You are on page 1of 6

www.ignou-ac.

in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

N
1
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in1

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2014-2015)

E.S.O.-12
Society in India
Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the
Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teacher/Tutors/Auhtors for the help and Guidance
of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions of the Assignments. We do not claim 100%
Accuracy of these sample Answers as these are based on the knowledge and cabability of Private Teacher/Tutor. Sample
answers may be seen as the Guide/Help Book for the reference to prepare the answers of the Question given in the
assignment. As these solutions and answers are prepared by the private teacher/tutor so the chances of error or mistake
cannot be denied. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these
Sample Answers/Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer & for uptodate
and exact information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer the official study material provided by the
university.
Section-I
Answer the following questions in about 500 words each.

Q. 1. Discuss the challenges to national integration in India.

Ans. India is a country of immense diversity. Race, language, religion and caste etc. constitute the major forms of
diversity in India. Groups of people in India differ from each other not only in physical or demographic characteristics but
also in distinctive patterns of behaviour. Being a large country with large population, India presents endless varieties of
physical features and cultural patterns. In short, India is the epitome of the world. The vast population is composed of
people having diverse creeds, customs and colours. Economic development, level of education and political culture of the
people in various social segments differ from region to region.
The people who inhabit this nation belong to different races, communities and castes. They reside in different geographical regions and speak different languages. They believe in and practice different religions and have varied life
styles. But with all these diversities, they all are Indians and they feel like that. They may have many religious identities
such as Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, or Zoroastrians. They may also be identified as Punjabis,
Tamils, Malayalis, Bengalis, Manipuri, and so on, or South or North or North-East Indians. But their national identity is
supreme. National integration is essential for any nation with socio-cultural, religious, linguistic and geographical diversities. And for a country like ours, it is still more necessary. As we know, India is a very large country. We have the second
largest population in the world. There are more than one thousand languages that people of India speak. There are also
great varieties in costume, food habits, and social customs. Geographically, our land is diverse and there are amazing
differences in climate. Despite all these differences India is one political entity. We have to co-exist with each other
peacefully, respect the culture and religion of our fellow Indians. This is possible only when national integration is
realised in true sense of the term. National integration is necessary also for the security and development of the nation.
A nation is a country with a unified socio-economic and political structure. It denotes a body of people who have a
feeling of oneness, built on the basis of common history, society, culture and values. This feeling of oneness binds the
people together in to a nation. In general terms it is this feeling which is known as national integration. National integration is the awareness of a common identity amongst the citizens of a country. It means that though the individuals belong
to different communities, castes, religions, cultures and regions and speak different languages, all of them recognize the
fact that they are one. This kind of integration is very important in the building of a strong and prosperous nation.
National integration means the unity of the nation. It has been rightly said United we stand but divided we fall. A
nation which is not united falls like a house of cards. India is a country where persons of different castes, colors and

2
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in2

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

creeds live together. Narrow considerations like communalism, regionalism, casteism and linguism seem to rule the
country. National integration, therefore, has become the most urgent need of the hour.
There are various factors responsible for disintegration in India. Occasional communal riots still take place in different parts of the country. These riots cause great loss to the progress and economy of the nation. Regionalism is another
threat to the national integration. The demand for Khalistan is an example of such regionalism. The states fight among
themselves over areas, over distribution of river water and over territory. People vote on the basis of caste and not on basis
of merit. Linguism is another threat to national integration. The need of the day is to keep communal harmony in India.
Political parties can play an important role. They must teach people that they are Indians first and then anything else. They
should be more disciplined. They should sacrifice their personal interests in the interest of their country. Educational
institutions must infuse the spirit of national integration among the students. Newspaper, television, cinema and radio can
also play a useful role in developing the feeling of oneness among the people.
Q. 2. Discuss the concept of marriage. Explain the changing patterns of marriage in India.
Ans. Marriage is the approved social pattern whereby two to more persons establish a family. Marriage is the intimate
union and equal partnership of a man and a woman. It comes to us from the hand of God, who created male and female in
his image, so that they might become one body and might be fertile and multiply. The real meaning of marriage is the
acceptance of a new status, with a new set of privileges and obligations, and the recognition of this new status by others.
A legal marriage legitimizes a social status and creates a set of legally recognized rights and duties. Marriage is one of the
oldest socially recognized institution and essential for the procreation of children and satisfaction of our sexual urges. In
different societies there are different methods of marriage. Some of the societies allow a male to marry only a single
female whereas in other societies a husband is allowed to have more than one wife.

The Indian society is undergoing a drastic change due to economic prosperity and the Internet revolution that has
exposed people to social trends prevalent across the world. Marriage has turned out to be the most revolutionized institution of our conservative Indian society. The way people perceive marriage, organize ceremonies, take vows, and build
relationships are changing in tandem leading to a new face of the Indian society. Changing Trends in Indian Marriage
Traditionally, parents found the match for their children and the marriage was formalized strictly as per the rituals. The
ceremonies were very formal and the objective was to please the boys family as much as possible. Today, many children
are choosing their own partners and prefer opting for court marriages to avoid arguments over rituals between the families. In other cases, parents accept their childrens choice and take charge of solemnizing the relationship with utmost
pomp and show.
Earlier, the boy and the girl were not allowed to meet before the marriage. They saw each other only on the day of
marriage. Eventually, it gave way to phone chats and then few meetings in the presence of a family member before the
marriage. But today in the 21st century, both the partners try to spend maximum time together. They even buy their
marriage trousseau together and spend long hours chatting on phone. Unlike yesterday, many girls are working before
marriage and they put forward their condition to continue working after marriage. As a result, girls are managing both
their personal and professional lives smoothly. This, in turn, has dissolved the demarcation between gender roles. Today,
boys are equally involved in household chores as girls. On the other hand, girls are also providing financial support in
time of need.
As joint family system is being replaced by nuclear families, the closeness and the level of comfort between the
partners is increasing. They have ample space to talk and strengthen their relationships. In a joint system, the partners
spent very few hours together because of lack of space due to a large number of members in the family. This acted as a
bottleneck in removing communication gap between the couple.
Section - II

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.

Q. 3. Can village be regarded as an autonomous entity? Explain your answer with suitable arguments.
Ans. In the past, villages were a usual form of community for societies that practice subsistence agriculture, and also
for some non-agricultural societies. In Great Britain, a hamlet earned the right to be called a village when it built a church.

3
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in3

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

In many cultures, towns and cities were few, with only a small proportion of the population living in them. The Industrial
Revolution attracted people in larger numbers to work in mills and factories; the concentration of people caused many
villages to grow into towns and cities. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts, and development of many
trades. The trend of urbanization continues, though not always in connection with industrialization. Villages have been
eclipsed in importance as units of human society and settlement.
When village communities exist in the context of a larger political system, understanding of the system of control at
the village level requires analysis both of the system of control imposed on the village by the state and also of that which
has evolved within the community through centuries of its existence. These two systems, of course, cannot operate
altogether independently of each other but must somehow be articulated with one another. The specific ways in which the
two systems articulate differ from society to society. Nonetheless a perusal of the literature suggests a solution to the
problem of articulation which is common to many societies. The solution apparently is to maintain a relatively autonomous village community over which the higher authority exercises limited control through certain key agents or agencies,
as is, for example, the case with Imperial China, Thailand, Ceylon, and Greece. And this was indeed the solution for
Japanese villages of the Tokugawa period, in spite of the tight and rigid control of the military government over the
peasantry which historians make much of. (Since our discussion will proceed at a general level at which differences in
administration between the Shogunate and daimiate governments are minor, both types of government will be simply
referred to as the government or governments without distinction).
Q. 4. What are the major problems encountered by other backward classes in India?
Ans. Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are
educationally and socially disadvantaged. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs). The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the countrys population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980, which in fact is around 80% of Indias total population.

In the Indian Constitution, OBCs are described as socially and educationally backward classes, and the Government of India is enjoined to ensure their social and educational development for example, the OBCs are entitled to 27%
reservations in public sector employment and higher education. The list of OBCs maintained by the Indian Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment is dynamic, with castes and communities being added or removed depending on social,
educational and economic factors.
The term backward classes which had originally been in use during colonial times had multiple referrents, but
lacked any clearly defined parameter regarding the inclusion and exclusion of groups described collectively as backward.
In fact, the term, at least in its early usage, denoted an all-encompassing category that included the underprivileged and
marginalised castes, tribes and communities. Even at the time when the Constitution was being debated and drafted, the
definition of the term remained imprecise. In the debates of the Constituent Assembly, there were two broad ways in
which the term was used. One was an inclusive group of all sections of society that needed preferential treatment. In such
an usage the term backward classes included the untouchables. In the other usage, the term that was used was Other
Backward Classes.
Q. 5. Analyse the economic dimension of urbanization in India.

Ans. Urbanisation in India was mainly caused after independence, due to adoption of mixed system of economy by
the country which gave rise to the development of private sector. Urbanisation is taking place at a faster rate in India.
Population residing in urban areas in India, according to 1901 census, was 11.4%. This count increased to 28.53%
according to 2001 census, and crossing 30% as per 2011 census, standing at 31.16%. According to a survey by UN State
of the World Population report in 2007, by 2030, 40.76% of countrys population is expected to reside in urban areas. As
per World Bank, India, along with China, Indonesia, Nigeria and the United States, will lead the worlds urban population
surge by 2050.
Urbanization is a form of social transformation from traditional rural societies to modern urban communities. It is
long-term continuous process. Before attempting an analysis of pattern and trends in urbanization in India, it becomes
imperative to trace the process of urbanization in India through history because what distinguished India most, from many

4
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in4

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

other countries of the world is its long tradition of urbanization dating back as far back as about five thousand years, when
Indus Valley Civilization saw the birth of the earliest urban settlement in human history. In India, the urban tradition
continued throughout these centuries and during the ancient period of our history there were many well planned, big and
beautiful cities in different parts of the country. In ancient and medieval times it was a cultural phenomena and many a
times it happens due to political development because the rise and fall of new dynasties and kingdoms but in recent times,
it is complementary of industrialization and socio-economic transformation hence it becomes a socio- economic phenomenon.
Q. 6. Explain the relevance of caste in Indian Politics.
Ans. Caste in Indian society refers to a social group where membership decided by birth. Members of such local
group are endogamous, i.e. they tend to enter into marital relationships among themselves. They often have related
political preferences, similar to the racial preferences for the Democratic and Republican parties in USA.
For political/government purposes, the castes among the Hindus are broadly divided into

Forward Caste

Other Backward Class (OBC) (about 41% of population)

Scheduled Caste (about 20% of population)

Scheduled Tribe (about 9% of population)

The Indian Muslims (13.4%), and Christians (2.3%) often function as a caste since they too marry among themselves.

The relationship between caste and politics in Indian society has been subject of intensive study for many years.
Many sociologists including Andre Beteille, Rajni Kothari, and Anil Bhatt have highlighted various aspects. According to
M.N Srinivas the role played by caste in politics is in close approximation to that of the pressure group. The modernizing
forces will however reduce the influence of caste over the politics. However Andre Beteille holds that while westernization is taking individual away from caste identity the role of caste in politics is taking the people towards the caste identity
and thereby strengthening it. Rajni Kothari studied the nature of relationship between caste and politics.
He has also examined the type of changes that have taken place in the political system as a result of the involvement
of caste organization. Caste has three important indigenous elementssecular which refers to relevance of caste in politics
in terms of the relations within and between castes. Integrative which refers to castes being relevant to politics through
differentiation and integration and ideological which is heightened by its value structure. The analysis of Dominant Caste
and political process by Anil Bhatt reveals the crucial role played by castes in politics and awareness of the lower castes
of their political gains. He found that the higher caste groups had lower political interest and low castes higher political
interests. Political awareness was high among the higher castes and was low among the lower castes. Lower castes by
organizing themselves in pursuit of collective interest were able to emerge successfully. The involvement of these castes
organization in politics has changed their position in hierarchical pattern of Hindu society. Caste solidarity and political
power helped them to achieve higher social, economic and political success. This was highlighted by the studies conducted by Rudolf and Rudolf. The same was highlighted by Andre Beteille's study of Tanjore district in Tamil Nadu.
Caste has become one of the most formidable element of group formation within political parties in India. The patronage
and pecuniary resources available to the political leaders enable them to create a coalition of factions on caste basis,
whose leaders are bound to political elites in power in a complex network of personal obligation ties. Each of these
leaders had a group of followers tied to him in accordance with the same set of caste principles. The personnel of these
castes factions may vary but whatever may be their social composition they demand and to a higher degree receive from
their members full support. Political parties mobilize caste support in various ways.
Section - III

Answer the following questions in about 100 words each.


Q. 7. Explain the notion of cumulative inequalities.

Ans. Cumulative inequality theory is the systematic explanation of how inequalities develop and influence the qual-

5
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in5

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

ity of life of societies, cohorts, and individuals. The theory [WL1] is principally a social scientific explanation of phenomena but with links to biological and health factors, personal adjustment, and well-being. A central premise is that social
systems generate inequality, which is manifested over the life course via demographic and developmental processes..
Various theories (from both the supply-and the demand side) and empirical evidence support the assumption that
such cumulative advantages and disadvantages play a major role in labour-market careers and characterize particular
mobility regimes in country-specific labour markets. Apart from such possible system specificities, however, successive
cohorts in most Western societies have also been confronted with very different labour-market conditions since World
War II. These were characterized by economic growth, educational expansion and occupational upgrading as well as
increasing labour-market participation of women. During the last few decades, cohort members have experienced growing uncertainty reflected in delayed labour-market entry and increasing employment risks.
Q. 8. What is Great Tradition?
Ans. Eminence in the Great Tradition, and eminence in the Great Tradition is what we are talking about. A man may
be most eminent, for instance, in the science of medicine, he may be the most skilful practitioner living, or the most
capable man in research, or whatever else you will, without bearing anything remotely resembling the mark of the Great
Tradition. One may be ever so eminent as a physicist, yet with an eminence wholly different from that which distinguished some physicists of the last generation who notably bore this mark. We may go further than this. A man may even
be most eminent on the scientific side of the Great Traditions discipline itself, he may be thoroughly up on its whole
technique, and yet be in no sense a continuator of the Great Tradition. The Great Tradition was respected among us, and
its discipline as well as possible maintained, the authorities at Harvard thought it worthwhile to keep Oliver Wendell
Holmes demonstrating anatomy, Longfellow teaching (I think) Spanish, and James Russell Lowell teaching Romance
languages. Technically, I dare say there were better men available for these specialties, and certainly in the trade-unionist
sense, Holmes, Longfellow, and Lowell had no qualifications worth speaking of. But they were completely and conspicuously in the Great Tradition, they were children of light. All their works and ways had the mark of the Great Tradition on
them, not the mark of Dagon.

6
www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in

www.ignou-ac.in6

You might also like