NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS CLASS – 11 | SOCIOLOGY | UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY | CHAPTER- 5| INDIAN SOCIOLOGIST | EDUGROWN |

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 5 INDIAN SOCIOLOGIST NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION for Class 11 SOCIOLOGY which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These   can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter.

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ON INDIAN SOCIOLOGIST

Question 1.
Mention Ghurye’s contribution to sociology.
Answer:
Ghurye is considered as founder of institutionalised sociology in India.

• He created a generation of first class sociologist through his guidance.
• His contribution in the field of castes, races, marriages, family and kinship system, rural urbanisation, demography, sociology of religion is most significant. Obviously, he was deeply interested in castes and races from the beginning.

Question 2.
What does D.P. Mukerji mean by Purusha?
Answer:
According to D.P. Mukerji, the concept of Purusha is not different from society and an individual and neither is this concept under control of Purusha group mind. Mr. Mukerji was of the view that Purusha is an active actor who fulfills his responsibilities by establishing contact with other persons.

Question 3.
What is living tradition, according to D.P. Mukerji ?
Answer:
According to D.P. Mukerji, living tradition is a tradition which maintains links with the past by retaining something from it, and at the same time incorporates new things.

Question 4.
Differentiate between the rural and the urban society.
Answer:
Rural society: They are usually small in size, having a low density of population. The dominant occupation is agriculture or agriculture related activities. There is a rigidity in the caste system. Lifestyle is simple, closeness is emphasized, dependence on religion is dominant. People are god-fearing and more nature dependent. They have a similar culture despite the differences in religious following. They are informal and take part in each other’s work as their own e.g. harvesting, sowing etc.

Urban society: They are usually large in size, having a high density of population. The population is hetrogenous, cosmopolitan, having people from different cultures. They follow various occupations out of which agriculture is the least popular. Lifestyle is complex, formality dominates. Caste system seemingly does not exist. The neighbours do not maintain social relations and exhibit a disinterested approach.

Question 5.
What does Ghurye think about rural community and urban community?
Answer:
Ghurye was in favour of urban development. Ghurye was of the view that raw material and other goods produced in rural areas must be used for urban development. According to him, following problems exist in urban areas :

• Insufficient drinking water
• Human congestion
• Traffic congestion
• Indiscriminate tree felling
• Sound or noise pollution.

Question 6.
Discuss the views expressed by Ghurye on the tribes.
Answer:
Ghurye emphasized that some anothropologists and the British administrators advocated a policy of isolation for the tribes. They mentioned many causes for it such as: First, the tribals were different from the non-tribals or Hindus.
Secondly, tribals were the original inhabitants of the country.
Thirdly, they are unlike the Hindus, animists.
Fourthly, the tribals are different from the Hindus on linguistic grounds also.
Fifthly, tribal’s contact with the non-tribals had been harmful for the culture and economy of the tribals.
Ghurye referred to the long process of Hinduization of the tribes of India in different parts of the country. Some tribes had been integrated with the Hindu society. Some others remained loosely integrated. The tribes living in the hilly regions and the depths of forests were barely touched by the Hinduism. They were the imperfectly integrated classes of Hindus.
The tribes embraced the Hindu social order mainly for following causes :

• The first reason was the economic motivation. They adopted specialized types of occupation which were in demand in the society.
• The second reason lies in the Catholicity of caste system to the tribal belief and rituals.
  Ghurye emphasized that the policy of the British Government in relation to forests caused hardship for the tribals.

Question 7.
Explain the structural features of caste given by Ghurye.
Answer:
The caste system has got the following six structural characteristics :

• Segmental Division: Govind Sadashiv Ghurye sees caste as social grouping or segments; the membership of which is obtained and fixed by birth.
  Caste provides its own centre regarding rules, regulations, standards of morality and justice.
• Hierarchy: The castes or segments are arranged in terms of hierarchy. The Brahmans were placed at the top and the untouchables were kept at the bottom of the hierarchy.
• Principles of Purity and Pollution: The above described two features (attributes) reflect the separation or distance between castes. This fact of separation is reinforced by the principles of purity and pollution that find their expression in the codes, regulating the acceptance of food or drink from other castes.
• Civil and Religious Disabilities and Privileges of different Sections:
  A result of the hierarchical division of society is that rights and obligations are unequally shared by different sections of the society.
• Lack of Choice of Occupation:
  Every group or caste was associated with a hereditary occupation. Distinction between pure and impure occupations, the hereditary occupation of a caste reflected its status in society.
• Restrictions on Marriage:
  Inter-caste marriage was prohibited.

Question 8.
What was D.P. Mukerji’s view about traditions and modernity?
Answer:
D.P. Mukerji’s view about traditions:

1. D.P. Mukerji asserts that traditions do change. These principles of change are recognized in Indian tradition:
   • Shruti,
   • Smriti,
   • Anubhava.
     It is anubhava or personal experience, which is the revolutionary principle.
2. The experience of prem or love and sahaj or spontaneity of these saints and their followers was noticeable also in Sufis among the Muslims.
3. Our country has definitely preserved many values (some good and other bad also). The point, however, is that of utilizing the forces which are foreign to Indian traditions, e.g.
   • technology,
   • democracy,
   • urbanization,
   • bureaucratic rule, etc.

D.P. Mukerji’s views about modernity:

• D.P. Mukerji does not worship tradition. His idea of “full man” or “well balanced personality” calls for a blend of moral fervor and aesthetic and intellectual sensibility with the sense of history and rationality.
• D.P. Mukerji believed that “the knowledge of tradition shows the way to break them with the least social cost.”
• According to D.P. Mukerji, a dialectical process of conflict and synthesis, must be given a push by the conserved energies of the class structure of Indian society.

Question 9.
Discuss the features of the caste system as stated by G.S.Ghurye.
Answer:
According to Ghurye, the caste system has the following features:

• Segmental division: This refers to the division of society into compartments, segments or castes. They have a set of rules, regulations, standards of morality and justice for each caste.
• ‘Hierarchy: Hierarchy is a scheme, which arranges castes in terms of higher, or Superior and lower or inferior in relation to each other.
• Principles of purity and pollution: The principles of purity and pollution find their expression in the codes regulating the acceptance of food or drink from other castes.
• Civil and religious disabilities and privileges of different sections: The ritual status of a caste; their rights and obligations are the crucial determinants of the nature of these disabilities.
• Lack of choice of occupation: Every caste is associated with a hereditary occupation. As distinction is made between ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ and therefore between ‘pure’ and ‘impure’ occupations; the hereditary occupation of a caste reflected its status in society.
• Restrictions on marriage: Inter-marriage between castes was prohibited. Individuals were allowed to marry within their castes only i.e. they practised endogamy.

Question 10.
Discuss the factors that brought about social changes in society.
Answer:
Some of the factors are internal to the society whereas some are external.
1. Environment: It sets limits to the social change and may bring very rapid change in society. Difficult environmental conditions make slow the development of an advanced technology. In suitable environmental conditions, they grow and develop faster. If there are unfavourable environmental conditions, a society may remain backward. Isolated societies remain underdeveloped whereas well communicated societies develop rapidly. Natural disasters like flood, cyclone, drought force people to move from place to place, thus bringing social change in their lives.

2. Population: Change in the size of population brings about change in the economic life of the people and other aspects of life. Decrease in population may solve some social problems, decrease unemployment, whereas increase will do to the contrary. Industrialised nations need to maintain a balance between the size of the population and natural resources.

3. Technology: Social change is more rapid in technologically developed societies. In traditional societies, changes are very slow. Complexity in social structure grows along with advancement of technology. Due to advancement of technology, simple division of labour of the traditional societies has changed into complex form of division of labour. This has helped in the development of occupational specialisation. However, this has divided the population into a number of groups.

4. Values and Beliefs: On one hand, new social values and beliefs can bring about
social change, whereas they may also cause resistance to it. Changes in values and beliefs take a long time to be realized. When changes occur in society, they are noticed only partially.

5. Diffusion: Diffusion is an important mechanism of social change. Borrowing of cultural traits from an advanced society by a backward society is a normal process. This brings about social change. The backward societies change very rapidly and become modem by borrowing advanced technologies from the advanced societies. Non material traits like religion, ideology, beliefs and values change very slowly.