Sociology of Indian Society-

By-Anuska Chayani (M.A Sociology)

(achayani.22@stu.aud.ac.in)

Discuss the main arguments of Dumont and Pocock with regard to Sociology of Indian
Society.
The focus for Dumont and Pocock has been the connection between Sociology and
Indology.This comprises of the study of traditional India that is India in ancient times. The
major debate revolves around whether there can be a Sociology of India.Dumont and Pocock
have emphasised on the usage of comparative method in the internal and external study of a
society. Their writings focus on the study of Hindu society (Bailey,1959).This has been
critiqued by scholars who argue that this perspective emphasises on the way of life of the
dominant. This is because the study of Hindu society may not be an adequate presentation of
the complete reality of Indian culture. This makes critics regard it as an approach that has
overlooked other communities (Ahmad,1972).Hence,Dumont and Pocock’s works treat
people living in the country as a single unit.Their methods deal with the study of upper caste
Hindus.This results in a Brahminical viewpoint that does not pay much attention to the
presence of other religions as well as the diversity and complexities of Indian society. Thapan
argues that the fusion of history with sociology could have helped in the study of Indian
society rather than the mix of indology and sociology. Thapan critiques Dumont’s study for
providing only a fragmentary view of Indian society as it misses out on the impact of
modernity in India .Hence,there is a need to expand the horizon for a holistic perspective of
Indian society.Dumont and Pocock study social systems as functioning without much
tension.Yogendra Singh critiques Dumont and Pocock for ignoring conflict in social systems
in India.Dumont’s approach in the way he observes other societies has also been critiqued by
Madan who considers that one can even find unfamiliar aspects in the study of a society one
is familiar with. Thus,a sociology of India should encompass the study of societies by taking
account of their time periods and chronology.This should also cover consequences of
different social phenomena like colonialism and other transformations as well as research on
the unintended consequences of social processes.

REFERENCES
Dumont,L and D.F.Pocock.1957.For a sociology of India.Contributions to Indian sociology
1:7-22
Thapan Meenakshi.1988.For a sociology of India.Contributions to Indian sociology 259-272