Indian Society and Ways of Living

ETHICS: Indian Society
and Ways of Living
SUPERVISED PERSONAL WORK

Realized by : Amine Filali
2nd year energy engineering
group 2
rated by: M.MUSTAPHA YOSR
2020 / 2021
India offers astounding variety in virtually every aspect of social life.
Diversities of ethnic, linguistic, regional, economic, religious, class, and caste
groups crosscut Indian society, which is also permeated with immense urban-
rural differences and gender distinctions. Differences between north India and
south India are particularly significant, especially in systems of kinship and
marriage. Indian society is multifaceted to an extent perhaps unknown in any
other of the world’s great civilizations—it is more like an area as varied as
Europe than any other single nation-state. Adding further variety to
contemporary Indian culture are rapidly occurring changes affecting various
regions and socioeconomic groups in disparate ways. Yet, amid the
complexities of Indian life, widely accepted cultural themes enhance social
harmony and order.
Themes In Indian Society

Hierarchy
India is a hierarchical society. Whether in north India or south India, Hindu or

Muslim, urban or village, virtually all things, people, and social groups are
ranked according to various essential qualities. Although India is a political
democracy, notions of complete equality are seldom evident in daily life.
Purity and Pollution
Many status differences in Indian society are expressed in terms of ritual purity
and pollution, complex notions that vary greatly among different castes,
religious groups, and regions. Generally, high status is associated with purity
and low status with pollution. Some kinds of purity are inherent; for example, a
member of a high-ranking Brahmin, or priestly, caste is born with more
inherent purity than someone born into a low-ranking sweeper, or scavenger,
caste. Other kinds of purity are more transitory—for example, a Brahmin who
has just taken a bath is more ritually pure than a Brahmin who has not bathed
for a day.
Social Interdependence
One of the great themes pervading Indian life is social interdependence. People
are born into groups—families, clans, subcastes, castes, and religious
communities—and feel a deep sense of inseparability from these groups.
People are deeply involved with others, and for many, the greatest fear is the
possibility of being left alone, without social support. Psychologically, family
members typically experience intense emotional interdependence. Economic
activities, too, are deeply imbedded in a social nexus. Through a multitude of
kinship ties, each person is linked with kin in villages and towns near and far.
Almost everywhere a person goes, he can find a relative from whom he can
expect moral and practical support.
family arrangements as they cooperate
Family Authority and Harmony
In the Indian household, lines of hierarchy and authority are clearly drawn, and
ideals of conduct help maintain family harmony. [i] All family members are
socialized to accept the authority of those above them in the hierarchy. The
eldest male acts as family head, and his wife supervises her daughters-in-law,
among whom the youngest has the least authority. Reciprocally, those in
authority accept responsibility for meeting the needs of other family members.
Family loyalty is a deeply held ideal, and family unity is emphasized, especially
in distinction to those outside the kinship circle. Inside the household, ties
between spouses and between parents and their own children are de-
emphasized to enhance a wider sense of family harmony. For example, open
displays of affection between husbands and wives are considered highly
improper.
Veiling and the Seclusion of Women
A significant aspect of Indian family life is purdah (from Hindi parda, or

“curtain”), or the veiling and seclusion of women. In much of northern and
central India, particularly in rural areas, Hindu and Muslim women follow
complex rules of veiling the body and avoidance of public appearance,
especially before relatives linked by marriage and before strange men. Purdah
practices are linked to patterns of authority and harmony within the family.
Hindu and Muslim purdah observances differ in certain key ways, but female
modesty and decorum as well as concepts of family honor and prestige are
essential to the various forms of purdah. Purdah restrictions are generally
stronger for women of conservative high-status families. [ii] Restriction and
restraint for women in virtually every aspect of life are essential to purdah,
limiting women’s access to power and to the control of vital resources in a
male-dominated society.
Life Passages
The birth of an infant is celebrated with rites of welcome and blessing, typically
much more elaborate for a boy than for a girl. Although India boasts many
eminent women and was once led by a powerful woman prime minister, Indira
Gandhi, and while goddesses are extensively worshiped in Hindu rituals,
statistics reveal that girls are, in fact, disadvantaged in India. The 2001 Census
counted only 933 females per 1000 males, reflecting sex-selective abortion,
poorer medical care and nutrition, and occasional infanticide targeting females.
[iii] Parents favor boys because their value in agricultural activities tends to be
higher, and after marriage a boy continues residing with his parents,
supporting them as they age. In contrast, a girl drains family resources,
especially when a large dowry goes with her to her husband’s home. In recent
decades, demands for dowries have become quite exorbitant in certain
.
Village Structure and Unity
About three-fourths of India’s people live in some 500,000 villages, where

India’s most basic business—agriculture takes place. Most villages have fewer
than 1,000 inhabitants, but some have as many as 5,000 people. Indian villages
are often quite complex and are not isolated socially or economically. Most
villages include a multiplicity of economic, caste, kinship, occupational, and
even religious groups linked vertically within each settlement. Residents
typically range from priests and cultivators to merchants, artisans, and
laborers. Various crucial horizontal linkages connect each village with many
others and with urban areas both near and far. In daily life and at colorful
festivals and rituals, members of various groups provide essential goods and
services for one another.
Urban Life
The acceleration of urbanization is profoundly affecting the transformation of

Indian society. Slightly more than one-quarter of the country’s population is
urban. Mumbai (Bombay) is currently the sixth largest urban area in the world
at 18 million, and Kolkata (Calcutta) ranks fourteenth at 13 million. In recent
years, India’s largest cities have grown at twice the rate of its small towns and
villages, with many of the increases due to rural-urban migration.
The largest cities are densely populated, congested, noisy, polluted, and
deficient in clean water, electricity, sanitation, and decent housing. Slums
abound, often cheek-by-jowl with luxury apartment buildings, with the roads
overrun with pedestrians, cattle, refuse, and vehicles spewing diesel fumes.
References
Bumiller, Elisabeth. May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons: A Journey
among the Women of India. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1990.
Das Gupta, Monica, and Li Shuzhuo. “Gender Bias in China, the Republic of
Korea, and India 1920-90: Effects of War, Famine, and Fertility Decline.” World
Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2140. 1999. Forthcoming in Development
and Change, Special Issue on Gendered Poverty and Wellbeing. Available
from mdasgupta@worldbank.org or downloadable from www.worldbank.org.
Deliege, Robert. The Untouchables of India. Oxford: Berg Press, 1999.
Dubey, Suman. “The Middle Class.” India Briefing 1992. Eds. Leonard A.

Gordon and Philip Oldenburg. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, in cooperation
with Asia Society. 137-64.
Dugger, Celia W. “Modern Asia’s Anomaly: The Girls Who Don’t Get Born.” The
New York Times, 6 May 2001.
Fuller, C.J., ed. Caste Today. SOAS Studies on South Asia: Understandings

and Perspectives. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1996.
Gould, Harold A. “Political Economy and Emergence of a Modern Class System

in India.” Boeings and Bullock-Carts: Studies in Change and Continuity in
Indian Civilization: Essays in Honour of K. Ishwaran, 1: India: Culture and
Society. Ed. Yogendra K. Malik. Delhi: Chanakya, 1990. 155-86.
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ETHICS: Indian Society

and Ways of Living

SUPERVISED PERSONAL WORK

Themes In Indian Society

India is a hierarchical society. Whether in north India or south India, Hindu or

Purity and Pollution

Family Authority and Harmony

Veiling and the Seclusion of Women

A significant aspect of Indian family life is purdah (from Hindi parda, or

Village Structure and Unity

About three-fourths of India’s people live in some 500,000 villages, where

The acceleration of urbanization is profoundly affecting the transformation of

Deliege, Robert. The Untouchables of India. Oxford: Berg Press, 1999.

Dubey, Suman. “The Middle Class.” India Briefing 1992. Eds. Leonard A.

Fuller, C.J., ed. Caste Today. SOAS Studies on South Asia: Understandings

Gould, Harold A. “Political Economy and Emergence of a Modern Class System

Good Reading Miss

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