The attempts of poor women to organise themselves are often met with strong oppositions by vested interests in both rural and urban areas. The National Commission on Self-employed Women recommended a strategy to promote organisations of women and suggested that the government should play an active and positive role by insisting that all government project, schemes and programmes for the poor should have a component of organising as this will help in buildings a people’s base.

11.5.2 Institutional Efforts : Anti-Poverty Programmes Anti-poverty programmes were launched by the Government in the Fourth Five Year Plan. It was much later in the Sixth Five Year Plan that a separate strategy was considered for employment and income generation for poor women. The report of the CSWI (1974) stressed the fact that the ‘poor’ are not a homogeneous group. Since then several studies have highlighted the unequal burden of poverty on women due to their familial responsibilities and the need to provide for the subsistence needs of women. The major anti-poverty programmes in the country are as follows: i) 66

Programmes for providing self-employment through loans for productive assets. The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) has fixed a target of 30% women beneficiaries to be covered under the programme. In 1982-83 a separate programme for Development of Women

and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) was taken up to provide selfemployment to rural women. ii)

Labour : Women

Programmes of wage-employment like National Rural Development Programme, Rural Landless Employment Guaranteee Programme. The employment generated under this programme is mainly through public works programmes like repair of roads and construction activities.

iii) Special Programmes for tribal areas, hilly areas and drought prone areas. iv) Training Programme for upgrading or imparting new skills for generating self-employment (Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment); iv) Distribution of surplus land to the poor. In these schemes under the hand reform programme mostly male head of the households have been given land. One of the major problems with anti-poverty programmes was that poor women, handicapped by illiteracy, socio-cultural factors (as most of them are SC/ST) and inability of these agencies to imaginatively plan and implement these programmes, could not benefit from these schemes. Due to predominantly male ownership of land and other productive assets, women were not able to give bank guarantee and take advantage of the credit schemes. There were also programmes in identifying viable activities and adequate planning for economic programmes for women and giving them support in terms of technology, training, raw material and marketing of goods. The government estimates of surplus land distributed to the landless poor show that a very small portion has been acquired and distributed except for West Bengal and Kerala. Most of it is uncultivable or needs lots of input like fertilisers, irrigation and good soil management etc. The land was distributed to the ‘male heads of households’ ignoring the fact that many households were headed by women and they play an important role in marginal and landless households. It is estimated that about 30-35 per cent of households are headed or managed by women where men have migrated to towns. Check Your Progress 4 Tick mark the correct answers. i)

ii)

Which one of the following is not an organisation involved in the mobilisation of working women? a)

Self-employed Women’s Association

b)

Working Women’s Forum

c)

Annapurna Mahila Mandal

d)

None of the above.

The Committee on the Status of Women recognises that a)

poor women are a homogenous group

b)

poor women are not a homogeneous group

c)

poor men bear more burden of poverty than women

d)

none of the above is correct.

67

Structure in Tranistion – II

iii) Which one of the following is responsible for not giving women sufficient access over the anti-poverty programmes launched by the government? a)

Illiteracy

b)

Predominantly male ownership of land

c)

Inability of the agencies to plan imaginatively

d)

All of the above.

11.6 LET US SUM UP In this unit we have acquainted you with the major problems of the women workers in India. The unit began with a broad discussion on the nature and extent of women’s labour force participation in India. There we discussed the various categories of women labourers, nature of work done by women labour, and the socio-economic factors affecting their work participation. Problems of women workers working both in the organised and unorganised sectors are discussed in this unit. There are various labour laws viz. Equal Remuneration Act, Minimum Wage Act, Maternity Benefits Act. We also discussed these laws in relation to contemporary women’s work participation in India. Lastly we discussed the efforts made to organise the poor women workers and the broad welfare measures undertaken to improve women’s work condition and work participation in India.

11.7 KEY WORDS Home-based Production

: Commodity produced based on family labour mainly.

Self-employed

: Those who occupied independently in their own economic activities are categorised as self-employed. They may be the cultivators, artisans, vendors, petty shopowners, businessmen etc.

Wage earners

: Those who work to receive wage for their work from their employers are categories as wage earners viz., agricultural labourers etc.

11.8 FURTHER READINGS Jose A.V.(Ed.), 1989. Limited Options : Women Workers in Rural India. Asian Regional Team for Employment Promoton, ILO : New Delhi. Singh Andrea M. and Anita K. Vitanen (Eds.), 1987, Invisible Hands: Women in Home-based Production, Sage Publications: New Delhi. SinghaRoy, D.K. 1992. Women in Peasant Movements: Tebhaga, Naxalite and After, Manohar; New Delhi. 68

11.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Labour : Women

Check Your Progress 1 i)

Women workers can be categorised under three broad headings: (a) Selfemployed both within and outside home; (b) Wage workers outside home and (c) Unpaid family labour work on their own farm or family occupations like weaving, pottery and handicrafts etc.

ii)

a)

False

b)

True

c)

False

Check Your Progress 2 i)

According to a report prepared by the Government of India, Women out numbered men in the following activities: dairying, small animal husbandry and handloom.

ii)

Employment in the informal sector is characterised by lack of job security, low wages, long hours of work and unhealthy working conditions.

iii) Agriculture, dairying, fisheries, animal husbandry, khadi and village industries, handicrafts, sericulture, handloom etc. Check Your Progress 3 i)

This Act states that there should be no wage discrimination between made and female workers when they are engaged in the same type of activity.

ii)

c)

Check Your Progress 4 i)

d)

ii)

b)

iii) d)

69

Unit 11

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns Contents 11.1

Introduction

11.2

Is the Institution of Marriage Universal in India?

11.3

What and Why of Marriage

11.4

Age at Marriage in India

11.5

Rules Regulating Marriage

11.6

Patterns of Spouse Selection

11.7

Marriage Rituals and Status

11.8

Dissolution of Marriage

11.9

Conclusion

11.10

Further Reading

Learning Objectives Unit 11 aims to analyse the changing patterns of marriage in India. After going through the unit, it is expected that you would be able to: l

question the universality of the institution of marriage in India;

l

discuss the aspect of age at marriage;

l

discuss variations in the pattern of selection of spouse;

l

describe the basic rites of marriage in different communities;

l

l

explain how marriage reflects the status aspirations of the groups involved in the material and symbolic transfer of wealth and prestige accompanying marriage; and examine the issues of divorce and remarriage.

11.1 Introduction We take for granted that the institutions like family, marriage and kinship are universal in India and sociologists need to discuss the variations in these institutions based on region, religion, language, caste, class and occupation. Owing to the whole range of variations they find it difficult to make generalisations about such institutions of the Indian social structure.

152

The basic question that will be raised in Unit 11 is the validity of discussing only the common and different elements in the institution of marriage in India. Does this give us an understanding of the institution of marriage as it obtains today in our country? Dealing with the feature of near universality of the institution of marriage and discussing the issue of age at marriage in India may bring out the unity that exists, across the regions, relating to these two features of marriage. You may on the other hand discuss such features in the context of diversity as the forms of marriage, patterns of selection of spouse, rites of marriage, material and non-material transactions involved in marriage, and the possibilities and mechanisms of divorce and widow remarriage in India. Most of these features relate to the primary marriage of a man or woman (i.e. marriage for the first time). Secondary

marriage of a widow/ widower or a separated or divorced woman/ man is accompanied by a nominal ceremony, where there are generally no or only a few rites. Similarly, the pattern of selection of spouse may differ in a primary and a secondary marriage.

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns

Yet, having completed this process of looking at common and diverse features of the institution of marriage in India, you would still not have looked at the churning of ideas, values, practices and conflicts that the very notion of marriage brings to mind in the context of its changing patterns. We find that today the very concept of marriage and its epistemology is a subject of much questioning. Feminists, dalit scholars and leftists have in both theoretical and practical terms critiqued the prevalent notions about marriage. Some have accepted the ever-encompassing hold of the institution of marriage in everybody’s personal life and attempted to negotiate it from its prevailing vantage point. In the feminist discourse, you would find that marriage is a major site or an organising platform through which the feminists have not only tried to understand oppression but also negotiated and established a more equal playing field. Along with the usual coverage that accrues to the topic of marriage generally you should also pay attention to emerging perceptions regarding the institution of marriage and its changing patterns. The examples of changing patterns and their theoretical significance that are cited here, have been derived from the coverage of a symposium, Marriage, Family and Community, with contributions from Shah (2005: 709), Hansman (2005: 709-712), John (2005- 712-715), Rao (2005: 715-718) and Rinchin (2005: 718-721). It has to be acknowledged here that their articles have helped in building the case for re-thinking our notions of marriage in India. In the course of discussion of each of the above mentioned aspects we shall talk of the patterns of marriage with particular reference to the changes that have taken place in India since Independence. For descriptions of various aspects of the theme I have also referred you to detailed accounts already provided in the course material of Sociology courses of IGNOU’s B A programme. Reading the referred portions will help you to obtain background information and explanations of basic concepts. We will discuss each aspect of marriage with suitable illustrations from some of the major communities like the Hindus, the Muslims and the Christians. Except for passing references, patterns of marriage that are found among the tribal population have not been described mainly because there is a separate Block in this Course on tribal population.

11.2 Is the Institution of Marriage Universal in India? Marriage is an important social institution and therefore we need to assign a definition to it so that it has a universal reference and application. All the same it is a relationship that has, in the context of India, given rise to many controversies relating to the definition of marriage. Though the debate took place with particular reference to the Nayars of Kerala, the concerns it took up had a general relevance. You may like to know a little about this debate over problems of defining ‘marriage’. Leach (1955: 107-108) considered marriage to be “bundles of rights”. The rights included l

Legitimating offspring

l

Socially approved access to the spouse’s sexuality, labour and property

153

Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship

l

Establishment of affinal relationships between persons and between groups.

It is possible to add as per a particular ethnographic context some other features to the above list of rights. But if you were to make a comparative study of marriage in different societies, you would like to define the term in a more precise manner so that your cross-cultural comparison refers to the same kinds of phenomenon. It has been quite common to refer to the ‘Notes and Queries’ to find such definitions. The ‘Notes and Queries’ (1951: 110) defines marriage in the following manner. Marriage is a union between a man and a woman such that children born to the woman are the recognised legitimate offspring of both partners. I suppose that you would gladly accept this definition of marriage in the context of society in India. But Gough, who studied the Nayar community of Kerala , found that the unions between Nayar girls and Nambudiri Brahman men could not be understood in terms of the above definition (for details of this particular case see Jain 1996: 151-190 and Unit 9 in Block 3 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B. A. programme). Gough (1959: 32) preferred to modify the definition of ‘marriage’ in the following words. Marriage is a relationship established between a woman and one or more other persons, which provides that a child born to the woman under circumstances not prohibited by the rules of the relationship is accorded full birth-status rights common to normal members of his society or social stratum. This definition enlarges the scope of viewing marriage in a broader context than the definition of the Notes and Queries. It would include the case of Nuer woman-woman marriage, mentioned by Evans-Pritchard (1951: 108109). It would also include the case of levirate unions, which consider the child as the legitimate offspring of a man other than its genitor. As you may already know that levirate is a quite common practice found in some parts of India. For example, Gazetteer of India (1965: 541) has mentioned the prevalence of levirate alliances among the Ahir of Haryana, some Jat communities and Girijan and several castes in Uttar Pradesh and among the Kodagu of Mysore. Levirate refers to a marriage in which a man has the obligation to marry the widow of his brother. You can now make out that Gough’s definition is an improvement on the one given in the Notes and Queries. You may also be aware of several cases published in newspapers about caste-based violence on young men and women opting to marry against caste or sub-caste norms. If a jatav boy wants to marry a thakur girl, the two would have to face violence at the hands of their respective caste panchayats. This sort of periodic reporting in the media shows that marriage has become a contested site in our fast changing social world. Fernandez (1999) and (Gopal) 2002 have documented cases of forced marriages, excommunication, unlawful locking, outright murders or last option suicides of those who have defied the existing norms of their castes/ classes.

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The events mentioned above give rise to questions about the very nature of marriage and the variety of relationships it is to include in its scope. In India, as per Section 377, the law recognises for social and other purposes only blood and marriage relationships. In 1988, the first media reports of the Madhya Pradesh policewomen deciding to marry each other, brought out

into the open some other examples of ‘alternate relationships’, which had come up alongside marriage in different castes/ classes in both urban and rural India. Here is a ‘Reflection and Action’ exercise for you to ponder about yet other forms of marriage and decide if Gough’s definition or any other definition that you know about includes such cases.

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns

Reflection and Action 11.1 Cline (1936) has described the homosexual unions of Western Egypt. Does Gough’s definition of marriage include this case? ‘Hindustan Times’ of August 2004 published a news item “Girlfriends shun families”. It referred to two young girls living in a slum in Bhopal. The parents of one of them had forcibly married her to a man but her ‘girlfriend’ disrupted the marriage and the two girls decided to live together. The police and the counsellors tried to help the girls to return to their families but the girls did not oblige them. Does Gough’s definition include this case? Write your answers to the above questions on a separate sheet of paper. Then provide your own definition of ‘marriage’ that may have a better applicability in cross-cultural comparisons.

There is apparently one more problem with the above definitions, which make legitimating of children an essential component of marriage. Does it mean that all such marriages where no child is born are invalid? Is marriage not more than procreation? Can it not be considered as an existing fact if there are no children born? Bohanan (1949), has discussed Dahomean marriage and distinguished the rights of a woman as a wife (rights in uxorem) from rights over the children she may bear (rights in genetricem). ‘Times of India’ of 5th May 2005 published a news item on its first page with the title “Man tells HC: Wife can’t abort my child”. He appealed to the High Court to protect his right to fatherhood. This is an example of the kinds of rights we need to ponder about. These media reports have been quoted here to indicate the symptoms of wide-ranging changes occurring in the very notions of rights involved in marriage. The above discussion shows that perhaps Leach (1961: 105) is right in saying that “all universal definitions of marriage are vain” and so also is Needham (1971), who holds that marriage in cross-cultural contexts refers to serial likenesses and does not reflect common structural features. As a matter of fact, Gough (1959: 23) too considers marriage as polythetic with an openended checklist. You may ask that if this is so, then why use the word ‘marriage’ and why not refer to such relationships by some other term? The answer to this question is that nominally the word marriage has its reference to the context in which it exists and therefore we need to retain it till we can by consensus replace it by some other term. In India, the relationship is defined and sanctioned by custom and law prevalent in a hetero-normative and patriarchal social milieu. The definition of the relationship includes not only fairly understood guidelines for behaviour relating to sex but also regarding things like the particular way labour is to be divided and so are also other duties and privileges. Children born of marriage are considered the legitimate offspring of the married couple. Increase in the rate of marital discord has brought before the courts of law some

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vexing questions about the right to fatherhood versus a woman’s right over her own body. The issue of legitimacy is important in the matters of inheritance and succession. Marriage is not only a means of sexual gratification but also a set of cultural mechanisms to ensure the continuation of the family, establishment of relationships of alliance between persons and between groups. Marriage is in this sense an almost universal social institution in India. With globalisation of culture and liberalisation of economy, the phenomenon of the wedding ceremony is the most visible reference to marriage in India. So you would agree with me that it is very hard indeed not to retain the term ‘marriage’ and discuss it with reference to the conceptual and socio-cultural context in which it appears.

11.3 What and Why of Marriage You may be able to cite the religious texts of many communities in India outlining the purpose, rights and duties involved in marriage. Among the Hindus, for instance, marriage is regarded as a socio-religious duty. Ancient Hindu texts, such as the ‘Dharmashastra’ (see Trautman 1981), point out three main aims of marriage. These are dharma (duty), praja (progeny) and rati (sensual pleasure). The aims of marriage show that it is significant from both the societal as well as the individual’s point of view. Marriage is significant in that it provides a legally and socially recognised process of acquiring children, especially sons who would not only carry on the family name but also perform periodic rituals including the annual “shraddha” to propitiate the dead ancestors. Majority of the Hindus look upon son(s) as a source of support in old age to parents and as the most important source of economic prosperity of the family. Marriage, in the Hindu system of four stages of life, enables a man to enter into the stage of a householder. Both a man and a woman are regarded incomplete without marriage. The brief description above shows quite clearly that marriage for the Hindus finds its location in a hetero-normative, patriarchal family structure, in which organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, are vehemently against inter-religious marriages. The notion of equality within marriage based on an ethic of justice does not find a place in the Hindu construction of the notion of marriage. This is the reason why there have been, historically speaking, a spate of experiments to change the form and practice of marriage itself by social reformers like Jotirao Phule, who along with his wife, Savitribai, established a school for untouchable girls in 1848 and a home for upper caste widows in 1854. Sensitive to oppression of women through burdens of chastity and caste purity that determined the code of conduct for women, Tarabai Shinde, an activist of Satyashodhak Samaj, followed in the footsteps of Phule and wrote a critique of gender relations in her piece, Stri-Purush Tulana. Shinde (1882) commented on sexual economics of marriage and prostitution and considered them as two sides of the same coin. Not only in western India, E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker, in southern India, challenged Hindu orthodoxy and recommended ‘self-respect marriages’, which undermined the connexion between marriage and religious rites. Similarly, Ambedkar’s act of burning the ‘Manusmriti’ and writing Riddles of Hinduism in 1927 as well as Periyar’s putting on a garland of shoes around the necks of Hindu religious idols symbolised the assaults on

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the religious tenor of everyday life and provided a critical look at the institution of marriage in India.

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns

Notwithstanding the activities of social reformers, you may rightly argue that even other communities in India regard marriage as an essential obligation. Islam views marriage as “sunnah” (an obligation), which every Muslim must fulfil. To bring yet more evidence of churning of ideas about marriage, you can refer media reports that in the case of Muslims in India, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board on 1st May 2005 issued a model ‘Nikah-Nama’ (see the ‘Times of India’ and the ‘Hindu’ of Monday 2nd May 2005). This shows the Board’s commitment to initiate social reforms and rooting out of social evils. The model ‘Nikah-Nama’ gives cognisance to the rights of the wife to food, shelter, clothing, medical treatment and maintenance and declares dowry as a crime. The document focuses on the present school and college-going generation. Though still continuing with the institution of ‘triple talaq’, the document makes divorce the last resort (see more comments on this matter in a later section of the unit). Christianity too, like other religions, holds marriage as critical to life and emphasises the establishment of a mutual relationship between husband and wife and adhering to their duties to each other. You can further argue that marriage is significant as we find that only a very small percentage of men and women remain unmarried. According to the Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI 1974: 81), only 0.5 per cent of women never marry in India. By and large, girls in India believe that marriage is a woman’s destiny. Married state is desirable and motherhood is a cherished achievement for most of us in India. You would find that only a very small percentage of men and women remain unmarried by choice. Despite the near-universality of marriage among Indians, we find that goals of marriage are changing in general and for the urban and educated sections of the population in particular. A clear preference for small-size family has replaced the older notions of family with a large number of children especially sons being the source of status for parents. On the individual level, younger couples view marriage as a relationship for self-fulfillment rather than primarily for procreation. There is also a strong protest movement among the dalit women against caste and gender violence and against the legal recognition of only anuloma marriages where upper caste men marry or live with lower caste women and not pratiloma ones where women of higher castes marry or live with lower caste men. Reforms among the lower caste and dalit communities include rehabilitation of women and men married to divinities like Khandoba and Yellamma. See ‘Somavanshiya Mitra’ of 1st December 1908 and 1st July 1909 about the marriage of Shivubai Lakshman Jadhav, a woman married to a divinity. An activist, Ganpatrao Hanmantrao Gaekwad had set an example by marrying her. While discussing marriage and its changing patterns in India we cannot ignore what is occurring at the level of marginalised communities and therefore all such details as mentioned above need to be incorporated in our discussions of marriage in India. You may already know about the role of social reformers in opposing child-marriage and creating an environment for the law to fix a minimum age for marriage of a girl/ boy.

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11.4 Age at Marriage in India Apart from marriage being almost universal, early marriage is also common in India. As early as the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, efforts were made to curb infant or child marriage. Reformers like Raja Rammohun Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Jotirao Phule and others in the nineteenth and early twentieth century opposed child marriage. According to Das and Dey (1998: 92), the current level of age at marriage in India is low in comparison to most of the low fertility countries (for a historical background to this discussion see Unit 7 in Block 3 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B A programme). You should also pay attention to differences between various religious groups, classes and castes in the matter of age at marriage. The median age at marriage is low in India. This is in spite of legislations, multi-pronged strategies to spread awareness regarding the dangers of early marriage. Starting with Rajasthan, where the female age at marriage was 17.5, the lowest in India in 1991, and going upto Assam, where it was 21.1, the highest in India in 1991, the mean age at marriage for females for 1991 was 18.3 (see the 1991 census of India). In newspapers and journals we read about marriage fairs (mela), especially in rural areas, in which the average age of the bride is reported to be below fifteen years. In some states like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, child marriages continue (National Perspective Plan 1988). Both the ‘Times of India’ and the ‘Hindu’ reported on the occasion of Akhteej festival of 2005 that the girls in some areas refused to participate in such marriage fairs and expressed a strong desire to continue their studies. These girls were aware that the minimum legal age at marriage is 18 years for girls. More than the awareness about the minimum legal age at marriage, the change in attitudes of young girls and a positive articulation of the choice of continuing their education are the signs of changing patterns of marriage in India. For the connexion between low age at marriage and the notions of preserving the chastity or purity of women see CSWI: 1974. Female age at marriage rose from 16.1 years in 1961 to 19.3 in 1991. The rural-urban gap in female age at marriage for 1991 was two years. According to Das and Dey (1998: 109), this indicates that in spite of rise in age at marriage a wide gap in this matter persisted between the rural and urban areas of the country. It is important to note the variation in the age at marriage among different communities in India. For instance, the average age at marriage is as low as 15 years for girls among many of the hill tribes in India, while among the Christians, Parsis and some educated sections living in urban areas, the age at marriage has been above the minimum age prescribed by law (see CSWI 1974: 82 for the factors that help to raise the age at marriage). It is a good idea to complete Reflection and Action 11.2 exercise for gathering your own mini database on age at marriage in India. Reflection and Action 11.2 Interview at least fifty married persons of your family and in your neighbourhood on the following aspects of marriage. Please make sure to include at least fifty percent women in your sample of fifty persons. Note down each person’s age, sex, educational qualifications and religion before you ask her/ him the questions.

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i) ii)

Has any one in your family remained unmarried after the age of 35? If, yes, what are the reasons for this? At what age did you get married? Relate the answers to what has been discussed in the unit, and find out if the person remained unmarried by choice or by necessity. That is to say has he/she taken a voluntary decision to remain single? Or, has the person remained unmarried because of reasons like physical defects, poor economic status of the family or dowry etc.? Secondly, find out reasons for the person’s marriage at an age much below or above the minimum legal age at marriage. Compare your answers with those given by other students at your study center and basing on your findings, write a short essay of one thousand words on ‘age at marriage in my family and neighbourhood’.

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns

11.5 Rules Regulating Marriage In all societies we find ways of regulating who may not marry whom and who may marry whom.

Incest rules The rules of incest decide who is outside the category of those one can marry. Can you quickly count up to ten such persons whom you are not allowed to marry under any circumstances? If yes, you already know about incest rules. Incest refers to sexual union of near kin.

Positive (endogamy) and negative (exogamy) rules There are positive and negative rules of marriage to determine the unit within which one should marry and the unit within which one must not marry. The positive rules pertain to the unit of endogamy within which one can marry. In India, among the Hindus this refers by and large to one’s caste or sub-caste. The negative rules pertain to the unit of exogamy within which one must not marry. Among the higher caste Hindus, this unit is one’s gotra, within which one is not allowed to marry (for the four clan rule of gotra exogamy see Unit 7 in Block 3 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B A programme). Do you remember reading in the newspapers reports about marriages between persons of the same gotra? Local caste panchayats have reportedly taken action against such couples though the courts have upheld their marriages. Such cases are indicators of changes in the perceptions of people about rules of marriage. Even the unit of endogamy is no longer a universally accepted unit of positive rules of marriage. For a detailed discussion of the rules of endogamy including the rule of hypergamy and hypogamy see Unit 7 in Block 3 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B A programme.

Inter-caste/inter-religion/same sex marriages You must have noticed many inter-caste and inter-religion marriages taking place in modern times. In legal terms all such marriages are valid and in social terms too they are fast gaining full recognition. As long as marriages follow the norms of heterosexual unions, society in India is culturally accepting such marriages. Indeed as mentioned before, there are yet more alternate forms of marital unions reportedly taking place in India and we have to wait and watch their fate in our socio-cultural milieu. Such unions relate to two persons of same sex deciding to live as husband and wife. It is not clear

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what terms we should be using to describe such relationships. It is apparent that the current predominance of heteronormativity in marriage relationships leaves little scope for exploring different forms of relationships. One is not sure if queer or marginalised sexualities can occupy a recognisable space in the mainstream culture.

The case of migrant tribals I would also mention at this point the little mentioned situation with regard to tribal populations in India. With the erosion of the socio-cultural fabric and traditional economic structures of most tribal groups in India, we find them occupying spaces available to migrant labour. Staying back in native territories means to them the spectre of starvation and moving out in search of livelihood gives them subsistence at survival level. In the midst of this scenario, most migrant tribal women labourers continue to live with the constant fear of sexual abuse. Will it then make any sense if we were to discuss different forms of marriage traditionally found among the tribal communities of India? In this context, you can usefully look at the casestudies carried out under the auspices of the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, by Banerjee 1987, Mitra 1987, and the study by SchenkSandbergen 1995 and by Sen 1995 on migrant tribal women.

Rules applicable to married adults Besides the above issues, we need to also consider those rules, which regulate the conduct of already married persons. The negative rules are those of adultery that restrict sexual access to those already married. You may observe the positive side of rules in polygamous and the levirate or sororate or Islamic short-term marriage (mut’a), whereby already married persons have sexual access to specified married persons.

Breaking rules of marriage Discussions of rules of marriage throw better light on basic structures and processes when we study them in the context of the rules being broken. For example effectiveness of caste or sub-caste endogamy can be judged only by looking at the number of inter-caste marriages and their ‘sooner or later’ acceptance by the kin group. In this connexion, the interface between caste and class gains relevance and the relative class status of the spouse is often a sufficient condition to render an inter-caste marriage more acceptable in due course. Further, increase in the number of so-called urban villages has made inroads into the levels of socio-cultural acceptance of the deviant behaviour of the younger generation. In India we find the commonly listed forms of marriage such as monogamy (marriage of a man to a woman at a time), and polygamy (marriage of a man or woman to more than one spouse). The latter, that is polygamy with its two forms, namely, polygyny (marriage of a man to several women at a time) and polyandry (marriage of a woman to several men at a time) is also prevalent in different parts of the country. For a detailed account of the various forms of marriage in India see Unit 7 in Block 3 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B A programme. In ancient texts of the Hindus we find references to eight forms of marriage (For details see unit 15 on Hindu Social Organisation in Block 4 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B A programme). These forms refer basically to the methods by which a spouse is acquired.

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Let us now take a brief look at the patterns of selecting one’s spouse. Before moving on to the discussion of spouse selection, let us complete Reflection and Action 11.3 for grasping the nature of changes occurring in the patterns of marriage in India.

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns

Reflection and Action 11.3 Carry out a mini survey of fifty to seventy households in the area where you live. Select the households on the basis of a random sample. Visit the selected households and ask the following questions to whoever in the family is willing to answer them. Before asking the questions, note down details about the respondent, like the caste/ sub-caste, class, region, religion, mother tongue, nationality and any other factor that you may like to include.

Questions How many ever-married persons live in the household? What was the form (referring to inter-caste/ inter-religion etc) of marriage of each married person? Based on your findings, write an essay of one thousand words on “Rules of Marriage Observed in My Area”.

11.6 Patterns of Spouse Selection The phenomenon of arranged marriage It is a general perception among all of us that most marriages in India are fixed or arranged by parents or elders on behalf of and/or with the consent of the boy or the girl involved in marriage. We give this pattern of selecting a spouse, the label of ‘arranged marriage’. In contrast to marriage by selfchoice, this pattern of spouse selection is deemed to be an arranged process. In popular usage a marriage by self-choice is known as ‘love marriage’. You may also find in some cases both patterns of spouse selection. There seems to be some arbitrariness about the usage of the two terms. Shah (2005: 22) has made a perceptive observation about arranged marriages. We presume that there was no choice in arranged marriages in traditional India. Of course, in a regime of child marriage a child did not have a choice. This does not, however, mean that the child’s parents and other elders did not have alternatives to choose from. Conversely, in the so-called love marriages among adults in a certain section of society today choice is restricted by a number of social factors. With the above comment in mind you can discuss the prevalence of arranged marriages in India in relation to i)

the rules of endogamy (pertaining to caste/ sub-caste among the Hindus), which limit marriage alliance within certain groups.

ii)

the rules of exogamy which disallow marriage within gotra among the higher caste Hindus.

iii) regulations about positive/ prescriptive (allowing) and negative/ proscriptive (prohibiting) rules about marriage with parallel and crosscousins among the Hindu/ Muslim and Christian sections among speakers of Dravidian languages. iv) customs, which indicate a specific preference for marriage between certain types of relatives or groups, especially among the tribal groups.

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All the above factors make arranged marriages the somewhat more desirable pattern of selection of spouse. For a good number of high caste Hindus, matching of horoscope (charts relating to one’s birth under certain astrological calculations) constitutes an important element in the final choice of the marriage partner. With the advent of information technology tools and their easy availability, apart from astrologers matching the horoscopes of a boy and a girl, computers are used to match horoscopes. Application of information technology can be seen in the proliferation of websites dealing with matchmaking.

Marriage by self-choice In the light of raised age at marriage, prescribed by law, and easy access to information technology for finding a spouse, it is relatively easy for the concerned boy/ girl to find a spouse by self-choice. The traditionally placed restrictions on free interaction between a boy and a girl in India are now almost impossible to enforce and this is yet another factor which has given impetus to marriage by self-choice. The measure of participation in choosing one’s life partner shows variations between different groups. For example, among the Muslims, by and large, the parents, elders or wali (guardian) arrange a marriage (Gazetteer of India 1965: 547 and CSWI 1974: 62). But owing to forces of modernisation along with the spread of education in minority communities, self-choice in selecting one’s spouse is equally prevalent in their cases too. Blumberg and Dwarki (1980: 139) found the following patterns of spouse selection in India. i)

Marriage by parents’/elders’ choice without consulting either the boy or girl

ii)

Marriage by self-choice without consulting parents/ elders

iii) Marriage by self-choice but with parents’ consent iv) Marriage by parents’ choice but with the consent of both the boy and the girl involved in the marriage v)

Marriage by parents’ choice but with the consent of only one of the two partners involved.

Very often, parents/ elders consult the boy and obtain his consent in the choice of spouse. Often, parents/elders do not consider it important to ask the girl whether she approves of the match. Among the urban educated classes arranged marriage with the consent of the boy and the girl appears to be the most preferred pattern. Very often the parents and sometimes the boy/ girl concerned arrange the marriage through newspaper advertisement.

11.7 Marriage Rituals and Status Wedding ceremonies and rites Marriage in India, like everywhere else in the world, entails some rites and ceremonies. Of course, variations exist in rites not only in terms of religion but also in terms of caste, sect and rural/ urban residence. For descriptions of some of the basic rites in a few communities in India see Unit 7 in Block 3 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B A programme.

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Wedding processions and feasts are generally common features of wedding celebrations of all communities in India. Their scale generally follows the socio-economic status of the families of the bride and bridegroom.

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns

You may occasionally find certain sections or groups of people who do not have religious rites in marriage. Such marriages are referred to as customary marriages, which include quite simple practices. For example, among some groups living in the Himalayan tract, putting a ring in the bride’s nose is a customary form of marriage. Customary forms of marriage are generally features of those groups, which permit and practice divorce and secondary marriages. The secondary marriage of a widow or a separated or divorced woman has a simple ceremony to indicate the renewal of her married status (CSWI 1974: 83). The Special Marriage Act of 1954 provides for secular and civil marriage before a registrar. This Act applies to all Indian citizens who chose to make use of its provisions, irrespective of religious affiliations. Civil marriage enables persons to avoid the expense of traditional weddings. All the same, weddings are generally an expensive affair for a large majority of people. Let us examine in the next section why weddings continue to initiate a larger cycle of exchange of material and non-material aspects of status.

Marriage and status We find that in most societies, so also in India, wedding ritual and ceremonies involve both material as well as non-material transactions between the bridegiver and the bride-taker. Such transactions reflect the social structure of the concerned society. Barring some exceptions (relating mainly to matrilineal societies) you would notice that there is the transfer of the wife to her husband’s family. Besides the transfer of the wife, there are two major types of transfers of material wealth that accompany marriage. In one, wealth travels in the opposite direction of the bride and in another it travels along with the bride in the same direction. The former is identified as bride price and the latter as dowry (CSWI 1974:69). The following figure from Barnard and Good (1984: 115) shows the movement of goods in relation to women in both bridewealth and dowry. Certain patrilineal tribes and some castes in the middle and lower rungs of the caste ladder practice the custom of brideprice. For details about variations in the form and amount of bride price, from region to region, from tribe to tribe and within a tribe from time to time see CSWI (1974: 68-72). Sharma (1980) has shown that in some parts of North India bargaining for brideprice is quite common. In some tribes, the bride’s father gets the services of the groom as a form of brideprice. For instances of such ‘bride-service’ in other parts of the world see Barnard and Good (1984: 134-136). Mair (1971: 50) in the context of societies in Africa, and Goody (1976: 8) in a general context, hold that brideprice and bridewealth do not refer to an exchange of goods by the bride and groom. They refer to the exchange units that is the families of the bride and groom, respectively. For a somewhat long discussion of the usage of the two terms, ‘brideprice’ and ‘bridewealth’ see Barnard and Good (1984: 115-117). Goody (1973: 2 and 1976: 11) uses the term ‘indirect dowry’ for the transfers which involve the property passing from the groom (or other members of his family) to the bride herself. In the Indian context, we

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call the same by the term stidhanam. Goody finds it wrong to label such prestations as brideprice. This brings us to the discussion of dowry or direct dowry.

Dowry In broad terms, dowry involves the transfer of valuable gifts from the bride’s side to the groom’s side. Such a transfer of wealth is perceived to confer prestige and honour to both the sides. The bride-giver gains prestige within his community by giving dowry while the bride-taker receives both wealth and prestige in his own and other communities. In 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry Prohibition Act. In 1984 and again in 1986, the Government amended the Act to make the law more stringent and effective. For instance, the husband and his family can be penalised for demanding dowry if his bride dies within seven years of the marriage in other than normal circumstance. There is a Dowry Prohibition Cell to look into complaints about dowry. The legal provisions do not imply the end of marriages with dowry. Though there are progressive young people who voice their strong opinion against dowry and marry without it; there are at the same time, young, educated people who accept this practice and see no harm in it. Some get away by saying that it is their parents (whose wishes they never want to disobey) who perpetuate this practice. Demand for dowry exists among other communities, like the Muslim and Christian. Often, continuous demand for dowry even after marriage causes discord in the family, leading to divorce. Let us look at the issues of divorce and remarriage in India in the next section. Before moving on to the next section, let us complete the Reflection and Action 11.4 for constructing our own perception of the custom of dowry in India. Reflection and Action 11.4 As reported by the ‘Hindu’ of 4th May 2005 (page 15), with reference to a public interest litigation, a three-Judge Bench directed ‘the Centre and the States to consider framing of rules to compel men seeking government employment to furnish information whether they had taken dowry, if so, whether the dowry had been made over to wife as contemplated under the Act. The rules could also ask such information from those already in government service’. Further, the report says, “The court asked the State Governments to give wide publicity to Sections 3 and 4 of the Rules providing for the maintenance of lists of presents or gifts to the bride and bridegroom and to appoint a sufficient number of dowry prohibition officers with independent charge in each district of the State concerned; to take steps to step up anti-dowry literacy among the people”. Find out if your own family or a family known to you, gave or took dowry at the time of a marriage in the family. In the light of your findings and the above excerpt about latest efforts to promote the anti-dowry movement, write a short note of five hundred words on “Persistence of Dowry in Our Society”, highlighting the causes and consequences of taking and giving dowry.

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11.8 Dissolution of Marriage

Marriage and Its Changing Patterns

You read at the beginning of Unit 11 that it is not easy to define ‘marriage’ with precision, so also correspondingly it is not easy to define ‘divorce in clear terms, except saying that only those who marry can opt for divorce. Often, breakdown in a marriage is not a one time event. It happens in stages. We need to carefully study the circumstances under which it is possible to seek divorce and its particular mode acceptable in the context of a particular society. Mitchell (1961: 323) holds that there is general correlation between marriage stability, “geneticial rights” over offspring, and the form of descent. Barnard and Good (1984: 119) conclude, All things being equal, marriage should be stable and of long duration in patrilineal societies where such rights are vested in corporate descent groups; of medium duration and stability in unilineal societies wherein these rights are held by individuals rather than corporate groups; and of short duration and low stability in matrilineal societies where geneticial rights are never transferred out with corporate groups, and in “bilateral societies” where such rights are irrelevant. The above quotation provides us with a reasonable basis for constructing hypotheses in the context of particular societies for studying the issue of dissolution of marriage.

a) Divorce The possibilities and mechanisms of dissolving a marital union have varied through time, between and within communities. For details of the how, when and what of divorce in different communities in India, see Unit 7 in Block 3 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B A programme. We need to make a special note of the efforts on the part of Muslim organisations in India to bring about changes in the practice of ‘triple talaq’ (refer to section in Unit 11 our earlier mention of a model ‘Nikah-Nama’). Sharma (2005: 15) reported in the ‘Hindu’ of 4th may 2005, Hasina Khan of Awaz-e-Niswan, who represents one of several groups that have lobbied for a model ‘nikahnama’, told the ‘Hindu’ that the document presented by the AIMPLB was “ridiculous” and also “dangerous”. ….She said that although the model ‘nikahnama’ does advise men to avoid divorce and the practice of saying ‘talaq’ in one sitting does not rule out that it is incorrect. “There has been no basic reform,” she said. Disturbed by the tenor of reforms in the name of a model ‘nikahnama’, Muskaan, a woman activist, according to the ‘Hindu’ of 7th May 2005, “tore the model ‘nikahnama’ drafted by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) in Bhopal”. The debate over Muslim women’s rights has brought to the forefront the fact of women being treated as second-class citizens. The fact that AIMPLB has come out with a somewhat more flexible approach to the question of divorce shows that there is some space for negotiation and arbitration. These developments symbolise the transformation that we need to focus on while studying changing patterns of marriage in India. Recognition of divorce leads us to the next logical step of the remarriage of a divorcee, and also of a widowed person.

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Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship

b) Remarriage Remarriage in the case of a divorcee or a widowed person is a matter of concern in almost all sections of the Indian population. The increase in the rate of divorce has given rise in the rate of second marriage for both men and women in India. The state of being a widow/widower is a direct outcome of the death of a married person and this necessitates an examination of the rights, restrictions and duties entailing this state for both a man and a woman. For instance, Fuller (1979: 463) has reported that Brahman widowers cannot work as temple priests. Sharma (1980: 53-54) has observed that in parts of North India, as per custom (not legally), a widow without children may not inherit property. It reverts to her husband’s natal family. Existence of many negative sanctions imposed on widows may encourage them to remarry. Many groups that did not earlier allow widows to re-marry, have now given more flexibility in this matter. For detailed accounts of widow and widower remarriage see Unit 7 in Block 3 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B.A. programme. While summing up this section, you should consider the customary ban on remarriage of widows of higher castes among the Hindus. Those with education and relative affluence, thereby higher social status, do not observe such customs and the law of the land permits such marriages. Remarriage brings into existence a variety of step-relationships. It is important to pay attention to the sociological aspects of such relationships. The data to collect is to be with reference to terms of referring to and terms of addressing such relatives as well as the rights to inheritance of stepsiblings. Children born and brought up in a nuclear family setting have been reported to find it a welcome extension of close relatives to socialise with. These impressions need to be explored in in-depth sociological studies.

11.9 Conclusion Unit 11 focused on changing aspects of marriage in India. At the same time it discussed common and diverse features of marriage in different communities of the country. We raised the question about universality of marriage in India and pointed out the trends indicating deeper changes in the institution of marriage. In almost all aspects of marriage, namely, age at marriage, rules regulating marriage, patterns of spouse selection, wedding ceremonies and rites, issues of status and dissolution of marriage and occurrence of remarriage, we concentrated on the nature of changes taking place in the context of marriage in India.

11.10 Further Reading Uberoi, Patricia 1993. Family, Kinship and Marriage in India. Oxford University Press: New Delhi. Jain, Shobhita 1996. Bharat mein Parivar, Vivah aur Natedari. Rawat Publications: Jaipur (chapters two to seven dealing with marriage and its changing patterns in North, North-east and South India).

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UNIT 12

DEVOLUTION OF POWERS AND LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

Structure 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5

Introduction Panchayati Raj System Reconstitution of Panchayat System Decentralisation Constitutional Amendments 12.5.1 12.5.2 12.5.3

12.6 12.7

The 73rd Amendment The 74th Amendment Limitations of the Amendments

Summary Exercises

12.1 INTRODUCTION The idea of local self-government had existed in India even in ancient times. Even if we accept its beginning as an organisational concept with the Ripon’s resolution it is more than a century and two decades old. In its tumultuous career it has seen many ups and downs. In spite of a formal inauguration by the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959, after the Balvant Rai Mehta committee recommendation in 1957, these institutions could not take proper roots in the country. Some of the scholars even declared that Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) were like failed God. The Janata Government appointed the Ashok Mehta committee to rejuvenate the PRIs. But the 73rd and 74th amendment, which were passed in 1992 and came into force in April 1994, have virtually revolutionised the idea of local self-government - both rural and urban - by bestowing constitutional status on them. These amendments were passed in the light of the experience of the Local-Self Governing Institutions in India. They have made a sincere attempt to overcome the limitations faced by these institutions. The beginning of the idea of decentralisation in India as an organisational concept can be traced to Ripon’s Resolution in 1882 which aimed at involving the ‘intelligent class of public -spirited men in the management of rural areas under the British rule. In the years to come district boards and taluka boards were set up with nominated members to look after health, roads and education. But this effort did not succeed in making villages as basic unit of local self-government. A resolution of 1918 restated that the objective of self-government is to train people in the management of their own local affairs. The District Board Act of 1922 led to the reconstitution of the Boards. They were entrusted with the responsibilities of road maintenance, tree planting, hospitals, schools and drainage etc.

12.2 PANCHAYATI RAJ SYSTEM Panchayat Act of 1920 was conceived as local courts and was completely judicial in character. As there was hardly any devolution of finances and responsibilities, its role as the local unit of administration, development and rural upliftment remained non-functional. 2

Among the Indian leaders, Mahatma Gandhi made very strong plea for village republics. Articles 40 under the Directive Principles of State Policy included in the part IV of the constitution, advised the government to take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority which would enable them to function as units of selfgovernment. State governments were supposed to enact appropriate legislation for this purpose. The Indian planners and policy makers launched a multipurpose Community Development Programme (CDPs) with the objective of improving the conditions of the rural masses. This programme aimed at training and sending development personnel Block Development Officers (BDO), Extension Officers and Village Level Workers (VLWs) into villages. This group of officers were supposed to act as agents of change. They were expected to galvanise rural masses by encouragement, demonstration and offer of material assistance. The CDPs failed to achieve the desired objectives. The Planning Commission requested a committee under the chairmanship of Balvant Rai Mehta to develop the ideas for a system of democratic decentralisation which would anchor the rural developmental efforts. The Balvant Rai Mehta Committee Report came up with a number of recommendations that were incorporated in the panchayat legislation of the various states in the following years. This committee recommended democratic decentralisation with a provision of a three- tier structure [village-block- district]. It also recommended for transfer of resources and responsibilities and channelisation of funds for various developmental programmes through the three- tier system. This report generated opportunity for launching block planning in states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and district planning in others like Maharashtra and Gujarat. In the 1960s Panchayati Raj Institutions were portrayed as a God that failed. One of the main reasons of failure was the sabotage by state politicians who were not enthusiastic about devolving powers to the district level or below. They were apprehensive that Panchayati Raj Instututions with real powers may pose a threat to their power and influence. Towards the end of the 1960s when Indira Gandhi was donning a progressive garb and wished to implement land reforms, it was argued that Panchayati Raj Institutions could not be involved as they were dominated by the upper caste and landed elements. The 1960s also witnessed the advent of the Green Revolution that necessitated centralised planning and came in conflict with the ideals of decentralisation on which PRIs were based. Since rural areas in many parts of the country were still under the hands of feudal landed interest, government sponsored inputs for ushering the Green Revolution could have been monopolised by them. Both central and state government had started bypassing and thus undermining the authority and significance of the PRIs during this period. Central government created its own administrative machinery for implementing many of Indira Government programmes such as Small Farmers’ Development Agency, Drought Prone Area Programme, Integrated Rural Development Programme and National Rural Employment Programme, aiming at economic justice. The lack of resources, absence of coordination, dependence on district development staff, lack of delegation of effective authority, domination by the higher castes and better off sections of society had rendered the PRIs ineffective and purposeless as institutions of decentralisation and development. By the middle of 1970s governments both at the center and in the states had become indifferent to the PRIs. They had become defunct; elections to these institutions were not being held and at most of the places the sitting councils were either dissolved or suspended.

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12.3 RECONSTITUTION OF PANCHAYAT SYSTEM The process of rejuvenation started with the reconstitution of the Panchayats in West Bengal and by the appointment of the Ashok Mehta committee by the Janta Party government in the late 1970s. The mid-seventies also marked a discernible shift of opinion in favour of conceding larger political space to local communities in the governing process. Local self-governing institutions were supposed to play an important role in reordering societal power equations. As the Janata Party Government had pledged its commitment to the Gandhian philosophy, the overall atmosphere seemed to be conducive for the resurgence of the Panchayati Raj Institutions. Another plausible reason seems to be the fact that by the late 1970s the Green Revolution had become a decade old and it had given birth to rich peasant class that had benefited from the Green Revolution. The rich and middle peasants were fully aware of the importance of the direct access to decentralised government machinery more particularly its delivery system. Capturing village councils was very much in tune with the newly acquired economic power of this class and their motivation to count politically. The central place of the Panchayati Raj Institutions was restored. The Ashok Mehta Committee Report mentioned rooting of developmental programme through official bureaucracy, inelastic finance, dominance of local institutions by economically and socially privileged sections of society as reasons for the failure of the Panchayati Raj Institutions. Ashok Mehta Committee report refused to accept the view that Panchayati Raj was a failed God. In fact he credited these institutions for starting the process of democratic seed drilling in the Indian soil and making the citizens more consciousness of their rights than before. Among other positive fallouts was the bridging of gap between bureaucratic elite and the people. It also gave birth to a young dynamic leadership with a modernistic vision and social change oriented outlook. Mehta also averred that it helped rural people to develop a development psyche. The Ashok Mehta Committee was innovative in many ways. The participation of political parties in Panchayati Raj election was pleaded to make them more accountable and link them with the political process at the higher level. Mehta hoped that elections would translate into political powers in the hands of poor because of their numerical strength and organisation. It also made a powerful plea for women’s participation in the Panchayati Raj Institutions. This report had also proposed reservation of seats for both women and weaker sections of society. The decline of the Janta government created a hostile climate for the implementation of the Mehta report. In spite of this, the non-Congress state governments of Karnataka, Andhra and West Bengal took concrete measures to reactivate the PRIs. In Karnataka the PRIs that came into existence incorporated most of the recommendations made by the Mehta report. While non-Congress state governments were busy implementing the recommendations of the Ashok Mehta committee, the new congress government at the center appointed other commissions. C.H. Hanumantharao’s working group of 1983 and GVK Rao Committee report of 1985 emphasised the need of integration of the panchayati raj system with development programmes and administration. The concept paper on Panchayati Raj prepared by the L. M. Singhvi Committee Report of 1986 suggested that Panchayati Raj institutions should be closely involved in the planning and implementation of the rural development programmes. Both Singhvi and Ashok Mehta Committees recommended democratic decentralisation on constitutional basis.

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The Sarkaria Commission constituted to go into dynamics of center state relations, made a mention of the dysfunctional PR institutions and suggested legal provisions for the regular elections and sessions of Zilla Parishads and Municipal Corporations for their resurgence. The P.K. Thungon Committee set up in 1988 to suggest the type of political and administrative structure in district for district planning, advocated constitutional status for panchayati raj institutions. The Thungon Committee also favoured constitutional provisions to ensure timely and regular elections to the PRIs. According to this committee, Zilla Parishad should be the only development agency in a district.

12.4 DECENTRALISATION Devolution is a form of decentralization which seeks to create independent level of authority of government with functions and responsibilities. It is an arrangement for central or state governments to relinquish some of its functions to the new units of government that are outside its control. This can be achieved by providing for it in the Constitution itself or by ordinary law of the land. One of the major reasons for the failure of the local self-government institutions in India has been half-hearted devolution of powers to them. The 73rd and 74th amendments also contained provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities to rural (Panchayati Raj Institutions) and urban (Nagarpalikas) local self- government institutions. These amendments respectively provided that the panchayats at village, block and district levels would have 29 subjects of rural importance as listed in the 11th schedule and municipalities would have 18 subjects of urban importance as listed in the 12th schedule. These amendments bestowed upon the local self- government bodies - both rural and urban - the responsibility to prepare and implement a number of development plans based on the needs of local people. They operationalise the concepts of spatial planning and micro level planning to facilitate decentralised socio economic development in India. With the help of these powers the local self government institutions are supposed to promote agricultural, industrial, infrastructural and ecological development, poverty alleviation and development of women, children, scheduled and backward castes. These development functions are in addition to the obligatory functions such as ensuring the supply of drinking water, street lighting, maintenance of schools and hospitals etc. There seem to be plethora of debates involving the concept, utility and effectiveness of the local self- government institutions. In early village councils an arrangement of government by consent and an active sense of community prevailed over caste divisions. Since beginning, these features of the PRIs have been used to legitimise them. According to Lieten and Srivastava, the village panchayats were established as units of local self- government and focal points of development in country at large more often than not captured by autocratic and invariably corrupt leaders from among the male elite. As argued by some other scholars, the institutions were used by the rural powerful for their benefits. Paul Brass was of the view that PRIs were made to fail because of the reluctance of state politicians to devolve much powers to the district level or below because they feared that if such local institutions acquired real powers they would become alternative source of influence and patronage. Rajani Kothari argued that village councils were nothing but catchy slogans and false that promises had enabled the rulers to contain the forces of revolt and resistance and prevent public discontent from getting organised. Ashok Mehta who headed the second Committee on Panchayati Raj refused to be pessimistic about the PRIs. He thought that the process of democratic seed

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drilling in the Indian soil made people conscious of their rights and also cultivated in them a developmental psyche. He was of the opinion that these institutions had failed because development programmes were channelised through official state bureaucracy, finance had been inelastic and these institutions were dominated by privileged sections of society. Noorjahan Baba argues that centralised planning and administration were considered necessary to guide and control the economy and to integrate and unify new nations emerging from long periods of colonial rules. This might have been possible because as Lieten and Srivastava think, the Indian state was reputed to have an enlightened vision and a developmental mission. According to Baba in the 1960s there was great disillusionment with centralised planning because it failed to achieve equitable distribution of the benefits of economic growth among regions and groups within developing countries. Henry Maddic is of the view that there exists a triangular relationship between democracy, decentralisation and development. The experience of the PRIs in different states of the country has not been the same. The formal beginning was made when Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurated PRIs at in Nagaur in Rajasthan October 1959. The Rajasthan model of PRIs revolved around the three tier, village panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad. The panchayat samiti at the block level was the kingpin of the Rajasthan model. In contrast to the executive role of the panchayat samiti, the zilla parishads were advisory bodies. Maharashtra and Gujarat followed a model in which zilla parishads were nodal point of action as main units of planning, development and administration. In Maharashtra, the zilla parishad executed not only the schemes under Community Development Programme but also a large portion of progammes of various government departments. In Karnataka, after the introduction of panchayat reform act of 1985, all functions and functionaries of development departments were transferred to panchayati raj institutions. The District Rural Development Agencies were merged with the Panchayati Raj Institutions. To give substance to the idea of decentralisation, the state budget of Karnataka was split into two providing a separate budget for PRIs. The plans and budgets prepared by Mandal Panchayats could not be altered by Zilla Parishad or state government in Karnataka. Similarly district plans of the zilla parishad could not be touched by the state government. In Andhra Pradesh, the Zilla Parishads endowed with limited functions have shown encouraging results in the filed of education. Even in Tamil Nadu PRIs have done a commendable job in the fields of education, water supply, roads and nutrition. The PRIs had been functioning in West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with varying degree of success. But the experience in the field of local selfgoverning institutions is qualitatively different after the 73rd and 74th amendments became acts because they made parliamentary democracy in our country participatory in the real sense. These amendments gave substance and meaning to the local self- governing institutions. These amendments removed the bottlenecks from the paths of empowerment of the weaker sections of society like the dalits, tribals and the women. Consequent upon the enactent of the act almost all the states and union territories have enacted their legisltation. Election to the PRIs have been held all over the country. The elections to PRIs in different parts of the country have brought out some encouraging facts. Karnataka sends maximum number of women to the PRIs followed by Kerala and Manipur. Uttar Pradesh ranks the lowest in this regard. Empowerment of women has not been a very smooth affair. There are instances of women members being accompanied by their husbands or a male member of the family. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have earned the distinction of electing all women panchayats. The 6

provision of reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has ensured greater representation to people from these sections. In many of the states local level functionaries of government departments have been placed under the control of panchayats. The governments of Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala have passed orders to this effect. In Madhya Pradesh recruitment of school teachers have started at the block level and the powers of evaluating their performance and confirmation have been transferred to the PRIs at the block level. Rajasthan and Haryana witnessed strikes by the staffs of veterinary and education departments against the move of the state governments to transfer their services under the control and supervision of panchayats. The Apex district level development agency District Rural Development Agency [DRDA] is in the stage of its merger with the PRIs in Orissa, MP and Maharashtra. In Karnataka the merger was achieved way back in 1987. The government of Rajasthan has not been in favour of the merger. Instead it aims at securing effective coordination between DRDA and Zilla Parishad.

12.5 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS Towards the end of his tenure as Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi evinced keen interest in the panchayati raj institutions. The Congress had lost elections in some of the states. The whole idea of conferring power on people through PRIs was more a slogan to influence the people before the election. He held five workshops on responsive administration in which he interacted with district magistrate and collectors of all the districts in the country. These workshops unambiguously favoured constitutional provision and mandatory regular elections to the PRIs. The Rajiv Gandhi government introduced the 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill in 1989. The main problem with this amendment was that it sought to establish direct links with PRIs bypassing states. As local government was a state subject, it was seen as a threat to federalism because this bill proposed to take panchayati raj from state list and include it in the concurrent list. Similarly the idea of holding elections to the PRIs under the supervision of the Central Election Commission and also the idea of providing finance to these institutions by the Central Finance Commission aroused misgivings about the intentions of the Rajiv Gandhi government. The 73rd and 74th amendments in many ways, appeared to be a modified version of the proposals of Ashok Mehta Report. These amendments bestowed constitutional status on Panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika institutions. They added part IX and part IXA to the constitution while part IX containing articles 243 to 243O relates to the panchayats while part IXA containing articles 243P to 243ZG relates to the municipalities. They provided for 33% reservation for women in both panchayat and nagarpalika institutions as well as for the position of chairpersons of these bodies. Provisions were also made for reservation of seats in these bodies for SCs and STs according to their proportion in population in that panchayat. One third of the total seats reserved for SCs and STs shall be reserved for women belonging to SCs and STs. Article 243K provides for State Election Commission. The Governor of the concerned state has powers to appoint the State Election Commissioner and assign the responsibility of preparing the electoral rolls and conducting the elections to the panchayats. Sufficient care has been taken to ensure the impartiality of the Election Commission. Once appointed, the Election Commissioner cannot be removed from the office except in like manners and on like grounds as a High Court Judge. The terms and conditions of his office cannot be changed to his advantage after his appointment. Regular elections to the local

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bodies after the completion of five years term and within six months of their dissolution is the responsibility of the State Election Commission. Article 243-I of Constitution provides for state level Finance Commission to review the finances. The constitution also requires the Central Finance Commission to recommend measures to augment Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the panchayats.

12.5.1

The 73rd Amendment

The 73rd Amendment Act provides for a three-tier Panchayati Raj system at the village, intermediate (block or taluka) and district levels. Small states with population below twenty lakh have been given the option of not constituting panchayat at the intermediate level. This Act acknowledged the role of Gram Sabha (the assembly of people) in the empowerment of the rural people and provided for the strengthening of the Gram Sabhas for the successful functioning of the PRIs. The Act intended to make it a powerful body, the ultimate source of democratic power and an epitome of people’s power at the gram panchayat level. The Gram Sabha consists of all the residents of a village, and those above 18 years of age are on the electoral rolls of a village. Almost all the State Acts mention the functions of the Gram Sabha. These functions of Gram Sabha include discussion on the annual statement of accounts, administration, reports selection of beneficiaries of anti poverty programmes. The State Acts of Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu give power of approval of budget to the Gram Sabha. A Gram Pradhan is elected by the Gram Sabha. It also elects other members of the Gram Panchayat. The number of members varies from state to state, and some of them have been reserved for SCs and STs according to their population and one third of the total seats have been reserved for the women. The obligatory functions of the Gram Panchayat include provision of safe drinking water, maintenance of public wells, ponds, dispensaries, primary and secondary schools, etc. Now the Gram Panchayats have been assigned developmental functions like minor irrigation schemes, rural electrification, cottage and small industries and poverty alleviation programmes also. The Block level PRI institution is known by different names in different parts of the country. In Gujarat they are called Taluka Panchayat, in UP Kshetra Samiti and in MP they are known as Janapada Panchayat. They include (1) the Sarpanchas of the Panchayats (2) the MPs, MLAs and MLCs from that area (3) the elected members of the Zilla Parishad (4) the Chairman of the town area committee of that area. The powers of the Panchayat Samiti include provision of improved variety of seeds and fertilizers, maintenance of schools, hospitals, roads, implementing anti- poverty programmes and supervising the functioning of the Gram Panchayats. The Zilla Parishad is the Apex body of the PRIs. It coordinates the activities of the Panchayat Samitis. It includes the Pradhans of the Panchayat Samitis of the district, MPs and MLAs from the district, one representative each from the cooperative societies of the district, and also chairmen of the municipalities of the district. The Zilla Parishad approves the budgets of the Panchayat Samitis. It maintains educational institutions, irrigation schemes, and undertakes programmes for the weaker sections.

12.5.2

The 74th Amendment

The 74th Amendments Act provides for the constitution of three types of local self- governing institutions in the urban areas. It provides for Municipal Corporations for major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna etc. Middle rung cities have Municipal Councils and smaller towns have Nagar Panchayats. Every Municipal Corporation 8

has a General Council. It has members elected by the adult citizens of the city. These members are called Councillors. Apart from the elected members, the Council also has eldermen elected by the elected Councillors. The MPs and MLAs are also the members. The Mayor is elected by the members from among themselves. Some of the states provide for direct election of the Mayor. He is known as the first citizen of the city. The Municipal Commissioner is the chief executive officer of the Corporation. The Mayor may ask the Municipal commissioner to prepare and present report on any matter. The compulsory functions of a Municipal Corporation includes maintenance of hospitals, supplying safe drinking water, electricity, running schools and keeping an account of births and deaths. The developmental functions of the Municipal Corporations include launching of poverty alleviation programmes for the weaker sections. A Municipality is composed of Councillors elected by the local population. Seats have been reserved for SCs and STs according to their proportion in the population of the town and one third of the seats have been reserved for women. The Presiding officer of a Municipal Board is called the Chairman who is elected by the voters of the town. In some states the Chairman of the Municipal Board has powers to appoint teachers of primary schools and even lower level staffs. An executive officer looks after the day to day administration of the Municipality. Among the compulsory functions are supplying electricity, drinking water, health facilities, schools and maintaining roads and keeping records of weaker sections of the society. The small towns have Nagar Panchayats. Its members are elected by adult citizens of the town. As in the case of other local self governing institutions, seats are reserved for SC/ST and women. Their functions include provision of drinking water, maintenance of primary schools and registration of births and deaths.

12.5.3

Limitations of the Amendments

Inspite of the revolutionary changes brought about by the 73rd Amendment it suffers from some serious limitations. Ambiguity about the functional jurisdiction of panchayats is one of its serious limitations. In the absence of properly defined jurisdiction, it is dependent upon the discretion of state legislatures for being assigned the functions. This act does not mention the powers and functions of the Gram Sabha. This amendment mentions that the Gram Sabha will perform the functions which may be assigned to it by the State legislature. The provision relating to Gram Sabha in the laws enacted by most of the states reduce the Gram Sabha to a powerless body which will routinely rubber stamp the decisions taken up by the Gram Panchayat. The Chief Ministers’ Conference held in August 1997 at New Delhi ruled that it would be necessary to vest in Gram Sabha the powers to sanction and disburse benefits in open meetings, to decide location of drinking water hand pumps etc without having to refer the matter to officials or other authorities. This conference also held that it is necessary to vest the ownership of natural resources in Gram Panchayats and also the decision - making powers concerning the management of and income from such resources in the Gram Sabha. Another important limitation of the PRIs, after the amendment is that they still function in the grip of the state bureaucracy. The village Pradhan has to contact several times in a month the block office for technical and financial sanctions. Yet another omission of the act is that there is no mention of the employees of the panchayat and their administrative autonomy. Panchayats in the past failed to deliver because they had inadequate control over people working to implement the programmes. Even when responsibilities in the field of health and primary education have been transferred, PRIs have no control over the staff and budget of these departments. The

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UNIT 12 LABOUR : CHILDREN Structure 12.0 Objectives 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Definition, Estimates, Literacy Level and Social Background 12.2.1 12.2.2 12.2.3 12.2.4

Definition Estimates Literacy Levels Socio-Economic Background

12.3 Causes and Conditions of Child Labour 12.3.1 Rural Areas 12.3.2 Urban Areas

12.4 Constitutional Provisions and Government Policies 12.4.1 12.4.2 12.4.3 12.4.4

Constitutional Provisions Committee on Child Labour Legislations on Child Labour Problems of Implementation

12.5 The Challenges of Meeting the Basic Needs of Children 12.6 Let Us Sum Up 12.7 Key Words 12.8 Further Readings 12.9 Answers to Check Your Progress

12.0 OBJECTIVES After going through the unit you should be able to: z

Explain who is a child labourer;

z

Discuss various reasons for child labour;

z

Describe various sectors where child labour is employed;

z

Narrate the conditions of child labour; and

z

Explain the application of policies and legislations enacted for the regulation of child labour.

12.1 INTRODUTION

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In this course there are two units on children. One is on child labour and the other (in Block 5 Unit 14) is on the general problems of children. This unit discusses the problems of child labour in India. It begins with a discussion of its definition, and then gives the estimates and social background of child labour in India. The nature of employment of the child labour in the rural and urban areas has also been examined in this unit. This unit also goes into the various constitutional provisions and legislations on child labour in India. And finally the unit tells you about the challenge of meeting the basic needs of children.

12.2 DEFINITION, ESTIMATES, LITERACY LEVEL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND

Labour : Children

In this section we shall be discussing the conceptual aspect and social background of the child labour in India.

12.2.1 Definition According to the Census of India definition a child worker is one who works for the major part of the day and is below the age of 14 years. There is no agreement about the definition of the ‘child’. The 1989 UN Convention on the ‘Rights of the Child’ sets the upper age at 18. The International Labour Organisation refers to children as those who are under 15 years. In India children above the age of 14 years are old enough to be employed.

12.2.2 Estimates Estimates of child labour vary widely. Children’s work participation is higher in the less developed regions of the world them these of the more developed ones. While in 2000, the world average of the child work participation rate was 11.3%, their participation rates in the less developed regions and the least developed countries were 13% and 31.6% respectively. Child work participation has been eliminated from the more developed regions of the world. In India in 2000 child work participation was 12.1% (Children Data Bank 2001). As indicated there are varied estimates on child labour in India. The Human Rights watch (1996) estimates that there are 60 to 115 million working children in India. According to UNICEF this figures range between 70 to 90 million. According to ILO one third of the child labour of world live in India. The UNDP estimate says that there are more than 100 million child labour in India of which around one million work as bounded labour. The 32nd round of the National Sample Survey estimated that about 17.36 million children were in the labour force. A study sponsored by the Ministry of Labour and conducted by Opreations Research Group (1985) puts the figures of working children around 44 million. Recent studies also suggest that Indian has about 44.5 million child labourers of whom nearly 7.5 million are bonded labourers. According to another estimate by Asian Labour Monitor every third household in India has a working child in the age group of 5-14. It is thus very difficult to arrive at correct estimates of child labour because of wide variations in different studies. A large number of child workers are in the informal sector and many are selfemployed on family farms and enterprises. The work participation rate of children in rural areas is three times more than in urban areas. According to 1981 Census there were 6.7 million male children and 3.5 million female children working in the rural areas for the major part of the year who were recorded as main workers. Their work participation rates were 9.2 per cent for boys and 5.3 per cent for girls. After including marginal workers the participation rate increased to 10.0 per cent boys and 7.6 per cent for girls. In other words child work participation rate was substantial among rural children as compared to urban areas. In the urban areas the work participation rate (including marginal workers) was 3.6 per cent among boys and 1.3 per cent among girls between 5-14 years.

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Child labour makes a very significant contribution in arid and semiarid areas where families have to use maximum resources in traditional rainfed farming systems for about 3-4 months during the rainy season. A lot of child labour is used in collection of goods viz., fuel, fodder, minor forest produce etc. Child labour is an integral part of farmers’ adaptive methods to cope with seasonal demands for labour. These situations usually do not encourage the children to go to school for study. This is more so for the female children. However, it is very difficult to make a correct estimate of these child labour.

12.2.3 Literacy Levels Most of the studies have found a strong correlation between low literacy levels and work partcipation rates. In rural areas only 4.1 per cent boys and 2.2 per cent girl child workers were literate. Similarly in urban areas 7.0 per cent boys and 2.5 per cent girl child workers were literate. The main reason for not sending these children to school is the opportunity costs to parents who lose the wages earned by the child. Activity 1 You may have come across a number of child labour working in your locality. Collect information directly from them about their educational status/levels of literacy. Based on your findings prepare a note of about one page, on their levels of literacy. Also explain the major cause of their illiteracy. If possible, exchange your note with your colearners at the Study Centre. Box 1 Gender Differentiation and Child Labour The process of gender differentiation and division of responsibility begins early in our society. Most of the children out of schools come from disadvantaged sections, and the majority of them are girls, as their parents do not see the relevance of educating them. In most economically disadvantaged families, the greater the poverty the more aggravated is the situation of the girl child. The unequal access to education, health, and nutrition, as compared to boys in the family, further restricts their growth and development. The situation of wage earning girls in the informal sector or in home-based work is even worse. As an invisible worker she is also required to look after younger siblings and do all the domestic chores in addition to helping mother in her work. A study of girl ragpickers in Delhi noted that all the girls interviewed were from families which has migrated from Bangladesh and West Bengal. Besides ragpicking they were also engaged in preparing match sticks, domestic work, collecting fuel and water. Four years old girls used to go with their elder brothers and sisters for ragpicking. They are prone to catch intestinal infection and skin diseases. The industries which employ a large percentage of girl children are glass works, gem cutting and polishing, match stick factories and fireworks. In these industries their work conditions are very bad.

12.2.4 Socio-Economic Background

72

You have earlier learnt in Unit 12 of Block 1, ESO-02, about the nature and extent of rural and urban poverty in India. The problem of poverty in India has been described in terms of social classes and castes. In rural areas landless agricultural labourers, marginal landholders, and artisans constitute poor

households. Landless labourers mostly belong to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In urban areas the poor people live in slums or in temporary hutments or on pavements. The problem of poverty in India has also been discussed in terms of its magnitude e.g. according to official figures about 40 per cent people in India live in object poverty. Rural poor unable to earn a living often migrate to towns in search of work. The face of urban India is changing, as 40 million people including 6 million children are living in slums. Millions of children from these poorer households in rural and urban areas are forced to work at an early age to supplement the family’s inadequate income. Child Labour is used as a survival strategy by poor households. Thus, India has the largest child labour force in the world.

Labour : Children

Check Your Progress 1 i)

What are the reasons for child labour? Answer in about six lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

Who is a child worker in India? Answer in about three lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

12.3 CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF CHILD LABOUR Children, as we have seen, are employed in all types of work. We can examine the type of work they do in the rural and urban areas.

12.3.1 Rural Areas Children work as wage earners, as self-employed workers and as unpaid family helpers. In rural areas children are often employed for grazing cattle, in agricultural activities, in home-based industries (bidi making, handlooms, handicrafts etc.). The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) analysis shows that the prevalence of child labour across India is related to: i)

proportion (high concentration) of Scheduled Caste population

ii)

low levels of female literacy

iii) low wage rates for adult workers iv) nature of (small) size of land holdings v)

home-based production.

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Structure in Tranistion – II

Higher wage rates for women had correspondingly lower participation of girls as they were retained by their families for domestic work. Hence the NSSO study also suggested that improving the working conditions of adult women and providing alternatives to employment of children, can reduce child labour. Various studies have shown that the number of child workers is large in rural areas. Most of the child workers are concentrated among the landless agricultural households, in agriculture and livestock activities and in homebased enterprises (food processing, weaving, handicrafts, bidi rolling, papad making etc.). The demand for child labour is also determined by culturally prescribed division of labour by age and gender. Girls in the age-group of 10-14 work much harder than boys.

Child Labour

12.3.2 Urban Areas In urban areas children work as wage earners in small industries and workshops such as bidi, match and fireworks, glass and bangle, carpet weaving, handloom, gem polishing, potteries, paper bags, plastic goods and fish processing. Match making and fireworks industries have a large incidence of working children of a very young age. They also work at construction sites, stone quarries or in loading and unloading operations.

74

They serve tea and food in dhabas (small roadside eating places and tea shops) and restaurants, sell vegetables and milk, work as domestic servants, car clearners and newspaper vendors. Children from slums also work as porters and casual workers.

Children, in both rural and urban areas work as unpaid family helpers in employers’ homes in contract work done by families on piece-rate basis or in families’ own farms or small enterprises. The child gets no recognition or money for the work done at home. Usually the work done at home is considered to be less exploitative but many a times child abuse and long hours of work in difficult conditions takes place within the family.

Labour : Children

Studies conducted in several parts of the country invariably show that child labourers are required to work for longer period of time for wage; and they are usually paid less. They are to work in many places also under inhuman working conditions, even without the minimum security to life. Activity 2 Collect information from 10 child labourers who have been working in your locality, on the nature of work done, working hours and wages received by them. Prepare a note on these and compare it with other students at your Study Centre, if possible.

A significant number of the child labourers in urban and metropolitan areas consists of street children. They are children who have no homes and they live on the pavements. In Delhi alone it is estimated that of the 22 lakh children, approximately 4 lakhs are working children and of these about 1.5 lakhs are street children. Often the harsh living conditions in rural areas and domestic conflicts force children to run away. The run aways and destitute street children are the most vulnerable group of child workers. A study of child porters in a metropolitan city found that most of them came from large families with low family earnings. Violence was stated to be an important reason for leaving their homes. They mostly slept on the pavements or on railway platforms. Most of the child labour of our country are in situation in which they are forced to work. They have to work not for their own survival alone but also for the survival of the members of their family. However, they have to work in very unhealthy and insecure work conditions which are detrimental to the total growth of a human being. They mostly remain illiterate and are sickly build. Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizen of the nation. Indeed, they are likely to grow up as illiterate, frustrated and unhealthy citizens. As already mentioned, child labourers are from poor economic background. With the limited income they earn, it is not possible for them to satisfy their needs. Hence many of them resort to anti-social activities at a very low age. In the urban areas, taking advantage of their poverty, insecurity and ignorance as well many of the organised anti-social elements use these children for their crude purposes. Hence many of these children spend their childhood in despair. In long run, many of them become destitute children. Every state, as a welfare institution, undertakes some measures for the prohibition of child labour as also for the well being of the children. Hence, it is essential for us to look into these provisions. In the next section we shall be examining these aspects. 75

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Check Your Progress 2 Tick mark the correct answer. i)

Studies have shown that the number of child workers is a) b) c) d)

ii)

large in rural areas large in urban areas equal in rural and urban areas None of the above is correct.

Briefly state the types of work done by child workers as paid workers in urban areas. Answer in about six lines. ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ...............................................................................................................

12.4 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT POLICIES In post-independent India several institutional initiatives have been undertaken to deal with the issues of children. Let us examine these briefly.

12.4.1 Constitutional Provisions Prohibition and Regulation of Child labour has received considerable attention in the last few decades. The Constitution of India, in Article 24, provides that no child below the age of 14 years shall be employed in any factory or mine or be engaged in any hazardous employment. Article39(e) and (f) of the Directive Principle of State Policy requires the State to ensure that ‘the health and strength of workers, men, women and tender age of children are not abused’ and ‘children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy climate, and are protected against exploitation’. The Constitution also provides that the state shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years from its commencement, free and compulsory education for all children up to 14 years of age.

12.4.2 Committee on Child Labour

76

The Report of the National Commission of Labour (1969) and the Report of the Committee on Child Labour (1981) examined the causes and consequences of child labour in India. Following the Report of the Committee on Child Labour (1981) the Government appointed a special Central Advisory Board on Child Labour under the Ministry of Labour. The Board reviews the implementation of existing legislations and suggests further legal and welfare measures. It also identifies industries/occupations where child labour needs to be eliminated.

In 1975, after the National Policy Resolution for Children was adopted, a National Children’s Board was constituted with the objective of creating greater awareness about children’s problems, promote their welfare and review and co-ordinate educational health and welfare programmes for children.

Labour : Children

12.4.3 Legislations on Child Labour In 1881 the first legislation was passed for regulating employment of children in factories. The Indian Factories Act 1881 prescribed the minimum age for employment as seven years and the working hours not to exceed nine hours. The 1891 amendment raised the minimum age of employment to nine years and maximum hours of work to seven hours. The Factories Act, 1948 prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 is the first comprehensive legislation which prohibits employment of children below 14 years, and in some cases 15 years, in the organised industries and in certain hazardous industrial occupations like bidi and carpet making, cloth dyeing and weaving, manufacture of matches, explosives and fire works, soap manufacturing, leather tanning and building and construction industry. However the bulk of children are employed in nonformal sector.

12.4.4 Problems of Implementation More than 80% of working children are in rural areas in the agricultural sector. A large number of them work in the self-employed and unorganised sector such as domestic servants, children working in small eating shops, at construction sites or as porters etc. which are not covered by any protective legislation. The government subscribes to the view that child labour cannot be abolished but can only be regulated. The 1986 Act is totally inadequate to deal with the problems of child labour as they are rooted in poverty. The 1986 Act prohibits use of child labour in hazardous occupations and processes. Employers bypass the legislation by either not maintaining the muster roll or framing out work to smaller units or to home-based workers. Most of the children work in small industries which are not covered by legislation. Approximately 40,000 girl children working in Sivakasi match factories are below 14 years of age. In the growing carpet industries in eastern U.P., according to non government estimates, more than 25,000 child labourers work. Because of poverty many of them have migrated there from Bihar etc. places. From employers point of view children are a source of cheap and docile labour and they do not have any obligations. Some of the employers even claim that they employ them out of sympathy and thus help poor families to supplement their income. They feel that if not employed, these child labour would be involved in anti-social activities and many of them would die of starvation. Employment of children keeps the cost of production low through low wages and thus the margin of profit increases. Several investigative reports and documentaries have highlighted the abuse of child labour in glass and bangle industry in Ferozabad, match and fireworks industry in Sivakasi, carpet weaving industry in Mirzapur etc. Recently, in a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court put a ban on the employment of children

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in bidi manufacturing. Despite legislations, exploitation of child labour continues. Check Your Progress 3 i)

Tick mark the correct box (true or false): Article 24 provides for the employment of children below the age of 14 years. True

ii)

False

In India education is free and compulsory for children upto 14 years of age. True

False

iii) Write in a few words, about the National Policy Resolution for Children. Use four lines to answer. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

12.5 THE CHALLENGES OF MEETING THE BASIC NEEDS OF CHILDREN The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the child sets universal legal standards of protection of children against neglect, abuse and exploitation at work as well as guarantees them basic human rights. The Convention contains 54 Articles which cover children’s civil, economic, social, cultural and political rights. Yet millions of children are denied their ‘right to life with justice and dignity’, and are forced to work under subhuman condition because they are poor and deprived. They are ‘children without childhood’. India had cosponsored the UN General Assembly’s Resolution on the International Year of the Child and was the first country to adopt a National Plan of Action. The theme for the International Year of the Child (1979) was ‘reaching the Deprived Child’. Universalisation of elementary education is expected to play a dominant and effective role in reducing child labour participation rate. However, it is the poverty which forces children to drop out from school. In order to develop his/ her potential, a child has to be free from hunger, neglect, exploitation and abuse. Rights of children cannot be implemented through legislation alone, but will depend on a society’s commitment to improve the quality of life and particularly strengthen the economic roles of women from the poorer households. 78

Labour : Children

Labour Welfare : is it Myth?

Children are the starting point of any development strategy. The Government of India’s National Policy on Children (1974) emphasised that children are a nation’s supremely important asset and declared that the nation is responsible for their ‘nature and solicitude’. It also states that ‘children’s programmes should find a prominent place in our national plans for the development of human resources so that children grow up to become robust citizen…. Equal opportunities for development of all children during the period of growth, should be our aim, for this will serve our larger purpose of reducing inequality and ensuring social justice.” Following the proclamation of this policy, a National Children’s Board was set up in 1975 to ensure planning, monitoring and co-ordination of child welfare services i.e. nutrition, immunisation, health care, pre-school education of mothers etc. at the national level. Despite these policy measures, the infant mortality rate in India remains very high (93 per thousand live births). Child mortality rates are higher for girls due to neglect and discriminatory treatment in terms of food, nutrition and health care. More girls than boys drop out of school or are not enrolled from low income groups as the girl child’s labour is needed by the family to release her mother’s work time. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has expressed their concern for the future of the girl child and suggested for the enlargement of the definition of the ‘child’ to include 14-20 age groups as the adolescent girl. However, this is neither reached by government programmes for children nor by those for adult women. The greater the poverty, the more aggravated is the situation of the girl child.

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The SAARC countries had declared the 90s the Decades of Girl Child to achieve a universal coverage of education and health services for children and ensure their survival, growth and development. Hence effective economic and social policies are needed for the low income groups to bring about a significant improvement in the quality of life. Women and children welfare is never high on the agenda of national governments. Sustained political will and united action is required by the government, international agencies and non-governmental organisations to ensure the protection and development of children. Check Your Progress 4 Tick mark the correct answer. i)

Which one of the following is expected to play a crucial role in reducing the child labour participation rate? a) b) c) d)

ii)

High wage Good work condition Universalisations of elementary education. None of the above.

The 1990s was declared as the ‘Decade of the Girl Child’ by the a) b) c) d)

European Countries Latin American Countries African Countries SAARC Countries.

12.6 LET US SUM UP The problem of child labour is related to the problem of poverty in India. Most of the child workers come from the families of landless agricultural labourers, marginal farmers, artisans and migrants living in urban slums. There are no reliable estimates of child labour. However child labour is used as a survival strategy by poorer households. Children work as wage earners, unpaid family helpers and as self-employed workers selling various products. They are also employed in several hazardous occupations like match and fireworks, glass and bangle industries, carpet weaving etc. despite the legislation prohibiting their employment in such occupations. Providing education, health care, nutrition and better living standards to millions of deprived children is the biggest challenge facing the country. To deal with all these aspects in this unit we have covered the social background and estimates and the nature of employment of child labour in India. We have also discussed the constitutional and legal provisions made in India to deal with the issues of child labour. Lastly we have discussed the challenges that need to be faced in meeting the needs of the child labour.

12.7 KEY WORDS 80

Home-based Production

: Items produced exclusively using the labour of the family members.

Informal Sector

: In India production activity can broadly be defined as formal and informal. The formal sector is governed by statutes enacted by formal bodies. By informal sector we mean various economic that are performed but no record is maintained as per the statutes. Their activities are scattered throughout the county. Most of the self-employed persons belong to this category.

Piece-rates

: Wage given for per piece of work.

Self-employed

: Persons employed in their own enterprise.

Labour : Children

12.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Gupta, M. 1987, Young Hand at Work: Child Labour in India. Atma Ram and Sons Publications: New Delhi UNICEF, 1990, Development Goals and Strategies for Children in the 1990s. A UNICEF Policy Review: New York.

12.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 i)

A significant proportion of Indian population live in poverty. Many of them are forced to migrate to urban areas in search of employment. Millions of children from poor households in rural and urban areas are forced to work at an early age to supplement the family’s inadequate income.

ii)

According to census definition a child worker is one who works for a major part of the day and is below the age of 14 years.

Check Your Progress 2 i)

a)

ii)

In urban areas children work as wage earners in small industries and workshops such as bidi, match and fireworks, glass and bangle, carpet weaving, handloom, gem polishing, potteries, paper bags, plastic goods and fish processing. They also work at construction sites, stone quarries and in loading and unloading.

Check Your Progress 3 i)

False

ii)

False

iii) In 1975, after the National Policy Resolution for Children was adopted, a National Children’s Board was constituted with the objective of creating greater awareness about children’s problem, to promote their welfare and to review and coordinate education, health and welfare programmes for children. Check Your Progress 4 i)

c

ii)

d

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REFERENCES Ahuja, R., 1992. Social Problems in India. Rawat publications : New Delhi. Bardhan, P.K., 1984, Land, Labour and Rural Poverty. Oxford University Press: New Delhi. Behari, B. 1983, Unemployment, Technology and Rural Poverty, Vices Publishing House: New Delhi. Chattopadhyay M., 1982. “Role of Female Labour in Indian Agriculture”. Social Scientist. Vol. 10. No.7 pp. 45-54. Desai, A.R., 1978, Rural Sociology in India. Popular Prakashan: Bombay. Govt. of India, 1963. Census of India 1961. Govt. of India: New Delhi Gupta, M. 1987, Young Hands at Work : Child Labour in India. Atma Ram and Sons Publications : New Delhi ————— 1966. Education and National Development. Report of the Education Commission 1964-66, Ministry of Education: New Delhi. ————— 1974. Towards Equality —Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India. Department of Social Welfare : New Delhi. ————— 1972. Census of India 1971. Govt. of India: New Delhi. ————— 1980. Profile of the Child in India: Policies and Programme. Govt. of India : New Delhi. ————— 1982. Census of India 1981. Govt. of India: New Delhi. ————— 1988. National Perspective Plan For Women 1988-2000 AD. Department of Women and Child Development Ministry of Human Resource Development : New Delhi. ————— 1988. Shram Shakti. Report of the National Commission on Selfemployed Women in Informal Sector. Department of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development: New Delhi. ————— 1990. India 1990. Publications Division. Govt. of India: New Delhi. Holmstrom, H., 1987. Industry and Inequality. Orient Longman: New Delhi. Jose, A.V., (Ed.) 1989. Limited Options: Women Workers in Rural India. Asian Regional Team for Employment Promotion. ILO: New Delhi. Kamat, A.R., 1985. Education and Social Change in India. Samaiya: New Delhi. National Sample Survey Organisation, 1980. National Sample Survey. NSSO: New Delhi. ————— 1982. National Sample Survey. NSSO : New Delhi.

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————— 1985. National Sample Survey. NSSO : New Delhi. ————— 1987. National Sample Survey. NSSO : New Delhi.

Ramaswamy E.A.D. and U.Ramasswamy, 1987. Industry and Labour, Oxford University Press: Delhi.

Labour : Children

Singh Andrea M. and Anita K. Vitanen (Eds.), 1987, Invisible Hands: Women in Home-based Production, Sage Publications: New Delhi. SinghaRoy, D.K. 1992. Women in Peasant Movements: Tebhaga, Naxalite and After, Manohar; New Delhi. Singh, M.A. and A.K. Vitanam, (Eds.) 1987. Invisible Hands: Women in Homebased Production. Sage Publications: New Delhi. Thorner, D. and A. Thorner, 1962. Land and Labour in India. Asia Publishing House: Bombay. UNICEF, 1990, Development Goals and Strategies for Children in the 1990s. A UNICEF Policy Review : New York. UNICEF, 1990. Development Goals and Strategies for Children in the 1990s. UNICEF: New Delhi.

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Unit 12

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India Contents 12.1

Introduction

12.2

Application of Descent Theory to the Study of Kinship System in North India

12.3

Application of Alliance Theory to the Study of Kinship System in South India

12.4

Conclusion

12.5

Further Reading Appendix 1

Learning Objectives After reading Unit 12, it is expected that you would be able to: l

l

l

Explain the descent and alliance theories (given in Appendix 1 attached to Unit 12), which some scholars have used to study the kinship systems of North and South India; Examine the application of the two approaches to the study of kinship systems in India; and Understand clearly that in unit 12, the discussion of the two approaches to the study of kinship systems refers to the patterns found among the numerically dominant Hindu population.

12.1 Introduction Units 9, 10 and 11 have provided you an understanding of the social institutions of family, household and marriage in India. In order to fully understand the social relationships involved in family and marriage we need to raise our level of cognition to yet another level of abstraction, namely, rules, norms and patterns that govern the construction of social relationships in family and marriage. These are kinship rules, norms and patterns. In India, a country of immense diversity in its regions and communities, we find a wide range of kinship systems and it is not easy to present an overall picture of these kinship systems. We may make an effort to talk about the two major geographical regions, the north and south of the country. Even the sociological literature has highlighted features of North and South Indian kinship systems. This does not imply that there are no other varieties of kinship systems in some parts of both North and South India (for details of such systems see Jain 1996: 151-270 and Uberoi 1994). In order to study the North and South Indian kinship systems, sociologists have followed some approaches and Unit 12 discusses the application of descent and alliance approaches to the study of kinship systems in North and South India (for familarising yourself with basic concepts in the study of kinship systems and descent and alliance theories of kinship, you need to read Appendix 1 before reading Unit 12). For a comparative perspective of kinship systems in North and South India you can refer Unit 9 Kinship II in Block 3 of ESO-12 of IGNOU’s B A Programme).

167

Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship

12.2 Application of Descent Theory to the Study of Kinship System in North India For purposes of describing the kinship systems found in India, Irawati Karve (1953: 93) identified four cultural zones, namely the Northern, the Central, the Southern and the Eastern zones. You can locate the northern zone, according to Karve, between the Himalayas to the north and the Vindhya ranges to the south. In this region, the majority of the people speak languages derived from Sanskrit. Some of the main languages spoken in the region are Hindi, Bihari, Sindhi, Punjabi, Assamese and Bengali. In such a large region, you cannot say that there exists just one kinship system. The differences of language, history and culture have brought about a high degree of variation within the region. You may, however, try to look at the pattern of kinship organisations of the communities in this region on the basis of broad and general features. You can describe the basic structure and process of kinship system in this area in terms of four features (mentioned in Appendix 1), namely (A) kinship groups, (B) kinship terminology (C) marriage rules, and (D) ceremonial exchange of gifts among kin. Let us take up each of these features to discuss the kinship system in North India.

A) Kinship groups Sociological studies in various parts of North India show that social groups, such as i) patrilineage, ii) clan, iii) caste/subcaste and sometimes also iv) fictive kinship provide the basis for cooperation or conflict among the people and therefore we now discuss each of these groups. i)

Patrilineage: You can say that broadly speaking unilineal descent groups are the basis of kinship organisation in North India. When you trace the lineage membership of a group on the basis of shared descent in one line, you can name it a unilineal descent group. In North India, you find mostly patrilineal descent groups. This means that you trace the descent in the male line from father to son. Members of patrilineages cooperate as well as fight in various situations. Let us find out how this takes place in terms of a) cooperation, b) conflict and c) inheritance of status and property.

a) Cooperation: Members of a patrilineage cooperate in ritual and economic activities. They participate together in life cycle rituals. In settlement of disputes, the senior men of the lineage try to sort out the matter within the lineage. Cooperation among lineage members is strengthened because they live close together in the same village. As the farm-lands of lineage members are normally located in the same village, they set up their houses almost next to each other. In this situation, there is constant exchange of material resources from the household of one member to another. Lewis (1958: 2223), Minturn and Hitchcock (1963: 237), Berreman (1963: 173) and Nicholas (1962: 174) describe the pattern of co-operation in their studies of kinship patterns in North India. From their studies of the kinship systems you can say that these studies follow the descent approach because they examine the pattern of cooperation and conflict in descent groups.

b) Conflict: 168

Lineage members help each other, but fights or conflicts also characterise kinship relations among them. For example, T.N. Madan (1965: 201) shows

how in a Kashmir village, rivalry among brothers leads to partition of the joint family. Later, this rivalry takes more intense form in the relationships between the children of brothers.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

c) Inheritance of status and property: Transmission of status and property from one generation to the next takes place according to certain rules. In North India, the status and property generally pass in the male line. In other words, you find a predominantly patrilineal mode of inheritance in North India. For this reason, the composition of patrilineage becomes very important. The lineage members cooperate for economic and jural reasons. They share jural rights and therefore they cooperate in order to continue possessing the rights. They also fight among themselves about who is to get more benefits from those rights. Pradhan (1965) has described how the Jats and other landowners of Meerut and other districts around Delhi have a certain portion of the village lands and how it cannot be transferred out of the lineage. To keep the land within the lineage, its male members have to remain united. Land ownership in this case becomes the main principle of their social organisation. After discussing patrilineage as a characteristic feature of kinship groups in North India, you can now move to the discussion of clans, the second feature of kinship groups in North India. ii)

Clan: A lineage is an exogamous unit. This means that a boy and a girl of the same lineage cannot marry. A larger exogamous category is called the clan. Among the Hindus, this category is known as gotra. Each person of a higher caste among the Hindus belongs to the clan of his/ her father and cannot marry within the clan or gotra. One usually knows about the common ancestor of lineage members as an actual person. But the common ancestor of a clan is generally a mythical figure. In rural areas, often the members of a lineage live in close proximity and therefore have greater occasions for cooperation or conflict. Common interests or actions do not characterise the relationships among clan members because they are usually scattered over a larger territory and their relationships are often quite remote. You would observe that it is common to find these relationships assuming significance only in the context of marriage. That is why we will now discuss caste/ sub-castes as the third characteristic feature of kinship groups in North India. Castes/ subcastes are the endogamous units within which marriage takes place.

iii) Caste and subcaste: Besides lineages and clans, the kinship system operates within the families of the caste groups, living in one village or a nearby cluster of villages. As mentioned earlier, castes are endogamous, i.e., one marries within one’s caste and people belonging to one caste group are kinsmen in the sense that they are already related or can be potentially related to each other. Caste-fellows generally come forward to help each other when others challenge their honour and status. They may also hold rituals together and help each other economically. Subcaste is the largest segment of caste and it performs nearly all the functions of caste, such as endogamy and social control. In this respect, you can say that the internal structure of the subcaste would provide you the framework within which you can observe the operation of the kinship system. The members of a subcaste cooperate as kinspersons. They, depending on the context, work together as equals in the sphere of ritual activities and political

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allies in socio-economic activities (for examples of the studies of subcaste see Box 12.3). Box 12.1 and 12.2 are part of Annexure 1 at the back of the unit. Box 12.3: Examples of the Studies of Subcaste Vidyarthi (1961: 53-57), in his study of a very small subcaste, has shown that it is possible to trace one’s relationship with most members of the subcaste. On the other hand, in the case of a subcaste spreading over many villages, one may be limited to maintaining relations with only a part of the total number of kin. Klass (1966) in his study of marriage rules in Bengal calls a subcaste as one’s ‘effective jati’. This refers to all those people of the sub-caste with whom one actually has relationships of cooperation or conflict.

Among the subcaste kin, we need to also include those related to a person through marriage. Here, generally a person’s kin through the mother are called uterine kin and those through the spouse are known as affinal kin. These relatives are not members of one’s family or lineage or clan. They are expected to help and support a person and, actually do so when an occasion arises for such an action. While a person belongs to only one lineage, one clan or one sub-caste, the person would always have a string of relatives who do not belong to the person’s lineage/clan/sub-caste. We have already mentioned how sociologists like Radcliffe-Brown (1958), followed the descent approach to study kinship systems, and explained the fact of a special place of the relationship between a person and his/her mother’s brother. At the end of our discussion of kinship groups in North India, it is not out of place to mention two more sets of relationships, which assume significance in some situations. They pertain to fictive kin relationships and the relationships one maintains with step-siblings and other step-relatives. Fictive kin and step relatives: You need to also mention, in passing, the recognition of fictive kinship among both urban dwellers and villagers. Often, people who are not related either by descent or marriage, form the bonds of fictive kinship with each other. We find the evidence of such a practice in many tribal and village studies. You may refer to the studies by B. Bandopadhyay (1955), L. Dube (1956), S.C. Dube (1951), S.K. Srivastava (1960) and L.K. Mahapatra (1968, 1969). On the basis of common residence in a village in North India, unrelated individuals may usually behave like brothers (see Box 12.4 for an explanation of fictive kin relationships). Similarly, residents in a Mumbai chawl, hailing from a common place of origin, may behave like a clan group. Box 12.4: An Explanation of Fictive Kin Relationships

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Mahapatra (1969) points out that fictive kinship is a mechanism to provide kin-like mannerisms to those who are not ordinarily found to be so related in a particular situation. For example, in North India, where village exogamy is a normal practice, it is rare to find a brother to a daughter-in-law living in the same locality. She can get a brother only through a fictive relationship.

In the urban context, you must have frequently come across small children who call any older man ‘uncle’ and an older woman ‘aunty’. This shows how easily we make use of kinship idiom in our day-to-day behaviour towards total strangers. These transitory relationships do not however assume much importance in terms of actual kin ties and behaviour associated with them.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

There are hardly any sociological studies of kin relationships among stepsiblings and other step-relatives. This is a new area for exploration for sociologists of the younger generation. We will now discuss characteristic features of the second aspect of kinship system in North India, namely kinship terminology.

B) Kinship terminology Let us find out how an analysis of the various kinship terms used in the linguistic regions of the northern zone would help us to understand the kinship structure, its make-up and the behaviour associated with each term. We will first take up i) the descriptive nature of North Indian kinship terms and then discuss ii) social behaviour and kinship terms signifying social behaviour.

i) Descriptive nature of North Indian kinship terms The kinship terminology is the expression of kinship relations in linguistic terms. In the case of North India, we can call the system of terminology as descriptive. This is because the kinship terms generally describe the relationship from the point of view of the speaker. In a few words, even the most distant kin relationships can be accurately described. Unlike the English terms, uncle, aunty, cousin, which do not reveal age, patrilateral/ matrilateral ties, the North Indian kinship terms are very clear. For example, when we say chachera bhai, it can be easily translated as father’s younger brother’s (chacha’s) son, who stands in the relationship of a brother (bhai) to the speaker. Similarly, mamera bhai means mother’s brother’s (mama’s) son. According to Dumont (1966: 96), the North Indian kinship terminology is descriptive in the sense that it describes elementary relationships in three steps starting from Ego or the speaker. Step 1: The elementary relationships of filiation upwards and downwards, siblingship (sister/ brother) and marriage comprise the first set of terms. Step 2: Then we have the relationships of the second order. These are formed by combining two elementary relationships, i.e. filiation + filiation, filiation + siblingship, siblingship + filiation, marriage + filiation, marriage + siblingship. Step 3: The third order of relationships is represented by filiation + marriage + filiation. Further, for Dumont (1966), the North Indian kinship terminology is not a classificatory type of terminology because it does not classify the kinship terms according to the number of principles of opposition. All the same, to emphasise the patrilineal descent, North Indian kinship terminology observes a clear-cut distinction between parallel and cross-cousins. The children of one’s brother are bhatija (for male child) and bhatiji (for female child). The children of one’s sister are bhanja (for male child) and bhanji (for female child). A person’s parallel relatives are members of his/her descent

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group and therefore they also live nearby in the same village. In contrast, a person’s sister’s children or cross relatives are members of a different descent group. They are also residents of a different place. This distinction between brother’s children and sister’s children, which is made in the North Indian kinship terminology, is also of importance in the context of kinship system in South India (about this we will discuss later in this Unit). Now we see how kinship terms signify social behaviour.

ii) Social behaviour and kinship terms signifying social behaviour Irawati Karve (1953) gave a list of kinship terms in North Indian languages. She made use of kinship terminologies to describe and compare kinship systems in various parts of India. She studied the terms and also used the findings for understanding the influences, which played a part in shaping them (see Box 12.5 for another example). Box 12.5: Analysis of Indo-Aryan Kinship Terms by G. S. Ghurye Besides Iravati Karve, we can also give another example of the analysis of Indo-Aryan kinship terms made by G.S. Ghurye (1946, 1955). He highlighted the jural and ideological aspects of kinship systems through a comparison of kinship terms in North Indian languages. For example, among the Sarjupari Brahmins the term ‘maan’ refers to the bride-taker. In ideological terms, ‘maan’ reflects the high status of the bride-taker as compared to the bridegiver. In jural terms it denotes the fact that bride-takers do not share property with the bride-givers (for a discussion of the term ‘maan’ see Jain 1996).

The very usage of kinship terms also makes clear the kind of behaviour expected from a kin. For example, Oscar Lewis (1958: 189), in his study of a North Indian village, described the pattern and relationship between a person and his elder brother’s wife. This is popularly known as Devar-Bhabhi relationship, which is characteristically a joking relationship. A contrast to this ‘joking’ relationship is the behaviour of avoidance between a woman and her husband’s father. Similarly, she has to avoid her husband’s elder brother. The term for husband’s father is shvasur and for husband’s elder brother is bhasur. Bhasur is a combination of the Sanskrit word bhratr (brother) and shvasur (father-in-law), and is, therefore, referring to a person like the father-in-law. Let us at this stage complete a ‘Reflection and Action Exercise’ to grasp the linkages between kinship terms and social behaviour. Reflection and Action 12.4 Write down the kinship terms in your language for the following relationships. Father, father’s brother, Father’s brother’s son, Father’s father, Father’s father’s brother’s son, Brother, Brother’s son, Mother’s brother, Mother’s father, Mother’s brother’s son, Mother’s sister, Mother’s sister’s husband, Father’s sister, Father’s sister’s husband.

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Now, distinguish your consanguines and affines among these relatives. Next, write each set of relationships in short form. In addition, highlight the clearcut distinctions, if any, between the relatives as reflecting in the kinship terms in your language. Finally, work out if any of the above kin terms explicitly connote either ‘joking’ or avoidance relationship.

C) Marriage Rules Every time a marriage takes place, new kinship bonds come into being. This shows you clearly the relevance of marriage rules for discussing the patterns of kinship organisation. In the context of North India, you find that people have a good idea of categories of people one cannot marry. In sociological terms, you can express this norm by saying that there are negative rules of marriage in North India. You can also say that marriage is allowed only outside a defined limit. Later we will also talk about the limits within which marriage is permitted to take place.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

Rules of exogamy Let us see first find out what the limit or the rule of exogamy is in North India and what is the four clan rule that sets another limit of exogamy in North India.

i) Clan Exogamy Marriage shows very clearly the boundaries of one’s natal descent line. No man is allowed to marry a daughter of his patriline. In North India lineage ties upto five or six generations are generally remembered and marriage alliances are not allowed within this range. In such a situation the lineage turns into the clan and we speak of gotra (clan) and gotra bhai (clan mates). Widely used Sanskrit term gotra is an exogamous category within a subcaste. Its main use is to regulate marriages within a subcaste. Two persons of similar gotra cannot tie the knot. Apart from the clan exogamy, there is also the four clan rule to draw a line to separate those men and women, who can and cannot marry each other.

ii) The four clan rule In Irawati Karve’s (1953: 118) words, according to this rule, a man must not marry a woman from (i) his father’s gotra, (ii) his mother’s gotra, (iii) his father’s mother’s gotra, and (iv) his mother’s mother’s gotra. In other words, this rule prohibits marriage between two persons who share any two of their eight gotra links. This means that the rule of exogamy goes beyond one’s own lineage. Another related kind of exogamy, which exists in North India, is village exogamy. A village usually has members of one or two lineages living in it. Members belonging to the same lineage are not permitted to intermarry.

Dadi Father Ego Mother Nani

Fig. 12.3: The Four — Clan Rule

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This principle extends even to the villages, which have more than two lineages. In other words, a boy and a girl in a village in North India are like a brother and sister and hence cannot intermarry. It is important here to give you a word of caution. We have spoken about lineage, clan and subcaste in relation to organisation of kinship patterns. But we have not mentioned the terms like kutumb, biradari, khandan, bhai bandh etc. These denote various colloquial meanings of the general terms (lineage, clan and subcaste) in local languages. The local terms are used in various contexts to signify different levels of kinship arrangements. In our discussion, we have limited ourselves to social structure and function in broad terms and avoided conflicting usages of local terms. Let us now look at the groups within which marriage is preferred/prescribed, in the context of North India. This refers to the rules of endogamy.

Rules of endogamy As mentioned earlier, the kinship system operates within the families of the caste groups living in one village or a nearby cluster of villages. Castes are endogamous. This means that one marries within one’s caste. Let us look at the rules of marriage within one’s caste/ sub-caste.

Marriages within the sub-caste Associated with local terms is the idea of the status of various units within the subcaste. Taking the example of the Sarjupari Brahmin of Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh, studied by Louis Dumont (1966: 107), we find that each of the three subcastes of Sarjupari Brahmins of this area is divided into three ‘houses’ (kin groups or lineages), which range hierarchically in status. The marriages are always arranged from lower to higher ‘house’. This means that women are always given to the family, which is placed in the ‘house’ above her ‘house’. In this context, we can also refer to the popular saying in North India that ‘the creeper must not go back’. The same idea is reflected by another North Indian saying that ‘pao pujke, ladki nahin lejaing’’ (i.e. once we have washed the feet of the bridegroom during the wedding ceremony, we cannot accept a girl from his family, because this will mean that we allow that side to wash our feet or allow the reversal of relationships). This shows clearly that marriage rules among Brahmins and other higher castes in North India maintain a hierarchic relationship between the bride-givers and bridetakers. In terms of negative rules of marriage in North India, the above description reflects the rule that a man cannot marry his father’s sister’s daughter or his patrilateral cross-cousin. This is called the rule of no reversal and can be shown in a diagram like this:

P

V

Lineage A

(Reversal

M Lineage B

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Not V

Fig. 12.4: The Rule of No Reversal

Allowed)

Lineage B has given the woman (M) in marriage to the man (P) of lineage A. P is given the high ritual status of ‘pao puj’ in marriage ceremonies. If P’s daughter is married to the man of lineage B, then P will have to give the same high ritual status to the man of lineage B. But lineage B is, according to the rule of hypergamy, lower to lineage A and therefore, this marriage will be a reversal of roles. In North India, such a reversal is not allowed and thus, we find the rule of prohibition on marriage with patrilateral cross-cousins.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

Another principle should also be mentioned here and this is the rule of no repetition. This means that if the father’s sister has been married in a family (khandan), one’s own sister cannot be given in marriage to that same family (Dumont 1966: 104-7). The term family or khandan is here used as a smaller unit of a lineage. This rule of no repetition implies the negative rule of prohibition on the marriage with matrilateral cross-cousins. In other words, a man cannot marry his mother’s brother’s daughter. This can be depicted in a simple kinship diagram like this: E

V

Lineage A

D

V

(Reversal Not Allowed)

Lineage B

Fig. 12.5: The Rule of No Repetition

Lineage B has given woman D in marriage to the man E of lineage A. In the next generation, if a woman is again given in marriage to a man of lineage A, then a repetition will occur. A prohibition on repetition shows that matrilateral cross-cousin marriage is barred in North India. Thus, we find that both patrilateral and matrilateral cross-cousin marriages are not allowed in North India. In other words, the two rules- the rule of no reversal and the rule of no repetition- put together define the negative rules of marriage in North India. Highlighting the structural implications of marriage rules in North India, T.N. Madan (1965) in his study of the Kashmiri Pandits distinguishes three classes of wife-givers and wife-takers (these are the terms used by T.N. Madan in the place of bride-taker and bride-giver, used in this unit) from the perspective of the household: (i) those who give wives to it and those who take wives from it, (ii) those who give wives to those in class (i) and (iii) those who take wives from class (i). These three classes have unequal relationships. However, honour and prestige go in the opposite direction to women in marriage. This means that wife-takers are superior to wife-givers and by the fact of giving a wife to a group, one receives honour and prestige within one’s own group. The following diagram shows how the rule of hypergamy in North India acts as a form of exchange between, women and dowry on the one hand and prestige and honour on the other. Here, A, B and C are patrilineages which are ranked by high to low status. The upward arrows indicate that lineage C has given the woman and dowry to the man of lineage B. As bride-giver, lineage C is lower to B and lineage B is lower to A. The rule of hypergamy accords lower status to bride-givers.

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Lineage A

V

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V Lineage B

V

Lineage C

V

Fig. 12.6: Hypergamy in North India as an Exchange

At the same time by giving the women and dowry to high-status lineages, the lower status lineages gain prestige and power within their groups. Thus, the downward arrows indicate the movement of prestige and honour in the direction opposite to women and dowry. In other words, women and dowry are exchanged for prestige and honour among the hierarchically arranged lineages of a subcaste/caste in North India.

D) Ceremonial exchange of gifts among kin Ceremonial exchange of gifts on the occasions of life cycle rituals provides us with the understanding of a patterned behaviour among various categories of kin. Generally, the bride-givers, in correspondence with their inferior status vis-a-vis bride-takers, initiate the process of gift-giving during marriage and continue to give greater amounts of gifts. In other words, you can say that gift-giving and receiving is a well-defined social activity See Box 12.5 for two examples of ceremonial exchange of gifts among kin. Box 12.5: Two Examples of Ceremonial Exchange of Gifts among Kin L. Dumont (1966: 91) has pointed out that mother’s brother (uterine kin) and wife’s brother (affinal kin) have similar ceremonial functions. Not only this, as wife’s brother becomes, after a few years, mother’s brother to the children, there is little difference between the two. A.C. Mayer (1960: 232) has described in his study of kinship in a village in Malwa that all gifts given by one’s mother’s brother are called mamere. In contrast to the gifts given by the mother’s brother, there are gifts known as ban, given by one’s agnates. Ban is the term used also for the gift, which is given by other relatives such as the groom’s sister’s husband to the groom’s wife’s brother. This shows that the groom’s sister’s husband (or father’s sister’s husband in the context of the ascending generation) is viewed to be a part of agnatic kin vis-a-vis the groom’s wife’s brother (or mother’s brother for the ascending generation).

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In sociological vocabulary you can put the same thing in this way. You look at the groom’s sister’s husband (zh) or father’s sister’s husband (fzh) as a wife-taker. Similarly, we look at the groom’s wife’s brother (wb) or his mother’s brother (mb) as a wife-giver. Now if the gift to A’s wife-givers (i.e. mother’s brother or wife’s brother) by A’s wife-taker (sister’s husband or father’s sister’s husband) and by A’s agnates are known by the same term ‘ban’ then we can say that in opposition to A’s wife-givers, his agnates and wife-takers have been merged into one category. This is so because for the groom’s

wife’s brother (or mother’s brother) the groom is a wife-taker and groom’s wife-taker is his sister’s husband or father’s sister’s husband. These two sets of wife-takers are on one side and the wife-givers are on the other.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

To this example of ceremonial gift-giving at a wedding, we can add one more in Box 12.6. Box 12.6: Another Example of Ceremonial Gift-Giving Dumont (1966: 93-5) has shown a similar distinction being made between wife-givers and wife-takers (the terms used by Dumont) in the context of gift-giving at the end of mourning in a village of Gorakhpur district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Here, the main mourner is generally a son or an agnate of the deceased. The ceremony of tying a turban on the head of the main mourner is done by an affine who has taken a wife. In other words, preferably sister’s husband (zh) or father’s sister’s husband (fzh) ties the turban. Then again for the ceremony of shaiyyadan (gift of a bed), a sister’s husband (zh) or father’s sister’s husband (fzh) is asked to receive the gift. This ceremony emphasises their status as wife-takers. The priest clearly asks for those who have taken the daughters to come forward for receiving the shaiyya (bed). Thus, of the two kinds of affines (the wifes-taker and wife-giver) the affines of the wife-taking type are preferred over the affines of wife-giving type. In the hypergamous situation, wife-takers are higher than the wife-givers and therefore in ceremonial gift-giving they remain as the recipient while the wife-givers remain at the giving end.

F.G. Bailey (1957) in Orissa and Oscar Lewis (1958) in Rampur have also recorded the flow of gifts from affinal kin (wife’s relatives) and uterine kin (mother’s relatives). According to A.C. Mayer (1960), the function of the gifts made by uterine and affinal kin is similar, i.e. to enhance the status of wife-takers. In sociological terms, we say that this type of exchange of gifts shows the hypergamous nature of marriage in North India. In other words, the woman is always given into the group which is higher in status, and the flow of gifts from the family maintains this distinction forever. This, in turn, explains the nature of kin relationships in North India.

12.3 Application of Alliance Theory to the Study of Kinship System in South India South India comprises the geographical area covered by the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. People of the four states speak languages of the Dravidian family. Quite like North India, the South too has its share of diverse kinship systems. The state of Kerala is distinct for its matrilineal system of descent and the practice of inter-caste hypergamy. Also, despite common elements, each of the four states has its own sociocultural patterns of kinship. Just as we did in the case of North Indian kinship, we will focus on common elements in terms of the four major aspects of kin relationships, namely i) kinship groups, ii) kinship terminology, iii) marriage rules and iv) ceremonial exchange of gifts among kin.

i) Kinship groups You can categorise kin relatives in South India in two groups namely, the patrilineage and the affines.

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Patrilineage: Quite like in North India, in South India too, the fact of relating to various categories of kin beyond one’s immediate family means a close interaction with members of one’s patrilineage. Owing to patrilocal residence, the lineage members get the chances for frequent interaction and cooperation. The ties of descent and residence constitute a kin group. You may observe that each of the two regions, South and North India, has such a group. For example, in her study of the Brahmins of Tanjore district, Gough (1955) describes patrilineal descent groups, which are distributed in small communities. Each caste within the village contains one to twelve exogamous patrilineal groups (For another example see Box 12.7). Box 12.7: Example of Kin Groups among the Pramalai Kallar of Madurai In his study of the Pramalai Kallar of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Dumont (1986) describes kin groups in terms of patrilineal, patrilocal and exogamous groups, called kuttam. All members of the kuttam may form the whole or a part of one or several villages. It may be subdivided into secondary kuttam. Each kuttam bears the name of its ancestor, which is also the name of the chief. The name is inherited by the eldest son who is also the holder of the position of chief in the group. The ritual activities, in which the kuttam members participate, show its significance as a unit of kinship organisation. During harvest season, when food is plenty, all the members of the group are invited and they collectively worship in the temple of the kuttam. In the economic sphere, as land is owned by the male members of the kuttam, we find that after the death of the father, there are frequent fights between brothers or coparceners, as opposed to the free and friendly relations among affinal relatives. Thus, it is said amongst the Kallar that brothers or coparceners do not joke. The coparceners are known as pangali. In the classificatory system of South Indian kinship terminology, they are opposed to the set of relatives, known as mama-machchinan.

Affinal Relatives: The kin group of affinal relatives (those related through marriage) is opposite to a patrilineage. Beyond the patrilineage are the relatives who belong to the group in which one’s mother was born, as well as one’s wife. A person’s uterine or mama (from mother’s side) and affinal or machchinan (from wife’s side) kin comprise a common group of mamamachchinan. This group of relatives includes also the groups in which a person’s sister and father’s sister are married. Dumont (1986) has described the nature of interaction between a patrilineage and its affines to be always cordial and friendly. Indirect Pangali: If group A is one’s patrilineage and group B is one’s mamamachchinan (uterine and affinal kin), then members of group C, which is mama-machchinan of group B, will become classificatory brothers to people in group A. The term for such classificatory brothers is mureikku pangali (see Dumont 1950: 3-26). These relatives, though called a kind of pangali, are never equal to actual coparceners or sharers of joint patrilineal property. Beyond this circle of relatives, the rest are only neutral people. Let us now discuss the South Indian kinship terminology, which places particular emphasis on affinal relationships. Those who follow the alliance approach are particularly interested in affinal relationships.

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ii) Kinship terminology Kin relationships in Dravidian languages follow a clear-cut structure with precision. According to Louis Dumont (1986: 301), main features of this system are that a) it distinguishes between parallel and cross-cousins and b) it is classificatory. Let us discuss these two features.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

a) Parallel and cross-cousins: Parallel cousins are those who are the children of the siblings of same sex. This means that children of two brothers, or of two sisters, are parallel cousins to each other. Cross-cousins are those who are the children of the siblings of the opposite sex. This means that children of a brother and a sister are cross-cousins. The kin terminology in South India clearly separates the two categories of cousins for the reasons that parallel cousins cannot marry each other while cross-cousins can. If the system of terminology did not distinguish between the two categories, there would have been utter confusion in the minds of the people. But as any speaker of one of the four Dravidian languages will tell you, there is never any doubt as to who is one’s parallel cousin, with whom you behave as a brother/sister and who is one’s cross-cousin with whom one is to remain distant and formal. The parallel cousins are referred as brothers/sisters. For example, in Tamil, one addresses all parallel cousins annan (elder brother) or tambi (younger brother) and akka (elder sister) or tangachi (younger sister). Cross-cousins are never brothers/sisters. For example, in Tamil, one refers to cross-cousins as mama magal/ magan (mother’s brother’s daughter/ son) or attai magal /magan (father’s sister’s daughter/ son). The following diagram will further clarify this simple formulation.

Persons within the Rectangle are Parallel Cousins While Those Outside The Rectangle are Cross Cousins.

Fig. 12.7: Two Categories of Cousins

This system of kinship terms agrees with the practice of marriage among close relatives. It separates all descent lines into those with whom one can marry and those with whom one cannot marry. The terminology clearly tells that in a person’s own generation, males are either one’s brothers or brothersin-law. Similarly females are either sisters or potential spouses. You can argue that in this very sense, Morgan (1981:394) described the Dravidian kinship terminology as ‘consistent and symmetrical’.

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For the sake of comparison, let us clarify that in North India, all cousins (be they parallel or cross) are considered consanguines or brothers/sisters. They are not allowed to marry each other. Then in this respect, you can see how North Indian kinship system is different from the one in South India and how the kinship terminology reflects this distinction. b) Classificatory nature of kinship terminology: You can say that the Dravidian kinship terms are a mirror image of the kinship system in South India because classificatory nature of terminology matches perfectly with the distinction between parallel and cross-cousins. The terminology becomes classificatory in the following manner. The person’s own generation is terminologically divided into two categories. a)

One group consists of all the brothers and sisters, including one’s parallel cousins and the children of the father’s parallel cousins.

b)

The other group comprises cross-cousins and affinal relatives such as wife/husband of the category ‘a’ (above) relatives. In Tamil, this category is called by the term of mama-machchinan.

You can also see how the two classes of kin divide relatives in one’s own generation and in both ascending and descending generations. One’s own generation: This bi-partition applies to the whole generation of a person. In other words, all one’s relatives in one’s own generation are systematically classified in this way. There is no third category of relatives. People falling into either category are not considered to be relatives. The Tamil term for category (a) is pangali, which means ‘those who share’. The word pangali has connotations of both the general and the specific kind. In its general sense, it refers to classificatory (murei) brothers, who do not share a joint property. They are all reckoned as pangali (brothers). In its specific sense, the word ‘pangali’ refers to strictly those people who have a share in the joint family property. Here we are more concerned with the classificatory (murei) connotation of this term. The two categories (pangali and mama-machchinan) are both opposed and exclusive to each other. This classification, which has been explained above in terms of relatives in one’s own generation, applies to groups, lineages, villages and so on. This bi-partition applies to both the generation above one’s own and the generation below one’s own. Affines of affines: The principle of classifying relationships into the categories of pangali and mama-machchinan extends to even those who are the affines of one’s affines. As we have already seen, the rule is that one has to assign a class to each relative. If A is the affine of B who is an affine of C, then the relationship between A and C has to be, according to the above formulation, that of a murei pangali or classificatory brother. This is so because anyone who is related to you, and is not your mama-machchinan then has to be your murei pangali or classificatory brother.

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Age and sex distinction: By separating the older and younger relatives, the ego’s generation is divided into two parts. Similarly, the father’s generation is also divided into two parts. In Tamil, brothers and sisters and parallel cousins older to ego are called annan/akka, respectively, and those younger to ego are called tambi/tangaichi, respectively. In the same way all brothers/

sisters and parallel cousins older to one’s father are called periyappa/ periyamma and younger one’s are chittappa/sinnappa/chithi/sinnamma, respectively.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

The sex distinction is paired, says Dumont (1986: 302), with the alliance distinction. As soon as a distinction is not necessary for establishing an alliance relationship it is merged. This is what we find in the case of kin terms applied in grand-parental and grand children’s generation. For the generation of one’s grandchild, one does not distinguish between one’s son’s and daughter’s children. Both are referred in Tamil, as peran (grandson) or peththi (grand daughter). Similarly, maternal grandfather/mother and paternal grandfather/mother are designated by a common term tata for grandfather and patti for grandmother. Merging of the sex distinction in generations of grandparents and grandchildren shows the boundaries where the relationship of alliance ceases to matter and the two sides can be assimilated into one category. The above description of kinship terminology in South India should not give you the impression that there are no variations in this general picture. In fact, particular features of kinship terms in specific regions are of great interest to sociologists. For example, Louis Dumont (1986: 301-9) has discussed in particular, features of kinship among the Pramalai Kallar of Tamilnadu. But here we are concerned with only the general and broad scheme of kinship terminology.

iii) Marriage Rules Positive rules of marriage characterise the kinship system in South India. This means that preference for a particular type of alliance in marriage is clearly stated and practised. You may remember that in the context of North India negative rules of marriage tell us whom one should not marry. In South India the marriage rules are quite clear about who one should/ can marry. Three types of preferential marriage rules: The preferential marriage rules are of the following three types.

Ego Fig. 12.8: Marriage with Elder Sister’s Daughter

i) In several castes in South India, the marriage between a man and his elder sister’s daughter gets the first preference. Among the matrilineal societies like the Nayars, this is not allowed. A simple diagram will show this positive rule of marriage in patrilineal South India in the following manner. Here, ego is married to his sister’s daughter.

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ii) Next category of preferred marriage is the marriage of a man with his father’s sister’s daughter (fzd). In other words, we can also say that a woman marries her mother’s brother’s son (mbs). In this kind of marriage, the principle of return is quite evident. The family, which gives a daughter, expects to receive a daughter in return in marriage. In other words we can say that when ego marries her mbs, she is given in marriage to the family from which her mother had come. Thus, the principle of return is followed in this type of preference. Often, this process takes two generations to materialise. With the help of a kinship diagram we will see how this rule operates. Lineage A

N

V

Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship

F

P Lineage B

V

E

Fig. 12.9: The Rule of Return in Marriage

Lineage B gave the woman (P) in marriage to the man (N) of lineage A. In the next generation, lineage A gave the woman (F) to the man (E) of lineage B. Thus, a man’s marriage with his patrilateral cross-cousin reflects the positive ‘rule of return’ in South India. iii) The third type of preferential marriage is between a man and his mother’s brother’s daughter (mbd). In a way, this is the reverse of (ii) above. Some castes, such as the Kallar of Tamil Nadu, Havik Brahmin of Karnataka, some Reddy castes of Andhra Pradesh, allow only this type of cross-cousin marriage. In the castes, which have type (iii) of preference, there is always an underlying notion of superiority or hypergamy. This is not present in South India to the extent that is found among the bride-takers in North India. But in this type of marriage, the principle of no-return or a ‘vine must not be returned’ is practised and therefore the bride is given only in one direction. The bride-takers are considered to be somewhat higher to bride-givers. This unidirectional process is shown in the following diagram. G

V

Lineage A

J V

H Lineage B

K

Fig. 12.10: The Rule of No Return or The Rule of Repetition

Lineage B gave the woman (H) to the man (G) of lineage A. In the next generation lineage B gave again a woman (K) to the man (J) of lineage A. Here a man’s marriage to his matrilateral cross-cousin indicates the positive ‘rule of repetition’ among some castes in South India.

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When one set of brother and sister marry another set of brother and sister, there is no distinction between patrilateral and matrilateral cousins in the cases of marriage of their children. In such a case the question of preference for (ii) or (iii) type does not arise, because the children of each set are cross-cousins to the other and they can and do marry. In the above three types of preferential marriage in South India we find a definite tendency towards marriages within a small kin group. This group is just outside one’s immediate family. The family seeks to strengthen the already existing kin relationships through marriage. Thus, a woman may find that by marrying her mother’s brother (mb) her mother’s mother (mm) and mother-in-law are one and the same person. Or, if she marries her mother’s brother’s son then her mother’s mother and her husband’s father’s mother are one and the same person. These examples go to show that marriages take place within the limited kin group. This also shows that village exogamy is not practised in South India. The agnates and affines can be found living in the same village. Affines in South India, living in the same village, are commonly involved in each other’s social life. This kind of situation is rare in the context of kin groups in North India. But there are some other restrictions regarding marital alliances in South India. We shall now look at them. See Box 12.8 for restrictions regarding marital alliances.

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

Box 12.8: Restrictions regarding Marital Alliances What are the restrictions imposed with regard to marriage between certain relatives? In certain castes a man can marry his elder sister’s daughter but not his younger sister’s daughter. Also a widow cannot marry her deceased husband’s elder or younger brother or even his classificatory brother. Here we find that for each individual, the prohibited persons for marriage differ. Then there is, of course, the rule that a person cannot marry in one’s own immediate family and one’s lineage. The lineage in the case of the Kallar subcaste is known as Kuttam (Dumont 1986: 184). All individuals in the lineage are forbidden to marry persons of the lineage.

iv) Ceremonial exchange of gifts among kin The process of gift-giving and taking reflects the principles governing the separation/ assimilation of various categories of kin relationships. This is the reason why we look at this aspect of kinship behaviour. You can distinguish between two categories of gifts and counter-gifts in South India from certain persons to other persons or from certain groups to other groups. a)

Gifts passing from the bride’s family to the groom’s family or the reverse can be seen as a series of exchanges between affines. This is one category of gift-exchange.

b)

The other category of gift-giving and taking occurs within each of the two groups. We can call it internal exchange of gifts. It is sometimes possible for a person to make/receive gifts from both sides. Because of the positive rules of marriage between relatives, often certain individuals are placed in the positions of receivers and givers at the same time. In other words, there is a process of merging of relationships (complete Reflection and Action 12.5 to identify the examples of both categories of gifts).

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Reflection and Action 12.5 Fill in the blank spaces and thereby identify both categories in examples from ethnographic studies made in South India. Louis Dumont (1986: 256) in his study of the Pramalai Kallar subcaste of Tamil Nadu mentions a gift of money from the bridegroom’s father to the ………….. It is known as ‘parisam’. The bride’s father uses this money to get jewels for his daughter. But he is expected to spend twice the amount he receives. Thus, we may say that the bride’s jewels are paid for half-in-half by the two families. This particular ceremony marks the …………. of the giving and taking of gifts between …... It continues for a period of at least three years. Then, the birth of the first child gives rise to another cycle of gift-exchange. In fact, among the Pramalai Kallar, when the newly weds set up an individual household after three years of marriage or after the birth of a child, the …………..provide the household articles. This gift is called ‘vere pona sir’, literally meaning ‘the gift for going apart’. So from ‘parisam’ to ‘the gift for going apart’, we witness the series in which a gift is made and it is returned after ‘doubling’ its content. The series begins with a gift from the groom’s side and ends with a gift from the bride’s side. Thus, though there is a ………. of gifts between affines on both sides, it is quite clear that the ……….ends up paying more. In other words, gifts from the groom’s side are mere excuses for getting more gifts from the bride’s side. Having seen the nature of gifts passing from the bride’s family to the groom’s family, now we also discuss the gifts given and taken within each group of ……. At weddings, both in the bride’s house and in the groom’s house respectively, a collection (usually in the form of cash) is taken from the relatives present at the occasion. This is called the ‘moy’ among the non-Brahmin castes in South India. The same is practised by the Brahmins under the name of ‘writing the moy’. A person is given the charge of recording the amount of cash/kind given by a particular person. In this gift-giving also, there is the principle of …….. One gives ‘moy’ to those who have already given or will give on similar occasions. Louis Dumont (1986: 256) tells us that among the Pramalai Kallar, the mother’s brother is the first person to contribute to the moy. After the mother’s brother other relatives make their contribution. Usually the money thus collected goes towards the expenses incurred for the marriage feast. In the cycle of ……. gifts, the role of the mother’s brother is quite prominent. After a child is born to a family, the mother’s brother gives gifts on various occasions in the child’s life. Among the Pramalai Kallar (see Dumont 1986: 256) the mother’s brother gives to his sister’s son at birth a gift of land or money. In a way, we can say that the gifts given by ………….. are a continuation of the series, which started at the mother’s wedding. Then we called it an …….. of gifts between ……. Now, the mother’s brother- an affine of ego’s father, is merged in relation to the affines in ego’s generation, among the common relatives of one group, either of the bride/or the groom. Secondly, the special place of the gifts made by the …………… points to the obligation the female side has to the male side. This is seen in the continuity maintained by the relatives on the mother’s side in terms of gift-giving even to the next ……….

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You may say that in the context of kinship behaviour at ceremonial exchanges of gifts in South India, the element of reciprocity is present, though the bride-givers have to pay more gifts than they receive. In comparative terms, you may also say that in North India, the gifts travel from the bride givers to bride-takers in a unidirectional manner. As a result, the bride-givers, in turn, receive the enhanced prestige and status in their own community. In South India, the positive rule of marriage means that gifts are exchanged among close relatives. There is always the difference in the amount of gifts both sides exchange but their flow has to remain both-sided. It cannot be as unidirectional as it is in North India (for a comprehensive comparison of North and South Indian kinship systems see Unit 9 in Block 2 of ESO 12 of IGNOU’s B A Programme.)

Descent and Alliance Approaches to the Study of Kinship in India

12.4 Conclusion In Unit 12 you have focused on four major aspects of kinship structures to discuss the application of descent and alliances approaches to understand kinship patterns found in North and South India. The four aspects refer to kinship groups, kinship terminology, marriage rules and ceremonial exchange of gifts among kin.

12.5 Further Reading Dube, Leela 1974. Sociology of Kinship. Popular Prakashan: Bombay. Jain, Shobhita 1996. Bharat mein Parivar, Vivah aur Natedari. Rawat Publications: Jaipur. Karve, I. 1994. “The Kinship Map of India”. In Patricia Uberoi (ed.) Family, Kinship and Marriage in India. Oxford University Press: New Delhi. Uberoi, Patricia (ed.) 1994. Family, Kinship and Marriage in India. Oxford University Press: New Delhi.

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Appendix 1

Perspectives on Family, Marriage and Kinship

Approaches to the Study of Kinship Systems In simple words you can say that kinship system refers to a set of persons, whom we recognise as relatives by virtue of blood or marriage relationship. I hope you will be able to identify in one category the family relationships and in the other category the marriage relationships. These are two basic social relationships we are all familiar with from close quarters. In Sociology, we use a technical term, consanguinity, to denote all blood relationships and affinity to denote all relationships through marriage. It should not be difficult for you to give examples of the two types of kin relationships. Let us quickly complete a Reflection and Action exercise to find out if you can really do so. Reflection and Action 12.1 Identify and sort out the following examples of kin relationships into the two categories we have just referred to.

Examples Mother and son, father-in-law and daughter-in law, mother and daughter, father-in-law and son-in-law, father and son, mother-in-law and daughter-inlaw, father and daughter, mother-in-law and son-in-law, sister and brother, two sisters-in-law, two sisters, two brothers, two brothers-in-law. Place each of the above examples in one of the two categories of Consanguinity and Affinity. As we go further in our discussion of kin relationships, you will discover that such seemingly simple categories are not actually all that simple. But for the time being, as the initial step to enter the discourse on kinship systems, this exercise is both sufficient and interesting.

It would not be wrong to say at this point that it is the social recognition of these relationships that is more important than the actual biological ties. You may already know that networks built around kin relationships play a significant role in both rural and urban social life in India. Let us now look at the main approaches to the study of kinship in India, that is the ways in which sociologists have explained the systems of kin relationships found in society in India. Sociologists have described, compared and analysed the kinship-related findings from various regions of India. We may classify their approaches to the study of kinship under two headings (i) the Indological approach and (ii) the anthropological/ sociological approach. Let us discuss each of the two approaches.

i) Indological approach

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You would agree with me if I say that the social institutions of Indian society have their roots in literary and learned traditions of the country. Many sociologists have used textual sources to explain the ideological and jural

bases of our institutions. You can cite the example of K.M. Kapadia (1947), who has used classical texts to describe Hindu kinship system. Similarly, you can give another example of P.H. Prabhu (1954), who bases his description of Hindu social organisation on Sanskrit texts. I would add the examples of Irawati Karve (1940, 43-44 and 1958) and G.S. Ghurye (1946, 1955). Both of them have extensively worked on the Indian kinship system. Both have explained kinship pattern in different regions of India on the basis of textual sources. They have taken a socio-historical perspective to discuss the various kinship systems. In this sense, the Indological approach to the study of kinship has provided a framework to understand the elements of continuity and transformation in the system.

Appendix 1

ii) Anthropological/sociological approach: descent and alliance Anthropological and sociological studies have looked at kinship systems from the point of view of descent and alliance. Some of you may ask: what is meant by the terms, ‘descent’ and ‘alliance’? For a short answer to the question see Box 12.1 and for a detailed answer see Unit in Block 3 of ESO 11 of IGNOU’s B A programme. Box 12.1: Meaning of the Terms ‘Descent’ and ‘Alliance’ Descent refers to “membership of a group, and to this only” (see Rivers 1924: 85-88) You can use the term ‘descent’ with reference to groups of individuals with shared interests or property. According to Needham (1971: 10), there are six possible ways of transmitting group membership from parents to children. They are i) patrilineal (from father to offspring), ii) matrilineal (from mother to offspring), iii) duolineal or bilineal (transmission of one set of attributes from father to offspring and transmission of another set of attributes from mother to offspring), iv) cognatic (transmission of attributes equally from father and mother to offspring), v) parallel (a rare form of transmission in which descent lines are sex-specific, that is men transmit to male offspring and women transmit to female offspring), vi) cross or alternating (another rare form of transmission, in which men transmit to female offspring and women transmit to male offspring). In simple words, alliance refers to positive and negative rules governing the marriage bond. Kinship comprises both descent relationships and relationships arising out of marriage alliance. Levi-Strauss (1949) gave importance to the marriage bond and analysed elementary structures, which prescribe (positive rules) and proscribe (negative rules) marriage with certain category of relatives. Looking at marriage alliance in this manner has provided a rich set of anthropological/ sociological findings, which have helped us to understand kinship systems in a comprehensive manner.

Let us now discuss the descent and alliance approaches to the study of kinship

Descent approach Kin relationships give concrete shape to establishing clear-cut corporate social units. You and I, in fact each one of us, belongs to a cooperating and closely bound group of people. As a member of the group, you can depend upon the help and support of such people. You would observe that such cooperating local groups are always larger than elementary families of spouses and their children. When these groups are recognised or defined on the basis of shared descent, we call them descent groups.

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In India, we generally find the patrilineal and matrilineal descent systems and of the two, patrilineal system is more common. The description and analysis of kin relationships in a descent group have given us a fairly comprehensive sociological understanding of certain types of kinship systems in India (see Box 12.2). Box 12.2: Examples of the Studies of Descent Groups Gough (1956) studied Brahmin kinship in a Tamil village and discussed the unity of the lineage with corporate rights on land. She focused on roles and inter-personal relationships in the wider kinship. Madan (1965) analysed the role of kinship as an organising principle in the Kashmiri Brahmin society. He brought out the strong patrilineal ideology, a characteristic of kinship system of the Kashmiri Pandits. The study of descent groups helped our understanding of patrilineal kinship system in North India. Sociologists/ anthropologists like, A.C. Mayer, T.N. Madan, Oscar Lewis in their studies of kinship organisation in North India, followed the descent approach. They described in detail various levels of kin groups and their activities.

In sociological studies, sociologists have used in the past such terms as ‘line’, ‘lineal’, ‘lineage’ etc. with or without the prefix ‘patri’ or ‘matri’ in the following four different ways.

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a)

To denote corporate descent groups, i.e. lineage proper.

b)

To denote the chosen line of inheritance, succession etc. in a given society.

c)

In the study of relationship terminologies, we use the expression “two line prescription” to refer to terminological structures, which are consistent with “bilateral cross-cousin marriage”.

d)

Regardless of which lines (matriline or patriline or both) we choose for the above three purposes, lineal relatives refer to one’s ascendants or descendants. Lineal relatives are those who belong to the same ancestral stock in a direct line of descent. Opposed to lineal relatives are collaterals; they belong to the same ancestral stock but not in a direct line of descent.

The first three usages are context specific, that is, they refer to particular situations. Here, we emphasise social relations and groups and sociologists study them in terms of interaction, norms and values of a particular society. For example, following the lineage or descent approaches, scholars like Radcliffe-Brown (1924), have discussed the relation between mother’s brother and sister’s son in patrilineal societies. They use the idea of ‘complementary filiation’, i.e. the relationship an ego has with the relatives on the mother’s side in a patrilineal society. In a matrilineal society it refers to the relationship an ego has with the relatives on the father’s side. In a patrilineal society a person’s maternal group is the affinal group of that person’s father. This is the group, from which the person’s father has taken a wife. For this reason some sociologists like to consider the question of affinity in its own right, rather than as a complementary set of relationships. You may say that in the descent approach, the emphasis is on social organisation of descent groups. Consequently, there is very little focus on the ‘affinity’ aspect of relationships.

Let us now look at the approach, which focuses on relationships arising out of marriage alliance.

Appendix 1

Alliance approach Kin relationships entail also the patterns and rules of marriage. When you find a sociologist paying special attention to these aspects of kinship, you can say that he/she is following the alliance approach to understand the patterns of kinship. Many studies of kinship in India have focused on marriage as an alliance between two groups and on kinship terminology, as a reflection of the nature of alliance. Because of their concentration on relationships arising out of marriage, you can safely say that these studies follow the alliance approach. The main exponent of this approach was Louis Dumont (1950, 1953, 1957 a and b, 1959, 1962 and 1966). He focused on the role played by marriage in the field of kinship in South India. Dumont focused on the opposition between consanguines and affines as reflected in the Dravidian kinship terminology, and made an important contribution to our understanding of kinship system in India in general and of South India in particular. Following the implications of Levi-Strauss’s theory, Dumont (1971: 89-120) applied to South India a structural theory of kinship that brought out the repetition of intermarriage through the course of generations. This pattern highlighted the classification of kinspersons into two categories of parallel and cross relatives. The alliance approach to the study of kinship has helped sociologists to discuss and explain the distinction between bride-givers and bride-takers. In addition, it has also included the discussion on the notion of hypergamy (i.e. the bride-takers are always superior to bride-givers), practice of dowry in relation to hypergamy and ideas of exchange in marriage. Sociologists and anthropologists followed the descent approach to explain the kinship system in North India. This they did in the context of the four aspects of kin relationships. For the sake of consistency in our delineation of both the approaches, we will continue to use the same four aspects for discussing also the alliance approach in the context of kinship system in South India. You will find the four aspects briefly discussed below. i)

Kinship groups: Kin relationships provide both a method of passing on status and property from one generation to the next and effective social groups for purposes of cooperation and conflict. You need to identify the form of descent or of tracing one’s relationships. In other words, you find out the social groups within which relatives cooperate and conflict. These social groups constitute kinship groups.

ii)

Kinship terminology: The list of terms used by the people to refer to their kin relationships expresses the nature of kinship system. This is why by describing kinship terminology you are able to throw light on the kinship system. Most features of the kinship system of any society are usually reflected in the way kinship terms are used in that society. Generally a person would apply the same term to those relatives who belong to the same category of kin relationships. In this case, these relatives would also occupy similar kinship roles.

A comparison and analysis of the various kinship terms helps us to understand the kinship structure, its make-up and the behaviour associated with each term. You can say that kinship terms provide the context and the idiom for

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our social relationships. In this sense, kinship terms do not just tell us about biological and social relationships. They help us to look at the whole way of social life. Only by studying the language, values and behaviour of the particular people can we fully appreciate the significance of their kinship terms. Often the same kinship term is used to denote different meanings in different contexts. This is the reason why the study of kinship terms is closely associated with the study of language and culture. In describing a kinship terminology, it is usual to denote the speaker by the name of ego. The word ‘ego’ means I in Latin and refers to the first person singular pronoun. The speaker or ego can be either the male or the female. Secondly kinship terms can be divided into two types. One type covers the terms of address. This means that certain kinship terms are used when people address each other. Then there are those terms, which are used for referring to a particular relationship. These are known as terms of reference. Sometimes, the two types may be expressed by one term only. Thirdly, you would also like to learn how to write long kinship terms in short. For example, if you wish to write mother’s brother’s daughter, you may do so by writing ‘mbd’. Take another example, father’s sister’s daughter’s son can be stated as ‘fzds’. Here, ‘z’ stands for sister and ‘s’ for son. In the same way you can write in short ffbd for father’s father’s brother’s daughter. This method of writing kinship terms is useful when one is describing various sets of kinship terms. At this point you need to complete ‘Reflection and Action’ exercise in order to practise writing kinship terms in shorthand. Reflection and Action 12.3 Write in short form the following kinship terms.Father’s father, Father’s mother, Father’s brother, Father’s brother’s wife, Father’s brother’s son, Father’s brother’s daughter, Mother’s brother, Mother’s brother’s wife, Mother’s brother’s son, Mother’s brother’s daughter, Mother’s sister, Mother’s sister’s husband, Mother’s sister’s son, Mother’s sister’s daughter. Check your short forms with those of other students in your Study Centre.

iii) Marriage rules: Just as kinship groups describe the form of kinship system found in a society, so also rules for marriage, categories of people who may/may not marry each other, relationships between bride-takers and bride-givers provide the context within which kin relationships operate. Talking about these issues gives us an understanding of the content of kin relationships. It is therefore necessary to speak of marriage rules for understanding any kinship system. iv) Exchange of gifts: Sociologists like to describe social relationships between various categories of relatives. As there are always two terms to any relationship, kinship behaviour is described in terms of pairs. For example, the parent-child relationship would describe kinship behaviour between two generations. This sort of description is possible only when you make a study of the kinship system of a particular social group. In the context of our discussion in Unit 12, we would focus on the chain of gift giving and taking among the relatives for understanding the behavioural aspects of kinship system. This discussion gives us an idea of how kinship groups interact and how particular persons play their kinship roles.

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You will find that by describing the above four dimensions of the kinship system in relation to North and South India, you will be able to obtain a

fairly general picture of the patterns of kinship in the two regions. Before proceeding to the next section, it is important to mention one more feature of your study of kinship systems. You need to learn about kinship diagrams, which are graphic representations of fairly complicated kinship structures.

Appendix 1

Kinship diagrams: The depiction of kinship diagrams makes it not only much easier to grasp the nature of different types of kinship groups, marriage rules and their implications but also presents the possibilities of visually comparing them with other kinship systems. Sociologists and anthropologists invariably use them for explaining various kinship structures. For following those in your books and constructing your own kinship diagrams you need to simply remember the following rules. a)

The symbol ¦ refers to a male and the symbol O refers to a female. When these symbols are shown in black, i.e., ▲ and ●, it means that the particular male or female is dead.

b)

The symbol [ refers to sibling relationship. It expresses brother/brother, sister/sister or brother/sister relationships. The symbol ], on the other hand, expresses the husband-wife or the marriage relationship.

c)

A horizontal line connecting the symbols [ and ], denotes filiation or the relationship between the parent/s and child/children.

Thus, with the use of above symbols, kin relationships are expressed to denote genealogical connections and to depict the structure of kinship groups. Let us take an example and see what the following diagram shows. A

C

B

D

(a)

Fig. 12.8: Basic Kinship Diagram

This diagram shows that A is married to B, and C and D are the children of A and B. This simple diagram can be extened endlessly with the help of the same symbols. In this example you can further show that both C and D have their spouses and children. We can show that C is married to E, and G, H and I are the children of C and E. Similarly, D is married to F, and J, K and L are the children of D and F. This diagram will also show that GHI are the crosscousins of JKL and that A and B are grandparents of G, H, I, J, K and L. Similarly, you can also locate mother’s brother of J, K and L and father’s sister of G, H and I. This diagram is drawn in the following manner: Thus, with the use of above symbols, kin relationships are expressed to denote genealogical connections and to depict the structure of kinship groups. Let us take an example and see what the following diagram shows. The diagram shows that A is married to B, and C and D are the children of A and B. This simple diagram can be extended endlessly with the help of the same symbols. In this example you can further show that both C and D have their spouses and children. We can show that C is married to E, and G, H and I are the children of C and E. Similarly, D is married to F, and J, K and L are the children of D and F. This diagram will also show that GHI are cross-cousins of JKL and that A and B are grandparents of G, H, I, J, K and L. Similarly, you

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E

G H

A

C

B

D

I

J K

F

L

(b)

Fig. 12.2: Elaboration of Basic Kinship Diagram

can also locate mother’s brother of J, K and L and father’s sister of G, H and I. The elaborated diagram would look like the one given in Figure 12.2. We shall be using some simple kinship diagrams to explain the implications of marriage rules in both North and South India. Having established our frame of reference, we can now begin to look at the application of the descent approach to the study of kinship system in North India.

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UNIT 13 POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION Structure 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4

Introduction The concept of Political Participation Forms of Political Participation Political Participation, Democracy and Political Party 13.4.1

13.5

13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9

Theoretical Debate and Practical Variations

Political Participation and Political Parties in India 13.5.1

Political Participation through an increasingly competitive party system

13.5.2

Increased Voter Turnout

13.5.3

Social nature of the party-led political participation

Non-Party Institutions and Political participation Political Participation and Indian Democracy Summary Exercises

13.1 INTRODUCTION Participation is both an activity and an attitude. As an activity it is a social activity. Someone taking a morning walk is not participating in anything. Someone taking part in a 100-meter race does. Someone staying in a neighborhood for a long time without knowing any of one’s neighbors is not having a participant attitude. What then is political participation? Of course, we mean a kind of political activity and a kind of political attitude. Since the 50’s however it has attracted widespread attention and there seems to be a general agreement among the Political Scientists on the value and necessity of further political participation. But this apparent agreement conceals major disputes both at the levels of political theory and practical politics. Before we explore these we should begin with the concept of political participation itself.

13.2 THE CONCEPT OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION The concept of political participation has been popularised in Political Science by the Behaviouralists. Of course arguments in favor of greater political participation had been advanced by republican and democratic theorists from Rousseau onwards and are still in use by contemporary political theorists. The behaviouralist paradigm rides on a liberal view of politics. Classically, such a view draws a distinction between state and individual on the one hand and public and private on the other; it also leans on the side of the latter categories. Accordingly, when participation is seen as an attitude, it is taken as an individual’s favourable orientation to the state or government. That was the basis on which Americans were seen as having a ‘participant political culture’. The systematic use of culture and political culture as social science concepts dates only from 1950s. Here the political culture is seen as a shorthand

1

expression to denote the set of values within which a political system operates. It is something between the state of public opinion and an individual’s personality characteristics. According to Gabriel Almond, it is the ‘particular pattern of orientations’ to political objects in which a political system is embedded. Orientations are predisposition to political action and are determined by such factors as tradition, historical memories, motives, norms, emotions and symbols; the culture, therefore, represents a set of propensities. These orientations may be broken down into cognitive orientations (knowledge and awareness of the political effects), affective orientations (emotions and feelings about the objects) and evaluative orientations (judgment about them). Almond (with Verba) later developed a typology of ideal political cultures or citizen types .Where most people are oriented to the input processes and see themselves as able to make demands and help to shape policies, the political culture is participant; the British, American and Scandinavian political systems best represent this ideal. Similarly, government as the point of reference of individual’s activity becomes the feature of political participation as an activity. Thus writes Birch : ‘ political participation is participation in the process of government, and the case for political participation is essentially a case for substantial number of private citizens (as distinct from public officials or elected politicians) to play a part in the process by which leaders are chosen and /or government policies are shaped and implemented.’ The Communitarians find problem with this Liberal concept of participation because of its ‘individualism’ and government as the locus of participation .They argue that more important than participation in the process of government through the ‘politics of right’ is participation at community level for ‘politics of common good’. They argue that more important than participation in the process of government is exercise of autonomy which can be developed and exercised in a certain kind of social environment, an autonomy-supporting community, not a government. Thus, Political participation can, then be seen broadly as participation in the political life of the community or civil society with different agents and levels of participation such as running a community health club by a religious group or participating in a N.G.O.sponsored campaign for literacy. Following the same logic political participation may be for serving political obligation of a democratic citizen to lead a participatory social life and just not for the civil obligation to the government on the question of law and order. Wider political participation must include some degree of democratic control either over or within large-scale economic enterprises, decentralisation of government to smaller units, such as region or locality, considerable use of referenda etc.

13.3 FORMS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION The concept of political participation accommodates the following main forms of political participation: 1) voting in local or national elections; 2) voting in referendums; 3) canvassing or otherwise campaigning in elections; 4) active membership of a political party; 5) active membership of a pressure group;

2

6) taking part in political demonstrations, industrial strikes with political objectives, rent strikes in public housing, and similar activities aimed at changing public policy; 7) various forms of civil disobedience, such as refusing to pay taxes or obey a conscription order; 8) membership of government advisory committees; 9) membership of consumers’ councils for publicly owned industries; 10) client involvement in the implementation of social policies; 11) various forms of community action, such as those concerned with housing or environmental issues in the locality. If we take into account the broad concept of political participation, we can probably increase the list by adding such forms as: 1) Performing social duties such as jury service and military duties; 2) Town/ village meetings and public debate on controversial issues; 3) Various forms of codetermination, such as student-faculty committees in the universities and government advisory committees; 4) Shared project management involving full-scale partnership, delegation or empowerment such as benefit-sharing arrangements or developmental projects; 5) New social movements seeking and promoting personal and collective identity, such as women’s movement and movements for ethno-cultural identities. On the whole there are several levels and forms at which and through which people may participate politically, as involved objects of a process of economic and political transformation set in motion by someone else, as expected beneficiaries of a programme with pre-set parameters, as politically co-opted legitimisers of a policy or as people trying to determine their own choices and direction independent of the state.

13.4 POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, DEMOCRACY, AND POLITICAL PARTY Howsoever the forms of political participation are conceived, political participation represents a political action and naturally involves many social agents that act within definite structural parameters. The structures may be conceived as embedded structures, relational structures and institutional structures. Political party is only one of so many social agents associated with or responsible for political participation. There are other agents such as voluntary organisations, institutional groups and socio-cultural communities. The roles of these agents for political participation are influenced by the nature of variations in the structural arrangements. The relative significance of political party as an agent in relation to other agents is also influenced by such structural arrangements, as is the nature of political participation through the agency of political party. That historically embedded structures affect the form and nature of political participation is obvious. For instance, the emergence of such parties as Jan Sangh or Muslim League in modern India could easily be linked with the concretisation of fuzzy communal consciousness during the British colonial rule, which, for the first time, introduced census and 3

mapping in India. As examples of the influence of relational structures on political parties one may refer to the caste conflict in Indian society or agrarian relations, the former explaining rise of caste based parties like Justice party or B.S.P. and the latter, party like the Lok Dal. From this angle the political parties ensure participation of different structurally articulated interests and ideologies. How the political parties ensure political participation also depends on the nature of the institutional structure. The nature of participation through political parties, for example, varies according to the nature of the political system. In a few modern dictatorships, such as Hitler’s Germany, mass membership in a ruling party was encouraged as a way of mobilising support for government policies. Again, the institutional arrangements such as the electoral systems in a democracy influence the participating role of political parties. The world of electoral systems has been divided into three main families; Plurality-majority systems, Proportional representation (PR) systems, and semi-PR systems. First- Past- the –post (FPTP) system under which candidates are chosen from single member districts, tends to handicap third parties, and by doing this it helps to produce two-party system. It tends to do this if the support of the winning party spreads evenly across the electoral districts. For example a party with 52 percent of votes may win 60 percent of the seats. Naturally in such a situation, the political parties become limited agents of political participation. The usual outcome of PR is a multi-party system and therefore offers the voters greater freedom of choice but tends to make the government less effective as the majority coalitions, in the absence of amplified majority of FPTP become highly unstable. However it would be wrong to suppose that the nature of the party-system is rigidly determined by the nature of the electoral systems. The embedded structures and relational structures have significant effect on the institutional structure in general. Take the case of India. Here we have had regular elections every five years both at national and state levels. If we want to judge the level and nature of political participation in purely institutional terms, we would count number of parties, voters’ turnout, election results, number of candidates and so on with the idea that more the number, greater is the participation. However we would miss out the massive level of political participation by party workers and non-voters to the extent we fail to recognise that elections in India is a political festival where participation is more a peaceful demonstration of public will than an exercise of individual’s rational calculation that involves every stage of election: getting a ticket, the campaign, and marking the ballot. Here we have a FPTP system. But there have been wide social and regional variations in India. When the support for the Indian National Congress evenly spread across the country, the Party got the benefit of amplified seats. But whenever the social and regional variations were mobilised by new parties, inter-district variations in electoral support reduced that benefit and made way for a somewhat multi-party system. The federal structure with its system of state level elections aided that process. We would discuss the significance of this change for political participation in subsequent section. But before that it may be of interest to have some idea about the value of political participation in a democracy.

13.4.1

Theoretical Debate and Practical Variations

In theory participation is not only a behavioural concept but also a normative concept. Most people think that participation is a good thing but many actually differ regarding the levels of participation desired or relative importance of this or that form of political participation. Participation is often justified in terms of the functional requirements of the political system as leading to better communication or greater compliance on the part of the citizens. Participation

4

is often considered beneficial for the individual while the benefits may be perceived as profit minus cost, non-material rewards or meeting the psychological needs. Some consider participation itself as valuable, participation in one sphere enhancing participation in other spheres. Most of those who are in favour of restricted participation in democracy tend to adopt a conservative position and doubt the ability of the average citizen but some express reservation against it because participation provides the authorities the opportunity to legitimise their decisions. Some doubt the efficacy of political participation in the area of electoral democracy and favour participation through various forms of community self-government. In practice also we note wide variations about the nature, levels and forms of political participation. In some countries like Australia, Belgium and Italy voting has been made compulsory. The sanctions or penal measures are very mild. But in these cases voter turnout in national elections is very high, involving almost over 90 per cent of the electorate. By contrast the turnout figures for national elections in the United States are very low. However the low voter turnout in the United States is also accompanied by an increase in the number and vitality of single-issue pressure groups. Organisationally, many European parties have developed mass memberships with branches in every town and intensive programmes of local meetings and social activities. Examples of this type of parties may be the British Conservative Party and the German Social Democratic party. The American parties are Lilliputs by comparison. In terms of activity also, the American parties are pale shadows of many of their European counterparts. For instance both the British Conservative party and the Labour Party are heavily into publishing business, have discussion groups, and youth movements. Both in the United States and Europe however there has been a marked rise in the use of referendums. In the former the campaign for the initiative and referendum began in the Populist Movement of the 1880’s and the 1890’s. In 1978 the most dramatic change in state laws occurred through the adoption in California of proposition 13, a proposal to cut property tax by more than half. This tendency proved widespread and between 1970 and 1986 there were 158 statewide initiatives passed by voters in 22 states and the District of Columbia. In Switzerland, the voters have decided that their country should join the IMF and the World Bank but not the UN and the European Union. In 1992, Denmark and France held referendums on whether they should ratify the Maastricht Treaty. If we take into account the broad view of political participation, then we may note some recent forms of non-party oriented political participation both in Europe and the United States. In Britain, client-participation has developed many forms like local community health councils, ‘patients’ participation groups association of tenants, parents and pupils in school’s governing bodies. In the USA, the anti-nuclear groups have been very active, while in Germany, it is the environmental groups.

13.5 POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND POLITICAL PARTIES IN INDIA The above discussion cannot provide an immediate basis of a comparative understanding of the nature and extent of political participation in India or the role of political parties in that regard. For that we must note the specificity of Indian politics and party politics in India. Indian politics are distinctive among contemporary developing societies in having had democratic durability for about fifty years— excepting the brief emergency period——with many paradoxical features like high voter turnout amid high rate of illiteracy and agrarian population, multilevel 5

electoral process with many electoral areas not yet fully dominated and controlled by organised political parties, coexistence of various organised interest associations with intermediaries between people and bureaucracy, non-party movements, specifically Indian types of interest associations, including religious and caste groups. The Indian party system is also distinctive, showing major differences with its European and American counterparts. Paul Brass writes: ‘Party politics in India display numerous paradoxical features, which reveal the blending of Western and modern forms of bureaucratic organisation and participatory politics with indigenous practices and institutions. India’s leading political party, the Indian National Congress, is one of the oldest in the world, yet it has not succeeded in providing the nucleus for an institutionalised party system which can be fitted easily into any one of the conventional categories of party system in the west. The social heterogeneity of India has added to the complexity of the Indian party system. This has increasingly made it impossible for a single set of parties to emerge across the country. Major transformations have taken place since Independence in India’s party system. At the center of change in the party system is the rise of the BJP. Irrespective of the nature of changes in the party system, parties have continued to remain in the centre of Indian politics. Opinion polls in India have repeatedly shown that people generally vote more for the party than for the candidate. In some cases parties have been solid, creating deep loyalties that continue from generations to generations, giving election symbols of parties th tremendous psychological significance. After the 73rd and 74 Amendments, parties have found a new level of operation in the Panchayat and Nagarpalika institutions. This has widened the reach of election machinery and made political parties even more significant as agents of political participation. Keeping these points in mind let us now note the role of the Indian political parties as agents of political participation.

13.5.1 Political participation through an increasingly competitive party system Any observer of Indian political scene would not miss the tremendous growth of political parties in power. This growth has taken place both at the national and state levels. This growth has been fuelled by fragmentation of existing parties in terms of vote share, seat share and evolution of electoral alliances at both the national and state levels; the emergence of new political parties like BJP, BSP etc. and new coalitions of parties like NDA. A long range overview of the Congress Party reveals an increasingly narrowing scope of political participation at within-party level as well as widening political participation outside. Before the transfer of power, the Congress was synonymous with the nationalist movement and represented a mass wave by including within its fold different political groups such as the Communists and the Socialists. This ensured a truly broad based political participation by the Indian masses because the objective of the nationalist movement was an abstract one of Independence. Some restriction of the participatory role of the Congress party took place between 1946-1950 when the party changed from the earlier one that fought for independence. With the knowledge that after the Second World War, independence was forthcoming certain realignments started taking place within Congress. Several secessions took place from the congress involving the Communists, Muslim separatists and the socialists as a result of which within-party participation got somewhat restricted. The most influential account of congress organisation after independence was given by Rajni Kothari in his Politics in India (1970). He presented it as a differentiated system in which the different levels of party organisation 6

were linked with the parallel structure of government, allowing for the dominance of a political centre as well as dissent from the peripheries, with opposition functioning as dissident congress groups. Kothari gave it the simple name ‘Congress system’. This ensured political participations mainly through factional conflicts. On this, Brass writes: Factions contested for control of the important committees at each level through formal elections preceded by membership drives in which competing faction leaders attempted to enroll, even if only on paper, as many member-supporters as possible. Although the factional conflicts which developed often became intense and bitter and were accompanied by frequent charges of “ bogus enrolments,” they also served to keep the party organisation alive and to compel party leaders to build support in the districts and localities throughout the country. The 1967 elections marked the trend of political fragmentation sharply. The Congress vote was dropped by almost 5 per cent. It had managed to win only 54 per cent of the seats. Earlier in the previous parliament it had 74 per cent of the seats. In many states it failed to win a majority. In as many as nine states— Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Madras and Kerala—there came non-Congress governments. Within the party also conflict grew between the Syndicate and Indira Gandhi leading to a split in 1969. The newly formed Congress derived its identity from its leader in real terms. Elections within the party were stopped. Chief Ministers were appointed by the central high command. The massive electoral victory of the party in 1971 further increased political centralization that culminated into the Emergency in 1975. The popular reaction against this was a landmark in terms of political participation. It brought for the first time a non-Congress coalition government, the Janata government, at the centre. The Congress took the opportunity of coming back to power in 1980 against a divided opposition. The eighth general election took place in December 1984 in the shadow of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and brought Rajeev Gandhi into power as the leader of the Congress (I). This did not alter the trend of political centralisation within the party. Growing political dissention in the country and controversies of Bofors kickback formed the background of 1989 general elections. The Congress (I) was defeated, securing only 197 seats in the Lok Sabha. The National Front, though it could not win a majority, formed the government with V. P. Singh as Prime Minister with the outside support of the BJP and the Left parties. That government lasted only a year and paved the way for the Chandrasekhar government with Congress-I support that was quickly withdrawn and the ninth Lok Sabha was dissolved less than a year and a half after its formation. Halfway through the general elections, Rajeev Gandhi was assassinated and Congress(I) recovered its position somewhat due to sympathetic and favourable electoral support. Even then it failed to win a majority and became the single largest party with 232 seats. P. V. Narasimha Rao, elected leader of the party was appointed Prime Minister. The Rao regime eventually secured majority by winning over the Ajit Singh faction of the Janata Dal. But the party failed to regain its organisational strength and was set in a path of steady decline which culminated in its removal from power after 1996 elections when BJP emerged as the single largest party but short of majority, and various regional parties like Telugu Desam Party, the DMK, the AGP and Janata Dal , the breakway Congress group in Tamil Nadu , led by G. K. Moopanar and the left parties came together to form a bloc—NF-LF bloc , later called the United Front. However with President S. D. Sharma deciding to invite A. B. Vajpayee of the BJP to form government despite Congress (I) support to the United Front, he formed the government but only for seven days. H. D. Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal next formed the United Front government 7

with Congress(I) support where for the first time in history a left party—the CPI—joined a government at the centre.In 1996 itself BJP forged alliances with Shiv Sena. In 1998 it strengthened its alliances by a soft Hindutva image and became attractive as a partner for a regional or state based party opposed to the Congress or congress-allied regional rival( Punjub, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Orissa) or to a Congress faction (Trinamool congress) versus major regional party(West Bengal). It managed to adopt a national agenda and win post election allies (Chautala’s Haryana Lok Dal) and external supporters (TDP, NC) for coalition government at the centre. The Congress failed to return to power as the BJP managed to sustain and expand the same coalition, now formally called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) adding the TDP, Goa’s MGP, and the Patel faction of the Karnataka Janata Dal, switching partners in Tamil Nadu and Haryana. The above trends showing the decline of the Congress and rise of new contenders for power at the central level make it clear that a pattern of fragmentation of the party system has been taking place together with electoral alliances, adding to competitiveness of the party system and participation of increasing number of parties in power, may be towards a loose bipolarity at the national level. The above trend has not been limited to the national level only, but has also affected the states for the general elections between 1967-1989. The phenomena of consolidation of non-Congress vote (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh etc.), Congress-led alliances of state based minor parties (Kerala, Tripura), a left-front coalition versus Congress (West Bengal) and so on could be seen. The same could be seen for State Assembly elections. Here the Congress party’s position eroded even more than for parliamentary elections, and the consolidation of principal challenger parties or alliances at the state level was marked. The process of alliance formation has been complex and multidimensional at state level but it could be noted that they were driven less by ideological considerations or social divisions and more by the imperative to aggregate votes. On the whole, it could be argued that as agents, political parties in India have not only multiplied, but also have also been participating more effectively in the sharing and management of power.

13.5.2

Increased Voter Turnout

Relevant to the study of political participation in India is the fact that voter turnout in India has been steadily rising. In the first general election it was 47.5 and in the 1999 elections the turnout was 59.5 (Zoya Hasan, 2002, p.1). The table below illustrates the steady growth : Table 2: Election data, Indian Parliamentary Elections, 1952-91 Year

Electorate (in millions)

Polling Stations

Votes polled (in millions)

Turnout ( percent)

1952

173.2

132,560

80.7

45.7

1957

193.7

220,478

91.3

47.7

1962

217.7

238,355

119.9

55.4

1967

250.1

267,555

152.7

61.3

1971

274.1

342,944

151.5

55.3

8

1977

321.2

373,908

194.3

60.5

1980

355.6

434,442

202.3

56.9

1984

375.8

479,214

238.4

64.1

1989

498.9

579,810

309.1

62.0

1991

488.4

594,811

276.8

56.7

Source: Paul Brass, 1997,P.104 The same upward trend in voter turnout can be seen in the case of Assembly Elections also. In a study undertaken on sixteen states, Yogendra Yadav (1998) notes a new phase in democratic politics in India in terms of higher political participation and intensification of citizen’s involvement in politics. For figures see Table 3 below: Table 3: Percentage Turnout in Assembly Elections 1984-1995. States

1984-5

1989-90

1993-5

Increase

Andhra Pradesh

66.7

67.6

71.1

3.5

Arunachal Pradesh

76.3

68.9

81.4

12.3

Bihar

55.1

62.2

61.8

-0.4

Delhi

55.6

54.3

61.8

-

Gujarat

47.7

51.1

64.7

13.6

Goa

71.9

68.7

71.7

3.0

Himachal Pradesh

69.6

66.7

71.7

5.0

Karnataka

66.3

63.8

68.8

5.0

Madhya Pradesh

48.6

52.8

59.0

6.2

Manipur

87.3

80.6

88.8

8.2

Maharashtra

58.3

61.1

72.0

10.9

Mizoram

70.6

80.4

80.8

0.4

Orissa

51.4

55.5

73.8

18.3

Rajasthan

54.0

56.5

60.6

4.1

Sikkim

62.6

69.5

81.0

11.5

Uttar Pradesh

44.8

48.5

57.1

8.6

Total

55.3

60.3

64.2

3.9

Source: Yogendra Yadav, 1998, p.18 Not only has the number of voters, number of candidates also risen dramatically in the 1990’s. Yadav writes: 9

The number of candidates has risen more steadily over the decades, though here again there is a marked acceleration in the 1990’s. Beginning with a flat decadal growth rate of about one candidate per constituency , reflecting a steady intensification of electoral contests, it starts jumping by leaps and bounds around the mid-1980’s. The 1993-5 rounds have continued this upward trend in number of contestants, taking it past fourteen per seat, and a larger share of independents in it. If the 1960’s were characterized by the first democratic upsurge, the 1990s are witnessing the second democratic upsurge in post-Independence India. The intensification of the electoral process is further revealed by the following facts ; in 1952 the total number of candidates for parliamentary elections was 1874, in 1991 it rose to 8953, there were 132,560 polling stations in 1952, the number rose to 594,797 in 1991 (Hardgrave and Kochanek, 1993,p. 347).

13.5.3

Social Nature of the Party-led Political Participation

In a sense the increasingly competitive party system is a product of the rise and assertion of regional and state based parties. However to overstretch this point would mean an uncritical acceptance of the social cleavage theory of party systems. In a study on Congress some alignments of party organisations were found to be associated with acute social divisions. Congress was found not to be a heterogeneous national party but a coalition of state (and ultimately local) groups whose political rationale are the divisions and conflicts of the state and community in question. However, equally important is the geographical specificity of inter group conflicts. The political significance of group conflicts varies from state to state, to the extent there is variation in the strength of the link between social groups and the parties. In different ways the characterisations of Indian democracy as ‘consociational’, and ‘adversarial’ admit that through political party competition, the social divisions of a deeply divided society get expressed. A case to the point is the political assertion of the historically disadvantaged castes in the 1990’s. Almost together with the acceptance of the Mandal Commission’s recommendations, recent years have witnessed the emergence of the Dalit-Bahujan castes, often trying to encompass the Muslim minority in its fold. The political parties representing these social groups are identified as the Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) , the Samajwadi Party, and sections of the Janata Dal—a phenomenal increase in caste based parties since the old Justice Party, to the point that social pluralism in India gets increasingly reflected in the competitive party system which serves as the agent of political participation. That is to say, a given political party while acting as the agent of political participation often shows internal pluralism in its organisation. In a recent study of Dravidian parties, Narendra Subramanian demonstrates that the internal pluralism of parties, and not simply social pluralism, promotes greater representation and participation of emergent groups, the reconstruction of public culture and tolerance. This does not of course mean that in India all parties show equal amount of organisational or internal pluralism. The social nature of the increased voter’s turnout has not followed many clear patterns. The turnout among men has always been higher than women but the participation rate has improved faster among women than among men. Female turnout increased 20 percentage points from 38.8 per cent in 1975 to 57.3 per cent in 1989. However, its has been noted that the

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involvement of women in politics is still largely separate from men .Both the number of women contestants and of representatives show a declining trend in parliamentary and assembly elections, though at local level, due to reservations, women’s participation has increased. Since the 1980’s there has been a proliferation of autonomous women’s groups in most parts of the country and this has added a new social dimension to political participation in India. Voter turnout in urban areas was higher than in rural areas. The state-wise turnout figures broadly indicate that turnout tends to be higher in the southern states, Kerala, in particular, and West Bengal .Yadav, however, notes that one of the characteristics of the new democratic upsurge has been that practically everywhere rural constituencies report a higher turnout. While Muslim turnout in Muslim concentrated constituencies and turnout in reserved (SC) constituencies were not higher than the past, the reserved (ST) constituencies recorded higher than average turnout in Andhra, Gujarat and Maharashtra. So did some backward regions like Vidarbha and Marathwada in Maharashtra, east Delhi and Bundelkhand in UP. If the theory of new social constituency participating in Indian elections is not fully borne out at least there is hardly any doubt that such a constituency is now more intensively mobilised by political parties wherever possible.

13.6

NON-PARTY INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

It would certainly be wrong to completely detach such institutions as trade unions, peasant associations and the universities from the political parties. The latter had affiliations with these and have even today. But many have noted a growing inefficacy on the part of these institutions as agents pf political participation and as controlling influences over the political parties. From the 1980s the change has become perceptible. One consequence of the Green revolution was to localise and disparate existing peasant movements. The globalising forces on the other hand have made the trade unions weak and this in turn reduced their influences on the party organisations, a fact reflected in the lack of importance attached by the parties, even left parties, in naming the trade union leaders among their sponsored candidates for election. The rise in the number of universities and their falling standards has also limited their influences as participating institutions in civil society. Of course several new actors, sometimes called NGOs, have emerged as agents of political participation mainly in regard to the implementation of official programmes or sponsored developmental projects. Their combined volume is not insignificant but it is still too early to assess their significance for popular participation. There has however been somewhat rising political participation through what have come to be known as ‘new social movements’—movements that have arisen as a response to, among other things, the violations of civil liberties and human rights, violence on or gender bias to women , the degradation of environment, destruction of tribal culture or way of life. Some have described these movements as ‘counter hegemonic’ and noted the following major categories: Women’s Movements, Forest Struggles, Anti-Big-dam movements. Usually each of these movements develops independently of the other and keeps itself detached from traditional political parties. There have also been increasing cases of identity assertions and ‘autonomy movements’, some employing violent means, which represent non-party based channels of political participation in contemporary India.

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13.7 POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND INDIAN DEMOCRACY There has indeed been an upsurge in political participation in India with increasing competitiveness of the political parties, increased voter turnout, emergence of new forms of participation such as new social movements, institutions of grassroots politics, local level democracy and political assertions of the historically disadvantaged castes and ethno-regional groups. Apparently this represents a healthy trend towards further deepening of Indian democracy. Do we have a participant culture now in India? Though higher political mobilisation and higher electoral participation do not by themselves contribute to a participant culture, there has been a significant change of popular orientation form dependence on regular administration and traditional authority-symbols of society to people’s representatives in everyday life, whether for certificates, aids or arbitration. But this upsurge in participation needs to be understood in the complexity of Indian process of democratisation. It is doubtful as to how much space has been created for a rational individual who exercises his/her sovereign power of citizenship in the electoral arena. This doubt arises not from the non-fulfillment of the basic requirements of procedural democracy like Universal Adult Franchise, rule of law and fundamental rights but from constraints on meaningful rational participation of the individual in democratic process. First, with numerous small parties that are not properly institutionalized and under total control of charismatic leaders, and some big parties showing no interest in promoting institutionalization, the individuals participate with severe constraints because parties are still in the centre of Indian democratic process. Second, several developments tend to constrain voters’ right in recent years, such as the aborted attempt to make the qualifications and holdings of the election-candidates transparent, increasing use of electronic voting machines which make it impossible for a voter to ‘waste’ his or her vote and thereby express disapproval about the candidates. Third, instead of social cleavages being neutralised by political cleavages the latter tend to be grafted on the former in India due to unprincipled mobilisation leading to a ‘crisis of governability’. This type of mobilisation and politicisation of masses by parties may have made Indian democracy not more deepening but ‘more inclusive’. But the trouble with this inclusiveness is that the terms of inclusion are not always inclusive or modern but often exclusive and promote a step furthering the ‘effective creolisation of the modern ideas, ideals and institutions of democratic politics in a non-European setting’ (Yadav, 1998,p. 187). Finally, the institutional space for non-electoral modes of efficacious political activity has not grown to a degree found in European settings. On the whole however political parties have proved to be the most effective agents of political participation in India. Indian democratic experience has witnessed new forms of political participation in recent years and a rise in the quantity of political participation- though the exact nature and significance of that for Indian democracy can be disputed.

13.8 SUMMARY The concept of political participation has assumed a new significance in the Indian democratic process. The credit goes to the Behaviouralists for espousing this concept as an essential aspect for the democratic process. Various forms of political participation include voting in referendums, membership in political parties and pressure groups, government advisory committees, involvement in the implementation of social policies etc. The proliferation of 12

UNIT 13

POVERTY AND ITS SOCIAL DYNAMICS

Structure 13.0

Objectives

13.1

Introduction

13.2

Poverty as a Social Problem

13.3

Definition and Approaches to Poverty

13.4

13.5

13.6

13.3.1

Definition

13.3.2

Approaches

Causes of Poverty 13.4.1 13.4.2

Inequality and Poverty Vicious Circle Theory

13.4.3

Geographical Factors

Consequences of Poverty 13.5.1 13.5.2 13.5.3

Poverty and Its Consequences Culture of Poverty Poverty in India

13.5.4

Inequality of Income Distribution

Poverty Alleviation Programmes 13.6.1

The IRDP and Employment Programmes

13.6.2

Women and Youth and Area Development Programmes

13.7

Let US Sum Up

13.8

Key Words

13.9

Further Readings

13.10 Answers to Check Your Progress

13.0 OBJECTIVES After you have studied this unit you should be able to : z

describe poverty as a social problem;

z

define poverty;

z

explain the causes of poverty;

z

discuss poverty and its consequences; and

z

explain some poverty alleviation programmes.

13.1 INTRODUCTION In the last block we talked about social problems pertaining to different types of labour, viz. industrial, rural, women and children. In this block we are going to talk about the problems related to patterns of deprivation and alienation. The first unit of this block has to do with poverty and its social dynamics. In

7

Patterns of Deprivation and Alienation

this unit we define poverty and indicate categories for its measurement. Next we look into the causes of poverty, the vicious circle theory and geographical factors. Next we deal with the consequences of poverty . This includes a coverage of the culture of poverty, poverty in India, and inequality of income distribution. Finally we deal with poverty alleviation programmes which include the IRDP, employment programmes, women and youth area development programmes and urban areas.

13.2 POVERTY AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM There has been poverty in all societies over a long period. However the ‘extent’ of poverty is more in some countries than others. Every society, however, affluent, has people who are poor. In the USA more than 25 million are said to live in poverty (12-15%). It was only in the 60s that there was recognition of the prevalence of poverty. A programme of ‘War on Poverty’ was then started in USA. In England, the Poor Law was passed in 1601 A.D. The law provided for the establishment of a work-house to provide work to those who were without any means to meet their basic needs. The conditions and the pay in the work-house were depressing. However, this an be said to be the beginning of the idea of public assistance to the poor. For example USA an affluent society has poverty too. But by and large these countries prosperous. In India however poverty is a major problem. Thus the concept of poverty is relative. It has been so much with us that not much attention has been paid to it. It was considered a normal aspect of any society. Till recently there has been little sense of social responsibility for dealing with poverty. On the other hand there has been a rationalisation of poverty. The poor were believed to be responsible for their own plight. Unemployment was considered a sign of laziness. The Karma theory suggested poverty was a consequence of wrongs or sins comitted in earlier births. When poverty has been voluntary it has been praised by society. In such a case one cannot call it poverty per se because it is part of a saint’s life style. Mahatma Gandhi lived in ‘voluntary poverty’. So did the Buddha. This is different from involuntary poverty where the necessities of life are in very short supply. In recent times there has been an acceptance of poverty as a social problem. India with the coming of independence has made some efforts to raise the level of income of people living in poverty. In 1960 the concept of poverty line was emphasised by Dandekar and Rath (1971). Specific programmes of poverty alleviation were initiated in the 4th plan. Systematic study of the poverty is a recent phenomenon. It has been suggested that there were four questions that need to be answered to understand poverty. i)

What is poverty ?

ii)

What is the extent of poverty ?

iii) What are the causes of poverty? iv) What are the solutions ? 8

To (iii) one may also add what are the consequences of poverty? This unit will look at poverty using these questions as a framework. The effort will be to look at the sociological aspects.

13.3 DEFINITION AND APPROACHES TO POVERTY

Poverty and its Social Dynamics

In this section we shall be discussing various definitions and approaches to poverty. Let us define poverty first.

13.3.1 Definition The approach to defining poverty has usually been in economic term – the levels of income, property and living standards. People are said to be poor when their income is such that it does not enable them to meet the basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. The concept of “poverty line” used both in India and USA fixed an income. If people fall below this line, they are considered to be poor. The poverty line is arbitrarily fixed, hence there can be questions about it. Nevertheless, it does provide one way of determining who the poor are. Sometimes, the word “pauperism” is used to denote extreme poverty. It describes a category of people who are unable to maintain themselves. In recent times there are many dimensions that are considered in looking at poverty. It is no longer seen as purely an economic phenomenon. It is now realised that there are sociological, political, psychological and geographical reasons as well as attitudes or value systems that need to be considered to understand poverty. We suggest that a minimum approach by government in any society which has significant inequality must provide for raising minimum levels not only of incomes but also self-respect and opportunities for social mobility and participation in many forms of decision-making. What is being stated here is that in dealing with poverty one is not only concerned with the income but also with the individual’s political role, opportunities for his children and selfrespect. Poverty is not only a condition of economic insufficiency; it is also social and political exclusion. Poverty is therefore to be seen not only merely in economic terms but also in its social and political aspects. The concepts and approaches to poverty have been dealt with in detail in Unit 12 of ESO-02. There we have viewed poverty as a level of living that is so low that it inhibits the physical, mental and social development of human personality. There it has been pointed out that poverty has been with human culture and civilisation since ages. In the beginning of the development of human society human beings were at a low level of social organisation and technological development and that the state of poverty was general in nature, faced by all members of society. In the process of evolution of human society there have been enormous developments in social organisation and technology. However the fruits of this progress have not been equally shared by all sections of society. There have been the rich and there have been the poor. Thus poverty has been related to the prevailing socio-economic structure of the society. Experts on poverty have broadly used two approaches. First the nutritional approach. Here poverty is measured on the basis of minimum food requirements. Second, the relative deprivation approach. Here poverty is seen in terms of relative deprivation of a section of population against the predeveloped sections. We shall be discussing these matters in detail in our section on the measurement of poverty.

9

Patterns of Deprivation and Alienation

13.3.2 Approaches There are various approaches for the measurement of poverty. The major factor considered in measuring poverty is income. The question that is asked is, what resources can a particular income command? Does the income allow for obtaining the basic necessities? Consequently, it has also been suggested that the actual intake of food should be the criteria. If an adult person is unable to have a certain number of calories (2,250) a day he is considered to be poor. The economic aspect usually involves the judgment of basic needs and is mentioned in terms of resources required to maintain health and physical efficiency. Such an approach is now being questioned. Among the basic needs are also include, education, security, leisure, recreation. When the resources commanded by average individuals are so low that they are in effect excluded from living patterns, customs and activities of the society, they are said to be living in poverty. Among the ideas which have an objective and dependable measurement of poverty is a concept of PQLI — (Physical quality of live index). The three indicators used in PQLI are life expectancy at age one, infant mortality and literacy. An index number is to be calculated for all countries based on the performance of each country in these areas. The worst performance would be designated by the in index number zero and the best performance by 100. In the 70s, the PQLI index for India was 43. Various important studies have been conducted in India for the measurement of poverty. For example Ojha in his study has used the average calorie intake as the basis for defining poverty. To him persons who are below the poverty line have an intake of less than, 2,250 calories per capita per day. Dandekar and Rath (1971) have estimated the value of the calories (2,250) in terms of 1960-61 prices. They observe that there would be variation in the extent of rural and urban poverty in terms of financial index. Here they suggested that whereas the Planning Commission accepts Rs.20/- per capita per month or Rs.240/- per annum as the minimum desirable standard, it would not be fair to use this figure both for rural and urban areas. They suggested a lower minimum of rupees 180/- for the rural population and a higher amount of Rupees 270/- per annum at 196061 prices. i)

Absolute Poverty

Absolute poverty refers to the inability of a person or a household to provide even the basic necessities of life. It refers to conditions of acute physical wants, starvation, malnutrition, want of clothing, want of shelter, total lack of medical care. At times “absolute poverty” is also called “subsistence poverty”, since it is based on an assessment of minimum subsistenc requirement. Nutrition is measured by intake of calories and proteins, shelter by quality of dwelling and degree of over-crowding, and the rate of infant mortality and the quality of medical facility. With the broadcasting of the definition of poverty it is also suggested that one should go beyond the physical need and also include cultural needs—education, security, leisure and recreation.

10

It is difficult to fully accept the argument. The nourishment needs of a farm labourer would be different from those of a clerk in an office. Similarly clothing requirements will also differ. If cultural needs are also included then measurements become more complex.

Box 13.01

Poverty and its Social Dynamics

The growth experienced after 1947 in India has been unparalleled in its own history. However compared to other developing countries it has been a slow and painful process. In the past 40 years mass poverty has also grown. It is not a question of pockets of poverty, but a very large number of people living below the poverty line throughout the country. The poverty line is often defined as a minimum intake of calories (about 2400) to live and work per day. This measure therefore does not include other subsistence needs such as housing, clothing health and education. It is thus a real minimum. ii)

Relative Poverty

As there are difficulties in accepting “absolute poverty” fully, another term “relative poverty” has been developed. Poverty according to this concept is to be measured according to standards of life at a given time and place. The idea is that standards of society can be changing standards. Definition of poverty should therefore be related to the needs and demands of changing societies. In 1960 those who had a per capita income of Rs.20/- or less per month in rural areas were considered to be below the poverty line. In 1990 those who have an income of less than Rs.122/- per month are considered to be below the poverty line. The term “relative poverty” also refers to the fact that different societies have different standards, hence it is not possible to have a universal measurement of poverty. Those who are considered poor in USA by their standards, may not be considered so in India. Check Your Progress 1 i)

How do we define poverty? Give your answer in 5-7 lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

ii)

What is the minimum approach to poverty? Give your answer in 5-7 lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... 11

...................................................................................................................

Patterns of Deprivation and Alienation

13.4 CAUSES OF POVERTY The Human Development in South Asia 1999 reveals situation of glaring poverty, inequality and deprivation in South Asia in general and India in particular. According to this report South Asia, with 23% of the world population is the planet’s poorest region. About 540 million people, or 45% of the region’s population, are living below poverty line, with daily income of less than one US dollar. India has the greatest number of the poor people with 53% people living below the poverty in 1999 (i.e. earning less than one US dollar a day. This report also points out that there are dramatic desperation and concentration of wealth and power among the richest members. The highest income earning layer of 20% own 40% of total income in the region while the lowest 20% owns only 10% In India the richest 10% earns 6 times higher than the poorest 10% earns 6 times higher than the poorest 10% of the country Poverty has direct linkages with social and economic deprivations. Some indicators of these deprivations are highlighted below : Indicators

South Asia

India

–

Deprived to proper sanitary facilities

879 million

661 million

–

Deprived of safe drinking water

278 million

178 million

–

Child Birth death rate per 1,00,000 live birth

480

437

–

Children under 5 years suffering from acute malnutrition

79 million

59 million

–

Children not enrolled in Primary Education

50 million

35 million

There are many causes of poverty and we intend to discuss these in this section and subsequent subsections. First is the nexus between inequality and poverty. Then the vicious circle theory and finally geographical factors.

13.4.1 Inequality and Poverty

12

Earlier the effort was to study poverty by itself, that is, not relating it to the total conditions of the society. It has been suggested by a British social welfare expert that poverty should not be defined as income insufficiency, but the focus ought to be on the degree in inequality in the distribution of wealth in a society. Inequality is generated by the capitalist economy where wealth is concentrated in the lands of a few according to Marx. These few gain control of the means of producing wealth such as slaves, land and capital. They are able to influence the political process, by which social inequality is managed. Essentially poverty boils down to this fact that some people are poor because others are rich. Since the rich have greater political power than the poor, the government policy tends to favour them. The rich therefore tend to remain rich and the poor tend to remain poor. Marx claimed that all history is a history of class conflict; hence the situation can change only when the poor have greater political influence.

There are others who believe that there are different roles to be performed by members of a society. Some roles required long training, (doctors, engineers, lawyers, physicists etc.) They get higher rewards from the society. Others like vegetable-sellers, sanitation workers, taxi-drivers, typists, receive lower rewards. There is inequality but as it happens to maintain the society, it is considered functional. All these jobs have to be performed to meet the needs of the society.

Poverty and its Social Dynamics

13.4.2 Vicious Circle Theory This theory argues that the poor are trapped in circumstances which make it difficult for them to escape poverty. The poor have inadequate diet which makes for low energy and hence poor performance in school and at work. Poor diet also makes them vulnerable to illness. They have poor housing and often have to go long distances for their work. They cannot afford or are not allowed to stay near the place of work. The circumstances combine to make the poor continue to be in poverty. Discussing the problem of poverty in rural areas of India a leading authority in rural development asks the question :”Does the policy in rural development considers integrated rural poverty?” Aspects of which include poverty, physical weakness, vulnerability, isolation, powerlessness. As this theory suggests the poor cannot get over their poverty. But it is difficult to accept such a deterministic view, a view suggesting that they cannot escape poverty. Sometimes this explanation of poverty is called “Situational Theory” in the sense that poor find themselves in a particular situation and have great difficulties in getting out of it, if at all.

13.4.3 Geographical Factors Poverty is explained at times by the geographical conditions in which people live. The resources are scarce and people are unable to overcome the problems of lack of resources. The desert areas, the hill areas are good examples. In India, certain areas have been designated as drought-prone areas. Survey in these areas indicate that not only that the conditions are poor but in spite of hard work they are unable to overcome the situation. Neither of these theories by themselves can explain the totality of the phenomena of poverty. They do however provide some analysis and understanding as to why poverty exists.

13.5 CONSEQUENCES OF POVERTY As mentioned earlier the rich have influence to continue to be rich. In them there is a vested interest in the continuance of poverty. Poverty survives in part because it is useful to a number of groups in society. Poverty benefits the non-poor in general and rich and the powerful in particular. There are a number of functions of poverty: i)

Poverty ensures that ‘dirty work will get done, there are many menial jobs that have to be done in society. It is the poor who take up such jobs.

ii)

Poverty provides a market for inferior goods and services-second-hand clothes, stale food material, poor houses, and services from unqualified persons.

13

Patterns of Deprivation and Alienation

iii) Poverty facilitates a life style of the affluent. The work done by the cooks, gardeners, washermen, house cleaners etc. enable the upper lasses to lead a life of comfort. iv) Poverty provides a group that can be made to absorb the political and economic causes of change. Technological development means more unemployment for the unskilled. Building of dams displaces the areas where the cannals are built. People with no land get no compensation. Policies which change, when there is a tight budget situation, are the welfare programmes. The rich and often the government itself has a vested interest in the continuation of poverty. As it tends to provide for the maintenance of the stability of the society. Check Your Progress 2 1)

What are the causes of poverty? Give your answer in 5-7 lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

2)

What are the functions of poverty ? Give your answer in 5-7 lines. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

13.5.1 Poverty and its Consequences Poverty and its consequences are discussed in the subsection below. First there is the culture of poverty which is discussed. We specify this discussion with poverty in India. Finally there is the inequality of income distribution.

13.5.2 Culture of Poverty

14

In the previous paragraphs discussions has been with regard to the causes of poverty. The structural or the vicious circle theory suggests that poor find it almost impossible to get out of the situation. How do people in such sad conditions manage to live? One explanation is that poverty forces them to develop certain patterns of behaviour enabling them to survive the sordid conditions of poverty. This pattern has been termed ‘Culture of poverty’. The concept was developed by an anthropologist, Oscar Lewis, based on his studies in Mexico. He suggests that the poor develop a culture of their own, or rather

a subculture which is not part of the behaviour pattern or the value system of the society in which they live. Lewis says that the poor tend to be socially isolated. Apart from the family, no matter what other group they belong, their outlook remains narrow. They do not relate themselves to total society in which they live or to the poor in other parts of the country. The individual who grows up in this culture has strong feelings of fatalism, helplessness, dependence and inferiority. Their orientation is to living in present, they hardly think of the future. In brief it can be said that the culture of poverty is both an adaptation and a reaction of the poor in the marginal position. It is an effort to cope with the feeling of hopelessness and despair due to a realisation that it is almost impossible to achieve success according to values of the high societies. Their isolation also means lack of participation in the activities of the society-political, social and economic. There is also a suggestion that children are socialised into such a culture and hence are not willing to make use of opportunities to improve themselves they would feel insecure in a new situation.

Poverty and its Social Dynamics

There are many criticisms of this concept. One of the questions that is relevant is as to whether the culture of poverty applies to the rural conditions. Lewis develops the concept on the basis of his studies in slum areas. There is some evidence that the poor in rural areas also have developed a subculture, and defense mechanisms. Some feel that the poor do not participate not because of the culture that they have developed but because the larger society in a way prevents their full participation. Participation in social institutions requires certain levels of resources which the poor do not have (for example-participating in religious festivities). Another criticism is that the concept of culture of poverty tends to put the blame on the poor for being poor, rather than holding the social system responsible. Earlier there has been a discussion of how inequality is perpetuated in society. It also suggests that the culture of the poor is a consequence or a result of the poverty rather than the cause of poverty. Activity 1 Visit the houses of a potter or a washerman or a dishwasher. Ask them regarding whether they have a social circle of friends. Try to find out all you can about the culture of poverty. Write down your findings in two pages and then discuss them with other students in the Study Center.

13.5.3 Poverty in India There has been a substantial discussion of poverty in India sine about 1960 when Dandekar and Rath focused the attention on the number of people who were below the poverty line. At that time they had calculated that if the income per capita per month was less than Rs.20/- the person was said to be below the poverty line. Separate figures are mentioned for rural and urban areas (For Bombay the amount indicated is Rs.200/- per month in 1960). The amount is based on what is needed to buy the required calories of 2400 per person per day. For rural areas, the figures was RS.122/- in 1988. There are various estimates of the number of people below poverty line in rural areas. In 1977-78 it was estimated that 51% of the rural population (252 millions) were below the poverty line. In 1987-88 it was estimated that about 45% (261 millions) were below the poverty line. Although percentage-wise there is a fall, but in absolute numbers there is an increase as the population has increased. Although there are different estimates, it is generally accepted

15

Patterns of Deprivation and Alienation

that there are substantial number of people living in poverty. (In the urban areas the number of people living in poverty). In the urban areas the number of poor in 1987-88 was estimated 77 million (38%); in 1990, it is estimated that in rural and urban areas together about 350 millions are below the poverty line. Table 1: Poverty prevalence Ratios by Rural-Urban Location: All India and 14 Major States (1993-4 to 1999-2000) (Percentage of Population Below the Poverty Line)

States

Rural 1993-94 1999-2000

Urban 1993-94 1999-2000

All India Andhra Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat Haryana Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh West Bengal

39.36 27.97 58.25 64.41 28.62 30.52 37.73 33.95 36.93 50.21 59.12 17.61 25.92 37.27 39.08 54.15

30.37 35.44 10.13 45.03 28.86 13.4 32.41 28.2 46.02 33.52 36.99 6.79 30.6 37.83 34.23 20.97

36.35 25.48 61.78 58.85 26.22 14.86 38.5 26.5 39.35 50 62.67 14.24 15.01 39.37 29.87 56.16

28.76 32.28 12.45 45 21.7 13.79 24.55 31.89 46.29 32.16 34.27 6.74 24.36 29.82 36.39 16.74

Notes:

State specific poverty lines for 1993-94 have been adjusted for inflation by reference to the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Laborers (for rural population) and the Consumer Pries Index or Industrial Workers for the urban population.

Source:

Sundaram, K. ‘Employment and Poverty in 1990s: Further Results from NSS 55th Round Employment-Unemployment Survey’, 1999-2000, Economic and Political Weekly, 11 August 2001, pp. 3039-49.

In recent years there has been a decline in the proportion of people living below the poverty line at the all India level. However, those are several regional variations among the state. Again in some of the state while the extent urban poverty has declined the rural poverty has increased, for example the state of Karnataka, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. However in the case of Haryana, Kerala, while rural poverty has decline urban poverty has marginally increased. In the case of Assam and Madhya Pradesh extent of poverty has in creased both in the rural and in the urban areas.

13.5.4 Inequality of Income Distribution 16

Income distribution is very unequal. The share of the bottom 20% is 4% of the total income in rural areas whereas the share of the top 10% is 36%. Similarly in urban areas while the share of the bottom 20% is 9% that of the top 10% is

42%. The situation is indicative of the wide gap between the rich and the poor. The consumption expenditure also shows the same pattern. While the top 20% of the population accounts for 42% of the consumption, the bottom 20% accounts for about 10%. The pattern of land distribution confirms the wide difference between “haves” and “have not”. About 15% of the cultivators own nearly 50% of the cultivated land whereas 50% own less than 20%. There are questions about the exact figures–but there is general agreement of the overall pattern of maldistribution of wealth, income and consumption pattern among the people.

Poverty and its Social Dynamics

The maldistribution of assets leaves at least one-third of the population without effective means of satisfying their basic needs. The net result is that a large number of people lie just below the poverty line or above the poverty line. And a few keep on accumulating assets. Because of such a phenomenon, one wonders whether the gap between the poor and the rich can be bridged. Poverty is the result of unequal distribution of production assets, entitlements and surpluses reinforced by a power structure of closely knit economic, political and bureaucratic forces and vested interests. When discussing the causes of poverty one of the major ones mentioned was inequality. Poverty is therefore not merely an economic phenomenon but also has political and social ramifications.

13.6 POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES Planning in India has always had some concern about high levels of poverty. The approach in the earlier plan has tended to deal with the problem indirectly i.e. increasing of GNP, land reforms, provision of services, minimum needs programme etc. It is in the 6th plan that a specific poverty alleviation programme was initiated. However, there is recognition that the problem is too deep to be solved by a specific programme. The VIIth Plan documents says “Poverty alleviation programmes have to be viewed in the wider perspective of socioeconomic transformation of the country. The present strategy of direct attack on poverty through specific poverty alleviation programmes is justified on account of insufficient percolation of benefits to the poor from overall economic growth. It should be appreciated that the strategy of direct attack on poverty cannot be sustained and would not yield the desired results if the growth of the economy itself is sow and the benefits of such growth are inequitably distributed. The economic betterment of the poorer section can’t be achieved without social transformation involving structural changes, educational development, growth in awareness and changes in outlook, motivation and attitude. The specific programmes which are described here should therefore be understood in the perspective of the above statement. The programmes that are mentioned here were operative in the VIIth Plan.

13.6.1 The IRDP and Employment Programmes The Integrated Rural Development Programme was introduced in the late 70s. The main objective of the IRD Programme was to evolve an operational integrated strategy for the purpose-on the one-hand of increasing production and productivity in agriculture and allied sectors based on better use of land, water and light, and on the other of the resources and income development of vulnerable section of the population in Blocks of the country.

17

Patterns of Deprivation and Alienation

The Integration is in terms of bringing various programmes which dealt with specific programmes or areas, together. For example: Small Farmers’ Development, Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labourers, Drought-Prone Area Programme. The programmes were to help the poorest of the poor i.e. whose household income was less than Rs.4,800/= per year. If the cut off point for the poverty line is Rs.240 p.a. how can this amount represent the poorest of the poor? The specific activities were target group oriented. The programmes of special rise programme, operation flood, programme for handloom, sericulture etc. Steps were to be taken to increase the industries, services and business. The financial assistance consisted of subsidies and loans. Unemployment is a major factor in poverty. In rural areas, agricultural labour has work available only seasonally. The rate of unemployment has tended to increase. In 1971 about 31/2million persons were unemployed. In 1983 it has risen to 4.5 million. About 30 million are registered in the Employment Exchange Centre all over the country. Employment Generation is therefore an important programme in meeting the problem of poverty. Two programmes in these areas were initiated namely, National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP). In the later part of the 80s another programme Jawahar Rojgar Yojana was introduced. The NREP was expected to generate 300-400 million mandays per annum. The programme envisaged creation of durable assets such as irrigation canals, social forestry, soil conservation, roads, school buildings, panchayat ghars etc. The RLEGP was introduced with the objective of improving and expanding employment opportunities for the rural landless. It aimed at providing guarantee of employment for at least one member of every landless household up to 100 days, and also to create durable assets. Housing, and social forestry, were among the activities to be undertaken in these programmes. In the Jawahar Rojgar Yojana the employment was to build community halls, panchayat ghars etc. Activity 2 Visit a rural area or a slum and try to collect information on the poverty eradication programmes initiated in these areas. Based on your information write a short note of about 20 lines on the impact of poverty eradication programmes in rural/slum areas. If possible, discuss your note with your colearners at the Study Center.

13.6.2 Women and Youth and Area Development Programmes

18

The Programme entitled Development of women and child in rural areas was initiated as a Pilot Project in the early 80s. The purpose was to increase their income and also to provide support, services, needed to enable them to take up income generating activities. Employment, education and improvement of health was the focus for improving the status of women. Training for rural youth for self employment was also launched in the beginning of the VIth Plan. The target group was youth between the age of 18-35 from families living below the poverty lines. The number to be trained was 40 per block per annum. Stipends to the selected youth were provided. Efforts were made to provide training relevant to the needs of the geographical areas.

There are areas which are affected adversely because nature has not been bountiful to them, viz. drought-prone areas, desert areas, hill areas etc. The incomes in these areas are subject to great fluctuations. Various programmes have been initiated to help the poverty-stricken people in these areas. In DPAP areas, for example, productive dry land farming, livestock development, sericulture, were among the activities introduced. In the desert areas, the activities included afforestation, animal husbandry, exploitation of ground water etc.

Poverty and its Social Dynamics

The major emphasis in the urban areas was the environmental improvement of the urban slums. Pre capita assistance of Rs.300/- per month was provided in the infrastructure, roads, payments, water supply etc. The description of the programmes is very sketchy. The purpose is only to provide a general idea of the approach of the government to meet the problems of poverty. There have been many evaluation studies of these programmes. Most of these are of the view that while there is some improvement in the situation, target set are far from being achieved. Check Your Progress 3 1)

Discuss poverty and its consequences. Use 5-7 lines for your answer. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

2)

Discribe a poverty alleviation programme. Use 5-7 lines for your answer. ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

13.7 LET US SUM UP The unit is divided into various section to provide a conceptual and also a pragmatic view of poverty. Definition of poverty includes how poverty is measured. The causes and consequences of poverty have been described. In the last section of the unit the extent of poverty in India and the policies and programmes to overcome poverty have been briefly mentioned. Solution to problems of poverty needs a multidimensional approach. These are also discussed here.

19

Patterns of Deprivation and Alienation

13.8 KEY WORDS Absolute Poverty

:

Absolute poverty refers to the inability of a person or a household to provide even the basic necessities of life.

Area Programme

:

There are areas which are not bountiful by nature. Various programmes have been initiated to help poverty-stricken people in these areas.

Poverty

:

This has been defined in many ways—mainly by a poverty line falling below which a person is called poor. Now sociological, psychological and political dimensions are also taken into consideration.

Relative Poverty

:

Poverty according to this concept is to be measured according to the standards of life at a given time and place.

13.9 FURTHER READINGS Marickan S.J. (Ed) 1988. Poverty in India, Xaier Board : Trivandrum. Swamy D.S. and A. Gulati 1986. From Prosperity to Retrogression : Indian Cultivators during the 1970’s. EPW, June 21-22, p.A-63.

13.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 1)

Poverty is defined relative to a ‘poverty line’ and if people fall below this line they are considered to be poor. One drawback is that the poverty line is arbitrarily fixed, hence we can question it. However, it does provide a way of determining who the poor are.

2)

The minimum approach to poverty is to try to raise to the minimum level all those who are poor. It is to try and raise the self-respect and opportunities for social mobility in many forms of decision-making.

Check Your Progress 2 1)

There are many causes of poverty. The first of these causes is inequality of distribution of wealth in a society. Next is the vicious circle theory where the poor remain poor due to lack of funds. Finally the geographical factors were the area where people are settled is unproductive and hence leads to poverty.

2)

There are a number of function of poverty. These are that : i) ii)

20

it ensures menial labour inferior goods and services and purchased and manned by the poor respectively. iii) it facilitates the life cycle of the affluent iv) it produces a group that is made to absorb the political and economic causes of change.

Check Your Progress 3 1)

Poverty has several consequences. One of these consequences is the culture of poverty. In such a culture the poor learn to survive in solid conditions of poverty. This subculture is not the same as in the society they live. Further the poor tend to be socially located often living below the poverty line.

2)

The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was introduced in the late 1970s. The main objective of the IRD Programme was to increase yields in agriculture and allied areas based on land. It was also to develop the resources and income of vulnerable sections of society.

Poverty and its Social Dynamics

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Unit 16

Marriage, Family and Kinship Contents 16.1

Introduction

16.2

Impact of urbanization and social Change in India

16.3

Continuity and Change: The Institution of Marriage

16.4

Continuity and Change: The Institution of family

16.5

Continuity and Change: The Institution of Kinship

16.6

Conclusion

16.7

Further Reading

Learning Objectives After studying this unit, you will be able to •

Discuss the impact of urbanization and social change in India

•

Describe the kinds of changes that have occurred in the institution of marriage.

•

Explain the changes that have occurred in the institution of family in India and finally

•

Outline the changes that have occurred in the institution of kinship in India

16.1 Introduction In this unit, as in the previous one, we are going to study the impact of the process of urbanization on social institutions like marriage family and kinship in India. The Book 1 of this course, MSOE-004: Urban Sociology has already familiarized you with the concept of urban and the process of urbanization. You learnt about the origin and development of urban sociology in the west as well as in India. It was explained to you very clearly that in India urban structures have evolved since the very ancient times from Indus valley civilization to contemporary period in India.

The forces of social change that have taken place in India, such as, the colonial impact, introduction of modern education, better means of transport and communication and so on, have had its impact on the different institutions in society. Their impact has been felt throughout India but more so on the population living in the cities than the villages. In this unit you will learn about the impact of urbanization on the social institutions of marriage, family and kinship in urban India.

16.2 Impact of urbanization and social change in India You must have studied the unit on urbanization (unit 25, MSO- 004 Sociology in India) which is part of the M.A. (sociology) core course to refresh your memory, let me explain some aspects of the process of urbanization.

Urbanization is a structural process of change which is associated with the movement or migration of people from rural to urban areas. It is generally related to industrialization but it is not always the result of industrialization. It results due to the concentration of large-scale and small-scale industrial and commercial, financial and administrative set up in the cities, technological development in transport and communication, cultural and recreational activities.

Since, the process of urbanization is in excess of the process of industrialization in India, what we often find is over urbanization. Here, a peculiar phenomenon can be observed in urban areas. There is industrial growth without a significant shift of population from agriculture to industry and of growth of urban population without a significant rise in the ratio of the urban to the total population while in terms of ratio, there may not be a great shift from rural to urban activity. But there is still a large migration of population from rural areas to urban areas. As a result we find that urban areas, towns and cities are choked and there is lack of adequate infrastructure and amenities to cope up with this large influx of population in most cities in India.

As mentioned in unit 25 Urbanization, urbanization implies a cultural and social psychological process whereby people acquire material and non-material culture, including behavioral patterns, forms of organization, and ideas that originated in, or are distinctive of the city. Although the flow of cultural influences is in both directions, i.e. from rural to urban and urban to rural, but there is no doubt that the cultural influences created by the city on non urban people are probably more pervasive than the influences exerted by the rural. The India of urbanization may be better understood when interpreted as aspects of diffusion and acculturation. Urbanization may be manifest either as intra- society or inter-society diffusion, i.e. urban culture may spread to various parts of same society or it may have cross-cultural or national boundaries and spread to other societies. It involves both borrowing and lending. On the other side of the diffusion coin is acculturation, the process where by individuals acquire the material possessions, behavioral patterns, social organizations bodies of knowledge, and

2

meanings of groups where culture differs in certain respects from their own. Urbanization as seen in this light is a complex process (Gist and Favia: 1933).

It is, thus clear that urbanization process is an important force of social change. In India this process besides reflecting economic growth, political change, change in values and attitudes, has also revealed elements of continuity between rural and urban social structures. Pocock (1960) categorically maintains that villages and cities in India are part of the same civilization and as such cannot be separately understood. Therefore any discussion of urban social structure in India is in terms of its basic social institutions, such as the family, marriage, kinship and caste. All these four aspects are closely related with each other in both rural, as well as, urban social structure.

It is often assumed by sociologists studying the urban society in India that the process of urbanization leads to the break down of the joint family, increase of nuclear family, slackens the caste and kinship ties and role of religion. These assumptions have been critiqued by several sociologists who tried to understand the urban social structure in India.

Gandhi, Raj (1983: 5) believes that ‘any discussion on problems of change in connection with urban sociology in India, ought not to make one feel that the sociologist of urban India should necessarily be the sociologist of social change. It merely reminds us of two facts:

1. Urbanism is often thought of as a force of social change, particularly when we are dealing with the developing society such as India, hence

acquaintance with the problems of social

change could be rewarding. 2. Often comparisons and contrasts are drawn between several aspects of rural structure of India. The latter is, at times, interpreted as different any commentary on the problems of change. In this

and urban

from the former without

sense also, theoretical understanding of

the problems of change could be fruitful.

Thus it is important that any discussion on the social institutions of marriage, family and kinship in urban India is understood within the theoretical framework of wider social change both from within, as well, as without, taking place in society in India.

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16.3 Continuity and Change: The Institution of Marriage Social institutions have been defined as the network of social relationships in society which are relatively permanent, Weber (cf. Martindale, 1962: 55- 8) has defined social institution as the social relations in a whole network of social actions. The institutions exists only so far as people act in certain ways. It is manifest only as a pattern of behavior. Thus social institutions in the Indian cities as marriage, kinship, family, caste and religion could be conceptualized as the occurrences of complex sets of social interactions. Gandhi (1983: 20) believes that in the traditional city of India ,the institutional complex of the marriage, kinship, family, caste is most strategic for analysis and understanding of the socio cultural life of the city. He says that due to the relative preoccupation of Indian sociologists with the study of India’s villages marriage within urban contact has received scant attention. Marriage as an institution has traditionally been embedded and linked with the institution of caste in India in both rural and urban areas. Marriages have been contracted keeping the caste or jati endogamy in mind Rules of marriage in each caste community in different religions of India follow different rules and regulations. Giri Raj Gupta (1974) examines a number of social dimensions of marriage, such as marriage rituals in the context of intra- family roles and norms implications of caste per for marriage and the family, social exchange among the castes, the ‘nata’ alliance (remarriage) etc. He examines them in a Rajasthan village.

In the urban cities, the phenomenon of inter caste marriages, inter-communal, inter regional, and inter- religious marriages even though infrequent, must be studied in details with the help of such methods as extensive depth interviews, caste histories and the social geographies of individuals involved. (Gandhi R. 1983: 21) “just twenty five years ago the instances of intercaste marriage were very few, and those individuals who dared to marry out side the caste had to undergo truly great hardships. Today the situation is altogether different not only has the privileges of inter-caste marriage become considerable, but even the difficulties the intercaste marriage couple have to face, have become comparatively quite mild “ (Kannan, C.T : 1974)

C. T. Kannan’s study of inter-caste and intercommunity marriages in Bombay is based on two hundred inter-caste marriages and fifty inter-community marriages in Bombay during 195859. The analysis of the couples by the year in which they got married shows a steady increase in the incidence, a majority of 64% being married after 1950. Kannan says that the spread of higher education both among the males and females is one of the reasons for the increase in

4

the incidence of inter-caste and inter-religious marriages amongst the younger generations in the cities. Indeed, one could safely assert that the graph of inter-caste marriages is steadily rising, never becoming a plateau, much less declining. Even in the newspaper columns, the pros and cons of inter-caste marriage are found freely debated particularly by ladies, a subject which was formerly almost a taboo. (Kannan, C. T. 1974).

Due to modern education full of western thoughts and ideas, emancipation of women and the association of young men and women with various political and social organizations, new ideas which are incompatible with the traditional norms and values are nurtured amongst the youth in cities. As a result their attitudes towards traditional norms changes and new values develop which affects marriage, kinship and family.

Kannan in his study mentioned earlier found that besides schools and colleges, social organizations such as Jati Seva Dal, Lok Sena, Swastik League, Kshariakya Parisad, etc., have played a great role in influencing the younger generations in selection of their partners. Political organizations have also been responsible in providing suitable claim for some males and females to come together and develop intimacies.

Most significant aspect of change that the noticed was that the young generation becomes individualistic by such influences and they take their own decision even in the matter of marriage. They become less caste-conscious than their elders and, therefore, in their inter group relations they ignore caste and creed differences. In many cases the objections to such inter-caste marriage by the parents was there but not always due to caste considerations. It is observed that far more important considerations existed behind parental opposition than caste of their child’s bride/ groom. These were mainly the lack of wealth and status in the partner. Where these factors were favourable, the parents had given their consent and cooperation to marriage, ignoring caste differences. Thus, education and socio economic background matters more in cities than caste (Kannan, C. T 1974: 341).

In a study by B. V. Shah (1964: 84-86) of male students of Baroda University, it was found that a higher proportion of unbetrothed students from urban background (cities, 63 per cent; towns 14 per cent) than from rural background (18 per cent) existed. In case of selection of bride too a higher proportion from the urban background (cities 61 per cent; towns; 47 per cent) favoured at lest a matriculate (i.e. high school graduate) than from the rural background

5

(only 13 per cent). Thus, the non-traditionality as regards bride selection is found largely in urban areas, whereas traditionality is found proportionately greater in rural areas than in urban areas. It is also found that a ‘new concept of wifehood’ (i.e. emphasis on conjugal relationship) has emerged which is associated with urban living in the contemporary society in India. (Gandhi, Raj 1983: 21) M. S. Gore (1968: 196) in a study of a community near Delhi found that the urban educated respondents who had changed their occupation felt ‘closer to their wife’ than their mother. Thus, it is found that in urban society the joint family living in India which traditionally deemphasizes the direct conjugal relationship between man and his wife seems to have changed as nearly three-quarters of the highly urbanized male respondents tend to favour closeness to wife.’

Gandhi, R. says that these developments as discovered by Gore and others conform to William J. Goode (1963) who hypothesized that there is a logical fit between the urban-industrial society and the ‘conjugal family’ which is supposed to be the characteristic of the west. Conkhin’s study (1973) of the emerging conjugal role patterns in the city of Dharwar in South India notes that urbanization and education does result in a significant increase in conjugal role patterns, even within a joint household.

However, while some sociologists may jump to the conclusion that urbanization and education will lead to ‘conjugal family patterns’ in India even before industrialization; it is a matter of doubt whether the ‘conjugal family pattern’ and joint family pattern did not co-exist in urban India since early times (c.f. A M Shah, 1974). The distinction between the two is a false dichotomy of western sociology unnecessarily imposed upon the understanding of Indian urban society.

Another change observed by sociologists of urban areas is that age at marriage has increased. But the question of self choice or ‘arranged marriage’ still remains a debatable point. Cormack’s claim (1961: 101) that the Indian youth are increasingly allowed the ‘right’ of decision for their marriage without the ‘means’ to make it. Therefore, it is quite clear from the available evidence that situation in urban India is not automatically conducive to increase in the freedom of choice for one’s marriage since marriage is still closely tied to family (and hence to parental authority and kin-constraint) and caste (Gandhi, R. 1983).

6

Aileen Ross (1961: 253) in her study of the Hindu families in the city of Bangalore found that young people tend to select their spouse themselves and then take the approval from their parents. But Vatuk (1972:73-111) is opposed to this view. She studied two middle class neighborhoods in the North Indian city of Meerut. She found only four cases of so-called “love marriages” (i.e. marriages of personal choice) during her field-work among the mohalla residents. These occurred within the circle of relatives and friends, involving either fellow students in a co-educational college, fellow workers in an office, affinal kins or residents of the same dwelling. During her study she did not find even a single case of arranged inter-caste marriage.

Men in these middle class mohallas accepted their inability to arrange inter-caste marriages for their children, however, egalitarian they may be. Karve (1965) like Srinivas (1969) and Khare (1970) observed that the role of dowry in marriage arrangements was of significance. She found a tendency to give larger amounts of cash rather than goods amongst the wealthy Banias. Gandhi (1983) believes that what urbanism does is to increase the ‘price’ of the college educated urban youth of India in the matrimonial market.

The significance of caste endogamy too remains largely unchanged as ‘arranged marriages’ are contracted traditionally within one’s own caste. Kapadia’s study (1968; 119) of family in urban India found that 51 per cent out of 513 university graduates interviewed expressed their willingness to give their children in marriage outside their own caste but only one their were against the departure from tradition. This change of attitude is reflected in opinion rather than actual practice. Caste considerations are still playing a major role in marriage in reality.

In a study conducted by Raj Gandhi (1976) of the Bania Sub-caste in the city of Jamnagar found that 67.5 per cent of the kin of the respondents were found to be married into their own Dasa Bania sub-caste. Of the remaining 32.5 per cent, 13.3 per cent had married into a higher Visa sub-caste; the practice of hypergamy, which does not necessarily reflect the breach of caste endogamy. He found only 14 cases (11.6 per cent) of real inter-caste marriages going beyond the sub-caste and caste boundaries. Mandelbaum (1970: 653) gives a general statement which according to Gandhi sums up the developments that have occurred and the continuities that exist in the arena of marriage as a social institution. He says that ‘although endogamy remains a major consideration in arranging a marriage, the boundaries of the endogamous group... are typically being enlarged, and marriage patterns may now come from

7

formerly separate jatis (sub-castes) of the same jati cluster... but such unions are still very exceptional even among the urban educated people.’

Since, the studies on marriage in urban areas are few and far between, it is difficult to generalise. But what stands out clearly is the continuing link it has with caste. There has been increase in factors like, age at marriage, wider circle of spouse selection within the caste, level of education of bride and so on. Let us now understand the social institution of family in the urban context.

16.4 Continuity and Change: The Institution of Family Family in India has been generally of two kinds, joint or extended family comprising more than two generations of members such as a married couple, their children, married or unmarried and one or both parents. The other type of family is the nuclear family consisting of husband, wife and unmarried children.

It was initially assumed that the process of urbanization leads to a decline in family size, weakening of family ties and break up of joint family system into nuclear families. This assumption was a result of application of Western notions of evolution. F. Tonnies, E. Durkheim, Louis Wirth etc., advanced theories which explained these developments in society as it moved from simple to complex. Industrialization and urbanization brought about these types of social changes in society and nuclear families came to be associated with the modern industrial urban societies. In India, too, this assumption presupposes that joint family is an institution of the rural social structure and as society gets urbanized the joint families, associated with rural agrarian economy will give way to nuclear family with the increase of non-agrarian occupations.

But as evidence gathered by sociologists studying family in urban India reveals, this hypothesis does not hold much credence since as a matter of fact joint families are found in urban areas as well. The correlation of “joint” family with rural areas and “nuclear family with urban is not tenable. In fact, sociologists like A.M, Shah (1970) Kapadia (1956) Gore (1968) and others observe a cyclical change from nuclear to joint to nuclear family within a period of time. This is the household dimension of family in India which indicates that there is no correlation between urbanization and ‘separate’ nuclear households.

8

A. M. Shah (1970: 100-101) dispels the myth of the breakdown of the joint family in urban India. He studied the social history of Gujarat and on the basis of his findings, he claims that in the past the sanskritized castes (i.e. those castes which have adopted the values, customs and behaviour of the upper castes) formed a much higher proportion of the population in towns (or cities) than in villages. This implies that the principle of the residential unity of partikin and their wives was practiced to a much greater extent is towns than in villages. This shows that towns included a considerable number of households composed of two or more married brothers living together after their parent’s death. It may also have included a few large households where married cousins lived together in the same household even after the death of their father and grandfather; the households composed of parents and two or more married sons formed a greater proportion of household in the town.

Shah believes that these findings are very important because they debunk the two notions that are widely prevalent amongst urban sociologists in India. These notions are: (1) that the people who migrate from villages are governed by strong emphasis on the principle of the residential unity of patrikins and their wives; and (2) that the urban area into which they come to live is necessarily an area having a weak emphasis on the principle of the residential unity of patrikin and their wives.’

I. P. Desia (1964: 117-8) in his study of Mahuva considers ‘jointness’ of Indian family when seen in the light of the actions of members guided by the traditional norms, and then examines the effects of urbanization on ‘jointness’. He operationalizes urbanization in terms of the ‘duration of stay in Mahuva’. During his study he found that the older families tend to be more joint than the younger ones and where the nuclear families preponderate over the older families, nuclearity may also preponderate over the joint families. He found that the families under investigation were more joint than nuclear in terms of ownership of property and mutual obligations. In case of residentiality too, he found enough evidence that nuclear families continue to grow joint and joint becomes nuclear.

In this sense, his findings conform with A. M. Shah’s suggestion that one of the most fruitful approaches in this case would be to examine the developmental process of (family) households, both progressive and regressive which is assumed to be operative in the villages, towns, and we believe, the cities of India (Gandhi; R 1983:33).

9

Ram Krishna Mukherjee (1964:87) studied the rural-urban differences in the familial organization of West Bengal society. He too, while examining the co-resident and commensal relationships amongst kin groups as the locally functioning family units found the presence of extended or non-nuclear family types amongst the cities, towns and villages equally. But as he mentions, paradoxically, the nuclear type of family is found most frequently in villages, then in the towns, and the least frequently in cities.

In a different study, Mukherjee (1965) reports that unlike the common assumption, his data does not support the belief that joint family organization is not linked with the urban way of life. His study indicates clearly that joint family organization increases progressively as one shifts from villages to small towns to large cities or from non-industrial through partly industrial to highly industrial towns. He discovered that the upper castes, who also generally belong to the upper economic classes gave more importance to the joint family organization than the lower castes and lower economic classes. Mukherjee’s findings support Shah’s (1974: 246) correlation between household, caste and rural-urban community.

Similarly, M. S. Gore (1968) came to a similar conclusion while testing a similar kind of hypothesis in three communities which is supposed to be represented by three stages of urbanization, viz. the city of Delhi, villages on the fringe of Delhi, and the villages away from Delhi. In spite of the fact that he confined his empirical study (using questionnaire interview method) to only the merchant caste of Aggarwals, he took almost equal number of families from rural and urban communities, almost equally divided between ‘nuclear’ and ‘joint’ families in each type of community. According to Gore, there is a distinction between the processes of industrialization and urbanization. He uses the latter i.e. urbanization to refer to the increasing ratio of urban dwelling to the non-urban dwelling persons in a county. He further states that the family change may be induced by such factors as higher education, modern professions and bureaucratic populations (considering that these are the attributes of urban life). However, he found that neither of these factors, not even industrial occupations were found to have any significant change in the joint family.

Kapadia (1956) in his analysis of the National Register data on households in the towns of Navasari and the fifteen villages around Navasari in South Gujarat similarly found that the assumption that people in cities and towns live in nuclear families while joint families are stronger in the villages is incorrect contrary to this opinion, he found during his studies (1954

10

& 1955) of 531 high school teachers (279 Gujarati, 187 Maharashtrian and 47 Kannadiga in Bombay city, that so far as the residential family is concerned, 219 (42 per cent) out of 513 teachers lived in elementary families i.e. nuclear families, while 67 per cent (294 teachers) lived in joint families. Not only a high degree of jointness was found in the residential group, but outside the residential group (Gandhi, R 1983).

Conklin (1976) too during his study of the household composition of Karnataka State based on the Government survey result found that urbanization was not associated with a decline of complex households (joint households) nor was there any relationship between the two. Saroj Kapoor’s (1965) study of family and kinship among the Khatris, a wealthy caste of businessmen in Delhi also found that at least 42.9 per cent of complex households existed in a neighbourhood in the metropolitan city of Delhi.

We find in the analysis of several studies of family and household in the urban context that not only kinship is found to be an important principle of social organization in cities but also that there is a structural congruity between the joint family on the one hand and the requirements of industrial and urban life on the other. Milton Singer’s (1968) study of 19 families of outstanding business leaders in Chennai city discovered that these leaders could effectively ‘compartmentalize’ traditional values and life style in the area of home and modern professional outlook for the business or company at their offices. There need not be any conflict between the two. He argued that a modified version of traditional joint family is consistent with the urban industrial setting.

Sudha Kaldate ({1962}2003) however, holds a different opinion. She says that all these studies which assert that ‘although structurally the traditional (joint) family appears to be breaking down, functionally it is not so. These try to maintain that the joint family is not disintegrating in order to function as independent units (nuclear) but adapting to new patterns which have the same degrees of jointness. The strong protagonists of the views are Kapadia (1954) and Desai (1956), these are not looking at the varying outside factors.’

She says that ‘any social institution which is exposed to a number of varying outside factors should result in change. Urbanization, in addition to reflecting technological change, creates a new form of economic organization and gives rise to a new way of life, Cultural uniformity

11

and traditional patterns of belief and behaviour tend to change under the impact of the above changes and social change gets accelerated.’

Kaldate (2003:173) believes that these types of changes in social institutions do not affect the areas where a large proportion of the indigenous population is resident in a village within the urban framework. To the extent that these populations remains outside from urban contacts they tend to retain their ‘folk society’ characteristics (Hauser 1957). This fact is very important since it is this reason that the extent of change in the institution of family is found to exist more in the areas within the orbit of the city and less in the interior communities. We may give the example of the pockets of rural areas within and on the fringes of metropolitan city of Delhi.

Kaldate supports her hypothesis with empirical data available. Her basic thesis is that “ in the process of social disorganization, the changes in family organization tend to take the form of changes from the large or joint family system to the small family system. Larger proportions of joint as well as quasi-joint families are found in the more traditional communities (existing outside the urban framework); and smaller proportions of such types of families are found in such communities as have been more exposed to outside influence.’

So far we learnt about the impact of urbanization of the social institution of family. Let us now explain briefly the institution of kinship in India.

16.5 Continuity and Change: The Institution of Kinship As you already know the social institution of marriage, family, kinship and caste are closely interrelated in Indian society. The kinship pattern in Indian society is generally viewed in the context of Hindu joint family and therefore has not received much attention. However, like the studies of family in the urban contact, this area of kinship again suffers from the same dichotomous assertions of opposition between the rural and the urban. But ever since the ‘break up’ theories of joint family in urban communities has been proved incorrect a few interesting studies on urban kinship in India have reported elaborate network of kinship in Indian cities. Gandhi, R. (1983 : 25) in his study of family, kin group and sub-caste as the realms of primary interactions of the Indian urbanite found that as many as 36.7 percent of the women of the Das Bania sub-caste had their

12

parental or natal kin (parents, brothers, their wives, sisters, their husbands) living in the same city, similarly, the largest proportion, about 55 percent of the respondents were found to interact most frequently with their natal kin, these findings have further implications, according to Gandhi, when we compare them with Vatuk’s study of the north Indian city of Meerut.

Vatuk (1972: 140-41) believed that because of the patrilateral emphasis in the north Indian kinship system, a wife is expected to interact most frequently and intensively with her affines, agnates of her husband and their wives. However, in Meerut, she found that the significant number of married women who live near their natal kin (i.e. their own parents) interact more frequently with them than with the affinal kin. It is true that under such circumstances, the bonds between the women and her natal kin could be stronger as such interactions are face to face, primary and reciprocal and they tend to maintain the continuity and solidarity with her natal kin unit.

However, Vatuk assumes that there was a strong patrilateral emphasis in Meerut prior to urbanization. Gandhi believes that traditionally the cities of India have always manifested strong ties with both the natal and the affinal kin of women as it has been possible for them to marry within the city where their parents (i.e. natal unit) lived unlike the situation in the north Indian villages where village exogamy separated the woman from her natal village after marriage.

Vatuk, however, arrives at the conclusion that so far as changes in the kinship system are concerned there is an increasing tendency toward neolocal residence in the city. However the weakness of this interpretation is that she presumes that the neolocal residence for a married couple in an Indian city is a new phenomenon. This belief coupled with the belief that earlier most residences in Meerut city were patrilocal have no supportive evidence

Unlike Vatuk, I.P Desai’s study of Mahuva town effectively proves that the cyclical pattern of patrilocal–neolocal– patrilocal residence i.e. joint residence to nuclear and back again to joint residence may continue to exist in any city, village or town and there is no conclusive evidence to prove change in any one direction. This conclusion is again supported by Gandhi’s study of the city in Jamnagar in western India, (Gandhi R., 1983: 27)

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It is the evolutionary bias in sociology in general and urban sociology in particular that can be observed in the finding or research in kinship patterns. Chekki (1974: 156) studied two caste clusters, Brahmin(Gokul) and Lingayat (Kalyan) from the suburbs of Dharwar city, Karnataka. He discovered that in order to meet the demands of complex modern urban life a modified extended family is emerging and it consist of a series of nuclear families joined together on an equalitarian basis for mutual aid and functioning to felicitate the mobility strivings of its component member families and individuals.

Mary Chatterjee (1947: 337-49) in her study of kinship in sweeper(low caste) locality in Banaras city found that the kinship terms were also used not only for persons in the mohalla, whether or not related, but also for most of the persons encountered outside the locality. She found that kinship was the basic principle in structuring of that urban locality, both as a means of conceptualization of relations and as a principle of recruitment to residence. The consanguineal (i.e. blood relatives) and affinals (relatives by marriage) were linked in terms of their relation to the acquisition of cleaning jobs in the municipality.

Gandhi (1983) observes that largely the kinship studies in urban areas go to prove the contention of Pocock (1960) who believed that the presumed dichotomy between ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ does not obtain in the Indian situation, at least when we examine such social institutions as family and kinship in urban India.

He says that when we think in terms of change in the patterns of kinship in urban India’ we observe a strange anomaly between continuity and change. However, increase in neolocal residences, change in the outward forms or observable patterns of kinship, may be change in degree

and not in kind. Although urban-rural differences were not found to be statistically

significant, the study (Conklin’s and other) maintains that urbanization levels and employment of wife of the household outside are major factors in the relative freedom of women.

16.6 Conclusion when we study the impact of urbanization on the social institutions of marriage, family and kinship, we find that the evolutionary approach of western scholars, from Durkheim, F. Tonnies (1940) Louis Wirth (1938) have markedly influenced the studies of urban sociologists. Such theoretical assumptions led to the biased approach of dichotomizing the

14

rural and urban as two different types of societies. Initially several sociologists jumped to the conclusion that the joint family is associated with the rural agrarian economy, as found in the west and the nuclear family belonged to the urban industrialized non-agrarian economies.

However, several studies on family, marriage, kinship and caste in urban India, e.g. I.P Desai’s(1964), K.M. Kapadia (1956). Ramkrishana Mukherjkee and so on found contrary to this view there was no such link between the types of society and jointness or nuclearity of the family and the household. In fact A.M. Shah’s study gives a turning point to these studies by pointing out that there is a cyclical change of joint to nuclear to joint in urban areas as well. However, it is quite clear from the analysis of all these studies that slight modifications in terms of personal and private lives and professional competitive life in the cities and towns; as pointed out by Milton Singer (1968) does exist.

Another important fact is that ample confusion in terms of defining and understanding of what constitutes “joint” and “nuclear” exists. This area of study therefore needs greater attention since as mentioned in the sections of the unit, all the social institutions marriage, family and kinship are constantly adjusting and accommodating to new needs and requirements and therefore subtle changes keep taking place without affecting the larger form.

16.7 Further Reading Gandhi, Raj 1983 in Main Currents in Indian Sociology, ed. By Giri Raj Gupta, vol. VI Urban India, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd: New Delhi.

Sandhu, R.S (ed.) 2003, Urbanization in India Sociological Contributions, Sage Publications: New Delhi.

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16

UNIT 17 IDENTITY POLITICS IN INDIA (CASTE, RELIGION, LANGUAGE AND ETHNICITY) Structure 17.1 17.2 17.3

Introduction What is Identity Politics? Identity Politics in India 17.3.1 17.3.2 17.3.3 17.3.4

17.4 17.5

Caste Religion Language Ethnicity

Summary Exercises

17.1 INTRODUCTION Identity Politics has become a prominent subject in the Indian politics in the past few years. 1

Rise of low castes, religious identities, linguistic groups and ethnic conflicts have contributed to the significance of identity politics in India. The discourse on Identity, many scholars feel, is distinctly a modern phenomenon. Craig Calhoun aptly describes the situation when he argues that it is in the modern times we encounter intensified efforts at consolidating individual and categorical identities and reinforce self-sameness. This is primarily a modern phenomenon because some scholars feel that emphasis on identity based on a central organising principle of ethnicity, religion, language, gender, sexual preferences, or caste positions, etc, are a sort of “compelling remedy for anonymity” in an otherwise impersonal modern world. It is thus said to be a “pattern of belonging, a search for comfort, an approach to community.” However, the complex social changes and the imbrications of various forces, factors and events in this modern world have rendered such production and recognition of identities problematic. This is to say that any search for an ‘authentic self or identity’ is not an innocent and unnuanced possibility; it involves negotiating other, often overlapping and contested, heterodox or multiple ‘selves’. Cascardi succinctly elucidates this by observing, “the modern subject is defined by its insertion into a series of separate value-spheres, each one of which tends to exclude or attempts to assert its priority over the rest”, thereby rendering identity-schemes problematic. Nonetheless, the concerns with individual and collective identity that simultaneously seeks to emphasise differences and attempt to establish commonality with others similarly distinguished, have become a universal venture.

17.2 WHAT IS IDENTITY POLITICS? But the question is how do discourses on identity fit into the political landscape? What are the political underpinnings of these discourses on identity? What are the organising principles of movements that characterise themselves as those based on identity concerns? Can we define movements of workers as an instance of identity politics? In short what is the politics of identity and what are its organising principles? Identity Politics is said to “signify a wide range of political activity and theorising founded in the shared experiences of injustice of members of certain social groups”. As a political activity it is thus considered to signify a body of political projects that attempts a “recovery from exclusion and denigration” of groups hitherto marginalised on the basis of differences based on their ‘selfhood’ determining characteristics like ethnicity, gender, sexual preferences, caste positions, etc. Identity politics thus attempts to attain empowerment, representation and recognition of social groups by asserting the very same markers that distinguished and differentiated them from the others and utilise those markers as an assertion of selfhood and identity based on difference rather than equality. Contrastingly placed, it is to imply that adherents of identity politics essentialise certain markers that fix the identities of social groups around an ensemble of definitional absolutes. These markers may be those of language, culture, ethnicity, gender, sexual preferences, caste positions, religion, tribe, race, etc. institutionalised in jargons, metaphors, stereotypes, and academic literature and reinforced through practices of positive discrimination or affirmative action. The proponents of identity politics thus, assign the primacy of some “essence” or a set of core features shared only by members of the collectivity and no others and accepts individual persons as singular, integral, altogether harmonious and unproblematic identities. These core markers are different from associational markers like those of the workers who are defined more by their common interests rather than by certain core essential naturally ‘given’ identity attributes of the groups 2

engaged in identity politics. Though many would argue that “worker” was an identity deserving legitimacy and as a group, its movements can be referred to as identity Politics, but probably the term “identity politics” as a body of political projects implied to in contemporary discourses refers to certain essential, local and particular categorical identities rather than any universalising ideals or agenda. The adherents of identity politics utilise the power of myths, cultural symbols and kinship relations to mould the feeling of shared community and subsequently politicise these aspects to claim recognition of their particular identities. The strongest criticism against Identity Politics is that it often challenged by the very same markers upon which the sense of self or community is sought to be built. It is despite the fact that identity politics is engaged in numerous aspects of oppression and powerlessness, reclaiming and transforming negative scripts used by dominant groups into powerful instruments for building positive images of self and community. In other words the markers that supposedly defines the community are fixed to the extent that they harden and release a process of ingroup essentialism that often denies internal dialogicality within and without the group and itself becomes a new form of closure and oppression. Identity Politics as a field of study can be said to have gained intellectual legitimacy since the second half of the twentieth century, i.e., between 1950s and 1960s in the United States when large scale political movements of the second wave-feminists, Black Civil Rights, Gay and Lesbian Liberation movements and movements of various Indigenous groups in the U.S. and other parts of the world were being justified and legitimated on the basis of claims about injustices done to their respective social groups. However, as scholars like Heyes point out that although “‘Identity Politics’ can draw on intellectual precursors from Mary Wollstonecraft to Frantz Fanon, writing that actually uses this specific phrase—Identity Politics—is limited almost exclusively to the last 15 years.

17.3 IDENTITY POLITICS IN INDIA In India we find that despite adoption of a liberal democratic polity after independence, communities and collective identities have remained powerful and continue to claim recognition. In fact, Beteille has shown that the Indian polity has consistently tried to negotiate the allegiance to a liberal [individual] spirit and the concerns and consciousness of community. According to Bikhu Parekh this process has recognised a wide array of autonomous and largely selfgoverning communities. It has sought to reconcile itself as an association of individuals and a community of communities, recognising both individuals and communities as bearer of rights. It was probably this claim for and granting of recognition of particular identities by the postindependence state of India that led many scholars to believe that a material basis for the enunciation of identity claims has been provided by the post-independent state and its structures and institutions. In other words the state is seen as an “active contributor to identity politics through the creation and maintenance of state structures which define and then recognise people in terms of certain identities”. Thus, we find identity politics of various hues abound in India, the most spectacular however, are those based on language, religion, caste, ethnicity or tribal identity. But having said this it would be wrong on our part to assume that each of these identity markers operate autonomously, independent of the overlapping influence of the other makers. In other words a homogenous linguistic group may be divided by caste affiliations 3

that may be sub-divided by religious orientations or all may be subsumed under a broader ethnic claim.

17.3.1

Caste

Caste-based discrimination and oppression have been a pernicious feature of Indian society and in the post-independence period its imbrications with politics have not only made it possible for hitherto oppressed caste-groups to be accorded political freedom and recognition but has also raised consciousness about its potential as a political capital. In fact Dipankar Gupta has poignantly exposed this contradiction when he elaborates the differences between Ambedkar and Mandal Commission’s view of caste. While the former designed the policy of reservations or protective discrimination to remove untouchability as an institution from Indian social life and polity, the latter considered caste as an important political resource. Actually, the Mandal commission can be considered the intellectual inspiration in transforming castebased identity to an asset that may be used as a basis for securing political and economic gains. Though it can also be said that the upper castes by virtue of their predominant position were already occupying positions of strengths in the political and economic system, and when the Mandal heightened the consciousness of the ‘Dalits’ by recognisisng their disadvantage of caste-identity as an advantage the confrontation ensues. The caste system, which is based on the notions of purity and pollution, hierarchy and difference, has despite social mobility, been oppressive towards the Shudras and the outcastes who suffered the stigma of ritual impurity and lived in abject poverty, illiteracy and denial of political power. The origin of confrontational identity politics based on caste may be said to have its origin on the issue of providing the oppressed caste groups with state support in the form of protective discrimination. This groupidentity based on caste that has been reinforced by the emergence of political consciousness around caste identities is institutionalised by the caste-based political parties that profess to uphold and protect the interests of specific identities including the castes. Consequently, we have the upper caste dominated BJP, the lower caste dominated BSP (Bhaujan Samaj Party) or the SP (Samajwadi Party), including the fact that left parties (for example use of caste idioms for mobilising agricultural labourers in Andhra Pradesh elections in 1950) have tacitly followed the caste pattern to extract mileage in electoral politics. The Cumulative result of the politicisation can be summarised by arguing that caste-based identity politics has had a dual role in Indian society and polity. It relatively democratised the caste-based Indian society but simultaneously undermined the evolution of class-based organisations. In all, caste has become an important determinant in Indian society and politics, the new lesson of organised politics and consciousness of caste affiliations learnt by the hitherto despised caste groups have transformed the contours of Indian politics where shifting caste-class alliances are being encountered. The net effect of these mobilisations along caste-identities have resulted not only in the empowerment of newly emerging groups but has increased the intensity of confrontational politics and possibly leading to a growing crisis of governability.

17.3.2

Religion

Another form of identity politics is that effected through the construction of a community on the shared bond of religion. In India, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism are some of the major religions practised by the people. Numerically the Hindus are considered to be the majority, which inspires many Hindu loyalist groups like the RSS (Rashtriya Swayam 4

Sevak Sangh) or the Siva Sena and political parties like the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) or the Hindu Mahasabha to claim that India is a Hindu State. These claims generate homogenising myths about India and its history. These claims are countered by other religious groups who foresee the possibility of losing autonomy of practise of their religious and cultural life under such homogenising claims. This initiates contestations that have often resulted in communal riots. The generally accepted myths that process the identity divide on religious lines centre on the ‘appeasement theory’, ‘forcible religious conversions’, general ‘anti-Hindu’ and thus ‘anti-India’ attitude of the minority religious groups, the ‘hegemonic aspirations’ of majority groups and ‘denial of a socio-cultural space’ to minority groups. th Historically, the Hindu revivalist movement of the 19 century is considered to be the period that saw the demarcation of two separate cultures on religious basis—the Hindus and the Muslims that deepened further because of the partition. This division which has become institutionalised in the form of a communal ideology has become a major challenge for India’s secular social fabric and democratic polity. Though communalism for a major part of the last century signified Hindu-Muslim conflict, in recent years contestations between Hindus and Sikhs, Hindus and Christians have often crystallised into communal conflict. The rise of Hindu national assertiveness, politics of representational government, persistence of communal perceptions, and competition for the socio-economic resources are considered some of the reasons for the generation of communal ideologies and their transformation into major riots. Identity schemes based on religion have become a major source of conflict not only in the international context but since the early 1990s it has also become a challenge for Indian democracy and secularism. The rise of majoritarian assertiveness is considered to have become institutionalised after the BJP, that along with its ‘Hindu’ constituents gave political cohesiveness to a consolidating Hindu consciousness, formed a coalition ministry in March 1998. However, like all identity schemes the forging of a religious community glosses over internal differences within a particular religion to generate the “we are all of the same kind” emotion. Thus differences of caste groups within a homogenous Hindu identity, linguistic and sectional differences within Islam are shelved to create a homogenous unified religious identity. In post-independence India the majoritarian assertion has generated its own antithesis in the form of minority religions assertiveness and a resulting confrontational politics that undermines the syncretistic dimensions of the civil society in India. The process through which this religious assertiveness is being increasingly institutionalised by a ‘methodical rewriting of history’ has the potential to reformulate India’s national identity along communal trajectories.

17.3.3

Language

Identity claims based on the perception of a collectivity bound together by language may be said to have its origin in the pre-independence politics of the Congress that had promised reorganisation of states in the post-independent period on linguistic basis. But it was the “JVP” (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya) Committee’s concession that if public sentiment was “insistent and overwhelming”, the formation of Andhra from the Teluguspeaking region of the then Madras could be conceded which as Michael Brecher mentions was the “opening wedge for the bitter struggle over states reorganisation which was to dominate Indian Politics from 1953 to 1956”. Ironically, the claim of separate states for

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linguistic collectivities did not end in 1956 and even today continues to confront the concerns of the Indian leadership. But the problem has been that none of the created or claimed states are mono-ethnic in composition and some even have numerically and politically powerful minorities. This has resulted in a cascading set of claims that continue to threaten the territorial limits of existing states and disputes over boundaries between linguistic states have continued to stir conflicts, as for instance the simmering tensions between Maharastra and Karnataka over the district of Belgaum or even the claims of the Nagas to parts of Manipur. The linguistic divisions have been complicated by the lack of a uniform language policy for the entire country. Since in each state the dominant regional language is often used as the medium of instruction and social communication, the consequent affinity and allegiance that develops towards one’s own language gets expressed even outside one’s state of origin. For instance the formation of linguistic cultural and social groups outside one’s state of origin helps to consolidate the unity and sense of community in a separate linguistic society. Thus language becomes an important premise on which group identities are organised and establishes the conditions for defining the ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’. Though it is generally felt that linguistic states provide freedom and autonomy for collectivities within a heterogeneous society, critics argue that linguistic states have reinforced regionalism and has provided a platform for the articulation of a phenomenal number of identity claims in a country that has 1,652 ‘mother tongues’ and only fourteen recognised languages around which states have been reorganised. They argue that the effective result of recognition for linguistic groups has disembodied the feelings of national unity and national spirit in a climate where ‘Maharastra for Marathis, Gujrat for Gujratis, etc” has reinforced linguistic mistrust and defined the economic and political goods in linguistic terms.

17.3.4

Ethnicity

You will study in detail about the ethnicity in unit 26 of the book 2 of this course. There are two ways in which the concept of ethnic identity is used; one, it insiders the formation of identity on the basis of single attribute - language, religion, caste, region, etc; two, it considers the formation of identity on the basis, of multiple attributes cumulatively. However, it is the second way formation of identity on the basis of more than one characteristics - culture, customs, region, religion or caste, which is considered as the most common way of formation of the ethnic identity. The one ethnic identity is formed in relation to the other ethnic identity. The relations between more than one ethnic identities can be both harmonious and conflictual. Whenever there is competetion among the ethnic identities on the real or imaginary basis, it expressed in the form of autonomy movements, demand for session or ethnic riots. You will study about the major examples of ethnicity in Unit 26 of the book 2.

17.4 SUMMARY Identity has become an important phenomenon in the modern politics. The identification of a members of the group on the basis of sharing common attributes on the basis of all or some of the attributes, language, gender, language, religion, culture, ethnicity etc. indicates the existence or formation of identity. The mobilisation on the basis of these markers is called identity politics. Identity politics gained legitimacy in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States and 6

UNIT 17 RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN INDIA: AS PACT AND VALUE

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Structure 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3

Objectives Introduction Religious Pluralism in India Religious Pluralism as Fact 17.3.1 17.3.2 17.3.3 17.3.4

Geographical Spread Religion and Sect Caste and Religion Language and Religious Pluralism

17.4 Religious Pluralism as Value 17.4.1 Religion and Social Identity 17.4.2. Religious Pluralism and Shared Values 17.4.3 Religious Beliefs and Rituals '

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17.5. Let Us Sum Up 17.6 Key Words 17.7 Further Reading 17.8 Answers to Check Your Progress

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17.0 OBJECTIVES

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After studying this unit, you will be able to

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understand what religious pluralism means explain religious pluralism in India as a fact with special reference to its geographical spread; relationship between religion and sect, caste .and religion and language and religious pluralism discuss religious pluralism as value with reference to social identiy of religious ~ o u p sreligious , pluralism and persistence of shared values among people of various religion and finally, religious beliefs and rituals.

17.1 INTRODUCTION

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In the previous Block, Block 3 Religion and Related Aspects you have learnt about such aspects af religion as the religious organisations, religious specialists, religion and its relationship with social stability and change in societies. You also learnt about religious fbndamentalism through case studies and the concept of secularism and about the processes of secularisation. All these aspects you learnt at the global level.

In this unit you will learn what one means by religious pluralism in Indian society. How it exists in factual terms and how far each religious faith bears some commanalities with many other religions that exist in our society? You will learn that religious pluralism in India is not only a matter of fact, but it also permeates through beliefs, values and social character of individual religions in India. However, religious pluralism as fact and as value are so closely interlinked that in reality it is difficult to separate the two. It is for the purpose of maintaining the clarity of the unit, as well as, explaining the two dimensions ofreligious pluralism in India that we first explain to you the factual side of religious pluralism and then the value dimension. In this unit Section 17.2 explains the meaning of religious pluralism. Section 17.3 provides a detailed description of religous pluralism as fact. Section 17.4 outlines the

Religious Pluralism-I

various aspects of religious pluralism as value and finally, Section 17.5 gives the summary of the unit.

17.2 RELIGIOUS PLURALISM IN INDIA Indian society is composed of diverse cultures, and peoples, languages and religions. To examine th6 nature of diversiw of the religious faiths in our couhtry we must look at the historical antecedents of various religious groups found in our society. Diversity of religious faiths has existed over a very long period of time as India has been a country of not only very ancient history but also a place where communities from outside continually kept on coming and settling down. Together with diverse cultural groups in various religions in India pursuing their faiths, these imigfant communities also brought their own religious faiths, customs and cultures. This resulted in bringing together people following different religions and gradually laid the basis of religious pluralism in India. Religions pluralism means diversity among people based on their vaired kinds of religious beliefts. Pluralism of religion has thus two connotations: i)

it refers to the fact that India has been a land of not one but many religions since ancient times; and I

that each religion contains, besides its primary features which define its essence many cultural, social and ritualistic elements which cut across boundaries of different religions faiths. These cultural and social similarities are a product of interaction and accommodation established over a long period of time by regional, linguistic, ritual and social proximity of various religious groups. Religious pluralism in India is, thus not only a fact but it also permeats through beliefs, values and social character of individual religions in India. I

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You will study religious pluralism in India in.the context of: a) distribution of religions in India on the basis of numerical, regional and linguistic categories. b) differentiation within a particular religion on the basis of sects or denominations; c) social differentiation within a religion on the basis of caste or caste-like divisions and d) shared cultural values by different religions on the basis of historical links, ecological and economic demands, linguistic and cultural commonalities and processes of migration.

17.3 RELIGIOUS PLURALISM AS FACT Since ancient times hdia has been a land of diverse cultural groups professing many faiths. It was&so a land where continual migration of people of varying ethnicity and religion from outyside took place. It led to occasional conflicts of short durations during the process of qccommodation and integration. But finally a veritable adjustment of people professing different religious faiths did take place. This contributed to the existence of religious pluralism as a fact in India. Over a period of time people of various religious faiths settled down in India. Due to commonalities of shared geography, common of inter-dependent economic relationship and shared neighbourhood .in. the rural and urban settlements they developed many common or shared elements of culture traits and belief systems

despite professing different religions. People changed their membership from one religion to another due to conversions sometimes forced sometimes voluntary. However, in most cases they did not shed off all cultural and social practices or even beliefs or values they had held earlier. Yet their identify as a separate religious group was recognised. This reinforced, religious pluralism in India. India is the home of a majority of the religions of the world, such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and so on. The state in India has functioned under the benign guidance and control of religion, and religions or even various religions have received patronage and protection from the state during large parts of Indian history. Religious pluralism is thus, keynote of Indian culture and religious tderance is the very foundation of Indian secularism. Religious secularism is based on the belief that all religions are equally good and that they all lead to the same goal of realisation of God. According to S.R. Bhatt (192: 261-271) religious pluralism leading to secularisn~stands for a complex interpretative process in which theire is transcendence of religion and yet there is a unification of multiple religions. It forms a bridge between religions in a multi-religious society which enables each to cross over the barriers of their diversity. This is the main feature of what is called religious pluralism. In this section you will learn about the facts of diversity of religions in India. The census recbrds give us an account of various religions, their numerical, demographic and social features. The most exhaustive and sociologically comprehensive census in India was conducted in 193 1 when India was not divided into two countries, India and Pakistan. Kingsley Davis has analysed the demographic and social features of religions in the un-divided India in his book The Population of India and Pakistan (1951). Among the religions which are listed in the 193 1 census are: Hindu, Muslim, Tribal, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Jewish religions. According to 1981 census the major religions as listed above had the following population: 82.64 percent (550 million) Hindus: 11.35 percent (76 million) Muslims: 2.43 percent (16 million) Christians: 1.6 percent (13 million) Sikhs: 0.71 percent (5 million) Buddhists: 0.48 percent (72,000) Parsis or Zoroastrians and 18,000 Jews, Tribal communities listed outside Hinduism or Christianity were listed as "others" and constituted 0.42 percent of the total population. You would thus observe that factually India comprises the world's most important religions comprising its people. Moreover, it has on its land a diversity of religious communities settled over very periods of time. For instance, Islam came to India as far back as 650 A.D. and spread to the Western parts of India. It began to take hold in India after 1000 A.D. and expanded considerably under the successive Muslim dynasties. Similarly, Christianity came to India many centuries prior to the coming of the British or the Portuguese. An off-shot of the Mesapotamian Christian church existed in India's South-Westem part even as early as the 3rd century, and was later on spread by the Portuguese during the 16th century. The Parsis or Zoroastrians migrated to India after Persia was conquered by the followers of lslamf: They settled down in Gujarat and came to be known in India as "Parsis".

Box 17.01 Zoroastrianism-Zoroastrianism; the religion of the Parsis, is one of the most ancient religions in the world. It takes its name froni Zarasthustra (Zoroaster) who probably lived around the beginning of the first millennium .B.C. It has a history of about three thousand years. It is the most importailt religion of ancient, pre-Islamic Iran. Its origins can be located in the eastern Iranian, tribal, and basically pastoral society. Zoroastrianism is also known as Mazdaism, a word which is derived from the name of this religions' Supreme God, Mazda (or "wise"), or Ahura Mazda. The Parsis in India came to Diu Coast around 766 A.D. But these Zoroastrians abandoned this

Religious Pluralism in India: As Fact and Value

place and took refuge in Gujarat. In India the population of the Parsis has varied between 80,000 and 82,000 as evident from the population centus between 1881-1981, At present the Parsi community in India is settled mainly in Maharashtra and specially in Bombay, Gujarat and Deccan. (For more details on their social organisation you may read unit 19 of Block 4, course ESO-02 Society in India). Jews are yet another religious community which has had a very exclusive character. They have been living in India for centuries and have maintained their native traditions. They are a very small group in India. The 1981 census reports the presence of only 18,000 Jews in India. Box 17.2

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Jews in India "Judiasm", the religion of the Jews has a long history. In India we find two kinds of Jews (i) the Cochin Jews, and (ii) the Bene Israel Jews. Both these kinds are firther divided into 'fBlack" Jews and the "White" Jews. Legend, as believed by the Jews in India, has it that their earliest ancestors arrived in India after the destruction of the second Temple of Jerusalem during the time of King Solomon. The Jews of Cochin trace their origins in India from about 1000 C.E. The Jewish traveller Binyamin of Tudela in his accounts reports the presence of a thousand Black Jews on the Malabar Coast in 1170 who according to him were "good men, observed the Law, possessed the Torah of Moses, the Prophets, and had some knowledge of the Talmud and the halakhah". From Moses Pereria de Paivos (Amsterdam 1687) account we come to learn that there was a synagogue (religious place of the Jews) with a total membership of 465 households of White Jews who had come to Cochin from such places as Cranganors. Castile, Algiers, Jerusalem, and so on. The Black Jews appear to have arrived in India earlier than the Whites and since they intermingled with Indian women, they acquired the dark complexion. Both these Jews, Black and *Whitewho came later, did not intermix, striat endogamy was followed by both of them. The influence of caste system can be seen in these communities. Thoy prayed in different synagogues. Black Jews did not count in the minyan (quaran of ten adult men) of the White Jews, and vice versa. The segregation between them was such that the Kohima or the priest of the Black Jews did not sewe the White Jews. David G. Mandelbaum (1 939), an anthropologist, studies the Jews of Cochin in 1937, and he states that the lives of the Black Jews were '\even more synagogue centred" then those of the White Jews. In 1948 there were 2,500 Black and 100 White Cochin Jews in India. However, since then all the Black Jews have emigrated to Israel, while most of the White Jews remained, since they could not take their assets out of the country The Bene Israel Jews are the largest Jewish group in India. They explain their name to stand for "Children of Israel", referring to the ten tribes of Israel that seceded from Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Their legends sopeak of a shipwreck off the Konkan coast in which only seven Hebrew couples survived. They were cast ashore and settled in the village of Nawgaon, about 26 miles south of present day Bombay. They were isolated from the co-religionists for such a lont time that they forgot their Hebrew language and adopted the language (Marathi), customs, dress and even names of their Hindu neighbours. However, they did not give up observing circumcision, dietary laws, the Sabbath, and some festivals. They also did not forget their holy shema prayers. They earned their livelihood by producing oil. Their neighbours, therefore, called them Shanwar

telis cr "Sabbath-keeping Oilmen". Since oil pressing was a lower caste occupation, the higher castes considered contact with the Bene Israels defiling. Bene Israels did not come into contact with other Jewish groups till as late as the 18th century. It was only later that Ezekiel David Rahabi, (1694-1771) working in the Dutch East India Company became interested in the Bene Israels and taught them Hebrew and prayers. By mid-eighteenth century the Bene Israel began migrating tb Bombay, attracted by the employment opportunities offered by the big city. Their first synagogue in Bombay was built in 1796. By 1833 about 2,000 of the Bene Israels lived in Bombay which was one-third of their total population. They were divided into Gora (White) and Kala (Black) subcastes. The Gora were believed to the pure descendants of the original seven couples, while the Kala were supposed to be the off springs of the union between Bene Israel men and the native women. The Gora were considered to be superior by the Kala and they both remained aloof from each other. They did not intermany or eat together. Later another group of Baghdad Jews discriminated against the Gora Bene Israels in the same was as they discriminated against the Kala. This caste-like practice of remaining exclusive from each other underwent a change with India's independence in 1947 when caste system was officially abolished. However, intermarriage between the Gora and Kala and between them and the Baghdad Jews was rare (Patai, Raphael 1987: 164-172) I 1 t

The Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews represent religions which have their main sources of origin outside India. Among these the Muslims and the Christians have had the support of political rulers during the reign of the Muslim kings and the British rule respectively. These two religions swelled their number due to conversion of large number of people in India, partioularly the lower caste of Hindus and the tribals. The Parsis and the Jews have remained closed to membership from outside due to their very exclusive nature.

17,3.1 Geographical Spread t

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Yet another important feature of religious pluralism can be seen in the geographical spread of religions in India. The Hindus, who constitute the majority religion, are spread all over, but have large concentration in the cpntral and southern states of India with high nsity pocket in a few northern states and far eastern Assam,

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The Muslims, the second largest religious group have relatively greater concentration in South-westem states such as Kerala, Karnataka, the northern and eastern states in U.P., Bihar, Assam and pockets of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, They are also spread throughout the country like the Hindus. We have given you in the illustration the maps of India and Pakistan (1931 census) showing the spread of Hindus and Muslims. The Christians have density concentration in the southern states of Kerala, parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and the north-eastern states of Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya. They are also spread across Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and some parts of other northern states in small pockets. One important feature of geographical settlement of Christians is that they may be found in larger numbers in states with higher tribal papulation due to the impact of conversion. Sikhs, yet another important religious group has its territorial loealisatiot~in tllc northern state of Punjab, with pockets of settlement in Rajastllan and 1Ittar Pr~dcsh. Being a mobile and highly entrepreneurial community, Sikhs can be IIbund spt.e:td over most parts of India. (We have given you in the illustratiar~the 111;tpof laclk:i and Pakistan 1931 census) showing the geographical distribution of tlw C11risti:lns and the Sikhs. . .h

Religious Pluralism in India: AS Fact and Value

Religious Pluralism-I

Geographically, Buddhism in India, though once highly influential in the entire north, seems to be now localised to Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and in Darjeeling in West Bengal. They are also found in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh where some scheduled caste Hindus have converted to Buddhism. The Jains, are primarily settled in urban areas of the northern states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. Being an urban and trading religious group they may be found in all parts of the country. An important feature of the geographical spread of religions in India is that despite evidence of localisation of a particular religion in some parts of the country, each religious group is spread out throughout the country. This has necessitated a large measure of inter-religious interaction, borrowings of ways and styles of life, sharing common languages and cultural peractices across religious affiliations. This has led to a diversification of cultural sub-groups belonging to each religion. The Andhra Muslims and Kashmir Muslims in several respects are different cultural communities. There are very few exceptions to this attribute. These pertain to only minority religions such as the Parsis, Jews and few others, which are highly restricted in their distribution. Activity 1

Select a small area of inhabitants in your city, town or village where you live. Find out from the people in this area such facts as: i)

which religion they belong to;

ii) whether they originally belonged to this place or have come from some other place; and iii) If they have come from some other place, then how many years back they came.. Write a note of about two pages and compare, if possible, your note with those of other students at your study centre.

17.3.2 Religion and Sect An important element of pluralism among religions in India is their sub-division into sects. Max Weber has given a technical measuring to a sect and distinguishes it from church, especially in the context of Christianity. He says that membership of Church (the main religion) is compulsory. It is governed by collective norms or rules and is run by religious functionaries. But the membership to a sect is voluntary. It is individualistic and lends freedom to the followers of the sects from the compulsory obedience to the hnctionaries of the Church. Weber has used the term sect in a relatively definitive sense which may not apply to all religions. Sects are however, common to all religions, such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism. Sub-divisions and Sects in a more general sense refer to internal diversities of interpretation of sacred principles, ritual practices and religious practices in a religion. Sects may also evoke historical cleavages within a religion either due to new interpretation of the religious canons or due to factionalisation of the religious leadership. Sects, however, operate within the boundary of the specific religion to which they belong. Yet, the process of differentiation makes it possible that inter-religious proximities of customs, rituals and practices of religion and proximity or religious beliefs across religions is made possible due to this process. As an example, we may notice that Sufism in Islam, established deeper relationships

u ~ t l Sikhism, i Bhakti movement in Hinduism and with Christian forms of mysticism. S~milarly,Lingayat sect in 'riinduism established closer relationship with Christian txliefs. Thus, inter-religious borrowings and influences could bc observed in most religions across the sects. 'I'here are few re!igions in India which are not differentiated on the basis of sects. Idinduism alwajs inc?udeda diverse rangc of belief systems from Vedic Hinduism of the past, through Purans and Dharma-Shastras. Hinduism absorbed nun~erous religious beliefs and ritual practices. It evolved through this process into many sects and traditions of belioefs and sacred rites. The main sects in klinduisni are, based howcver, on the Vaishanavism (worship of Vishnu) and Shaivism (worship of Siva). There are Inany variations in each of the above twc: ~ e c t s .The for~rler promotes strict vegetarianism ?lid puritanism in social and cultural practices. Commitment to Ahimsa or non-violence of this sect is very similar to beliefs of nonviolence in Buddhism and Jainlsm. Shaivism is. however, less puritanical in respect of these values. It permits meat-eating and even drinking; specially among those who are followers of the tantric branches of Shaivism. Many religious movement emerged in India over a period of time based on the beliefs and practices of these sects. The Rhakti-movement particularly drew most from Vaishanvism. Similarlq, the Lingaya! movement in Karnataka drew its inspiration from Shaivism, These sects in Hiilduism promoted diversity and innovativeness among the Hindus. and also led to the establishment of many linlaages with other relig~ons.1Iinduism being a religion without Church, (established unified I-eligiousorgan~sotionand systems of belief and rituals) its social and cultural character has been more prominent through history in comparison to i t s ritualistic norms and practices. It ha\ not without redson been described "as a way of life". M.N. Srinivas and A.M. Shah write: "Hinduism lacking a centralised churci~is so irrextricably entangled with Hindu society that it is very difficu!t to say where one ends and the other begins" (Srinivas and Shah: 1968: 358). Religious pluralism is thereforc intrinsic to Hinduism through multiplicity of sects are also through its normative character. lslani ar~dChristianity too are differentiated into many sects. 111Islam the division on the basis of Shia and Sunni denominations is a well recognised one. Reli,''71011s denomination is a sect which becomes generally accepted by the people and looses much of its vigour. (For further details refer back to unit 12 of Rlock 3 of this course on Society and Religion). There are several other sects which not only introduce divisions 01: the basis of differences of interpretation of the sacred traditions but also differences on account of social and cultural interpretations of r~tualpractices and precepts. Sufism is a very prominent exaniple of this in Islam which allows for a broad banding of more innovative and individualistic viewpoints of Islam which otherwise has a strong communitarian character. Even among Sufis one N-ouldfind many sub-divisionq. Sects and sub-sects are a common feature in most religions because interpretive boundaries of belief and ritual systems in most religions because interpretive boundaries of belief and ritual systems in most religions have been always flexible and subject to historical forces. In Christianity the major sects belong to Roman Cathvlicism and Protestantism. The latter emerged through reformation movement in Christianity led by Luther and Calvin. Max Weber has written extensively on this problem. These two branches of Christianity are divided in India into several sects. Roman-Catholic religion has the sects of the Romo-Syrians, Jacobites and Reformed, among others. The Protestants are divided into the sects of Anglican Combination, Baptists, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodists, Congregationalist and Salvationist. Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism which are sometimes described as diffcrentiatian from

Religious Pluralism in India: 4 s Fact and Value

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the Hindu religion itself, are each internally divided into sects. The Buddhists have Hinayan and Mahayan sect-divisions; the Jains have Shwetambara, and Digambara subdivisions (You will learn more about these religions, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism in the next block, Religious Pluralism-II). Sikhs too are divided into different sectarian groups based on normative reinterpretation of the principles of Sikhism and its ritual forms. The differentiation of religions into sects has a deeper impact on the pluralistic nature of religion. It marks a departure from the rigidity and orthodoxy of specific religions and endows them with the capacity to innovate and respond to social and historical changes in society. Sects, therefore, perform along with intensification of religiousity a function of pluralistic interaction with other religions in specific terms, and with society in general. Max Weber rightly highlighted the developmental contributions that sects make towards the resilience of religion in social life. In India the sects in different religions clearly exemplify the contributions they have made first in the sharpening of the definition of the religious boundaries and secondly, in establishing linkages with other religions, their ideas, belief systems and practices. Check Your Proress 1 i)

What do you understand by religious pluralism? Discuss in about 8 lines.

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Distinguish between religion and sect giving an example. Use about 10 ,lines.

..............................................................................................

T.....................

iii) Fill in the blanks: a) The Muslims, Christians, Parsis arid Jews represent religions which have their main soruce of origin ......................... India. b) An important feature of geographical settlement of Christians in India is

tnat tney may be found ,in large numbers in states with higher population due to the impact of ...............

...............

Religious ~luralismin India: As Fact and Value

c) The process of differentiation within the main religion makes it possible for different religions to share their customs, rituals and religious practices, as well as, their beliefs and values .............................. in Islam is a good example of such a religious inter-mixture.

17.3.3 Caste and Religion You cannot fully understand the nature of religion in India without analysing the pervasive role of the caste institution among various religious groups. Caste is based on the Hindu religious view of birth-rebirth and Karma (see Box 17.03 for further details). In Hinduism caste groups'are placed into a hierarchical order of pure and impure ritual status within the four Varna wherein the Brahman are at the top, followed by the Kshatriya, the Vaisya and the Sudra and the out-caste. In actual life, caste exists in society as Jatis. There are thousands of Jatis among the Hindus each contributing to vertical differentiation and horizontal solidarity among the castes. Therefore, Hindu religion does not constitute a community in a solidary sense. It remained a tolerant adaptive and liberal religion in India. It recognises and is tolerant of differences.

Box 17.03 Karma Theory-The doctrine of karma, and related to this doctrine, the cycle of birth and rebirth or Sarnsara is one of the essential tenets of Hinduism. It has deep influence on Hindu thought and way of life. It is based on the idea of transmigration of souls. It is believed that every action or deed has a consequence which is not merely of a physical nature, but it also has a mental and moral character. A persons birth in this Life is determined by his or her deeds in the past life. The only escape from the cycle of birth and rebirth is through achieving the state of nirvana or true knowledge. essentially on communication principle, at least in ideal terms. By communitarian we mean that these religions give importance to the community of its followers. None of these religions recognise inequalities or hierarchy based on caste discrimination, However, in real life none of these religions are free from the existence of caste of caste-like groups which are hierarchically arranged in terms of social status and prestige. These groups are also endogamous and observe social restrictions in marital and social relationships outside their caste-group. The Muslims have castelike divisions in India in all parts of the country. The main castes among them as listed in the census of 1931 for the northern state of United Provinces are: Shaikh, Pathan, Saiyid, Rajpur (Muslim) and Mughal among the upper category, and Julaha, Manihar, Dhunia, Teli, Faquir, Nai (Hajjam), Darzi, Dhobi, Qassab among the lower caste hierarchy. The upper Muslim castes belonged to ruling or landlord families or they were in the profession of learning. The lower castes had occupations families or they were in the profession of learning. The lower castes had occupations carrying lesser social prestige in the society. Each of these castes was endogamous and also observed social and cultural distance from each other based on hierarchy. Contemporary studies have re-confirmed these observations. There has been some social mobility among the Muslim castes based on changes in occupation, but the caste-like social inequality even today continues to exist. Christianity in India has not been able to get itself free from the caste system. Even after conversion most caste disabilities of the former (pre-conversion) time continue 13

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to persist. Depending upon the caste from which members converted they continue to have the social status in the Christian community commensurate with their earlier caste status. Similar caste recognitions exist for Muslim converts also. As Christianity has expanded through conversion in India it has incorporated more and more castelike groups obeying the rules of hierarchy and endogamy within each caste. The exception in this regard are possibly the tribal communities from the north-east which never had the caste institution in their social organisation. Caste prejudices are reported to be all pervasive among most Indian Christian communities. Similar caste distinctions can be found among the Sikhs also. The conversion to Buddhism, a religion which rejects caste system and social discrimination as its basis, has not been able to eradicate the existence of caste disabilities of the members. As in Islam and Christianity, in Sikhism too, the caste system prevails. We have discussed in some detail the presence of caste in most religions in India, even among those which tend to reject its validity in their religious percepts, to illustrate that such social divisions within each religion reinforces the processes of religious pluralism. Caste being based on the principle of social segmentation, strengthens the forces of differentiation within a religious group. And since most castes are linked with hereditary occupations, they tend to share commonalities of custom, folkways, and beliefs with members of the same occupational caste in other religions. This led to inter-religious interactions, institutional, social and cultural linkages. Many occupational rituals and customs are shared by members of the caste groups commonly found in various religions despite the religious differences. This is particularly s o in respect of the caste with agricultural occupation, and artisans. In terms of inter-religious contacts or commonalities of values and beliefs caste differentiation in each religions in India demonstrates pluralism and has in large measure also contributed to tolerance and brotherliness across the religious divide.

17.3.4 Language and Religious Pluralism

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India is a land of diverse cultural patterns which have existed within the framework of religious, linguistic, geographical and local traditions. The census of 1931 revealed thirteen languages of outstanding numerical significance each having more than 9 million speakers. About 90% of the population was cpvered by these major languages. Today the number of numerically significant languages as recognised by the Constitution has increased. Language gives people new identities. There are several hundred languages and thousands of dialects belonging to vaiious linguistic families. India thus presents a formidable mosaic of linguistic distribution each with'individual cultural overtones. Religious differentiation exists within the setting of this linguistic divisions. As a result of this most maj%r religions in India; Hinduism, Islam and Christianity have their members coming from different linguistic communities. Just

Children with Santa Claus.

as caste divides and also unites in some respects, the members coming from different religions belonging to the linguistic communities in India perform the same function. This is because people for a linguistic community share many common values, cultural style and way of life. Language not only gives identity to people but also serves as the potent vehicle of cultural expression.

Religious Pluralism in India: As Fact and Value

ILinguistic variations within the followers of the same religions r-riade it possible for most people in India to take a broader and more liberal view of the relationship between religion and social and cultural life. There was continual sharing of folkways, styles of life, dietary preferences etc. across religions. This reinforced religious tolerance leading to peaceful co-existence. Check Your Progress 2

i)

In what ways are religion and caste interlinked. Explain in about 10 lines.

.................................................................................................................... ii) What role does language play in religious pluralism? Discuss in about 8 lines.

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iii) Tick the correct answer. Ture (T) False (F) a) Caste is not exactly based on the Hindu religious view of birth-rebirth and Karma. b) Hinduism is a pIuralistic religion in essence. c) Christianity has expanded through conversion in India and has therefore, incorporated more and more caste-life groups, with some exceptions in the tribal communities of the north-east.

d) Language not only gives identity to people but it also determines their religious faith. 15

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17.4 RELIGIOUS PLURALISM AS VALUE You have learnt so far some of the factual indicators of religious plurali m in India such as its location in the demographic distribution of major religions n India, its geographical dispersal. You have also learnt about some of the social and ideological factors which brings about differentiation within a religion on the basis of sects, the role of caste in religion and the place that linguistic diversity has in reinforcing religious pluralism.

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Now we are going to learn about religious pluralism in our country from the perspective of values. Q e question is: how far do the different religions in India share elements of commonality in terms of values? What is the place of tolerance of other faiths in the value systems that are enshrined in the canons of the diverse religions? To what extent does religion encompass the entirety of the social and cultural matrix within which mem'bers of a particular religion operate in society? We may be able to respond to these questions taking into view the nature of individual religions. Among the Zndian religions Islam, Christianity, Sikhism have a strong communitarian emphasis. Islam and Christianity also has organised church to consolidate and monitor the life styles of their followers. Islamic concept of Umma (religious community) and the Christian concept of brotherhood (community of followers) are meant to reinforce religious solidarity among the believers.

17.4.1 Religion and Social Identity Over a period of time due to changes in social and political contexts in which religion has fbmtlaned in society, the sense of identity and exclusiveness has increased in most religions One consequence of this process of change has been the emphasis on purification through which effort is made to shed customs, rituals and beliefs from religious practices of the group which do not harmonise with the essential attributes of a religion. Emphasis on the exclusive nature and identity of religions has been in evidence in India in several religions. Islam which expanded due to conversion of people of diverse faiths used to be more syncretic i.e. a syr!thesis of many ideas from different religions and non-exclusive in,respect of beliefs and rituals in most parts of the country. Even today many Muslim communities maintain some values; beliefs and practices whioh are survivals from their pre-Islamic cultural past. The same is true about the CMstians, Sikhs and Buddhists. Even amongst the Jews in India we find influence c$ another religion. For example, amongst the Bene Israel Jews there has been a strong impact of Hinduism on their own religious values and beliefs, some even contradictory to their beliefs. One of the most distinct features of the religious life of the Bene Israel is their perspective of Hindu religion. It is said that the Jewish community in India re the only Jews in modem times who live in a polytheistic environment where people believe in number of gods and goddesses. Polytheism was the most disliked sentiment of the Jews ever since the Biblical times and they viewqd this practice as a vice and sin. However, amQngs the Bene Israel, no such ancient abhorrence for an antiheathen attitude can be seen. The Hindu environment, over the long period of contact resulted in the Bene Israel having a very positive and appreciative attitude tdwards Hinduism. One of the reaons for such an attitude was the absence of hostility, persecution and oppression of their religion. They were given a nhiche in the Hindu society to live in peace, just as other communities lived. They were given freedom to follow their own ways of life. In such an environment, which was historically a unique experience

for the Jews who have been persecuted everywhere else, the Hindu religion on which such a social relationship could survive, appeared to them as having redeeming features not in conflict with their own religious beliefs. ''Ihey could ignore the polytheistic character of Hinduism and infact, they, till recently,

believed that eating of beef was prohibited in the Bible. They also considered remarriage of widows impermissible. Both these views are.the result of the impact of Hindu values on their own (Patai, Raphael 1987: 164-172). You have already learnt how caste institution which has its origin in Hinduism subsists in most other religious communities in India.

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17.4.2 Religious Pluralism and Shared Values The persistence of the values of religious pluralism in India can be observed at many levels. First, in the fact that most religions share in common a set of values which can be characterised as universal. Tolerance of all faiths, love for fellow beings, non-violence and righteous conduct are common to all faiths. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Sikhism share the values of non-violence and : inanism in common. Islam places great emphasis on just and human values. Religions, therefore, share certain universal values in common irrespective of their internal differences. This enriches pluralism. I

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Secondly, due to historical reasons most religions in India which have expanded through conversion of the local population such as Islain, Christianity, Sikhism, etc. retain in their values and beliefs many elements which come fiom their past and . thus belong to other religions. There are many tribal religions and ritual practices which,persist in Hinduism. It is believed that some of its dieties, such as Siva, Hanuman (Monkey god) and Krishna are incorporation into Hinduism of deities of tribal origin. Myths and legends abound about tribal dieties being installed as paramount Hindi god-heads. For instance lord Jagannath of Puri temple is said to have a tribal origin. Many other atttributes of the religion of the tribes, such as the belief in spirits (animism, totemism i.e., identifying an animal or part of the animal to which a tribe attributes its origin or which is treated as a saviour in crisis and symbolically represented at rituals) can be traced in many non-tribal religions, such as, in Hinduism, Buddhism and many sects of Christianity. You will learn more about religions of the tribes in the next unit. Jainism too has in its rituals and beliefs elements which can be traced to the other religions. Sikhism has drawn heavily fiom Hinduism, Islam and Sufism. The exclusive and syncretic or non-exclusive levels of value orientations in religion are a feature to be found in all major religions of India.

Activity 2 Do you know of any inter-religions marriage taking place in real life, film or fiction? What was the socio-cultural impact of such a marriage? Write down your views and ohse~ationsin a note of about two pages. Compare, if possible, your note with those of other students at your study centre. Thirdly, religion in its day-to-day expression maintains closer relationships with existential (life-related) problems of human beings. ~ i r t h sdeaths, , diseases, survival and physical sustainence are existential issues which no religion can treat as marginal. In a way, religion is a form of response to existential dilemmas of human kind. For this reason each religion contains in its repertoire, along with the-abstract principles of dogmas, a set of norms which are designed to deal with material life. Space, time, nature etc. are defined by each religion from the perspective of the sacred.

Religious Pluralism in India: As Fact and Value

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a-

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1!1is element in religior! perforce i n ~ r u d l l c i ~ethical . pl-~nciplcsand values i!i eacl~ religion which deal with existentinl i s s u e u c h as work, occirpation, space, time nature etc., since the material condi~.io~,;, imder -which religion responds to these elemcilts cjf human existence have a io2:imon cliaracter. For this reason despirc exclusiveness of eac!? religicn from the other oi;es, each religion shares normative karures with other religions In common. For instance, different occupational group\ despite differences of religion. cherish beliefs and values havi1-g sacred or ~-eligious character (taboos. calendric prel'erences, belief in sacred space or occupational rituals) ic common on account of their work-situation, Peasant goilps exnmp!ify this in large :Iremire.

17.4.3 Religious Beliefs and Rituals Finally, rz!igious cornptised both systems of belief and rri~;als.The systems of belief and rituals which characterises all r e t i ~ i a n sci?,-~.ipriscsof myths and ceremonies, rites and customs. Ritual has beer? tlescrihed iil ;~nthrc)pologyas aliy ft.irn~alactions following a set patte.m which express throligh sylnboi a pubiic or shared r~leaning. "lhey ale typically the practical nspects of a religious systelr~and they express sacred values. All religioiis i1;tz.e sacred festi\~als,ce!ehrations anti get-togethers re!ated to various myths, legends or corniative persrriptions of the religion. Man). of these iesti\lais are occasion for meinhers of ali wligious groups t: p::rticipatc.

Amcng the Eii~rd;rs,the Ranr Lil:~:a :i::i:i.:. ;!h,\!!i I.. i ~ c : pci)pIc i ci'diftcre~~; r-r~ligio~ls .. part-t:crpa:: iii thc cetebratinr!. e l ~ ~ : i l l n i , iMtsh~rr.z.inr , alllong t!ic M:slic?c oi'kr,., nli . . cccasior, 1i:r members of c3tl:er ;2iigit.?ir ~ ! . 0 1 i j ? 5IC) par::cipte. This enhances the . strength ai1:i quality ~f : . p i i.-,~ i ( , ? i ~;>i\ll.i;!iS:11 , iit th:: Ics.:,~ OS -J:zJ:I~s air? beliefs. It eilcouruges inrcr-religious participarior, :in4 mutua!it: nnlong :he p=op!c.. kituals ore tllerefore, a very concrete mznifestatiot? of thc piuralislic \,aides in rcfigion.