Salient Features of Indian Society 1
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HANDOUT 11 - SOCIAL ISSUES SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN SOCIETY 1. INDIAN SOCIETY IS A UNITED AND DIVERSIFIED SOCIETY: Diversity means differences. It means collective differences i.e., differences which mark off one group of people from another. These differences may be religious, biological, linguistic etc. On the basis of religious differences we have religious diversity. On the basis of biological differences we have racial diversity. The term diversity is opposite of uniformity. Uniformity means similarity of some sort that characterizes a people. Uni- refers to “one” and form refers to “common ways.” D.N.Majumdar wrote a book with the title, “Races and Cultures of India” in which he explains unity and diversity in India. Diversity means variety for all practical purposes it means variety of groups and cultures. India is known for its socio-cultural diversity. Unity means integration; it is a social psychological condition. It denotes sense of one-ness and sense of we- ness. It stands for the bonds which hold the members of a society together. Unity implies integration. Integration does not mean absence of differences. Infact it stands for the ties that bind the diverse groups with one another. i. Racial diversity: A race is a group of people with a set of distinctive physical features such as skin colour, type of nose, form of hair, etc. Herbert Risley had classified the people of India into 7 racial types: these are Turko-Iranian, Indo-Iranian, Scytho-Dravidian, Aryo-Dravidian, Mongolo-Dravidian, Mongoloid and Dravidian. B.S.Guha has identified six racial types: The Negrito, The Proto Australoid, The Mongoloid, The Mediterranean, the Western Brachycephals, the Nordic. ii. Linguistic Diversity: Linguist Grierson noted that 179 languages and 544 dialects exist in India. Constitutionally recognised languages belong to two linguistic families: Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu are four major Dravidian languages. The languages of Indo- Aryan family are spoken by 75 percent of India’s total population while the languages of Dravidian family are spoken by 20 percent. Other languages spoken in India belong to the Austro-Asiatic, Sino- Tibetan, a few other minor language families and isolates. India has 22 official languages. According to Census of India, the total number of mother tongues spoken in India is 1652. However, only around 150 languages have a sizable speaking population. According to Census of India of 2001, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. However, figures from other sources vary, primarily due to differences in definition of the terms "language" and "dialect". iii. Religious Diversity: India is a land of multiple religions, particularly of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, among others. Hinduism is the dominant religion of India. According to Census 2011, India now has 966.3 million Hindus, who make up 79.8 per cent of its population, and 172.2 million Muslims, who make up 14.23 per cent. Among the other minorities, Christians make up 2.3 per cent of the population and Sikhs 1.72 per cent. iv. Caste Diversity: India is a country of castes. The term caste is used in two senses i.e., Varna and Jati. Varna refers to a segment of the four fold division of the Hindu society based on the functional criteria. The four varnas are Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra with their specialised functions as learning, defence, trade and manual service. Jati refers to a hereditary endogamous status group practising a specific traditional occupation. There are more than 3000 Jati in India. These are hierarchically graded in different ways in different regions. The practice of caste system is not confined to Hindus alone. Castes also exist among Muslim, Christian, Sikh, as well as other communities. For example the hierarchy of Shaikh, Saiyed, Mughal, etc among Muslims; among the Sikh again we have many castes including Jat Sikh, Majahabi; Casteism has also entered into Christianity. 2. HINDU WAY OF LIFE Hindu philosophy is the longest surviving philosophical tradition in India. Hinduism literally is the belief of the people of India, is the predominant faith of India. Hinduism is one of the oldest religious traditions in the world. Hinduism arose on Indian soil and is largely confined to Indian people. Hindu philosophy was influenced by 1 HANDOUT 11 - SOCIAL ISSUES Buddhist and Jain philosophies, and in turn Hindu philosophy influenced Buddhist philosophy in India in its later stages. “Hinduism” is a term used to designate a body of religious and philosophical beliefs indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religious traditions, and it is founded upon what is often regarded as the oldest surviving text of humanity: the Vedas. The mainstream Hindu philosophy includes six systems– Samkya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta Concepts that are very important to Hindu Philosophy are: Leela Maaya Karma Dharma Adharma Birth and rebirth Kali yuga Karma Theory Karma is: The self-controlled person, moving among objects, with his senses free from attachment and malevolence and brought under his own control, attains tranquility. - Bhagavad Gita Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a soul's reincarnated lives forming a cycle of rebirth. In simple words the events in a person’s life are determined by karma. The term denotes the moral, psychological spiritual and physical causal consequences of morally significant past choices. A belief in karma is common to many of India’s religious traditions—including Buddhism and Jainism. Moreover, it is not evident that it is embraced by all sources that we consider Hindu. Karma is not a sufficient criterion of Hinduism, and it likely is not a necessary condition either. The law of karma, the law of sowing and reaping, determines the form that will be taken in each new existence. This is the law of cause and effect in human life. Through our conduct we determine our own destiny in that good karma is acquired by living up to our dharmic duties and bad karma by ignoring or violating our given dharma. An unethical life may lead to rebirth below the station of the present life and a life of goodness may lead to a more favoured existence or to ultimate liberation from the round of rebirths. Thus the doctrines of karma and rebirth are said to be grounded in the morals structure of the universe. They permit freedom and ethical advance in that they are under our control and are not determined by cosmic or environmental forces completely beyond our influence. According to the ways of life chosen by a person, his karma can be classified into three kinds namely: the satvik karma, which is without attachment, selfless and for the benefit of others; the rajasik karma, which is selfish where the focus is on gains for oneself; and the tamasik karma, which is undertaken without heed to consequences, and is supremely selfish and savage. Ashrama System Under the Ashram system, the human life was divided into four periods. An Ashrama in Hinduism is one of four age-based life stages discussed in ancient and medieval era Indian texts. 2 HANDOUT 11 - SOCIAL ISSUES The First Ashrama - "Brahmacharya" or the Student Stage: It is the life of a celibate student under the mentorship of a teacher The Second Ashrama - "Grihastha" or the Householder Stage: It is a long period of householdership, beginning with marriage, when a person assumes the responsibilities of parenthood and other social obligations and when one provides for those dedicated to the spiritual quest The Third Ashrama - "Vanaprastha" or the Hermit Stage: It is a period of increased religiosity, when householder duties can be passed on to the next generation, during which one retires to the forest with his wife to practice rituals and for meditation and reflection The Fourth Ashrama - "Sannyasa" or the Wandering Ascetic Stage: By complete renunciation of family and caste and by practicing austerities and rigid self-control, a person seeks union with Brahman. If the person is successful in the fourth stage, struggle and strife cease and he gains peace and freedom through union with the all-embracing World Soul (Brahman). The inner spirit of humanity is the focus of attention, and its development, illumination, and release are the highest values. These stations were primarily for men. At the time of traditional Hinduism, women were excluded from the more rigorous structures of the ashramas and received their spiritual merit from working to uphold the dharmic obligations of their husbands. Purusharthas Purushartha literally means an "object of human pursuit". The concept of Purushartha basically indicates different values to be realized in human life through human efforts. There are four Purusharthas or aims of life as propounded by Manu, viz., Dharma (virtue), Artha (wealth), Kama (pleasure), and Moksha (liberation). Puruṣartha is a composite Sanskrit word- Purusha and Artha. Purusha mean "human being", "soul". Artha means "purpose", "object of desire". Thus Purusartha literally means "purpose of human being" or "object of human pursuit". The Purusharthas serve as pointers in the life of a human being. The aim of life of an individual is determined by the doctrine of Purushartha. It also decides the course of life of man and lays down norms and values for the behaviour patterns. According to P.N. Prabhu, “The theory of Purusharthas concern themselves with the understanding, justification, management and conduct of affairs of the individual’s life in relation to the group in and through the Ashramas”. Dharma (Righteousness) Dharma is always mentioned first whenever the scriptures talk about the four purusharthas.