Page 1 :
M.N.SRINIVAS., (1916-1999)., M.N. Srinivas was one of the best known Indian Sociologist of, the post independence period. Srinivas got his doctoral degrees, from the Bombay and Oxford universities. His intellectual, orientation underwent change during the time he spent at the, Oxford University, in the social anthropology department. During, that period, British social anthropology dominated the western, anthropology. Srinivas's doctoral dissertation 'Religion and, society among the Coorgs of South India' gave him and, International reputation. He returned to India in 1951 and became, the head of the department of social aji at Maharaja Shivaji Rao, University at Baroda. He developed the sociological department, at Delhi, school of economics in 1959. Most of his effort was, spent in building institutions Which left him little time to carry, out his own research work., LIFE SKETCH OF SRINIVAS., Was born on November 16, 1916 in an Iyengar Brahmin family in, mysore. He required his early education at Mysore University and, later did his MA under the guidance of GS gallery in Bombay, University., In 1942 in his thesis on 'Marriage and Family among the, Coorgs',(the tribal community) was published as a book. He, continued his Ph.D under the guidance G.S. Ghurye pand, submitted his pieces to Bombay University., In 1945 he left for Oxford, 1947 he was awarded the M.Phil., degree in social anthropology from Oxford., Thereafter, in 1948 he was appointed as a lecturer in Indian, Sociology at Oxford, in 1951, he resigned from Oxford and came, back to India and spent years doing his field work in Rampura, village.

Page 2 :
In 1959 Srinivas took up professorship at the Delhi school of, Economics and set up Indian Sociology department., In 1971 he left Delhi University for Bangalore to build the, institution of Social and Economic Changes over there.He died, on November 30, 1999., M.N.SRINIVAS ON THE VILLAGE., The village society,, especially the Indian village, held great interest for Srinivas., From time to time he used to make short visits in villages and, conduct his surveys and interviews. However, it was only when, he was deeply involved in his field work on a village near Mysore,, that he truly understood what a village society actually was., During the years- 1950s and 1960s, Srinivas produced detailed, ethnographic accounts of village society. During this period, like, other scholars, he contributed a lot in making village studies the, dominant field in Indian Sociology., Srinivas writings on the village were mainly of 2 types:, 1. Ethnographic accounts- which consisted mainly of the, accounts of field work done in villages or were discussions of, such accounts., 2.Historical accounts- which consists of historical and, conceptual discussions about the Indian villages. The usefulness, of the village was also discussed in such discussions., Some of his important findings regarding the village were as, follows:, 1. Agriculture-the main source of livelihood., 2. Caste System., 3. Backward., The village environment is backward, it is not progressive or, modern.The people are very much influenced by supernatural, powers and magic, as education played little role in their lives.

Page 3 :
Lack of education also acts as an hindrance to their development, and they are not open to new ideas and changes., 4. Inter caste Relationship., Though the higher caste groups maintain a strict distance from, the lower castes and each caste group follows Its own set of, rules, yet, there are specific occasions when each caste group, takes the services of the other castes, such as, on marriages,, festivals, death etc. this relationship is also termed as the, 'Jajman System'., 5. Hierarchical System 6.Head man., Each village has a headman who is considered the 'karta' of the, village, just as every family in the village has a male, headman.The headman is generally the eldest male of the village, and someone who is physically more strong and experienced, than the others., 7. Division of labour on the basis of sex., The division of labour, in the village is based upon sex, differences. The women handle the kitchen. Their life centres, around the kitchen and other household activities. The men are, involved in other occupations, outside the house. Man's, occupation differs from caste to caste and household to, household., 8. Houses meant for living not for renting., In the villages, the people lead a very simple life. They live close, to nature and eat home cooked food, obtained from the, fields.They are not materialistic. Social difference is not based, upon the financial status of the people but upon the caste, system. The houses in the village are meant to be used by the, family members only. They are not built for renting., SRINIVAS ON THE CHANGING VILLAGE.

Page 4 :
Srinivas considered the village as a social entity. He criticised, the British scholars, who had projected the picture of Indian, villages as unchanging and self sufficient., In his study of the villages, Srinivas has showed that villages are, never self sufficient and experience considerable change from, time to time., Srinivas found that after independence, the Indian villages, experienced a number of changes., Major changes were noticed at the following levels:, 1).Technological, Changes:, The carts in the villages were replaced by buses. Many landowners became proud owners of buses and lorries. Besides this,, sewing machines came to be found in all households., 2).EconomicChanges: Earlier the people were directly or, indirectly dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood., Gradually the importance of their occupations and earning more, money has gone up among the village dwellers., 3).Cultural changes: The influence of religion and supernatural, powers in decreasing in the villages as the importance of, education is increasing. People are becoming more and more, aware of the benefits of education and health care. Important, changes are being witnessed in the choice of occupations and, style of clothes too., 4). Political Changes: the influence of popular political parties, and the visits of politicians to the villages with promises of, developing and improving their village areas have made the, villagers politically aware they have understood their right to, vote and elect their own representatives., 5). Sanskritization:, The process of sanskritization is also visible in the villages,, whereby the lower caste groups are adopting the culture and

Page 5 :
lifestyle of the higher-castes and thus trying to improve their, social status. On the other hand, one can also witness the, urbanisation of the Brahmans. The lower castes may be trying to, copy them, but the Brahmans are also trying to improve their lot,, by moving to urban areas, seeking higher education, better jobs, and better life-styles., Thus, choosing the village as a site of research, Srinivas has, contributed to the Indian Sociology in a big way. It has not only, helped to understand the village better, but has also offered an, eye- witness account of the changes that are rapidly coming in, the villages since the time of independence.