Definitions [6]
Definition: Society
According to Morton Fried, Egalitarian society means 'there are as many positions of prestige in any given age/sex grade as there are persons capable of fitting them.'
Definition: Caste System
- A.W. Green provides a definition of caste, "Caste is a system of stratification in which mobility, movement up and down the status ladder, at least ideally may not occur. Birth determines one's occupation, place of residence, style of life, personal associates, and the group from among whom one must find a mate. The caste system is also protected by law and sanctified by relation."
- E.A.H. Blaunt describes it as, "an endogamous group, or collection of endogamous groups, bearing a Common name, membership of which is hereditary; imposing on its members certain restrictions in the matter of social intercourse; either following a common traditional occupation or claiming a common origin; and generally regarded as forming a single homogenous community."
Definition: Social Class
- In the words of Ogburn and Nimkoff, 'A social class is the aggregate of persons having essentially the same social status.
- Maciver pointed out, "A social is a portion of community marked off from the rest by social status."
- Ginsberg offered a comprehensive definition of class, “A class is a group of individuals who through common descent, similarly of occupation, wealth and education have come to have a similar mode of life, a similar stock of ideas, feelings and attitudes and forms of behaviour.”
Definition: Race
- Kroeber has framed the definition of race in a specific manner, 'A race is a valid biological concept. It is a group united by heredity: a breed or generic strain or sub - species. It is not a valid socio-cultural concept.'
- Definition offered by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) in Paris, in June 1951, as the most usable one, "In its anthropological sense, the word 'race' should be reserved for groups of mankind possessing well-developed and primarily inheritable physical differences from other groups."
Definition: Racism
Racism is a consciously created doctrine to dominate over a specific group of people, based on the belief that one race is superior to others and therefore has the right to rule, exploit, or discriminate against them.
Definition: Social stratification
Social stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
Key Points
Key Points: Class Society
- Class society shows unequal access to prestige, power, and economic resources.
- Unlike rank societies, class differences are mainly economic in nature.
- Class position is not always determined by birth; mobility is possible.
- Industrial class societies move towards merit-based stratification.
- According to Karl Marx, class is defined by one’s relation to the means of production.
Key Points: Rank Societies
- Rank societies have unequal social status and prestige.
- Access to economic resources and power is relatively equal.
- Leadership positions are usually hereditary.
- Commoners show formal respect and subordination to chiefs.
- High rank does not always mean greater wealth.
Key Points: Characteristics of social stratification
- It is social.
- It is found in all societies.
- It is quitious.
- It takes different forms.
- It is consequential as sometimes most essential things are not distributed equally leading to the growth of stratified order in society.
Key Points: Caste System
- Caste is a closed social system based on birth and endogamy.
- Each caste is traditionally linked with hereditary occupation.
- The system is hierarchical, with Brahmins at the top and untouchables at the bottom.
- Lower castes faced social discrimination, exploitation, and ritual pollution.
- Caste system mainly benefited upper and land-owning castes.
- Economic changes and cash payment for services weakened the caste system in India.
- Similar caste-like systems existed in other societies, such as Burakumin in Japan and Tutsi–Hutu in Rwanda.
Key Points: Development of Class
- The development of class did not follow a uniform or universal pattern in all societies.
- In primitive societies, class division was minimal due to simplicity of social structure.
- During the feudal period, society was mainly divided into lords and serfs, along with artisans and soldiers.
- With the Industrial Revolution, two major classes emerged—capitalists and proletariat (workers).
- Later, a large and diverse middle class developed between capitalists and workers.
- Class mobility increased, and society became more complex with multiple sub-classes.
- Modern class position is influenced by income, occupation, education, power, and lifestyle, not income alone.
Key Points: Caste Origin
- There is no unanimous agreement among scholars regarding the origin of caste.
- Traditional (religious) theories trace the origin of caste to ancient Indian texts.
- The Karma and Dharma theories explain caste as a result of past actions and religious conduct.
- The Guna theory explains caste on the basis of inherited and acquired qualities.
- The Political theory views caste as a product of domination by upper social groups.
- The Racial theory explains caste as the outcome of Aryan and non-Aryan racial differences.
- Modern scholars accept caste origin as a multi-factorial process, not a single cause.
Key Points: Caste and Class comparisons
|
Basis of Difference |
Class |
Caste |
|
Basis of membership |
Based on achievement, ability, and economic position |
Based on birth and heredity |
|
Marriage |
Inter-class marriage permitted |
Inter-caste marriage traditionally prohibited |
|
Occupation |
Free choice of occupation |
Hereditary and fixed occupation |
|
Religious basis |
Secular, not linked to religion |
Closely linked with religion and purity–pollution |
|
Nature of system |
Flexible and individualistic |
Rigid and collective, regulated by caste councils |
Key Points: Features of Caste in India
- Endogamy and Heredity: Caste membership is determined by birth and remains unchanged throughout life; marriage is restricted within one’s own caste.
- Hierarchy: The caste system is organised in a rigid hierarchical order with unequal status and privileges among castes.
- Hereditary Occupation: Each caste is traditionally associated with a specific occupation, though this link has weakened in modern times.
- Taboos and Restrictions: Strict rules regarding food, social contact, and the concept of purity and pollution are enforced.
- Caste Authority: Caste councils exercise social control and authority, though their power has declined due to modern legal systems.
Key Points: Reservation
- Introduced after Independence to remove social and educational backwardness.
- Kalelkar Commission (1953) report was rejected.
- Mandal Commission (1979) identified OBCs using 11 criteria.
- Recommended 27% reservation for OBCs.
- Implemented in 1990, causing nationwide debate.
- Applies to education, jobs, promotions, and aided institutions.
- Reforms suggested: income criterion, exclude creamy layer, limit to first generation.
Key Points: Social Mobility
- Social mobility means movement of individuals or groups from one social position to another.
- Caste is not a completely closed system; mobility exists within and outside caste.
- M. N. Srinivas introduced the concept of Sanskritisation to explain caste mobility.
- Sanskritisation involves adopting upper-caste customs to rise in social hierarchy.
- Westernisation refers to changes in Indian society due to British influence.
- Constitutional measures like abolition of untouchability promoted social mobility.
- Education, industrialisation, legislation, and reservation have weakened caste rigidity in modern India.
Key Points: Sanskritization
- Sanskritization is a process of upward social mobility among lower castes or groups.
- It involves adoption of customs, rituals, and ideology of upper (often twice-born) castes.
- The process brings positional change, not structural change, in caste hierarchy.
- Sanskritization usually takes place gradually over one or more generations.
- It is found not only among Hindu castes but also among tribal and semi-tribal groups.
Key Points: Westernization
- Westernization refers to changes in Indian society and culture due to British rule.
- The term was explained by M. N. Srinivas.
- It includes changes in technology, institutions, values, and ideology.
- Westernization led to the spread of modern education, secularism, and rational thinking.
- British legal system promoted equality, human rights, and social reforms.
- It resulted in the decline of practices like sati and untouchability.
- Westernization is a gradual and selective process, not total rejection of Indian culture.
Key Points: Factors leading to change in the caste system
- The Indian Constitution ensured equality, justice, and abolition of untouchability, weakening caste rigidity.
- Democracy and adult franchise reduced caste domination and hierarchy.
- Reservation policies created new opportunities for backward castes but also politicised caste.
- Education, urbanisation, and industrialisation weakened traditional caste boundaries.
- Economic changes shifted status from caste to income, occupation, and power.
- Inter-caste interaction and mobility increased due to communication and migration.
- Political mobilisation of caste has transformed caste into a new form rather than eliminating it.
Key Points: Constitutional Measures of Caste System
- Caste Disabilities Removal Act (1850): Removed civil and property disabilities arising from change of religion or loss of caste.
- Hindu Marriage Act (1955): Legalised monogamy, fixed minimum marriage age, permitted inter-caste marriages, and ensured women’s rights.
- Untouchability Offences Act (1955): Abolished untouchability, ensured equal access to temples, public places, water sources, and imposed penalties for discrimination.
- Kaka Kalelkar Commission (1953): Identified backward classes and recommended social and economic measures for their upliftment.
- Mandal Commission (1979): Recommended reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) based on social and educational backwardness.
Key Points: Misinformation
- Misinformation arises from ignorance or vested interests, leading to false beliefs about other groups.
- Lack of proper knowledge encourages the spread of negative stereotypes in the early stages.
- Gradually, misinformation becomes deliberate and systematic, strengthening group divisions.
- Media and communication channels accelerate the spread of false information in modern society.
- Persistent misinformation leads to fear, hostility, and conflict between different social groups.
Key Points: Characteristics of Race
- It is a biological and zoological concept
- It is united by heredity and, therefore, consists of several genetic strains
- It differentiates between one race from another
- It identifies physical and biological differences in mankind
Key Points: Classification of Race
- Stature (Body Height): Average height; influenced by environment and nutrition.
- Cephalic Index: Head length–breadth ratio; useful for tribe/nation comparison.
- Nasal Index: Nose breadth–length ratio; broad, medium, or narrow nose.
- Prognathism: Degree of jaw protrusion; visible but hard to measure.
- Hair Texture and Hairiness: Hair texture and body hair; relatively hereditary features.
Key Points: Notion of Ethnicity
- Ethnicity is a social identity based on shared ancestry, culture, language, and historical experience.
- It is formed more through cultural and social beliefs than biological or racial factors.
- According to Max Weber, ethnicity depends on a subjective belief in common descent.
- Ethnic identity is dynamic, changing with migration, social interaction, and globalization.
- Ethnicity is a social construct and is often used for group cohesion or political mobilization.
Key Points: Race and Ethnicity
- Race and ethnicity often give rise to prejudice, leading to negative attitudes toward other groups.
- Prejudice includes stereotypes, negative feelings, and discriminatory behaviour against certain communities.
- Racial prejudice causes social and economic disadvantages, such as low wages, job loss, and unequal treatment.
- Religious and ethnic minorities frequently face discrimination, even in countries claiming equality.
- True egalitarian society is still difficult to achieve, as acceptance of differences remains limited.
Key Points: Ethnocentrism
- Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own group, culture, or norms are superior to others.
- It judges other groups using the standards of one’s own group, limiting neutrality.
- It leads to segregation, discrimination, and exclusion of other social groups.
- Ethnocentrism is often used to justify domination, privileges, and control by a dominant group.
- It narrows group boundaries and encourages exploitation and social conflict.
Key Points: Xenophobia
- Xenophobia refers to fear, hatred, or avoidance of strangers or outsiders.
- It arises when people view outsiders as threats to identity, security, or resources.
- Xenophobia often results in violence, discrimination, and social exclusion.
- It can escalate to mass hostility, ethnic conflict, and even genocide.
- Xenophobia is frequently a consequence of extreme ethnocentrism.
Key Points: Economic Advantages
- Prejudice is used to justify economic domination and exploitation of one group by another.
- It helps the dominant group monopolize profits, surplus, and resources.
- Minority and weaker groups are often paid lower wages and denied benefits.
- Gender and racial segregation ensures unequal access to jobs and income.
- Economic divisions are deliberately maintained to secure benefits for the dominant group.
Key points: Political Advantages
- Prejudice strengthens political power and dominance of ruling groups.
- It helps rulers divide people into groups for easier control and governance.
- Smaller or weaker groups are often assimilated or segregated for political convenience.
- Dominant powers use prejudice to extract cheap labour and military support.
- Group divisions provide a base for displaying authority and maintaining political control.
Key points: Ethnic conflict
- Ethnic conflict refers to violent or non-violent struggles between ethnic groups to protect identity, power, resources, or territory.
- It is often triggered when groups compete for political power, economic benefits, or social dominance.
- Political elites and dominant groups frequently mobilize ethnic identities to intensify conflicts.
- Ethnic conflicts lead to violence, human rights violations, displacement, and economic instability.
- Such conflicts can expand beyond local boundaries, becoming national or international crises and threatening peace and security.
Key Points: Difference between sex and gender
|
Basis |
Sex |
Gender |
|
Meaning |
Biological distinction between male and female based on chromosomes (XX/XY). |
Social and cultural meanings attached to being male or female. |
|
Nature |
Natural and determined before birth. |
Socially constructed and learned through socialization. |
|
Basis of Difference |
Based on biological traits like chromosomes and hormones. |
Based on roles, expectations, power, and social status. |
|
Universality |
Same across all societies. |
Varies across cultures and societies. |
|
Impact on Society |
Does not directly create inequality. |
Leads to gender stratification, inequality, and sexism. |
Key Points: Women and occupation
- Women are traditionally confined to domestic and reproductive roles while men dominate paid work.
- Gender socialization from childhood shapes different career choices for men and women.
- Women are largely employed in low-paid, low-prestige and gender-typed occupations.
- Women’s unpaid and informal work remains statistically invisible and undervalued.
- Workplace inequality persists in the form of wage gaps, limited mobility and double burden.
Key Points: Women and Family
- Women are socialized from childhood to accept secondary and sacrificial roles within the family.
- Household responsibilities and caregiving are culturally assigned to women, even when they are employed.
- Entry of women into paid work has changed family structures but has not removed gender inequality at home.
- Aged women, especially widows, face economic dependence, insecurity and marginalization in patriarchal families.
- Media and popular culture idealize women as family sustainers, reinforcing traditional gender expectations.
Key Points: Women and Property
- Traditionally, women’s inheritance rights were limited as marriage transferred them out of the parental family.
- The Hindu Succession Act granted equal inheritance rights, but Mitakshara coparcenary long excluded women from property control.
- Widows’ rights improved as remarriage does not divest them of property and maintenance is legally recognized.
- Muslim and Christian personal laws historically restricted women’s share in inheritance, though courts have expanded maintenance rights.
- Despite legal reforms, social practices still prevent women from fully exercising property rights in reality.
Key Points: Foeticide
- Female foeticide is a severe form of violence against women driven by social pressure and preference for male children.
- The birth of a girl is often viewed as a burden, leading to the selective elimination of female foetuses.
- Advances like ultrasonography increased sex determination, worsening the decline in the child sex ratio.
- The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (1971) and PNDT Act (1994, amended 1996) were enacted to curb sex selection.
- Legal measures alone are insufficient unless society accepts women as equal human beings.
Key Points: Dowry
- Dowry is an age-old practice of transferring money or goods from the bride’s family at marriage, negatively affecting women’s lives.
- The dowry system leads to neglect of girls’ education, economic exploitation, and in extreme cases, suicide.
- The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (amended in 1984 and 1986) criminalised giving, taking, and demanding dowry.
- Dowry-related cruelty is a non-bailable offence under Sections 498A and 304B of the Indian Penal Code.
- Despite legal measures, social norms, patriarchy, and legal loopholes continue to sustain the practice.
Key Points: Domestic Violence
- Domestic violence includes physical, sexual, psychological harm, threats, coercion, or deprivation of liberty against women.
- It is often committed by intimate partners or family members and is treated as a private matter due to social conditioning.
- Cultural norms link family honour to women’s behaviour, legitimising control, abuse, and obedience to male authority.
- Implicit violence includes emotional abuse, economic deprivation, restriction on mobility, and enforced isolation.
- The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 recognises physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and economic abuse as punishable offences.
Key Points: Rape
- Rape is one of the most severe forms of gender-based violence cutting across caste, class and religion.
- Fear of social stigma, police insensitivity and slow judicial process discourages victims from reporting rape.
- Rape within the family or by known persons is widely underreported due to social pressure and silence.
- The 2012 Delhi gang rape led to major legal reforms and nationwide protests demanding women’s safety.
- Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 introduced stricter punishments for rape, gang rape, acid attacks, stalking and sexual harassment.
- Age of consent was raised from 16 to 18 years, making sexual activity with minors statutory rape.
- Despite legal provisions, victim-blaming, social ostracism and fear of dishonour continue to hinder justice and rehabilitation.
Key Points: Legal measures taken in India to protect women from gender discrimination
- Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 – Prohibits giving, taking or demanding dowry and makes it a punishable offence.
- PCPNDT Act, 1994 – Bans sex determination and sex-selective abortion to prevent female foeticide.
- Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 – Protects women from physical, emotional, sexual and economic abuse within the family.
- Constitutional Right to Equality (Articles 14 & 15) – Guarantees equality before law and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.
- Legal Support & Relief Measures – Provide women access to police help, courts, protection officers, shelter homes and free legal aid.
