Process of Social Change in India

About this unit

This unit traces the processes that reshaped Indian society from colonial times. Structural change refers to transformations in the economy and social organisation, such as colonialism, industrialisation and urbanisation. Cultural change covers changes in ideas, values and practices, including modernisation, westernisation, sanskritisation and secularisation. The unit also covers nineteenth- and twentieth-century reform movements and the laws they produced.

Key ideas

• Colonialism as a structural force that tied India to the British economy
• Industrialisation and urbanisation under colonial rule, including the rise of port cities
• Sanskritisation and westernisation as concepts given by M.N. Srinivas
• Modernisation and secularisation and their Indian forms
• Social reform movements: Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Satyashodhak Samaj and others
• Laws against sati, for widow remarriage and against child marriage

How to prepare

Make a short chart of reformers, organisations and the main causes they took up. Learn the definitions of Srinivas's concepts precisely and practise applying them to case studies. Remember the three aspects of the modern context described by Satish Saberwal: modes of communication, forms of organisation and the nature of ideas.