unit 3

Question 1

Indebtedness of Indian Tribes

Answer 1

1. Most of the tribal families are “born in debt, live in debt and die in debt”.
2. The subsistence type of agriculture mostly dependent on the uncertain rainfall, poor conditions of the soil, primitive methods make the tribal economy continuously a deficit one.
3. Their extravagant customs of marriage, death and religious ceremonies, further make worse the deficit nature of their economy and compel them to borrow.
4. The tribals rely entirely upon the moneylenders for borrowing and settlement of his
   dues since a moneylender gives easy credit when it is needed most.
5. The moneylenders, traders and others who offer money readily to them at their difficult times, through a very high interest rates, worsen the problem. Small amounts of money borrowed at very high rates of interest at
   different times increase into a sum beyond their capacity to repay.
6. This ultimately leads to the loss of lands, even livestock and small assets of tribals to moneylenders.
7. There are 2 types of debts :-
   (1) hereditary - debt taken by parents/grandparents/ancestors
   (2) contracted - debt taken by current householders
8. sources of debt :-
   (1) institutional sources - banks or govt agencies
   (2) non institutional / private sources - money lenders, shopkeepers, employers, friends and relatives, etc.

Question 2

Tribal life style

Answer 2

1. The life style of tribals, especially those near urban influence, has changed due to imbibing of large number of Hindu cultural values and traits.
2. Tribe is losing not only their identity but also their tribal cultural heritage.
3. More changes in material life than in beliefs and practices - working with the financial security in urban sectors has made them indifferent towards their own traditional life.
4. Changes in even marriage institution, family structure, authority structure, and interpersonal relationships.
5. Forced displacement and land alienation of tribals disrupts their life and makes them migrate and involuntarily resettle.

Question 3

Land Reforms and tribes

Answer 3

• Land reforms (or land tenure reforms) are the conditions under which a land is held.
• They are an instrument of social justice
• Land reforms are significant here since land is the main source of livelihood for the tribal people and they do not have much upward mobility.
• Abolition of the zamindari system curtailed exploitative practices such as bonded labour
• Ekta Parishad found that there were two major problems, which mostly confronted the Adivasis :-
  Settlement problems of non-occupant Patta-holders as well as illegal occupancy; and
  Illegal selling of land belonging to the Adivasis.
• In Jharkhand there are 2 acts - Chotta Nagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Tenancy Act - which protect tribal rights to their land, prohibiting the sale of their land to non-tribal people.

Question 4

Sanskritisation - Meaning

Answer 4

• a process by which a lower caste or tribe or any other group changes its customs, rituals, ideology and way of life in the direction of a higher or more often twice-born caste.”
• a process by which a low caste or tribe is able to rise to a higher position in the caste hierarchy by adopting vegetarianism, teetotalism, and rituals of the higher castes,

Question 5

Sanskritisation - Characteristics

Answer 5

1. IMITATION : a process of imitation in Indian society, the social status of an individual is fixed on the basis of caste hierarchy. There are many lower castes who suffer from economic, religious or social disabilities. So in order to improve the status, the lower castes people imitate the life style of the upper caste people
2. CASTES : Sanskritization is a process of cultural change towards twice-born castes. In some societies the lower caste people followed not only the customs of the Brahmins but also the customs of the locally dominant castes like Kshatriyas
   and Vaishyas to raise their status.
3. SOCIAL MOBILITY : Sanskritization is helpful in the social mobility of lower cast. In this process a caste is only trying to change the status and not the social structure.
4. DE-SANSKRITISATION : The concept of Sanskritization has also given rise to De-sanskritization. There are some
   instances in modern times, some of the higher castes are imitating the behaviour pattern of lower
   castes or tribals, and for example Brahmins have started taking meat and liquor. This process is called Desanskritization.

Question 6

Acculturation - Meaning

Answer 6

• transmission of cultural elements from one social group to another
• a process of cultural change, which results due to contact between 2 communities belonging to diff cultures
• both cultures get mutually affected

Question 7

Acculturation : Characteristics

Answer 7

1. NATURE : an universal and continuous process which takes place over a period of time.
2. CONSCIOUSNESS : can be consciously or unconsciously i.e the people can be aware or unaware.
3. TIME - CONSUMING : however takes less time than assimilation
4. CONTACT : can happen thru either direct first hand contact - or indirectPRE-CONDITION contact through media, television, literature etc
5. PRE-CONDITION : acts as a pre-condition or precursor to integration or assimilation - after this either of those 2 can take place.

Question 8

Urbanisation - Meaning

Answer 8

the demographic process whereby an increasing share of the national population lives within urban settlements. `

Question 9

Urbanisation - Effects

Answer 9

1. loss of traditional activity
2. slums
3. crime rate
4. breakdown of family
5. marriages lost essence

Question 10

Urbanisation - Characteristics

Answer 10

1. CULTURAL HETEROGENEITY
2. LOSS OF TRIBAL LAND
3. DECULTARISATION
4. CIVIC FACILITIES
5. WEAKER BONDS
6. MONETARY ECONOMY

Question 11

Social Mobility

Answer 11

• shift in an individual’s social status from one status to another. The shift can either be higher, lower, inter-generational, or intra-generational, and it cannot necessarily be determined if the change is for good or bad.

Question 12

Types of Social Mobility

Answer 12

1. HORIZONTAL
   - when a person changes their occupation but their overall social standing remains unchanged.
   - a change in religious, territorial, political, or other horizontal shifts with no change in the vertical position.
   - For example, if a doctor goes from practicing medicine to teaching in a medical school, the occupation’s changed but their prestige and social standing likely remain the same.
2. VERTICAL
   - change in the occupational, political, or religious status of a person that causes a change in their societal position.
   - An individual moves from one social stratum to another.
   - Vertical mobility can be ascending or descending.
3. UPWARD
   - This is when a person moves from a lower position in society to a higher one.
   - It can also include people occupying higher positions in the same societal group.
   - However, upward mobility, while seen as a good thing, can also come at a cost for individuals.
   When a person moves upward, they often need to leave behind familiar surroundings such as family and places. They may also need to change their way of thinking and behavior. The individual will need to adapt to the new environment as a result of their upward movement and adopt different behaviors in the new society.
4. DOWNWARD
   - Downward mobility takes place when a person moves from a higher position in society to a lower one.
   - It can occur when someone is caught performing awrongful actthat can result in the loss of the position they currently hold.
   - Downward mobility can be extremely stressful for people who face a rapid decline in their social status. They may find it hard to adapt to the new environment, as it is not similar to the standard of living they are used to.
5. INTER - GENERATIONAL
   - Inter-generational mobility happens when the social position changes from one generation to another.
   - The change can be upward or downward.
   - Such societal change also causes the generation to adopt a new way of living and thinking.
   - Inter-generational mobility is affected by the differences in the parents’ and their offspring’s upbringing, changes inpopulation, and changes in occupation.
6. INTRA - GENERATIONAL
   - The intra-generational change in societal position occurs during the lifespan of a single generation.
   - It can also refer to a change in position between siblings.
   - One sibling may also achieve a higher position in society than their brother or sister.