Class 12 Sociology Book 2 Chapter 2 Cultural Change NCERT Solutions

Q. Write a critical essay on sanskritisation.

Answer: Sanskritisation, a term coined by M.N. Srinivas, is the process by which a “low” caste, tribe or group takes over the customs, ritual, beliefs, ideology and style of life of a high, “twice-born” (dwija) caste. Its influence shows up in language, literature, ideology, music, dance, drama, style of life and ritual, and while it is primarily a Hindu-space process, Srinivas himself argued it is visible even in sects and religious groups outside Hinduism. It also operates unevenly by region: where a highly Sanskritised caste is dominant, the whole region’s culture Sanskritises somewhat, while where non-Sanskritic castes are dominant, their own influence spreads instead, a reverse process the book calls de-Sanskritisation. The book notes other regional variations too: in Punjab, Sanskritic influence was never very strong, and Persian influence remained dominant for many centuries until the third quarter of the 19th century. Sanskritisation normally presupposes either an improvement in the economic or political position of the group, or a higher group self-consciousness from contact with a source of the “Great Tradition” of Hinduism. But real obstacles exist: in a highly unequal society, dominant castes have traditionally punished lower castes audacious enough to attempt it, as Kumud Pawade’s own account of becoming a Dalit Sanskrit teacher shows. As a concept, Sanskritisation has faced five distinct criticisms. First, it exaggerates social mobility, since it produces only positional, not structural, change for some individuals while the underlying unequal structure persists. Second, it accepts the ways of the upper caste as superior and the lower caste’s ways as inferior, making imitation of the upper caste seem natural. Third, it seems to justify a model resting on inequality and exclusion, implying that belief in the purity and pollution of groups is acceptable. Fourth, since it involves adopting upper-caste rites, it spreads regressive practices such as secluding women, replacing bride-price with dowry, and caste discrimination against other groups. Fifth, it erodes key characteristics of Dalit culture and society: the very worth of the labour “lower castes” do is degraded and rendered “shameful”, and identities based on crafts, artisanal abilities and knowledge forms (medicine, ecology, agriculture, animal husbandry) are regarded useless in the industrial era. With the anti-Brahminical movement, attempts were made in several Indian languages to drop Sanskrit words and phrases; a crucial result of the Backward Classes Movement was to emphasise the role of secular factors in the upward mobility of caste groups and individuals; and recent years have seen Dalits assert pride in their identity as Dalits.

Q. Westernisation is often just about adoption of western attire and lifestyle. Are there other aspects to being westernised? Or is that about modernisation? Discuss.

Answer: Westernisation is broader than attire alone, but it must also not be confused with modernisation. M.N. Srinivas defines Westernisation as the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule, a term that subsumes changes at several levels: technology, institutions, ideology and values, not clothing alone. The chapter says there were different kinds of westernisation and describes two: first, a westernised sub-cultural pattern among a minority, especially intellectuals, who first contacted Western culture and adopted its cognitive patterns and styles of life; second, a much wider spread of Western material traits, such as new technology, dress, food and consumer goods, across the middle class in general (the book’s own example being the television, fridge, sofa set and dining table now common in many homes). However, the book adds that Westernisation does involve the imitation of external forms of culture, and this does not necessarily mean adopting modern values of democracy and equality, as shown by the book’s own examples: Western-educated people who still hold prejudiced views about ethnic or religious communities, a family that adopts Western home interiors while keeping conservative ideas about women’s role, and female foeticide, which combines a discriminatory attitude towards women with very modern technology. Modernisation, by contrast, is about a change in values and social organisation itself: local ties giving way to universal, cosmopolitan attitudes; the individual, not the group, becoming the primary unit of society; associations based on choice rather than birth; identity being achieved rather than simply ascribed at birth; and a scientific attitude gaining ground, as Rudolph and Rudolph’s definition of modernity describes. So while attire and lifestyle are indeed one visible part of Westernisation, the chapter’s deeper point is that Westernisation can occur without modernisation: adopting Western external forms does not necessarily bring the change in values that modernisation, in its wider sense, involves.

Q. Write short notes on: (i) Rites and secularisation (ii) Caste and secularisation (iii) Gender and sanskritisation.

(i) Rites and secularisation: The book notes that a considerable part of ritual in India has direct reference to the pursuit of secular ends, and that rituals also have secular dimensions, as distinct from secular goals. They give people occasions to socialise with peers and superiors, and to display family wealth, clothing and jewellery. The book’s own example is that the number of cars lined up outside a wedding house, and which VIPs attended, now index a household’s standing in the local community, a trend that has become more conspicuous in recent decades.

(ii) Caste and secularisation: Traditionally, the caste system operated within a religious framework, with beliefs of purity and pollution central to its practice. Today, caste often functions instead as political pressure groups: contemporary India has seen the formation of caste associations and caste-based political parties that press their demands upon the state. This changed role, from a religious framework to a political one, is what the book calls the secularisation of caste. Rajni Kothari’s argument (Box 2.5) develops this: rather than asking whether caste is disappearing, the useful question is what form caste is taking under modern politics, and what form politics is taking in a caste-oriented society, since politics organises itself through whatever social structure already organises the bulk of the population.

(iii) Gender and sanskritisation: Sanskritisation means a “low” group adopting the customs, rites and rituals of a “twice-born” caste. The book’s fourth criticism is that, because it results in the adoption of upper-caste rites and rituals, it leads to practices of secluding girls and women, adopting dowry instead of bride-price, and practising caste discrimination against other groups. In Activity 2.4 the book then asks whether the process is gendered, i.e. affects women differently from men, and whether, even if it brings positional change for men, the reverse may be true for women. The criticism above gives reasons to think it may be.

Q. Find out about some of the social reformers mentioned below. What issues did they fight for? How did they conduct their campaign? Was there any opposition? (Viresalingam, Pandita Ramabai, Vidyasagar, Dayanand Saraswati, Jyotiba Phule, Sri Narayan Guru, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, any other)

Answer: The book itself gives only a few facts about these reformers (noted below as “the book says”). The rest of each entry is general background from outside the book, given to help your research; check it against a reference source before using it.

• Kandukiri Viresalingam (Andhra): fought for widow remarriage and women’s education. He wrote and published in Telugu, including The Sources of Knowledge, which the book says reflected navya-nyaya logic, and translated the biologist Julius Huxley. Orthodox sections of society opposed widow remarriage bitterly.
• Pandita Ramabai: worked for the education of women and the welfare of widows, and set up a home and school for widows. The book notes that she travelled to different corners of the country. She faced strong criticism from orthodox society, which grew after she converted to Christianity.
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (Bengal): campaigned for widow remarriage and girls’ education, building his case from the shastras; the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act was passed in 1856. The book says Vishnu Shastri published a Marathi translation of Vidyasagar’s book in Indu Prakash in 1868. Orthodox Hindus petitioned against the reform.
• Dayanand Saraswati: founded the Arya Samaj, which the book names as a modern organisation set up in Punjab. He called for a return to the Vedas and opposed idol worship, child marriage and caste by birth, and supported women’s education. Orthodox groups opposed him.
• Jyotiba Phule (Maharashtra): fought caste oppression and worked for women’s education; the book says he opened the first school for women in Pune and recalled the glory of the pre-Aryan age. Upper-caste orthodoxy opposed him strongly.
• Sri Narayan Guru (Kerala): fought caste discrimination against the Ezhavas and other “lower” castes, opened temples to them and preached one caste, one religion and one God for all human beings. Orthodox upper castes resisted him.
• Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: worked for modern, scientific education among Muslims and founded the college at Aligarh. The book says his interpretation of Islam emphasised the validity of free enquiry (ijtihad) and the “alleged similarities” between Koranic revelations and the laws of nature discovered by modern science. Conservative religious leaders opposed him.

Their methods fit Saberwal’s three aspects of the modern framework of change: modes of communication (newspapers, journals, books and translations, travel), forms of organisation (public meetings, new organisations and schools) and the nature of ideas (liberal ideas joined to a new look at traditional texts).

Q. While you read the way the four processes are used in sociology, it may be interesting to discuss in class what you think the terms mean. What kind of behaviour would you define as: Western, Modern, Secular, Sanskritised? Why? Return to Activity 2.2 after you finish the chapter. Did you find any difference between common sense usage of the terms and their sociological meaning?

Answer: Your class may find that in common sense usage, “Western” is taken to mean jeans, English, fast food; “modern” to mean owning new gadgets; “secular” to mean not being religious; and “Sanskritised” is a word people rarely use. After reading the chapter, the sociological meanings turn out to be different:

• Western: imitating external forms of Western culture (dress, food, technology, home interiors), which, as the book stresses, need not bring democratic or egalitarian values.
• Modern: a change in values: universal rather than local ties, choice rather than birth, achievement rather than ascription, and a scientific attitude (Rudolph and Rudolph). A person in Indian clothes who chooses a job and a partner freely is more “modern” than a person in Western clothes who practises caste discrimination.
• Secular: in the West, a decline in the influence of religion; in India also the secular side of rituals (status display at weddings) and the “secularisation of caste” into political pressure groups.
• Sanskritised: a “low” caste or group adopting the customs, rituals and style of life of a high, “twice-born” caste, for example giving up meat or adopting upper-caste rites.

So the main difference is that common sense treats these as matters of appearance, while sociology treats them as processes of change in values, status and social organisation, which can overlap in the same person.

Q. It is up to you to explore and identify the complex ways modernisation impacts people in different parts of the country or impacts different classes and castes in the same region. And even women and men from the same class or community.

Answer: The chapter itself gives starting points. Different regions: Sanskritic influence was never very strong in Punjab, where Persian influence was dominant until the third quarter of the 19th century; in the North-East, Western education and English opened new opportunities for Nagas, and English became a shared medium for tribes speaking different languages. Different castes and classes in one region: in Kerala, elite Thiyyas, not considered an upper caste, consciously westernised, which complicates Srinivas’s view that only upper castes westernised; westernisation spread widely among middle-class homes (television, fridge, sofa set, dining table). Women and men of the same group: Activity 2.4 asks whether Sanskritisation may raise the position of men while the reverse is true for women, through the seclusion of women and dowry in place of bride-price. Add examples from your own region.

Q. Think of other instances of the mix and match both from everyday life and from the wider level.

Answer: Everyday life: the way the sari is now worn with a Western petticoat and blouse (the book’s own example); a young woman wearing jeans along with sindoor or a bangle; a wedding that keeps every traditional ritual but also has a DJ, a Western-style reception and a wedding video; families using smartphone apps to find an auspicious muhurat; A.K. Ramanujan’s father wearing a Sri Vaisnava caste mark and turban with Tootal ties and an English serge jacket over his dhoti. Wider level: a modern democracy in which, as Rajni Kothari argues in Box 2.5, politicians organise support through caste; the Western-educated middle class of the 19th century that read Enlightenment thinkers yet asserted pride in traditional learning; modern hospitals and astrologers existing side by side.

Q. Read the section on Sanskritisation very carefully. Do you think that this process is gendered, i.e., it affects women differently from men? Do you think that even if it does lead to positional change among men, the reverse may be true about women?

Answer: The book raises this as a question, but its own criticism of Sanskritisation supports a “yes” answer. The fourth criticism is that because Sanskritisation means adopting upper-caste rites and rituals, it leads to practices of secluding girls and women, adopting dowry instead of bride-price, and caste discrimination against other groups. So when a group Sanskritises, its men may gain positional status in the local caste hierarchy, while its women may be secluded, and a daughter changes from someone for whom bride-price was received into someone for whom dowry must be paid. The reverse of the men’s gain may therefore be true for women: the group rises, but the position of its women within it may fall.

Q. Can you think of Indians who are very western in their clothes and appearances but who do not have democratic and egalitarian values that are part of modern attitudes. We are giving two examples below. Can you think of other instances from both real and reel life? (We may find people who are western educated but holding very prejudiced views about particular ethnic or religious communities. A family can adopt external forms of western culture like the way the interiors of houses are done up but may have very conservative ideas about women’s role in society. The practice of female foeticide combines discriminatory attitude towards women and the use of very modern technology.) You should also discuss that whether this contradiction is only true for the Indians or non-western societies. Or is it not equally true that racist and discriminatory attitudes exist in western societies.

Answer: Other instances: a highly educated professional in Western formal clothes who demands a large dowry for his son; a family that throws Western-style parties but will not let its daughter choose her own career or partner; people who use the latest phones and cars but will not eat with, or rent a flat to, someone of a “lower” caste; film characters who dress in the latest fashion yet treat women as property or show caste pride. All of these show the book’s point that Westernisation is the imitation of external forms and does not necessarily mean adopting modern values of democracy and equality.

The contradiction is not only Indian or non-Western. Western societies too have racist and discriminatory attitudes, for example discrimination on the basis of race, colour or religion, even though they are technologically advanced. So modern technology and modern appearance do not by themselves produce egalitarian values in any society.

Q. In the contemporary context often conflicts between generations are seen as cultural conflicts resulting from westernisation. Have you seen this or faced this? Is Westernisation the only reason for generational conflicts? Are conflicts necessarily bad?

Answer: Many students will have seen this: disagreements over dress, music, hairstyles or careers, like the Assamese mother in Box 2.3 whose daughter wears trousers and plays Western tunes while she sings Bargeet and listens to Meera bhajans. The box’s own heading says westernisation “often” makes generational difference more complex, so it is one reason, but the book asks whether it is the only one. Other possible causes, not listed in the book, include higher education, migration to cities or abroad (Pallav, in the box, lives in a different country), new occupations, economic independence of the young, and new media and technology. Whether conflicts are necessarily bad is left open by the book; one view is that they need not be, because they allow tradition to be questioned and reinterpreted, which the book’s conclusion describes as part of what modernity brought. What matters is that they are handled through dialogue; the mother in Box 2.3 still loves her children with all her heart despite the distance.

Q. Take any matrimonial column from any newspaper or websites like shaadi.com and try and see the pattern. How often is caste or community mentioned? If it is mentioned many times does it mean that caste continues to play the same kind of role as it did traditionally? Or has the role of caste changed? Discuss.

Answer: You may find that caste or community is mentioned often: advertisements are frequently grouped under caste headings, and many ask for a partner from the same caste or sub-caste. This shows that caste still matters in marriage. But it does not mean caste plays the same role as it did traditionally. The same advertisements may also give weight to achieved qualities, such as education, profession, income, a job abroad and appearance, and some say “caste no bar”. Traditionally caste worked within a religious framework, with beliefs of purity and pollution central to it; today it works alongside choice and achievement, which the chapter describes as features of modernisation. As Kothari argues in Box 2.5, the useful question is not whether caste is disappearing but what form it is taking now.

Q. Observe advertisements during traditional festivals such as Diwali, Durga Puja, Ganesh Puja, Dusserah, Karwa Chauth, Id, Christmas. Collect different advertisements from the print media. Watch the electronic media also. Note what the messages of these advertisements are about.

Answer: You will probably find that many festival advertisements are about buying: gold and jewellery, clothes, cars and two-wheelers, electronics, sweets and gift hampers, often with “festive offers” and discounts. Their messages often link the festival to family togetherness, gifting, looking good and showing prosperity (for example Karwa Chauth advertisements for jewellery and saris, or Diwali advertisements for new cars). Check this against your own collection. Such messages illustrate the book’s point that rituals have secular dimensions: they are occasions for socialising and for showing off the family’s wealth, clothing and jewellery, and in recent decades their economic and status dimensions have become increasingly conspicuous.