Sociology Class 12 NCERT Notes Chapter 6

The Challenges of Cultural Diversity

Assimilation: A process of cultural unification and homogenization by which
newly entering or subordinate groups lose their distinctive culture and adopt

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the culture of the dominant majority. Assimilation may be forced or voluntary.
Authoritarianism: A system of government that does not derive its legitimacy

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from the people. Neither democratic nor republican form of government.

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Civil Society: The sphere of society that lies beyond the family but is not part
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of either state or market. The arena of voluntary association and organization
formed for cultural, social, religious or other non-commercial and non-state
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collective pursuits.

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Colonialism: The ideology by which a country seeks to conquer and colonise
(forcibly settle, rule over) another. The colony becomes a subordinate part of
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the coloniser’s country, and is exploited in various ways for the colonizing
country’s gain.
Communalism: Chauvinism based on religious identity. The belief that
religion supersedes all other aspects of a person’s or group’s identity. Usually
accompanied by an aggressive and hostile attitude towards persons and
groups of other religious (or non-religious) identities.
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Community: A general term for any distinctive group whose members are
connected to each other by consciously recognized commonalities and bonds
of kinship, language, culture and so on. Belief in these commonalities is more
important than actual proof of their existence.

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Democracy: A form of government which derives its legitimacy from the people,
and relies on explicit popular endorsement through elections or other method of

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ascertaining the people’s opinion.

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Diversity (Cultural Diversity): The presence within the larger national,
regional or other context of many different kinds of cultural communities such as

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those defined by language, religion, region, ethnicity and so on. A multiplicity or
plurality of identities.
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Integration: A process of cultural unification whereby cultural distinctions are
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relegated to the private domain and a common public culture is adopted for all

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groups. This usually involves the adoption of the dominant culture as the official

Nation: A community that believes itself to be a community, based on several

shared characteristic such as common language, geographical location, history,
religion, race, ethnicity, political aspiration, etc. However, nations may exist
without one or more of such characteristics. A nation is comprised of its people,
who are the ultimate guarantors of its existence, meaning and powers.
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Nation-State: A particular type of state, characteristic of the modem world, in
which a government has sovereign power within a defined territorial area, and the
mass of the population are citizens who know themselves to be part of a single
nation.
Nationalism: Commitment, usually passionate commitment, to one’s nation and

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everything related to it. Putting the nation first, being biased in its favour, etc.,
makes the community distinctive and unique.

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Pluralism: The existence, within a society of a variety of ethnic, cultural and
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religious groups.

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Regionalism: The ideology of commitment to a particular regional identity which
could be based on language, ethnicity and other characteristics in addition to
geography.

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Secularism: There are different versions:

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(a) The doctrine by which the state is kept strictly separate from religion, i.e.,
separation of church and state’ as in western societies,
(b) The doctrine by which the state does not discriminate between different
religions and shows equal respect to all.
(c) The popular sense of the antithesis of communalism, i.e., an attitude that is
not in favour of or against any religion.
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• It does not mean inequality but it is the difference in
terms of culture, languages, regions, religions, beliefs,
customs, races, etc.

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• Unity in diversity even though we have different
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religions, etc. and we are different, we stand together as
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one, as Indians.
• Diversity in Unity-in spite ofs s .
belonging to one country

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each state has its own language, custom, culture, etc.

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Community Identity
• A group of people who are together due to infrastructure, resources, facilities.
• Most of the time community identity is ascribed status and you learn to love them.
• There is no choice in selecting all of these and you start loving them and no one can say
anything against it.

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• It can also be achieved but it is very individualistic.

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• Community identity is universal as it is present everywhere (every religion, country) in

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terms of mother tongue or culture, values, beliefs, etc.

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• Virtue is the good qualities of person, nations love for one’s country, honesty, etc.

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• Vice is excess of bad qualities excess of alcohol, drugs, boy/girl friend

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• We always downplay one’s vices and emphasize on the virtues.

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• When two countries or groups are in conflict with each other, very rarely does one country
or group accept they are wrong. Even though either both are wrong or one is wrong.
• We always emphasize on the other persons vices and downplay one’s own vices.
Communities, Nation, Nation State
• A nation is a large community with territorial area, population, administration (L,J, E) and
sovereignty (autocracies power)
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Colonial Rule, State-Nation
India was a nation state, but India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh (E and W
Pakistan) were state nations.

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Comprising of the nation state 1947 Partition

In 1947 India became a separate nation state after its division.

Pakistan and Bangladesh were state nations who formed a nation
state of Pakistan.
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Pakistan and Bangladesh separated because
1. Administration was difficult.

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2. Language was another problem as Pakistan wanted
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Urdu to be the national language, whereas it was not
easy in Bangladesh as its language is Bangla.
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force in a particular territorye s
• A state is a body that successfully
(given
claims a legitimate
by Max Weber).
It is difficult to define rae
ti nation, each nation may
emphasize a few characteristics.
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• It is very difficult to draw a distinction between a
community and a nation because any community can
become a nation but not always.

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1. Nation, Multiple States
In todays world we believe in one nation one state.
1. USSR-Union of Soviet Socialist Republic

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— It was a nation state but had many countries which had their own
culture and state nation since the government in counted, the people

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were not able to voice their opinions.

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– Broke up in 1991
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2. Jamaica-Part of West Indies (Caribbean)
— There are more non-Jamaicans than Jamaicans.

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— Administration is all done by non-Jamaicans and if they leave they will
have to start from scratch.
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3. Duel Citizenship of Israeli’s in USA
— US has given citizenship to these Jews only in the US (only if bom and
brought up).
No person except them can get duel citizenship.
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Policies (India follows both)
1. Policy of Assimilation
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— Where everybody decides to follow one norm, one
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belief and one culture and common value.
— The whole country follows the
s . majority as they are
more powerful.
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This is for convenience sake and unity of the country.

many festivals@
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e.g., in India Hindus are majority and there are so
as compared to the festivals of the
Christians. Parsis, etc.

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2. Policy of Integration
— All people follow national culture or pattern in public life and keep all non-
material cultures in private life.

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e.g., Jana gana mana is national but Vande Mataram would be non-national.

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— Because community identities can act as a basis for nation formation, the
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already existing states view them as dangerous rivals e.g., Khalistan Sikh
community wanted a separate nation.

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— Therefore, states tend to favour a single homogenous national identity in

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order to have unity and togetherness.

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— But this does not mean we should suppress the identity of the minority as

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it can lead to revolts and there will be no unity.
— By suppressing the non-national culture of minorities or smaller sections,
it can lead to problems and instead of unity the country will divide.
— Thus the government allows people to maintain cultural differences in
order to have peace and harmony in the country.
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Overview-Differences existing in Our country
• Our country is the thkd largest in terms of Muslim population (after Indonesia and
Pakistan)

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• Secularism is practised in India, we allow others to practice, profess and preach
their religion. Minorities are given reservations.

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• Language. There are 1632 languages in India.

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— 18 official languages (Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, English, Punjabi, Urdu)

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them (Hindi/English)
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— The constitution is in English and all the official documents have to be in one of

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— There are a lot of laws and policies but the problem is implementation and
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practising them.
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— There is a law against dowry but people still give and take it without any fear.
— A nation, a state is very important, but a state cannot exist without a nation, they
are interdependent.
— India is a good nation state though it has a lot of diversity and problems, but we
live together in peace and harmony due to our tolerance and unity.
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Regionalism
• Regionalism is connected with the diverse culture, languages,
regions, castes, tribes present in our county.

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Linguism helped in strengthening of India’s Unity.
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• After independence we decided to follow the same pattern of the
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British, leading presidencies.
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• Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, Princely states people in Madras
spoke Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada (different languages
under one state).
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• The country was divided on the basis of language under Nehru
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(he was apprehensive earlier, but after thought the decision was
good) because of Vallabhai Patel (Home Minister)
• Language is a binding force, would bring about efficient
communication, unity, state boards (educational purposes),
linguism could spread love for language
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Madras Presidency got divided into three states.
— Madras State-Telugu and Tamil (1952-53)
— Kerala State-Malayalam
— Mysore State-Kannada
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Capital was Mysore and shifted to Karnataka and capital was
Bangalore.
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• When the Madras state was formed, Telugu people were unhappy as

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Tamilians were given more important posts and were dominant.
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• Thus they rebelled for separate state.
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• Potti Sriramulu wanted a separate state (went on hunger strike) for
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Telugu speaking people.
• After his death, protest continued and the government gave them
Andhra Pradesh in 1956.
• The Telugu people had an option whether to stay in the Madras state
or shift to Andhra Pradesh.
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16 proved to be very successful as language is a great binding force but
regional differences do arise.
e.g. 1971 Pakistan and Bangladesh

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• Due to administration (West Pakistan and East Pakistan) (India was in
the middle).

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• Urdu was given more importance as compared to Bangla in
Bangladesh. Thus they revolted and it led to the formation of Bangladesh

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in a separate democratic nation.
Sri Lanka

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• The Tamilians and Sinhalas (dominant language, official parliament
administration)
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• Tamilians wanted to be given equal importance.
• The LTTE was formed which wanted to help the people.
• This led to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.

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ISSUES
Majority and Minority
• Majority and minority in sociology is connected with religion.

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• Minority in any religion are those who are numerically weaker as compared to majorities.

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• In India, Hindus are majority class (81%)
1. Inclusive Nationalism

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– When all religions work together for one cause benefit of the country, to create unity in
diversity.

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– It recognises fanality and diversity but in spite of this we come together.

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– We try to do away with discrimination and create a democratic set up.

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2. Exclusive Nationalism
– When each religion does what in their point of view will benefit the country.
– The best way for the country to be progressive is by including inclusive reasoning in the
constitution where all sections of society (including minority) are taken care of.
– The Constituent Assembly tried to include social, political and economic justice when the
constitution was drafted.
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Features of Minority
1. They are numerically weaker and their needs are not taken care of.
2. They do not have a say in many matters.

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3. They have low/less opportunities in comparison to the majority.
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4. Minorities are often discriminated against.

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5. There is a fear of insecurity and they feel that they are at a
disadvantage as they are a smaller group.

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6. All minorities have a sense of collective belonging, togetherness and

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they are always together and protect their rights.

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7. They have a sense of loyalty towards their nation.

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– Jains, Parsis are communities who are economically strong
(businessmen) but they are culturally and socially weak. e.g. Bohras,
Vohras,
– Hindu’s are given many holidays but for the festivals of Parsis and
Jains there are no holidays.
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Minorities and Policies
• In elections it is very easy for the political parties to
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convert the numerical majority into political power.
• Minorities are at risk and are variable.d
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.
• Thus a ‘minority block’ takes place.
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• At times, they have to givesup their identity to save
their position.
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• All religions havetthe freedom to practice, preach and
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profess their religion.
• Article 29 and 30 are for the protection of the
minorities.

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Provisions of Article 30

(a) Any religious community can start an educational institution.

(b) All facilities that are given to other majorities should also be given to the minorities.

– No religion should be imposed on a person because it will affect national unity.

– We believe in unity in diversity.

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– Every country has minorities, in Europe Christians are majority class whereas Hindus, Sikhs and Jews
are minorities.

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Communalism
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• Extreme love for your religion, you consider every religion as inferior and subordinate.

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• The western meaning of communalism is to do with community which is a group of people doing
something in common.

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• Communalism is more to do with politics than religion in India because politicians use vote banks in the

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name of religion. They give seats for religion.

• India is diverse because, whenever there are more people and diversity there is more an issue of
communalism.

• Communalism i.e. aggressive political ideology linked with religion. Love for your religion but in a
negative way.

• A communalist develops aggressive political identity which condenses every other religion and leads to
communal riots.
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Reason for Communal riots are
(1) Political instigation

or average another community in the past.d y

(2) One community wants revenge on a community

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(3) To regain lost pride or protectstheir
. community.
(4) During riots violence, losssof lives, destruction of
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poverty and assault, looting,
s rape take place all
around.
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Whenever there is a communal riot the government
in power must take responsibility and should protect
the victims

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Secularism
• Indian Meaning: All religions should have and be given equal
importance and every individual is allowed to freely practice,
preach, profess any religion of their choice.

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• Western Meaning: Earlier the state was controlled by the

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church. The word ‘secular’ is used when the state is separate from
the church. The church is not allowed to interfere in matters of the
state.
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• Though secularisation evolved religion is restricted to private
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domain and not public.
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• Secularisation came into being through modernity.

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When you consider various view points, related to rationality where
you don’t attribute everything to religion allow service to play a
role, broadening of mindsets.
• The Indian meaning is a combination of both and opposite of
communal because we allow all religions to exist equally.
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One kind of difficulty that exists in our country is the western meaning
and Indian meaning of secularism.
• Majority questions the government that giving reservations is unfair.

by majority.
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• Minority demands reservation because they will get out shadowed

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• Other difficulty is that government tries to protect the minority but it
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is the majority values, festivals, etc. are being followed.
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• These controversies are further being aggravated by the
interference of political parties.

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• In spite of all these problems we are still a secular nation.
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• We take care of the minority without upsetting the majority at the
same time maintaining peace, tolerance and harmony among
communities.
• When we got Independence Nehru said that we are a democratic,
secular and sovereign country.

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State and Civil Societies
Democracy: Form of government where people have a say and have
the right to vote for their leader (Political party) and can use their
fundamental rights.

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Authoritative: Form of government where people cannot question the

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government or hold them accountable, all civil rights are curtailed.
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The institutions are unable to respond to the needs of the people
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under authoritative ’government (banks).
Civil Society: Non State, voluntary, private domain, not

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commercialised, profit is not important. It is an organization which is
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not commercialised or profit oriented and outside private domain.

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Civil societies are those societies/organizations that fight for the rights
of people, specially the suppressed classes.
Civil societies keep a watch on the government actions and fight for
injustice e.g. Political parties, mass media, NGO’s newspaper, women
associations.
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Emergency 1975-77
• Mass sterilization campaigns were held where indiscriminately
people were sterilised.

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• Tubectomy (women), vasectomy (men) were done forcibly
• Civil rights were curtailed
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• People were put in Jail without a trial

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• Civil rights were suspended
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• Lower cadre of people who carried out the actions and people
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were put in jail who spoke against like emergency.

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• Many political leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan were put in Jail.
• Indira Gandhi lost election after this.
• After emergency there was uproar in the nation and importance of
civil societies went up
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Tribals
• Healthcare and displacement
Civil Societies work to

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1. Keep a watch on government and to see if they are using funds fairly.

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2. To see that laws are being implemented.

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3. If government is functioning properly, e.g. Right to Information Act

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Right to Information Act 2005

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etc.

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When government funds were allotted to villages for construction of roads, building of schools,

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– They took it up with the government and looked into it.

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– According to this act any person can demand to the government allocation of funds, tax and
copy the funds document.
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– It is the right of people to demand from the government. The funds have been allocated for
different projects.
– This was to do with the government only not with the private sector, people have rights to
question the government.

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1.What is meant by cultural diversity? Why is India considered
to be a very diverse country?
Ans. • The term diversity implies differences rather than inequalities.

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•When we say that India is a nation of great cultural diversity, we
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mean that there are many different types of social groups and
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communities living here.
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•Different types of social groups and communities live here. There
are communities with different cultural markers like language,

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religion, sect, race or caste.

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•India is a pluralistic society. There is unity in diversity but its
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excessive diversity is becoming a challenge.
•When diverse communities (linguistic communities, religious
communities, sects and so on) are, also, a part of a larger entity like
a nation, then difficulties may be created by competition or conflict
between them.
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•Cultural diversity can present challenges which arise from
the fact that cultural identities are very powerful-they can
arouse intense passions and are often able to mobilize
large numbers of people.

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•Sometimes, cultural differences are accompanied by
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economic and social inequalities and this
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further
complicates things.
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•Measures to address the inequalities
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or injustices suffered

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by one community can provoke
communities.The situation gets
opposition from other
worse when scarce
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resources like water, jobs or government funds have to be
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•1632 different languages and dialects, different religions,
diversity in climatic conditions and topography are causing
serious challenges to the country.
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2. What is community identity and how is it formed?
Ans. 1.Community identity is based on birth and belonging rather than
on some forms of acquired qualifications or accomplishments.

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2.These kind of identities are called ascriptive i.e. they are determined
by birth and individual’s choice is not involved.

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3.People feel a deep*sense of security and satisfaction in belonging to
communities.
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4.Ascriptive identities such as community identities are difficult to shake
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off; even if we choose to disown them, others may continue to identify

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us by those very markers of belonging.
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5.Expanding and overlapping circles of community ties like family,
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kinship, ethnicity, language give meaning to our world and gives us a
sense of identity.
6.Ascriptive identities and community feelings are universal. Everyone
has a motherland, a mother tongue, a family, a faith. And we all are
equally committed to our respective identities.
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7.Our community provides us with our mother-tongue and the cultural values
through which we comprehend the world. It, also, anchors our self-identity.
8. The process of socialization involves continuous dialogue with our

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significant surroundings such as parents, kin, family and community. Thus,
community is a very important part of our identity.

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9. Community conflicts are very hard to deal with since each side thinks of

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the other side as a hated enemy and there is a tendency to exaggerate the
virtues of one’s own side as well as the vices of the other side.

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10.It is very hard for people on either side to sec that they are constructing

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matching but reversed mirror images of each other.
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11.At times, both sides are indeed equally wrong or right; at other times,

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history may judge one side to be the aggressor and the other to be the
victim.
12.But this can happen long after the heat of the conflict has cooled down.
13.Some notion of a mutually agreeable truth is hard to arrive at in situations
if identity conflict.
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3. Why is it difficult to define the nation? How are nation and state related in modem
society?
Ans. • A nation is a peculiar sort of community that is easy to describe but hard to define.

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•We can describe many nations founded on the basis of common cultural, historical
institutions like a shared religion, language, ethnicity, history or regional culture.

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•But it is hard to come up with any defining features for nation.

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•For every possible criterion there are exceptions and counter examples.

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•For example-there are many nations that do not share a common language, religion,

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ethnicity and so on. On the other hand, there are many languages, religions or ethnicities

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that are shared across nations. But this does not lead to the transformation of a single
unified nation.

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Nation at the simplest level, is a community of communities. Members of a nation share

a state of their own.

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the desire to be a part of the same political collectivity. Nations are communities that have

•In modem times, there has been a one-to-one bond between nation and state. But this
development is new.
•It wasn’t true of the past that a single state could represent a single nation or every nation
must have its own state.

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For example, Soviet Union explicitly recognized that the peoples it
governed were of different nations.
•Also, people constituting a nation may actually be citizens or

outside Jamaica than in Jamaica.

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residents of different states. There are more Jamaicans living

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•Dual citizenship could, also, be a possibility. These laws allow
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citizens of a particular state to also simultaneously be citizens of
another state. Example, Jewish AmericansMnay be citizens of Israel
as well as the USA.
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•Thus, nation is a community that has been able to acquire a state of
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its own. It‘s, also seen that states are finding it more and more

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necessary to claim that they represent a nation.
•A feature of the modem era is the establishment of democracy and
nationalism as dominant sources of political legitimacy. This implies
that nation is the most accepted or proper justification for a state,
while people are the ultimate source of legitimacy of the nation.

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4.Why are states often suspicious of cultural diversity?
Ans. • States try to establish their political legitimacy through
nation-building strategies.

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•They sought to secure the loyalty and obedience of their
citizens through policies of assimilation or integration.

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•This is because most states have generally t u been suspicious
of cultural diversity and have tried to .reduce
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The states fear that the recognition s or eliminate it.
of varied culturally diverse
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identities such as language, ethnicity,
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religion will lead to social
fragmentation and prevent
society. t ir the creation of a harmonious

•Also, apart from@ the fear of fragmentation, accommodating

these differences is politically challenging.
•Thus so many states have resorted to either suppressing
these identities or ignoring them in the political domain.
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5.What is regionalism? What factors is it usually based on?
Ans. • Regionalism in India is rooted in India’s diversity of languages, cultures, tribes
and religions.
•It is encouraged by the geographical concentration of these identity markers in

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particular regions, and fuelled by a sense of regional deprivation.

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•Indian federalism has been a means of accommodating these regional sentiments.
From Presidencies to States

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•After Independence, initially the Indian state continued with the British-Indian
arrangement dividing India into large provinces, called Presidencies. Madras, Bombay

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and Calcutta were the three major presidencies.

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•Soon after Independence and the adoption of the constitution, all these units of the
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colonial era had to be reorganized into ethno-linguistic states within the Indian union in
response to strong popular agitations.

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•Language coupled with regional and tribal identity and not religion has provided the
most powerful instrument for the formation of ethno-national identity in India.
•But this does not mean that all linguistic communities have got statehood. For
example- Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. In their formation, language did
not play*any role. A combination of ethnicity based on tribal identity, language, regional
deprivation and ecology provided the basis.
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6. What is a ‘minority’? Why do minorities need protection from the state?
Ans. • Minority usually involves some sense of relative disadvantage.
•Privileged minorities such as extremely wealthy people are not usually referred to as
minorities; if they are, the term is qualified in some way, as in the phrase “privileged

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minority’.

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•When minority is used without any qualification, it implies a relatively small and also,

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disadvantaged group.

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•The sociological sense of minority implies that the members of the minority form a

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collectivity i.e. they have a sense of group solidarity, a feeling of togetherness and
belonging.

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•This is linked to disadvantage because the experience of being subjected to prejudice and

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discrimination usually heightens feelings of intra-group loyalty and interests.

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•Groups may be a minority in statistical sense, such as people who are left-handed or

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people bom on 29th February, are not minorities in sociological sense because they do not
form a collectivity.
•Religious or cultural minority groups need special protection because of the demographic
dominance of majority.
•These groups are politically vulnerable. They must face the risk that the majority
community will capture political power and use the state machinery to suppress their
religious or cultural institutions, ultimately forcing them to abandon their identity.
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Exceptions
•Religious minorities like Parsis or Sikhs may be relatively well off
economically but they may still be disadvantaged in the cultural sense

Hindus.
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because of their small numbers compared to overwhelming majority

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•Another set of complications arise by the fact of India state’s
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minorities.
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simultaneous commitment to secularism as well as the protection of

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•The protection of minorities requires that they be given special

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consideration in a context where the normal working of the political
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system places them at a disadvantage vis-s-vis the majority.

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•This leads to the accusation of favouritism. But supporters would state
that without this protection, secularism can turn into an excuse for
imposing majority community’s values and norms on minorities.

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7. What is Communalism?
Ans. • Communalism refers to aggressive chauvinism based on religious
identity.

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Chauvinism is itself an attitude that sees one’s own group as the only

illegitimate and opposed.

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legitimate or worthy group, with other groups being seen as inferior,

s.
•Communalism is an aggressive political ideology linked to religion.

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•This is a peculiarly Indian or South Asian meaning which is different from
l
e
the ordinary English word.

tir
•In the English language, ‘communal’ means something related to a
community or collectivity as different from an individual. The English
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meaning is neutral, whereas the South Asian meaning is strongly charged.
•Communalism is about politics not about religion. Although, communalists
are intensely involved with religion, there is no necessary relationship
between personal belief and communalism. A communalist may or may not
be a devout person, and devout persons may or may not be communalists.

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•Communalists cultivate an aggressive political identity and
are prepared to condemn or attack everyone who does not
share their identity.

d y
•One of the most important features of communalism is that

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religious identity overrides everything else, it, also,
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homogenous.
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constructs large and diverse groups as singular and

•Examples of communal riots

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in our country- Anti Sikh riots
r e
of 1984; the Gujarat riots.
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•But, India also hasta long tradition of religious pluralism,
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ranging from peaceful co-existence to actual mixing or
syncretism. This syncretic heritage is reflected in the
devotional songs and poetry of the Bhakti and Sufi
movements.
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9. What are the different senses in which ‘secularism’ has been
understood in India?
Ans. 1. The Indian meanings of secular and secularism imply that state

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does not favour any religion. This implies equal respect for all religions
rather than separation or distancing.

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2. In the western context, secularism implies separation of church and
s
s.
state. This implies the progressive retreat of religion from public life, as it
was converted from a mandatory obligation to a voluntary personal
practice.
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ire
3. Secularization was related to the arrival of modernity and the rise of

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science and rationality as alternatives to religious ways of understanding
the world.
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4. One difficult issue that arises from this is the tension between the
western sense of state maintaining distance from religion and the Indian
sense of the state giving equal respect to all religions.

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