CHAPTER 8

Cultural Change
Chapter at Glance Sociologist Satish Saberwal elaborates upon the modern
context through modern framework of change in colonial
Social Reform Movements In The 19th And Early
India:
20th Century
• Modes of communication
• The social reform movements which emerged in
• Forms of organisation, and
India in the 19th century arose to the challenges
that colonial Indian society faced. • The nature of ideas
• The well-known issues are that of sati, child Role of Communication
marriage, ban on widow remarriage and caste • New technologies speeded up various forms of
discrimination. communication.
• The attempts to fight social discrimination in pre- • The printing press, telegraph, and later the
colonial India were central to Buddhism, to Bhakti microphone, movement of people and goods
and Sufi movements. through steamship and railways helped quick
• It was a creative combination of modern ideas of movement of new ideas.
western liberalism and a new look on traditional • Within India, social reformers from Punjab and
literature. Bengal exchanged ideas with reformers from
Ideas of Reformers Madras and Maharashtra. Keshav Chandra Sen of
Bengal visited Madras in 1864.
• Raja Ram Mohun Roy attacked the practice of sati
on the basis of both appeals to humanitarian and • Pandita Ramabai travelled to different corners of
natural rights doctrines as well as Hindu shastras. the country. Some of them went to other countries.
• Ranade's writings entitled The Texts of the Hindu • Christian missionaries reached remote corners of
Law on the Lawfulness of the Remarriage of Widows present day Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya.
and Vedic Authorities f or W idow Marriage • Modern social organisations like the Brahmo Samaj
elaborated the shastric sanction for remarriage of in Bengal and Arya Samaj in Punjab were set up.
widows. • The All-India Muslim Ladies Conference (Anjuman-
• The content of new education was modernising E-Khawatn-E-Islam) was founded in 1914.
and liberal. The literary content of the courses in • Indian reformers debated not just in public meetings
the humanities and social sciences was drawn from but through public media like newspapers and
the literature of the European Renaissance, journals.
Reformation and Enlightenment. Its themes were
• Translations of writings of social reformers from
humanistic, secular and liberal.
one Indian language to another took place.
• Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan's interpretation of Islam
• For instance, Vishnu Shastri published a Marathi
emphasised the validity of free enquiry (ijtihad) and
translation of Vidyasagar's book in Indu Prakash
the alleged similarities between Koranic revelations
in 1868.
and the laws of nature discovered by modern
science. • New ideas of liberalism and freedom, new ideas of
homemaking and marriage, new roles for mothers
• Kandukiri Viresalingam's The Sources of and daughters, new ideas of self-conscious pride
Knowledge reflected his familiarity with navya- in culture and tradition emerged.
nyaya logic. At the same time he translated the
works of Julius Huxley, an eminent biologist.
• The idea of female education was debated intensely. • In those areas where a highly Sanskritised caste
Significantly, it was the social reformer Jotiba Phule was dominant, the culture of the entire region
who opened the first school for women in Pune. underwent a certain amount of Sanskritisation.
• Jotiba Phule thus recalled the glory of preAryan • In regions where the non-Sanskritic castes were
age while others like Bal Gangadhar Tilak dominant, it was their influence that was stronger.
emphasised the glory of the Aryan period. Thi s can be termed the process of 'de-
Opposing the Reforms Sanskritisation'.
• The varied social reform movements did have • Sanskritisation suggests a process whereby
common themes. Yet there were also significant people want to improve their status through
differences. adoption of names and customs of culturally high-
placed groups.
• For some the concerns were confined to the
problems that the upper caste, middle class women Sanskritisation as a Concept has been
and men faced. Criticised at Different Levels:
• For others the injust ices suf f ered by the • It has been criticised for exaggerating social
discriminated castes were central questions. mobility or the scope of 'lower castes' to move up
• For some social evils had emerged because of a the social ladder
decline of the true spirit of Hinduism. • It has been pointed out that the ideology of
• For others caste and gender oppression was sanskritisation accepts the ways of the 'upper
intrinsic to the religion. Likewise Muslim social caste' as superior and that of the 'lower caste' as
reformers actively debated the meaning of polygamy inferior. Therefore, the desire to imitate the 'upper
and purdah. For example, a resolution against the caste' is seen as natural and desirable.
evils of polygamy was proposed by Jahanara Shah • 'Sanskritisation' seems to justify a model that rests
Nawas at the All India Muslim Ladies Conference. on inequality and exclusion. It appears to suggest
• The resolution condemning polygamy caused that to believe in pollution and purity of groups of
considerable debate in the Muslim press. Tahsib- people is justifiable or all right.
e-Niswan, the leading journal for women in the • Since sanskritisation results in the adoption of
Punjab, came out in favour of the resolve, but others upper caste rites and rituals it leads to practices
disapproved. of secluding girls and women, adopting dowry
• Sati was opposed by the Brahmo Samaj. Orthodox practices instead of bride-price and practising
members of the Hindu community in Bengal formed caste discrimination against other groups, etc.
an organisation called Dharma Sabha and • The effect of such a trend is that the key
petitioned the British arguing that reformers had characteristics of dalit culture and society are
no right to interpret sacred texts. Yet another view eroded. For example the very worth of labour which
increasingly voiced by Dalits was a complete 'lower castes' do is degraded and rendered
rejection of the Hindu fold. 'shameful'.
Different Kinds Of Social Change Westernization
• The term sanskritisation was coined by M.N. • M.N. Srinivas defines westernisation as "the
Srinivas. It may be briefly defined as the process changes brought about in Indian society and culture
by which a 'low' caste or tribe or other group takes as a result of over 150 years of British rule, the
over the customs, ritual, beliefs, ideology and style term subsuming changes occurring at different
of life of a high and, in particular, a 'twice-born levels…technology, institutions, ideology and
(dwija) caste'. values".
• The impact of Sanskritisation is many-sided. Its Different kinds of Westernization
influence can be seen in language, literature, • One kind refers to the emergence of a westernised
ideology, music, dance, drama, style of life and sub-cultural pattern through a minority section of
ritual. Indians who first came in contact with Western
• It is primarily a process that takes place within the culture.
Hindu space though Srinivas argued that it was • This included the sub culture of Indian intellectuals
visible even in sects and religious groups outside who not only adopted many cognitive patterns, or
Hinduism. Studies of different areas, however, show ways of thinking, and styles of life, but supported
that it operated differently in different parts of the its expansion.
country.
• Westernisation does involve the imitation of Modernisation And Secularisation
external forms of culture. It does not necessarily • The term modernisation has a long history. From
mean that people adopt modern values of the 19th and more so the 20th century the term
democracy and equality. began to be associated with positive and desirable
• There were, therefore, small sections of people who values.
adopted western life styles or were affected by • In the early years, modernisation referred to
western ways of thinking. improvement in technology and production
• Apart from this there has been also the general processes.
spread of Western cultural traits, such as the use • It referred to the path of development that much of
of new technology, dress, food, and changes in west Europe or North America has taken. And
the habits and styles of people in general. suggested that other societies both have to and
Influence of Westernization ought to follow the same path of development.
• Apart from ways of life and thinking the west • The story of our modernisation and secularisation
influenced Indian art and literature. is, therefore, quite distinct from their growth in the
• Artists like Ravi Varma, Abanindranath Tagore, west.
Chandu Menon and Bankimchandra Chattopadhya • In the modern west, secularisation has usually
were all grappling with the colonial encounter. meant a process of decline in the influence of
• The style, technique and the very theme of Ravi religion.
Varma were shaped by western and indigeneous • It has been an assumption of all theorists of
traditions. modernisation that modern societies become
• It discusses the portrait of a family in a matrilineal increasingly secular.
community of Kerala but one that significantly • Indicators of secularisation have referred to levels
resembles the very typical patrilineal nuclear family of involvement with religious organisations (such
of the modern west consisting of the father, mother as rates of church attendance), the social and
and children. material influence of religious organisations, and
• In the contemporary context often conflicts between the degree to which people hold religious beliefs.
generations are seen as cultural conflicts resulting • Recent years have seen an unprecedented growth
from westernization. of religious consciousness and conflict world over.
• Srinivas suggested that while 'lower castes' sought
to be Sanskritised, 'upper castes' sought to be
Westernised.

Exercise

1. Assertion (A): The social reform movements which 2. The text 'The Texts of the Hindu Law on the
emerged in India in the 19th century arose to the Lawfulness of the Remarriage of Widows and Vedic
challenges that colonial Indian society faced. Authorities for Widow Marriage' was written by
Reason (R): It was a creative combination of which of following personality?
modern ideas of western liberalism and a new look (a) M G Ranade
on traditional literature. (b) Mahatma Gandhi
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct (c) Raja Rammohun Roy
explanation of A. (d) Pandita Ramabai
(b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct 3. New technologies speeded up various forms of
explanation of A. communication. Through which of the following
(c) A is true and R is false ways quick movement of new ideas took place
(d) A is false and R is true during colonial period?
I. Railways II. Telegraphs
III. Bullock carts IV. Press
(a) I, II and III (b) II, III and IV
(c) I, II and IV (d) All of the above
4. Anjuman-E-Khawatn-E-Islam was an organization 10. Assertion (A): Sanskritization refers to a process
of - that pertains to social mobility that existed before
(a) All India Muslim league the onset of colonialism.
(b) Regional organization in Punjab Reason (R): As a 'low' caste or tribe or other group
(c) Patriotic song takes over the customs, ritual, beliefs, ideology
and style of life of a high and, in particular, a 'twice-
(d) All India Muslim Ladies Conference
born (dwija) caste'.
5. Who among the following published 'Indu Prakash'
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct
in Marathi?
explanation of A.
(a) Ishwarchand Vidyasagar
(b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct
(b) Vishnu Shashtri explanation of A.
(c) Jyotiba Phule (c) A is true and R is false
(d) M G Ranade (d) A is false and R is true
6. The first school for women in Pune was opened Read the following passage and answer the
by - following question from 11 to 13.
(a) Jyotiba Phule (b) Savitribai Phule Kumud Pawade in her autobiography recounts how a Dalit
(c) M G Ranade (d) Vishnu Shashtri woman became a Sanskrit teacher. As a student she is
7. Choose the incorrect statement regarding drawn towards the study of Sanskrit, perhaps because it
contribution of leader towards education: is the means through which she can break into a field
(a) Jyotiba Phule recalled the glory of pre-Aryan that was not possible for her to enter on grounds of gender
age while B G Tilak emphasized on the glory and caste. Perhaps she was drawn towards it because it
of Aryan Age. would enable her to read in the original what the texts
(b) Female education was justified on the lines of have to say about women and the Dalits. As she proceeds
traditional ideas. with her studies, she meets with varied reactions ranging
from surprise to hostility, from guarded acceptance to
(c) Female education was important for social
brutal rejection.
progress.
11. What information is reflecting through this passage
(d) Female education were made by recourse to
about the society?
both modern and traditional ideas.
(a) Division of society
8. Banning of Sati practice was opposed by which of
the following organization? (b) Atrocities of upper castes on dalits
(a) Brahmo Samaj (c) Sanskrit dominance on society
(b) Tahsib-e-Niswan (d) Hostile situation towards dalits
(c) Dharam Sabha 12. Kumud Pawade became Sanskrit teacher. Why
this is considered as an achievement?
(d) Anjuman-E-Khawatn-E-Islam
(a) She competed and succeeded against the
9. Assertion (A): Educated middle class read the
upper caste women
thinkers of western enlightenment, philosophers
of liberal democracy and dreamt of ushering in a (b) It will give her the real information mentioned in
liberal and progressive India. the original texts about the women
Reason (R): Colonialism led to the growth of an (c) She was rejected to be part of the Indian
English educated Indian middle class. society
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct (d) Dalit had no rights to become teachers
explanation of A. 13. The centre message of this passage is -
(b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct (a) Importance of Sanskrit
explanation of A. (b) Sanskrit in not a language but a society
(c) A is true and R is false (c) It suggest that people want to improve their
(d) A is false and R is true status
(d) Dalits can also read Sanskrit
14. Choose the correct statements: 18. As sanskritisation resulted in the adoption of upper
I. Sanskrit exaggerated social to mobility move caste rites and rituals, the following were the
up the social ladder. impacts -
II. Sanskritization supported superiority of upper I. Dowry practice in the name of culture
class and inferiority among lower castes. II. Seclusion of girls and women
III. Sanskritisation seems to justify a model that III. Practice of caste discrimination
rests on inequality and exclusion. (a) I and II (b) II and III
(a) I and II (b) II and III (c) I and III (d) All of the above
(c) III only (d) All of the above 19. W hi ch of the f oll owing is correct about
15. Among the following personalities, who are westernization?
associated with paintings? (a) It involves the imitation of external forms of
I. Ravi Verma culture.
II. Chandu Menon (b) It necessarily mean that people adopt modern
III. Abanindranath Tagore values of democracy and equality.
(a) I and II (b) II only (c) Both (a) and (b)
(c) I and III (d) All of the above (d) Neither (a) nor (b)
16. Choose the correct st atement regarding 20. The new trend of painting was carried by Raja Ravi
modernization in India? Verma. What makes it doifferent from the traditional
way of painting?
(a) It is improvement in technology and production
processes. I. Blend of flatter with two dimensions
II. Use of water colors
(b) In India the beginnings of capitalism took place
within the colonial context. III. Use of oil to draw painting
(c) Modernization in India is quite similar to the (a) I and II (b) I and III
west. (c) II and III (d) All of the above
(d) It referred to the path of development that much 21. In regions where the non-Sanskritic castes were
of west Europe or North America has taken. dominant, it was their influence that was stronger.
17. The term 'secularism' implies - This region is known as -
I. A process of decline in the influence of religion. (a) Secularism (b) Modernization
II. The growth of religious consciousness and (c) De-Sanskritization(d) Westernization
conflict has increased all over the world.
III. It is indicated by the involvement with religious
organization.
(a) I and III (b) II and III
(c) III only (d) All of the above

Answer Keys

1. (b) 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (c) 5. (b) 6. (a) 7. (b) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (a)

11. (c) 12. (b) 13. (c) 14. (d) 15. (c) 16. (c) 17. (d) 18. (d) 19. (a) 20. (b)

21. (c)