Structural-Functionalist Perspective

Approaches to the study of Indian Society
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM PERSPECTIVE
STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALIST APPROACH IN INDIA

The Structural-functional approach has been a predominant approach in
the study of Indian society since the 1940s till the end of the 20th
century. Among the Indian scholars, G. S. Ghurye, M. N. Srinivas and S.
C. Dube may be considered to be in the forefront of structural-functional
approach in the study of Indian society. The structural- functionalists
view that the Indian society is made up of castes that collectively
constitute the social system. Castes form the units or the building blocks
of Indian social structure. Ghurye underlines the basic features of castes
as units of Indian social system.
M.N. SRINIVAS
Life Sketch of M. N. Srinivas

Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas (1916–1999) was a world-renowned
Indian sociologist. He is mostly known for his work on caste and caste
system, social stratification and Sanskritization in southern India. He is
also famous for his ideas on the concept of “Dominant Caste”.
Srinivas's essays combine empirical richness and analytical rigor,
theoretical sophistication with elegant prose. Srinivas recognized the
difference between sociology and journalism, between scholarship and
common sense. He refused to take recourse to jargon. If he coined new
words or terms, he made sure they aided understanding rather than
obfuscating it.
Methodological approach of Srinivas

Srinivas was basically interested not to understand the countrymen
through the Western books or through sacred books and literature rather
was interested to study them from direct observation and his field
experiences. So, he made an intensive study on the Coorgs. Srinivas
studied mostly about the caste and religion to highlight the structural-
functional aspects and the dynamics of caste system. According to
Srinivas there are basically two ways of understanding our society. Those
are: book view and field view. Book view is to understand the society
from the books and literature available which is known as Indological
approach. But Srinivas has emphasized more on field view, where
understanding society from field work is considered as important.
Works & Writings

His major contribution includes:
A. Social Change
B. Religion and Society
C. Dominant Caste
D. Sanskritization
The various scholarly writings of Srinivas include

A. Social change in Modern India (1966)
B. Religion and Society among Coorgs of South India (1952)
C. Caste in Modern India and Other Essays (1966)
D. The Dominant Caste and Other Essays (1987)
E. India’s Villages (1955)
F. India: Social Structure (1980)
Social Change
The basic meaning of Social change is the change in the social structure.
The term social change refers to any significant alteration in behaviour
patterns and cultural values. This type of change may have a lasting
effect on a society's culture that has undergone transformation.
Sanskritization
Srinivas coined the term Sanskritization to reflect the social mobility
present in Indian Society. According to M.N. Srinivas “Sanskritization is
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,
and frequently, a twice born caste.” In his study of Mysore Village,
Srinivas finds that at some time or the other, every caste tries to change
its rank in the hierarchy by giving up its attributes and trying to adopt
those of castes above them. This process of attempting to change one’s
rank by giving up attributes that define a caste as low and adopting
attributes that are indicative of higher status is called ‘Sanskritization’.
Dominant Caste
The concept of dominant caste has been used for the first item in
sociological literature by M.N. Srinivas in his essay Social System of a
Mysore Village, which was written after his study of village Rampura.
The concept occupies a key position in the process of ‘Sanskritization’.
The term dominant caste is used to refer to a caste which “wields
economic or political power and occupies a fairly high position in the
hierarchy.” These castes are accorded high status and position in all the
fields of social life. The people of other lower castes look at them as their
‘reference group’ and try to imitate their behaviour, ritual pattern,
custom and ideology. Srinivas has defined the following six major
characteristics of Dominant caste.
1. Land Ownership
2. Numerical Strength
3. High place in local hierarchy
4. Education
5. Job in administration and urban sources of income
6. Political involvement
Land Ownership:
Land is the most precious possession in rural area since it is the principal
source of income. Uneven distribution of locally available cultivable field
is a regular phenomenon of Indian Society. A vast area of land is
concentrated in the hands of rich minority. Generally, the big
landowners come from higher castes. These land owners employ the
people of other castes as their laborers. They also give land on rent to the
people. As a result, the entire population of the locality remains obliged
to the few land owners of a particular caste.
Numerical Strength:
The numerical strength of a caste also contributes towards its
dominance. In many areas, the Kshatriyas due to their large population
are able to exercise their control and power even over the few rich
Brahmins of a locality and are able to dominate the socio-political
situation.
High place in local hierarchy:

In every locality certain caste is accorded high status owing to its ritual
purity. They always enjoy social superiority to all other castes in every
aspects of social life.
Education:
The caste, member of which are highly educated, is naturally looked up
by the members of others castes. Due to their high education, they win
the morale of others.
Job in administration and urban sources of income:

The caste, the majority members of which is in government bureaucracy
or has sound economic strength, always finds itself in an advantageous
position. Its members hold legal and administrative powers by virtue of
their being government officials.
Political involvement:
The dominant place of politics in contemporary Indian Society can
hardly be undermined. The caste being more involved in political affairs
of the state or locality, automatically raises its position and exercises
control in all fields of social life.
Religion and Society
Srinivas’ work “Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India”
(1952) led him to formulate the concept of Brahminization to represent
the process of the imitation of life-ways and ritual practices of Brahmins
by the lower-caste Hindus. The notion of Brahminization, however, had
implicit possibilities of further abstraction into a higher-level concept,
‘Sanskritization’. Srinivas achieved this through enlarging the meaning
of Sanskritization and by distinguishing it from the other concept of
Westernization.
In Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India, Srinivas was
concerned with the spread of Hinduism. He talked about “Sanskritic
Hinduism’ and its values. Related to this was the notion of
‘Sanskritization’ which Srinivas employed to describe the process of the
penetration of Sanskritic values into the remote parts in India. Imitation
of the way of life of the topmost, twice-born castes was said to be the
principle mechanism by which the lower castes sought to raise their own
social status.
Critical Appraisal
I. Although Srinivas has talked about the economic and technological
development, he has not focused of the lower segment of society.
II. His ideas on Sanskritization and Dominant caste has made him closer
to Hindutva ideology of cultural nationalism.
Srinivas’ work Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India
(1952) led him to formulate the concept of Brahmanization.
In ‘Social Change in Modern India’ (1966), he defined Sanskritization.
The term westernization was used by Srinivas to denote the changes that
occurred due to contact with British socio-economic and cultural
innovations.
The term Secularization has been used to explain the process of

institutional innovations and ideological formulation after independence
to deal with the question of religious groups and minorities.

Structural-Functionalist Perspective

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Structural-Functionalist Perspective

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Structural-Functionalist Perspective

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Approaches to the study of Indian Society

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALIST APPROACH IN INDIA

Life Sketch of M. N. Srinivas

Methodological approach of Srinivas

Works & Writings

The various scholarly writings of Srinivas include

High place in local hierarchy:

Job in administration and urban sources of income:

In ‘Social Change in Modern India’ (1966), he defined Sanskritization.

The term Secularization has been used to explain the process of

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.