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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Contents, Know Your Cover..................................................................................................................................... 2, INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 3, INDIAN SOCIETY ...................................................................................................................................... 5, INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (IVC) ...................................................................................................... 8, INDO-ARYANS ..................................................................................................................................... 9, HINDUISM ......................................................................................................................................... 13, EMERGENCE OF JAINISM AND BUDDHISM ....................................................................................... 14, BEGINNING OF EXTERNAL INVASION AND IMMIGRANTS ................................................................ 14, THE WESTERN RULE .......................................................................................................................... 15, SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN SOCIETY ............................................................................................... 17, Culture and Society ........................................................................................................................... 17, SPIRITUALITY IN INDIA ...................................................................................................................... 19, FAMILY, MARRIAGE and KINSHIP...................................................................................................... 19, MARRIAGE......................................................................................................................................... 25, KINSHIP ............................................................................................................................................. 29, DIVERSITY IN INDIA ............................................................................................................................... 30, UNITY IN DIVERSITY .......................................................................................................................... 34, Social Mobility in India ...................................................................................................................... 41, GENDER INEQUALITY ............................................................................................................................ 45, , IASBABA, , 1

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Know Your Cover, , As depicted in the above image, one of the most common societal problems we face is, crime and abuse against women., The NCRB report stated that a majority of cases under crime against women (CAW) was, registered under “Cruelty by Husband or his Relatives” (27.9%), followed by “Assault on, Women with Intent to Outrage her Modesty” (21.7%), “Kidnapping and Abduction of, Women” (20.5%) and “Rape” (7.0%) in all 19 metropolitan cities., This data signifies that crime starts at home, in our surrounding and perpetrators are in few, instances known to us as well. Isn’t it?, To understand the societal problems and issues, you do not have to look beyond your, surroundings. At least for a basic understanding of any issue like issues related to women,, child labor, old age people, transgenders and various factors affecting them, you just have to, start thinking about the very basic issues/affecting the society., , IASBABA, , 2

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , INTRODUCTION, “You can never really understand an individual unless you also understand the society,, historical time period in which they live, personal troubles, and social issues.”, , In this VAN, we are going to study about Indian Society and its features, Impact of, Globalization on Indian Society and related social issues affecting various groups like women,, children, old-age people, transgenders etc., These topics are wide and cover a lot number of aspects. Almost questions worth 30-40 marks, (Mains) are asked from these topics. The content will enrich your knowledge base for ESSAY, also., Consider these Mains Questions asked in UPSC 2021, 2020:, •, •, •, •, •, , How does Indian Society maintain continuity in traditional social values? Enumerate, the changes taking place in it., Has caste lost its relevance in understanding the multi-cultural Indian society?, Elaborate your answer with illustrations., Do you agree that regionalism in India appears to be a consequence of rising cultural, assertiveness? Argue., Is diversity and pluralism in India under threat due to globalisation? Justify your, answer., Customs and traditions suppress reason leading to obscurantism. Do you agree?, , This section is one of the easiest portions in GS Paper 1, and does not require specific, knowledge or mugging up of details. Candidates opting for Civil Services must not forget the, basic reason for entering into this service — to serve the nation, the people and to bring, positive changes in the society. Therefore, it is advised to have good understanding about the, people of India and about the Indian Society., Note: Society related topics forms a major part of current affairs updates which you are, getting under Mainspedia. This VAN is for basic build up and overall connectivity. Mainspedia, content that has content relevant for society related aspects must be done thoroughly., Because in the exam, you will be required to put a lot of contemporary data in your answers., The mains examination intends to assess, according to the UPSC, “the overall intellectual, traits and depth of understanding of the candidates rather than merely the range of their, information and memory.”, , IASBABA, , 3

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Let us go through few more previous years’ questions to understand the demand and, dimensions needed:, Q.) To what extent globalisation has influenced the core of cultural diversity in India?, Explain., Q.) What is the basis of regionalism? Is it that unequal distribution of benefits of, development on regional basis eventually promotes regionalism? Substantiate your answer, Q.) In the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural units, rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your viewpoint., Q.) The spirit of tolerance and love is not only an interesting feature of Indian society from, very early times, but it is also playing an important part at the present. Elaborate, Q.) Distinguish between religiousness/religiosity and communalism giving one example of, how the former has got transformed into the latter in independent India., Q.) “Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, the caste, system cannot be eradicated in India.” Comment, Q.) How the Indian concept of secularism different from the western model of secularism?, Discuss., Q.) ‘Globalisation is generally said to promote cultural homogenisation but due to this, cultural specificities appear to be strengthened in the Indian society.’ Elucidate, Q.) ‘Communalism arises either due to power struggle or relative deprivation.’ Argue by, giving suitable illustrations., , Q- What inference can be drawn after looking at the nature of questions asked in Mains, from concerned topics and sub-topics?, , A- Almost all the questions require data and facts to support the answer and mostly it, forms part of current affairs. You cannot keep your answer entirely on theoretical or static, aspect., , IASBABA, , 4

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , INDIAN SOCIETY, Indian society is old and is extremely complex. According to a popular estimate, it has a span, of 5,000 years since the period of its first known civilization., During this long period several waves of immigrants, representing different ethnic strains and, linguistic families, have merged into its population to contribute to its diversity, richness and, vitality. Thereby carving a unique place for itself in the midst of the community of nations, today., So, how to start and from where to study or understand this vast Indian society?, START FROM HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: ORIGIN OF SOCIETY, A brief historical understanding of the Indian civilization will bring us closer to the origin of, Indian civilization and cause of its great diversity. In short know the origin of Indian Society., It will also help in understanding the present Indian society with its peculiar social structure, and values., THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF INDIA/THE RACIAL ELEMENTS OF INDIA, It is difficult to identify the earliest inhabitants of India or make “Racial, Classification of Indian People”. But it can be speculated about the, original or earliest inhabitants., 1. Sir Herbert Hope Risley Racial Classification of Indian People, •, , •, , Sir Herbert Hope Risley, a powerful colonial bureaucrat at the, Royal Anthropological Institute, had developed a clear-cut idea, about the racial elements of India., He identified three principal racial types in India viz. The Dravidian, the Indo-Aryan and, the Mongoloid., , 2. B S Guha’s Classification of racial elements in the population of India, The most widely accepted classification was given by Biraja Sankar Guha, an Indian physical, anthropologist, who identified six major racial elements in the population of India:, , IASBABA, , 5

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Description of various Races present in India, A. Negritos are the people who belong to the black racial stock as found in Africa. They, have black skin colour, frizzle hair, thick lips, etc. In India some of the tribes in South, India, such as the Kadar, the Irula and the Paniyan have distinct Negrito strain., B. The Proto-Australoid races consist of an ethnic group, which includes the Australian, aborigines and other peoples of southern Asia and Pacific Islands. Representatives, of this group are the Ainu of Japan, the Vedda of Sri Lanka, and the Sakai of Malaysia., In India the tribes of Middle India belong to this strain. Some of these tribes are the, Ho of Singhbhumi, Bihar, and the Bhil of the Vindhya ranges., C. The Mongoloids are a major racial stock native to Asia, including the peoples of, northern and eastern Asia. For example, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, Eskimos, and, often American Indians also belong to this race. In India, the North Eastern regions, have tribes of brachycephalic Mongoloid strain. A slightly different kind of, Mongoloid racial stock is found in the Brahmaputra Valley. The Mikir-Bodo group of, tribes and the Angami Nagas represent the best examples of Mongoloid racial, composition in India., D. The Mediterranean races relate to the aucasian physical type, i.e., the white race., It is characterised by medium or short stature, slender build, long head with cephalic, index (the ratio multiplied by 100 of the maximum breadth of the head to its, maximum length) of less than 75 and dark (continental) complexion., E. The Western Brachycephals are divided into the following three sub-groups:, • The Alpenoids are characterised by broad head, medium stature and light skin,, found amongst Bania castes of Gujarat, the Kayasthas of Bengal, etc., • The Dinarics are characterised by broad head, long nose, tall stature and dark, skin colour, found amongst the Brahmin of Bengal, the non-Brahmin of, Karnataka., • The Armenoids are characterised by features similar to Dinaric. The Armenoid, have a more marked shape of the back of head, a prominent and narrow nose., The Parsi of Bombay show the typical characteristics of the Armenoid race., F. The Nordic races belong to the physical type characterised by tall stature, long head,, light skin and hair, and blue eyes. They are found in Scandinavian countries, Europe., In India, they are found in different parts of north of the country, especially in, Punjab and Rajputana. The Kho of Chitral, the Red Kaffirs, the Khatash are some of, the representatives of this type. Research suggests that the Nordics came from the, north, probably from south east Russia and south west Siberia, through central Asia, to India., , IASBABA, , 7

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (IVC), Areas to focus:, •, •, , •, •, •, •, , When did IVC originate?, Existence of racial elements - In the skeletal remains of this civilization there is, evidence of the presence of Proto-Australoid, Mediterranean, Alpine and Mongoloid, racial elements. Therefore, all these racial elements contributed to its (IVC) growth., Features of Harappan or IVC culture –the ritual structure, literacy etc., Try to know whether there were any ‘social and economic differences’ amongst, people of IVC, issues of gender in Harappan society., Know how Harappan culture or IVC functioned?, End of the civilization?, , IASBABA, , 8

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , INDO-ARYANS, The Indo-Aryans came later and had a long encounter with earlier inhabitants of the land., They did not bring a civilization with them; they were essentially a pastoral people with a flair, for pottery, philosophical speculation and elaborate rituals., The arrival of Indo-Aryans in the Indian subcontinent dates to the Late Harappan period., , They were “racists” in the sense that they regarded themselves as superior and tended to, look down upon and deprecate (expressed disapproval of) the earlier inhabitants of the land,, for whom they coined several derogatory terms., Their society was mainly male dominated; women were treated with dignity and honour., The Aryans conquered the primary inhabitants of India and Aryans were comprised of quite, different physical and cultural features in contrast to the primary inhabitants of India., Aryans were a white race and the primary inhabitants were a dark race., The primal Indians in the north believed in supreme gods and spirits and never believed in, idolatry. The Aryans spoke a different language, worshipped different gods, and had different, cultural practices., , IASBABA, , 9

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Their influence in India was prominent as the majority of Indians today speaks and values the, Indo-Aryan language and culture., Therefore, it is important that aspirants examine their culture, language, religious beliefs, and how these characteristics intermingled to form the caste system and shape society., (Discussed below), ARYAN INFLUENCE ON INDIAN SOCIETY, The Aryans had a rich culture that still influences India today. The Aryans were primarily, warrior-nomadic people and their main source of wealth was cattle., However, after the migration into India there was a greater urgency to retain copper, iron, ore, and minerals for profits. During this time, the head of the household gained respect, primarily through trade, manufacturing, or farming., The Aryan society was patriarchal and much of the importance was placed on the male,, therefore an abundance of Aryan gods were males. The women in the Aryan culture were, usually housewives and the women were said to be very skilled in weaving., In technological advancements, the Aryans were mostly interested in making chariots, tools, and weapons and did not concentrate much effort into building anything else., The Aryans annexed various tribes and communities on their journey towards India and were, successful because they were nomadic people and their food supply of cattle was easy to, transport. They had mastered the art of using horse-chariots for war and they also held great, knowledge of heavy transportation using ox-carts., The male’s life consisted of Sabha, “denoting both the tribal assembly and its mote hall”,, which was for the males only, and featured gambling, fights, chariot races and female, dancers., The Aryans had a simplistic culture; however, their language was influential and distinctive., The unique language of the Aryans was a key factor in distinguishing them from other races., Aryan is a term that can define a linguistic group, which is a group of people, classified as, speaking the same language, or can be defined as a race, which is a group of people who, comprise of specific and distinct characteristic., The prevalent evidence throughout history suggests that Aryan was referred to as a unity of, language and people. For example, the emperor Darius refers to himself as an ‘Aryan of Aryan, descent’, the Vedas speaks of the Aryans as a race that worshipped the gods mentioned in, the Vedas and the Medes, ancient Iranian people, used to bear the name Aryans., , IASBABA, , 10

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , The language spoken by the Aryans came from the classical Aryan language which is a tree, that consists of three important branches. These are Sanskrit, Greek and Latin; Sanskrit being, the bearer of the Indo-Aryan Language which was spoken by the Aryans., The Dravidians of India however communicated in their own language which is not a part of, the classical Aryan language tree., Later on, during the Rigvedic period, Sanskrit was the predominant language. The text and, verbal communication were all practiced in Sanskrit. The Aryans’ language was very, influential; however, their religious and social beliefs crafted the way we see India today., The religious beliefs of the Aryans were not heavily enforced, which left them open to, influence by other cultures., When the Aryans invaded India and rivaled against the dark-skinned inhibitors of India, they, stamped the dark-skinned people as “non-believers” and called them “phallus worshippers”, because of the cultural difference between the two races. The Aryans considered the darkskinned people to be barbarians and emphasized their superiority in the realms of their, mentality, physicality, sociality and religiosity., However, the Dravidians, other dark-skinned inhabitants of India, were considered to be, tolerable by the Aryans. The Dravidians had their own language and culture, which was not, threatened by the Aryans., The Aryans were religiously open-minded and understood the importance of non-Aryan, thoughts and culture, however, they limited themselves to affiliating with cultures they found, tolerable or of some importance. For example, the Upanishads, which are important Aryan, religious texts, are described as having “elements of Aryan thoughts as well as non-Aryan, thought”. The incorporation of the Dravidian god Siva into the Vedas can also testify to the, tolerant Aryan culture., The open-minded Aryans also conquered many tribes and communities and made use of any, foreign knowledge, as well as uniting the new communities under an Aryan language., Religiously, the Aryans recognize the Vedas as their most valued religious text which consists, of many hymns dedicated to the Aryan gods. The Vedas consist of four different texts which, are the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda., (Vedas) They depict real life, history, sacrifices and location, while also depicting mystical and, spiritual tales., The Aryans also believed in sacrifices in order to align themselves with the cosmos which were, outlined in the Vedas; some of the sacrifices included the horse sacrifice and the cattle, sacrifice., IASBABA, , 11

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Hinduism is the fruit that emerged from the complex mixing of the Dravidian culture and the, Aryan culture. Their deities, epics, religious texts and history merged to form the fundamental, pillars of Hinduism. Hinduism is further known for the segregation of their society into, different classes and castes., The Aryans introduced the caste system to make sure they were prominent over others. To, create this complex new society in their favor, the castes were divided into four classes which, were the Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. (Chatur varna system), , VARNA/JATI (CASTE) SYSTEM, The Aryans introduced the caste system and divided into four classes which were the, Brahmins, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras., •, , •, •, •, , The Brahmins consisted of the priestly class who were responsible for the prayers,, sacrifices and the people who have a connection with the Gods. They were given the, highest respect in the society and carried a sense of authority over other castes., The Ksatriyas were the warriors and they were responsible for the protection of the, communities., The Vaisya were the traders and normal commoners., The Sudras were the conquered dark-skinned people who were considered the lowest, class and given servant like duties such as cleaning, repairs and janitorial works., , Lastly, there were also the untouchables who did not fit into any caste. They were therefore, not worthy of interacting with anyone in the caste system which led them to be isolated from, society. (Several examples of untouchability still prevalent in Indian society across religions, and beliefs)., The Aryans had an enormous influence in India where the caste system is still prevalent in, modern day., IASBABA, , 12

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , On further inspection we can see that the Aryan culture played a vital role in sculpting, Hinduism by influencing the religion with their epics, texts and religious ideologies. The, Aryans mixed with the Dravidians to create the complex religion of Hinduism. The emergence, of this religion and the Aryans seeking higher recognition in contrast to the commoners led, to the creation of the caste system. The caste system divided the people into various sects, who were responsible for different duties within the frameworks of society; such as religious, worship, trading, protecting the public and cleaning., , HINDUISM, Along with the process of Aryanisation, the major religion of India called “Sanatana Dharma”, or “Vaidika Dharma” or “Hinduism” also started evolving., Hinduism is composed of a caste, jati, system and class, varna, system., According to this, the four main varnas, compromising the Brahmin or “priestly” class, the, ksatriya or “warrior” class, the vaisya or “commoners” class,, and the sudra or “servant” class, originated from the body, parts of a mythical deity, Purusa., • The Brahmins were and continue to be regarded as the, purest class in Hindu society, originating from the head of, Purusa., • The Ksatriya class is said to originate from the torso and, arms of Purusa as they are expected to protect people and, bear arms., •, , Thirdly, members belonging to Vaisya originated from his legs and lower body. They, are responsible for tending to land or cattle and trading goods or money., , •, , The Sudra class originated from Purusa’s feet as they were the most impure members, of society., , Jati means “birth group” and provided Hindus with a more explicit rank or status in society., One’s jati refers to their occupation and dictates their dietary habits, ritual allowances, and, interactions with members of other castes. Members or groups within a caste claim varna, status and these claims are dependent upon their states of ritual purity., Upward mobility and social reform were extremely rare in Hinduism. The caste and class, system were very rigid, and ritual purity in pre-colonial India was held in the highest regards., Hinduism derives from diverse literary sources including the Vedas, The Brahmans, the, Aranyakas, the Upanishads, The Srauta, Grihya and Dharma Sutras., IASBABA, , 13

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Two more works that had considerable influence on the Indian social system are Kautilya’s, Arthashastra and Manusmriti. Kautilya concentrates mainly on the statecraft, but his treatise, also touches upon the control mechanisms of society. Manu, on the other hand, has provided, a complete social code. His work provided framework for the structuring of Hindu society. But, regional and caste diversities persisted., Because it was loosely structured, Hinduism accepted the growth of the heterodox doctrines,, cults and sects like the philosophy of the Ajivikas, who were followers of a philosophy of, complete pre-determination, the lokayats or Charvaks, who preached total materialism, and, several varieties of Tantric cults. It also accepted considerable dissent and reform., , EMERGENCE OF JAINISM AND BUDDHISM, Jainism grew out of dissent and achieved a countrywide spread. Buddhism also grew out of, flexible setting and gradually became a world religion. The Hindus, in their turn, eventually, accepted Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu., , Later, Sikhism also developed as a distinct religion, although it had taken elements freely both, from Hinduism and Islam. Bhakti cults represent another dimension of change in religion., They first surfaces as an articulation of dissent, but most of them were rigidly codified in due, course and today they operate almost like Jatis., , BEGINNING OF EXTERNAL INVASION AND IMMIGRANTS, From the 6th century BC to 18th century AD, a large number of foreign invaders and immigrants, came to India at different times., Persians – in 6th century BC and Greeks – in 4th century BC, invaded some parts of North-West, India but the influence was for a very short period of time., , IASBABA, , 14

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Later waves can be seen in form of Seythians, Parthians, Shakas, Huns, Kushans who held, power for relatively long periods. They wanted to get assimilated in the Hindu society., The Shakas became the Shaivites, the Huns came to be called the Rajputs. The Kushans were, attracted by Buddhism so embraced Buddhism., Next came the Islamic conquests of India (10th to 16th century AD). The Muslim rulers were in, India not only for the spread of Islam, but had other interests also. Some of them took upon, themselves the mission of Islamizing society more seriously than others; discriminatory, practices such as the imposition of jizyah (poll tax), in addition to Kuliraj (tax on land and, property) were pursued more vigorously by some rulers, while others were relaxed about, them., Despite long years of Muslim rule, the overwhelming majority of the people remained Hindu., This would not have been possible had the requirements of Islam been strictly carried out. It, was because of the secular ideology carried out by some famous and strong rulers who made, mark on the overall society and social set up of that time., The army, the State administration, and trade and commerce – all depended on the direct, and indirect support of the Hindus. Thus, in respect of the hated jizyah we find that it was, levied sometimes and then abolished. In fact, Islam was being Indianized; in the process, it, acquired some distinctive characteristics in India., In the realms of art and architecture, religion and philosophy, medicine and other secular, knowledge, there was considerable interchange. Rulers like Akbar tried to build bridges, between the various communities. A composite culture was gradually evolving., , THE WESTERN RULE, Apart from those from Central Asia, other foreign powers also came to India., •, , The Portuguese entered Indian waters in 1499 as a naval power., , •, , In the beginning of the 17th century the Dutch and the English arrived in quick, succession, followed a little later by the French., , •, , Out of all the English dug themselves in and remained in India in one capacity or anther, till 14 August 1947., , IASBABA, , 15

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , THE BRITISH RULE, Areas to focus:, •, , Their positive and negative impact on Indian Society – Colonial exploitation and, domination which scarred Indian society in many ways., , •, , How the country was unified by a common system of administration, a common Penal, Code and Civil Procedure Code and a network of railways., , •, , Responding to this alien rule, how Indians developed a new self-image and created, initiatives for an Indian Renaissance., , •, , How Indian society developed an awareness and sensitivity of its inadequacies,, weaknesses and faults. How Indian society found itself generating new impulses for, reform and social transformation., , •, , How specifically Indian consciousness took shape? How Nationalism was born?, , Note: Once, you have developed thorough understanding of above topics; it will be much, easier now to start with “Salient Features of Indian Society”., From above understanding, we can deduce the following:, There are two main characteristics of Indian society:, •, •, , Firstly, it is very old and has already crossed five thousand years., Secondly, it is very complex in its nature., , There are three reasons for the complexity of Indian society:, •, •, •, , Immigrants from different corners of the world entered due to various reasons., They were from different races with their inherent qualities., They entered India with their own languages and cultural elements., , The ultimate result was the emergence of a peculiar Indian society having three qualities:, •, •, •, , Presence of different social groups., Richness of Indian culture with various types of cultural elements., Development of strong vitality within Indian culture to continue., , So, Indian society is composed of different social groups with differences in race, language,, religion etc., , IASBABA, , 16

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , SALIENT FEATURES OF INDIAN SOCIETY, Focus areas:, 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., , Indian Culture, Spiritualism, Hinduism, Varna and Jati (Caste System), Family Marriage and Kinship, Gender Relations and Patriarchal Society, , INDIAN CULTURE, •, •, •, •, •, , Distinctive features of Indian culture, Identify the central points and uniqueness of Indian culture, Importance of spirituality in Indian culture, Explain the points of diversity and underlying unity in it, Trace the process of infusion into and integration of elements from other cultures in, Indian culture, , CULTURE AND SOCIETY, Society is perceived as a chain of social relations among groups of individuals who are held, together by commonly shared institutions and processes. All processes of human life-cycle, are carried out and regulated in society. Thus, there is an integral reality of the individual,, culture and society. All these are mutually inter-dependent, so that any one of them cannot, be adequately understood without reference to the other. Culture depends for its existence, and continuity on groups of individuals whose social relations form society., Culture exists only in human societies. There can be an animal society without culture, but no, human society is found without having to own culture. Consequently, what differentiates men, and women qualitatively from other species of animals is not their social nature, but their, culture. Human being is essentially a cultural or symbolic animal., In actual life, society and culture cannot be separated. Even though culture is a broader, category, it cannot exist and function without society. Society, in other words, is a necessary, pre-condition for culture. Similarly, neither society nor culture can exist independent of, human beings., , IASBABA, , 17

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Cultural Diversity in India, Cultural variations exist in all groups of people worldwide. Consider, for example, Indian, society, which has scores of languages and dialects, beliefs and rites, customs and traditions,, habits and behavior patterns. We shall provide a couple of examples to illustrate the extent, of cultural diversity in India., •, , •, •, , •, , The Brahmin constitutes a single varna. However, the Brahmin in different parts of the, country are not a culturally homogeneous group. They are divided into hundreds of, castes and sub-castes called jatis who marry only among themselves. There are great, variations among the various Brahmin sub-castes in respect of language, food habits,, customs and rituals., The Brahmin sub-castes are divided into two major sects, the Vaishnava and the, Shaivite. These sects are divided into numerous smaller sects., For example, in South India, the Vaishnava are divided into Madhava and Shri, Vaishnava. The Shri Vaishnava in turn are sub-divided into northern and southern, sects., In North India, the Vaishnava are divided into worshippers of Rama and worshippers, of Krishna. The worshippers of Rama are sub-divided into Madhava and Ramanandi., The worshippers of Krishna are sub-divided into Chaitanya and Radha-Vallabha., , There are significant variations among the various Brahmin sub-castes in respect of food, habits. The Kashmiri pundits eat meat, but not fish. The Maithili Brahmin of Bihar eat meat, and fish, but not chicken. Similarly, the Bengali Brahmin and the Saraswat Brahmin eat fish., The Punjabi, Gujarati and South Indian Brahmin on the other hand are strictly vegetarians., There are differences in the various regions of India in respect of dress pattern. In eastern, India the ritual wearing of unsewn garments is widely prevalent. Similarly, one can enter the, inner sanctum of a Jain temple only while wearing an unstitched piece of cloth. The Brahmin, of eastern Nepal eat their food only while wearing unsewn garments. However, as one moves, from Bengal to Western and Northern India, unsewn garments are replaced by stitched, garments., Cultural Diversity and the Unity of Mankind, Cultural variations among the various peoples of the world may appear to be confusing and, mind-boggling. However, behind the facade of diversity lies the fundamental unity of, mankind. All human beings, regardless of social and cultural differences, belong to single, biological species Homo sapiens. All human groups and populations can inter-breed and, produce their own kind. Moreover, all human communities share the cultural universals: the, capacity for learning and acquiring culture, the capacity for language, incest rules, funerary, rites, and institutions such as marriage, family and religion, among others., IASBABA, , 18

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , SPIRITUALITY IN INDIA, Religion and spirituality are often used as synonyms. While religion is more to do with rituals,, spirituality is that which has to do with one’s Self or, the spirit. Anything done for its growth, and advancement is spirituality. They are not opposed, but stem from one another. While, religion is more organized and includes public rituals, spirituality is more private and personal., , FAMILY, MARRIAGE AND KINSHIP, Basic concepts:, • Family is a group of persons directly linked by connections, the adult members of, which assume responsibility for caring for children., • Kinship ties are connections between individuals, established either through marriage, or through the lines of descent that connect blood relatives (mothers, fathers, siblings,, offspring, etc.)., • Marriage may be defined as a socially acknowledged and approved sexual union, between two adult individuals. When two people marry, they become kin one, another; the marriage bond also, however, connects together a wider range of, kinspeople. Parents, sisters, brothers and other blood relatives become relatives of, the partner through marriage., FAMILY, Main characteristics of family, 1. Universality: There is no human society in which some form of the family does not, appear. Sociologist, Malinowski writes the typical family a group consisting of mother,, father and their progeny is found in all communities, savage, barbarians and civilized., , IASBABA, , 19

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , The irresistible sex need, the urge for reproduction and the common economic needs, have contributed to this universality., 2. Emotional basis: The family is grounded in emotions and sentiments. It is based on, our impulses of mating, procreation, maternal devotion, fraternal love and parental, care. It is built upon sentiments of love, affection, sympathy, cooperation and, friendship., 3. Limited size: The family is smaller in size. As a primary group its size is necessarily, limited. It is a smallest social unit., 4. Formative influence: The family welds an environment which surrounds trains and, educates the child. It shapes the personality and molds the character of its members., It emotionally conditions the child., 5. Nuclear position in the social structure: The family is the nucleus of all other social, organizations. The whole social structure is built of family units., 6. Responsibility of the members: The members of the family have certain, responsibilities, duties and obligations. Maclver points out that in times of crisis men, may work and fight and die for their country but they toil for their families all their, lives., 7. Social regulation: The family is guarded both by social taboos and by legal regulations., The society takes precaution to safeguard this organization from any possible, breakdown., TYPES AND FORMS OF FAMILY, Types of families and their forms are based on various parameters. You can find the list of, types of family and family forms, below. The types of family in sociology have been classified, as per world norms and not only India. Different types and structures of families in society, have been listed., Types of family on the basis of marriage, On the basis of marriage, family has been classified into three major types:, • Polygamous or polygynous family, • Polyandrous family, • Monogamous family, Types of family on the basis of the nature of residence, On the basis of the nature of residence, family can be classified into three main forms., • Family of matrilocal residence, • Family of patrilocal residence, IASBABA, , 20

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, , PART 1, , Family of changing residence, , Types of family on the basis of ancestry or descent family, On the basis of ancestry or descent family, can be classified into two main types, • Matrilineal family, • Patrilineal family, Types of family on the basis of size or structure, On the basis of size or structure and the depth of generations family can be classified into two, main types., • Nuclear or the single unit family, • Joint family or extended family, Family relationships are often recognized within wider kinship groups., • In virtually all societies we can identify what sociologists and anthropologists call the, nuclear family, two adults living together in a household with their own or adopted, children., • In most traditional societies, the nuclear family was part of a larger kinship network of, some type. When close relatives other than a married couple and children live either, in the same household or in a close and continuous relationship with one another, we, speak of an extended family. An extended family may include grandparents, sisters, and their husbands, brothers and their wives, aunts and nephews., , Social Processes affecting Family, An elementary family can be defined as a social group consisting of father, mother and their, children. Bohannan in his definition of the family emphasized the functional as well as the, structural roles of the family. According to him a family contains people who are linked by, sexual and affinal relationships as well as those linked by descent who are linked by secondary, relationships that is by chains of primary relationships., According to William J Goode at least two adult persons of opposite sex reside together. They, engage in some kind of division of labor i.e. they both do not perform exactly the same tasks., They engage in many types of economic and social exchanges i.e. they do things for one, another. They share many things in common such as food, sex, residence and both goods and, social activities. The adults have parental relations with their children as their children have, filial relations with them; the parents have some authority over their children and both share, with one another while also assuming some obligations for protection, cooperation and, nurture. There are sibling relations among the children themselves with a range of obligations, to share, protect and help one another. Individuals are likely to create various kinds of, relations with each other but if their continuing social relations exhibit some or all of the role, patterns, in all probability they would be viewed as the family., IASBABA, , 21

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , A host of inter-related factors like economic, educational, legal and demographic like, population growth, migration and urbanization etc. have been affecting the structure of the, family in India., There are many published accounts demonstrating that changes have taken place in the, structure of the family due to exposures to the forces of industrialization. Nuclear status of, family is considered as the outcome of its impact. Such an interpretation presupposes, existence of non-nuclear family structure in such societies. Empirical evidence sometimes, does not support this position. Further industrial establishments have their own requirements, of human groups for their efficient functioning. As a result, people are migrating to industrial, areas and various kinds of family units have been formed added extra-ordinary variety to, overall situation., Due to the influences of urbanization the joint family structure is under severe stress and in, many cases, it has developed a tendency toward nuclear family. When there is no, disagreement on the authenticity of such a tendency the traditional ideal joint family was, perhaps not the exclusive type before such influences came into existence., Both modernization and urbanization are considered as the major contributing factors, toward changing structure of family. In fact, modernization as a social –psychological, attribute can be in operation independent of industrialization and urbanization., With the passage of time through exposures to the forces of modernization family structure, underwent multiple changes. One of the important features of the family studies in India has, been concerned with the question of whether the joint family system is disintegrating and a, new nuclear type of family pattern is emerging., According to Augustine it seems almost unrealistic that we think of a dichotomy between the, joint and nuclear family. This is especially true given the rapidity of social change that has, swept our country. In the context of industrialization, urbanization and social change it is very, difficult to think of a dichotomy between the joint and the nuclear family in India. In the, present context these typologies are not mutually exclusive. Social change is an inevitable, social process that can be defined as observable transformations in social relationships. This, transformation is most evident in the family system. However, because of structures our, traditionally these transformations are not easily observable., According to Augustine the concept of transitionality has two dimensions – retrospective and, prospective. The retrospective dimension implies the traditional past of our family and social, system while the prospective one denotes the direction in which change is taking place in our, family system. Transitionality is thus an attempt to discuss the crux of the emergent forms of, family. The studies conducted in several parts of the country show that the joint family system, in India is undergoing a process of structural transformation due to the process of, modernization, industrialization and urbanization. A nuclear family develops into a joint, IASBABA, , 22

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , family after the marriage of a son and hence the process of fission and fusion take place in, the family system due to various reasons. In most parts of India where patriarchal families, exist sons are expected to stay put together with the parents till the marriage of the children., After this they tend to separate. Thus, the process of fission takes place and the joint family, is broken into relatively smaller number of units –sometimes into nuclear units. Nicolas on, the basis of his study in rural West Bengal concludes that if a joint family between a father, and his married sons divides a joint family among brothers rarely survives. The father seems, to be the keystone of the joint family structure. Despite the solidarity among the male siblings, after the father's death many forces tend to break the joint family into separate units., Significant numbers of studies have been conducted on the urban family structure in India., •, , T.K Oomen in his article ‘Urban family in Transition’ points out that most of these, studies have been obsessed with a single question is the joint family in India breaking, down and undergoing a process of nuclear due to urbanization., , Scholars point out that industrial urbanization has not brought disintegration in the joint, family structure., •, , Milton Singer studies the structure of the joint family among the industrialists of, Madras City. He finds that joint family system has not been a blockade for, entrepreneurship development. Rather it has facilitated and adapted to, industrialization., , •, , Ramakrishna Mukherjee in 'Sociologists and Social Change in India Today' finds that, the joint family is over represented in the trade and commerce sector of national, economy and in the high and middle grade occupations and nuclear family is over, represented in the rural rather than in the urban areas. Based on his study on the, family structure in West Bengal he concludes that the central tendency in the Indian, society is to pursue the joint family organization., , •, , T.K Oomen is of the opinion that so far urban family has been viewed from within as, a little society .To him for a proper understanding the urban family should be placed, in a broad social context. For this purpose, the urban families should be placed in a, broad social context. The urban families are to be distinguished through the mode of, earning a livelihood and sources of income, structure of authority, urban social milieu, and social ecology and the emerging value patterns., , The socio-ecological factors like the settlement patterns, cultural environments of the urban, migrants and associations to various occupational, political, ideological, cultural, economic, groups influence and reorient the style and pattern of urban families. The urban centers are, melting pots of traditional and modern values. Individualism is growing at a significant speed, , IASBABA, , 23

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , in the urban areas. Individualism is against the spirit of the joint family and questions the, established authority of the patriarchal set up., In the context of rapid technological transformation, economic development and social, change the pattern of family living has been diverse in urban India. Life is complex both in the, rural and in the urban areas. In the urban areas and even in the rural areas many couples are, in gainful employment. They depend on others for childcare. With the structural break down, of the joint family they face lot of difficulties in raising their children. For employment many, rural men come out of the village leaving behind their wives and children., In the process of structural transformation, the old structure of authority and value has been, challenged. The growing individualism questions the legitimacy of the age-old hierarchic, authority. The old value system also changes significantly. However, this system of, transformation has minimized the importance of mutual respect, love and affection among, the family members belonging to various generations. The lack of emotional support in the, family often leads the youth to the path of alcoholism and drug addiction., Impact of Modernism on Family, Malinowski advocates ‘Family is the cornerstone of every society and culture’. Family offers, a person residential identity, social status, right to property affiliation with kinship and, emotional support. In western European societies Jack Goode finds that world revolution has, contributed for the transformation of family system., In Indonesia and Philippines industrialization has drawn adult males and females from rural, centers to the urban areas. However, the elderly generation still stays in the rural areas, looking after the family farm and the young ones employed in the industries regularly visit, their traditional family explaining how industrial revolution has not completely broken down, the family system in these societies., Lawrence Stone in Family transformations in the world advocates that families change from, the elementary structure to patriarchal structure to reach at the stage of conjugal structure., In primitive societies people go for nuclear families or elementary families therefore the basic, unit of family consists of husband, wife and children. But one's duties, responsibilities,, obligations in relation to family are subdued to one's responsibility towards the community, when economy stabilizes secured sense of income and livelihood comes out of agriculture the, males take active part in agrarian mode and compelling women to look into domestic, activities. As a result, division of work explains variations in status and consolidation of, patriarchal joint family system., Finally, industrialization, women empowerment and modernization give rise to the gender, equality both at family and at the place of work. Therefore, man becomes family centric in, modern society and both husband and wife appreciate each other accommodate to each, IASBABA, , 24

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , other's interest to keep family going and continuing in modern society. He asserts that the, decline of modern family system will give importance on the elementary family system., Steiner does not agree with the universal theory of family change developed by Lawrence, Stone. He asserts that Islamic revolution in Arabian sub-continent has contributed for, commercial growth on the one hand but consolidation of patriarchy, lower status of women, and women's separation from employment on the other. In South Africa under the impact of, industrialization the demographic composition of family is changing but geographically, dispersed members of the family address to the needs of each other at the time of crisis., Therefore, the bearing of industrialization on family system is not uniform. In Poland the, elderly people live in the countryside along with their grandchildren. The adults go for, industrial occupation and urban living. As a result, social demography is evenly balanced and, family not undergoing through the state of crisis., Anthony Giddens while speaking about the bearings of industry and modernization on family, system advocates that the structure of family, the forms of interrelationship within family are, greatly determined by multiple criteria including class, race, ethnic identity, personal, experience and other factors. It is generally found that interpersonal relationships among the, members in the families in upper and lower class is absolutely weak. Thus, search for freedom, or perpetual poverty hence search for escapism. In both these societies the rate of divorce is, quite high. Talking about family encountering with crisis in modern society it is generally, found that Asian parents are more concerned about the security of their children. Hence, they, concentrate more on savings, children's education appropriate socialization. Therefore,, family integration is high in case of Asians., With regard to race he finds out that both blacks and whites sufficiently go for the breakdown, of marriage, pre -marital and post- marital relationships is greatly unfound in case of Jews and, Asian immigrants. As a result, the stability and security of family is not identically determined, by industrialization. Finally, one's personal experience during childhood necessarily influences, to his future role in the family set up. A troubled childhood may stimulate a child to go for the, untroubled parenthood at a future date. Thus, in conclusion dismissing to Classical Theory of, Sir Henry Maine, Morgan, Tonnies who advocate that joint families transform into nuclear, families under the impact of industrialization one would conclude that the bearings of, industrialization, modernization, women empowerment are bound to be different on, different family systems in different societies and cultures., , MARRIAGE, Marriage is one of the universal social institutions established to control and regulate the life, of mankind. It is closely associated with the institution of family. In fact, both the institutions, are complementary to each other. It is an institution with different implications in different, cultures. Its purposes, functions and forms may differ from society to society but it is present, everywhere as an institution., IASBABA, , 25

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Patterns of Marriage, Cultural norms, and often laws, identify people as suitable or unsuitable marriage partners., Endogamy and Exogamy, • Some marital norms promote endogamy, marriage between people of the same social, category. Endogamy limits marriage prospects to others of the same age, race,, religion, or social class., • By contrast, exogamy mandates marriage between people of different social, categories., In rural areas of India, for example, people are expected to marry someone of the same caste, (endogamy) but from a different village (exogamy). On the one hand, the logic of endogamy, is that people of similar position pass along their standing to their offspring, thereby, maintaining the traditional social hierarchy. Exogamy, on the other, builds alliances and, encourages cultural diffusion., Monogamy and Polygamy, • In high-income nations, laws prescribe monogamy (from the Greek, meaning “one, union”), marriage that unites two partners., • Whereas monogamy is the rule in high-income countries, many lower-income, countries – especially in Africa and southern Asia – permit polygamy (from the Greek,, meaning “many unions”), marriage that unites three or more people., Polygyny and Polyandry, Polygamy takes two forms: (a) polygyny and (b) polyandry., • By far the more common form is polygyny (from the Greek, meaning “many women”),, marriage that unites one man and two or more women. For example, Islamic nations, in the Middle East and Africa permit men to four wives. Even so, most Islamic families, are monogamous because a very few men can afford to support several wives and, even more children., • Polyandry (from the Greek, meaning “many men” or “many husbands”) is marriage, that unites one woman and two or more men. One case of this rare pattern is seen is, Tibet, a mountainous land where agriculture is difficult. There, polyandry discourages, the division of land into parcels too small to support a family and divides the work of, farming among many men., Residential Patterns, Just as societies regulate mate selection, so they designate where a couple resides., • In preindustrial societies, most newlyweds live with one set of parents who offer them, protection, support and assistance. Most common is the form of patrilocality (from, IASBABA, , 26

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, , •, , PART 1, , the Greek, meaning “place of the father”), a residential pattern in which a married, couple lives with or near the husband’s family., However, some societies favour matrilocality (from the Greek, meaning “place of the, mother”), a residential pattern in which a married couple lives with or near the wife’s, family., Industrial societies show yet another pattern. Finances permitting, they favour, neolocality (from the Greek, meaning “new place”), a residential pattern in which a, married couple lives apart from both sets of parents., , Rules of Marriage:, No society gives absolute freedom to its members to select their partners. Endogamy and, exogamy are the two main rules that condition marital choice., Endogamy:, It is a rule of marriage in which the life-partners are to be selected within the group. It is, marriage within the group and the group may be caste, class, tribe, race, village, religious, group etc. We have caste endogamy, class endogamy, sub caste endogamy, race endogamy, and tribal endogamy etc. In caste endogamy marriage has to take place within the caste., Brahmin has to marry a Brahmin. In sub caste endogamy it is limited to the sub caste groups., Exogamy:, It is a rule of marriage in which an individual has to marry outside his own group. It prohibits, marrying within the group. The so-called blood relatives shall neither have marital, connections nor sexual contacts among themselves., Forms of exogamy:, •, , Gotra Exogamy: The Hindu practice of one marrying outside one's own gotra., , •, , Pravara Exogamy: Those who belong to the same pravara cannot marry among, themselves., , •, , Village Exogamy: Many Indian tribes like Naga, Garo, Munda etc. have the practice of, marrying outside their village., , •, , Pinda Exogamy: Those who belong to the same panda or sapinda (common, parentage) cannot marry within themselves., , •, , Isogamy: It is the marriage between two equals (status), , •, , Anisogamy: It is an asymmetric marriage alliance between two individuals belonging, to different social statuses. It is of two forms - Hypergamy and Hypogamy., IASBABA, , 27

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , 1. Hypergamy: It is the marriage of a woman with a man of higher Varna or superior, caste or family., 2. Hypogamy: It is the marriage of high caste man with a low caste woman., •, , Orthogamy: It is the marriage between selected groups., , •, , Cerogamy: It is two or more men get married to two or more women., , •, , Anuloma marriage: It is a marriage under which a man can marry from his own caste, or from those below, but a woman can marry only in her caste or above., , •, , Pratiloma marriage: It is a marriage of a woman to a man from a lower caste which is, not permitted., , Note: Try to know the difference in pattern of marriage in Hindu tradition and Muslim, Tradition., Recent Trends, To what extent are the rules of endogamy, hypergamy, exogamy and arranged marriages, operative today?, Inter-caste marriages are now recognized by law and take place on a larger scale than before., These inter-caste marriages constitute only a very small proportion of the total number of, marriages taking place. They are increasing at a slow rate. Caste endogamy is still highly, relevant in the context of the patterns of selection of spouse. Many caste organisations devise, all kinds of strategies to confine marriages within their castes and sub-castes. There are even, marriage “melas” (fairs) to ensure that the choice of the spouse is made within the particular, subcaste., Though majority of marriages continue to be arranged by parents/elders/wali, the pattern of, choosing one’s spouse has undergone some modifications today. We find the following, patterns i) marriage by parents’/elders’ choice without consulting either the boy or girl, ii), marriage by self-choice, iii) marriage by self-choice but with parents’ consent, iv) marriage by, parents’ choice but with the consent of both the boy and the girl involved in the marriage, v), marriage by parents’ choice but with the consent of only one of the two partners involved., Very often, the boy is consulted and his consent is taken. Parents/elders do not think it is, important to ask the girl whether she approves the match. Among urban educated classes, arranged marriage with the consent of the boy and the girl is often the most preferred, pattern. Marriages are even arranged through newspaper advertisement for both the boy, and the girl., , IASBABA, , 28

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Changes in Marriage, ▪ Changes in the Forms of Marriage, ▪ Changes in the Mate selection, ▪ Changes in Age of Marriage, ▪ Changes in Marriage Rituals and Customs, ▪ Changes in Marriage: Goals and Stability, , KINSHIP, Kinship ties are connections between individuals, established either through marriage or, through the lines of descent that connect blood relatives (mothers, fathers, siblings, offspring,, etc.)., Types of Kinship:, Descent, A descent group is any social group in which membership depends on common descent from, a real or mythical ancestor. Thus, a lineage is a unilineal descent group in which membership, may rest either on matrilineal descent (patrilineage) or on matrilineal descent (matrilineage)., In a cognatic descent, all descendants of an ancestor\ancestress enjoy membership of a, common descent group by virtue of any combination of male or female linkages., However, cognatic descent is sometimes used synonymously with either 'bilateral' or, 'consanguine descent. A clan is a unilineal descent groups if the members of which may claim, either patrilineal (Patriclan) or matrilineal descent (Matriclan) from a founder, but do not, know the genealogical ties with the ancestor\ancestress., •, , A phratry is a grouping of clans which are related by traditions of common descent., Mythical ancestors are thus common in clans and phratries., , •, , Totemic clans, in which membership is periodically reinforced by common rituals such, as sacred meals, have been of special interest to social anthropologists and, sociologists of religion., , •, , Where the descent groups of a society are organized into two main divisions, these, are known as moieties (halves)., , The analysis of descent groups is crucial for any anthropological study of pre-industrial, society, but in most Western industrial societies the principle of descent is not prominent and, descent groups are uncommon., , IASBABA, , 29

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Primary kins:, Every individual who belong to a nuclear family finds his primary kins within the family. There, are 8 primary kins- husband-wife, father-son, mother-son, father-daughter, motherdaughter, younger brother-elder brother, younger sister-elder sister and brother-sister., Secondary kins:, Outside the nuclear family the individual can have 33 types of secondary relatives. For, example, mother's brother, brother's wife, sister's husband, father's brother., Tertiary kins:, Tertiary kins refer to the secondary kins of our primary kins. For example, wife's brother's son,, sister's husband's brother and so on. There are 151 types of tertiary kins., , DIVERSITY IN INDIA, , IASBABA, , 30

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Different Forms of Diversity in India, The diversity in India is unique. Being a large country with large population, India presents, endless varieties of physical features and cultural patterns. It is the land of many languages it, is only in India people professes all the major religions of the world. In short, India is “the, epitome of the world”. The vast population is composed of people having diverse creeds,, customs and colours. Some of the important forms of diversity in India are discussed below., 1. Diversity of Physical Features:, The unique feature about India is the extreme largest mountains covered with snow, throughout the year. The Himalayas or the adobe of snow is the source of the mighty rivers, like Indus. Ganga and Yamuna. These perennial rivers irrigate extensive areas in the North to, sustain the huge population of the country. At the same time Northern India contains and, zones and the desert of Rajasthan where nothing grows accept a few shrubs., 2. Racial Diversity:, A race is a group of people with a set of distinctive physical features such set skin, colour, type, of nose, form of hair etc. A.W. Green says, “A race is a large biological human grouping with, a number of distinctive, inherited characteristics which vary within a certain range.”, The Indian sub-continent received a large number of migratory races mostly from the, Western and the Eastern directions. Majority of the people of India are descendants of, immigrants from across the Himalayas. Their dispersal into sub-continent has resulted in the, consequent regional concentration of a variety of ethnic elements. India is an ethnological, museum Dr B.S Guha identifies the population of India into six main ethnic groups, namely, (1) the Negrito’ (2) the Proto-Australoids, (3) the Mongoloids (4) the Mediterranean or, Dravidian (5) the Western Brachycephals and (6) the Nordic. People belonging to these, different racial stocks have little in common either in physical appearance or food habits. The, racial diversity is very perplexing., Herbert Risley had classified the people of India into seven racial types., The types are:, , IASBABA, , 31

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , TurkoIranian, , IndoAryan, , ScythoDravidian, , AryoDravidian, , MongoloDravidian, , Mongoloid, , Dravidian, These seven racial types can be reduced to three basic types-the Indo-Aryan, the Mongolian, and the Dravidian., In his opinion the last two types would account for the racial composition of tribal India., Other administrative officers and anthropologists like J.H. Hutton, D.N. Majumdar and B. S., Guha have given the latest racial classification of the Indian people based on further, researches in this field. Hutton’s and Guha’s classifications are based on 1931 census, operations., 3. Linguistic Diversity:, The census of 1961 listed as many as 1,652 languages and dialects. Since most of these, languages are spoken by very few people, the subsequent census regarded them as spurious, but the 8′h Schedule of the Constitution of India recognizes 22 languages. These are (1), Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmir. (7) zKonkani. (8), Malayalam. (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali. (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit. (15), Tamil, (16) Telugu, (17) Urdu, and (18) Sindhi, (19) Santhali, (20) Boro, (21) Maithili and (22), Dogri. But four of these languages namely Sanskrit, Kashmiri, Nepali and Sindhi are not official, languages in any State of the Indian Union. But all these languages are rich in literature Hindi, in Devanagiri script is recognized as the official language of the Indian Union by the, Constitution., The second largest language, Telugu, is spoken by about 60 million people, mostly in Andhra, Pradesh. Most of the languages spoken in North India belong to the Indo- Aryan family, while, , IASBABA, , 32

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , the languages of the South namely Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada belong to the, Dravidian family., It is said that India is a “Veritable tower of babel”. In the words of A.R. Desai “India presents, a spectacle of museum of tongues”., This linguistic diversity notwithstanding, there was always a sort of link languages, though it, has varied from age to age. In ancient times, it was Sanskrit, in medieval age it was Arabic or, Persian and in modern times there are Hindi and English as official languages., 4. Religious Diversity:, India is not religiously a homogeneous State even though nearly 80 per cent of the population, profess Hinduism. India is a land of multiple religions. We find followers of various faiths,, particularly of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism. We, know that Hinduism is the dominant religion of India., According to the 2011 census, 79.8% of the population of India practices Hinduism, 14.2%, adheres to Islam, 2.3% adheres to Christianity, 1.7% adheres to Sikhism, 0.7% adheres to, Buddhism and 0.4% adheres to Jainism., Then there are sects within each religion. Hinduism, for example, has many sects including, Shaiva Shakta and Vaishnava. We can add to them the sects born of religious reform, movements such as the Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj, and The Ram Krishna Mission. More, recently, some new cults have come up such as Radhaswami, Saibaba etc. Similarly, Islam is, divided into Shiya and Sunni; Sikhism into Namdhari and Nirankari; Jainism into Digambar and, Shwetambar and Buddhism into Hinayan and Mahayan., While Hindus and Muslims are found in almost all parts of India, the remaining minority, religions have their pockets of concentration. Christians have their strongholds in the three, Southern States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa. Northeastern states like Nagaland,, Arunanchal Pradesh, Mizorum and Meghalaya have Christians in majority., Sikhs are concentrated largely in Punjab, Buddhist in Maharashtra and Jains are mainly spread, over Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, but also found in most urban centers throughout, the country., 5. Caste Diversity:, India is a country of castes. Caste or Jati refers to a hereditary, endogamous status group, practicing a specific traditional occupation. It is surprising to know that there are more than, 3,000 Jatis in India., These are hierarchically graded in different ways in different regions., , IASBABA, , 33

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , It may also be noted that the practice of caste system is not confined to Hindus alone. We, find castes among the Muslims, Christians, Sikhs as well as other communities. We have heard, of the hierarchy of Shaikh, Saiyed, Mughal, Pathan among the Muslims, Furthermore, there, are castes like Teli (oil pressure). Dhobi (washerman), Darjee (tailor) etc. among the Muslims., Similarly, caste consciousness among the Christians in India is not unknown. Since a vast, majority of Christians in India were converted from Hindu fold, the converts have carried the, caste system into Christianity. Among the Sikhs again we have so many castes including Jat, Sikh and Majahabi Sikh (lower castes). In view of this we can well imagine the extent of caste, diversity in India., In addition to the above described major forms of diversity, we have diversity of many other, sorts like settlement pattern – tribal, rural, urban; marriage and kinship pattern along, religious and regional lines and so on., , UNITY IN DIVERSITY, The most often noticed feature of Indian society is “Unity in Diversity”. This phrase celebrates, how India has been stronger by welcoming various cultural, social and ethnic elements. It also, transcends the notion accommodation without assimilation has been the key feature of, Indian civilization. India has accommodated different elements of society without letting, them lose their separate identity. We have got enough freedom to practice our own way of, life., , “Beneath the manifold diversity of physical and social type, language, custom and religion, which strikes the observer in India there can still be discerned, a certain underlying, uniformity of life from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin”., ------ Herbert Risley, , IASBABA, , 34

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Significance of the ‘Unity’, Unity means integration. It is a social psychological condition. It connotes a sense of oneness,, a sense of we-ness. It stands for the bonds, which hold the members of a society together., There is a difference between unity and uniformity. Uniformity presupposes similarity, unity, does not. Thus, unity may or may not be based on uniformity. Unity may be born out of, uniformity. Durkheim calls this type of unity a mechanical solidarity. We find this type of unity, in tribal societies and in traditional societies. However, unity may as well be based on, differences. It is such unity, which is described by Durkheim as organic solidarity. This type of, unity characterises modern societies., Significance of the ‘Diversity’, Ordinarily diversity means differences. For our purposes, however, it means something more, than mere differences. It means collective differences, that is, differences which mark off one, group of people from another. These differences may be of any sort: biological, religious,, linguistic etc. On the basis of biological differences, for example, we have racial diversity. On, the basis of religious differences, similarly, we have religious diversity. The point to note is, that diversity refers to collective differences., The term diversity is opposite of uniformity. Uniformity means similarity of some sort that, characterizes a people. ‘Uni’ refers to one; ‘form’ refers to the common ways. So when there, is something common to all the people, we say they show uniformity. When students of a, school, members of the police or the army wear the same type of dress, we say they are in, ‘uniform’. Like diversity, thus, uniformity is also a collective concept. When a group of people, share a similar characteristic, be it language or religion or anything else, it shows uniformity, in that respect. But when we have groups of people hailing from different races, religions and, cultures, they represent diversity. D.N. Majumdar wrote a book with the title, Races and, Cultures of India. Mark the words in the plural: Races (not Race); Cultures (not Culture)., Thus, diversity means variety. For all practical purposes it means variety of groups and, cultures. We have such a variety in abundance in India. We have here a variety of races, of, religions, of languages, of castes and of cultures. For the same reason India is known for its, socio-cultural diversity., We note that Unity in Diversity is not something unique to India only. This concept is a, popular motto in most nations and it has also provided backbone to several political and social, movements around the world. Its core idea is “unity without uniformity” and “diversity, without fragmentation”. It is based on the notion that diversity enriches human interaction., “Unity in diversity” is a popular motto within and among nation states, and also in political, and social movements., IASBABA, , 35

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Different Elements of Unity in Diversity, For academic purpose, we can divide the different elements of unity in diversity in, Geographical elements, religious elements, cultural elements, political elements and linguistic, elements. A brief idea about each of them is as follows:, Geographical Elements of Unity in Diversity, India has diverse geography. At broadest level, the country can be divided into several regions, viz. Himalaya, northern plains, plateau of central India and Deccan, Western & Eastern Ghats,, Thar Desert etc. Each of them has different climate, temperature, vegetation, fauna, people, and so on., Despite of this diversity, India has been defined as a distinct geographical unit since ages. A, sloka in Vishnu Purana defines Bharata as the land which is south of snowy mountains and, north of ocean. The country was time and again unified by different imperialist forces taking, into consideration its geographical distinctness. There was a time two kings were known as, Uttarapathapathi {Harsha} and Dakshinapathpathi {Pulkeshi}, thus giving a notion of only two, parts of this vast country. The medieval sultans and mughals tried to consolidate their empire, from north to south, geographically. British also did the same., Religious Elements of Unity in Diversity, India has multitude of religions including majority Hinduism and minority Islam, Sikhism,, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Bahá’í Faith and so on. The religious, diversity has been one of the main divisive force in the country leading to problem of, communalism, yet this diversity has many a times kept the country united in difficult times., Religious unity is particularly visible when a war or a disaster happens. Time and again, India, has stood united in crisis, and that is what religious unity in diversity of India is., This apart, we see everyday examples of religious harmony such as use of Ganapati Pandal as, a makeshift mosque for Muslims; and Hindus participating in Eid festivities {reference}; Sikhs, building mosques for Muslims; Muslims kids robed as Krishna for Janmasthmi festivals and so, on. There are some religious centres in the country {Ajmer Sharif, Bodhgaya, Golden Temple, in Amritsar etc.} which have acquired a character that goes beyond one religion., Cultural Elements of Unity in Diversity, The Cultural unity in diversity of India is generally denoted with the phrase “Ganga-Jamuni, Tahjeeb” or India’s composite culture. Despite of diversity, there are numerous cultural, elements and factors that have shaped India’s composite culture. Some of them are as, follows:, 1. Indian Music, IASBABA, , 36

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , The best example of India’s composite culture is our music, particularly the Hindustani, Classical Music. It has ancient origins, yet emergence of a highly developed and enriched, music of northern India could not have been possible without Muslim contributions and its, patronage. Emergence of Khayal from Dhrupad, Tabla from Pakhawaj / Mridangam are some, of the key examples. Indian Veena and Persian Tambura merged to emerge as Sitar. Similarly,, Ghazals and Qawwalis have played a unifying factor between the people of Indian subcontinent., 2. Daily Life, Each religion has influenced other in its customs, manners, rituals, etiquettes, dress,, consumes, cooking, fairs, festivals, games, sports and so on. For example, Nisbat, Mehendi,, Haldi, Tel, Mandwa, Jalwa, Barat, Kangan etc. are the Muslim adaptation of Hindu, ceremonies. Similarly, when lower Hindu caste people converted to Islam during Sultanate, and Mughal era, they kept their livelihood / vocational practices attached to the caste, thus, we have Muslim castes as well including Julahas, Ansaris and so on., 3. Religion – Bhakti & Sufi Movement, Bhakti Movement dissolved the separate religious identities to a great extent and provides a, great contribution to India’s composite culture. It gave a rude shock to Brahmanical influence, over Hinduism as well as religious bigotry in Islam. It brought to fore the universal, brotherhood, equality and oneness of God while rejected castes, rituals, idol worship etc., Essence of both Bhakti and Sufi movements was that they are not purists. Purism brings, bigotry. Both of them brought Hindus and Muslim closer and thus contributing in composite, culture of the country. The early Sufi saints laid great emphasis on love and had a pantheistic, approach that was inherently in conflict with orthodoxy. Some practices of Sufi saints such as, penance, fasting and holding the breath are sometimes traced to the Buddhist and Hindu, yogic influences. Also, other evidence suggests that Hindu and Buddhist rituals have been, absorbed and assimilated by the Sufis. The similarities between Hinduism, Buddhism and, Sufism provided a basis for mutual toleration and understanding. The Chishti and Suharwardi, orders both helped create a climate of opinion where people belonging to different sects and, religions could live in harmony., For its part, the Bhakti movement preached against the caste system using the local languages, so that the message reached the masses. The values preached by the Bhakti saints coincided, with the Islamic ideas of equality and brotherhood preached by Sufi saints. Together, these, saints called for unity between Hindus and Muslims. The goal of saints like Kabir and Nanak, was to unite all castes and creeds. They denounced untouchability and emphasized the, fundamental unity of man., , IASBABA, , 37

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , 4. Literature, Different regions of India contributed to the promotion of literature and higher learning to, the composite culture of India. For example, Vedas were developed in North-West {SaptaSindhu region}, Yajurveda and Brahmana in Kuru-Panchal region; Rajatarangini in Kashmir;, Upanishads in Magadha; Gita Govinda in Bengal, Charyapadas in Odisha, West Bengal and, Assam; Mahakavyas and dramas of Kalidasa in Ujjaini; Bhavbhut’s works in Vidarbha;, Dasakumarcharita of Dandin in Deccan; Sangam Literature in South and so on. Similarly,, Taxila, Nalanda, Varanasi, Vallabhi, Vanvasi, Amaravati, Nagarjunkonda, Kanchi, Madurai and, Odantapuri are shining examples of seats of higher learning in India., 5. Political Elements of Unity in Diversity, Though it is believed that India’s continuity as a civilization was social and cultural rather than, political; yet idea of bringing entire country under one central authority has been dream of, great kings, sultans, emperors and rulers. This idea was put into practice by Chandragupta;, Asoka; Harsha; Akbar and British rulers. Despite this, India was never a well-organized political, unit. Even during British India, there were 600 princely states which were internally, autonomous. Then, our current form of democracy and government draws its existence from, different political parties, political ideologies and so on., 6. Linguistic Elements of Unity in Diversity, While three fourth of India speaks Indo-Aryan Languages, Dravidian languages are spoken by, one fourth of Indians. India has 122 major languages and 1599 dialects, thus making it one of, the most linguistically diverse nations around the world. The languages have been a divisive, as well as adhesive force in the country. English emerged as lingua franca of the country and, serves as medium of communication between two people who have different mother tongue., Similarly, Hindi has also, to a great extent, served to keep the country united. Despite major, issues such as demand of linguistic states, status of minority, anti-Hindi movements etc. have, posed major challenges to governments from time to time., 7. Institution of Pilgrimage as element of Unity in Diversity, One of the important sources of unity in India is its pilgrimage culture, reflected in network, of religious shrines and sacred placed. For example, Badrinath, Kedarnath in North, Dwarka /, Somnath in West, Rameshwaram in South, Puri in Eas and holy rivers across the length and, breadth of the nation have fostered the sense of India as one unit., 8. Accommodation within Hinduism as element of unity in diversity, Hinduism is not a homogenous religion with one God, one book, one temple and so on. It is a, federation of faiths with multiple deities, multiple Holy Scriptures and multiple of faiths and, , IASBABA, , 38

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , philosophies. It’s the elastic character of Hinduism that has accommodated and adjusted with, various faiths, religions etc. and has allowed coexistence of several faiths in India., 9. Tradition of Interdependence as element of unity in diversity, Despite the fact that ours is a caste ridden society, India has a remarkable tradition of interdependence, which has kept it united for centuries. One example is the Jajmani System or, functional interdependence of various castes. Jajman or Yajman is the recipient of certain, services. This system initially developed in the villages between the food producing families, and the families which supported them with other goods and services. The entire gamut of, social order developed with Jajmani links with multiple types of payments and obligations., None of the caste was self-sufficient and it depended for many things on other castes. Thus,, each caste worked as a functional group and was linked with other caste via the mechanisms, of Jajmani system., Though Jajmani system represented the inter-linking of Hindu caste yet, in practice this, system crossed the boundary of religion and provided linkages between different religions, also. For example, Hindu’s dependence on Muslim weaver or washerman or Muslim’s, dependence on Hindu trader / tailor / Goldsmith etc. is a manifestation of that mechanism, only, though not called so., India – the country of villages:, Indian villages had been described by British administrators in the early nineteenth century, as ‘little republics’ with their simple form of self-government and, almost no interference, from the higher political authority except for claiming a share in the produce of the land and, demanding young men to serve in the wars. The villages functioned normally, unconcerned, about who sat on the throne in the kingdoms of which they were territorially a part. They, were also described as being economically self-sufficient having nearly everything that they, wanted within themselves., Rural Social Structure:, Social structure is conceived as the pattern of inter-related statuses and roles found in a, society, constituting a relatively stable set of social relations. It is the organised pattern of the, inter-related rights and obligations of persons and groups in a system of interaction., Rural and urban centres share some common facets of life. They show interdependence, especially in the sphere of economy, urbanward migration, and townsmen or city dwellers’, dependence on villages for various products (e.g., foodgrains, milk, vegetables, raw materials, for industry) and increasing dependence of villagers on towns for manufactured goods and, market. Despite this interdependence between the two there are certain distinctive features, which separate them from each other in terms of their size, demographic composition,, cultural moorings, and style of life, economy, employment and social relations., IASBABA, , 39

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Rural people live in settled villages. Three main types of settlement patterns have been, observed in rural areas:, •, , •, , •, , Nucleated type of settlement pattern: The most common type is the nucleated village, found all over the country. Here, a tight cluster of houses is surrounded by the fields, of the villagers. An outlying hamlet or several satellite hamlets are also found to be, attached to some villages in this case., Linear type of settlement pattern: there are linear settlements in some parts of the, country, e.g. in Kerala, in Konkan and in the delta lands of Bengal. In such settlements,, houses are strung out, each surrounded by its own compound. However, there is little, to physically demarcate where one village ends and another begins., Scattered type of settlement pattern: This type of settlement is simply a scattering of, homesteads or clusters of two or three houses. In this case also physical demarcation, of villages is not clear. Such settlements are found in hill areas, in the Himalayan, foothills, in the highlands of Gujarat and in the Satpura range of Maharashtra., , Family in Rural India:, •, , •, , •, , Family is one of the most important social institutions which constitute the rural, society. It caters to needs and performs functions, which are essential for the, continuity, integration and change in the social system, such as, reproduction,, production and socialisation., Broadly speaking there are two types of family: (a) nuclear family consisting of, husband, wife and unmarried children, and (b) joint or extended family comprising a, few more kins than the nuclear type., Rural Social Structure ‘jointness’ of family are co-residentiality, commensality,, coparcenary, generation depth (three), and fulfilment of obligation towards kin and, sentimental aspect. Rural family works as the unit of economic, cultural, religious, and, political activities. Collectivity of the family is emphasized in social life, and feelings of, individualism and personal freedom are very limited. Marriage is considered an interfamilial matter rather than an inter-personal affair., , Lineage and Kinship, •, , •, , Within the village, a group of families tracing descent from a common ancestor with, knowledge of all the links constitute a lineage; and the children of the same generation, behave as brothers and sisters., They form a unit for celebrating major ritual events. Sometimes the word Kul is used, to describe these units. Usually these families live in closeness and a guest of one (e.g., a son-in-law) could be treated as such in all these families. These bonds of families, may go back to 3 to 7 generations. People do not marry within this group., , IASBABA, , 40

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, , PART 1, , Beyond the known links, people know the common ancestor but are unable to trace, every link. Such families use a more generic term like being “bhai-bandh” of one, another. They are also exogamous. The word Gotra or clan may be used for them., , Changes in Village Power Structure and Leadership, Marginal changes of adaptive nature have occurred in power structure and leadership in, villages after gaining independence due to various factors e.g. land reforms, Panchayati Raj,, parliamentary politics, development programmes and agrarian movements. The upper, castes now exercise power not by traditional legitimisation of their authority but through, manipulation and co-operation of lower caste people. The traditional power structure itself, has not changed. New opportunities motivate the less powerful class to aspire for power., But their economic backwardness thwarts their desires. It is also found that a close fit, between land-ownership and degree of domination of groups. Now younger and literate, people are found increasingly acquiring leadership role. Moreover, some regional, variations also have been observed in the pattern of change in power structure in rural, areas., , SOCIAL MOBILITY IN INDIA, There are various factors (both enabling and hindering), responsible for the social mobility, of individuals coming from different social and economic backgrounds in India., • In India research on social mobility began much later, particularly in the early 1950s, under the ambit of caste studies initiated by Srinivas (1952), with his study on the, Coorgs of South India., • This caste model based on the structural–functional perspective remained the, dominant one in subsequent studies conducted by other scholars, until the attempt, of Beteille (1966) to change the paradigm from caste to class, and efforts by other, Marxist scholars to study social mobility from the dialectical–historical perspective, based on a class model., • However, both these models put emphasis on “collective mobility” rather than, “individual mobility,” and studies on the latter gained momentum especially after the, liberalisation of the Indian economy in the early 1990s, during which period numerous, career opportunities became available for individuals., Cultural Capital, • Cultural capital is a form of power beyond the economic form, and is exercised, through different non-economic goods and services such as information, articulation,, education, and aesthetics., • It helps to understand the existence of power and domination within society, through, cultural stratification, and to argue that success can be better explained by the, inheritance of cultural capital from the family, rather than through individual talent., IASBABA, , 41

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, , PART 1, , Cultural capital exists in three different forms: embodied, objectified and, institutional., , Embodied cultural capital, • In its embodied form, cultural capital is the ensemble of all the cultivated dispositions, which are internalised by the individual through socialisation beginning in early, childhood., • This requires “pedagogical action,” that is, investment of time by parents, other family, members, relatives, peer groups and sometimes hired professionals, in order to, sensitize the child to cultural distinctions., Objectified cultural capital, • Objects like books, as well as different aesthetic, electronic, and scientific instruments, that require specialized skills on the part of the individual are examples of the, objectified form of cultural capital., Institutional cultural capital, • Institutional cultural capital refers to the quality of education received, and credentials, acquired within the educational systems that the individual has been associated with., Caste and social mobility in India, • Understanding social mobility in the Indian context is a challenge, since the social, structure in India has evolved with features of both caste and class within its fold., • The class-like characteristics found in the caste system and vice versa, make the, phenomenon more complex., • There is lack of cultural capital, in all its forms, in the cases of the Scheduled Castes, (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), as well as rural residents, restricts their upward, intergenerational social mobility, and instead paves the way for downward social, mobility in the competitive market situation, • Abundant cultural capital comes from within the family, if an individual belongs to a, relatively higher caste, upper class, urban residence, where members possess better, educational backgrounds., • Thus, access to adequate cultural capital enables the reproduction of, intergenerational social mobility. On the other hand, individuals with a lower caste, and/or class status, rural upbringing, poor educational background, and experiencing, relative poverty, have to struggle at every step in their search for better career, prospects in order to achieve upward social mobility., • Individuals possessing greater cultural capital also get immediate access to, inspirational membership reference groups since they can access role models within, the family, neighbourhood and peer groups who help shape their career aspirations, right from childhood., IASBABA, , 42

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, , •, •, , PART 1, , On the other hand, those individuals without any or with very little access to any kind, of cultural capital depend upon the non-membership reference groups for inspiration, and motivation while identifying role models, and undergo the painful process of, anticipatory socialization., Similarly, a rural background acts as the most significant handicap to substantial, upward social mobility for students, when competing with their urban counterparts., Additionally, the dearth of good, well-informed, and inspirational membership, reference groups in the rural areas, as opposed to urban areas also adds to their woes., , Reference groups, • It helps one belonging to such a family as parents play positive roles, often modifying, their work–life balance to suit the needs of the children, and by providing support in, shaping their careers., • Aspirations are built up from the very beginning with the intervention of parents, as, well as the guidance of other family members. Sometimes, even established family, tradition in terms of occupation across generations helps children in pursuing such, career goals., • Thus, the lack of achievement on the part of the past generations results in a failure, to engender a better environment, and limits the potential of the future generations,, thereby perpetuating disadvantages in the process of achieving upward social mobility, in terms of profession., THINK- The social empowerment of disadvantaged sections cannot be done without, building comprehensive cultural capital of the sections. Examine., , IASBABA, , 43

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Practice questions for mains examination, 1. ‘Indian is called as miniature of the world because of its diversity in every sphere’., Examine in social context., 2. The term ‘Unity in Diversity’ exactly holds true for Indian society. Elucidate, 3. India is the birth place of three most important religions and it is safe house for all, other religion. With reference to the above statement, explain these religions role, in social development in India., 4. Moral policing and social censorship have become increasingly common in India., Are we curbing individual rights in the name of Indian Culture? Discuss with recent, happenings to justify your stand., 5. Bring out the social effect of migration on value orientation and occupational status, of the village community in India., , UPSC Previous Year questions, 1. The life cycle of a joint family depends on economic factors rather than social values., Discuss. (200 words) 2014, 2. How does patriarchy impact the position of a middle-class working woman in India?, (200 words) 2014, 3. Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative, significance in building a national identity. (200 words) 2015, 4. Do we have cultural pockets of small India all over the nation? Elaborate with, examples. 2019, , 5. “Caste system is assuming new identities and associational forms. Hence, the caste, system cannot be eradicated in India.” Comment. 2018, 6. In the context of the diversity of India, can it be said that the regions form cultural, units rather than the States? Give reasons with examples for your viewpoint. 2017, , IASBABA, , 44

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , GENDER INEQUALITY, Gender equality is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless, of gender, including economic participation and decision-making., Couples' tendency to keep trying until a boy is born has led to the birth of more than 20 million, girls who are "notionally... unwanted,"- the Economic Survey, Gender inequality remains one of the pressing problems of India. Though the reasons for this, are mostly sociological, there are certain political and economic factors which contribute to, gender inequality., Political reasons:, This can be understood at two levels: entry level and field level., Entry level:, •, •, •, , Women are under-represented in state legislative assemblies and Parliament (less, than 15% representation). This is both cause-and-effect of Gender inequality., Money and Muscle power inherent to Indian political system has made politics a men's, game and women are discouraged at the entry level itself., Failure to pass women reservation bill., , Field level:, •, , •, , Lax implementation of laws: both constitutional as well as general laws. For example,, the system of "Panchayat-pati" or "proxy sarpanch" defies the purpose of 33%, reservation offered to women in local bodies. Similarly, laws ban female foeticide and, dowry but they continue to plague our society., Political patronage: The tantrum of khap panchayat is because of political nexus and, political patronage., , Economic reasons:, •, •, •, •, , Still 1/3rd of rural families are landless. To support family, women have to work on, other's land which increases their vulnerability., Poverty prevents young girl from attending schools and their full potential is not, developed., Corporates still defy gender norms and prevent accession of women to top positions., Most of these reasons derive their sources from social pattern of society and hence, solution to the problem will need an integrated approach, targeting policy changes,, policy implementation to changing mindsets of people around., IASBABA, , 45

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Constitution of India strives to achieve Gender equality through various provisions:, •, •, •, •, , Fundamental rights- Article 14 (Equality), Article 15 (Non-discrimination based on sex),, Article 16(Equality of opportunity), Article 21., DPSP’s- Article 39 (Equal pay for equal work), Article 42 (humane conditions of work, and maternity relief)., Universal adult suffrage (Article 324)., Reservation for women in local bodies., , Added to these, Government has come out with number of measures to promote and ensure, gender equality. Ex: Maternity Benefit Act, Sexual harassment of women at workplace Act,, SHE-box., However, gender inequality still exists, which is justified by following points., •, •, •, , Political sphere: lower parliamentary representation (around 12%), pending of women, reservation bill., Economic sphere: Glass ceiling, Unequal pay (ex: Bollywood actress), lower labour, force participation rate (27%)., Social sphere: Poor health indicators (MMR, Anaemic, Low BMI), Lower education, levels when compared to men, Domestic violence, subordination of women to men, (lack of reproductive rights)., , Despite these prevailing conditions, there is continuous effort to ensure gender equality in, the country., •, •, •, , Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all age groups to enter sabarimala temple., Declaring Triple Talaq unconstitutional., Striking down section 497 of IPC on adultery., , However, these progressive orders have been met with backlash in the society due to, resulting conflict between constitutional morality and societal morality. There are still khap, panchayats imposing their moral code on women (ex: women not allowed to wear jeans/ not, to use mobile phones), meta-son preference, still males hold primary power and predominate, in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property., Thus, to achieving gender equality, there is a need for changing the mind set of people. It, requires systemic efforts in various spheres (social, political, economic) with focus on children, through education. Inequality, be it gender inequality, is an ideal. We must always strive to, achieve this ideal situation., , IASBABA, , 46

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Q.) What are the political and economic reasons behind the persistence of gender inequality, in Indian society? Comment, Q.) Constitutional guarantee for gender equality remains vacuous independent of, complementary value systems. Comment., Important Points, •, , •, •, , •, , India has one of the lowest females labour force participation rates in the world., Between 2005 and now, the economy has more than doubled in size and the number, of working-age women has grown by a quarter to 470 million. Yet, nearly ten million, fewer women are in jobs. Women here are less likely to work than they are in any, country in the G20., The IMF estimates that gender parity in the workforce could increase India’s GDP by, as much as 27%., India was ranked low at 140th/156 position (India ranked 112th among 153 countries, in the Global Gender Gap Index 2020) in Global Gender Gap Index released as part of, World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2021., o Economic participation gender gap widened in India by 3%., One Stop Centre (OSC) Scheme, Ujjawala Scheme, Beti Bachao Beti Padhaoinitiatives launched by the government to address the issue of gender inequality., , Way Forward:, It is critical to enhance the value of girls by investing in and empowering them, with education,, life skills, sport and much more., By increasing the value of girls, we can collectively contribute to the achievement of specific, results, some short-term (increasing access to education, reducing anaemia), others mediumterm (ending child marriage) and others long-term (eliminating gender-biased sex, selection)., Changing the value of girls has to include men, women and boys. It has to mobilize many, sectors in society. Only when society’s perception changes, will the rights of all the girls and, all the boys in India be fulfilled., Empowering girls requires focused investment and collaboration. Providing girls with the, services and safety, education and skills they need in daily life can reduce the risks they face, and enable them to fully develop and contribute to India’s growth., Girls have an especially difficult time accessing life-saving resources, information and social, networks in their daily life. Access to programmes specifically tailored to the needs of girls –, with a focus on education and developing life skills, ending violence and incorporating the, needs and contributions of girls from vulnerable groups, including those with disabilities, can, IASBABA, , 47

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , strengthen the resilience of millions of girls. Long-term solutions designed with and for girls, can further strengthen this resilience and be a pathway of transformational and lifelong, opportunity for girls., All girls, especially adolescent girls, need platforms to voice the challenges they face in, everyday life and explore the solutions that work for them so they can build better futures, for themselves and their communities., UNICEF India’s 2018-2022 Country Programme has been developed in response to the, identification of deprivations that Indian children face, including gender-based deprivations., Each programmatic outcome is committed to a gender priority that is noted explicitly in its, programme, budget and results. These include:, Health: Reducing excess female mortality under five and supporting equal care-seeking, behaviour for girls and boys. (Example: front-line workers encourage families to take sick baby, girls to the hospital immediately), Nutrition: Improving nutrition of women and girls, especially by promoting more equitable, eating practices (Example: women cooperatives develop and implement their own microplans for improved nutrition in their villages), Education: Gender responsive support to enable out-of-school girls and boys to learn and, enabling more gender-responsive curricula and pedagogy (Example: implementing new, strategies for identifying vulnerable out of school girls and boys, overhaul of textbooks so that, the language, images and messages do not perpetuate gender stereotypes), Child protection: Ending child and early marriage (Example: supporting panchayats to, become “child-marriage free”, facilitating girls and boys clubs that teach girls sports,, photography, journalism and other non-traditional activities), WASH: Improving girls’ access to menstrual hygiene management, including through wellequipped separate toilets in schools (Example: developing gender guidelines from Swacch, Bharat Mission, supporting states to implement MHM policy), Social policy: Supporting state governments to develop gender-responsive cash transfer, programmes and supporting women’s leadership in local governance (Example: cash transfer, programme in West Bengal to enable girls to stay in school, a Resource Centre for women, panchayat leaders in Jharkhand), Disaster risk reduction: Enabling greater gender disaggregation of information management, for disaster risk reduction and more leadership and participation of women and girls, (Example: greater women’s leadership and participation in Village Disaster Management, Committees), , IASBABA, , 48

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Some Contemporary Issues, Missing Female, They are women missing from the population at given dates due to the cumulative effect, of postnatal and prenatal sex selection in the past., State of World Population 2020 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), •, , The number of “missing women” has more than doubled over the past 50 years from 61 million in 1970 to a cumulative 142.6 million in 2020., • India accounted for 45.8 million missing females as of 2020, • According to one analysis, gender-biased sex selection accounts for about twothirds of the total missing girls, and post-birth female mortality accounts for about, one-third, • India has the highest rate of excess female deaths, 13.5 per 1,000 female births,, which suggests that an estimated one in nine deaths of females below the age of 5, may be attributed to postnatal sex selection., • Preference for a male child manifested in sex selection has led to dramatic, longterm shifts in the proportions of women and men in the populations of some, countries > Son-Meta Preference, • Will lead to "marriage squeeze", where prospective grooms outnumber prospective, brides > Will lead to child marriages, • Harmful practices against girls cause profound and lasting trauma - female genital, mutilation, child marriage, and extreme bias against daughters in favour of sons., Way Ahead, •, •, •, •, •, , Focus on keeping girls in school longer and teach them life skills and to engage men, and boys in social change., Provision of cash transfers conditional on school attendance; or, Support to cover the costs of school fees, books, uniforms and supplies,, Taking note of successful cash-transfer initiatives such as ‘Apni Beti Apna Dhan', The study spotlights the importance of daughters and highlight how girls and, women have changed society for the better., , • Campaigns that celebrate women's progress and achievements may resonate more, where daughter-only families can be shown to be prospering., , IASBABA, , 49

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Women Workers, Observations, •, •, •, , •, , •, , In general, rural women face a crisis of regular employment., Women from all sections of the peasantry, with some regional exceptions,, participate in paid work outside the home., Younger and more educated women are often not seeking work because they aspire, to skilled non-agricultural work, whereas older women are more willing to engage, in manual labour., Women’s wages are rarely equal to men’s wages, with a few exceptions. The gap, between female and male wages is highest for non-agricultural tasks — the new, and growing source of employment., A woman’s work day is exceedingly long and full of drudgery - economic activity and, care work or work in cooking, cleaning, child care, elderly care, , Lockdown & its effects, •, , •, •, •, •, •, •, •, •, •, •, , A survey by the Azim Premji University, of 5,000 workers across 12 States — of, whom 52% were women workers — found that women workers were worse off, than men during the lockdown., Among rural casual workers, 71% of women lost their jobs after the lockdown; the, figure was 59% for men., Rain-fed Areas - no agricultural activity during the lockdown period, Irrigated agriculture – Mechanized Harvesting & use more family labour and less, hired labour on account of fears of infection, While agricultural activity continued, employment available to women during the, lockdown was limited., Employment and income in activities allied to agriculture, such as animal rearing,, fisheries and floriculture were also adversely affected by the lockdown., Demand for milk, chicken, goats fell down drastically (hotels and restaurants, closed), Incomes from the sale of milk to dairy cooperatives shrank., Among fishers, men could not go to sea, and women could not process or sell fish, and fish products., Non-agricultural jobs came to a sudden halt as construction sites, brick kilns, petty, stores and eateries, local factories and other enterprises shut down completely., The burden of care work mounted during the lockdown - children out of school, the, tasks of cooking, cleaning, child care and elderly care, , IASBABA, , 50

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Way Ahead, •, •, , Short Term - Expansion of the NREGA, Longer Term - generate women-specific employment in skilled occupations and in, businesses and new enterprises., • Women, who already play a significant role in health care at the grass-root level,, must be recognised as workers and paid a fair wage., • Recently announced expansion of rural infrastructure - safe and easy transport for, women from their homes to workplaces, • Immediate measures to reduce the drudgery of care work., It is time for women to be seen as equal partners in the task of transforming the rural, economy., , Rape Stereotypes & Judiciary, Rape myths and stereotypes echo the deeply entrenched patriarchal biases of the players, in our justice system and of society at large., Issues, Stereotypes, •, , The underlying assumption of such stereotypes is that ‘genuine’ victims/survivors, can be recognised by the discernibly common patterns of behaviour they exhibit., • To begin with, ‘genuine’ victims/survivors of rape are expected not to put, themselves in situations which, it is believed, might lead to rape., • These situations may include anything that is seen as a social taboo for women:, whether it is drinking, partying, or indeed, as stated by the defence in the, infamous Nirbhaya case, simply being out at night., • The implication here is either that willingness to participate in such activities is, equivalent to consent to sex, or that engaging in social taboo is tantamount to, inviting rape., Blaming the victim, •, •, , •, , The focus shifts from whether the accused committed the offence to whether the, victim/survivor’s behaviour met patriarchy’s exacting standards., In Mahmood Farooqui v. NCT of Delhi (2017), the High Court of Delhi had held, that the complainant’s ‘feeble no’, even when spoken, would not be sufficient, evidence of lack of consent., This case also repeated the widely held belief of Courts that where the, victim/survivor had a past sexual history with the accused, her consent would be, IASBABA, , 51

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, •, •, •, •, , PART 1, , assumed, and any ‘unwillingness’ or ‘hesitation’ on her part would be, disregarded., The blame is conveniently shifted from large-scale social and systemic failures to, the victim/survivor herself., India has abysmally low rates of reporting for sexual offences, and even lower, rates of conviction., With continued reliance on such stereotypes, how can we expect survivors of rape, to come forward, These biases create a chilling effect for all future victims/survivors of rape, making, the criminal justice system even more unapproachable than it is., There is an urgent and renewed efforts towards sensitization and for the need to, make sensitivity in handling sexual offences part of our judicial incentive, structure., , Marriage rights for LGBTQ Community or Same sex How have the LGBTQIA+, Marriage, community's marriage rights, grown globally?, Context: The Delhi High Court was hearing three separate, petitions by same-sex couples seeking to declare that the, • South Africa: A South, Special Marriage Act (SMA) and Foreign Marriage Act, African court ruled in, (FMA) ought to apply to all couples regardless of their, 2005 that the common, gender identity and sexual orientation, law, definition, of, marriage, "a union of, Background, one man and one, woman," is incoherent., • The Delhi High Court recently heard a case, • Australia, Honourable, involving same-sex marriages., Michael, Kirby's, • The Union Government, on the other hand, asked, changes in 2007: the, the court to postpone the case since it is not, Federal Government, urgent during the second wave of COVID-19 cases., adopted the Same-Sex, • The community's pain was neglected by the court, Relationships Act 2008, and the government because of the lack of, to provide same-sex, legislative protection for marital partnerships., couples with equal, • Marriages in India are governed by personal laws., benefits in issues of, The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, the Indian, social, security,, Christian Marriage Act of 1872, and the Muslim, employment,, and, Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, taxation., are just a few examples., • The Marriage (Same, Sex Couples) Act 2013, of England: It allowed, IASBABA, , 52

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Judgements in India respect the LGBTQIA+ community's, marriage rights:, There is judicial guidance available in India to accept same, sex marriages., Arunkumarand Sreeja vs The Inspector General of, Registration and Ors, 2019:, •, , In Arunkumarand Sreeja vs The Inspector General, of Registration and Ors, the High Court of Madras, enlarged the scope of the term "bride" under the, Hindu Marriage Act, 1955., , •, , same-sex couples to, marry in civil or, religious ceremonies., Obergefell vs. Hodges, case, USA: In 2015, the, Supreme Court ruled, that same-sex couples, have the basic right to, marriage., , Asokan K.M. and Others vs. Shafin Jahan and Others, 2018 AIR (Hadiya case):, •, , The Court upheld the right to choose and marry a, partner as a component of the right to freedom., , The court also stated that marriage is a basic zone of, privacy and that society has no role in influencing our, choice of spouses., Arguments for same-gender marriage, •, •, , •, •, , •, , The homosexual community has stated the, following reasons in support of gay marriage., Articles 15 and 16 of the Indian Constitution, prohibit gender discrimination, although these, rights are frequently abused in society., Property, insurance, and family rights are denied, to a person who has a same-sex marriage., The person has the right to freedom of sexual, expression under Article 19 1 (a). This privilege,, however, should not be exercised in the case of, gay marriage., Conservative segments of society frequently, employ physical or mental violence against samesex couples., , IASBABA, , 53

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Opposition by Centre/ Stance by Government with, regard to petition in HC, •, , •, , •, , •, , •, , Not, compatible, with, Indian, Family, Concept: Living together as partners and having, sexual relationship by same-sex individuals is not, comparable with the Indian family unit concept of, a husband, a wife and children., Not Codified: Marriage between two individuals, of the same gender is “neither recognised nor, accepted in any uncodified personal law or any, codified statutory law”., Issue with Personal Laws: Any interference with, the existing marriage laws would cause complete, havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws, in the country., Registration of marriage of same-sex persons, also results in violation of existing personal as well, as codified law provisions — such as ‘degrees of, prohibited relationship’; ‘conditions of marriage’;, ‘ceremonial and ritual requirements’ under the, personal laws governing the individuals., No Fundamental Right to same-sex marriage:, Supreme Court judgment in the Navtej Singh Johar, case “does not extend the right to privacy to, include a fundamental right in the nature of a right, to marry by two individuals of same gender”., , Legislative Challenges: Any, other interpretation except, treating ‘husband’ as a, biological man and ‘wife’ as a, biological woman will make all, statutory, provisions, unworkable., , IASBABA, , 54

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Daughters have equal right on property, •, , In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that daughters will have equal, right in the parental property as son even if their father died before the Hindu, Succession (amendment) Act 2005 came into force., • SC said that - “A daughter always remains a loving daughter. A son is a son until he, gets a wife. A daughter is a daughter throughout her life.”, • SC ruled that the 2005 law, which amended the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, to say, a daughter would have the same rights as the son, would also apply irrespective of, whether she was born before or after the amendment., • Further, it ruled that she could not be denied her share on the ground that her, father died before the law came into effect., • The daughter shall remain a coparcener throughout life, irrespective of whether her, father is alive or not. Coparcener is a person who has a birthright to parental, property., Initially the Act stated, •, , The Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of 2005 made daughters coparceners in, Hindu undivided family by birth, giving them the same right as sons. Section 6(1)(a), in the Act said that coparcenary benefit will apply “on and from the commencement, of the Amendment Act of 2005 with effect from September 9, 2005.”, • This was overruled since the right in coparcenary is by birth, it is not necessary that, father coparcener should be living as on September 9, 2005., Conclusion, •, •, •, •, , The judgment is a reassertion of the constitutional value of equality to women in, personal law without any preconditions. The judgment factors all aspects., Daughters as coparceners include married daughters., Coparcenary right is an undefined liability and any liability of father including family, debt will be extended to daughters as well., It remains to be seen if the husband of the married daughter will be open to bear, this burden., , IASBABA, , 55

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Minimum Age of Marriage for Women, The government may take a relook at the age of marriage of women in its bid to fight, malnutrition. Currently, the law prescribes that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years, and 18 years for men and women respectively., Task Force, •, , It will examine the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with health,, medical well-being, and nutritional status of the mother and neonate, infant or, child, during pregnancy, birth and thereafter., • It will also look at key parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal, Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child, Sex Ratio (CSR), and will examine the possibility of increasing the age of marriage, for women from the present 18 years to 21 years., • From bringing in gender-neutrality to reduce the risks of early pregnancy among, women, there are many arguments in favour of increasing the minimum age of, marriage of women. Early pregnancy is associated with increased child mortality, rates and affects the health of the mother., International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Study, •, , Children born to adolescent mothers (10-19 years) were 5 percentage points more, likely to be stunted (shorter for their age) than those born to young adults (20-24, years), and 11 percentage points more stunted than children born to adult mothers., • Children born to adolescent mothers also had 10 percentage points higher, prevalence of low weight as adult mothers., • Lower education among teenage mothers and their poor economic status, has, strongest links with a child’s height and weight measurements., Challenges, •, , Increasing the legal age of marriage for girls will only “artificially expand the, numbers of married persons deemed underage and criminalise them and render, underage married girls without legal protection., • Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 instead of curbing child marriages, has only, played as a weapon in the hands of parents to punish their daughters for elopement, and is used in conjunction with other laws to punish boys in self-arranged marriages., • Personal laws of various religions that deal with marriage poses challenge., Child Marriages, •, , An estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married as children, and, by 2030, another 150 million girls under the age of 18 will be married., , IASBABA, , 56

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , In India, an analysis of child marriage data show that among girls married by age 18,, 46 per cent were also in the lowest income bracket., • UNICEF estimates suggest that each year, at least 1.5 million girls under the age of, 18 are married in India, which makes the country home to the largest number of, child brides in the world — accounting for a third of the global total. Nearly 16 per, cent adolescent girls aged 15-19 are currently married., Way Ahead, •, , It recommended that “increasing age at first marriage, age at first birth, and girl’s, education are a promising approach to also improve maternal and child nutrition”., • Issue must be addressed by empowering girls as poverty and lack of safety are the, main drivers of early marriage., • Instead, transformative, well-resourced measures that increase girls’ access to, education and health, create enabling opportunities and place girl’s empowerment, at the centre will not just delay marriage but lead to a long term, positive health, and education outcomes”., • Need for awareness about safe sex, access to reproductive health information,, improving access to education, and retaining girls in the education system so that, they are able to transition from elementary to secondary education, and beyond, which can then delay marriage., Conclusion, •, , While legal enactment to prevent child marriages is necessary, we must, simultaneously work towards keeping girls in school, invest in economic and social, empowerment of women and girls, as well as targeted social and behaviour change, communication (SBCC) campaigns to put an end to this harmful practice., , Female Leadership, •, , Germany, Taiwan and New Zealand have women heading their governments., Managed the pandemic than any other country in the world., • Study - States which have female governors had fewer COVID-19 related deaths., Women leaders are more effective than their male counterparts in times of crises., (Note – This is not generalization, use it according to the demand of the question), • It is necessary to get rid of inherent biases and perceptions about the effectiveness, of women in roles of authority., India’s Gram Panchayats, •, •, , Female leaders also bring something quite different to the table., They perform significantly better than men in implementing policies that promote, the interests of women., IASBABA, , 57

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , Study by Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo - Pradhans invested more in rural, infrastructure that served better the needs of their own gender. Women pradhans, were more likely to invest in providing easy access to drinking water since the, collection of drinking water is primarily, if not solely, the responsibility of women., Suffrage, •, , Independent India can rightly be proud of its achievement in so far as women’s, suffrage is concerned., • Women were allowed to vote from 1950 onwards and so could participate on an, equal footing with men from the first general election of 1951-52., Women are underrepresented, •, •, , Female members make up only about 10% of the total ministerial strength., The underrepresentation of female Ministers in India is also reflected in the fact, that Ms. Banerjee is currently the only female Chief Minister., • The 2019 election sent the largest number of women to the Lok Sabha. Despite this,, women constitute just over 14% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha., Way Ahead, •, •, •, •, •, , •, , •, , Since women running for elections face numerous challenges, it is essential to, create a level-playing field through appropriate legal measures., The establishment of quotas for women is an obvious answer., Attempts have also been made to extend quotas for women in the Lok Sabha and, State Assemblies through a Women’s Reservation Bill., The major party constituents of the NDA and UPA alliances can sidestep the logjam, in Parliament by reserving say a third of party nominations for women., There is substantial evidence showing that increased female representation in, policy making goes a long way in improving perceptions about female effectiveness, in leadership roles., This decreases the bias among voters against women candidates, and results in a, subsequent increase in the percentage of female politicians contesting and winning, elections., Voter perceptions about the efficacy of female leadership may change so drastically, in the long run that quotas may no longer be necessary., , IASBABA, , 58

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Me Too Movement, Issue/Context:, •, •, , Naming and Shamring on social media without following due process of law., Issues stemming from abandoning due process mechanisms for nebulous, allegations on social media., • This could potentially intensify the problems confronting survivors, furthering their, marginalisation., Failure of Due Process, •, , The controversies surrounding ‘Me Too’ are complicated by the reality that the, movement itself is a result of the failure of due process., • Years of apathy towards the Supreme Court’s Vishaka guidelines failed to provide a, safe working environment for women and actively created hurdles when they, sought legal recourse., Observations, •, , The mere presence of ICCs or LCCs may not be sufficient, as sexist, prejudicial, attitudes towards women are often pervasive among employers as well as members, of these committees., • But this is no reason to imply that the framework itself can be substituted by a, culture of naming and shaming., • Drastic outcomes like shutting down of companies, firing employees or stalling, shows result from not having strong systems in place, and that is precisely why, every institution must put its weight behind building robust systems., • The scale of violence against women in India demonstrates that the popular rhetoric, of women ‘abusing’ the system through false complaints is unwarranted., Believing the Survivor, •, , Notions about ‘believing the survivor’ must be grounded in the principle that a, woman cannot be disbelieved merely because she does not conform to societal, standards of morally appropriate behaviour., • At the same time, one cannot discount the possibility of a false allegation, or place, subjective feelings over objective facts by characterising all inconsistencies in a, woman’s statement as evidence of trauma., Way Ahead, •, , Devising a holistic response to sexual harassment lies in the creation of strong,, formal systems at the workplace where survivors can level charges without fearing, a backlash., , IASBABA, , 59

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , When we have a law on sexual harassment at the workplace, it is imperative that, this new-found attention on ‘Me Too’ paves the way for systemic changes which, are based on fair principles of justice delivery to all parties., • A just process necessarily allows all parties to probe, and decision-makers to assess, the credibility of the parties and witnesses. Giving a full and fair opportunity to the, accused to defend themselves forms part of inalienable principles of natural justice., • Diluting these principles not only increases the scope of people being unfairly and, disproportionately punished, but also makes way for accused persons to be, vindicated later., • This could further undermine the credibility of the survivors, rendering them more, vulnerable., • Seeking solutions in call-out-and-cancel cultures also does not help survivors in the, long term., Conclusion, •, •, , Efforts need to be directed towards implementing the law on sexual harassment, while simultaneously working on its inadequacies., Building strong systems would go a long way in assuring survivors that their, complaints are taken seriously, without sexist prejudices and power structures, getting in the way., , Topic: Gender Inclusion and Sustainable Sanitation, Context: Due to the range of inequalities in our society, progress in providing WASH, (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) services and achieving these outcomes is inequitable, Measures to be taken to make Sanitation Inclusive & Sustainable, 1. Need to focus on inclusiveness and equity going forward, •, , States and cities should aim to prioritise inclusive sanitation for multiple, stakeholders across the sanitation service chain, including the urban poor who can, benefit from equitable and safe sanitation services., 2. Improved monitoring indicators and periodic collection of gender-disaggregated data, by states and cities is necessary:, •, , Collection of gender-disaggregated data allows to measure the disproportionate, policy measures on men and women and evaluate the measures taken to narrow, that gender gap., , IASBABA, , 60

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , Citizen report cards, concurrent evaluation and social audits should be encouraged, to promote inclusion and greater engagement of the community members in, schemes and programmes, • Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has issued the Community, Engagement Guidelines under SBM, which need to be translated into action., 3. Inclusive sanitation budgeting:, •, , It is observed that the capital expenditure per man is much higher as compared to, women, and more skewed when compared with transgender and persons with, disabilities., • Care economy roles played by women in the society makes them use bathrooms for, washing clothes, taking children and elderly to toilets which makes them pay more, for the use of toilets., 4. People-centred infrastructure design:, •, , Planning of sanitation infrastructure should be undertaken to recognise the needs, of marginalised -- especially women and transgender persons so that they use, sanitation infrastructure as per their requirements., • MoHUA has released the Gender Responsive Guidelines under SBM U, which carries, a detailed framework on the inclusive sanitation facilities for the states and cities to, promote inclusive sanitation structures to women, men, transgender., 5. Convergence between departments towards inclusive sanitation:, •, , One of the ways to do this is following convergence guidelines such as the DAYNULM and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) convergence which outlines the, employment of self-help groups for maintenance of infrastructure established, under SBM, e.g. community toilets/ public toilets, faecal sludge treatment plants,, etc., • DAY-NULM: Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission, Conclusion, •, •, , Inclusion and social equity should be embedded right from planning to, implementation and monitoring of sanitation programs and investments., Alongside, the cities should focus on the protection of sanitation workers’ health, and rights by adopting occupational health and safety measures., , IASBABA, , 61

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Topic: Women Migrant Workers, Context: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region that hosts about 23 million migrant, workers is riddled with problems that are particularly related to the discrimination of, women migrant workers, Issues, •, , •, •, , •, , •, , Feminisation of the workforce: Women account for 39% of migrant workers in the, GCC (International Labour Organization, 2017) and the feminisation of the, workforce across multiple sectors of the economy demonstrates a growing trend., Low Income: Most of the migrant workers in Gulf region are on temporary contracts, and mostly engaged in low-wage occupations., Vulnerable to Abuse: Women migrants, who are in the skilled category are mainly, nurses in the organised health industry; those in the semi-skilled or unskilled, category are domestic workers, care workers, cleaning crew, manufacturing, workers, salon staff and salespersons. These workers are vulnerable to abuse and, exploitation., COVID-19 induced Burden: The Pandemic has exacerbated the vulnerabilities of, women migrant workers. In many countries, the work hours of nurses in many, countries were extended from eight hours to 12 hours without overtime, remuneration. Also, many of the semi-skilled and unskilled workers lost their jobs,, wages and their accommodation rendering them vulnerable and susceptible to, exploitation., Lack of Policy Focus: The plight of Indian women migrant workers in West Asia, highlights the lack of gender-centric, rights-based safeguards., , Indian government has to take up the issues of migrant women workers, whose, vulnerabilities & burden were increased during COVID-19 Pandemic, with their, counterparts in Gulf countries. Else, the hardships faced by this section will continue, unaddressed., , IASBABA, , 62

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Topic: Manual Scavenging, Context: Earlier in 2021, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told the, Rajya Sabha that no deaths have been reported due to manual scavenging in the last five, years., Issues, 1. Manual Scavenging and its consequences still persist., •, , Contrary to the Indian government’s insistence, manual 472 deaths due to manual, scavenging have been reported across the country between 2016 to 2020, and 26, alone in the year 2021, according to Bezwada Wilson, the national convener of the, Safai Karamchari Andolan., • Even the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), the statutory body, working for the welfare for safai karamcharis, had revealed that 123 people lost, their lives due to manual scavenging between 2017 and 2018 alone., 2. Failure of State to employ Macro Perspective:, State efforts have consistently been characterized by, •, •, , compensation efforts plagued by lethargic and inefficient distribution mechanisms;, insistence on technological interventions that are rarely executed on the ground, and, • failure to implement the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and, Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (the Act) in its true spirit., 3. Roots in Caste System unaddressed, •, , Reports have long suggested that 99 % of those involved in manual scavenging are, Dalits and among them, 95 % are women., • Despite the high percentage of women engaged in manual scavengers, their, concerns find negligible visibility in policy discussions and popular discourse., • The 2013 Act recognizes that manual scavenging arises from the caste system., However, the only manner in which it attempts to incorporate caste considerations, is by reserving membership for representatives of SC in certain committees., • The government was also criticized for not consulting Dalit rights groups while, formulating the 2020 amendment bill for the Act., 4. No focus on financial or digital inclusion, •, •, , While the Act and relevant schemes provide for scholarships, financial aid and loans, as part of rehabilitation measures, access to these remains scarce., Due to limited financial inclusivity, for e.g., access to the banking system and, financial products, many manual scavengers are eligible yet unable to reap benefits., IASBABA, , 63

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , Unfortunately, Dalits and women, who form the majority of manual scavengers in, the country, are among the worst sufferers of the digital divide., Conclusion, •, , •, , Increased consultation of the government with civil society, the financial sector and, stakeholders in the digital ecosystem is, therefore, imperative to holistically, approach the issue., Further, the focus of the academic, legal and business fraternity needs to be drawn, to the ability of caste and gender identities, digital technologies as well as the, banking system to impact the lived realities of manual scavengers., , Topic: Feminisation of Agriculture, Context: The agriculture sector has the largest share of women employment in South Asia, at 57 percent., Women & Agriculture, •, , Following liberalisation measures in the 1990s India has seen a surge in outmigration—or the act of leaving their rural home for the towns or cities., • In India, the proportion of migrant population is 29.9 percent. The proportion of, male out-migrants is estimated at 8 percent, but given the size of the country’s, population, the figures are substantial in absolute terms., • As many men leave the household, the women take on a bigger role in agriculture., This phenomenon is described as the “feminisation of agriculture”, Feminisation of Agriculture in limited sense, •, •, , •, •, •, •, , In the limited sense, it refers to an increase in the proportion of women’s farm, related work (paid/unpaid) and increased responsibility on family farms, In this narrative, women’s work load increases while they continue to lack access to, land ownership, productive resources, knowledge, and technology and have limited, decision-making power., With near-universal mobile-phone ownership, men continue to remotely control, household and farming decisions., This process of feminisation can be described as “feminisation out of compulsion”, or “feminisation of agrarian distress”., Female land ownership is 2 percent in Pakistan, 9.7 percent in Sri Lanka, 10 percent, in Bangladesh, and 13.5 percent in India., Bhutan is the only country in South Asia where more women own land: 70 percent, of farm land are owned by women.This is attributed to matrilineal inheritance, practices and a strong legal environment., IASBABA, , 64

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Feminisation of Agriculture in Expanded sense, •, , •, •, , The expanded conceptualisation refers to ways in which women gains right and, ownership over productive resources, power in decision-making, and recognition, of their contributions in previously male-dominated areas, This process of feminisation is also known as ‘managerial feminisation’., The second narrative views feminisation as an opportunity for improving gender, equality and women’s position in agriculture., , Topic: LGBTQ+ Children & Schools, Context: Recently, Kerala High Court brought attention to medical textbooks that described, non-binary gender identities as “offensive perversions” and “mental disorders”., Transgender and Education, 1. Educationally marginalised, •, , As per the 2011 Census, there are 4.8 million transgender persons in India, with a, literacy rate of just 46%, compared to 74% of the general population., • In 2020, there were only 19 transgender candidates among the 18 lakh students, appearing for the class 10 board exams., • A study by NHRC in 2017 found that over two-thirds of transgender children drop, out of school before completing class 10 in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh., 2. Traumatising Educational Experience, •, , The educational experience of transgender children are marked by bullying,, labelling, rejection and humiliation from both teachers and peers., • Teachers often interpreted gender-atypical behaviour as abnormal and actively, tried to “correct” it., • A UNESCO survey in 2018 in India revealed that 60 per cent of those who identified, as transgender reported experiencing physical harassment in high school., • Only 18 per cent reported incidents of abuse and harassment to school authorities., • Such bullying and intimidation led to reduced interactions with peers (73 per cent),, depression and anxiety (70 per cent), decreased academic concentration (63 per, cent) and school absenteeism (53 per cent)., 3. Shortfall with National Education Policy 2020, •, , The NE, 2020 recognises transgender children as educationally disadvantaged and, recommends widening their educational access through a Gender Inclusion Fund., , IASBABA, , 65

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , However, the NEP and Shiksha Parv concept note on nurturing inclusive classrooms, do not go beyond conditional cash transfers, distribution of bicycles, provision for, sanitation and toilets and countering barriers of access. Access is only the first step., Way Ahead, •, •, •, •, •, •, , •, •, , Schools must become a site where homophobic ideas are defeated., India can learn from Scotland, which became the first country to have an LGBTQ+, inclusive school curriculum in 2021., Beyond infrastructure and process revamp, reforms are needed in curriculum, and teacher education., Teachers can be allies who model inclusive behaviour and confirm that schools are, safe, supporting places for LGBTQ+ students., Focus must also be on inclusive language like using “partner” instead of, “husband/wife” or “them” instead of “him/her”., Comprehensive sex education must support young lives in exploring sexualities, rather than viewing homosexuality as a disease or disorder, with age appropriatelearning to reduce high-risk behaviours., Through the parent-teacher associations and school management committees,, attempts can be made to find queer students support in families and communities., Besides inclusiveness and equity in access, integration of themes like identity,, diversity and social justice is the most urgent need of the modern Indian classroom., , Women Farmers, Introduction for Essay, “Some historians believe that it was women who first domesticated crop plants and, thereby initiated the art and science of farming. While men went out hunting in search of, food, women started gathering seeds from the native flora and began cultivating those of, interest from the point of view of food, feed, fodder, fibre and fuel.”, Issues, •, •, •, , According to the agricultural census, 73.2% of rural women are engaged in farming, activities but only 12.8% own landholdings., Due to cultural, social and religious forces, women have been denied ownership of, land., The India Human Development Survey reports that 83% of agricultural land in the, country is inherited by male members of the family and less than 2% by their female, counterparts., , IASBABA, , 66

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , Thus, women are mostly left without any title of land in their names and are, excluded from the definition of farmers., • 81% of women agricultural labourers belong to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes,, and Other Backward Classes, so they also contribute to the largest share of casual, and landless labourers., • Non-recognition of women farmers and conveniently labelling them as ‘cultivators’, or ‘agricultural labourers’ but not ‘farmers’., • Without any recognition, women are systematically excluded from all the benefits, of government schemes., • They are not guaranteed the rights which they would otherwise be given if they, were recognised as farmers, such as loans for cultivation, loan waivers, crop, insurance, subsidies or even compensation to their families in cases where they, commit suicide., • They have unequal access to rights over land, water and forests., • There is gendered access to support systems such as storage facilities,, transportation costs, and cash for new investments or for paying off old dues or for, other services related to agricultural credit., • There is also gendered access to inputs and markets., • Thus, despite their large contribution to the sector, women farmers have been, reduced to a marginal section, vulnerable to exploitation., Farm Laws, •, •, , Women farmers fear that the farm laws will further deepen gender inequality in the, sector., Women are barely in a position as empowered agents who can either understand, or negotiate (written) agreements with traders and corporate entities who are, seeking to enter into agreements with the farmers to purchase their produce or for, other services., , Paternity Leave, •, , Unlike maternity leave, which is legally mandated, the private sector is not bound, to provide paternity leave in India., • There is a legal stipulation for central government employees –– a “male civil, servant (including an apprentice, probationer) may be granted Paternity Leave for, a period of 15 days before or up to six months from the date of delivery of the child,, but only for his first two children., Imbalance, , IASBABA, , 67

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , While short paternity leaves deprive fathers of the chance to spend time with their, newborns and burden mothers unfairly with the bulk of caregiving, they also make, hiring men more advantageous for companies., • One of the reasons for it could be that socially, child-rearing is still largely considered, a woman’s responsibility in India, and thus, if companies are not offering long, paternity leaves, it is also because employees are not asking for it., Analysis, •, , •, , •, •, , •, , Women are biologically different from men and maternity leave is clearly an, equitable approach. But a father’s role in the family and his childcare responsibilities, are often disregarded., The social construction of parenting and gender norm expects the mother to be the, primary caretaker of the child as well as the household duties while the father is the, principal bread-earner of the family., These social constructs of parenthood should change to achieve gender equality at, home as well as the workplace., Working women avail long maternity leave and this weakens their stability in the, job market which consequently aggravates gender inequalities in the workplace in, the form of gender pay gap as well as in the division of work at the family unit., For that matter, even paternity leave cannot address the problems of gender, inequality at home/work as paternity leave is relatively a brief leave availed by the, fathers immediately before/after the birth of the child to provide post-natal care, and support to the mother and the infant., , Gender Sensitisation in Judiciary, •, , Supreme Court only has 2 women judges, as against a sanctioned strength of 34, judges and there has never been a female Chief Justice of India. This figure is, consistently low across the Higher Judiciary., • There are only 80 women judges out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,113 judges, in the High Courts and the Supreme Court across India., • There are only 17 women senior counsel designates in the Supreme Court, as, opposed to 403 men., Way Ahead, •, , •, , Judges, who belong to the “old school” and may be “patriarchal” in outlook, should, be sensitised so that they do not pass orders objectifying women in cases of sexual, violence., There should be mandatory training of all lawyers on gender sensitisation., , IASBABA, , 68

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, •, , •, •, , PART 1, , Improving the representation of women in the judiciary could go a long way towards, a more balanced and empathetic approach in cases involving sexual violence., Supreme Court must direct collection of data to determine the number of women, judges in the lower judiciary and tribunals and also to determine year-wise number, of seniors designated by all High Courts., SC should also ensure greater representation of women at all levels of the judiciary., This initiative must come from the Supreme Court itself, considering that the power, of appointment rests almost exclusively with the Supreme Court Collegium. The, goal must be to achieve at least 50% representation of women in all leadership, positions., , Topic: Women's Land Ownership Rights, Background, •, , In 1956, the Hindu Succession Act (HSA) had given Hindu women substantial rights, in property, but two major inequalities remained., o First, the inheritance of agricultural land devolved according to land reform, laws which were highly gender unequal., o Second, daughters were excluded from coparcenary rights in joint family, property., • The HSAA 2005, however, following a civil society campaign brought about gender, equality in law on both counts across all states., • Legally today under Hindu law, both daughters and widows have equal inheritance, rights in a man’s separate property, but daughters additionally have shares in joint, family property., Global literature shows that women owning land would, •, •, •, •, •, •, •, , Enhance a women’s well-being, Improve children’s health and education, Reduce domestic violence, Raise farm productivity, Increase family food security,, Empower women socially and politically., Gender-equal land rights is also a key target in SDG 5 on gender equality., , IASBABA, , 69

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Data on Women Land Holdings, •, , Overall, women constituted barely 14% of all landowners and owned only 11% of the, land, with an average area of 1.24 ha relative to 1.66 ha for men., • Most of the landowning women had acquired land through their marital families,, typically as widows and not as daughters through parents, despite the legal, strengthening of daughters’ rights since Independence., • Very few women were co-owners in joint family property, and over half the owners, of both genders were aged 50 or more. Hence, even women who own land receive it, too late in life., • State wise differences: Female landowners constituted 32 per cent of all landowners, in Telangana but only 6 per cent in Odisha., Way Ahead, •, , There is a need more gender-disaggregated data on land ownership, and innovative, policies to increase women’s actual ownership., Telangana’s example shows that state leadership, starting with chief ministers, can, make a big difference. So can civil society., Women themselves need to raise their claims more vocally, as they did in the 1930s, and ’40s., , •, •, , Topic: Gender Gap in Tech, Context- The Pandemic has demonstrated to the world that access to technology is critical, to ensuring public health and safety., •, , Information and access to health care have largely moved online around the world,, and those who are left behind are at a significant disadvantage., Women and Technology, •, , •, •, , Non- Neutral Technological world: Most technologies that are available to the, layperson are created by men, for men, and do not necessarily meet women’s, requirements. Ex: Video games, apps etc, Gender bias in internet usage: In India, only 14.9% of women were reported to be, using the Internet., Impact on Vaccination: The gender divide in accessing internet impacted, vaccination drive that earlier mandated online registration (now offline registration, is allowed). Recent data shows nearly 17% more men than women have been, vaccinated., , IASBABA, , 70

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , Patriarchal reasons for Technology bias: When families share a digital device, it is, more likely that the father or sons will be allowed to use it exclusively. This is, because of cultural belief that women’s access to technology will motivate them to, challenge patriarchal societies., • Online content considered as risk: It is also believed that online content can be, dangerous for women/expose them to risks. As a consequence, girls and women, who ask for phones face suspicion and opposition., Literacy status of women:, •, , Literacy is critical for socioeconomic development in India. In India, there is a, significant gender disparity in literacy rates:, • The female literacy rate today is 65.46 percent, while the male literacy rate is over, 80 percent., • The disparities in literacy rates between states are also extreme., • Kerala has the highest female literacy rate in the world. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, on, the other hand, have low female literacy rates., • Literacy in India is distinguished by significant disparities between urban and rural, populations., • The rural population is primarily dependent on agriculture and has a high rate of, illiteracy, whereas the urban population is more of an employee class and is also, more educated., Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017, •, , Employees and employers alike have applauded the 2017 landmark amendment to, the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 (MBA), which went into effect on April 1st, 2017., • It provides 26 weeks of maternity leave, which exceeds the ILO's minimum standard, of 14 weeks., • For the first time, the rights of an adopting mother and a commissioning mother, (who uses a surrogate to bear a child) are recognised, and they are entitled to 12, weeks of paid maternity leave., • A "work from home" option that may be useful once the maternity leave is over;, • As of July 1st, 2017, every establishment employing 50 or more employees must, provide crèche (day care) facilities, including the right of mothers to visit the crèche, four times per day., • The act will benefit the 18 lakh (1.8 million) women in the organised sector., • They also allow women to devote more time to their babies, allowing for an increase, in women's labour force participation (WLFPR) in India., Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Good Things, , IASBABA, , 71

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , The bill replaces “any married woman or her husband” with “any woman or her, partner” > destigmatising pregnancies outside marriage., • The time limit within which pregnancies are legally terminable is increased., • The bill fulfils its professed aim of ensuring “dignity, autonomy, confidentiality and, justice for women who need to terminate pregnancy”, • The bill most significantly raises the upper gestational limits for the two categories, of permissible abortions envisioned in Section 3(2) of the 1971 Act., • While the limit for the first category (pregnancies terminable subject to the opinion, of one medical practitioner) is raised from 12 weeks to 20 weeks, the limit for the, second category (pregnancies terminable subject to the opinion of two medical, practitioners) is raised to include those exceeding 20 but not exceeding 24 weeks,, instead of the present category of cases exceeding 12 but not exceeding 20 weeks., Concerns/Criticism, •, , •, , •, , •, •, •, , However, the second category is left ambiguous and open to potential executive, overreach insofar as it may be further narrowed down by rules made by the, executive., Pregnancies are allowed to be terminated only where continuance of the pregnancy, would “prejudice the life of the pregnant woman or cause grave injury to her mental, or physical health” or “if the child were born it would suffer from any serious, physical or mental abnormality.”, Section 3(2B), however, makes the upper gestational limits inapplicable to, abortions necessitated, in the opinion of the Medical Board, by any “substantial, foetal abnormalities”., The bill seeks to cater to women “who need to terminate pregnancy” as against, “women who want to terminate pregnancy.”, The Bill discounts women’s bodily autonomy and reeks of ableism., The special classifications of “serious physical or mental abnormalities” and, “substantial foetal abnormalities” also reek of societal prejudices against persons, with special needs., , IASBABA, , 72

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Topic: Gender Equity in Higher Education, Context: NEP aims to future-ready the young population for the workplace, the focus will, be on strengthening excellence with equity, diversity and inclusion., •, , In particular, gender equity holds special significance so as to meet the aspirations, of half the population., , Data, •, •, •, , The recently released 2021 Times Higher Education Rankings affirmed that 24 of the, top 100, and 41 of the top 200 universities are led by female leaders., NASSCOM has been successfully led by a female president and Engineers India, Limited recently appointed its first female executive head., At least six of the Covid vaccines have emerged from research or companies led by, women, , Issues, •, , While female enrollments and out-turn in higher education is increasing, there is, a lack of equitable career opportunities in higher academia., • The number of female faculty in postgraduate and research departments is, abysmally low., • NIRF top universities have just 10% female vice-chancellors, • The engineering stream with merely 7% women directors is non-inclusive in nature., • Other categories have a slightly better gender leadership profile with 11% in, pharmacy, 15% in dental, 15% in management, 17% in law, 20% in medical, and 28%, in architecture., • Institutions of National Importance lag on gender equity with only nine (7%) of the, 130 listed by the Ministry of Education having female directors., • The prestigious IITs and IISERs have never had a woman director., The relative absence of women in leadership position of Higher Education Institutions (HEI), reinforces the stereotype that teaching in schools and colleges is a woman-centric, profession but higher academia is a different territory., Conclusion, •, •, •, , The education sector that takes pride in being progressive has to lead by example, by including more women in leadership role., Women in decision-making roles can catalyse new ways of thinking and doing., There is a need to set up gender-responsive search committees, fair and transparent, selection processes that recognise women as thought leaders and institution, builders., , IASBABA, , 73

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Permanent Commission for Women Officers – Indian Army, •, , •, •, •, •, , •, , With the grant of PC, women officers will now be entitled to serving till the age of, retirement and not forced to look for alternative careers after 14 years. This will, provide clarity on their career paths and place women officers on an equal footing, with men for promotions, professional growth, and provide job security., Now, women officers can be considered for command roles, career postings and, many other opportunities to distinguish themselves professionally., A grant of PC will accrue many other employee benefits, as, ‘In service career, courses’, pension, ex-servicemen status and consequent benefits to name a few., Allowing a motivated set of experienced women officers in permanent cadre would, be a small way to mitigate the shortage of officers., Given the evolving nature of warfare supported by technology, many of us do not, consider this a question of gender ability but of performance, opportunity, and a, fighting chance., Israeli Defense Forces have achieved widespread integration of women., , Salary to Women for Domestic Work, Benefits, •, •, Issues, , This will “monetise the services of women homemakers in society, enhance their, power and autonomy and create near-universal basic income”., Empower women financially and help them live with dignity., , •, , A large number of women live with domestic violence and cruelty because they are, economically dependent on others, mainly their husbands., • Every day, an average Indian male spends 1.5 hours per day in unpaid domestic, work, compared to about five hours by a female., Challenges, •, , Asking men to pay for wives’ domestic work could further enhance their sense of, entitlement., • It may also put the additional onus on women to perform., • The ethics of buying domestic labour from wife poses a serious risk of formalising, the patriarchal Indian family where the position of men stems from their being, “providers” in the relationship., Way Ahead, •, , Rather than new provision of salary for housework, we need to strengthen, awareness, implementation and utilisation of other existing provisions., IASBABA, , 74

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , Starting from the right to reside in the marital home, to streedhan and haq meher,, to coparcenary and inheritance rights as daughters and to basic services, free legal, aid and maintenance in instances of violence and divorce., • Women should be encouraged and helped to reach their full potential through, quality education, access and opportunities of work, gender-sensitive and, harassment-free workplaces and attitudinal, • Behavioural changes within families to make household chores more participative., • Once these conditions are met, working inside the home or outside must be a, woman’s choice, a freedom that she can exercise for herself., Conclusion, •, , Just like we do not want women to commodify their reproductive services because, of their inherently exploitative nature — we have, therefore, banned commercial, surrogacy in the country — let us not allow commodification of housework and, personal care., , Topic: Pandemic and Women, Context: COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive disruption of the labour market in India., Women workers, in particular, have borne a disproportionate burden., Issues – Impact of Pandemic on Women, 1.Widening Gap:, •, , 61% of male workers were unaffected during the lockdown while only 19% of, women experienced this kind of security., • 47% of employed women who had lost jobs during the lockdown, had not, returned to work. The equivalent number for men was only 7%., • Even prior to 2020, the gender employment gap was large. Only 18% of workingage women were employed as compared to 75% of men., 2. Reduced Workforce, •, , Nearly half of the women workers, irrespective of whether they were salaried,, casual, or self-employed, withdrew from the workforce, as compared to only 11%, of men., 3. Disproportionate Loss of jobs in Education & Health, •, , The share of women in job losses in education was three, times their share in that industry. So, while around 20 out of, 100 workers in education were women, amongst those who, lost work, about 70 out of 100 were women., IASBABA, , 75

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , •, , Similarly, in the health sector, 40 out of 100 workers were, women, while of the 100 in this sector who lost work, 80, were women., 4. Increasing Domestic Work:, •, •, , With schools closed and almost everyone confined to their homes, women's, household responsibilities grew., Married women and women from larger households were less likely to return to, work, implying that the burden of care may be a factor in the poor employment, recovery., , Impact of COVID-19 on women's access to family planning services, •, •, , •, , •, , •, , Unwanted Pregnancies: The inability to access contraceptives during the lockdown, is likely to result in an additional 2.4 MILLION unintended pregnancies in India., Increased Vulnerability to Risks: The diversion of health resources to respond to, the pandemic restricted women’s already limited access to health services,, including contraception, and therefore put women and girls at the risk of maternal, health risks, unsafe abortions and sexually-transmitted illnesses (STIs)., Increased Domestic Violence impacts reproductive health: Cut off from key, support systems, many women have been subject to domestic violence at the, hands of abusive partners during the lockdown. Intimate partner violence impacts, women’s reproductive health, by injury, restrictions on access to health care, or, via stress and trauma., Faith in system challenged: Responsive health systems should focus on the, pandemic but also ensure that people’s faith in the system is maintained by, continuing to provide routine health services. Lack of continuous provision of, health services challenges the faith in system., Family Planning Programmes impacted: The pandemic severely impacted access to, contraceptives, undermining family planning programs worldwide. India is likely to, witness the highest numbers of forecast births at 20.1 million., , Way Ahead, •, •, •, , Expansion of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, (MGNREGA), Introduction of an urban employment guarantee targeted to women., Facilitate employment of women through the setting up of community kitchens, and engagement with self-help groups for the production of personal protective, equipment kits., IASBABA, , 76

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , •, , PART 1, , A COVID-19 hardship allowance of at least ₹5,000 per month for six months should, be announced for 2.5 million accredited social health activists and Anganwadi, workers, most of whom are women., , Topic: Misinformation and Sexism, Context: The online world amplifies the social norms of the physical world. Women face, aggressive and offensive trolling on the Internet, designed to undermine and discredit them, professionally and shame them into silence, Feminism & misinformation on Social Media, •, , •, , •, , •, , •, , •, , •, , Position does not matter: Woman’s position of power does not shield her from, vulgar misinformation. 95 female politicians out of 724 received nearly one million, hateful mentions on Twitter between March and May, 2021 (Amnesty International, Report), Inter-sectional challenges: Organised disinformation and sexism intersect with, Islamophobia, castetism, religious bigotry and other forms of discrimination to, threaten vocal women, Responsibility on Women: The harassment is so rampant that more often than not,, women are asked to either ignore the abusers or block such handles. As always,, women are expected to take precautionary measures instead of men being asked, to behave., Misusing Sexuality: While on the one hand women are targeted with sexist attacks,, on the other, their sexuality is used to further misinformation. There are multiple, fake Facebook accounts posing as a woman and “posting provocative comments, that could hurt social harmony”., Political attempt to silence Feminist Voices: A recent report by UNESCO on online, harassment faced by women journalists says that political actors instigate and fuel, online violence campaigns against women journalists., Misinformation and sexism have a symbiotic relationship: Misinformation, piggybacks on sexism to discredit vocal women and sexism uses misinformation to, reinforce patriarchal norms., Gendered misinformation threatens Democracy: A healthy democracy is, participatory and promotes gender inclusiveness. Sexism and misinformation, intimidate women from taking vocal stands and are antithetical to a progressive, society., , IASBABA, , 77

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M2IxMjcxNzVhZTA4, , ILP-2022 VAN: INDIAN SOCIETY & ISSUES, , PART 1, , Conclusion, While social media gives a platform for women to raise issues, repeated abuse takes away, that freedom. Social media, the place that bolstered the #MeToo movement, is the same, place used to shut women down., , Note- In the next part, we will discuss-Globalization and other aspects. Also, we will also, cover some more aspects of Indian Society and Contemporary issues around it., Copyright © by IASbaba, All rights are reserved. No part of this document should be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or, otherwise, without prior permission of IASbaba., , IASBABA, , 78