Meaning and Definition

 One of the social institution, established by Human

society to control and regulate the sex life
 Closely connected to the institution of family
 Family and Marriage are complementary to each other
 Gillin and Gillin: Marriage is socially approved way of
establishing a family for procreation”
 Alfred McClung Lee writes, Marriage is the public
joining together, under socially specified regulations of
a man and woman as husband and wife.”
Characteristics of Marriage
 Universality
 Relationship between man and woman
 Marriage bond is enduring
 Marriage requires social approval
 Marriage is associated with some civil or religious
ceremony
 Marriage created mutual obligations
Functions and Importance of
Marriage
 Regulating sex life
 Leads to establishment of family
 Provides for economic cooperation
 Marriage contributes to emotional and intellectual
inter stimulation of partners
 Marriage aims at social solidarity
Forms of Marriage
 Polygyny
 Polyandry
 Monogamy
 Group Marriage
 Endogamy
 Exogamy
Polygyny
 A form of marriage in which one man marries more
than one woman at a given time
 Practiced in most of the ancient societies-Hebrews,
Babylonians,Assyrians and Indians, etc.
 At present it is practiced in primitive tribes, wealthier
classes, African negroes, Gonds and Baigas of India,
and in Muslim community
Types of Polygyny
 Sororal Polygyny- it is a type of marriage in which the
wives are invariably the sisters. It is often called
sororate.
 Sororate derives from the Latin word. “soror” means
sister
 Usually observed among the tribes which pay high
bride prices
Cont.....
 Non Sororal Polygyny: A type of marriage in which
the wives are not related as sisters
 For socio-economic and political reasons, this type of
marriage is taken place
 Example: Royal families of Indian society practiced in
ancient and Medieval period
Causes of Polygyny
 More women less men due to the imbalance in sex-
ratio-EX- Plain Indians and Eskimos practice polygyny
 Economic advantages– women would contribute to the
family income and family work-EX- African tribes
Longos and Thodas
 Women as badges of social distinction(prestige)
 Childlessness of the first wife
 Constancy of sex urge in man
Other factors
 Taste for variety in sex life
 Enforced celibacy during menstrual cycle, pregnancy
and lactation periods of woman led man for polygyny
 Earlier aging of the female than male
 Desire for more children
 Captured women in war and fights
 To establish masculinity
Polyandry
 Marriage of one woman with several men
 Practiced in tribal societies like Tiyan,Toda,Kata, Khasa,
Ladakhi Bota etc, Tibetans, Nairs of Kerala
 It is of two types-
1. Fraternal Polyandry- When several brothers share a same
wife
 Example- Draupadi , now it is paracted in Toda
community
2. Non-Fraternal Polyandry- many men share one woman
as wife but not related as brothers. When Wife lives with
one husband , others have no claim over her.
Examples: Nair Polyandry, Tibetan Polyandry
Causes of Polyandry
 No universal generalisation with regards to the causes
of polyandry
 Some factors are:
 Scarcity of women
 Poverty and Heavy Bride price
 Desire to keep the property intact – ( Toda and
Tibetans)
Social Implications of Polyandry
 Gives rise to the problem of determining biological
paternity of the child
 Primitives have their social methods of determining the
Fatherhood, called as “sociological Fatherhood”
 Polyandrian Toda Community practice Bow and arrow
ceremony for becoming legal father of child
 Samoa community- Children are given liberty to choose
their parents to stay
 It had adverse effect on the growth of population
 Lead to extra marital and premarital sex relations
 Nowadays, rarely it is found in the permitted societies
Monogamy
 Most superior form of marriage
 In this marriage, one man marries one woman
 Most widespread form of marriage- found in all ages
 It is universal practice at present society
 Long history of its own
 Westermarck has said that monogamy is as old as
humanity
Cont..
 Ancient Romans, Spartans, Indians, Jews , Christians
had given importance to it
 Ancient Hindus regarded it as the most ideal form of
marriage
 Also practiced among tribals like Kadras, Santhals,
Khasis,The Andaman islanders etc..
Advantages
 Universally Acceptable
 Economically better suited
 Promotes better understanding between husband and
wife and contributes family peace,solidarity and
happiness
 Contributes to stable family and sex life- family bond
is stronger
 Helps to better socialisation of children
 Aged parents are not neglected
 Provides better status for women
Group Marriage
 Marriage of two or more women with two or more men
 Husbands are common husbands and wives are
common wives
 Children are regarded as the children of entire group
as a whole
 All men of such group are their fathers and all women
as their mothers
 Rarely exist in present day society
 Examples: Tribals in Australia,,Tibet and Cylon
Rules of Marriage
 Endogamy
 Exogamy
Endogamy
 In this rule of marriage, life-partners are to be selected
within the group, caste, tribe, race, village or religious
group etc.
 Also called as intra-group marriage
 Some forms of endogamy are:
 Caste Endogamy
 Class Endogamy
 Race Endogamy
 Sub-caste Endogamy
Advantages
 Contributes group unity and solidarity
 Preserve the property within group
 Safeguards the purity of the group
 Keeps the strengths and weaknesses of the group
secret
Disadvantages
 Strikes national unity
 Give rise to scope for evil practices like polygyny,dowry
system,bride price etc.
 Develop hatred and contempt for other groups
 May affect the biological potentiality of the offspring
Exogamy
 In this rule of marriage , an individual has to marry
outside his own group
 Near relatives are not supposed to marry among
themselves
Forms of Exogamy
 Gotra Exogamy- prohibits marriage between members of
same gotra(sagotra)- Gotra is named after a a Rishi or sage
who founded the family since time immemorial
 Pravara Exogamy- Those who belong to same
pravara(uttering the name of common saint at the time of
religious function) cannot marry
 Village Exogamy- (Tribals like Naga, Garo and Mundal)
 Pinda Exogamy- No marriage in sapinda( same common
parentage- from five maternal generations and five
paternal generations)
Causes of Exogamy
 Relationship in the same group would be confused
and organisational and functional efficiency of the
family would lost
 Cheap and insignificant of marriage within the known
circles of relatives
 Affect the biological quality of offspring
Other Marriages
 Levirate- Marriage of a man with the childless widow of his deceased
brother
 Sorrorate – Marriage of a man with the sister of his deceased wife
 Hypergamy- Marriage of the daughter in a superior and noble family/
marrying a spouse of higher social status
 Hypogamy-Marrying someone of a lower social and economic class
than your own/ marriage of a daughter in a lower social status
 Anuloma- It is a form of inter-caste marriage in which men of higher
caste marry women of lower caste- Example- Brahmin boy and Shudra
girl
 Pratiloma- A form of inter-caste marriage in which men of lower caste
marry women of upper caste- EX-Shudra boy and Brahmin or Kshatriya
girl
Hindu Marriage
 Marriage is a matter of religious duty for Hindus, a
great sacrament
 It is not a “social contract” or ‘license for sex life’.
 With the marriage sacrament of “ Vivaha Samskara”
Hindus enter the “Grihasthadharma” , one of the
ashram of the Varnashrama dharma(four fold lfe)
 Man and woman establish the family, the home or
“griha”
 It is a socially approved union of man and woman
aiming at procreation , pleasure and observance of
certain social obligations
Cont..
 K.M. Kapadia has analysed the importance of Hindu
marriage from three angles:
1. Aims of Hindu Marriage
2. Important rituals associated with Hindu Marriage
3. Sacred Beliefs and values involved in Hindu Marriage
Aims of Hindu Marriage
 Dharma(performance of religious duties)-Highest aim
of Hindu marriage
 Praja( progeny)- To get issues or children
 Rati( pleasure)
Important Rituals in Hindu
Marriage
 Vagdana(oral promise)- Panigrahana Sankalpa
 Homa- offerings in the sacred fire (fire rituals)
 Laja homa is the most important one observed for
progeny and prosperity
 Kanyadana-Giving away the bride to bridegroom in
the presence of sacred fire and in the presence of
people by Father of Bride
 Panigrahana- (holding the hand of bride by
bridegroom) and takes the responsibility of looking
after her
Cont..
 Mangalaya dharana(tying of the tali or mangalsutra)
or “Sindurdan” (puting the vermillion on the
forehead of bride by Bridegroom) and putting red lac
bangles
 Saptapadi- Bride and Bridegrooms go “seven steps
together”. The husband makes the bride step forward
in northern direction seven steps with the words:
“ one step for sap,two for juice,three for wealth,four for
comfort,five for cattle,six for seasons,friend be with
seven steps united to me”
Sacred beliefs and Values(Hindu
Marriage)
 Inseparable and irrevocable marital bond
 Marriage is a social duty towards family and the
community and there is little idea of individual
interest
 Pativratya (wife devoted to her husband alone)
Significant Changes in Hindu
Marriage
 Young men and women marry not for religious duties
but for life long companionship
 Marriage is no longer unbreakable as divorce is socially
and legally permissible
 The ideal of “Patibratya “ has lost its significance and
there is law for widow remarriage
Recent Trends in Hindu Marriage
 Changes in the form of marriage
 Change in the aim or purpose of marriage- Now
Dharma is not aim of marriage but life long
companionship
 Change in the process of mate selection
 Change in the age of marriage
 Change in the stability of marriage
 Change in the economic aspect of marriage
 Increase in the instances of divorce and desertion
Factors affecting Marriage
 Industrialisation
 Impact of Urbanisation
 Role of Education
 Influences of Legislation on marriage like The
prevention of Sati act,1829; The Hindu remarriage
Act,1856; The civil for Special Marriage Act,1872- The
special Marriage Act-1954, The Hindu Marriage
Act,1855 and the Dowry Prohibition Act,1961
Hindu Marriage Act.1955
 Applies to all over India – Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and
Buddhists
 Conditions for Valid Marriage:
1. Neither party has a living spouse
2. Neither party is an idiot or lunatic
3. Groom must have 21 years old and bride must
have at least 18 years old as per 1978 amendment
act
4. Both the parties should not be sapindas of each
other
Important aspects of this Act
 Permission for Inter-caste and inter-religious
marriages
 Provides for equality of sex
 Provides equal rights for men and women in marriage,
divorce or separation
 1986 amendment act permits divorce on the ground of
incompatibility and mutual consent
 During Judicial separation and after divorce, both
husband and wife have the right to claim maintenance
allowance
Conditions of Divorce in Marriage
Act
 Conditions under which divorce is permitted
1. Spouse must have been impotent at the time of
marriage and continues to be afterwards
2. If any of the party is an idiot or lunatic at the
time of marriage
3. Consent by the petitioner or guardian was
obtained by force or fraud
4. The wife was pregnant by some person other
than the petitioner at the time of marriage
Cont...
 Other conditions for divorce may be on the ground
of adultery. Conversion of religion, unsound mind,
leprosy, venereal disease,renunciation,desertion for
seven years
Marriage among Muslims of India
 Muslim Marriage called Nikah is universal as it discourages
celibacy
 Prophet Muhammad stressed importance on marriage
 Both Shias and Sunni Muslims consider marriage as most
obligatory
 Regarded as more of a secular bond than a religious
sacrament
 According to Ronald Wilson.” Muslim marriage is a
contract for legalising social intercourse and the
procreation of children”
 S.C. Sarkar says, “Marriage among Muslims is not a
sacrament but purely a social contract”
Aims of Muslim Marriage
 Control over sex life
 Ordering of domestic life
 Procreation and upbringing of children
 Perceptual increase of family
 It is also a devotion and an act of ‘ Ibbdat”(religious
duty)
Characteristics
 Marriage Proposal and its acceptance- Ijab and Qubul
 Capacity of a person to contract marriage- adult
persons of sound mind can enter into marriage
contract
 Observance of the doctrine of equality
 Preference system in the mate selection- first paternal
cousins, then maternal cousins- no such preferences
nowdays
 Marriage should be free from legal complication-
SHOULD BE “Sahi Nikah” (valid marriage)- not
against Sariah
Conditions of void or Invalid
marriage
 Marriage according to the stipulated Islamic rules is called
“Sahi Nikah” or valid marriage but which is held contrary to
Islamic rules is called “batil’ or invalid marriage
 Polygamy- A woman can not marry second time as long as
she has a living husband who has not divorced her.A man
cannot not marry the fifth woman as long as first four
wives are alive and not divorced
 Marriage within the circles of close relatives- mother’s
sister,sister’s daughter,mother,father’s sister, step daughter,
son’s wife
 Marriage with Idolaters-Islam opposes idolatry/ marriage
with non- muslims
Cont...
 Marriage with people of premature age and unsound
mind
 Sisters becoming co-wives( not allowed sorrorate
polygyny or sorrorate) but can after the death of wife
or divorce
 Marrying a woman during her “Iddat period”-( a
period of seclusion for three menstrual periods for a
woman after the death or divorce by her husband to
ascertain she is pregnant or not)
Difference b/w Irregular and
Invalid marriage
 Irregular Marriage called Fasid and Invalid marriage
called Batil. Fasid marriage can be corrected and
made valid but Batil can not.
 Examples of Fasid- Absence of witnesses at the time
of making proposal; Muslim man marrying the fifth
woman; marriage with a woman who is undergoing
“Iddat”
 Examples of Batil- Marriage with the close circle of
relatives; Muslim woman marries with an idolator;
Muslim man marrying two/three women who are
sisters
Importance of Mehr or dower in
marriage
 Mehr is a sum of money or property which a wife is
entitled to get from her husband in consideration of
marriage
 It is an obligation imposed upon a husband as a mark of
respect for wife
 Purposes of Mehr- to check the husband to divorce wife
and to enable the woman to look after herself after her
husband’s death or divorce
 It is not a bride price but give financial security to the
woman and create responsibility in man
 Prompt Mehr(given during the time of marriage ) and
deferred Mehr(the rest of amount given on the dissolution
of marriage)- death of husband or divorce
 The amount of mehr is decided or determined on the
basis of social position, descent,age,intelligence,
beauty and other qualities of the bride
 The amount which is fixed by two parties is called
specified mehr
 The amount which is given on the basis of whatever is
considered to be proper called proper mehr
Divorce among Muslims
 Muslim marriage can be dissolved in three ways
1. Divorce as per traditional Muslim Law but without
intervention of court
2. Divorce as per Sharia Act,1937
3. Divorce as per Muslim Marriage Dissolutions Act,
1959 as per court’s intervention
Divorce as per Muslim Law
1.Khula or Kohl and Mubarrat based on mutual consent of
partners
 Khula – wife takes the initiative
 Mubarat- Mutual consent and anybody can takes the initiative
2.Talaq- three types
 Talaq-e-Ahsan- a single announcement of talaq followed by a
period of conjugal abstinence till the completion of “Iddat”
 Talaq –e-Hasan-Three pronouncement of Talaq during three
successive menstrual period and no-sexual contact between
spouces for three months
 Talaq-u- bidat- (triple talaq)- “I divorce you. I divorce you
and I divorce you”
Divorce according to Sharia Act
 Illa- if a husband swears by God to abstain from
sexual relations with his wife for four months or more
and sticks to his words, then marriage gets dissolved
 Zihar- “ you are like my mother” said by husband in
front of two witnesses
 Lian- Husband accuses wife being guilty of adultery
Muslim Marriage Act, 1939
 By this act a Muslim woman can seek the dissolution
of marriage on the following grounds
 Whereabouts of the husband not known for 4 years
 Failure of husband to provide maintenance to wife for
2 years
 Imprisonment of husband for 7 years
 Impotency of husband since the time of marriage
 Failure of husband to fulfil marital obligations for 3
years
 Husband’s physical and mental cruelty
Muslim Women (Protection of
rights on Divorce) Act-1986
 This Act was a controversially named landmark
legislation passed by parliament of India in 1986
 It protects the rights of Muslim women who have been
divorced by, or have obtained divorce from, their
husbands and to provide for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.
 As per the Act, a divorced Muslim woman is entitled to
reasonable and fair provision and maintenance from
her former husband, and this should be paid within
the period of iddat
Muslim women Protection of
Rights on Marriage Act, 2019
 In August 2017, the Supreme Court of India declared
triple talaq, which enables Muslim men to instantly
divorce their wives, to be unconstitutional
 Citing the Supreme court judgement and many cases
of triple talaq in India, the government introduced the
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage)
Bill, 2017.
 Passed in parliament in 2019
Provisions of this Act
 Any pronouncement of talaq by a Muslim husband upon
his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic
form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and
illegal.
 Any Muslim husband who pronounces talaq upon his
wife shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to three years, and shall also be
liable to fine.
 A married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced
shall be entitled to receive from her husband such amount
of subsistence allowance, for her and dependent children,
as may be determined by the Magistrate.
Difference b/w Hindu and Muslim
Marriage
 Aims and ideals
 Relative performance of marital bond
 Remarriages and widow remarriages
 Scope for Polygamy
 Mehr and Dowry
 Legislations affecting marriage
Introduction
 Most important primary group and most permanent of
all social institutions.
 Derived from Latin word-’famulus” means a servant
 In Roman law, it denotes a group of producers and
other servants as well as members connected by
common descent or marriage
 Family consisted of a man, and woman with a
child or children and servants
Definition
 M.F. Nimkoff- “family is a more or less durable
association of husband and wife with or without child,
or a man or woman alone ,with children
 Eliot and Merril- “ family is a biological social unit
composed of husband ,wife and children
 MacIver- “ Family is a group defined by sex
relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to
provide for the procreation and upbringing of
children”
Characteristics of family
 A mating relationship
 Family is formed by the institution of any form of
marriage-
 A system of nomenclature- every family is known by a
distinctive name
 An Economic provision- provides economic needs of
its members
 A common habitation or residence for its members
 A way of tracing the descent
Nature or Features of Family
 Universality
 Emotional basis- built upon emotions of love,
affection,sympathy, cooperation and friendship
 Limited size- a small primary group in society
 Formative Influence-that social environment that
trains and educate the child
 Nuclear Position- nucleolus of all social organisations/
social structure
 Responsibility of members of family
 Guided by Social regulations
Functions of Family
 Kingsley Davis says four main functions of Family-
Reproduction, Maintenance, Placement and
Socialisation
 Ogburn and Nimkoff have mentioned six major functions
of family
1. Affectional
2. Economic
3. Recreational
4. Religious
5. Protective
6 Educational
Cont...
 According MacIver- two types of Functions of family
 Primary or Essential-
 The stable satisfaction of sex needs
 Production and rearing of children and provision of a
home
 An instrument of Cultural transmission and agent of
socialisation
 Status ascribing functions
 Affectional needs(physical and mental needs )
 Secondary or Non- Essential-
 Religious
 Educational
 Economic
 Health and recreation and other functions
Changes in Functions of family
 Reproductive function of family
 Parental and educational functions of family
 Protective functions
 Economic functions
 Socialisation function of the family
 The Status ascription function
 The recreational functions
Forms of Family
 Polygamous or Polygyneous , Polyandrous and
Monogamous(on the basis of marriage)
 Matrilocal , Patrilocal and Family of changing
residence( on the basis of nature of residence)
 Patrilineal and Matrilineal- (on the basis of lineage or
ancestry)
 Matriarchal and Patriarchal ( on the basis of nature of
authority)
Cont...
 Single Unit Family(nuclear) and joint Family( on the
basis of size and structure )
 Conjugal Family and consanguine Family ( on the basis
of nature of relations)
Matriarchal
 Mother- cantered or mother dominated
 Mother is the head of the family and exercises
authority
 Owner of the property and manager of household
 Marriage relations are transient
 Descent is reckoned through mother
 Examples”: Garos and Khasis tribals in Assam, Nairs in
Kerala
Characteristics
 Descent , inheritance and succession through mother
 Matrilocal residence-Wife stays back in mother’s house,
husband lives in sister’s house and pays occasional visit to the
wife’s house and treated as privileged visitor and husband has
secondary position
 Exercise of power and authority: Exercised by mother, in
some families it is exercised by wife’s brother or father, (Malay
people by brother of wife and Labardar Indians by father
of wife)
 Structure of Family: Maternal family brings together the
kinsmen like wife, her mother and grandmother, her children
and brothers
 Property transferred through the mother and only females
succeed to it
Patriarchal
 Father centred and a father dominated family
 Owner and administrator of family
 Women have secondary position in the family
 Some important characteristics are :
 Descent, inheritance and property through male line,
Patrilineal in character, male children inherit the property of the
father , children are recognised and adopt the surname of father
 Patrilocal Residence- wife lives in husband ‘s house after
marriage
 Authority- Father or eldest male member is head of family and
takes all important decisions
 Examples: Hebrews, Greeks, Romans and Aryans of India
Nuclear Family
 A small group composed of husband, wife and their
children
 Children leave the parental household after marriage
 An autonomous unit free from the control of elders
 Confined to two generations
 Two kinds of nuclear family-The family of Orientation
(where person born and brought up)and the family of
procreation( which is established by his marriage)
 Two kinds of the structure of Nuclear Family- Nuclear
family which is relatively independent and another one
which is incorporated in or subordinated to a larger group
that is to the extended family
Recent Trends in Modern Nuclear
Family
 Industrialisation
 Urbanisation
 Democratic ideals
 The decline in the influence of religious beliefs,and spread
of secular attitude
 Spirit of individualism and romantic love
 Economic independence of women
 Emancipation of women
 Decline in Birth rate
 Divorce
 Parent and youth conflict
Functions of Modern Nuclear
Family
 Stable satisfaction of sex needs
 Procreation and upbringing of children
 Socialisation of children
 Provision of home
Joint Family
 Joint Family was the most common and uniform family
pattern found in India. It is the basis of Indian social
system
 K.M. Panikkar has said, “ the caste system, village system
and the joint Family can be regarded as the basic pillars of
the Indian social system”
 Also known as “extended Family” or “Undivided family”
 This family is prevailed among the Hindus as well as Non-
Hindus of Indian society
 It is said to be bed-rock on which Hindu values and
attitudes are built.
Cont...
Joint family has a long standing history of its own
Developed since Vedic period it has assumed
importance through Vedic period, Post- vedic period,
in the period of Epics, Puranas and even during
medieval period
In the modern period, it is still prevalent in Indian
society though its importance gradually decreasing
due to modernisation , urbanisation and
westernisation etc.
Definition
 Smt. Iravati Karve- “ Joint family may be defined as
“a group of people who generally live under one roof
who eat food cooked at one hearth,who hold property
in common,and who participate in common family
worship,and are related to each other as some
particular kindred”
 C.B.Memoria_” Joint family is a collection of more
than one primary family , the basis being close blood
ties,common residence,and patrilineal descent”
Characteristics
 Depth of generations
 Common Roof
 Common Kitchen
 Common worship
 Common Property
 Exercise of Authority or Karta’s authority
 Arranged Marriages
 Higher rate of procreation
 Mutual rights, responsibilities and obligations towards
family
 Self-sufficiency- fulfils educational,medical, recreational,
economic and other needs of members
Types of Joint Family
 Patrilineal Joint Family- Father centred( Led and
dominated by Eldest male member of family)
 Examples:Nambudris of Malabar(Illom), Mundas of
Chotnagpur, Angami Nagas of Assam
 Matrilineal Joint Family-Mother- dominated (led and
dominated by eldest woman)
 Examples: Nairs of Malabar(Tarawad),Khasis and Garo
hills of Assam
Merits of Joint Family
 Stable and durable
 Ensures economic progress
 Ensures economic expenditure
 Secures advantage of Division of labour
 Serves as social insurance company
 Provides social security
 Provides leisure
 Provides recreation also
 Helps social control
 Psychological security
 Promotes cooperative virtues
Demerits
 Retards the development of personality
 Damages individual initiative and enterprise
 Develops a sense of loyalty to the family rather than to
larger society
 Promotes idleness or home of idlers
 Not favourable for savings and investment
 Centre of quarrels
 Denies Privacy
 Undermines the status of women
 Encourages litigation
 Encourages nepotism
 Affect socialisation of children
Changes in the Joint Family
 Structure and functions of Joint family has undergone
many changes like Size of the family and depth of
generation, ownership of property, exercise of
authority, respectable status for women, Relations
among Mother-in-law, Daughter-in-law and Father-in-
law, Selection mates and conjugal relationship,
weakening family norms
 Joint family is taking the form of Dependent Nuclear
family
Functional changes of Family
 Regulation of Sex and procreation: Pre-marital and
extra marital sex relations are prohibited
 Open expression of love and affection of husband and
wife has now become common. Desire for children is
still felt by the members
 Provision of common Residence
 Religious Functions
 The task of upbringing of children and socialising
them continue to be associated with the family
 Economic functions
Causes of change
 Influence of Education-
 Impact of Modernisation
 Influence of Urbanisation
 Change in Marriage system
 Legislative measures- Child Marriage Restraint
act,1929, The Hindu Marriage Act 1955),Special
marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act,1956 etc..
 Influence of western values
 Awareness among women
Is Joint Family Disintegrating
 Not only changing fast but also tending towards
disintegration
 Joint family system still continuing in India
withstanding all the disintegrating forces
 Joint families though are changing fast continue to stay
relatively smaller size
 Though it is changing but forces of change are not
destroying the system as such
 It is not dying out
 One of the basic social institutions in India
 Plays significant role in the socialisation of
individuals
 Kinship means relatedness or connection by
blood or marriage or adoption or even social
ties
 “The bond of blood or marriage that bind
people together in group is called Kinship”
 Aberchrombie and others- “ The social
relationship deriving from blood ties(real and
supposed ) and marriage are collectively
referred to as Kinship”
 Important in Anthropology
 In simple societies, the kinship relations are
so extensive and influential that in effect
they in themselves constitute the social
system
 In complex societies it forms a small part of
the totality of the social relation which make
up the social system
 Governed by some basic principles called the
“facts of life”. Robin Fox speaks of four basic
principles
1. The women have the children
2. The men impregnate the women
3. The men usually exercise control
4. Primary kin do not mate with each other
These principles emphasise the basic biological
fact on which kinship system depends
 Consanguineous kinship-The relationship
based on blood ties is called Consanguineous
Kinship. The relatives so related are called
“consanguineous kin”
 Affinal Kinship- This kind of bond arises out
of socially or legally defined marital
relationship. Husband and wife are not
related to one another through blood. The
relatives so related are called “ affinal kin”
 Descent – a social recognition of the
biological relationship that exists between
two individuals
 A set of principles by which an individual
traces his/her descent
 There are three basic rules of descent
1. Patrilineal Descent
2. Marilineal descent
3. Bilateral descent- ex. Yako of Nigeria
 Establishes for every individual a network of
social positions in which he participates
 Rule of descent defines some rights of
inheritance and sucession
On the basis of nearness or distance, kins are classified.
They are
1. Primary kins- 8 primary kins- Members belong to
Nuclear family-
Examples: Husband and wife, Father-son, mother-
daughter etc..
1. Secondary kins- 33 secondary kins- Members in
Joint Family or outside Nuclear family
Examples: Mothers’ brother(mama), Fathers’ brother(
Chacha),Sister’s husband( Brother—n-law), Mother’s
sister(Masi)
1. Tertiary Kins- 151 tertiary kins-Refers to secondary
Kin
Examples: Wife’s brother’s son or daughter( nephew or
niece),Sister’s huband’s bother, husband’s Masi,
husband’s cousin , wife’s cousin etc..
 Kinship Usages(rules of Kinship) are significant in
understanding kinship system . It serve two main
purposes:
1. They create groups or special groupings or kin
Example:Family, extended family, clan etc
2. Kinship rules govern the role of relationships
among the kins.Provides guidelines for
interaction among persons in these social
groupings. Acts as a regulator of social life and
defines proper and acceptable role relationship.
Relations are regulated according usages
prevalent in society. Some of them are as
follows:
 Two kins normally of opposite sex should avoid
each other
 It also prescribes that men and women must
maintain certain amount of modesty in dress,
speech, gait and gesture in a mixed company
 Example: Father –in-law should avoid daughter –
in-law
 Bride must avoid mother-in-law’s brothers
 Son-in-law must avoid mother –in-law and wife’s
sisters
 Some societies like Yukafir, Ostiyak ,Aruntas,
Veddas of Cylone follow avoidance strictly
It serve two purposes:
1. Stop the development of complications in
the relations between the parties
concerned. Minimise the chance of the
development of open hostility in the
relations between the parties
2. Rule of avoidance exist because they
enforce incest taboos(said by Mudrock)
 It involves a particular combination of
friendliness and antagonism between
individuals and groups in social relations. In
these situations one individual is allowed to
mock or ridicule the other without offence
being taken”
 Examples: A man and his wife’s sisters,
relationship between grand sons and
daughters with grand parents
 Oraons of Orissa and Baigas of Madhya
Pradesh- fun relationship prevailed between
Grand children with Grandparents
A kin is not referred to directly but is
referred to through another kin
 Examples: wife does not directly utter the
name of her husband but refers to her
husband as the father of so and so
 “The special relationship that persists in
some societies between a person and his
mother’s brother”
 Examples: In matrilineal society – Mother’s
brother (mama) has authority over his sister’s
children-nephews and nieces or importance
of maternal uncle in the life of Nephews and
nieces
 This usage gives special role to the father’s
sister. Father’s sister(Bua) is given more
respect than mother’s sister(Maisi)
 Examples: Kongs of Polynesia, Thodas of
Nilgiri and Indian society itself
 This usage involves only husband and wife
 In this usage, husband is made to lead a life
of an invalid along with his wife whenever
she gives birth to a child
 Examples: found in Khasis and Thodas of
India,the Karibs of South America
 It contributes strong marital bond between
husband and wife
Social Stratification
 All societies arrange their members in terms of superiority,
inferiority and equality.
 The placing of people in strata or layer is called Social
stratification
 Social stratification refers to arrangement of any
social group or society into a hierarchy of positions
that are unequal with regard to power, property,social
evaluation and psychic gratification”
 Caste and class are the two important forms of social
stratification
 They decide the position that a man occupies in the
society
Caste system
 Caste system is the basic form of social stratification of
Indian society.
 One of the basic pillars of the Indian society (other two -
Joint family system and village system)
 Caste is closely connected with the Hindu philosophy
and religion, customs and traditions, marriage and
family , morals and manners, food and dress habits ,
occupations and hobbies.
 The caste system is believed to have a divine origin and
sanction
 It is deep rooted and long lasting social institution of India
 There are more than 2800 castes and sub-castes found
in India
Cont....
 The term ‘caste’ is derived from the Spanish word
‘casta’ meaning ‘breed or ‘lineage’. It also signifies
race or a complex of hereditary qualities.
 The Portuguese used the term ‘caste’ first to
denote the divisions of the Indian caste system.
 The Sanskrit word for caste is ‘varna’ (colour)
 Races and colour seem to be the bases of Indian
caste in addition to division of labour and
occupation.
 The popular equivalent term for caste in India is “Jati”
Origin of caste system
 The caste system had its origin in the ‘Chaturvarna ‘
system. According to this system, The Hindu society
was divided into four main Varnas namely:
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas and the
Shudras.
 The Varna system of the Vedic period was mainly
based on the division of labour and occupation
 The present caste system can be said to be the
degenerated form of the original Varna system
 Varnas are four in number but castes are found to be
hundreds and thousands
Definition of Caste
 Williams: “ Caste is a system in which an individual’s
rank and its accompanying rights and obligations is
ascribed on the basis of birth into a particular group.”
 C.H. Coley:” When a class is somewhat strictly
hereditary, we may call it a caste”
Characteristics of Caste
 A hierarchical division of society
 Segmental division of society
 Restrictions on food habits
 Restrictions on Social relations
 Civil and religious disabilities
 Restrictions on occupational choice
 Restrictions on Marriage-practice endogamy- marriage
within own caste, importance on Sapinda and Sagotra
Exogamy, Sapravara marriages are forbidden
 Caste system in Modern Times
 Some changes have taken place in Caste system of
India after its independence . Traditional features
have been radically altered. So caste has assumed a
different form in Modern Times.
 We will highlight the important changes in caste
system of India
 Two categories of changes:
1. Changes in Traditional features of Caste
2. Changes in role of functioning of the caste
 Changes in Traditional features of
caste
1. Caste is no more believed to be divine origin. It is
being given more a secular and social meaning rather
than religious interpretation
2. Restrictions on food habits have been relaxed in
urban areas but in rural areas this social taboos are
still found . Interdining is not found in rural areas
3. Caste is not very much associated with hereditary
occupations. Occupations are now more “caste free”
Cont...
 Endogamy , the very essence of caste system is still present
though inter-caste marriages have legally permitted by
government(The special marriage act of 1872)
 Civil and religious privileges which the Brahmins enjoyed
are no more enjoyed by them as Constitution of India has
removed all such privileges and established equality in
society
 Most of the legal, political, educational, economic and
other disabilities suffered by lower castes have been
removed by Constitutional provisions like’ reservation’ and
‘adult franchise’, equality before law etc.
Cont...
 Caste continued to be segmental division of Hindu
society. But the process of Sanskritisation and
Westernisation have made possible of social mobility
both within and outside of the caste framework
 Caste Panchayats which used to control the
behaviour and customs of caste-members have
become weak
 Distinction between ‘touchable and ‘untouchable’
is not much felt in the community of educated
people . But in certain villages of India the instances
of untouchably is found but in different manner
Cont...
 Casteism has become still stronger instead of
disappearing in the wake of modernism
 The ‘Jajmani’ system which used to govern the caste
relations has become very weak and in some places it
has been disappeared
 Caste has much of its hold over the social usages and
customs practiced by its members
 Caste today does not dictate individual’s life nor
does it restrict newly valued individual freedom
and the progress of individual
Changes in the role of caste
 Increase in the organisation power of caste due to caste
consciousness and every caste wants to safeguard its
interests- organised on the mode of labour unions
 Caste based politics- Caste has become an important
aspect of Indian politics
 Protection of SCs and Backward classes through
reservation policy
 Increase in caste organisations to obtain loyalty of their
members and to strengthen caste-identity , caste loyalty
and solidarity .They have their own bulletins, periodicals,
monthlies ,papers etc.- establishment of caste based trusts,
cooperative societies
Cont...
 Competitive role of castes – each caste look at other
with suspicion,contempt, jealousy and finds it a
challenger or competitor
 Backward class movement by Jyotiba Phule,
Ramaswamy Naicker, B.R. Ambedkar
 Sanskritisation and westernisation
Cont...
 Sanskritisation : It is a process in which the lower
castes try to adopt the values, beliefs ,practices and
other life styles of upper castes to acquire higher status
 Example: they give up meat eating, drinking liquor and
sacrificing animals etc. and imitate Brahmins or
Kshatriyas in matter of dress, food and rituals
 The low castes of Mysore adopted the way of life of
Lingayats
 Brahminisation: If the lower castes imitate only the
life style , beliefs , ideology of Brahmins
Cont..
 Westernisation: It is a process in which the upper caste
people tend to imitate and adopt the life style of
westerners. It is mainly refer to the impact of British rule
on Indian society
 Example: Brown Babus during British period
 The term westernisation explains the changes that have
taken place in Indian society and culture due to the
western contact through British rule
 Modern day Indian society is very much westernised
society
 These concepts were introduced by Prof. M.N. Srinivasan
Causes for the changes in Caste
system
 Uniform Legal system(all men are equal before law)
 Impact of modern education
 Industrialisation, Urbanisation and westernisation
 Influence of modern transport and communication
 Freedom struggle and establishment of democracy
 Rise of Non-Brahmin movement by Jyotiba Phule ,
Babasaheb Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi etc.
 Establishment of Backward classes commission at the
central and State levels
Cont...
 Social Legislations like Caste Disability Act,1872. The Hindu
marriage act,1955 ,The Untouchabilty offences Act of 1956
 Social Reforms Movements by Satyasodhak Samaj, Brahma
Samaj., Prathna Samaj, Arya Samaj,Sri Ramakrishna
Mission(second half of 19th and early 20th centuries)for removal
of evil practices of India
 Impact of the West- Influence of western ideas and thought like
rationalsim, secularism.liberalism,humanitarianism etc.
 Threat of conversion-
 Improvement of status of women and evolution of new social
classes (working class, capitalist class, middle class etc.)
Critical Evaluation of caste System
Merits:
 Caste represents a harmonious division of society based on
division of labour and occupation. It defines the economic
pursuits of an individual
 It promotes the spirit of cooperation and fellow feeling among he
members of same caste
 Source of social stability, social security and protection.It creates
an efficient organisation of Hindu society without giving any
chance to class frictions and fractions(class struggles)
 It helps in cultural diffusion as the caste culture is passed from
one generation to the next very systematically
 Maintains racial purity
 An agent of socialisation
Cont...
This system has established so many evil
practices(demerits). These are as follows
 It is an obstacle to national unity. According to Dr.
G.S Ghurye, “It is the spirit of caste-patriotism which
engenders opposition to other castes and creates an
unhealthy atmosphere for the growth of national
consciousness”
Cont...
 It has divided Hindu society into mutually hostile and
conflicting groups and subgroups.
 It has given scope to inhuman practice of
untouchability. According to Mahatma Gandhi,
“Untouchability is the hatefullest expression of
the caste”
 The caste system is undemocratic as it denies equal
rights to all irrespective of their caste, creed, or colour
 It has also prevented the proper growth of democracy
as democracy and caste can not go together
Cont....
 It has retarded the growth of solidarity and brotherhood in the
Hindu society by separating one caste from another and denying
any type of social relationship between them

 It has also lowered the status of women as in a caste ridden society

women have only a subordinate position to play

 It has also given scope for religious conversion(to christianity and

Islam ) of lower caste people to be free from tyranny of upper castes

 Last but not the least it has retarded the social and economic
progress of the country
A documentary film by K. Stalin
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM85zVt6xCU
 India Untouched: Stories of a People Apart
Cont..
 In summing up we can say that though the influence
of caste system is slowly decreasing in Indian society, it
continues as before as there is very little changes in
the attitude and mentality of the people.
 The caste system is still a part of Hindu religious order
and enjoys the sanction of scriptures
 The village, the heart of Hindu social organisation , is
the seat of caste , at its strongest.
Social Class
 Social class is a type of Social Stratification in modern
civilised societies
 Social class is a segment of society with all the
members of all ages and both the sexes who share the
same general status
 Ogburn and Nimkoff- “ A social class is the
aggregate of persons having essentially the same status
in a given society”
 MacIver and Page- “ A social class in any portion of
the community marked off from the rest by social
status.”
Nature and Characteristics
 Class is essentially a status group(factors like income,
occupation,wealth,education, “life styles” etc. decide the status
of a person)
 An achieved status and not ascribed status
 It is universal
 Mode of feeling – Three modes of feeling- feeling of equality,
feeling of inferiority, feeling of superioity
 Element of Prestige – Every class has status associated with
prestige
 A social class is a stable group
 Every class is distinguished from other classes by its mode of
living or life styles( mode of dress, kind of house,and
neighbourhood one lives in, means of recreation,mode of
communication, conveyance, way of spending money etc..)
Cont....
 Social class- an open group
 Social class- an economic group
 Classification of Classes-Upper class, Middle class and lower
class –
 Two subclasses of each class by Warner and Lunt- Upper
class(Upper-upper class, the lower upper class ). Middle
class(Upper middle class and lower middle class) , Lower
class(upper lower class and lower-lower class)
 Karl Marx- Two major classes- Haves and Have-nots or rich and
poor or the capitalists and workers or Bourgeosie and proletariats
 Class consciousness –the sentiment that characterises the
relation of men towards the members of their own and other
classes
Criterion of Class
A) Subjective Criteria-
1. Class Consciousness
2. Class solidarity
3. Class identifications
B) Objective Criteria-
1. wealth, property, income,
2. Family or kinship
3. Location of residence
4. Occupation
5. Level of education
6. Physical marks of difference such as skin or colour
Marxian Analysis of Class
 Social class is those group of people who share a
common relationship to the means of economic
production
 Those won and control the means of production are
dominant Class. They exercise power as they are the
owners of means of production
 Means of production include factories, and the
machinery and raw materials for manufacturing goods
 They are also called as Bourgeoise or capitalists or
owners of property
Cont...
 Those who work for dominant class are called as
Subordinate class- Proletariat or the labour class
or working class or poor class
 Members of this class own only their labour which
they hire out to the owners of industry in return for
wages.
 They are the producing class
 They were being oppressed and exploited
Cont...
 The relationship between two classes is not only one
of dominance and subordination but also of
exploitation
 They produce more wealth in form of food, manufactured
products and services than is necessary to meet their basic
needs(surplus wealth)
 But they don’t enjoy the surplus wealth which was taken by
Capitalists (who are non-producing class)
 This is the source of conflict between two classes
 Marx and Angel have talked about class struggle and
communist revolution for the end of exploitation
Difference b/w Caste and Class
Caste Class
1. Particular and unique in 1. Universal
India 2. Achieved Status
2. Ascribed status 3. Open System( provides for
3. Closed System(restricts social mobility)
social mobility) 4. Secular as it has nothing to
4. Believed to have Divine do with religion
Origin 5. Feeling of disparity
5. Purity and Impurity 6. Less control and regulation
6. Controls and Regulate s the over the relations of its
relations of its members members
7. Greater Social Distance 7. Less Social distance
Cont..
Caste
8. Conservative, orthodox and
reactionary
9. Endogamous Group
10. Complex system(2800 castes
and sub-castes )
11. Caste Consciousness-
dangerous to democracy
and national integration
Class
8. Progressive
9. Not Endogamous
10. Simplicity( three classes)
11. Class consciousness- not
inimical to democracy and
national integrity
Power
 A fundamental entity of human society
 Max Weber- :” the ability to control the behaviour of
others, even in the absence of their consent”
 Ian Robertson- “ Power is the capacity to participate
effectively in a decision making process”
 “Power may be defined a the capacity to get things
done despite obstacles and resistance”
 Power may be exercised legally or illegally , justly or
unjustly. It derives from many sources like wealth,
statu, prestige, numbers, or organisational efficiency.
Cont..
 Power is identified in different ways
1. Power and prestige are closely linked- powerful persons
or groups tend to be prestigious and prestigious persons
or groups powerful
2. Close connection of Power and influence- Influence is
persuasive where poweris coercive
3. Power and dominance—Power is sociological while
dominance is Psychological
4. Power and rights-
5. Power, force and authority- power is latent force,force is
manifest power and authority is institutionalised power-
power makes both force and authority possible
Cont...
 Max Weber says that every society is based on power
 Power is defined as the ability to achieve desired ends
despite resistance from others
 The use of power is the business of government, a
formal organisation that directs the political life of a
society
 Most government do not openly threaten their people
but people accept their society’s political system
Power and Authority
 When government tries to make itself seem
legitimate in the eyes of the people. This leads to
authority
 Authority is the power that people perceive as
legitimate rather than coercive
 Authority serves as the foundation of social order
 Authority may be political or non-political
 Every association in the society- may be permanent or
temporary or small or big has its own structure of
authority
Types of Authority
 According to Max Weber, there are three types of
authority’
 Traditional authority
 Rational-legal authority
 Charismatic authority
Traditional Authority
 When people accept a system , usually one of hereditary
leadership, simply because it has always been that way
 In a political system, this authority is legitimated by
ancient custom
 It is the most source of legitimate power (from historical
point of view)
 Tribal leader, village head or king or monarch have
always relied on traditional authority
 Traditional authority remains strong as long as everyone
share the same beliefs and way of life
 The industrialisation, social change and cultural diversity
combinely weaken the traditional authority
Cont....
 Examples: Established Churches, Hereditary rulers of
ancient period , Kingship of UK and Japan etc..
 Gandhi family, Raje in Rajasthan , Scindia in Gwalior,
Abdullah in Jammu and Kashmir
 Traditional authority is a source of strength for
patriarchy, the domination by men over women
 This domination of power is still widespread ,
although it is increasingly challenged
 Less controversial is Parents have authority over
children
Rational-legal authority
 Called as Bureaucratic authority/ democratic government
 It stresses “government of laws, not of peoples”
 Power legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations
 Rules and regulations are found in a written constitution
 This kind of authority found in most of the political
systems of modern societies
 Officials can exercise power only within legally defined
limits that have been formally set in advance
 Bureaucracy is that organisation that dominates in rational
thinking of modern societies
Cont....
 Rationally enacted rules also guide the use of power in
everyday life
 The governing body is either elected or appointed
 Examples: Council of ministers of a State, PM or
President of country, Authority of deans , director in
any institute and teachers in classroom
Charismatic Authority
 Power legitimized by extraordinary personal abilities
that inspires devotion and obedience/ exceptional or
supernatural qualities that people attribute to a
political/religious or military leader
 It depends less on a person’s ancestry or office but
more on personality
 Max Weber call this extraordinary qualities as “
Charisma”
 Examples: Jesus of Nazareth , Adolf Hitler, Mahatma
Gandhi, Martin Luther king, Winston Churchill etc...
 Charismatic authority flows from a single individual
Cont...
 Survival of Charismatic movement, requires the
routinization of Charisma, the transformation of
charismatic authority into some combination of
traditional and bureaucratic authority
 Example: After the death of Jesus, his followers
institutionalised his teachings in a church, built on
tradition and bureaucracy
 Roman Catholic Church has lasted for 2,000 years
Authority and Status
 Authority and Status are interrelated
 An individual exercises the authority of a status as long
as he occupies that status
 Authority could not be exercised when a person
resigns, or removed or his tenure of office is over
 The exercise of authority is wholly a function of
associational status
Ethnicity
 The term Race refers to the genetically transmitted physical
characteristics of different human groups and the term
“Ethnicity” refers to culturally acquired differences
 People who share distinctive physical characeristics defined as
race and those who share similar cultural traits are socially
defined as ethnic group.
 A race may mean all of humanity(the human race),a nationality(
a German race) or even a group (Jewish race)
 Almost any kind of category of people may be called as “race”
 N.J. Smelser, “Racial group is a kind of ethnic group , one that is
set apart from others by some combination of inherited
biological traits such as skin, colour, facial features and stature”
Classification of Races
 The Caucasoid race- Europe, Middle East and India
 The Mongoloid race- China, Nepal, Korea, Japan ,
Vietnam etc.
 The Negroid Race- Black African People and American
Negroes
 These classification have been criticised and
discredited for following reasons:
 No fixed set of physical Traits to classify Races
 Interbreeding has blurred the physical traits
 Physical differences are due to adaptations
 The concept of Pure Race is a myth
 Race assumes importance as its a social fact not
biological fact
Cont....
 Ethnicity is a shared cultural heritage.
 People define themselves –or –others- as
members of an ethnic category based on common
ancestry, language,or religion that gives them a
distinct social identity.
 The ethnic group or ethnicity signify cultural
features such as- language ,religion,national
origin, dietary practices ,a sense of common
historical heritage, or other distinctive cultural
traits.
Cont...
 According to Milton Gordon, the word ethnicity comes from
the Greek word” Ethos” which means people or nation.
 Ethnic group think of themselves as a people or nation or viewed
by others as culturally different
 Ethnicity is a sense of people hood or nationhood. Its
members share common culture and feel themselves set apart
from other groups
 Richard T. Schaefer- “ An ethnic group is set apart from others
primarily because of its national origin or distinctive cultural
patterns”
 J.Milton Yinger- “ An ethnic group is a segment of a large
society whose members are thought, by themselves or others, to
have a shared culture”
Essential Aspects of Ethnic group
 Three important elements of Ethnic group , according
to J.M.Yinger
1. Outsiders view of the group
2. Insider view of themselves
3. Participation in Common Activities
Other Aspects of Ethnic Group
 Membership through biological continuity
 Maintenance of a sense of people hood
Differences b/w Race and Ethnic
groups
Race Ethnicity
 Physical characteristics  Cultural features
 Characteristics are mostly  Cultural traits acquire from
inherited its environment
Cont...
 Though race is constructed on biological differences
and ethnicity is constructed from cultural traits, but
two often go hand in hand.
 Example: Indians and Indians in America share a
common genetic heritage but they hold a very
different cultural norms and values
 Same Sindhi community in Pakistan and in India have
same physical characteristics but different cultural
values and norms
Meaning and Definition
 Social mobility refers to the shift in an individual’s
social status from one to another. The shift can either
be higher, lower, inter-generational, or intra-
generational.
 The upward or downward movement of the status of
the people in society is called as Social Mobility
 Wallace and Wallace – “ social mobility is the
movement of a person or persons from one social
status to another”
 W.P. Scot- “ the movement of an individual or group
from one social class or social stratum to another”
Individual and Group Mobility
 Individual mobility –When a person moves upward
or downward status , it is called individual mobility.
 Example: Rise of Mr.Narendra Modi from a tea
seller to PM of India
 Sri Narayan Swamy from poor family to head of Infosys
 Jimmy Carter – from a farmer to President of America
 Sri Ram Nath Govind- President of India
 Group Mobility- When any group or family attains
high or low social mobility
 Examples:
 Jews in America
 Parsis in India
 Tribals of India
Types of Social Mobility
 According to American sociologist P.A.Sorokin, there are
two types of Social Mobility.
 Vertical Social Mobility- Movement of an individual or
group from one status to another
 It involves change in class, occupation or power positions
 Example: movement of people from lower class to middle
class, From clerk to Manager
 Horizontal Social Mobility: A change in position without
the change in status(movement from one status to its
equivalent status)
 Example: Change in Job from Engineer to professor in
Engineering college, From Manager to Businessman
Different Forms of Vertical Mobility
 Upward Vertical Mobility-upward movement of a
person or group in the status scale
Example: from Clerk to Manager, from Research
Associate to Assistant Professor
 Downward mobility-(social failure or social
descendance )-downward movement of a person in
status scale
Example: From Manager to Salesperson, From
businessman to a worker
.
 Inter-generational social mobility- Change in upward or
downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents
/ Change in the status of family members from one generation to
another
 Example: A driver’s son becoming a IAS officer
 Intra-generational social mobility- A change in social
position occurring during a person’s lifetime
Example: From Manager to Chief Manager, Clerk to manager
 Structural mobility- A shift in hierarchical position of an entire
class of individuals over time in society
 Examples: Change in Socio-economic environment lead to
upward or downward mobility of a group
 Now computer Engineers have more status than Civil
Engineers
Causes of Vertical Mobility
 The necessity of filling vacant positions
 Obtaining eligibility by imitating the life-styles of the
upper strata
 To fill in the social vacuum created
 Ability to perform the tasks assigned
 Effect of widespread change in the social- cultural and
political environment
 Readiness for mobility by individuals or groups
Interrelationship b/w social
mobility and social stratification
 Social stratification refers to the process of placing
people in different layers or strata
 Class and caste are two main types of social
stratification
 In both the systems, same kind of opportunities are
not provided for social mobility
 There is close link between the way in which
individuals obtain the statuses and the nature
and type of social mobility
Cont...
 In caste system, the status, determined on the basis of caste can not be
changed
 Caste system is called as a ‘closed system ‘and the ‘immobile’
society. No social mobility in caste system
 Closed societies based on ascribed statuses
 In class system, there is opportunity for social mobility
 Status is determined on the basis of talents,intelligence, wealth,and
achievements of the persons
 Status is not achieved by birth but by individual ‘s ability and attempts
 So Class system is an ‘ Open system’ and the open class society is
“mobile society’
 Open societies based on achieved statuses
 Indian society is neither a completely open and mobile societies
nor a completely closed and immobile societies
Factors promoting social mobility
 Education
 Occupations and economic activities- change in
occupation from father to son, change or promotion of a
person from lower to higher paid occupation- Status
depend upon economic activities like agriculture ,business,
film industry, hotel industry etc...
 Religious Institutions-
 Political Institutions-
 Family and marriage- Hypergamy and Hypogamy
marriages
 Windfall or luck factor-
Determinants of social Mobility
 Amount of mobility- less opportunities in traditional
agricultural societies, greater opportunities in
Industrial societies
 Condition of Mobility- Pre-industrial society or rural
society(restrictions on change of status) and Industrial
society or urban society (more importance on
individulals’abilities, knowledgeetc..)
Mobility of women
 Mobility on the basis of marriage
 On the basis of Husband’s status
 Today , status of women has changed on the basis of
education and professions
Consequences and Importance of
social mobility
 Positive Consequences
1. Provides opportunity for the expression of individual
talents
2. Acts as a safety –valve- provides opportunity for social
mobility
3. Provides equal chances or opportunities for social
mobility
4. Provides opportunity for job selection or change and lead
to job satisfaction
5. Improvement in life style
6. Provide opportunity for competition
7. Reposes confidence in the established system
Cont....
 Negative consequences:
1. Rising expectation lead to dissatisfaction and frustration
2. An open class society may impose penalties also(fear of
falling in status or downward mobility, strains in new role
learnings, sfaety and security in high positions)
3. It often demands geographic mobility
4. High rate of mental illness is associated with mobility
due to burden of new responsiblities, new challenges and
compromise with new situations etc...
5. Downward mobility creates mental disturbances due to
mental anxiety and tension
Some Aspects of Social Mobility
 Sanskritisation
 Brahminisation
 Westernisation
 Modernisation
Sanskritisation
 This concept was introduced by Indian Sociologist
Prof. M.N. Srinivas
 First used the term “ Brahminisation” in his research
study” Religion and society among the Coorgs”
 Later on, he replaced it by Sanskritisation
 “Sanskritisation refers to the process in which
lower castes try to imitate and adopt the life-
styles of upper castes in their attempt to raise
their status”
Cont...
 Sanskritisation is a much broader term than
Brahminisation
 The reference groups of Sanskritisation are not always
Brahmins, but also Khatriyas, Vaisyas, Jats etc...
 Brahminisation denotes to the process in which one
person of lower caste try to adopt the life style,
customs, rituals of Brahmins only
Westernisation
 According to M.N. Srinivas, “ Westernisation refers to “
the changes brought about in Indian Society and
culture as a result of 150 years of British rule and the
term subsumes changes occurring at different levels-
technology,institutions, ideology,values” (“Social
Change in Modern India “ by M.N. Srinivas)
 The upper class and middle class people try to orient
the behaviour, attitude , beliefs, and life-styles of the
westerners
 They adopt the western style of dressing and dining
Cont...
 Mahatma Gandhi has written in his “Autobiography” ,
the educated Indian undertook the task of “ becoming
English gentlemen in their dress,
manners,habits,choices,preferences. Etc.”
 Called as Brown Babus
Modernisation
 It does not denote any philosophy or movement , but it
only symbolises a process of change. Modernisation
is understood as a process which indicates the
adoption of the modern ways of life and values
 It also refers to change in economy and its related
effect on social values and practices
 Daniel Learner says” modernisation is the current
term for an old process of social change whereby less
developed societies acquire the characteristics
common to more developed societies”
Cont...
 Smelser says” Modernisation refers to a complex set of
changes that take place almost in every part of society
as it attempt to be industrialised.Modernisation
involves ongoing changes in a society’s economy
,politics,education , traditions and religion”
Criteria of Modernity
 Industrialisation of economy and adopting a scientific
technology in industry, agriculture, diary farming etc..
 Secularisation of ideas
 Geographical and social mobility
 A spread of scientific and technical education
 Change from ascribed status to achieved status
 Increase in material standard of living
 High expectancy of life at birth
 Urbanisation
Causes of Modernisation
 Education
 Mass Communication- means of spreading modern ideas
at a faster rate
 Ideology based on Nationalism- democracy and
nationalism
 Charismatic leadership
 Coercive Government authority- a strong and stable govt.
Compel people to accept modern values and way of life
 Urbanisation and Industrialisation
 Universal legal system
Comparative study of
Sanskritisation and Westernisation
Sanskritisation Westernisation
 Taboo on meat eating and  Promote meat eating and
consumption of alcohol consumption of alcohol
 Promote sacred outlook  Promote secular outlook
 No Taboo regarding marriage,  Taboo in marriage and
widowhood , remarriage and widowhood , remarriage,
divorce divorce etc.
Westernisation and Modernisation
Westernisation
 Too local a label
 Behavioural aspects like
eating, drinking, dressing
etc.and knowledge aspects
like literature and science etc.
and the values like
humanitarianism,equalitaria
nism and secularism
Modernisation
 Broader one and has a wide
range of application
 Involves a transformation of
social, political and economic
organisation
Cont..
westernisation Modernisation
 It is a middle class  A mass process involving
phenomenon mass media
 Inadequate and limited  Based on rationalist and
outlook positive spirit
Introduction
 The social order of every society is being maintained by
normative system( system of rules or norms which the
people are expected to accept, follow and appreciate)
 When people act in consonance with the norms called
conformists , but when they go against them, they
become deviants
 Deviance is the recognised violation of cultural norms
 It is the act of going against the group shared expectations
and norms
 Conformity implies behaving in accordance with the
norms
Cont...
 The violation of norms can be categorized as two
forms, formal deviance and informal deviance.
Formal deviance can be described as a crime, which
violates laws in a society. Informal deviance are minor
violations that break unwritten rules of social life
 Examples: Cheating, dishonesty, crime, adultery,
unfairness, betrayal, corruption, gambling , stealing
etc...
Definitions
 Orville G. Brim- “ Deviance can be defined as a
failure to conform to the expectations of other
persons”
 Lois Weston- “ Deviance can be defined as behaviour
that is contrary to the standards of conduct or social
expectations of a given group or society”
Social Conformity
 Conformity: Conformists accept society's goals and the
socially acceptable means of achieving them (e.g.:
monetary success is gained through hard work).
 Conformity is action that is oriented to a social norm
or norms and falls within the range of behaviour
permitted by the norm
 Merton claims that conformists are mostly middle-class
people in middle class jobs who have been able to access
the opportunities in society such as a better education to
achieve monetary success through hard work
 Conformity implies behaving in accordance with the
norms
 An individual consciously approves of a particular
behaviour and is prepared to follow the same
 Examples: Respect to Elders, showing respect to
National flag, Follow the traffic rules strictly etc..
Types of Social Deviance
 Innovation
 Ritualism
 Retreatism
 Rebellion
Cont...
 Conformity: when a person accepts both goals and
means , it is called conformity
 Innovation- Accepts the goals of culture but reject the
traditional means of attaining these goals
 Example: Smugglers, mafia etc. ( adopt dishonest
means to get money)
 An IIM Graduate engage himself in innovative way of
doing farming and agricultural business (Positive
social deviance)
Cont..
 Ritualism: Reject the goals but achieve or accept the
means to achieve goals, They regard rules as sacred
 Ritualists are such deviants who refuse to take courageous
and possibly dangerous action demanded by true
adherence to values
 They take neutral and safe behaviour who looks like
descent conformity
 Although ritualism is a form of conformity, it can also be
seen as a means of relieving strain. A person that deviates
from the accepted norms is likely to feel a certain
amount of strain or pressure in doing so.
 Examples: Giving salute by a policeman to a corrupted
Politician even though he has no interest
Retreatism
 Reject both values (goals) and norms(means) of
society by a person
 They care little of the values of the society. It is one
type of dropping out of the society. They reject both
the success and respectable occupational activities
 Examples: chronic drunkards or a drug addict or
outcaste- they have no interest in values and
norms of society,
Example: A homeless person who has no means to
get a home or has no interest to reach that goal by
any means
Rebellion
 Rebellious deviants not only reject the goals and
means but take positive attempt to replace them with
alternative values
 Examples: Political revolutionaries , Religious
Prophets, Reformers etc.
 Bhagat Singh, Vladimir Lenin, Martin Luther
King, Abraham Lincoln, Iswar Chandra
Vidyasagar, Rammohan Roy
Factors facilitating Deviance
 Faulty Socialisation
 Weak sanctions to establish social control or enforce norms in a
society- no rewards and punishment
 Poor enforcement- sanctions are stronger but poor enforcement due to
lack of staff or any other reason
 Ease of rationalisation- the violators try to satisfy their conscience by
inventing some rationalisations(EX. corrupted traffic police )
 Unjust or corrupt enforcement-
 Ambivalence of the agents of social control- ambivalence attitude of a
person leads to crime /deviant activities
 Sentiments of loyalty to deviant groups
 Indefinite range of norms-( EX. No particular definite norms for the
concept of patriotism)
 Secrecy of violations- (EX. sex crimes, illegal abortions etc...)
Social Significance of Deviant
behaviour
 Deviance and Disorganisation- Deviance may be
destructive of organisation at least in three ways-
1. It is more or less a less or defect of a critical part on a
complicated mechanism
2. It may undermine organisation by destroying
people’s willingness to play their parts
3. The most destructive impact of deviance is through
its impact on trust , on confidence that others will by
and large , play by the rules
 Deviance may make positive contributions to the
stability and vitality of social organisation-
1. Deviance provides solutions to some typical , recurrent
problems
2. It acts as a safety valve function by preventing excessive
accumulation of discontent
3. It may clarify the rules
4. It helps in the unity of the group against the deviant
5. It also helps to unite the group on behalf of deviant
6. The contrary effect- Increase in conformity and
appreciation for it
7. Acts as a warning signal for the society
 Emile Durkheim says that deviance was in fact a normal
and necessary part of social organization. He Gives four
important functions of deviance:
1. "Deviance affirms cultural values and norms. Any
definition of virtue rests on an opposing idea of vice:
“There can be no good without evil and no justice
without crime."
2. Deviance defines moral boundaries, people learn right
from wrong by defining people as deviant.
3. A serious form of deviance forces people to come together
and react in the same way against it.
4. Deviance pushes society's moral boundaries which, in
turn leads to social change.
Conclusion
 Social Deviance is a basic part of social organisation. By
defining deviance, society sets its moral boundaries.
 Deviance is variable: Any act or person may or may not be
labelled deviant
 Deviant results from social inequality
 Deviance leads to social change as without any deviant
behaviour , it would be difficult to adopt a culture
according to the changing needs and circumstances of
society
 That ‘s why social deviance is very needed in a changing
society but much deviation is destructive for the society.
Some Questions
 Differentiate between Conformity and deviance with
examples
 What are the different types of Deviance? Explain
them with examples.
 Discuss any five factors that facilitate deviance.
 What are the positive functions of deviance?
 How does social deviance pose a danger to the stability
of social order?