Sociology

EMERGENCE AND GROWTH OF SOCIOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE IN INDIA

What is sociology? It is a very tricking question. To answer this question in a precise way on which there can be unanimity is very difficult to even for a professional sociologist. This is why, at the time of the Ninth World Congress of Sociology (1976), the Mayoress of Uppsala (Sweden) while welcoming the delegates commented on the printed programme that “sociology is everything and everything is sociology”. Common man understands sociology right in this way. Generally and in a very simple manner, sociology is defined as the study of society (more specifically, human society or societies or human behaviour in societies). (Rawat, 2015). Sociology is one attempt to understand the human being. It centres on our social life. It does not focus on the individual’s personality as the cause of behaviour but examines social interaction, social patterns (for example, roles, class, culture, power, conflict), and ongoing socialization.

The emergence and growth of sociology would be in three phases. First is the Impact of colonial rulers and administrators, the Second is early Indian Thinkers and the third one is Post Independence Indian Scholars.

1. Impact of colonial rulers and administrators: 

Sociology, as a discipline, came much after the contributions made by social thinkers, philosophers, administrators who worked at understanding the Indian society, in general, as well as studying some specific aspects of Indian society, such as law, family, religion and the caste system. It is the contributions made by the Ideologists, such as Henry Maine, Alfred Lyell contributes to the development of Sociology in India. They emphasized the need to preserve the indigenous social institutions found in Indian society rather than destroying them and imposing an alien way of life on her people. They recognized the past beauty of Indian cultural and literary tradition. Besides ideologists, some British administrators made wide-ranging studies of Indian people, their races and cultures. Most of these studies helped generate a body of knowledge, preserved in such as Census Reports, Imperial Gazetteers, and District Gazetteers and as well as in books and monographs, which are referred by social anthropologists and sociologists even today. Sociology was better established on the continent such as European countries like France, Germany and England.

When Sociology was established in Indian Universities in the developing phase of discipline it was dominated by the Structural-Functional perspective, which is based on the Positivistic ideology of the discipline in the Indian context. Generally, Sociology has studied urban-industrial groups. Now an account of academic language is developed in the discipline of Sociology, which is partially related to tribes, castes and communities from the emancipator viewpoint. Thus, in the Indian academic studies, we find that tribe, caste and religion have been linked with each other in a variety of ways. In India mainly based on empirical data, but now a day’s sociologists develop the methodology for using qualitative data in research and use it on large scale.

2. Development of Sociology in early Indian thinkers: 

The Early Indian Thinkers phase was essentially a phase of multi-level fusion. It is not without significance that the twin disciplines of Sociology and Social Anthropology had their beginnings in the two cities of Bombay and Calcutta, which typically represented colonialism. These beginnings were more or less simultaneous in the second decade of the last century. Initially, more established and ‘grown-up’ social science partners treated Sociology and social anthropology as a ‘left behind category’ and as such these disciplines were relegated to a subordinate position in the organizational structure of Indian Universities. Most departments of Sociology in their premature phases began their journey with economics. Contributions of B.N. Seal, G.S. Ghurye, B.K. Sarkar, Radhakamal Mukherjee, D.P. Mukerji and K.P. Chattopadhyay during the pre-Independence period are particularly remarkable. Their intellectual interests, methods of data collection, and their interpretations of the Indian social system and social institutions were strongly influenced by the ethnographic works produced by scholar-administrators throughout the colonial period. Studies on caste, family, marriage and kinship, social stratification, tribal communities, rural and urban society figured prominently in this period.

It would be no overstatement to mention that Ghurye introduced the down-to-earth empiricism in Indian Sociology. His diversified interests are also reflected in his works e.g. family, kinship structures, marriage, religious sects, and ethnic groups – castes. Whereas Seal and Sarkar were products of the Bangali renaissance and were inspired by the Indian National Movement, and had pioneered studies on ethnicity, religion and culture (Mukherjee, 1977b: 31-41), Chattopadhyay (social Anthropologist) conducted large scale social surveys which exposed the conditions of the peasantry and the working class as well as of the tribals in Bengal and away. The only other major centre, which contributed considerably to the growth of Sociology in the country during the pre-Independence period, was Lucknow. As in the case of Calcutta, the pioneers of Sociology in Lucknow particularly Radhakamal Mukherjee focused on the issues of rural economy and land problems (1926, 1927), deteriorating agrarian relations and conditions of the peasantry in Oudh (1929), population problems (1938), and problems of the Indian working class (1945), being initially trained in economics.

3. Development of Sociology in post-independence Indian scholars: 

The phase of expansion of Sociology began in 1952, with several factors account for its growth. The policymakers of independent India pursued objectives of economic regeneration and social development, and they recognized the role of the social sciences in attaining the objectives of national reconstruction and development (Dhanagre, 1993:45). They defined the new task of Sociology as social engineering and social policy science. It meant increased participation by social scientists, particularly economists and sociologists, in research and social and economic development (Singh 1986:8-9).

At the same time, heavy funding from the Ford Foundation to save India from sliding into the revolutionary communist path of development led many sociologists in India to undertake researches in the field of community development also in the process of strengthening the policy-relevant researches. A major reason that contributed to the growth of Sociology in the post-independence period can also be attributed to the policy of administration followed by the Indian state declared the practice of untouchability in any form an offence, and with the introduction of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SCs and STs) in the legislatures and jobs in the government and the public sector, a new field was opened up for a study to sociologists, though very few were aware of this fact (Srinivas, 1994:12). Indian society has a mosaic structure of agriculture and industries. This kind of complex structure raises economical and social inequalities. These inequalities are based on the ground of caste, class, and gender. Indian society is facing change from agriculture to market-based capitalism.

The contradictions in society emerge new subjects like Sociology of gender, Dalit studies, Sociology of tribe such as. In this period India has nearly half of the total population illiterate and poor. This situation helps to the growth of urban slums points up this process. The larger the city, the larger is the problem of urban poverty and its ghettoization. Urban slum dwellers face miserable conditions. The dissatisfaction in urban life is enlarged leading to continued conflicts between urban middle classes and the slum-dwelling poor. The liberalization and opening of the economy have now added a new class of the ‘super-rich’ to the urban social circumstances. This creates among urban middle classes as well as the urban poor very complex forms of cultural and social tensions. Indian sociologists are yet to devote their serious consideration to these issues if they have to follow the goal of equality and justify their relevance to society at large. The result of social forces operating in our society since independence has led us to face many unforeseen questions. These influence both our society as well as the profession of Sociology. As such, there is a need to reflect extremely on these problems and to organize us to meet these challenges since the challenge is inbuilt in the process of change. It influences both individuals and societies.

We have to examine how far the forces of transformation are global, and also bring about the beneficial cost to society. A serious assessment of this situation is yet to be made. Recent development in Sociology is the inclusion of Sociology of Development and then the Sociology of Globalization, some scholars also develop new academic branches of Sociology e.g. Sexuality and Reproductive health, Social Theory, Collective actions in the Urban Arena. After the independence period threw was an improvement in the theoretical understanding of the discipline. Before independence, the views of Indian thinkers such as Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule; did not understand as socio thinkers, now in this days, these thinkers are known as social thinkers in Dalit Studies which is the body of understanding developed by Indian Sociologists. The Indian Sociological works have often drawn upon these early books and documents written by British officials or observers.

CONCLUSION

The common man or laymen are misunderstanding sociology because they do not understand the meaning of society and therefore it’s being important to understand what we do, are, and think. Understanding human beings from a biological or psychological perspective is easier and more concrete. Many people are not willing to accept a scientific study of social life, often because they do not understand science, and sometimes because they do not think we can generalize about human life.

To sociologists, however, it is very important to understand the human being carefully and objectively, using scientific principles wherever possible. Nothing is as fascinating as understanding why human beings act as they do and nothing is as important.

Many challenges that Sociology is facing in India, like pertaining to the quality of students, are concerned with the paucity of faculties and Funding because of neglect and failure on the part of state governments. Indian Sociological Society is making every possible effort to make stronger in understanding the new trends and discipline emphasizing on fieldwork which reaches and extent of Sociology in India.

References

Charon, Joel M., The meaning of Sociology / Joel M. Charon. 6th edition: Printed in the United States of America. ISBN 0-13-798042-6

Ritzer, George, Sociological Theory / George Ritzer. – 5th edition: printed in Singapore. ISBN 0-07-229605-4

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology / Richard T. Schaefer. – 9th ed., The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., ISBN 0-07-288692-7 (student edition) ISBN 0-07-294173-1

Rawat, H. K. Sociology Basic Concepts. New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2015.

Dhanagre, D.N. 1993. Themes and Perspectives in Indian Sociology. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.

Mukherjee, Ramakrishna. 1977b. Trends in Indian Sociology, Current Sociology, 25(3).

Mukherjee, Partha Nath. 2006. Rethinking Sociology in an Era of Transformatory Changes, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 55, No.2.

Singh, Yogendra. 2000. Culture Change in India: Identity and Globalization. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.

Srinivas, M.N. 1994. Sociology in India and its Future, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 43, No.1.