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  • W.B.C.S. Main 2018 Question Answer – Sociology – Unity And Diversity In  Socio-Cultural structure In India.
    Posted on December 22nd, 2018 in Sociology
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    W.B.C.S. Main 2018 Question Answer – Sociology – Unity And Diversity In Socio-Cultural structure In India.

    WBCS  ২০১৮ মেইনস   প্রশ্নের উত্তর – সমাজবিজ্ঞান – ভারতে সামাজিক-সাংস্কৃতিক কাঠামো এবং বৈচিত্র্য।

    1)Explain how India has portrayed the problem of Unity and diversity in its socio-cultural structure.

    The Indian cultural tradition is unique. The notions of dharma (normative order), karma (personal moral commitment] and jati (caste) as the hierarchical principles of social stratification are basic to Indian culture. A certain level of configuration of these elements and consensus have brought about persistence and equilibrium in Indian society, and hence no major breakdown has taken place in its culture. It is said that the change is in the cultural system and not of the system. In other words, basic cultural and social values and norms still continue with some modifications.Continue Reading W.B.C.S. Main 2018 Question Answer – Sociology – Unity And Diversity In Socio-Cultural structure In India.

    The values of dharma, karma and jati continue to guide social and cultural activ­ities to a large extent. Hence, change is in the system and not of the system. However, the contemporary India has witnessed basic structural changes in economic and political fields. The traditional value system has lost its ground to a considerable extent as the jati has acquired a new form, and it is no more an effective mechanism of division of labour and status determination.

    The uniqueness of the Indian culture does not simply refer to its esoteric nature. It requires a thorough study in terms of its history. Absorption and assimilation characterised social and cultural change. Aryans and Dravidians lived together. Hindus and Muslims lived in close proximity – socially and culturally.

    Later on, Christians joined them. Today, Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and people of other faiths participate together in the government, industry, commerce and other sectors of public life. Thus, there has been a continuous unity even in the situation of stark diversity.

    Diversity is reflected in thousands of caste groups, each having its own rituals, rites, rules and customs. It can be seen in terms of linguistic, religious and other ethnic variations. The styles of life differ from region to region and vary even between different castes and religious groups within the same village. Some rulers made conscious efforts to ensure unity in diversity.

    The emperor Ashoka worked for the unity of India by achieving cultural and religious harmony and administrative efficiency. Akbar, one of the most powerful Mughal emperors, projected the concept of a state religion called Din-e-Illahi, a synthesis of Hinduism and Islam.

    The majority of Muslims in villages transformed their social life beyond recognition. They mingled with Hindus freely in almost all walks of life. The Hindu rajas and Muslim kings recognized literary and artistic abilities in individuals from both the communities. Kabir and Nanak were greatly influenced by the teachings of Islam.

    Conversion to Islam, and later on to Christianity, and today to Buddhism, has resulted in a ‘mixed’ culture. The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, worked throughout his life to achieve national unity and integrity through communal harmony, upliftment of the poor and downtrodden and propagation of a just social order.

    The colonial India has two histories. One is of colonialism produced by the colonisers, and the other is of India’s culture and civilization perpetrated through its intellectual and philosophical fervour. India’s history, its architectural treasures, its literature, philosophy, music, drama, dance, and its other fine arts, all contributed to its social life, and could not be destroyed by alien rule. It is this history which remained neglected during British Raj.

    Mahatma Gandhi desired radical changes. However, he wished to associate such changes with India’s tradition and cultural heritage. Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India, with a modern and secular outlook, upheld India’s past with reverence and a sense of pride. He (1956) writes: “Yet the past is ever with us and all that we are and that we have come from the past. We are its products and we live immersed in it. Not to understand it and feel it as something living within us is not to understand the present. To combine it with the present and extend it to the future, to break from it where it cannot be so united, to make all this the pulsating and vibrating material for thought and action – that is life.”

    In another passage, Nehru highlights India’s cultural heritage. He (ibid) writes: “The rising middle classes … wanted some cultural roots to cling on to, something that gave them assurance of their own worth, something that would reduce the sense of frustration and humiliation that foreign conquest and rule had produced… The past of India, with all its cultural variety and greatness, was a common heritage of all the Indian people, Hindu, Moslem, Christian and others; and their ancestors had helped to build it.” But Nehru never wanted the deadwood of the past to dominate the present. He was, in fact, a man with a democratic spirit and modern outlook.

    Forces of Unity in Modern India,

    M.N. Srinivas (1952), a noted sociologist, writes:

    “The concept of unity is inherent in Hinduism. There are sacred centres of Hindu pilgrimage in every corner of the land. Certain salient aspects of Sanskritic culture are to be found all over the country. India is the sacred land not only of the Hindus but also of the Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. The Muslims and Christians, too, have several sacred centres of pilgrimage in India. The institution of caste cuts across diverse religious groups and gives them all a common social idiom.”

    Srinivas further notes that India, as a secular state, tolerates diversity. The Five-Year Plans, the spread of egalitarian ideals, a single government and a common body of civil and criminal laws are enough evidence of India’s plural character and oneness. However, one may not agree with Srinivas’ observation regarding Hinduism in general and about the caste system, in particular.

    Orthodoxy of these two systems has, at times, endangered India’s unity. The two have often been misused for suppression and exploitation of weaker sections of society, including women. Recently, the Noble laureate Amartya Sen, pleaded for a common civil code for all the commu­nities, including Muslims.

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