Category: Traditions

1. Simple versus Complex Social Structures: In the pre-industrial societies, social structure is comparatively simple. There is less scope for division of labour, which is mostly based on age and sex. Men normally go out of family for hunting or fishing or for cultivating the land while women confine themselves to home to raise children and sometimes go out to gather food or work in the field. ADVERTISEMENTS: There are, in general, fewer statuses and roles. Social institutions other than family and kinship, are either non-existent, or in a rudimentary stage, or very ineffective.In the industrial societies, the social structure is more complex. There is vast scope for division of labour and specialization and it is more based on personal talents, abilities, efficiency, experience and preferences than age and sex.…

No less close and no less ancient is the connection between Political Science and Jurisprudence, the science of law. The former is the study of the State and government whereas the latter is the study of law.If human beings are to live a life of togetherness and safeguard the existence of the community itself, they must accept certain rules of conduct.The rules governing society may be few or many. They can range from a few primitive traditions, handed down orally from one generation to another, to the whole complex set of constitutional and governmental regulations which are associated with the modern State. The regulations of the State are called laws and these are formulated, administered and enforced by the government. Image Source: education.uw.edu ADVERTISEMENTS: Every State, no matter what its…

Essay on Tribal Problems in India – The tribals of India are faced with a number of problems among which the following maw noted.1. The Problem of Geographic Separation: Thetribals of India are in a way geographically separated from the rest of population. Someol them are living in the unapproachable physical areas such as deep valleys, dense forests, hills, moun­tains, etc. It is difficult for them to establish relations with others, and hence, socially they are far away from the civilised world. This kind of physical as well as social isolation or seclusion has contributed to various other problems. ADVERTISEMENTS: 2. Cultural Problems:The tribal culture is entirely different from the way of life of the civilized people. The tribals fail to understand the civilised people, their customs and practices, beliefs…

The industrial and urban development projects such as power plant, oil refineries, fertilizers, chemical industries, river valley projects, dams, reservoirs and mining etc. are the major causes for displacement of people from their well established living places.For this purpose, the govt, has introduced the land Acquisition Act, 1894, which empowers it to serve notice to the people to vacate their lands if required for the govt, planning. Provision of cash compensation in lieu of the land vacated exists in section 16 of the act. Image Source: pifsc.noaa.gov ADVERTISEMENTS: The United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Right (Article 25 (I)) has declared that right to housing is a basic human right. The involuntary movement of the residents from one place to another for resettlement gives rise to a variety of problems…

Eighteenth century India and today’s India: but a contrast! On the one hand we have a stagnating traditional culture and society, in fact in a state of decadence not witnessed before decadence condemned by most modern Indian from Ram Mohan Roy on words.On the other hand we have a still traditional society in the throes of a creative excitement, of modernising itself, of emerging as a new nation remaining thoroughly its own and rooted in its culture yet taking its place in the contemporary world. ADVERTISEMENTS: The intervening nineteenth century was pivotal in that it saw the initiation of this process that brought about an enormous transformation in the religious, social, economic, political and cultural spheres of Indian society. Many interrelated factors where in what in this transformation.The British Raj…

If we carefully examine the tradition of sociology and anthropology, we find that culture has remained, all through the last hundred years, a major theme of discussion. The emergence of ethnology, as a new branch of social science, establishes that culture is super-organic in all its manifestations. However, approach to culture has two distinct methods. For cult urology or ethnology, culture is the ultimate reality sui generis and society is the vehicle of culture a necessary but not sufficient condition of culture. For sociology, on the contrary, society is the ultimate reality which renders intelligible the nature of man and of the social institutions by which he is governed. ADVERTISEMENTS: Actually, sociolo­gists consider society as the creator of culture whereas anthropologists think that it is culture which keeps the organization…

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Whatever else India may not be, she is at least one thing. She is the greatest storehouse of spiritual knowledge.” The remarks are very appropriate because the word ‘spiritual’ strikes immediately when one thinks of India.Spiritualism can be defined as, “connecting with one’s inner spirit or soul.” India is certainly a country that provides the ground for saturating one’s senses by the touch of the being called supernatural power. Through the ages-from the ancient past-India has amalgamated the wealth of knowledge in the form of holy vedas and scriptures and has emerged as the spiritual lighthouse for the world.India’s other name Bharat Varsha-the land of Bharata was taken after a king famous in Puranic tradition. The name India was applied by the Greeks. It corresponds to…

Dussehra, a ten day long festival is celebrated throughout the country with great religious beliefs. According to the Hindu calendar this important festival of the Hindus falls in the second fortnight of the month of ‘Ashwyn’. It is the festival of victory and triumph, the victory of good over evil.In Northern India, the life of Lord Rama is enacted as Ramlila for nine nights and on the tenth day the effigies of Ravana along with his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad are burnt with a lot of fanfare. It is believed that in order to conquer Ravana, Rama had prayed to Goddess Durga for nine days and on the tenth, he succeeded in slaying Ravana. Tools, weapons, cattle and books, which represent knowledge and learning, are worshipped.In North-East huge decorated…

A joint family is a group of persons, who are related to one another and who share a common roof, common religion and common property. All the working members of the family pool together their resources and hand them over to a common head who is usually the eldest member of the family. The head of the family looks after the general welfare of the entire family. Any member who brings in extra income does not get preferential treatment. Thus, the joint family actually puts into practice the idea of Karl Marx “To each according to his need, from each according to his ability”. It is socialistic in nature.The joint family system is the characteristic feature of agricultural societies. They have existed in countries like India and China whose economy…

Each of the physical, biological and social sciences has its own philosophy, methodology and scope. For example, economics deals primarily with the production, movement and consumption of goods and services; geology is concerned with the composition and interior of the earth’s crust; demog­raphy pertains to the characteristics of human population; and zoology and botany examine the animals and plants kingdoms respectively. Similarly, geography examines numerous tangible and intangible natural and man-made phenomena.In human geography, the major thrust is on the study of human societies in their relation to the habitat or environment. Dealing with the spatial distribution of societies, human geography covers a very wide field or its scope is enormous.It embraces the study of human races; the growth, distribution and density of popula­tions of the various parts of the…