Westernization: The Concept Of Westernization By M N Srinivasan

The essay by M N Srinivasan, a well-known and much -revered sociologist, deals in the concept of Westernisation. He begins by observing the effects of British Rule on Indian society and culture on various levels – technology, institutions, ideology and values, and how those effects helped in introducing new social institutions and in changing the old ones. Some of the defining values of this period were humanitarianism, equalitarianism and secularisation. He illustrates this by citing the introduction of British laws & legal systems that put an end to inequalities which were a part of Hindu and Islamic legal systems preceding it. Similarly, while talking of modernisation, he illustrates how increased media exposure correlates with wider economic …show more content…
While writing about the process of urbanisation, Srinivas highlights that the minority religions were more urbanised than Hindus or Muslims. Also, certain castes took lead in the process of westernisation and there was an evident overlap between the old and new elites which indirectly gave rise to the backward class movement. One of the key intellectual traditions inherited by the new elite, was that of continuous self-criticism, that can be traced back to Vedic times. While practices like suttee & dowry, led to a desire for reform among the new elites, there was also an increased sense of nationalism that could be attributed to the newly translated Sanskrit texts into English & German. This seeming contradiction in urge to prioritise reform over freedom or vice-versa, could only be concluded 13 years later, when Mahatma Gandhi led the programs of social reforms to be woven into freedom struggle. In a society like India, with lines of region, religion, caste and language cutting through the society, a heightened national self-awareness, almost always translated into heightened awareness at every level of social structure – one could not be had without the …show more content…
He illustrates this with the example of brahmins who in some places are poorer and socially more backward than castes which are ritually below them and with this example he argues that an entire varna category is rarely found occupying a particular or few strata in the new heirarchy. There is a seeming contradiction here when he warns on one hand that translating jati into varna has its hazards, and then adds that it becomes unavoidable when talking about india as a whole. Vague terms have their uses, he remarks and this part according to me raised an important question yet left it almost