SOCIETY AND MODERNISATION

The diverse social structure in India is getting weakened with increasing modernisation. Give arguments For and Against this view. Indian society is unique in many ways. It has several races, religions and cultural amalgamations. That is why it is said that India has unity in diversity. In addition to people from different castes living peacefully in this country, people belonging to three great religions of the world, the Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, are found in large numbers in India. Indian society, traditionally, follows a caste system under which the profession of a person was guided by the caste in which he was born. Caste system to a significant extent was also found among Indian Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Bodhs. In addition, Indian society and culture have been greatly enriched by various immigrants and invaders over the centuries. Besides, religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated from India. The framers of Indian Constitution upheld the unique diversity of Indian society by opting for a secular State where all the religions are equally important and the citizens are free to practice any religion of their choice, without any interference from any quarter. It is said that the social structure in India is under the influence of modernisation, which is being experienced by the Indian society and economy. Arguments For the View (a) One of the causes of modernisation is globalisation. With more frequent global contact and communication, Indian values and culture are getting greatly influenced by the West. (b) Electronic media has come up in a big way during the past about a decade. Satellite Television channels have unleashed a host of western programmes and serials, themes of which are alien to composite Indian society. The social, moral and ethical values are also undergoing change, which has threatened the very composition of Indian society. (c) As compared to western and Islamic societies, Indian society is far more tolerant. Racist western societies and fundamentalist Islamic countries have also influenced Indian society and if increasing fundamentalist incidents in India in the recent years are any indication, India is also getting influenced to a great extent. (d) One of the latest vehicles of modernisation is the Information Technology (IT). As IT was first perfected in the USA and the West, most of the IT tools have the western bias which is influencing the impressionable minds of Indian youth. (e) Among important fallouts of modernisation are industrialisation and urbanisation. These two have already influenced the tradition of joint family in India and the social changes may influence the traditional social fibre of Indian society in the coming years. Arguments Against the View (a) Indian Constitution is the highest law of the land. It outlines various social strengths of India, including the abolition of untouchability, equality before law, reservation for women in the Panchayati Raj Institutions, freedom of religion, protection for weaker sections and minorities, etc. These basic strengths of Indian socio-political system have been institutionalised and cannot be taken away by any amount of modernisation.

(b) Indian society and culture have the strength to enrich themselves with various other cultures that they encounter. Considering this, modernisation is no threat to Indian culture. It may rather benefit the Indian culture. (c) Indian society is too diverse and broad to be affected by modernisation. It has deep roots in the minds of people. Western influence on a handful of people living in the urban areas does not mean that urbanisation has affected the entire Indian society. (d) India lives in villages, with almost two-third of her population residing in rural areas. Economic and cultural influence of modernisation is limited to big cities. Hence, it would be wrong to say that Indian society as a whole has been affected by modernisation. (e) Even people living in urban areas are Indians at heart. Deep-rooted social values of Indian society are not easy to shun. Modernisation is an ongoing process and Indian society has coped up with it. There is nothing that has altered the position significantly in the recent years.