Social Change in Indian Society!

Our objective is to evaluate the existing concepts and propositions about social change in
contemporary Indian society. We intend to show how either due to a partial focus on the social
processes in India, or due to the limitations of the analytical categories used by individual
sociologists, treatment of change in India remains narrow and inadequate. We suggest some
major reformulations in these conceptual categories which are theoretically consistent and might
also lead to a comprehensive understanding of the Indian processes of social change.
Social Change as Ideology:
The study of social change, in view of the nebulous nature of its theory is a difficult task, and it
is more difficult in the case of a society like India which has not only a fathomless historical
depth and plurality of traditions but is also engulfed in a movement of nationalistic aspirations
under which concepts of change and modernization are loaded with ideological meanings.
In this form, change ceases to be viewed as a normal social process; it is transformed into an
ideology that change is in itself desirable and must be sought for. This introduces non-scientific
elements in the evaluation of social change in India, elements of which are found in many
studies. Authors of these studies evaluate change or non-change in India from their own moral or
ideological view-points. With varying emphasis, these writers accept the desirability of change
for the sake of change.
Some of them assume prophetic aura, others express dismay at the slow change, and still others
postulate quasi-deterministic interpretations about Indian phenomenon of change. The same
tendency is manifest when change is treated by some social scientists as equivalent to
development and progress. This, Dumont says, amounts to the justification of the social
order being found not in what it is, but in what it is supposedly becoming.in such
circumstances a great and increasing social pressure is brought upon those who in the public
estimation should know about social change.
The ideological orientation, however, is not only confined to the formulation of the goals of
social change, but also extends to the specific form the sociological categories should have to
analyze change. To achieve this goal a case for the development of a particularistic or typical
Indian sociology is made. Its proponents admit, however, that sociological explanations involve
some form of intellection which is universalistic, call, it sociological apperception, empathy,
or sociological imagination, but simultaneously they also hold that explanation of specific
forms of change in the cultural context of a nation requires delineation of conceptual categories
applicable only to that particular culture. Hence, they claim there should be an Indian sociology
distinct from sociology in the West or in other parts of the world. This particularism of some
Indian sociologists introduces yet another ideological element in the analysis of change.
This tendency owes its origin particularly to the reaction of Indian sociologists to the
ethnocentric formulation of the theories of social evolution pro- pounded during the 19th
century. In part, it also reflects the intellectual orientation of some sociologists which is
humanistic and non-empirical, and as a safeguard for this which favours sociological

particularism on the one hand, and, on the other, attempts to accord sociology the status of a
metaphysical and historical-speculative discipline in conformity with Indian tradition.
The fact is, however, overlooked that even the Western sociology has a tradition of antipositivism, and on this basis alone the case for Indian sociology cannot be defended. Obviously,
a part of such reasoning is an outcome of the identity crisis among the intellectuals and elite of
the new nations. To some extent it may also be a reflection of the way Indian politico-economic
and cultural factors impinge upon the thinking of Indian sociologists .a problem which is
relevant to sociology of knowledge.
This orientation of Indian sociologists, however, is not entirely ideological. Quite a good deal of
it also results from conceptual ambiguities common to sociology in general. For instance, some
Indian sociologists object to a definition of social system which says: (Social System) consists
of a plurality of individual actors who are motivated in terms of a tendency to the optimization of
gratification.
Their view is that Indian social system traditionally organized on caste lines idealized the value
of self-denial, hierarchy and moral obligation (dharma) rather than optimization of
gratification. Such a notion of social system is derived from an individualistic frame of
reference which did not apply to the Indian situation.
A closer scrutiny of the above will, however, reveal the way ideological elements are implicit in
the arguments. Emphasis on the uniqueness of Indian society emerges from a confusion of levels
between the raw data of sociology, such as the specific values, institutions, customs and cultural
forms and its conceptual abstractions which constitute the basis of sociological categories. It is
overlooked that society or social structure as concepts are higher-level abstractions over
culture.
A logical corollary of this view-point is the rejection of sociology for culturology, or probably for
a series of culturologies, each based on different sets of ideological commitments.5 Moreover,
the claim for an Indian sociology is not entirely based on a humanistic methodological tradition
which, as we mentioned above, also exists in the West; its roots lie rather in the ideology of
nationalism.
A comparative study of institutions is a prerequisite for analysis bf social change which is not
possible through a culturological approach to sociology as it overemphasizes the uniqueness of
social phenomenon. For instance, how could the concept modernization is explained from a
purely Indological frame of reference? How could one explain the changes in the social structure
of the Indian society, in the spheres of family, caste, civic and community administration and
bureaucracy, without analyzing the significance of new heterogenetic developments in law,
constitutional rights, bureaucracy, science and technology?
Yet, none could deny that Indian cultural tradition is unique. But uniqueness is a common and
simple fact of life; every concrete event in temporal sense is unique. Uniqueness is only one
facet of reality; its other facet comprises function. the way social realities interact and are

related to one another. A study of the latter aspect necessitates comparison which is impossible
without conceptual abstraction.
These abstractions form a hierarchical order, and through them the sociologist translates the
language of the sources, to borrow a term from Hans L. Zetterberg, into the language of
sociology. The sociologist not only takes note of the concrete individualities of social events and
forms, but also translates them into higher-order abstractions for comparison.
It is probably in this sense that Louis Dumont, who otherwise takes a cult-urological or, in his
own words, ideo-structural approach to Indian sociology, is able to arrive at the functional
equivalent of the (Western idea of the) individual in the Indian institution of caste.
He writes:
Terms like individualism, atomism, secularism are often used to oppose modern society to
societies of the traditional type. In particular, the contrast between caste society and its modern
counterpart is a commonplace. Liberty and equality on the one hand, interdependence and
hierarchy on the other, .are in the foreground. Permanence versus mobility, ascription versus
achievement allows for a neat contrariety between the two kinds of social system.
We might well ask whether there was as much difference in social practice here and there, as
between (explicit or implicit) social theories, and I shall point out that Western society is no
stranger to the attitudes and even to the ideas which caste society upholds. To return to our
comparison, we may say that the individual, in so far as he is the main bearer of the values in the
modern society, is equivalent to order, or dharma in classical Hindu societymodern society has
evolved from that of the Middle Ages, which certainly at first sight appears to be a society of the
traditional type, more like the Indian than like the modern. The conception of the Universities,
i.e. of the social body as a whole of which living men are merely the parts, obviously belongs to
the traditional conceptions of society and in particular is akin to the Hindu conception of dharma
and the hierarchical interdependence of the several social statuses.
This implies that many elements of the Indian culture, which for the lack of methodological
clarity are treated as unique, can with facility be analysed in terms of higher levels of
abstractions without, however, distorting their distinctiveness as cultural symbols. Could we not,
for instance, offer a functional equivalent of dharma .as normative order, of karma as personal
moral commitment, of jati or caste as hierarchical principle of stratification? About caste,
substantial comparative study has already been conducted to show how its structural counterparts
are found even outside the Indian tradition.
Disciplinary isolationism is, moreover, contrary to the tendency in social sciences to come
together. This, however, proceeds side by side with the process of internal differentiation in the
fields of individual disciplines. A number of noted sociologists including Raymond Aron and
Edward E. Shils have acknowledged this process. In this light the claim for an Indian sociology
appears somewhat anachronistic.

Another bias in the studies of social change in India results from too much concern with culture
and values. Structural realities are often ignored and studies suffer from value bias, as it were.
Most studies are focused on acculturation, diffusion of norms and values; change is identified
with spread of these values in regional or national spheres.
The reason for this is mainly historical. Both the British and French social scientists who first
conducted sociological studies in India were more interested in the ethnography of caste, custom
and culture and they studied these phenomena from a descriptive or functional model. Studies
employing a dialectical or conflict model have been fewer indeed.
The distinction between the functional and the dialectical models is too well-known to merit
repetition. Functionalism assumes that society is a relatively persisting configuration of
elements and consensus is an ubiquitous element of the social system. The dialectical model, on
the contrary, treats change or tension to be ubiquitous in society. Since functionalism assumes
social systems to be in a state of value consensus, it relegates the role of power in social relations
to a secondary place; dialectical model, on the other hand, presupposes that value conflict is a
universal reality of any stratified social structure.
Functionalism treats change as a slow, cumulative process of adjustment to new situations.
Dialectical model holds that most changes are revolutionary in significance and effect qualitative
transformation in the social structure. According to functionalism, changes constantly take place
in social systems through internal growth and adjustment with forces from without; in dialectical
model, major sources of change are immanent in the system itself.
For ideological reasons, differences between these two models are exaggerated when in reality
they have many common elements. The dichotomy between consensus and conflict which is
often used to counterpose the two models is, however, not absolute. Not only consensus but also
conflict has system-integrative functions as noted by many sociologists. Moreover, both models
take an evolutionary view of change and, in some respects, both are based on an equilibrium
model of society.
It is a curious fact, however, that Indian sociologists who voice the need for a typical Indian
sociology also identify themselves methodologically either with dialectical or functional
approaches. This shows not only the extent of ambiguity but also conflict in the thinking of these
sociologists. Some illustrations of this we may find in their conceptual approaches to the study of
social change in India.
Concepts and Approaches about Social Change in India:
Some major concepts and approaches about social change in India can be grouped as:
(i) Sanskritization and Westernization;
(ii) Little and Great traditions consisting of (a) processes of parochialization and
universalization, and (b) cultural performances and organization of tradition;

(iii) Multiple traditions;

(iv) Structural approach, based on (a) functional model, and (b) dialectical model; and
(v) Cognitive historical or Indological approach.
We shall briefly review each of them to find common grounds for a conceptual integration and
also to show the biases and limitations from which they suffer.
Sanskritizalion and Westernization:
The term Sanskritization was used first by M.N. Srinivas to describe the process of cultural
mobility in the traditional social structure of India. In his study of the Coorgs in Mysore he found
that lower castes, in order to raise their position in the caste hierarchy, adopted some customs of
the Brahmins and gave up some of their own, considered to be impure by the higher castes.
For instance, they gave up meat-eating, consumption of liquor and animal sacrifice to their
deities; they imitated the Brahmins in matters of dress, food and rituals. By doing this, within a
generation or so they could claim higher positions in the hierarchy of castes. To denote this
process of mobility Srinivas first used the term Brahmanization. Later on, he replaced it by
Sanskritization.
Sanskritization is a much broader concept than Brahmanization. Srinivas realized that the
process which motivated the lower castes to imitate the customs of the Brahmins in Mysore was
a specific case of a general tendency among the lower castes to imitate the cultural ways of the
higher castes; in many cases these higher castes were non-Brahmins; they were Kshatriyas, Jats,
Vaisyas, etc. in various regions of the country.
The crucial idea, however, is that of hierarchy in the caste system theoretically represented by
Varna. There are four Varnas, the Brahmin, the Kshatriya, the Vaishya and the Shudra in the
same hierarchical order, and all individual castes or Sub-castes, with the exception of the
untouchables, can be classified on the basis of Varna into u hierarchical order.
The untouchables have traditionally been outside the Varna hierarchy and form the lowest rung
of the caste stratification. The Brahmins, who constitute the top of the Varna hierarchy, have
since time immemorial enjoyed the most respectable position in the caste system.
They form the priestly class have the monopoly over the study and interpretation of the Hindu
scriptures and sacred texts through institutionalized means. As custodians of the Hindu tradition
a stricter conformity with the ideal norms of Hinduism was expected from them; this expectation
progressively became less and less strict for the castes lower down in the hierarchy until for the
lower and untouchable castes the widest deviation from the ideal norms was tolerated.
Thus, in the social structure of the caste system the hierarchy of social positions coincided with
the hierarchy of expectations about the conformity to ideal Hindu conduct-norms. Not only some
form of deviance by the lower and untouchable castes from the sacred Hindu norms was

tolerated but at one level their effort to follow the norms monopolized by the upper castes was
stubbornly resisted. Status in caste being ascribed by birth, the chances of smooth mobility to
high caste positions was more or less closed.
Despite this closure there have been changes in caste hierarchy and its norms from time to time.
For instance, what was culturally accepted (Sanskritic) during the Vedic period of Hinduism was
in some cases a taboo in the periods which followed. Vedic Hinduism was magico-animistic;
Vedic Brahmins drank Soma (liquor), offered animal sacrifice and ate beef.
These were prohibited later and the only exception was made in cases of the lower and
untouchable castes. The hierarchical principle, however, remained unchanged. It became rather
stronger as with few exceptions the castes with ritual superiority had dominant economic and
political positions. This cemented the hierarchical foundation of the caste system.
Sanskritization is the process of cultural and social mobility during these periods of relative
closure of the Hindu social system. It is an endogenous source of social change. From a social
psychological point, Sanskritization is a culturally specific case of the universal motivation
toward anticipatory socialization to the culture of a higher group in the hope of gaining its
status in future.
The specific sense of Sanskritization lies in the historicity of its meaning based on the Hindu
tradition. In this respect, Sanskritization is a unique historical expression of the general process
of acculturation as a means of vertical mobility of groups.
Here, we must explain the two levels of meanings which are implicit in Sanskritization and
which interchangeably have been made use of by Srinivas. We may call them historical specific
and contextual specific connotations of Sanskritization. In historical specific sense
Sanskritization refers to those processes in Indian history which led to changes in the status of
various castes, its leadership or its cultural patterns in different periods of history.
It is indicative of an endogenous source of social change in the broad historical spectrum of
India. In contextual specific sense, however, Sanskritization denotes contemporaneous processes
of cultural imitation of upper castes by lower castes or sub-castes, in different parts of India. The
nature of this type of Sanskritization is by no means uniform as the content of cultural norms or
customs being imitated may vary from Sanskritic or Hindu traditional forms to the tribal and
even the Islamic patterns.
This is illustrated by the diversity of patterns found in the contextual process of Sanskritization.
Studies show that at many places lower castes imitate the customs of the Kshatriyas and not of
the Brahmins; at other places tribes are reported to imitate the customs of the caste Hindus; in a
few exceptional cases even the higher castes have been found imitating the tribal ways or
undergoing the process called tribalization.
In other contexts, Muslim cultural style is found to set the limit for imitation by upper as well as
the lower castes. Islamic tradition being exogenous to the Hindu tradition, such forms of
acculturation fall outside the scope of Sanskritization. Beyond this a process of cultural

interaction between the Sans-kritic and other orthogenetic traditions such as those of the lower
castes and the tribes has always existed in India; this renders it difficult to define the exact nature
of Sanskritization.
Consequently, Srinivas has been changing his definition of Sanskritization from time to time.
Initially he defines it as the tendency among the low castes to move higher in the caste hierarchy
in a generation or two by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism, and by Sanskritizing its
ritual and pantheon.
He writes:
The caste system is far from a rigid system in which the position of each component caste is
fixed for all time. Movement has always been possible, and especially so in the middle regions of
the hierarchy. A low caste was able in a generation or two to rise to a higher position in the
hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism, and by Sanskritizing its ritual and
pantheon.
In short, it took over, as far as possible, the customs, rites and beliefs of the Brahmins, and the
adoption of the Brahmanic way of life by a low caste seems to have been frequent, though
theoretically for bidden. This process has been called Sanskritizationin preference to
Brahmanization, as certain Vedic rites are confined to the Brahmins and the two other twice
born castes.
Here Sanskritization is identified with imitation of the Brahmanical customs and manners by the
lower castes. Srinivas later re-defines Sanskritization as a process by which a low Hindu caste,
or tribal or other group, changes its customs, ritual, ideology, and way of life in the direction of a
high, frequently, twice born caste. Generally such changes are followed by a claim to a higher
position in the caste hierarchy than that traditionally conceded to the claimant caste by the local
community. (Italics added).
The new connotation of Sanskritization is evidently much broader; it is neither confined to
Brahmins as a reference, group nor to the imitation of mere rituals and religious practices. It
now also means imitation of ideologies but it is not clear in what sense the term ideology has
been used.
It could not be secular in meaning as in that case the distinction between Sanskritization and
secularization (Westernization) would be blurred. Probably ideology refers to various thematic
aspects of the Hindu tradition.
Srinivas once wrote:
Sanskritization means not only the adoption of new customs and habits, but also exposure to
new ideas and values, which have found frequent expression in the vast body of Sanskrit
literature sacred as well as secular. Karma, dharma, papa, maya, samsara and moksha are
examples of some of the most common Sanskritic theological ideas, and when people become

Sanskritized, these words occur frequently in their talk. Thus a distinction between the two
aspects can be drawn.
There is, however, one major theoretical implication in the meaning of Sanskritization as an
ideological borrowing process. It broadens the connotation of the term Sanskritic to include
both sacred and secular Clements of culture. In fact, through Sanskritization, often only secular
status symbols of the higher castes are imitated by the lower castes.
In north-eastern U.P., for example, the lower castes have imitated not the rituals or sacred
customs of the upper castes but their conspicuous style of consumption and living, such as betelchewing, wearing of gold ornaments, shoes and other forms of dresses which were proscribed
until the abolition of Zamindari.
Here the phenomena of economic and political domination assume great significance. This has
been recognized by Srinivas, and he integrates the concept of Sanskritization with the
phenomena of power and domination.
He writes:
The mediation of the various models of Sanskritization through the local dominant caste
stresses the importance of the latter in the process of cultural transmission. Thus, if the locally
dominant caste is Brahmin or Lingayat, it will tend to transmit a Brahmanical model of
Sanskritization, whereas if it is Rajput or Bania it will transmit Kshatriya or Vaishya model. Of
course, each locally dominant caste has its own conception of Brahmin, Kshatriya or Vaishya
models.
This evidently shows that meaning or context of Sanskritization would not only differ in each
model but also within the same model from region to region. This introduces contradictions in
various contextual specific connotations of Sanskritization besides those which might exist
between the historical and contextual specific levels of this Process.
There is also a problem in integrating the concept of dominance or power with the process of
Sanskritization. The phenomenon of dominance introduces the structural element in the
Sanskritization model of social change which is never fully made explicit by Srinivas.
In this connation he correlates the processes of caste mobility with the fluidity of the political
system in India at various levels of political organization (imperial secondary local, or imperial
regional provincial, village level) and with the pre-British Productive system. Due to political
fluidity, Srinivas contends, many dominant castes in the past ascended to higher positions within
the caste hierarchy either through royal decrees or through formation of autonomous political
power.
Historian K.M. Pannikar is even of the view that the Nandas were the last true Kshatriyas in
India (fifth century B.C.), and since then all so-called Kshatriyas have come into being by
usurpation of power by the lower castes and consequently the Kshatriya role and social position.

The process of Sanskritization mentioned above is a good example of the historical specific
usage of this term. It refers to succession or circulation of dominant groups in Indian history
through rise and fall of power, through conflicts and war and through political stratagems.
All these are illustrative of structural changes which a concept like Sanskritization does not
connote fully. Moreover, this meaning of Sanskritization bears no logical relationship to
contextual specific connotation of this concept since Sanskritization in this sense does not lead
to a real ascendance to a higher-caste status or to real power.
Westernization:
Compared with Sanskritization, Westernization is a simpler concept. It is defined by Srinivas as
the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British
rule, the term subsuming changes occurring at different levels .technology, institutions,
ideology and values. Emphasis on humanitarianism and rationalism is a part of Westernization
which led to a series of institutional and social reforms in India.
Establishment of scientific, technological and educational institutions, rise of nationalism, new
political culture and leadership in the country are all by-products of Westernization. According to
Srinivas, the increase in Westernization does not retard the process of Sanskritization; both go on
simultaneously, and to some extent, increase in Westernization accelerates the process of
Sanskritization. For instance, the postal facilities, railways, buses and newspaper media which
are the fruits of Western impact on India render more organized religious pilgrimages, meetings,
caste solidarities etc. possible now than in the past.
Srinivas prefers the term Westernization to modernization. He contends that modernization
presupposes rationality of goals which in the ultimate analysis could not be taken for- granted,
since human ends are based on value preferences and rationality could only be predicted of the
means not of the ends of social action. By Westernization he also means primarily the British
impact which he admits is historically untenable (yet) heuristically unavoidable.
Evidently, Sanskritization and Westernization as concepts are primarily focused to analyze
cultural changes, and have no scope for systematize explanation of changes in the social
structure. Srinivas concedes this point; to describe the social changes occurring in modem India
in terms of Sanskritization and Westernization is to describe it primarily in cultural and not in
structural terms. An analysis in terms of structure is much more difficult than an analysis in terms
of culture. He further adds that Sanskritization involves positional change in the caste system
without any structural change.
The questions, however, are: how far do Sanskritization and Westernization as concepts describe
the ramifications of cultural change in India? Arc the phenomena Sanskritization and
Westernization inclusive enough to account for all the major cultural changes in India? The
answers to these require a discussion of the concepts in two parts: first, in logical terms and
second, in terms of contextual sufficiency.

Sanskritization and Westernization, in logical sense, are truth asserting concepts which oscillate
between the logics of ideal-typical and nominal definitions of phenomena. Hence their
connotation is often vague, especially as we move from one level of cultural reality (historical
specific) to another (contextual specific).
Srinivas himself says about Sanskritization that it is an extremely complex and heterogeneous
concept. It is even possible that it would be more profitable to treat it as a bundle of concepts
than as a single concept. The important thing to remember is that it is only a name for a
widespread cultural process.
The nominal nature of the concept is thus clearly evident. This is also why Sanskritization and
Westernization fail to lead to a consistent theory of cultural change. Such consistency is far from
realization since in Srinivas own words, the heterogeneity of the concept of Sanskritization.
subsumes mutually antagonistic values, perhaps even as Westernization does.
Even otherwise, nominal definitions are devoid of theory. They contain no hypotheses, and in
Zetterbergs word cannot be true or false. They can be clumsy or elegant, appropriate or
inappropriate, effective or worthless but never true or false. Obviously, Sanskritization and
Westernization are theoretically loose terms; but as truth-asserting concepts they have great
appropriateness and viability.
Theoretical looseness of these concepts is evident also from the way scholars have interpreted
them. E.B. Harper, for instance, treats Sanskritization as a functional concept distinct from a
historical concept of change.
Sanskritization, according to him, is an interpretative category to understand the relationship
among the changing elements within the tradition than its historical reconstruction. Contrary to
this, J.F. Staal writes: It should be clear that the concept of Sanskritization describes a process
and is a concept of change.
It is not a concept at which synchronic analysis could ever arrive in order to explain material
obtained by synchronic analysis. Sanskritization is a meta-concept in this sense, and all historical
concepts are meta-concepts in that they are based upon concepts of synchronic analysis.
He further adds: Sanskritization as used by Srinivas and other anthropologists is a complex
concept or a class of concepts. The term itself seems to be misleading, since its relationship to
the term Sanskrit is extremely complicated.
The fluidity and contradiction in the meanings of Sanskritization are evident from the fact that it
could be treated as a functional (a-historical) concept and a historical meta-concept at the same
time. Staals reference to Sanskritization as a meta-concept is also not clear as meta-concepts are
generally at a higher level of abstraction over the primary or primitive concepts. Sanskritization
on the contrary is a primary concept which describes a particular set of substantive processes of
cultural changes in India.

The emphasis in this concept is on the particular or specific and not on the general or universal.
This is borne out from the following defense of this term by Srinivas: There was (another)
suggestion made that we should discard a local term like Sanskritization, and uses a universal
term like acculturation. I think this should be rejected for the reason that acculturation takes a
particular form in Hindu society, and we want to characterize this particular form of
acculturation. This contradicts the thesis of Staal.
Contextually, Sanskritization and Westernization are founded upon empirical observations and
offer objective insight into some aspects of cultural change. Difficulties, however, arise from the
complexity of the contextual frame of reference. As we have said, these concepts do not have the
same meaning or theoretical implications when used in historical specific and contextual
specific terms.
Probably, the controversy whether Sanskritization is a functional or historical concept is linked
with these two levels of usages. In historical specific sense Sanskritization is a concept loaded
with historical connotations closer to the view-point of Staal; but in contextual specific usage it
tends to show many attributes of a functional concept implied by E.B. Harper.
However, Sanskritization fails to account for many aspects of cultural changes in past and
contemporary India as it neglects the non-Sanskritic traditions. It may be noted that often a nonSanskritic element of culture may be a localized form of the Sanskritic tradition. McKim
Marriott finds such phenomenon in his study of a village community in India.
He observes no clear process of Sanskritization at the expense of the non- Sanskritic
traditions. Instead of borrowing, he finds evidence of accretion and of transmutation in cultural
form without apparent replacement and without rationalization of the accumulated and
transformed elements. Sanskritic rites are often added on to non-Sanskritic rites without
replacing them.
Moreover, Sanskritic influence has not been universal to all parts of the country. In most of
northern India, especially in Punjab, it was the Islamic tradition which provided a basis for
cultural imitation. Sikhism emerged here as a synthesis of the Hindu tradition with the Islamic
movements of sufism and mysticism.
In Punjab, writes Chanana, culturally Sanskritic influence has been but one of the trends and at
times it could not have become the main trend. For a few centuries until the third quarter of the
19th century Persian influence had been the dominating one in this area.
Chanana also does not find Westernization to be a simple process. He says, as regards the
present (situation in Punjab), it would be better to say that Indianization is at work; by this we
mean Westernization to a large extent in externals and the reassertion of largely Indian values,
mingled with the humanitarian values of the West in matters of spirit. This cultural synthesis or
Indianization has also been recognized by other historians.
There are, however, aspects of Indianization which do not conform to SanskritizationWesternization approach. The increasing tendency among the new elite and some castes and

religious groups to emphasize their own in group identity through isolationism and nativistic
revivalism is a case in point. Some of these movements such as for Dravidian identity in the
south, for tribal identity in the eastern border of India and for Muslim national identity in
Kashmir are not even related to the process of Indianization.
The forces working in such movements, as often also in Sanskritization, are not merely cultural;
they emerge from latent structural tensions in the social system rooted in the intergroup and
interclass conflict and rivalry for economic resources and power.
As suggested by Harold A. Gould, often the motive-force behind Sanskritization is not of cultural
imitation per se but an expression of challenge and revolt against the socio-economic
deprivations. Sanskritizations is thus a cultural camouflage for latent interclass and inter caste
competition for economic and social power, typical of a tradition-bound society where the
traditionally privileged upper castes hold monopoly to power and social status.
When the impact of the external forces like political democratization, land reforms and other
social reforms break this monopoly of the upper castes, the cultural camouflage of
Sanskritization is thrown away in favor of an open conflict with the privileged classes based on
nativistic solidarity.
The term Westernization, too, is not without complications. Srinivas equates westernization with
the British impact on India, but this is too narrow since after independence the impact of the
Russian and American versions of modernization in India has been considerable.
This form of modernization has also not been entirely free from the influence of implicit
ideologies; take for instance, the policy with regard to industrialization. In this field the persistent
controversy over the public versus private management and ownership of factories offers an
ideological case in modernization.
These value conflicts which today form an integral aspect of change and modernization in India
cannot be adequately accounted for by a term like Westernization. Moreover, for many new elite
in India as also in the new states of Asia, the term Westernization has a pejorative connation
because of its association with former colonial domination of these countries by the West. It is,
therefore, more value-loaded than the tern modernization, which to us appears as a better
substitute.
Little and Great Traditions:
The approach to analyze social change with the help of the concepts of little and Great traditions
was used by Robert Redfield in his studies of the Mexican communities. Influenced by this
model, Milton Singer and McKim Marriott have conducted some studies on social changes in
India utilizing this conceptual framework.
The basic ideas in this approach are civilization and social organization of tradition. It is
based on the evolutionary view that civilization or the structure of tradition (which consists of
both cultural and social structures) grows in two stages: first, through orthogenetic or indigenous

evolution, and second, through heterogenetic encounters or contacts with other cultures or
civilizations.
The social structure of these civilizations operates at two levels, first that of the folks or
unlettered peasants, and second, that of the elite or the reflective few. The cultural processes in
the former comprise the little tradition and those in the latter constitute the Great tradition. There
is, however, a constant interaction between the two levels of traditions.
Unity of a civilization is maintained by its cultural structure which perpetuates a unity of worldview through cultural performances and their products. These cultural performances are
institutionalized around the social structure of both Little and Great traditions. Those persisting
and important arrangements of roles and statuses appearing in such corporate groups as castes,
sects, or in teachers, recites, ritual leaders of one kind or another, which are concerned with the
cultivation and inculcation of the Great tradition form the social structure of this tradition.
The social structure of the little tradition consists of its own role-incumbents such as the folk
artists, medicine men, tellers of riddles, proverbs and stories, poets and dancers, etc. Changes in
the cultural system follow through the interaction between the two traditions in the orthogenetic
or heterogenetic process of individual growth. The pattern of change, however, is generally from
orthogenetic to heterogenetic forms of differentiation or change in the cultural structure of
traditions.
In this approach it is assumed that all civilizations start from a primary or orthogenetic level of
cultural organization and, in course of time, are diversified not only through internal growth, but
more important, through contact with other civilizationsa heterogenetic process.
The direction of this change presumably is from folk or peasant to urban cultural structure and
social organization. In the final stages, however, this results into a global, universalized pattern
of culture, especially through increased cross- contacts among civilizations.
With these assumptions, Milton Singer formulates a series of statements about cultural
changes in India:
(1) That because India had a primary or indigenous civilization which had been fashioned out
of pre-existing folk and regional cultures. Its Great tradition was continuous with the Little
tradition to be modernization of Indian tradition found in its diverse regions, villages, castes and
tribes.
(2) That this cultural continuity was a product and cause of a common cultural consciousness
shared by most Indians and expressed in essential similarities of mental outlook and ethos.
(3) That this common cultural consciousness has been formed in India with the help of certain
processes and factors. i.e. sacred books and sacred objects. a special class of
(Brahmins) and other agents of cultural transmission.

(4) That in a primary civilization like Indias, cultural continuity with the past is so great that
even the acceptance of modernizing and progress ideologies does not result in linear form of
social and cultural change but may result in the traditionalizing of apparently modern innovations.
Subsequent studies have revealed that little and Great traditions not only interact but are also
interdependent in India, and modernizing forces arc not only accepted but also absorbed by the
traditional way of life. Milton Singer concludes:
The weight of present evidence seems to me to show that, while modernizing influences are
undoubtedly changing many aspects of Indian society and culture, they have not destroyed its
basic structure and pattern. They have given Indians new alternatives and some new choices of
Use style but the structure is so flexible and rich that many Indians have accepted many modern
innovations without loss of their Indianans. They have, in other words, been able to combine
choices which affirm some aspects of their cultural tradition with innovative choices.
Another noteworthy study based on this approach has been conducted by McKim Marriott in a
village named Kishan Garhi in northern India. Marriott believes that concept of a primary
civilization type of process is one of the most inviting of available models for conceptualizing
Kishan Garhis relations with its universe.
He too finds that in the structure of the village culture and its social organization, which consist
both of the little and Great traditional elements, there is a constant interaction of cultural forms.
Elements of the little tradition, indigenous customs, deities and rites circulate upward to the level
of the Great tradition and are identified with its legitimate forms.
This process Marriott calls universalization. Likewise, some elements of the Great tradition
also circulate downward to become organic part of the little tradition, and lose much of their
original form in the process. He used the term parochialization to denote this kind of
transaction between the two traditions. Parochialization is defined as the process of limitation
upon the scope of intelligibility, of deprivation of literary form, of reduction to less systematic
and less reflective dimensions of the elements of the Great tradition.
Sanskritization, Marriott finds, does not proceed in the village as an independent process; it is
superposed on non-Sanskritic cultural form through accretion rather than simple replacement.
Marriott writes:
For understanding why Sanskritization has gone so short a way in so long a time in the festivals
of Kishan Garhi, and for understanding why Sanskritic rites are often added on to non-Sanskritic
rites without replacing them, the concept of primary or indigenous process of civilization again
offers useful guidance. By definition, an indigenous civilization is one whose Great tradition
originates by a universalization, or carrying forward of materials which are already present in
the little tradition which it encompasses.

Such an indigenous Great tradition has authority in so far as it constitutes a more articulate and
refined restatement or systematization of what is already there. Without subsequent secondary
transformation of its contents and without heterogenetic criticism of the Little tradition the
indigenous Great tradition lacks authority to supplant the hoary prototype that are the sources of
its own sacredness. . . . If the indigenous origins and connections of the Great tradition limit its
authority to uproot any little tradition, the essentially unlearned and non-literate nature of the
little tradition also obstructs the direct transmission or spread of elements downward from Great
to Little. Downward spread, like universalization, is likely to be characterized by transformation.
Comparatively speaking, the concepts of universalization and parochialization also describe the
processes of cultural change implied by Sanskritization; especially universalization comes very
close to this concept. Parochialization, however, refers to an inverted form of Sanskritization or
de-Sanskritization, a connotation which escaped the formulation of Srinivas.
Despite this, the contribution of Marriott is very limited in scope specially because he focuses
merely upon the orthogenetic process of cultural change. On evaluation we find the approach of
the little and Great traditions offers possibility of comparative studies in cultural change which is
not possible through Sanskritization-westernization model as the latter is culturally bound in
scope.
Moreover, this approach is broader in coverage in that its concepts of heterogenetic and
orthogenetic sources of change take into account what Srinivas calls Westernization and
Sanskritization. Respectively and yet has a tight logical structure of concepts. Despite this
relative advantage, this approach too suffers from the culturological bias, and neglects the
structural aspects of social change.
Multiple Traditions:
The dominant feeling of some social scientists is that Indian society or culture could not be
described fully either through the dichotomy of the Sanskritic and Western traditions or that of
the little and Great traditions. Indian tradition is far too complex, and consists of a hierarchy of
traditions each of which needs to be analyzed in order to unravel all the ramifications of change.
S.C. Dube advocates this view:
In broad outlines the Sanskritic Model appears to be attractive, but careful analysis shows that
it is extremely deceptive. Sanskritic sources provide not one model but many models, some of
them involving even fundamentally opposed ideals. What we call Hindu philosophy is not just
one school of thought, it is a compendium of many systems of thought, recognizing and
advocating many divergent images of society and many different schemes of values. . . . The
Sanskritization hypothesis is unidirectional and has a single focus.
It concentrates on the ritual theme. The importance of the ritual theme in Hindu life is
undeniable, but at the same time the impact of the secular trends is not too insignificant to be
ignored. As far as Little and Great traditions are concerned, there is apparently no precise

definition. Where there are more than one Great or near-Great traditions, each with its
canonical texts and ethical codes, the situation becomes all the more confusing. . . .
It may also be added that the Great tradition-Little tradition frame of reference does not allow
proper scope for the consideration of the role and significance of regional, Western and emergent
national traditions, each of which is powerful in its own way.
As an alternative, Dube offers a six-fold classification of traditions in India each of which is to
be studied in rural as well as urban contexts to evaluate change. These are: the classical tradition,
the emergent national tradition, the regional tradition, the local tradition, the Western tradition
and the local subcultural traditions of social groups. These various levels of traditions no doubt
offer a wide scope for the study of change but the principle on which they have been classified is
again ad hoc and nominalistic.
In substantive realm the emphasis here too is more on culture than on social structure. Needless
to point out that a few other attempts toward multiple classification of traditions or cultural
patterns in India, which have been made recently, also suffer from similar limitations.
Theories of Structural Changes:
A structural analysis of change differs from the cultural one which is in terms of particularities of
customs, values and ideational phenomena, their integration, interaction and change. Structural
analysis is focused on the network of social relationships, which though culturally distinct share
common and comparable attributes at a higher level of abstraction called social structure.
Thus, caste, kinship, class, occupational groups, factory and administrative structures which
comprise distinctive fields of social interaction constitute structural realities. They emerge from
human needs and existential conditions of man, and are comparable intra-culturally as well as
cross-culturally. At the substratum of these structural realities are numberless particularities of
values, customs and cultures.
The stability of social structure is contingent on culture. Yet, as abstraction, structure forms a
higher level than culture. A structural analysis of change consists of demonstrating the qualitative
nature of new adaptations in the patterned relationships, as when a joint family breaks and
becomes nuclear, a caste group is transformed into a class group or when traditional charismatic
leadership is replaced by leaders of popular choice, etc. From a functional view-point such
explanation consists essentially of pointing out how the different types of activity fit on top of
one another, and are consistent with one another, and how conflicts are contained and prevented
from changing the structure.
In India, for historical reasons, the cultural approaches to the analysis of change have been quite
frequent but rarely structural. Still, structural studies have not been altogether neglected. Quite a
few such studies exist on the sociology of village communities, family structure, urban areas,
leadership and political structure, etc. No attempt has, however, been made to compare the
findings in these various fields for inter-structural compatibility tests, and for some broad

generalizations about social change. In its absence discussion regarding change remains confined
to raw particularities of social data without abstract generalizations.
As Bailey says, in structural analysis we ought not to confine ourselves to the raw material
provided by the principles that people themselves give, our only task is not to make sense of the
flagrant contradictions in popular thought by abstracting out consistent elements which a culturological study attempts. Given certain problems, a valid sociological understanding can be
achieved by making abstractions immediately from behavior or from other nonverbal
information, and by using our own concepts and evading the ideas of the people.
Thus, a structural analysis presupposes formulation of abstract concepts over the ethnographic
details through which the facts of social life are not only described but also explained. This
requires a hierarchy of propositions in structural terms. For instance, the distinction between the
culturological and structural connotations of a term like modernization would depend upon the
way its implications are formulated through abstract structural statements.
As an example we have the following formulation of modernization, mainly from a structural
frame of reference by Richard D. Lambert in his study of factories in Poona. Throughout this
literature, however, a relatively simple polarity occurs a set of ideal types whose component
parts appear again and again in discussions about changes from peasant to industrialized
societies. For our purpose, we will select five changes which are presumed to accompany that
process of social change called modernization: status is superseded by contract as the
predominant basis of interpersonal economic relations; primary group organize production
processes are supplanted by a more complex division of labor, finer job specifications, and the
interdependence of separate economic roles; ascribed status gives way to achieved status as the
legitimize of social gradation; status immobility surrenders to rapid vertical and horizontal
mobility; and belief in the durability, inevitability, and propriety of ones status is replaced by
aspirations for improving ones lot.
It is assumed that the introduction of the factory system has certain institutional imperatives that
flow from this form of work organization, imperatives which are instrumental in moving a
society from one end of the polarity to another, from a static, acquired-status-ridden, traditionbound, primary-group oriented, particularistic, fatalistic society into one that is rapidly changing,
achieved- status-dominated, progressive secondary-group oriented, universalistic and aspiring.
In most structural studies in India, the ideal-typical formulations and statements are not clearly
indicated, although an implicit recognition of these is present. The differentiation of roles and
shifting nuclei of authority in family, the changing positions of caste and tribe in the power
structure, emergence of new factions and dominant castes in villages, the spread of bureaucratic
administration, the emergence of youth organizations, new labour movements, urban growth and
industrial-demographic changes and changes in leadership, etc., are some structural studies
which offer valuable clues to social change in India.
In these studies, however, methodological orientation does not remain uniform which merits
brief discussion. We shall discuss below a few salient orientations in the structural approaches
for the analysis of social change in India.

Dialectical Approach:
From its early Marxist form, the dialectical approach in sociology has undergone further
refinements in concepts and propositions; its speculative- philosophical elements have been
replaced by genuine sociological formulations of categories.
In India, Marxist theory did influence some scholars but as a whole failed to develop a scientific
tradition of thinking and research. Among the early studies based on this model we may mention
studies of caste based on economic interpretation, interpretation of Indian history from a class
view-point in the chronological order of successive developments in the means and relations of
production, and evolutionary formulation of the stages of social development in India, guided
by economic institutions.
Marxist sensibility, however, remains diffused in the thought patterns of modern Indian
intellectuals. It dominates the minds of the leaders in the Communist Party, and a large
membership of the Congress and other liberal parties is also influenced by its ideology.
Generally, attachment to Marxism is less specific, and it often projects a spirit of militant anticolonialism rather than function as an integrated world-view or system of thought. Intellectuals
like M. N. Roy, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jayaprakash Narayan, who started as proponents of this
philosophy, later controverter it. In sociology the influence of this approach was never strong in
India probably because of the dominant influence that British sociology and social anthropology
with its functional orientation exercised on its methodology and scope. Despite this a few
sociologists were influenced by the methodology of the dialectical or Marxist sociology.
One of them is D. P. Mukherji. In his writings we find some systematic concern with the analysis
of Indian social processes from a dialectical frame of reference. He mainly focuses upon the
encounter of the Indian tradition with that of the West which, on the one hand, unleashed many
forces of cultural contradiction and, on the other, gave rise to a new middle class.
The rise of these forces, according to him, generates a dialectical process of conflict and
synthesis which must be given a push by bringing into play the conserved energies of the class
structure of Indian society. This, however, could be done through planning.
He writes:
The value of Indian tradition lies in the ability of their conserving forces to put a brake on hasty
passage. Adjustment is the end-product of the dialectical connection between the two.
Meanwhile is tension. And tension is not merely interesting as a subject of research, if it leads up
to a higher stage, it is also desirable.
That higher stage is where personality is integrated through a planned, a socially directed,
collective endeavor for historically understood end which means as the author understands it a
socialist order. Tensions will not cease there. It is not the peace of the grave. Only alienation
from nature, work, and man will stop in the arduous course of such high and strenuous endeavor.

Evidently, Mukerjis views come closest to the dialectical approach to social change which he
identifies as a process of synthesis emerging from the interplay and conflict of contradictory
systems of values and class interests.
This process according to him started with the impact of Islam on India and continues up to this
date; the British rule created a new historical contingency in India by creating a middle class
with its roots neither in tradition nor modernity. Thus, Indian society ceased to be closed without
being open.
The dialectical approach has been applied to the study of the emergence of nationalism in India
by A.R. Desai. He contends that nationalism in India is a product of the material conditions
created by the British colonialism, and it did not exist in pre-British India. The British rule
simultaneously led to economic disintegration as well as economic reforms which released new
social consciousness and class structure from which nationalism followed.
Desai writes:
(During the British rule) different classes had their specific grievances against Britain. The
industrialists desired freedom for unobstructed industrialization of India and protection for the
native industries. The educated classes demanded the Indianization of Services, since the higher
posts were mainly the preserve of the British.
The agriculturists demanded the reduction of the land tax. The workers demanded better
conditions of work and living wage. The nation as a whole demanded the freedom of association
and press, assembly, elected legislature.and finally complete independence.
The economic relationship is predominantly a stabilizing factor in the continuity of traditional
institutions in India, which, according to Desai, would undergo changes as these relationships
change. This is especially true about caste which will eventually disintegrate with the creation of
new social material conditions, such as industries, economic freedom, education, etc.
The role of education in the rise of Indian nationalism has been overdrawn according to Desai,
who says: Indian nationalism was in fact the outcome of the new social material conditions
created in India and the new social forces which emerged within Indian society, as a result of the
British conquest. It was the outcome of the objective conflict of interest. While recognizing
the progressive role played by the introduction of modern education in India, it would be
incorrect to conclude that Indian nationalism was the child of this education.
An important limitation of the dialectical approach for studies of social change in India is the
lack of substantial empirical data in support of its major assertions which are often
historiographic and can easily be challenged. In theoretical terms, however, this approach can be
most viable for analysis of the various processes of change and conflict in India provided it is
founded upon a sound tradition of scientific research. Despite this limitation, some studies
conducted on this model offer useful hypotheses which can be further tested in course of the
studies on social change.

Cognitive Historical Approach:

Analysis of social change from a cognitive historical view-point has been postulated by Louis
Dumont. He conceives of Indian society not in terms of systems of relationship but as systems of
ideational or value patterns or cognitive structures. Sociology itself is considered a vocation,
attempting to place each simple fact of social life in the complex texture of society s collective
representations. Dumont says:
The difficulty is that the thing is true at the same time at a multitude of levels Each field of
thought, each point of view itself rests upon a simplification, but thought is discursive and it
cannot only explore one field but make one point of view succeed another and, by combining
this way different simplifications, reconstruct the complexity of the datum If common thought
simplifies itself in this way at each instant, the vocation of the sociologist is, in this sense,
inverse.
His understanding consist in replacing the simple in the complex, the small in the great, in
lighting up a restricted area by bringing back to it its environment which common thought (and
often, following it, thought in general) suppresses. The sociologist has to construct a view in
which the representation is preserved as it presents itself and at the same time is seen in its
relation to its non-conscious counterpart.
The focus in social change study, according to Dumont, should be on the reaction of Indian
minds to the revelation of Western culture, and on how under die impact of the cognitive
elements of Western culture such as individualism, freedom, democracy, etc., the cognitive
system of Indian tradition is reacting with rejection or acceptance.
The contrast in the Indian and Western cognitive systems lies in the holistic character of the
former and the individualistic attribute of the latter; this contrast also poses the nature of tension
between traditions versus modernity in India.
In the traditional social structure of India the principle of holism was maintained by the
hierarchical organization of castes based on die conception of a moral order or dharma which
reinforced the principle of hierarchy. From this followed the ideas of social inequality, pollutionpurity and priest-king alliance to enforce social order through charismatic authority.
Dumont thinks that die complementary relationship between die priest and die king as
formulated in die old Brahmana texts was necessary for the development of a language of pure
hierarchy in Indian social system.
Should this mean that Indian tradition is impervious to modernization? Dumont answers this in
the negative, for two reasons: first, because die ideas of holism and hierarchy were predominant
even in die pre-modem Western tradition, and second, because die traditional Indian social
system did recognize die legitimacy of social and cultural innovations through die
institutionalized role of the Renouncer or Sanyasi, who was liberated from die norm of social
hierarchy or caste through spiritual transcendence and also authorized to re-interpret die meaning
of tradition and thereby change it.

From the above it is evident that Dumonts primary focus is on changes in the basic themes of
Indian cultural structure and not on the dynamics of social groups or structures as such. In his
view sociological study should be concerned with deeper aspects of change in die ideostructures of a society rather than with expedient issues which are finally trivial.
He writes that study of change answers a strong public demand, and for a part corresponds more
to die subjective needs of die student as a member of a modern society, than to properly
sociological issues. Moreover, the ideo-structural approach has die added advantage of being
fruitful for both synchronic and diachronic types of studies.
The cognitive historical approach has also the advantage of formulating a series of abstractions
on cultural themes for comparative study, generally on the model of ideal-types.
This flexibility of abstractions on concepts renders it possible through this approach to study the
various historical stages through which cultural changes have followed in India. Like,
sanskritization and Westernization, for instance, this model does not foreclose the possibility of
studying the impact of Islamic culture on Indian culture and society. Despite this, the approach is
mainly culturological and, therefore, limited in scope.
Moreover, Dumonts assumption of a kingly model based on the alliance between the Kshatriya
and the Brahmin to explicate the nature of traditional social order in India may not be acceptable
to all and may not be applicable to every part of the Indian society.
Toward An Integrated Approach:
As we evaluate the above approaches we find that each one of them has advantages of its own
for the study of social change, but these advantages arc limited as none of them provides a
comprehensive enough perspective on social change in India. Sanskritization is an empirical
reality, but it often takes a form which is more nativistic or de-Sanskritizing in orientation than
being guided by the norms of the higher Sanskritic tradition.
It may also manifest suppressed inter-class hostility. Harold Gould observes: .one of the
prime motives behind Sanskritization is this factor of repressed hostility which manifests itself
not in the form of rejecting the caste system but in the form of its victims trying to seize control
of it and thereby expiate their frustrations on the same battlefield where they acquired them.
Only then can there be a sense of satisfaction in something achieved that is tangible, concrete,
and relevant to past experience.
This subsumption of many meanings by Sanskritization and Westernization is admitted by
Srinivas: Sanskritization subsumes several mutually antagonistic values, perhaps even as
westernization does. Limitations in other approaches have also been pointed out.
Little tradition-Great tradition approach is sounder in respect of the causal explanation of change
but remains culturological in scope. It also does not take account of the more specific
substructures of traditions. The multiple traditions theory goes deeper into the classification of
traditions but lacks in theoretical or explanatory categories to account for change.

The dialectical and other structural theories stand on established foundation of logical categories
but suffer from the paucity of empirical studies or documentations on change. Each one of them
has, however, something to offer toward an integrated approach to social change.
A series of concepts related to social change could be integrated in to a logical system on the
basis of similarities in theoretical formulations. It is our endeavor to find out the underlying
theoretical similarities in the conceptual formulations of various approaches to social change and
then string them together on a systematic logical principle to achieve a fair degree of conceptual
integration.
The first such theoretical unity exists in regard to the direction of change as implied in various
approaches. Most of them assume a linear evolutionary direction toward which cultural! Changes
are observed to be moving. As Milton Singer says, culture change like any other kind of change,
has a temporal dimension which is useful to distinguish into linear and cyclical varieties. Linear
type of culture changes imply a specification of a date or approximate date which allows us to fix
a before and after division.
Modernization of a cultural tradition is a linear type of change in this sense. It implies that
tradition has been transformed which it did not have before a certain date. Not all changes
which the tradition undergoes in the modern period, however, result into modernization It is
useful, in other words, to consider whether the -result of any particular change in tradition is
continuous with the structure prevailing before a certain date, or whether that structure has been
replaced by a new one. In the former case we might speak of the change as a traditionalizing
type, in the latter as a modernizing type. If the change results in a structure which is neither
quite like the traditional one nor a predominantly new one, we might speak of a compromise
formation.
Most formulations of social and cultural changes in India, however, are evolutionary linear in
direction. Srinivas formulates stages of change from Sanskritization to Westernization in which
the initial stage of pre- Sanskritization is logically implied. Broadly speaking, these stages
closely resemble the major historical-cultural periods and their transitions in India.
In substantive contemporary sense a tribe imitating the caste ways would be an instance of
change from a pre-Sanskritic stage to that of Sanskritization. The dialectical and structural
models of change, however, clearly employ unilinear conception with regard to the direction of
change. Hence one important integrative principle in the Indian theories of change seems to be
that of unilinear evolutionism in the long run of this process. In short periods, however,
regressive movements in change are accepted.
Once we recognize this broad theoretical unity in the concepts of change, questions may arise
about other areas of integration at lower levels. One such level is of the context in which changeproducing processes begin and materialize as new qualitative forms. At this level too we find a
common factor in most conceptualizations of change.
This lies in the definition of context through macro or great and micro or little structures of
tradition. Redfield, Singer and Marriott clearly distinguish between Little and Great traditions. In

Srinivas term both Sanskritization find Westernization would constitute forms of macro
traditions. The pre- Sanskritic is assumed as the micro tradition. Probably, what earlier has been
called the historical specific usage of Sanskritization refers to macroscopic level and the
contextual specific usage then forms the microscopic level of tradition.
A clear distinction between micro End, micro levels of structures is also found in the structural
formulations of change by Bailey, Mayer, Epestein and others. In dialectical formulation,
however, this distinction might not be simpler because of its assumed monistic reductionism. But
even in this theory a distinction of contextual levels or of the substructures and superstructures is
made.
In D.P. Mukerjis writings we find a fuller treatment of the levels and types of traditions which
produce changes through interaction and encounter. In most cases, however, focus is only upon
the Great traditions, like those of Islam, Hinduism and of the modem west, and the treatment of
the micro-structures of traditions is scanty.
Despite this, a distinction between the macro and micro contexts of socio-cultural phenomena is
quite pervasive in the literature of social change to warrant a conceptual unity in its approach not
only on substantive but also logical grounds.
A further conceptual integration may be possible the way causal nature of change is explained in
various approaches. The functional approach, for instance, explains changes through diffusion of
new forms of behaviour and culture through exogenous sources; in contrast the dialectical theory
puts greater emphasis upon intra-systematic or endogenous sources of social change and
considers them to be imminent in the structure itself.
An attempted integration of social change concepts necessitates that both of these causal sources
of change be recognized for a unity and balance in the approach. Most studies of change in India
explain causation through external contacts which lead to the diffusion of new roles and values.
The contribution of intra-systematic elements to change is recognized by a few sociologists.
Mention may be made of the studies by Milton Singer and Marriott who following the model of
Redfield explain changes both through the orthogenetic and heterogenetic sources. For Srinivas,
Sanskritization would mean a process of endogenous change and Westernization an exogenous
form of this process. Other sociologists too recognize this distinction either explicitly or by
implication.
An attempted conceptual integration of social chaise approach must, therefore, also take into
account the two main causal factors which initiate change.
Finally, such a conceptual integration necessitates a clear formulation of the substantive domain
of phenomena undergoing change. We find mainly two broad substantive areas of social realities
to which most studies of change are oriented..the culture and social structure. Culture forms
the customary standards which govern social activities of men; social structure, however, results
from the network of -the activities themselves.

The integrative element in culture is the meaning or symbolic system; the integrative element in
social structure is culture itself which provides an institutionalized channel for the flow of
motivations of men in various activities.
The concepts formulated to explain social changes in India are most often culturological. They
focus upon the various forms in which the traditional Indian culture responds to the numerous
modern cultural innovations introduced in India. Changes at other levels of social phenomena,
such as those in social structure and forms of group relationships are thus not adequately
explainable through such conceptual categories.
Moreover, cultural explanations always tend to be particularistic and, therefore, limited in
matters of generalization about change. The reality of caste in India, for example, cannot be
compared from one region to another because in cultural styles, rituals and with regard to
interdictions on social intercourse caste in one region of India differs fundamentally, from those
in another.
Comparisons can, however, be made in terms of structural criteria, such as power or domination,
occupational status and economic status, etc. It is, therefore, necessary that explanation of
change is attempted both from structural as well as cultural view-points.
The form in which conceptual integration in the approaches to analyze social change in
India can be attempted may be presented in a schematic form as given below:

The above paradigm is a logical corollary of our analysis about the levels at which an integrated
view on social change in India can be achieved. The causation of social change is to be sought
both from within and without the social system or the tradition. For this we find the concepts
employed by Redfield and Singer as being particularly useful and make a distinction between the
heterogenetic or exogenous and orthogenetic or endogenous sources of change.

A distinction between cultural structure and social Structure is also made to focus upon the need
to observe changes at the level of these two relatively independent substantive domains. Again,
following Redfield, cultural structure has further been sub-divided into the categories of the little
tradition and Great tradition.
Similarly, the social structure is divided to form categories of micro-structure and macrostructure. These distinctions follow from the need to focus upon the contexts, as discussed above,
through which processes of change could be evaluated in matters of spread and depth.
Finally, the direction of change is represented in a linear evolutionary form from
Traditionalization toward Modernization. Tradidonalization comprises the total range of
changes governed by orthogenetic patterns in the cultural and social structures. Modernization
similarly represents the net balance of changes following from hetero- genetic contacts.
The causal forces, substantive domain, contexts and direction of change provide us the logical
boundaries within which the more specific processes of social change in India could be observed
and described. These specific processes and the relevant concepts describing them have been
noted in the paradigm in each appropriate cell.
The significance of these specific concepts has been examined in course of the analysis of
change pertaining to the relevant substantive domain. For instance, in the cultural structure of
India, the Islamic impact constitutes an important heterogenetic source of cultural transformation
and synthesis, and as we have analyzed below, its significance can be seen at the levels both of
the Little and Great traditions.
This has been followed by Westernization as a major form of exogenous cultural impact on India,
and its ramifications also have relevance for the Little and Great traditions. Srirnivas himself
calk the two levels of Westernization as primary and secondary, and we have kept these
terms to avoid unnecessary neologism.
Changes in the cultural structure of India from the orthogenetic sources also fall under many
categories. Sanskritization is one such process of change. Theoretically, Sanskritization may
represent changes in cultural structure, of the Little as well as the Great tradition, but most
empirical observations about this process are confined to the Little tradition.
For this reason a distinction has been made between Sanskritization and cultural renaissance, the
latter being indicative of orthogenetic changes in the Great tradition of the cultural structure. As
for Sanskritization, we treat it as a process of change in the little tradition. As we shall discuss
below, this concept has many unanticipated forms of implications for social change in India.
The changes in social structure could also be discussed more fruitfully when a distinction is
made between the macro- and micro-structures. The instances of macro-structures are:
bureaucracy, industry, market, leadership, political parties, etc. These consist of role relationships
which have a pan- Indian extension of boundaries.

In contrast, the micro-structures, such as kinship, family, caste and sub-caste and tribe, etc. have
limited boundaries for extension of role relationships and their obligations. Some of these
structures like kinship and marriage are governed by inherent principle of limit which renders
the nature of relationships implied by these institutions, such as the number of kinship terms and
the territorial limits in the selection of mates, narrowly circumscribed.
The basic changes in the micro- and macro-structures of Indian society have started taking place
only after it came into contact with the West. The scientific and technological innovations which
today constancy accelerates the momentum of changes in social structures towards an
evolutionary direction have been inherited by India from the West.
Consequently, most structural changes during the pre-contact phase of Indian history, whether in
the micro- or macro-structures used to be of an oscillatory rather than evolutionary pattern. In the
micro-structures like caste, family, etc. pattern recurrence was the usual form of transformation.
Migration was an important source of change; but there being no scarcity of land, such migration
used to be from one rural habitat to another and did not lead to urbanization. Hence, migration
too had the character of pattern- recurrence.
The same was, broadly speaking, true of the macro-structures, also where the story of change
mainly had its focus on the rise and fall of monarchies and expansion and constrictions of preindustrial cities, which used to come into being as well as die out with the rising and falling
fortunes of kingdoms.
Thus, the orthogenetic sources of change in the social structure of Indian society did not have the
potential for real structural changes which have been set into action through the heterogenetic
form of the contemporary processes.
For a comprehensive treatment of structural change, however, the nature of changes activated by
both of these factors have to be taken into consideration. The integrated approach as offered by
us through a schematic arrangement of the concepts of change has the advantage of being
comprehensive as well as theoretically consistent.