[Neo]Chapter 2

14 SOCIAL CHANGE IN INDIA

CHAPTER 2

Cultural Processes of Change

In the previous chapter we haveexamined the structural processes ofchange. You are familiar with theconcept that culture is an accumulatedstore of symbols, ideas and materialproducts which are transmitted fromone generation to the other. Culturalforms regulate social activities. Thus, inthe present context, cultural processesof change show the various waysthrough which Indian culture respondsto numerous changes earlierintroduced in India. The sourcesof change fall under two broadercategories—endogenous and exogenous.While endogenous sources of changeoriginate from within the society,exogenous sources flow from outside aparticular society. Changes in thecultural structure of India haveemanated from both endogenous andexogenous sources. In the followingsections, the significance of thesecultural processes has been discussedwith the help of four concepts namely,Sanskritisation, Islamisation,Westernisation and Secularisation.

SANSKRITISATION

Sanskritisation has emerged as themost influential concept to explain

cultural and social changes in India.The term was first used by M. N. Srinivasin the course of his study of the Coorgsin erstwhile State of Mysore.Subsequently, further refinements havebeen brought in the concept bysociologists to effectively describe theprocess of cultural mobility in thetraditional social structure in India.

According to Srinivas,“Sanskritisation is a process by whicha ‘low’ Hindu caste, or tribal or othergroup changes its customs, ritual,ideology, and way of life in the directionof a high, and frequently, ‘twice-born’caste.” Srinivas found that lower castes,in order to raise their position in castehierarchy, adopted some of the practicesof the Brahmans. At the same time,these castes gave up some of their owncustoms, which were consideredimpure such as meat-eating,consumption of alcohol and animalsacrifice to their deities. They alsoemulated life-styles of the high casteBrahmans in terms of dress, food andrituals. By imitating these practices thelower castes claimed higher positionover a period of time in the localhierarchy of castes. This processof mobility was initially called

15CULTURAL PROCESSES OF CHANGE

Brahmanisation. But it was realisedlater that the process described asBrahmanisation was not a generaltrend and the lower castes in severalcases adopted the practices of the non-Brahman higher castes. Therefore, theterm Brahmanisation was replaced bySanskritisation which was consideredmore appropriate.

Sanskritisation is an endogenoussource of upward mobility for a caste.The mobility caused by this process,however, leads to only positionalchanges in the system. It does notresult in structural change. Changeoccurs within the caste hierarchy. Thecaste system itself does not change.

Sanskritisation is not limited toHindu castes. It also takes place amongthe tribal groups. By resorting toSanskritisation a particular tribe mayclaim even to be a caste. We notice thisprocess of cultural change among theBhils of western India, the Gonds, theHo and the Oraons of central India. Inthis sense, Sanskritisation is a generalprocess of acculturation. It provides achannel for vertical mobility of groupsand communities. It reveals motivationfor status enhancement throughimitation of the customs, rituals andideologies of the upper castes.

As mentioned earlier, only practicesof the Brahmans are not adopted by thelower castes. There are other non-Brahman castes who act as models foradoption of ways of life. This aspect ofSanskritisation has been explained withthe help of the concept of the ‘dominantcaste’. Srinivas describes it thus, “Fora caste to be dominant, it should own a

sizeable amount of the arable landlocally available, have strength ofnumbers and occupy a high place inthe local hierarchy.” Besides landownership, numerical strength andhigh ritual status, other factors likeeducation, jobs in administration andurban sources of income have alsocontributed to the power and prestigeof certain castes in rural areas.Dominant castes have localisedexistence and operate as referencemodels for Sanskritising castes.However, the process of culturaltransmission through the localdominant castes takes different formsin different regions. If the dominantcaste in a particular region is theBrahman, it will transmit Brahmanicalfeatures of Sanskritisation. But in casethe locally dominant caste is a Jat, itwill transmit Jat features. In thissense, Sanskritisation is an expressionof a highly regional process of culturalchange.

Nonetheless, it is necessary to pointout that the regional pattern ofSanskritisation with its own dominantcaste is not completely independentfrom an all-India system. Sources ofinfluence as Srinivas says may bederived from wider Indian traditionsuch as ‘pilgrimages, harikathas andreligious plays’. Srinivas gives theexample of the Sanskritisation of thePatidars of Gujarat, which owes muchto these sources and the influence ofVallabhachari and Swaminarayansects.

However, the process ofSanskritisation is not always steady


and smooth. When lower castes beginto emulate life-styles of dominantcastes it does not go unchallengedeverytime. Minor changes in rituals anddress codes are ignored. But when thelower castes adopt important high-castesymbols, then it is not only contested,even punishments follow. Severalexamples of such contests andpunishments have been reported fromdifferent regions of the country. Whenthe Noniyas, a low caste of salt-makersin eastern Uttar Pradesh put on thesacred thread en masse, the uppercaste landlords ‘beat them, tore off thesacred thread and imposed a collectivefine on the caste’. Similarly, in northBihar, the high caste Bhumiharsprevented the Yadav (Ahir) fromassuming the symbols of upper castestatus. Instances of such violentconflicts were not confined to northIndia. In the extreme south of India, theKallar, a dominant caste announcedeight prohibitions in December 1930against the Adi-Dravidas, thedisregard of which led to violentincidents. Their huts were set on fire,granaries were destroyed and even live-stock was looted.

In view of such a response of thedominant caste in a particular area, thelower castes adopted a differentstrategy to achieve the goal. Theyavoided imitating practices likely todisturb the dominant caste. Theywould move rather slowly. In somecases certain Sanskritising castesopenly defied the commands.

Although Sanskritisation, moreoften than not, has a local character it

has occurred in every part of India. Inthis sense, it has been a major processof cultural change in Indian history.Historical evidence shows that variousaboriginal groups were assimilated inthe hierarchy of castes according to theirsocial position. Such processes alsogave rise to new castes or sub-castes.The formation of new caste or sub-caste,in reality, reflected social mobilitywithin the caste system.

Thus, in the historical sense,Sanskritisation speaks of a processwhich brings about changes in thestatus of various castes. This processof cultural change allows not onlyimitation of life-styles but also bringsnew ideas and values. The Bhaktimovement of medieval period is animportant example in this respect. Itwas an all-India movement, whichactively involved the low castes and thepoor. The Bhakti saints pronouncedthat the dignity of human beingsdepended on their actions and not ontheir birth. It was because of thismovement that several individualsfrom the lower castes includinguntouchables became religious leaders.Namdev was a tailor, Tukaram ashopkeeper, Rai a cobbler and Kabir aweaver. The movement had given a joltto excessive ritualism and casteatrocities. It spread values of equalityand social justice.

ISLAMISATION

It is to be noted here that anotherprocess of cultural change has alsobeen operating in India, which is linked


to the process of Sanskritisation.Sociologists have called it Islamisation.Indian contact with Islam dates backto the eighth century. Today almost 14per cent Indians follow Islam. It is, thus,an important religious tradition inour country.

The process of the spread of Islamcalled Islamisation is an integral partof our cultural heritage. Accordingly,there are two major aspects ofIslamisation that attract our attention.First, the changes which have occurredin the life of the Muslims because of theendogenous change within the traditionof Islam in India. Second, the interactionbetween Hinduism and Islam during itslong history which has produced acomposite culture.

The significant development in thisrespect took place in the early phase ofIslamic expansion and itsconsolidation. It broadly happenedbetween A.D.1206–1818. It was animportant period for several reasons asYogendra Singh says, “It was not onlymarked with periods of conflicts andtension but also led to manyadaptations and cultural syncretismbetween the Hindu and the Islamictraditions.” A more stable co-existenceof Islam with the Hindu and othertraditions were the naturalconsequence of this interaction.

When Islam reached India its socialorganisation had started transforming.‘Equality and brotherhood’ continued tobe an ideal but social gradations withinMuslim society had already emerged.The ruling groups, at the time of arrivalof Islam, consisted of upper groups.

They were called Ashrafs. It includedfour high status groups known asSayyid, Sheikh, Mughal and Pathan.These groups later assumed caste-likefeatures. They were both political andcultural torch-bearers and carriedforward Islamic cultural tradition.

However, it is important to point outthat during this phase numerouschanges occurred within the IndianMuslim society. Changes came notthrough the external factors butbecause of the need of the new socio-cultural situation in which Islam wasnow placed.

The emergence and growth ofvarious orders of the Sufi thought wasthe most significant development in thisregard. Sufis were persons of deepdevotion. Sufism was the teaching thatidentified God with the universe. Sufislaid great emphasis on love as the linkbetween God and the individual soul.Abul Fazl mentions the existence ofseventeen Sufi orders in India in thesixteenth century. Some of the practicesof the Sufis such as penance, fastingand holding the breath are traced to theBuddhist and Yogic influences. It isdifficult to say with certainty whetherBuddhist and Vedantic ideasinfluenced Sufism or the Sufi ideasoriginated in other philosophicaltraditions. What is important to notehere is that there were many similaritiesin the ideas of the Sufis and the HinduYogis about the nature and relationshipof God and the soul. This provided abasis for mutual tolerance andunderstanding.

Though there were several Sufiorders in India during the medieval


period only two acquired considerableinfluence during the thirteenth andfourteenth centuries. These were theChishti and Suharwardi orders.Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti establishedthe Chishti order in India. The mostfamous of the Chishti saints wereNizamuddin Auliya and NasiruddinChirag-e-Delhi. They associated freelywith the people of the lower classesincluding the Hindus. They led a simplelife and talked with people in Hindawior Hindi. Their popularity alsoincreased because of their musicalrecitations called sama in which oftenHindi verses were used to make agreater impact on their listeners. TheSuharwardi order entered India duringthe same period but its activities wereconfined mainly to Punjab and itssurrounding areas.

Besides the Sufi tradition of Islam,there were other attempts to reconcilesome aspects of the Hindu traditionwith Islam. Among the Muslim rulers,Akbar’s attempt to introduce asynthetic cult called Din-e-Ilahi is wellknown. A synthesis of Upanishadicideas with Islam was advocated byDara Shikoh. In the field of literature,Ameer Khusro contributed so muchthat his popularity continues tilltoday. Many other Muslim poets andwriters have also become part of ourliterary history. For instance, Jayasi,Nalei, Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana,Mirza Asdullah Khan Ghalib havebeen true representatives of ourcomposite culture.

However, it should be rememberedthat cultural co-existence was only one

side of the story. A larger section of thistradition continued to develop onorthodox lines. The orthodox traditionusually heightened distinctionsbetween what was deemed the correctversion of Hinduism or Islam. Thesituation further changed during theBritish regime. The liberal tradition wasgradually taken over by conservativeideas and beliefs. At the local-regionallevel where the bulk of Muslimsconsisted of the converts fromHinduism a similar trend was visible.At this level Islamisation meant anupward social and cultural mobilityamong the converts to Islam. The desirefor improvement in social status andcorresponding increase in power andprofit motivated lower castes to Islam.Of course, Islamisation throughconversion did not always providegains but it was psychologicallysatisfying to the people. The large-scaleconversion did not bring an automaticacceptance of their higher status eitherby the Hindus or by the Muslims. Inthis sense, Islamisation as a process ofcultural change resemblesSanskritisation.

WESTERNISATION

In addition to Sanskritisation,Westernisation is the other majorcultural process of change. LikeSanskritisation, the termWesternisation has also been madepopular in Indian sociology by M. N.Srinivas. It has been used to analysethe exogenous source of social andcultural change in contemporary India.Srinivas, in his book Social Change in


Modern India explains Westernisationin these words, “the changes broughtabout in Indian society and culture asa result of over 150 years of British rule,and the term subsumes changesoccurring at different levels—technology, institutions, ideology,values.”

It is essential to keep in view thatthe concepts of Sanskritisation andWesternisation, have been used toexplain social change in India incultural and not in structural terms.They do not refer to changes takingplace in social structure. Secondly, theterm, Westernisation rather than‘modernisation’, has been favoured bysociologists because this term isneutral. It does not imply whether it isgood or bad. Thus, in spite of itsconceptual limitation, Westernisation isan appropriate term to describe theBritish impact on Indian culture.

We have already discussed in theprevious chapter that modernindustries were established in Indiaafter the Industrial Revolution inBritain. With the growth of science andtechnology in the West during thenineteenth century, factory productionstarted in India, too. The expansion ofindustries required fast transport andcommunication. This in turn led to thebeginning and extension of railways,post and telegraph and a wide networkof roads. The growth of towns and citieswas its natural consequence.

In the closing years of the eighteenthcentury new arrangements were madein the agrarian system. Modifiedsystems of land settlements were

introduced. Important among themwere Zamindari, Raiyatwari andMahalwari settlements. A detailedsurvey was conducted to preparerecords of area and ownership of land.It was used to fix revenue and deriveassured income from land.

Similarly, modern army, police forceand administrative system reachedIndia after the consolidation of theBritish rule. The introduction of modernlegal system with organised courtssubstantially changed the judicialpractices in the country.

The establishment of educationalinstitutions was a development of farreaching significance. Though we hada traditional system of schooling evenprior to the British regime, it was notopen to all. Education was the privilegeof a handfull of people belonging mainlyto the high caste groups. In this sense,schools and colleges that were startedduring the first half of the nineteenthcentury introduced the system ofmodern education in India. The Britishalso brought about printing press thatfacilitated publication of newspapers,books and magazines. Theestablishment of three universities atMumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in 1857paved the way for higher education.

Moreover, Westernisation hasbrought new ideas and ideology.Among these ideas and values, the mostimportant is what Srinivas callshumanitarianism. It is concerned with‘the welfare of all human beingsirrespective of caste, economic position,religion, age and gender.’ To put it little


differently, notions of equality, freedomand secularism are all involved in thebasic idea of humanitarianism. In fact,Westernisation implies humani-tarianism which in turn facilitatedseveral reforms during the earlynineteenth century. The abolition ofinhuman practices such as Sati, femaleinfanticide and slavery was the resultof reforms initiated by the enlightenedIndian leaders.

Another impact of Westernisationhas been the emergence of commercialmiddle class and traders. Initially, itwas confined to only those regionswhere British influence was potent.They were involved in jobs andvocations that required training andskills different from traditional modesof business and work. Though thepeople comprising this group were notculturally Westernised in the true senseof the term, their contact with theWestern culture was visible. It was fromthis class that a new generation ofprofessionals and educated groupsemerged in subsequent phases ofWesternisation.

It is fascinating to note here thatWesternisation has also influencedpolitical ideas and thinking.Nationalism and democracy emerged astwo great ideas in the West. Both theseideas made a journey to different partsof the world. They came to Indiathrough Westernisation. Nationalismstands for the consciousness that givesrise to a nation. The nationalist urge inIndia started in the latter half of thenineteenth century. But before this urgecould crystalise into a struggle for

freedom from British colonial rule, adesire to reform traditional Indiansociety emerged. The establishment ofthe Brahmo Samaj by Raja Ram MohanRoy in Bengal in 1828 and the AryaSamaj by Swami Dayanand Saraswatiin Gujarat in 1875 aimed at thereformation of Hinduism. The primaryobjective of these reform movementswas to remove social evils of Indiansociety, namely rigidity of caste systemand the low status of women.

Nationalism in India, as mentioned,was the result of the contact with theWest. The newly educated groups wereexposed to the ideals of liberty anddemocracy through the study ofEuropean history and Englishliterature. The question of Indianpolitical identity was relentlesslydebated and gradually it led to thedemand for freedom. It is not intendedhere to trace the growth of Indiannationalism through its long history.Our purpose is only to point out thatthe ideals of nationalism, democraticpolity and secularism have come toIndia under specific historical context.These systems have been harbinger ofcultural modernisation in India.

SECULARISATION

Secularisation is a process of socialchange through which the influence ofreligion declines in public affairs.Religion is replaced by other ways ofexplaining facts and events. Theimportance of religion in regulatingsocial life decreases and it is taken overby utilitarian consideration. Theinterpretation of reality is in terms of


reason and rationality. Whensecularisation advances, sciencereplaces religion as the primaryapproach to understand the naturaland social worlds. Thus, the termsecularisation implies that issueswhich were previously regarded asreligious are no longer the same.

It has rightly been suggested thatsecularisation in India is the result ofalmost a century of Westernisation inthe country. The process started withthe consolidation of British rule andgradually picked-up momentum withthe development of transport andcommunication. We have seen earlierthat industrialisation and urbanisationincreased spatial mobility. The peoplemigrated from rural areas to urbanareas and from towns to cities in largenumber. The spread of educationchanged value preferences which inturn furthered the cause ofsecularisation.

Before discussing the domains ofsecularisation, it would be proper toindicate how both Sanskritisation andsecularisation are simultaneouslyoperating in the contemporary India.Explaining the reason M. N. Srinivaswrites, “Of the two, secularisation is themore general process, affecting allIndians, while Sanskritisation affectsonly Hindus and tribal groups.Broadly, it would be true to say thatsecularisation is more marked amongthe urban and educated groups, andSanskritisation among the lower Hinducastes and tribes.”

Historically, secularisation of Indiansocial and cultural life became intense

with the new developments in social andcultural arena. The struggle for freedomespecially in its Gandhian phaseunleashed several forces that increasedsecularisation. The civil disobediencecampaign launched by MahatmaGandhi mobilised the masses. Likewise,mobilisation of people against socialevils in Hindu society such asuntouchability also contributed toincreased secularisation.

This process was furtherstrengthened with the attaining ofindependence in 1947, and with theadoption of a Republican Constitutionin 1950, India emerged as a secularstate. The Constitution adopted in freeIndia guarantees freedom of religion. Itdeclares that there will be nodiscrimination on the basis of religionin employment and education. Theintroduction of universal adultfranchise and the equality of citizensbefore law were some other stepsundertaken to ensure the secularcharacter of the Indian State.

We shall now discuss the process ofsecularisation of Indian social andcultural life. The secularisation processhas affected every aspect of personaland social life. Some changes are,however, apparent whereas some othersmay be disguised. Its effects are notuniformly felt. For example, urbandwellers are generally much moreinfluenced by it than the rural folk.Educated sections are deeply movedcompared to the illiterates. Similarly,some regions of the country are moreexposed to the secularisation processthan others.


The secularisation process hasmade its most effective impact on theideas of pollution and purity. You arealready aware that ideas of pollutionand purity are central to the lives ofpeople in general and among theHindus in particular. The notion ofpollution and purity determines thehierarchy of castes. It defines the socialdistance between various castes. Somecastes are considered superior andothers inferior because some areconsidered pure and others are takenas relatively impure. This idea is notonly visible in the structure of castehierarchy but also in food, occupation,styles of life and daily routine. Meateating and consumption of liquor areconsidered polluting but vegetarianismand teetotalism are pure practices. Asimilar distinction is made inoccupations. Occupations that involvemanual labour are regarded lower thanthose, which do not require such work.The most conspicuous expression of theprevailing notions of pollution andpurity has been the inhuman practiceof untouchability in the caste system.

The process of secularisation hasconsiderably reduced and weakenedthe ideas of pollution and purity. Peopleno longer try to know the castebackground of fellow passengers in abus or a train. They hardly botherabout it while visiting restaurants andhotels. The rules of pollution are notobserved at the place of workparticularly in the urban settings. Thestyles of life are influenced more by therequirements of jobs and occupationsthan by caste and religion. The fact

being emphasised here is that theorthodox elements of caste and religionare gradually losing significance in theface of growing secularisation of life andculture. As a result of increasedsecularisation and mobility castesystem has ceased to sustain thosevalues that were hither consideredessential.

Nonetheless, it is important to pointout that while religious values attachedto the caste system are disappearing,its role in secular domains like politicsis increasing. Now, people are beingmobilised on caste lines for politicalpurposes. It is a fascinating sociologicalquestion, which needs to be probed,but is currently beyond our scope.

There are two other areas, whichhave been affected by the process ofsecularisation. They are family systemand village community. While thegradual structural transformation infamily produces change ininterpersonal relationships, otherelements of family life are equallyaffected. Ceremonies and ritualsperformed in family such as marriagerituals, funeral rites, worship of familydeities all are assuming a differentcharacter. They are either curtailed orshortened to suit the convenience of theconcerned family. Now, some of theseceremonies are used as occasions todisplay and advertise affluence. Theostentation associated with weddingreceptions has nothing to do withreligious practices, which were earlierobserved at the time of marriage.Likewise several community festivalshave acquired new meaning and


observances. Baisakhi in Punjab iscelebrated more as a cultural festivalthan a religious one. People fromdifferent religious groups join andenjoy its festivity. Durgapuja andDushahara have assumed newcharacter and their religious ritualshave receded into the background.Hundreds of pandals are tastefullydecorated displaying variouscontemporary social and politicalissues. The latest trend in organisingIftar party during the holy monthof Ramzan is also a pointer inthis respect.

The village community is alsoinfluenced by changes taking place ineconomic, political and cultural fields.The internal differentiation created byeconomic forces has altered theharmonious community feelingsamong villagers. Levels of aspirationshave heightened in the wake ofnumerous developmental measuresundertaken by the government. Theattitude of surrender before fate anddivine will, commonly found among thepoor and deprived, has been replacedby the attitude of defiance. They are theproducts of the process of secularisation.

GLOSSARY

TWICE-BORN CASTE. The upper caste who undergoes the initiation or the ‘threadceremony’ to become dwij, known as twice born.

ACCULTURATION. The process by which a dominant group imposes its cultureso effectively on subordinate groups that they become virtuallyindistinguishable from the dominant culture is called acculturation.

DIN-E-ILAHI. A new religion started by the Mughal emperor Akbar which was asynthesis of many religions.

RAIYATWARI AND MAHALWARI. A system of payment of land revenue imposed by theBritish government on the peasants, where the peasants had to paya certain amount of revenue for their land to the Zamindars.

EXERCISE

1. Explain the meaning of term ‘Sanskritisation’.

2. Define dominant caste. Illustrate your answer with some examples ofdominant caste.

3. Distinguish Sanskritisation from Islamisation.

4. Discuss the relationship between Sanskritisation and Westernisation.

5. What is the relationship between Westernisation and Secularisation.


SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Srinivas, M.N., Social Change in Modern India, Orient Longman,New Delhi, 1972.

2. Srinivas, M.N., The Dominant Caste and Other Essays, Oxford UniversityPress, New Delhi, 1987.

3. Desai, A.R., India’s Path of Development, Popular Prakashan, Mumbai,1984.

4. Beteille, Andre, Caste : Old and New, Asia Publishing House, Mumbai,1969.

5. Singh, Yogendra, Modernisation of Indian T radition, RawatPublications, Jaipur, 1988.

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