Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Ph.D

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

From the Vedic age downwards the main conception of education of the Indians has been that it is a source of illumination that gives a correct lead in the various spheres of life.The history of ancient Indian education extends over several centuries, so we naturally come across different types of educational organisations in different ages. In the pre-historic period down to about 1000 B. C. the family was the only educational agency both for the literary and professional education .

As education began to become more and more complex and exacting, the specialist came into the field in the form of the private teacher, it continued to be in its sole and undisputed possession till organised educational institutions came into existence in connection with the Buddhist monasteries. In a few centuries, Hinduism copied the Buddhist example and organised its own temple colleges. Monastic universities and temple colleges were however confined to some famous centres of learning; private teachers still continued to be the main stay of the educational system.

Private teachers:

In the ancient period, the followers of different Vedas had no doubt formed their own literary organisations like the Parishads, and the Chararias, but curiously enough these do not seem to have ever made any concerted effort to form educational institutions, which would hand down to the next generation the literature of which they were the custodians. Private teachers have  all along been the sheet anchor of the educational system. This need not cause any surprise. The sacred texts required each Brahmana to devote himself to the cause of teaching in his individual capacity, and the injunction was of very largely followed. Each learned Brahmana was thus an educational institution by himself. The Parishads or councils of famous scholars of the different centres or tribes therefore did not feel it necessary to organise public educational institutions- of the modern type, worked with the co-operation and assistance of a number of teachers. Famous capitals and holy places like Taxila and Benares were centres of a number of famous scholars, but they also imparted education in their individual capacity, and did not as a rule combine to form any colleges. If the number of pupils under any teacher happened to be large, he would either engage an assistant teacher, or assign part of his work to brilliant advanced students.  Neither step however would change the individual character of the school.

Rise of Organised Institutions :

Corporate educational institutions were first evolved in ancient India in connection with Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha had emphasised the vital importance of imparting systematic instructions to novices, who were required to be educated for ten years, not only in spiritual practices, but also in the study of the sacred literature, which required a good grounding in Pali and Sanskrit, the logic and metaphysics.

When Buddhist monasteries developed into big establishments from the time of Asoka onwards, they naturally developed into centres of education. They were the ‘counter parts of Hindu Gurukulas, where the Guru was the head, not of a family but of a monastery. At first they were intended for monks and nuns only, but later on for the lay population as well ; for it was soon discovered that the best way of getting a good supply of novices of the right type and of propagating the religion among the masses was to mould the plain minds of the young generation by taking up its education. Hindu educational institutions, so far known, are all later than the time of the Nalanda University (c. 400A.D.). It is probable that the starting  of organised public institutions for education may have been suggested to Hindus by the transformation of Buddhist monasteries into colleges and Universities. Temple colleges started by Hindus were a natural reaction to the Buddhist monastic Universities.

Organisation of Buddhist Universities:

We can get a fairly good idea of the organisation of Buddhist Universities from the accounts handed down to us about Nalanda and Vikramsiila, which were typical of their class. The whole establishment used to be in charge of a famous abbot (bhikshu). He was usually elected by the members of the Sangha. Character, scholarship and seniority were the factors usually taken into consideration. In the 9th century, a monk-scholar from near Jalalabad, who was on a pilgrimage to Bihar, was elected to be the principal of the University . This would show that local

(It is interesting to note that in Europe also from about the 8th to the llth century A. D. education was centered in monasteries. The causes were somewhat similar. Monks were required to read; so they had to be taught. They must have books and they must in turn teach novices to read and copy manuscripts. Hence arose monastic schools. After the closure of all the pagan schools by Justinian’s decree in 529 A. D., monasteries became the sole schools for teaching. “They offered the only professional training, they were the only Universities of research ; they alone served as publishing houses for the multiplication of books ; they were the only libraries for the preservation of learning ; they produced the only scholars. It was not till the llth century that there was any education to speak of outside monastic schools, and not till the 13th century that there occurred marked changes in the character of education given in any institution ; until then all these schools were taught by monks.” Monroe, A Textbook, pp. 255-261. I. A. t XVII, p. 307, )

or provincial jealousies did not influence the election in any way. The abbot-principal used to be assisted by two councils, one academic and the other administrative. The academic council used to regulate admissions, determine courses and assign work to different teachers. In later times when the granting of diplomas was introduced at Vikramasila, it must have arranged for the holding of examinations as well. He was also in charge of the library and its duties in this connection were onerous. In the pre-press days, libraries were not only store houses of books but also their publishers. They had to take steps to renew their own worn out manuscripts and to meet the constant demand of the outside public for copies of books in their possession. . The copying work was to some extent done by the monk teachers and pupils, but clerks also had to be engaged to cope with it. The administrative council was in charge of the general administration and finance. Construction and repairs of buildings, distribution of food, clothes and medicine, allotment of rooms in hostels, and assignment of monastic work fell within its purview. Above all, it was in charge of finances and used to take steps to realise the revenues of the estates given as endowments to the Institution. This work must have been fairly exacting and complicated in a big University like Nalanda, possessing a hundred or two hundred villages. Steps had to be taken to lease out the fields, to collect the corn due and to store and distribute it properly at the right time. Large staff must have been employed for the work.

Organisation of Temple Colleges:

South Indian inscriptions give us a vivid picture about the functioning of the temple colleges flourishing there, but throw very little light on their internal organisation. It would appear that they were probably administered by the temple sub-committee of the village council, within whose jurisdiction they fell. It was this sub-committee which administered the estates given as endowments and appointed the teachers of the institution. What subjects were to be taught and how many seats were to be reserved for each of them may have been settled by the temple committee in consultation with the views of the head of the institution. The latter was in charge of the internal administration. He supervised over the boarding houses, allotted seats lo students, appointed servants for the messes and arranged for the supply of provisions. In some places even hospital arrangement was made for the need of students falling- ill. The distribution of the teaching work, the supervision of the library and the maintenance of discipline also fell within the jurisdiction of the head of the Institution.

School and College Building:

There is however no information as to what arrangements were made in these institutions for the housing of classes and the lodging of students. In fair weather the classes must have been held under the shades of trees; in the rainy season, some kind of humble tenements must have been found indispensable both for teaching and residence. As far as organised educational institutions like the Buddhist Universities or Hindu temple colleges are concerned, we have definite evidence to show that they used to provide good, spacious and often imposing buildings for their class rooms and hostels. At Nalanda there were eight big lecture halls and as many as three hundred small class rooms. The college buildings were stately and several storeys in height. The university of Vikramagila also was provided with several lecture halls by the Pala emperors. Similar arrangements must have existed at other famous Buddhist centres of education, Military schools intended for aristocratic families were naturally housed in spacious and imposing buildings. Temple colleges were usually located in spacious halls and apartments adjoining the temples, to which they were attached. As far as private teachers were concerned, they usually held their classes in their own houses. This was not difficult for a well-to-do teacher; for the class usually consisted, as we shall soon see, of not more than 10 to 15 students. Sanskrit teachers of even moderate reputation could however usually succeed in building a small unostentatious building for their school out of subscriptions collected for the purpose in their own Tehsil or Taluka. Teachers with small houses used to repair to an adjoining temple or garden to carry on their classes. This practice prevailed in Benares during the medieval times.

Lodging and Boarding Arrangements:

Well to-do teachers in famous centres of education like Taxila used to arrange for the lodging and boarding of their students in their own houses.  It must be remembered in this connection that the number of students reading under one teacher was usually not more than 15 and he could thus arrange for  their lodging and boarding. When public educational institutions came into existence, they used to invariably arrange for the lodging and boarding of students in hostels specially built for the purpose. Several such hostels existed at Nalanda, Salotgi and Vikramagila. In these hostels, there were common messes run by the authorities through servants appointed for the purpose. Students’ rooms were sometimes provided with a stone bench to sleep upon and notches for keeping lamps and other sundry things; this arrangement prevailed at .Nalanda as will become clear by a visit to its excavations. In some places, arrangements were also made to offer free clothing and medicines ; some institutions like that at Nalanda in northern India and Malkapuram in southern India used to maintain hospitals for the needs of the ‘sick students . In some places like Salotgi, light also was supplied to students out of special endowments received for the purpose. In Bengal, till quite recent times, teachers of Sanskrit schools used to collect subscriptions from well-to-do people in their districts and build small unpretentious mud houses for the residence of students reading under them. It is quite possible that the same practice may have prevailed in ancient times in those localities which were carrying on the work of education in their own humble way, but had not become famous centres of education like Nalanda or Ennayiram. These boarding houses were under the direct control and management of the teachers under whom the students were working. When however teachers were unable to make such arrangements, students had to shift for themselves. Rich students would often hire their own houses.  Poor students would often stay in temple out-houses and subsist by begging.

Payment of Fees:

No Stipulation: Stipulation for fees was vehemently condemned in ancient India. No student could be refused admission even by a private teacher simply because he was too poor to pay any fees. A teacher guilty of this misdemeanour was declared to be unfit to officiate at religious ceremonies and was held to obloquy as a mere trafficker in learning.  it was held that the cause of education was a sacred one; every teacher qualified to teach must teach as a matter of duty.

The relations between the teacher and the student should be based upon mutual affection and regard, and not on any mercenary consideration.  There is ample evidence to show that this theory was acted upon in all public educational institutions in ancient India. Evidence of indisputable character shows that the Buddhist Universities, temple colleges, Agrahara institutions, and Mathas were all imparting free education to their students. When they used to receive sufficient endowments, they would also arrange to provide free boarding, lodging, clothing and medicine to the students admitted by them. Education therefore was free in a much wider sense in ancient India than is ever dreamt possible in modern times.

( It is interesting to note that there existed a similar prejudice against the charging of fees in ancient Greece for a long time. Neither Socrates nor Plato charged any fees. It was the Sophists who first introduced the custom of offering instructions to any person in any subject he chose, if lie offered sufficient remuneration. The practice was despised by the public opinion in the beginning, but was soon adopted by all educational institutions before the 3^rd century B. C. Spencippus, the successor of Plato at the Academy, charged fee from his students. Monroe, A Text book, p. 112 )

Private Teachers and Fees:

It is necessary to note that what has been condemned by the sacred texts is a stipulation for the payment of fees as a condition precedent to admission; they have no objection to teachers accepting voluntary gifts from the guardians of students reading under them. Just as the teacher was exhorted to remember that teaching was his sacred duty, the guardian also was asked to note that no object in the universe, howsoever precious it may be, can be regarded as an adequate fee for even that humble teacher, who teaches a single letter of the alphabet.  Smritis resort to this hyperbolic strain because they were anxious that the teacher, who was prevented from charging regular fees, should be in a position to get an adequate living. The exhortation to the guardians was not without its effect. For we find that though in theory the teacher’s honorarium (guru-dakshina) became payable only at the end of education  , rich guardians used to pay the whole of it in advance according to their ability  . Guardians of

(Yajnavalkya repeatedly refused the offer of a handsome fee on the ground that he had not finished all what he had to teach. Br. Up. IV. 1. Jatakas show that rich persons like merchants and princes used to send the whole amount of school fee in advance when they used to send their sons to Taxila. Bhishma also had paid Drona his honorarinm in advance before he had started the education of the Kauravn princes; Mbh. 1.142.1. The same was done by the father of Nagascna, the preceptor of Menander; Milindapafilia. Vol. 1. 17 )

ordinary means  must have found this procedure impracticable and paid the fee by easy instalments, though we have so far got no evidence of this practice prevailing. None who could afford, was permitted to evade payment by the public opinion. It was regarded as a very great disgrace that one should not pay one’s teacher though properly instructed, when one had the ability to pay. When Nagasena, being a monk, naturally expressed his unwillingness to accept the rich and luxurious gifts of his royal pupil, Menander, the latter begged him to change his mind in order to save him from the scandal getting abroad that though properly instructed, he would give nothing in acknowledgment to his teacher (Mil. pan. 1, pp. 134-5). Students whose guardians were really too poor to pay any honorarium were expected to help the teacher in his household work and pay him some honorarium at the end of the course by collecting subscriptions for the purpose.  We often come across such students in Jatakas. To refuse their request for subscription was regarded as highly disgraceful.

Payment of fees:

There was no fixed scale of monthly or sessional fees prescribed in ancient India. It was the duty of Brahmanas, who were the custodians of ancient culture and learning, to teach all qualified students free of any charge. If a student was poor, the teacher could not refuse him admission ; he had to teach him in return for personal service and in expectation of some lump sum to be received later, when he had finished his education and was in a position to collect subscription for the purpose. As far as well-to-do persons were concerned, they were expected to pay the maximum they could do to the teacher. Government also was expected to enable the teachers to impart free education by giving them land grants and pensions. It was also expected to give rich endowments to public institutions in order to enable them to offer not only free instruction but also free boarding and lodging. The available evidence shows that this arrangement postured a proper sense of responsibility and worked on the whole quite satisfactorily.

Admission Procedure:

In ancient Indian educational system there were no examinations, diplomas and migration certificates; every student, therefore, who sought admission to a higher course, had to undergo a severe test to prove that he was fit for it. The duty to provide free education that was imposed upon teachers and institutions must also have naturally resulted in making the admission test a stiff one. The test was partly moral and partly intellectual. Morally disqualified students were summarily rejected (Nirukta, II. 4). In ordinary schools dullards were given a trial and advised discontinuance of studies, when it was discovered that they could not improve. In famous centres like Nalanda, where the rush was great, the admission test was very stiff ; only two or three out of, ten could succeed in getting admission .

Both at Nalanda and Vikramasila, there were special professors appointed to the task of regulating admission by testing the calibre, capacity and sincerity of the applicants for admission . Probably similar arrangements existed also in other institutions of higher education. Private teachers would themselves test the capacity of students seeking admission to their schools. At the beginning of Vedic and professional education, some religious rituals also were performed.

The Size of the Class :

The income of the private teacher varied with the number of his students, and we sometimes come across rituals prescribed for getting more students. But the actual number of students reading under one teacher does not seem to have been large. The Jatakas no doubt very often state that the ‘world-renowned’ teachers of Taxila used to have 500 students reading under them ; but this statement seems to be an exaggeration, suggested by the traditional number of disciples usually associated with the Buddha. For all available evidence shows that the strength of a class under one teacher was usually about 15. Nalanda used to have about a thousand teachers for its student population of not more than nine thousand. In the llth century in the Vedic college at Ennayiram, each teacher had only about 20 students under his charge . At Benares during the 17th century, sometimes only four and usually about 12 to 15 students used to work under one teacher  . In the 19th century the number of students under one teacher in Sanskrit schools at Nadia varied from 10 to 20 . It therefore seems to be almost certain that the Jataka statement about the teachers at Taxila having 500 students each is an exaggeration. The normal strength of a class was never more than 20.

School Hours:

Curiously enough there is very little information available about the school hours. Smritis are altogether silent upon the point. We should however note that in ancient time press, paper and cheap books were absent ; so home work or home reading was practically impossible. All the work had to be done under the guidance of the teacher or the monitor. Literature often describes the  morning time as resounding with the sound of the recitation of students . So there is no doubt that there was a morning session, probably starting at about 7 A.M., when the daily religious duties were over. The morning session continued till about 11 A.M., when both the students and the teachers had to break off for their religious duties and meals. The noon meal was followed by a short rest and the school reassembled at about 2 P. M. and worked for three or four hours. The school period was spent partly in what may be called homework and partly in learning new lessons. The former consisted of committing to memory the texts expounded earlier with the help of one or two copies of the book existing in the school or under the direction of a senior monitor, who was well versed in it. The memorising and revision work was usually done in the morning, and new lessons were taught in the afternoon. Such at any rate was the tradition in the Sanskrit schools of Bengal and Bihar. We must remember in this connection that Brahman teachers were busy in the morning in performing their own religious duties or officiating at religious functions and ceremonies to which they were often invited. The noon session therefore must have been usually devoted to teach new lessons. It is however quite possible that there may have been no hard and fast rules in this connection. If the teachers were free, the morning session also may have been devoted to new lessons. In organised colleges which engaged full time teachers, this may have been generally the case.

No One Time School :

It must have been noticed that there was no one time school in ancient India. One time school, either in the morning or in the afternoon, would not have suited the religious habits of the age, which necessitated the performance of religious duties both in the morning and the noon. It has to be noted that most of the teachers of higher education belonged to the priestly class. Students usually lived with their teachers or very near their houses or in small villages ; so attendance at the school two times a day did not cause any physical inconvenience similar to what is felt by the children living in big cities and attending schools situated far off. Nor was it necessary to keep either morning or noon free to students for their home work ;. for no home work was possible. Even the richest student in ancient times could not afford to have about half the number of books and exercises, which the poorest student is compelled to procure in the modern age.

Night Classes :

Poor students who could not pay any honorarium to the teacher had to do a good deal of the household work for him. They naturally could not be present throughout school hours during the day.Teachers used to hold night classes for their convenience. There is definite evidence to show that this practice prevailed at Taxila  ; probably it obtained in other places also.

College Session : Pre-historic Period :

The Upakarma and Utsarjana rituals show that the college session could not have lasted for more than five or six months  . It began sometime in August and ended some- time in February. Such was the case in prehistoric times when Vedic hymns only formed the main subject of study. When however the sacred literature became more extensive and new branches of learning were developed like grammar, philology, astronomy, philosophy and sacred law (Dharmasastra), the short session of six months was found to be inadequate and studies began to be prosecuted throughout the year.

College Session : Later Times:

There is ample evidence to show that in later times, though the Utsarjana ceremony, which marked the suspension of the Vedic studies, was performed in February, the college work went on uninterrupted. Manu, for instance, states that inspite of the Utsarjana ceremony, the study of the Vedas and Vedangas should be continued throughout the year(IV.98). College terms followed by fairly long vacations, with which we are now familiar, seem to have been altogether unknown in ancient India since about the 7th century B.C. Transport difficulties were immense and students from Rajagriha (near Patna) and Benares going to distant places like Taxila used to return home only when the whole course was over. They therefore continued their education throughout the year, and had no long vacations like those we have at present. The present day custodians of Sanskrit learning are unaware of any tradition about long vacations obtaining in the past. If a student had some urgent work, he could take leave and go home to attend to it. Those whose homes were very near may have occasionally gone home on some of the usual holidays. But the entire teaching work does not seem to have been suspended for any part of the year. Work also was not much disturbed by different students going home at different times; for generally speaking each student was taught separately.

The List of Holidays :

We come across a systematic list of holidays only in post-Vedic  literature. But many of these go back to very early times. Regular holidays were four in the month at an interval of a week are the new and full moon days and the eighth day of each fortnight. Sympathetic interest with the inhabitants of the locality was also responsible for the stopping of the work sometimes, when the peace of the settlement was disturbed by an invasion or by incursions of robbers or cattle-lifters, or when the king or a Brahmana of the village had met with an accident or died.” Arrival of distinguished guests led to the suspension of studies; for a good deal of the time and energy of both the teacher and the students had to be devoted to make the guests comfortable.

Holidays for Bad Weather, etc :

Abnormal weather conditions giving rise to untimely clouds, thunder, remarrying or having recourse to Niyoga also suggests that there used to exist no long vacations when married students could go home and stay for sometime with their families. heavy showers, frost, dust-storms etc. were also regarded as sufficient causes to suspend studies. Holidays for these causes seem to go back to hoary antiquity, when students and teachers lived in humble cottages and were engaged in agricultural pursuits. It must be further remembered that the teaching and learning of the Vedic hymns in the manner in which it is done traditionally was physically impossible when a storm or lightning was thundering abroad. In later times when teachers were well-to-do men living in towns and villages and not directly concerned with active agricultural pursuks, it is doubtful if studies were suspended when there was a dust-storm or frost. When the howling of jackals, crying of wolfs, screeching of owls, braying of donkeys or barking of dogs was heard, teaching was temporarily stopped, partly, on account of superstitious beliefs and partly due to the notion that the Vedic study was so sacred an affair that it could be prosecuted only under ideally pure circumstances. It was apprehended that gods would become angry if the sanctity of the Vedas was defiled by their being studied on such occasions.

Curtailment of Holidays :

In course, of time most of the holidays  were abolished. Curriculum was getting heavier and some reasons had to be found for departing from the old tradition. Some authorities, therefore, started the theory that prohibition of studies under abnormal weather condition referred only to loud recitations ; silent reading was not intended to be interdicted.  Others held that non-Vedic works could be studied on the official holidays.  It would appear that in later times discretion was given to different institutions as to what holidays should be permitted by them to their students. Holidays allowed to the youngsters were to be more numerous than those to be allowed to advanced students.  This was certainly a very sound educational principle. In the case of serious students, apart from the four monthly holidays, studies seem to have been suspended since early times only when they themselves or the place they were studying was impure.

Organisation of Courses :

The modern reader will be surprised to learn that in ancient India there were no central bodies like the senates or boards of studies to prescribe a clear cut course of a definite duration in different subjects. This was a natural consequence of the circumstance that education was mostly imparted by private teachers : they did not belong to any institution, nor were they controlled by any government. There was also another reason for this phenomenon. Ancient Indians regarded knowledge as unlimited and no period that one could spend for its acquisition was regarded as adequate for the purpose.  The duration and contents of the course were therefore largely determined by the will, capacity and convenience of the student. Some students who wanted to get an all-round mastery used to read for as many as 25 or 30 years. Others who were home sick or were content with a superficial knowledge, used to return home in six or even three years. Intelligent students, who could master the course in a shorter time, were allowed to return as soon as their studies were over.

Normal Duration of the Course:

The course of higher education usually began with Upanayana at about the age of ten and extended over about 12 years The tradition is quite definite about the Vedic- course extending over that period. This period was necessary for the study of one Veda along with its subsidiary branches.

The duration of the courses of non-Vedic studies like philology, logic, philosophy, poetics, DharmaSastra, etc. is not definitely known. The students of these subjects had to study a few Vedic hymns, necessary for their religious duties, and a good deal of grammar in order to get the facility for understanding works in advanced Sanskrit prescribed for their courses. The full grammar course extended over ten years in the 7th century A. D.; but the students of poetics, philosophy or sacred law successive lives in attempting to master all the Vedas. On learning that ho proposed to spend his fourth life also for the same purpose, Indra appeared before him, showed him three hillocks of corn, and taking a handful from each, told him that the three Vcdas were infinite and what he had learnt of them in three lives bore the same proportion to what remained to be mastered as his three handfuls bore to the hills of corn lying in front.

Sanskrit literature is full of sayings to the effect that knowledge is infinite arid cannot be mastered in one’s life:  (Dharmagastra), may have finished their grammar course in five or six years and devoted about ten years for getting a mastery in the subject of their choice. A person who wanted to be regarded as cultured and well educated had thus to spend about 15 or 16 years for his education, subsequent to the time of his Upanayana at about the age of eight or nine.  Usually he could finish his education and become an expert in one particular branch at about the age of 24, which was regarded as the ideal age for marriage.

Longer course for special experts :

Those however who wanted to become special experts  or get the mastery of several Vedas or wanted to specialise in more than one branch of knowledge had to devote a much longer period for their studies. They had to spend another 10 or 12 years and their studentship continued to the age of 35 or 40. Megasthenes  and Colebrooke  refer to such students, when they both refer to scholars prosecuting their studies even at the age of 37. Society however did not approve of the devotion of so great a part of life to the cause of studies, if the person eventually intended to marry. One authority states that a person ought to be married in the prime of his life; to postpone marriage to the age of 35 or 40 would be a folly. Specialisation had come into field early ; it was not necessary for a person to master several Vedas or several branches of knowledge. It was feared that if this was indiscriminately encouraged, some students would be tempted to prolong their education indefinitely, especially since society used to provide them with free boarding and lodging.  The case of teachers and professors was different; they had already become earning and useful members of society. They were expected to be life-long students and acquire efficiency in several branches.

Life-long student hood:

Actuated by spiritual motives, some persons in ancient India used to observe life-long celibacy and devote their time entirely to religion and education.  They were known as Naisthika Brahmacharins. Their primary motive was spiritual salvation, but it was to be achieved not by penance or meditation, but by the dedication of a life of chastity to the cause of the sacred lore. Unmoved by praise or reproach, they carried on their work, without mixing much with the mundane world and its affairs. Their sole concern was a thorough acquisition of knowledge.

“Forgetting fatigue’, says Yuan Chwang, ‘they expatiate in arts and sciences; seeking for wisdom, .they count not 1000 U (roughly equal to 200 miles) as a long journey. Though their family may be in affluent circumstances, such men make up their minds to be like vagrants and get their food by begging, as they go about. With them there is honour in knowing the truth and there is no disgrace in being destitute’ (1.160-1). Smritis require a Naisthika Brahmachari to serve his teacher throughout his life; in actual practice however they used to establish new centres of education after some time. Famous teachers like Kanva and Divakarasena (of the Harshacharit) were such Naishthika Brahmacharis. This ideal of Naishthika Brahmacharya, which is peculiar to India, enabled her to make striking progress in learning and philosophy.

References:

Radha Kumud Mookerji :Ancient Indian Education -
A. S. Altekar Education in Ancient India -
Swami Tattwananda: Ancient Indian Culture at a Glance -
Benoy Kumar Sarkar: Creative India
Gurumurthy. S: Education in South India
Radha Kumud Mookerji : Hindu Civilization –

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Cow protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world. And Hinduism will live so long as there are Hindus to protect the cow…… Hindus will be judged not by their TILAKS, not by the correct chanting of MANTRAS, not by their pilgrimages, not by their most punctilious observances of caste rules, but their ability to protect the cow. (YI, 6-10-1921, p. 36)

The central fact of Hinduism is cow protection. Cow protection to me is one of the most wonderful phenomena in human evolution. It takes the human being beyond this species. The cow to me means the entire sub-human world. Man through the cow is enjoined to realize his identity with all that lives. Why the cow was selected for apotheosis is obvious to me. The cow was in India the best companion. She was the giver of plenty. Not only did she give milk, but she also made agriculture possible……..

This,  Gandhi had written in 1921, the year khilafat Movement had started. His Hinduism, and that also of the orthodox Sanatani brand, went on deepening day by day. Here we refer to this stance of his as related by Mr. J.E. Sanjana. It is a highly interesting study:

“But Mr.Gandhi’s convictions of the subject of cow-killing are so deeply rooted and passionately held that he is not content with soul-satisfying fallacy so common among good people who want to read their own convictions into ancient texts. In his presidential address at the Belgaun Cow Conference, Mr. Gandhi referred to these opinions of “big scholars and pandits” that cow sacrifice is to be found in the vedas, etc and to such sentences in his own High School Sanskrit text books as that “formerly Brahmans used to eat beef”, and proceeded, Inspire of such sentences, I have continued to believe that if such a thing be written in the Veda, then perhaps its meaning mz. J not be what we make it out to be. There is another possibility also. According to my interpretation or according to the conviction of my innerself (atma) and for me learning or Sastriac scholarship are not authoritative, but only the conviction of the inner self is authoritative,-if the statements like those cited above have no other meaning, then it must have been the case that only those Brahmans used to eat cow who could again revive the cow after killing her-I have not studied Veda, etc. I know many Sanskrit books through translations only. So what can an ordinary person like me say on such subjects? But I have faith in myself.”[2]

The cow is a poem of pity. One reads pity in the gentle animal. She is the mother to millions of Indian mankind. Protection of the cow means protection of the whole dumb creation of God. The ancient seer, whoever he was, began with the cow. The appeal of the lower order of creation is all the more forcible because it is speechless. (YI, 6-10-1921, p. 36)

It becomes clear that his sentiments regarding the sanctity of the “Cow” were so deep-rooted that he could refute even what the Vedas and Shastras contained contrary to what his inner self i.e. atma dictated. His faith was what he himself believed in. Here the significance of the words of Quaid-e-Azam quoted above becomes clearly understandable “And ultimately he (Mr. Gandhi) himself became an Avatar”. Perhaps an Avatar could set aside, what Vedas ordained or contained. Mr. J. E, Sanjana quotes the devotional words of some important social and political figures of the Hindu community, who regarded Mr. Gandhi an Avatar and a prophet or even more than that.

“Dr. P. Sitaramayya has said that enjoyment of super-conscious state which Mr. Gandhi enjoys is the privilege of a Mahatma and that Gandhi is one of those Avatars who descent on earth in order to purify the world. ‘Most Congress papers have said and say, year in and year out that Mr. Gandhi is several Prophets and Avatars rolled into one; for instance Patna Congress daily said three years ago ‘He is today the living Jesus, Mohemed and Buddha – and this crescendo has reached its climax in Babu Sirkrishan Sinha’s proclamation that ‘Mahatma is more than God’-And as none who has not faith in the Mahatma cannot be a good Congressman, it is no exaggeration to say that cow-protection if not cow-worship has become a cardinal doctrine of the Congress creed, at least implicitly, for the vast majority of Congressmen who are Hindus”[3]

Gandhi’s devotion to cow knew no bounds only a few quotations are laid down here to make manifest that Mr. Gandhi’s religion was focused on the cow.

“Mother cow is in many ways better than the mother who gave us birth. Our mother gives us milk for a couple of years and then expects us to serve her when we grow up. Mother cow expects from us nothing but grass and grain. Our mother often falls ill and expects service from us. Mother cow rarely falls ill. Here is an unbroken record of service which does not end with her death. Our mother, when she dies, means expenses of burial or cremation. Mother cow is as useful dead as when she is alive. We can make use of every part of her body-her flesh, her bones, her intestines, her horns and her skin. Well, I say this not to disparage the mother who gives us birth, but in order to show you the substantial reasons for my worshiping the cow.’ (H, 15-9-1940, p. 281) …The cow is the purest type of sub-human life. She pleads before us on behalf of the whole of the sub-human species for justice to it at the hands of man, the first among all that lives. She seems to speak to us through her eyes: ‘you are not appointed over us to kill us and eat our flesh or otherwise ill-treat us, but to be our friend and guardian’. (YI, 26-6-1924, p. 214) I worship it and I shall defend its worship against the whole world. (YI, 1-1-1925, p.

“Cow slaughter can never be stopped by law. Knowledge, education, and the spirit of kindliness towards her alone can put and end to it. It will not be possible to save those animals that are a burden on the land or, perhaps, even man if he is a burden.” (H, 15-9-1946, p. 310)

But let me reiterate….that legislative prohibition is the smallest part of any programme of cow protection. …People seem to think that, when a law is passed against any evil, it will die without any further effort. There never was a grosser self-deception. Legislation is intended and is effective against an ignorant or a small, evil-minded minority; but no legislation which is opposed by an intelligent and organized public opinion, or under cover of religion by a fanatical minority, can ever succeed. The more I study the question of cow protection, the stronger the conviction grows upon me that protection of the cow and her progeny can be attained only if there is continuous and sustained constructive effort along the lines suggested by me. (YI, 7-7-1927, p. 219)” My religion teaches me that I should by personal conduct instill into the minds of those who might hold different views, the conviction that cow-killing is a sin and that, therefore, it ought to be abandoned.”

(YI, 29-1-1925, p. 38) In so far as the pure economic necessity of cow protection is concerned, it can be easily secured if the question was considered on that ground alone. In that event all  the dry cattle, the cows who give less mild than their keep, and the aged and unfit cattle would be slaughtered without a second thought. This soulless economy has no place in India, although the inhabitants of this land of paradoxes may be, indeed are, guilty of many soulless acts.

Then, how can the cow be save without having to kill her off when she ceases to give the economic quantity of milk or when one becomes otherwise an uneconomic burden? The answer to the question can be summed up as follows:

1. By the Hindus performing their duty towards the cow and her progeny. If they did so, our cattle would be the pride of India and the world. The contrary is the case today.

2. By learning the science of cattle-breeding. Today there is perfect anarchy in this work.

3. By replacing the present cruel method of castration by the humane method practiced in the West.

4. By thorough reform of the pinjrapoles [institutions for aged cows] of India which are today, as a rule, managed ignorantly and without any plan by men who do not know their work.

5. When these primary things are done, it will be found that the Muslims will, of their own accord, recognize the necessity, if only for the sake of their Hindus brethren, of not slaughtering cattle for beef or otherwise.

Gandhi clamped his religion on his politics, hence his politics can in a way be called “cow-politics”.

As Mr. Gandhi called upon the Hindus to support Muslims on the question of khilafat he hoped that the Muslim leaders in return would, of their own accord, stop slaughtering cow .Gandhi wanted, overly and covertly, some gains  from the  Muslims. He coveted cow protection. He emotionally was a devotee of the sacred cow. He had written an article published in his own magazine “Young India” on the 12th October, 1921 to which Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad All Jinnah referred in his address in Delhi in April 1943, on the occasion of the annual  session of the Muslim League. About his own religion Mr. Gandhi had said:

“I call myself a Sanatani (orthodox) Hindu because firstly. I beleive in the Vedas, the Upanishdas, the Puranas and all that goes by the name of Hindu scriptures and- therefore in Avatars and rebirth”. ‘(Here Quaid-e-Azam had added “ultimately he himself become an Avatar)”.

“Secondly I believe in the Varnasharma Dharma atma the law of the Caste-System) in its vedic forms. “Thirdly, I believe in the protection of cow as an article of faith, and fourthly, I do not disbelieve in idol-worship.“]

“Hindu-Muslim unity has a close connection with cow- protection”[7] But according to Mr. Yajnik Mr. Gandhi artfully added:

“But it would be another matter and quite graceful and would reflect great credit on them if the Mussulemans of their own free will stopped cow slaughter out of regard for the religious sentiments of the Hindus and their sense of duty towards them as neighbors and children of the same soil.”[4] And the response was not late. It came in ‘ the form of a Fatwa issued by Maulana Abdul Bari Frangimahalli that the Muslims out of regard for the sentiments of their Hindu countrymen should give up cow slaughter.[5]

“In my opinion, the question of cow-protection is not smaller than the Swaraj: in some respects I consider it to be far bigger than the question of Swaraj”[8]

These words clearly show that Hindu-Muslim unity had no meaning if the Muslims could not refrain from slaughtering cow. Besides Mr. Gandhi went to the extent of proclaiming that he could not accept Home Rule or Dominion-status or even Freedom if the cow was not protected. And here is yet another expression of Mr.Gandhi and this deals with the Quran alongwith his own peculiar way of interpreting things:

“So far as I understand it is written in the holy Quran that it is a sin to take the life of any living creature unnecessarily. I desire to develop the strength of making the Mussulemans understand that to live in India with the Hindu and to kill a cow is equivalent to murdering a Hindu: for the Quran says that Allah has ordained that Jannat (Paradise) is not for the murderer of an innocent neighbour.”[9]-That is to put this superb ratiocination in plain language, a Mussaleman slaughtering a cow within the four corners of India for food or for the Baqar Id sacrifice will, according to the Quran, be consigned by Allah to hell.[10]

And this peculiar Mahatmaic logic becomes more ratiocinating when Mr. Gandhi proclamis “I regard slaughtering of a cow as my own murder”-First cow stood for an innocent human being. Here slaughter ‘hence, was equal to murdering an innocent person and the Quran consigned the murderer to hell. But hell was the punishment for an ordinary innocent murder. Surely a special Hell to be created for the one who murdered Gandhi, the Avatar, an embodiment of Prophets. This is how  Gandhi a Barrister and an enlightened citizen of the modern world played politics in the subcontinent. His voice was the voice of the Hindu Congress, in clearer terms, the voice of the Hindu community. Could then the Muslims and the Hindus coexist? They, no doubt, inhabited the same land for centuries, but they never lived together. They lived separately.

S.K. Majumdar explained this phemonenon in the following lines:

“Hindu-Muslim unity over the khilafat Movement was never based on firm foundation. To the Muslims it was a religious movement without any thought of Indian freedom, where as for Gandhiji it was a weapon for his own ends. Gandhiji said; “I claim that with us both the khilafat is a central fact, with Maulana Muhammad All. because it is religion, with me because in laying down my life for the khilafat, I ensure safety of the cow, that is, my religion, from the Mussalman knife”[11]-preservation of the khilafat was equal to the preservation of the cow. But this cow entailed much more than the words quoted above could convey. The cow in Mahatmaji’s view or rather according to his conviction meant all what Hindus aspired for. And in Mr.Gandhi they had found their most artful mouthpiece.

Cow protection to me is not mere protection of the cow. It means protection of that lives and is helpless and weak in the world. (YI, 7-5-1925, p. 160) My ambition is no less than to see the principle of cow protection established throughout the world. But that requires that I should set my own house thoroughly in order first. (YI, 29-1-1925, p. 38)

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Cow-protection is the outward form of Hinduism. I refuse to call anyone a Hindu if he is not willing to lay down his life in this cause. It is dearer to me than my very life. If cow-slaughter were for the Muslims a religious duty, like saying namaz, I would have had to tell them that I must fight against them. But it is not a religious duty for them. We have made it one by our attitude to them.

Reference-

^[1] Speeches and Writings of Mr. Jinnah, Sh. M.Ashraf Lahore ed: March 1960, Vo1.I, P. 482.

^[2] Caste and Outcaste, Thacker & Co., Ltd., Bombay 1946, 2PP.109,110.

^[3] Ibid P.11.

^[4] Gandhi As I know Him P. 116.

^[5] Ibid 116.

^[6] Ibid P. 101.

^[7] Ibid P. 102.

^[8] –do-‑

^[9] Ibid p.103.

^[10] Ibid P.103.

^[11] Jinnah and Gandhi P. 6

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India.

When  India’s independence struggle was at its height Gandhi realized that independence cannot come about by the efforts of the Hindus alone. Muslims too must be involved in the struggle. Gandhi decided to bring in the Muslim masses and particularly their religious leaders. This led to the Khilafat Movement of 1919-24. Gandhi and led by him the Indian National Congress joined hands with the religious group knows as Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind. This was Gandhi’s experiment with orthodox Islam.

During the First World War, Turkey was allied with Germany and Austria against the British. The Indian Muslims regarded the Sultan of Turkey as their spiritual leader, Khalifa, so naturally theysympathized with Turkey. After the four, the British removed the Khalifa from power and fragmented Turkey. Hence, the Muslims started the Khalifat movement in India for the restoration of the Khalifa’s position. The Muslims like the Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali Hasrat Mohani and Shaukat Ali and Maulana, Abul Kalam Azad had organised a Khilafatparty.

The demands of the Jamiat were simple. In Turkey the Caliph (the supreme religious ruler, the Jamiat wanted the power of the Caliph to be restored to the full. It claimed that the Caliph was the true ruler of all Muslims everywhere; therefore the Muslims must restore him. The Jamiat therefore proposed an alliance with the Congress to fight the British in India . Without realizing the implications Gandhi agreed to join the ‘restore Caliph’ movement. Thus the Jamiat’s entry into Indian national movement had nothing to do with India , but everything to do with a faraway country. Even more importantly it had nothing to do with Hindus, Christians, Parsis or secular Muslims . That was the first mistake Gandhi made: he believed that the movement would bring Hindus and Muslims closer.

Gandhiji decided to extend their support to the Khilafat movement as this was to him and apportion duty of uniting the Hindu and Muslim. October 17, 1919 was observed as Khilafat Day when the Hindu united with Muslims in fasting and observed a hartal on tht day. Gandhiji was elected President of the All-India Khilafat Conference which met at Delhi on November 23, 1919. They decided to withdraw all cooperation from the government if their demands were not met. . The main demand was  Khalifa’s control should be retained over the Muslim scared places.

In 1920 an alliance was made between Khilafat leaders and the Indian National Congress, the largest political party in India and of the nationalist movement. Congress leader Mohandas Gandhi and the Khilafat leaders promised to work and fight together for the causes of Khilafat and Swaraj. Seeking to increase pressure on the British, the Khilafatists became a major part of the Non-cooperation movement — a nationwide campaign of mass, peaceful civil disobedience. The support of the Khilafatists helped Gandhi and the Congress ensure Hindu-Muslim unity during the struggle. Gandhi described his feelings towards Mohammad Ali as “love at first sight” to underscore his feelings of solidarity. However, the Congress-Khilafat alliance began withering soon.

It was quite clear that the support of the Congress was essential for the Khilafat movement to succeed. However, although Gandhi was in favour of launching Satyagraha and non-cooperation against the Government on the Khilafat issue, the Congress was not united on this form of political action.

Tilak was opposed to having an alliance with Muslim leaders over a religious issue and he was also skeptical of Satyagraha as an instrument of politics. Gandhi made a concerted bid to convince Tilak of the virtues of Satyagraha and of the expediency of an alliance with the Muslim community over the Khilafat issue.

There was opposition to some of the other provisions of the Gandhi’s non-cooperation programme also, such as boycott of councils. Later, however, Gandhi was able to them get the approval of the Congress for his programme of political action and the Congress felt inclined to support a non-cooperation programme on the Khilafat question because it was felt that this was a golden opportunity to cement Hindu-Muslim unity and to bring Muslim masses into the national movement.

The Islamic movements are not anti-British, not anti-Imperialists or pro-nationalists – they are simply supporters of their version of Islam. They are extremists to whom orthodox Islam is everything. The Muslim leaders of the Khilafat movement painted a picture of world-wide conspiracy against Muslims. Gandhi was swayed by the eloquence of Mohamed and Shaukat Ali.

Gandhi ignored voices coming from the Indian Muslim community. There were many Indian Muslims who did not support the Khilafat movement. Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan had distinguished sharply between the political realm and religious realm declaring the two to be separate. He also said that a Caliph is the Caliph only of his own territory and there is no universal Caliphate What Gandhi did was to legitimize Islamic identity over other ties and give a boost to the pan-Islamic identity. He ignored the sects of syncretic Islam that had arisen in the Indian subcontinent.  There were also a growing number of secular Muslims. But Gandhi ignored them in favour of religious mullahs.

The Muslim clergy did not believe in living peacefully with other religions. During the Khilafat movement the Ali brothers and Maulana Azad declared that India was enemy territory and so favoured migration toTurkey . It is obvious therefore such Muslims had no love for India or for their fellow citizens; they cared only for their pure Islam. . In 1920 the latter movement was marred by the ḥijrat, or exodus, from India to Afghanistan of about 18,000 Muslim peasants, who felt that India was an apostate land

The movement brought the urban Muslims into the national movement, but at the same time it communalized the national politics to an extent. Although Muslim sentiments were a manifestation of the spread of a wider anti-imperialist feeling, the national leaders failed to raise the religious political consciousness of the Muslims to a level of secular political consciousness.

It cannot be emphasized enough that Khilafat movement had no real connection with India ‘s national movement. It was all about Turkey ; Turks themselves have kicked out their Caliph. Yet Indian Muslims were asked to fight for this deposed leader. Gandhi thus ignored the actual nature of Khilafat agitation. It was only later when many Congressmen began to question the extra-territorial loyalty of Muslims that Gandhi woke up.   The Khilafat movement made the Muslims more conscious of their Islamic identity. It was this that finally led to the Pakistan movement and partition India was divided on the basis of religion.

According to Subhash:“Mr . Gandhi when persuaded by the Ali brothers to join hands with them in launching a forceful movement could clearly visualise that by exploiting the Muslim sentiments he could build himself into a leader of All India stature. And he succeeded in achieving that purpose

But Mr. Subhash Bose has his way of looking at things. It is a renowned fact that Mr. Bose had never liked the dictatorial behaviour of Mr. Gandhi. He hated “yesmanship .

Swami Shardhanand (d:1936) was amongst those who disliked the  Pact. He states, “I attended the Lucknow sitting of the Congress also as a visitor but behind the scenes I had to do something with the negotiations that were going on. The Hindu-Muslim pact was privately discussed in my presence. Pandit Madan Malaviya and Mr. C.Y. Chintarmany were  both against the pact. They could not agree to communal representation and communal votings. In informal talks, I too, was in agreement with their views”.

Mr.S.K. Majumdar commenting on Mr.Gandhi’s interest in the Khilafat Movement says:

“Therefore, he (Mr.Gandhi) was determined that the flame of the Khilafat Movement must be kept ablaze. With that end in view, he felt that if he himself be sent to prison for his activities in the Khilafat cause, his non-cooperation Movement would acquire tremendous strength among the Muslims. he was bent on retaining the Muslims under his banner and under his leadership for what he considered his life’s Session”

Mr. Gandhi stood elated. He had succeeded in killing the spirit of the Lucknow Pact wherein lay the acceptance of the fact that Muslims and Hindus were two separate nations represented politically by the Muslim League and the Congress respectively. Now there no longer were two nations. There was only one Indian nation led by their supreme leader Mr. Gandhi.

Gandhi viewed Islam through his own spirituality ignoring how the parishioners of Islam actually saw it. For them religion and politics are inseparable. To Gandhi this was not bad since he also believed that religion and politics should not be separable and religion is needed to make politics ethical. He himself was a devout Hindu and declared his allegiance to Hinduism as an essential component of national struggle. But his Hinduism was of a different brand than the Islam practiced by orthodox Muslims. About Hindu sacred texts Gandhi said, “My belief in the Hindu scriptures does not require me to accept every word and every verse as divinely inspired.  Nothing in the shastras which is manifestly contrary to universal truths and morals can stand…  Nothing in the shastras which is capable of being reasoned can stand if it is in conflict with reason. But no devout Muslim can accept this as true of the Koran or even the Hadith. For them their revealed texts are eternal and immutable; the commandments are not to be rationally scrutinized but simply accepted. That was the essential difference between the way Gandhi practiced his religion and the orthodox Muslims practice theirs.

It was not that Gandhi was ignorant of Islamic fanaticism. He complained that Muslims are bullies and Hindus are cowards during riots. The Ali brothers had invited the Amir of Afghanistan to invade India . Swami Shraddhananda was shot dead by Abdul Rashid. No Muslim condemned the murder; instead Rashid was declared a martyr and was given a namaaz (prayed upon) in the mosques. However Gandhi’s response was the mistaken one of appeasement: the belief that the bully would be transformed if only one shows friendship. So he pardoned every Muslim fanaticism. He said, “I have called Abdul Rashid a brother and I repeat it. I do not even regard him as guilty of Swami’s murder. Guilty indeed are those who excited feeling of hatred against one another”.  After 1947, he said “Hindus should never be angry against the Muslims even if the latter might make up their minds to undo even their existence.” Also: “They (Hindus) should not be afraid of death. After all, the killers will be none other than our Muslim brothers”.

Needless to say Gandhi’s experiment with Islam failed. The results were disastrous for both Hindus and Muslims. In 1922 there was violence and Gandhi withdrew his support for the movement. Now let us take a look at the consequences of support to this Islamic movement:-

For the sake of Hindu-Muslim alliance Gandhi continued to make compromise after compromise, but ultimately the alliance collapsed.  It collapsed because of several reasons and because Gandhi did not think things through. He was not interested in Turkey but according to his own words wanted to buy Muslim friendship. The problem was that Gandhi simply did not understand the mindset of Islamic leaders he was dealing with.

The Muslim clergy became the centerpiece of Muslim politics in India .  But now they became de facto leaders and the genuinely secular and educated Muslim leaders were sidelined. Muslims blamed Gandhi for the failure of the restoration of Khalifa.

It led to Mopla riots. The Mopla Muslim community heard rumours that the time for jihad had come and an end must be put to all kaffirs. So they violently attacked the Hindus, killing old and young, raping women, tearing off fetuses from wombs. Finally the British restored peace. This must be the only time during the national movement when British troops were welcomed with open arms by the Indians.

Let us see how the orthodox  Muslims repaid Gandhi: In 1924,  Mohammed Ali to whom Gandhi showed such affection said, : “However pure Mr. Gandhi’s character may be, he must appear to me, from the point of religion, inferior to any Mussalman even though he be without character.”  In 1925 he emphasized:  “Yes, according to my religion and creed, I do hold an adulterous and a fallen Mussalman to be better than Mr. Gandhi”. That is the true Islamofascist mentality revealed in all its glory.

The greatest disappointment of Gandhi’s life

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India.

“Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.”― Albert Einstein(On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 70th birthday.)

A new chapter in Indo-British relations opened with the victory of the Labour Party in 1945. During the next two years, there were prolonged triangular negotiations between leaders of the Congress and the Muslim League under M.A. Jinnah and the British government culminating in the Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947, and the formation of the two new dominions of India and Pakistan in mid-August 1947.

It was one of the greatest disappointments of Gandhi’s life that Indian freedom was realized without Indian unity. Muslim separatism had received a great boost while Gandhi and his colleagues were in jail, and in 1946–47, as the final constitutional arrangements were being negotiated, the outbreak of communal riots between Hindus and Muslims unhappily created a climate in which Gandhi’s appeals to reason and justice, tolerance and trust had little chance. ). Later that year, Britain granted India its independence but split the country into two dominions: India and Pakistan. Gandhi strongly opposed Partition, but he agreed to it in hopes that after independence Hindus and Muslims could achieve peace internally. Amid the massive riots that followed Partition, Gandhi urged Hindus and Muslims to live peacefully together.

In January 1948, Gandhi carried out yet another fast, this time to bring about peace in the city of Delhi. On January 30, 12 days after that fast ended, When partition of the subcontinent was accepted—against his advice—he threw himself heart and soul into the task of healing the scars of the communal conflict, toured the riot-torn areas in Bengal and Bihar, admonished the bigots, consoled the victims, and tried to rehabilitate the refugees. When persuasion failed, he went on a fast. He won at least two spectacular triumphs; in September 1947 his fasting stopped the rioting in Calcutta, and in January 1948, he shamed the city of Delhi into a communal truce. A few days later, on January 30, while he was on his way to his evening prayer meeting in Delhi, he was shot down by Nathuram Godse, a young Hindu fanatic. Godse approached Gandhi on 30 January 1948 during the evening prayer at 5:17 pm. When Godse bowed, one of the girls flanking and supporting Gandhi, Abha Chattopadhyay, said to Godse, “Brother, Bapu is already late” and tried to put him off, but he pushed her aside and shot Gandhi in the chest three times at point-blank range with a Beretta M 1934 semi-automatic pistol chambered in .380 ACP bearing the serial number 606824. Gandhi died a couple of hours later. Godse himself shouted “police” and surrendered himself.

During the subsequent trial, and in various witness accounts and books written thence, the reasons cited for carrying out the assassination were –

Godse felt that it was Gandhi’s fast (announced in the second week of January) which had forced the cabinet to reverse its earlier recent decision not to give the cash balance of Rs. 55 crores to Pakistan on 13 January 1948. (The Government of India had already given Pakistan the first instalment of Rs. 20 crores as per their agreement to give Pakistan Rs. 75 crores in the division of balance money upon partition. However, in January 1948, the cabinet of Indian government decided to withhold the second instalment after self-styled liberators from Pakistan invaded Kashmir with covert support from the Pakistani army[. Godse, Apte and their friends felt that this was appeasing Pakistani Muslims at the expense of Hindus in India. This decision of Gandhi and Nehru had also caused Vallabhbhai Patel to submit his resignation. Interestingly, Gandhi’s fast was for the restoration of Hindu-Muslim peace and continued for three days after the cabinet announced its decision to give the money to Pakistan. It is possible that Godse may not have known of this, however this cannot be said for certain.

Godse felt that the sad situation and suffering caused during and due to the partition could have been avoided if the Indian government had lodged strong protests against the treatment meted out to the Minorities (Hindus and Sikhs) in Pakistan. However, being “under the thumb of Gandhi” they resorted to more feeble ways. He also felt that Gandhi had not protested against these atrocities being suffered in Pakistan and instead resorted to fasts. In his court deposition, Godse said, “I thought to myself and foresaw I shall be totally ruined, and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred … if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I felt that the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be proved practical, able to retaliate, and would be powerful with armed forces.”

In Godse’s own words during his final deposition in the court during the trial, ‘”…it was not so much the Gandhian Ahimsa teachings that were opposed to by me and my group, but Gandhiji, while advocating his views, always showed or evinced a bias for Muslims, prejudicial and detrimental to the Hindu Community and its interests. I have fully described my Point of view hereafter in detail and have quoted numerous instances, which unmistakably establish how Gandhiji became responsible for a number of calamities which the Hindu Community had to suffer and undergo”

The next day, roughly 1 million people followed the procession as Gandhi’s body was carried in state through the streets of the city and cremated on the banks of the holy Jumna River.

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India.

“Swamiji harmonized the East and the West, religion and science, past and present.  And that is why he is great.  Our countrymen have gained unprecedented self-respect, self-reliance and self-assertion from his teachings.” Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902), a great thinker and reformer of India, embraces education, which for him signifies ‘man-making’, as the very mission of his life

Free India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote: “Rooted in the past, full of pride in India’s prestige, Vivekananda was yet modern in his approach to life’s problems, and was a kind of bridge between the past of India and her present … he came as a tonic to the depressed and demoralized Hindu mind and gave it self-reliance and some roots in the past.”

Swami Vivekananda came as a dynamic force in the rise of a New India. His words  and works continue to be a force even after half a century of his passing away and will continue to be same till the end of time, for all seekers of Truth.

Amongst the contemporary Indian philosophers of education, Swami Vivekananda is one of those who revolted against the imposition of British system of education in India. He criticized the pattern of education introduced by the British in India. He pointed out that the current system of education only brings about an external change without any reflective inner force.

Swamiji defines education as ‘the manifestation of the perfection already in man.’The end of all education, all training, should be man-making. The end  aim of all training is to make the man grow.  The training by which the current and expression of will are brought under control and become fruitful, is called education.

By his philosophy of education, Swamiji thus brings it home that education is not a mere accumulation of information but a comprehensive training for life. To quote him: ‘Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there undigested, all your life.

The education which does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves for the struggle for life, which does not bring out strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lion – is it worth the name? Real education is that which enables one to stand on one’s own legs (CW, vol. VII, pp. 147–148.

Vivekanand- The Goal or Objectives of Education

Vivekananda points out that the defect of the present-day education is that it has no definite goal to pursue. A sculptor has a clear idea about what he wants to shape out of the marble block; similarly, a painter knows what he is going to paint. But a teacher, he says, has no clear idea about the goal of his teaching

All-round development of human beings.

The present education system has overemphasized the cultivation of the intellect at the cost of the general well-being of humanity. To check this dangerous trend, Vivekananda strongly recommended all-round development of human beings. In one of his lectures he expressed the desire ‘that all men were so constituted that in their minds all these elements of philosophy, mysticism, emotion, and of work were equally present in full! That is the ideal, my ideal of a perfect man’ (CW, vol. II, p. 388).

A harmonious development of the body, mind and soul  ( Man making )

Swamiji attempts to establish, through his words and deeds, that the end of all education is man making At this stage, man becomes aware of his self as identical with all other selves of the universe, i.e. different selves as manifestations of the same self. Hence education, in Vivekananda’s sense, enables one to comprehend one’s self within as the self everywhere. Therefore, man making for him means a harmonious development of the body, mind and soul.

To manifest the perfection in our lives

The aim of education is to manifest in our lives the perfection, which is the very nature of our inner self. This perfection is the realization of the infinite power which resides in everything and every-where-existence, consciousness and bliss (satchidananda). After understanding the essential nature of this perfection, we should identify it with our inner self. For achieving this, one will have to eliminate one’s ego, ignorance and all other false identification, which stand in the way.

Physical Development-.

In his scheme of education, Swamiji often quotes the Upanishadic dictum ‘nayamatma balahinena labhyah’; i.e. the self cannot be realized by the physically weak. Physical weakness is the cause of at least one third of our miseries. We are lazy; we cannot combine.. First of all our young men must be strong.  What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel, gigantic wills which nothing can resist, which can penetrate into the mysteries and secrets of the universe and will accomplish their purpose in any fashion, even if it meant going down to the bottom of the ocean, meeting death face to face     Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends, that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita.

You will understand Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little strong blood in you Keep aside for the present the Vrindavan aspect of Sri Krishna and spread far and wide the worship of Sri Krishna roaring out the Gita with the voice of a lion, and bring into daily use the worship of Shakti the Divine Mother, the source of all power.

Acquisition of Truthfulness.-

Tell the truth boldly. All truth is eternal. Truth is the nature of all souls. Truth is purity, truth is all knowledge. Truth must be strengthening, must be enlightening, must be invigorating.  Go back to your Upanishads, the shining, the strengthening, the bright philosophy. Take up this philosophy. The greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own existence.

Acquisition of knowledge-

In his words: ‘Thus Vedanta says that within man is all knowledge even in a boy it is so and it requires only an awakening and that much is the work of a teacher.’ To drive his point home, he refers to the growth of a plant. Just as in the case of a plant, one cannot do anything more than supplying it with water, air and manure while it grows from within its own nature, so is the case with a human child

Social and Cultural  Development

In Vivekananda’s view, educational concerns related to a person’s interaction with society should receive due attention.

Every society has its outer aspect called ‘civilization’, and also its inner aspect called ‘culture’. In both of these a child is molded and educated so that the beliefs and practices of his forefathers are carried on and not forgotten. Nevertheless, as  Knowledge is only skin-deep, as civilization is, and a little scratch brings out the old savage (CW,vol. III, p. 291).

Self-Development

In contrast to the contemporary system of education, Vivekananda advocated education for self-development. Education according to most of the Western educationalists, aims at man’s adjustment with the environment. According to the Indian philosophical tradition true knowledge does not come from outside, it is discovered with the individual, in the self which is the source of all knowledge. According to Vivekananda, the function of education is the uncovering of the knowledge hidden in our mind.

Fulfillment of Swadharma:

Vivekananda supported the idea of Swadharma in education. Every one has to grow like himself. No one has to copy others. External pressure only creates destructive reactions leading to stubbornness and disorderliness. In an atmosphere of freedom, love and sympathy alone, the child will develop courage and self-reliance. He should be talked to stand on his own, to be himself. Each child should be given opportunities to develop according to his own inner nature.

Each man in his childhood runs through stages through which his race has come up ; only the race took thousands of years to do it while the child takes a few years. The child is at first like the primitive ancestors of his race. As he grows, he passes through different stages until he reaches the development of his race. Only he does it swiftly and quickly. Now, take the whole of humanity as a race, or take the whole of the animal creation, man and the lower animals, as one whole. There is an end towards which the whole is moving. Let us call it perfection.

Morality   and Character-building

Character-building was fundamental in Vivekananda’s educational scheme.The character of any man is but the aggregate of his tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind. As pleasure and pain pass before his soul, they leave upon it different pictures, and the result of these combined impressions is what is called a man’s character. We are what our thoughts have made us. Each thought is a little hammer blow on the lump of iron which our bodies are, manufacturing out of it what we want it to be. Words are secondary. Good and evil have an equal share in molding character and in some cases misery is a greater teacher than happiness.

Acquisition of Strength

Strength is goodness, weakness is sin.  All sins and all evil can be summed up in that one word : weak strength. It is weakness that is the motive power in all evil doing. It is weakness that is the source of all selfishness. It is weakness that makes man injure others.

Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell yo strength. that we want strength, strength, every time strength.

The weak have no place here, in this life or in any other life. Weak- ness leads to slavery. Weakness leads to all kinds of misery, physical and mental. Weakness is death. There are hundreds of thousands of microbes surrounding us, but they cannot harm us unless we become weak, until the body is ready and predisposed to receive them. There may be a million microbes of misery, floating about us. Never mind ! They dare not approach us, they have no power to get a hold on us, until the mind is weakened. This is the great fact : strength is life, weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal ; weakness is constant strain and misery; weakness is death.

Vivekanand Concept of Student

You cannot teach a child any more than you can grow a plant. The plant develops its own nature. The child also teaches Self-education itself. But you can help it to go forward in its own way. What you can do is not of a positive  nature but negative. You can take away the obstacles, and knowledge comes out of its own nature. Loosen the soil a little so that it may come out easily. Put a hedge round it ; see that it is not killed by anything

You can supply the growing seed with the materials for the making up of its body, bringing to it the earth, the water, the air that it wants. And there your work stops. It will take all that it wants by its own nature. So with the education of the child. A child educates itself.

In true with his philosophy, Swamiji defines education as ‘the manifestation of the perfection already in man.’ The aim of education is to manifest in our lives the perfection, which is the very nature of our inner self. This perfection is the realization of the infinite power which resides in everything and every-where-existence, consciousness and bliss (satchidananda) . For achieving this, one will have to eliminate one’s ego, ignorance and all other false identification, which stand in the way. Meditation, fortified by moral purity and passion for truth, helps man to leave behind the body, the senses, the ego and all other non-self elements, which are perishable. He thus realizes his immortal divine self, which is of the nature of infinite existence, infinite knowledge and infinite bliss

Similarly, the Swami also wanted students to cultivate will-power. According to him, will-power is developed when ‘the current and expression of will are brought under control and become fruitful’ (CW, vol. IV, p. 49

Brahmacharya, in a nutshell, stands for the practice of self-control for securing harmony of the impulses However, along with physical culture, he harps on the need of paying special attention to the culture of the mind. According to Swamiji, the mind of the students has to be controlled and trained through meditation, concentration and practice of ethical purity. All success in any line of work, he emphasizes, is the result of the power of concentration. Concentration, which necessarily implies detachment from other things, constitutes a part of Brahmacharya, which is one of the guiding mottos of his scheme of education.

Vivekanand –Concept of Teacher

When the lotus opens, the bees come of their own accord to seek honey so let the lotus of your character be full blown and the results will follow.

The educator should present high ideals before the educands. The best way to develop a character is the personal example of high character set by the teacher. In ancient Indian system of education, the teachers used to present high ideals before the pupils, who in their turn imitated these ideals according to their capacities

The person from whose soul such impulse comes is called the Guru – the teacher; and the person to whose soul the impulse is conveyed is called the Shishya – the student. To convey such an impulse to any soul, in the first place, the soul from which it proceeds must possess the power of transmitting it, as it were, to another; and in the second place, the soul to which it is transmitted must be fit to receive it. The seed must be a living seed, and the field must be ready ploughed. And when both these conditions are fulfilled, a wonderful growth of genuine religion takes place.

But nowadays, as formal education has become more and more institutionalized. Teachers are expected to play a more significant role. A teacher needs to help a student learn how to think, what to think, how to discriminate and how to appreciate things. This is not just a matter of intellectual manipulation. This kind of teaching requires moral conviction and the courage to continuously pursue one’s own course at all costs .

The teacher must not only possess the knowledge he is to transmit to the student, but he must also know how to transmit it. And, in addition to the content of the teaching, what the teacher gives or transfers, to be truly effective, must possess some other elements. For instance, the teacher should share with the student the conviction that they are both truly one in Spirit – at the same time cultivating in the student a feeling of dignity and self-respect.

The old system of education in India was very different the modern system. The students had not to pay. It was thought that knowledge is so sacred that no man ought to sell it. Knowledge should be given freely and without any price. The teachers used to take students without charge and not only so, most of them gave their students food and clothes ,to support these teachers, the wealthy families made gifts to them and they in their turn had to maintain their students. The disciple of old used to repair the hermitage of the Guru, fuel in hand, and the Guru, after ascertaining his competence, would teach him , fastening round his waist the threefold filament of Munja, a kind of grass as the emblem of his vow to keep his body, mind and speech in control.

The teacher must throw his whole force into the tendency of the taught. Without real sympathy we can never teach well. Do not try to disturb the faith of any man. If you can, give him something better, but do not destroy what he has. The only true teacher is he who can convert himself, as it were, into a thousand persons at a moment’s notice. The true teacher is he who can immediately come down to the level of the student, and transfer his soul to the student’s soul and see through and understand through his mind. Such a teacher can really teach and none else.

In regard to the teacher, we must see that he knows the spirit of the scriptures. The whole world reads Bibles, Vedas and Korans; but they are all only words, syntax, etymology, philology, the dry bones of religion. The teacher who deals too much in words, and allows the mind to be carried away by the force of the words, loses the spirit. It is the knowledge of the spirit of the scriptures alone that constitutes the true religious teacher. The network of the words of the scriptures is like a huge forest, in which the human mind often loses itself and finds no way out.

From Katha Upanishad, I.ii.5: “Fools dwelling in darkness, wise in their own conceit, and puffed up with vain knowledge, go round and round staggering to and fro, like blind men led by the blind.”The world is full of these. Every one wants to be a teacher. Every beggar wants to make a gift of a million dollars! Just as these beggars are ridiculous, so are these teachers.

How are we to know the teacher then? The sun requires no torch to make him visible. We need not light a candle in order to see him. When the sun rises, we instinctively become aware of the fact, and when a teacher of men comes to help us, the soul will instinctively know that truth has already begun to shine upon it. Truth stands on its own evidence. It does not require any other testimony to prove it true; it is self-effulgent. It penetrates into the innermost corners of our nature, and in its presence, the whole universe stands up and says, “This is truth”.

The teachers whose wisdom and truth shine like the light of the sun are the very greatest the world has known, and they are worshiped as God by the major portion of mankind. But we may get help from comparatively lesser ones also; only we ourselves do not possess intuition enough to judge properly of the man from whom we receive teaching and guidance.

”Another condition necessary in the teacher is – sinless the question is often asked, “Why should we look into the character and personality of a teacher? We have only to judge of what he says, and take that up.” This is not right. If a man wants to teach me something of dynamics, of chemistry, or any other physical science, he may be anything he likes, because what the physical sciences require is merely intellectual equipment; but in the spiritual sciences it is impossible from first to last that there can be any spiritual light in the soul that is impure.

Hence with the teacher of religion we must see first what he is, and then what he says. He must be perfectly pure, and then alone comes the value of his words, because he is only then the true “”transmitter”. What can he transmit if he has not spiritual power in himself? There must be the worthy vibration of spirituality in the mind of the teacher, so that it may be sympathetically conveyed to the mind of the taught.

Another essential condition is in regard to the motive. The teacher must not teach with any ulterior selfish motive – for money, name or fame. His work must be simply out of love, out of pure love for mankind at large. The only medium through which spiritual force can be transmitted is love. Any selfish motive, such the desire for gain or for name, will immediately destroy this conveying medium. God is love, and only he who has known God as love, can be a teacher of godliness and God to man.

When you see that in your teacher these conditions are all fulfilled, you are safe. If they are not, it is unsafe to allow yourself to be taught by him, for there is the great danger that, if he cannot convey goodness to your heart, he may convey wickedness. This danger must by all means be guarded against.

“He who is learned in the scriptures, sinless, unpolluted by lust, and is the greatest knower of the Brahman (Supreme Reality)” is the real teacher.”

With the teacher, therefore, our relationship is the same as that between an ancestor and his descendant. Without faith, humility, submission, and veneration in our hearts towards our religious teacher, there cannot be any growth of religion in us; and it is a significant fact that, where this kind of relation between the teacher and the taught prevails, there alone gigantic spiritual men are growing.

“You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

Vivekanand – concept of discipline

Vivekananda is a staunch champion in education. Freedom is the first requirement for self development. The child should be given freedom to grow according to his own nature. The teacher should not exert any type of pressure on the child. The child should be helped in solving his problems himself. The teachers should have an attitude of service and worship.

That system which aims at educating our boys in the  same manner as that of the man who battered his ass, being advised that it re grow .Could thereby be turned into horse, should be abolished. Owing to undue domination exercised by the parents, our boys do not get free scope for growth. In every one there are infinite tendencies which require proper scope for satisfaction.

Violent attempt sat reform always end by retarding reform. If you do not allow one to become a lion, one will become a fox. We should give positive ideas. Negative thoughts only weaken men.

The chief objection raised by Vivekananda against the contemporary educational system was that it turned men into slaves, capable of slavery and nothing else. About the prevailing university education, he remarked that it was not better than an efficient machine for rapidly turning out clerks. It deprived people of their faith and belief.

Vivekananda was very critical about this scheme of education. He compared it to the person who wanted to turn his ass into a horse, was advised to thrash the ass in order to achieve this transformation and killed his ass in this process.

You cannot teach a child any more than you can grow a plant. The plant develops its own nature. The child also teaches Self-education itself. But you can help it to go forward in its own way. What you can do is not of a positive  nature but negative. You can take away the obstacles, and knowledge comes out of its own nature. Loosen the soil a little so that it may come out easily. Put a hedge round it ; see that it is not killed by anything. You can supply the growing seed with the materials for the making up of its body, bringing to it the earth, the water, the air that it wants. And there your work stops. It will take all that it wants by its own nature. So with the education of the child. A child educates itself.

The teacher spoils everything by thinking that he is teaching. Within man is all knowledge, and it requires only an awakening, and that much is the work of the teacher. We have only to do so much for the boys that they may learn to apply their own intellect to the proper use of their hands, legs, ears and eyes.

The child should be allowed to commit mistakes in the process of character formation. He will learn much by his mistakes. Errors are the stepping stones to our progress in character. Strong will, is the sign of great character.

Vivekanand-Education of women

“There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing.”  - Swami Vivekananda

Vivekanand strongly believes that “All nations have attained greatness by paying proper respect to women. That country and that nation which do not respect women Real Shakti have never become great, nor will ever be in future.

There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. Swami Vivekananda ,rightly observed that the condition of women in Mughalruled and British-ruled India was deplorable. Swamiji said, “It is very difficult to understand why in this country so much difference is made between men and women, whereas the Vedanta declares that one and the same conscious self is present in all beings. You always criticize the women, but what have you done for their enlistment?” Swami Vivekananda glorified Indian women of the past for their great achievements as leaders in various walks of life. He proudly states that “Women in statesmanship, managing territories, governing countries, even making war, have proved themselves equal to men, if not superior. In India I have no doubt of that. Whenever they have had the opportunity, they have proved that they have as much ability as men, with this advantage – that they seldom degenerate. They keep to the moral standard, which is innate in their nature. And thus as governors and rulers of their state, they prove-at least in India far superior to men..” Vivekanand strongly reasoned the cause of such degradation of Indian women “ The principal reason why our race has so degenerated is that we had no respect for these living images of Shakti. Manu says,” Where women are respected, there the Gods delight, and where they are not, there all work and efforts come to naught.’’

Vivekananda repeatedly told that India’s downfall was largely due to her negligence of women. The great images of Brahmavadinis like Maitreyi and Gargi of the Upanishad age, and women missionaries like Sanghamitra carrying Buddha’s message to Syria and Macedonia, all were laying buried deep due to millennium of foreign domination. You will find in the Vedic and Upanishadic age Maitreyi, Gargi and other ladies of revered memory have taken the place of Rishis.In an assembly of a thousand Brahmanas who were all erudite in the Vedas, Gargi boldly challenged Yajnavalkya in a discussion about Brahman, Swami Vivekananda was of the firm opinion that women should be put in positions of power to solve their own problems in their own way. The welfare of the world is dependent on the improvement of the condition of the women. The idea of perfect womanhood is perfect independence.

What was the way out to save and elevate Indian woman? Education was the answer. ‘Daughters should be supported and educated with as much Care and attention as the sons.’ As sons should be married after observing Brahmacharya up to the thirtieth year, so daughters also should observe Brahmacharya and be educated by their parents Vivekananda was against the early marriage.. “ Women – I should very much like our woman to have your intellectuality, but not if it must be at the cost of purity.” Our Hindu women easily understand what chastity means, because it is their heritage. First of all intensify that ideal within them above everything else, so that they may develop a strong character by the force of which, in every stage of their lives, whether married or single if they prefer to remain so they will not be in the least afraid even to give up their lives rather than flinch an inch from their chastity.

“In India the mother is the centre of the family and our highest ideal. She is to us the representative of God, as God is the mother of the universe. It was a female sage who first found the unity of God, and laid down this doctrine in one of the first hymns of the Vedas. Our God is both personal and absolute, the absolute is male, the personal, female,” he said.

Swami Vivekananda glorified Indian women of the past for their great achievements as leaders in various walks of life.  India’s reverence for women as the symbol of chastity brought such words from Vivekananda’s lips: “I know that the race that produced Sita – even if it only dream of her – has a reverence for woman that is unmatched on the earth.” The women of India must grow and develop in the footprints of Sita. Sita is unique. She is the Very type of the true Indian woman. She has gone into the very vitals of our race.

Female education should be spread with religion as its centre. All other training should be secondary to religion. Religious Training, the formation of character and observance of the vows of celibacy these should be attended to Brahmacharinis of education and character should take up the task of teaching. In villages and towns they must open centres and strive for the spread of female education. Along with other things they should acquire the spirit of velour and heroism. In the present day it has become necessary for them also to learn self-defense how grand was the Queen of Jhansi! Women – “Be Emboldened”; “Embodiment of Goddess of Mother” Vivekananda declared that the western ideal of womanhood is wife, while the eastern ideal is mother. Women worthy to continue the traditions of Sanghamitta, Lila, and Ahalya Bai and Mira Bai women fit to be mothers of heroes, because they are pure and fearless.If you do not allow one to become a lion, he will become a fox. Women are a power, only now it is more evil because man oppresses woman; she is the fox, but when she is no longer oppressed, she will be the lion (CW vol.7,p.22)

Vivekananda– Thoughts on Mass Education

Swami Vivekananda strongly believe that a  nation is advanced in proportion as education and intelligence spread among the masses. The chief cause of India’s ruin has been the- monopolizing of the whole education and intelligence of the land among a handful of men. If we are to rise again, we shall have to do it by spreading education among the masses. The only service to be done for our lower classes is to give them education to develop their individuality. They are to be given ideas. Their eyes are to be opened to what is going on in the world around them, and then they will work out their own salvation.

Swamiji’s most unique contribution  for the creation of new India was to open the minds of Indians to their duty towards the downtrodden masses.  Long before the ideas of Karl Marx were known in India, Swamiji spoke about the role of the laboring classes in the production of the country’s wealth.  Swamiji was the first religious leader in India to speak for the welfare of  masses, formulate a definite philosophy of service, and organize large-scale social service

As a true patriot Swami Vivekananda  was too emotional about the condition of poor and down trodden masses of contemporary India, he once express his deep sorrow- My heart aches to think of the condition of the poor, the low in India. They sink lower each   day. They feel the blow  showered upon them by a cruel society, but they do not know when the blow comes. They have forgotten that they too are men. My heart is too full to express my feelings. So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who ,having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them. Our great national sin is the neglect of the masses and that is the cause of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed and well cared for.

Vivekananda, however, was a genuine friend of the poor  and the weak, particularly the helpless masses of India, and he was the first Indian leader who sought a solution to their problems through education. He argued that a nation was advanced to the extent the education and culture reached the masses. Unless there is uniform circulation of national blood all over the body, the nation could not rise. He insisted that it was the duty of the upper classes, who had received their education at the expense of the poor, to come forward and uplift the poor through education and other means. In fact, the Swami’s mission was for the poor. He once said, ‘there must be equal chance for all – or if greater for some and for some less – the weaker should be given more chance than the strong’ .

Vivekananda felt that alienation of any kind from the masses of society, who are mostly poor – whether it be alienation through learning, through wealth or through force of arms – weakens the leadership of a country.

Therefore, for a sustainable regeneration of India, if not for anything else, top priority must be given to educating the masses and restoring to them their lost individuality. They should not only be given education to make them self-reliant, but also ideas, moral training and an understanding of their own historical situation so that they can work out their own salvation. Furthermore, they must be given culture, without which there can be no hope for their long-term progress

An ideal society, according to Vivekananda, should provide the resources as well as the opportunity for each of its members to develop his or her potential to the maximum. Education must embrace the whole society, with special attention to those who are most in need of it and who, for one reason or another, are unable to avail themselves the existing facilities.

The trend in recent years has been to shift the responsibility for education from the family, religious institutions, private charities and so forth, to public authorities ,particularly the State. Yet, in spite of this shift to the State, education has hardly reached the most underprivileged. As they are often victims of malnutrition, poor hygienic conditions and overcrowded housing, they can hardly take advantage of any half hearted opportunity that is offered.

Vivekananda suggests the importance and usage of ancient scripture for the upliftment of down trodden masses of India   “My idea is first of all to bring out the gems of spirituality that are stored up in our books and in the possession of a few only, hidden Bring the as it were in monasteries and forests 1 to brine them out ; to brines the  reach of all. knowledge out of them, not only from the hands where it is hidden, but from the still more inaccessible chest, the language in which it is preserved, the incrustation of centuries- of Sanskrit words. In one word, I want to make them popular. I want to bring out these ideas and let them be the common property of all, of every man in India, whether he knows the Sanskrit language or not.

Remember that the nation lives in the cottage.  Your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another, from village to village  and make the people  understand that mere sitting about idly won’t do any more. Make them understand their real condition and say,‘ O ye Brothers, all arise ! awake ! How much longer would you remain asleep !’ Go and advise them how to improve their own condition and make them comprehend the sublime truths of the shastras. Impress upon their minds that they have the .same right to religion as the Brahmanas. Initiate, even down to the Chandalas, in these fiery mantras.

The one thing that is at the root of all evils in India is the condition of the poor .Suppose you provide a free school in every village, reach everywhere  still it would do no good, for the me’ poverty in India is such that the poor boys would rather go to help their fathers in the fields or otherwise try to make a living than come to the school. Now if the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him .They have worked so long like machines and the clever educated section have taken the substantial part of the fruits of their labor. But times have changed. The lower classes are gradually awakening to this fact, and making a united front against this. The upper classes will no longer be able to repress the lower, try they ever so much. The well being of the higher classes now lies in helping the lower to get their legitimate rights. Therefore I say : set yourself to the task of spreading education among the masses. Tell them and make them understand, ‘You are our brothers, a part and parcel of our bodies.’ If they receive this sympathy from you, their enthusiasm for work will be increased a hundredfold.

Vivekananda on  Personality development

The  metaphysics  in which Vivekananda  strongly believes, hold that, every soul is destined to be perfect, and every being, in the end, will attain a state of perfection. Whatever we are now is the result of our acts and thoughts in the past; and whatever one shall be in the future will be the result of what one think and do now.

Vivekananda concept of development of personality is very much influenced by this philosophical notion.

Vivekananda believes that a human being is not simply a composite of body and mind. He is something more. According to the Vedanta philosophy, a human being has five sheaths, or coverings: the physical sheath, the vital sheath, the mental sheath, the intellectual sheath, and the blissful sheath.

Today’s education can at best touch the first four sheaths, but not the last one. Secular knowledge, skills and moral values may take care of the first four sheaths, but spiritual knowledge is essential for the fifth. Moreover, it should be noted that the fifth sheath is the reservoir of bliss, knowledge and strength, and all the other sheaths are activated by the fifth.

In accordance to a general  point of view that Personality is your effect on others Vivekananda also supports this view .

“Now, to take a concrete example: a man comes, you know he is very learned, his language is beautiful and he speaks to you by the hour but he does not make any impression. Another man comes, and he speaks a few words, not well arranged, ungrammatical perhaps; all the same, he makes an immense impression. Many of you have seen that. So it is evident that words alone cannot always produce an impression. Words, even thoughts, contribute only one-third of the influence in making an impression, the man, two-thirds. What you call the personal magnetism of the man that is what comes out and impresses you.”

Vivekananda strongly feels the necessity of presenting an ideal personality for moldings in desired direction .He suggests the personality of great leaders of mankind of thedevelopment of personality in desired format. ‘‘Coming to great leaders of mankind, we always find that it was the personality of the man that counted. Now, take all the great authors of the past, the great thinkers.

The ideal of all education, all training, should be this man-making. But, instead of that, we are always trying to polish up the outside. The end and aim of all training is to make the man grow.

Our actions are but effects. Actions must come when the man is there; the effect is bound to follow the cause. Vivekananda clarify the effect in positive direction He suggests religious leaders as role model for the same.” Compare the great teachers of religion with the great philosophers. The philosophers scarcely influenced anybody’s inner man, and yet they wrote most marvelous books. The religious teachers, on the other hand, moved countries in their lifetime. The difference was made by personality. In the philosopher it is a faint personality that influences ; in the great Prophets it is tremendous.

In the former we touch the intellect, in the latter we touch life. In the one case, it is simply a chemical process, putting certain chemical ingredients together which may gradually combine and under proper circumstances bring out a flash of light or may fail. In the other, it is like a torch that goes round quickly, lighting others.The man who influences, who throws his magic, as it were, upon his fellow-beings, is a dynamo of power, and when that man is ready, he can do anything and everything he likes : that personality put upon anything will make it work.

The science of Yoga claims that it has discovered the laws which develop this personality, and by proper attention to those laws and methods, each one can grow and strengthen his personality.This is one of the great practical things and this is the secret of all education. This has a universal application.

Like Will Durant Vivekananda  also believes that ‘Evolution in human personality  during recorded time has been social rather than biological: it has proceeded not by heritable variations in the species, but mostly by economic, political, intellectual and moral innovation transmitted to individuals and generations by imitation, custom or education. Some men and women are born who anticipate the whole progress of mankind. Instead of waiting and being reborn over and over again for ages until the whole human race has attained to that perfection, they, as it were, rush through them in a few short years of their life. And we know that we can hasten these processes, if we be true to ourselves.
One day when Narendra(Narendra was Swami Vivekananda’s name before taking sanyas) was on the ground floor, meditating, the Master (Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa) was lying awake in his bed upstairs. In the depths of his meditation Narendra felt as though a lamp were burning at the back of his head. Suddenly he lost consciousness. It was the yearned-for, all-effacing experience of nirvikalpa samadhi, when the embodied soul realises its unity with the Absolute.

After a very long time he regained partial consciousness but was unable to find his body. He could see only his head. “Where is by body?” he cried. The elder Gopal entered the room and said, “Why, it is here, Naren!” But Narendra could not find it. Gopal, frightened, ran upstairs to the Master. Sri Ramakrishna only said: “Let him stay that way for a time. He has worried me long enough.”

After another long period Narendra regained full consciousness. Bathed in peace, he went to the Master, who said: “Now the Mother has shown you everything. But this revelation will remain under lock and key, and I shall keep the key. When you have accomplished the Mother’s work you shall find the treasure again.”

Some days later, Narendra being alone with the master, Sri Ramakrishna looked at him and went into samadhi. Narendra felt the penetration of a subtle force and lost all outer consciousness. Regaining presently the normal mood, he found the Master weeping.

Sri Ramakrishna said to him: “Today I have given you my all and I am now only a poor fakir, possessing nothing. By this power you will do immense good in the world, and not until it is accomplished will you return.”

Henceforth the Master lived in the disciple

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

The term ‘Modernization’ is a broader and complex term. It is a process by which modern scientific knowledge is introduced in the society with the ultimate purpose of achieving a better and more satisfactory life in the broadest sense of the term accepted by the society concerned.

Modernization refers to an attempt on the part of the people particularly those who are custom-bound to adapt themselves to the present-time, conditions, needs, styles and ways in general. It indicates a change in people’s food habits, dress habits, speaking styles, tastes, choices, preferences, ideas, values, recreational activities and so on.

Modernization or modernization refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a ‘pre-modern ‘or ‘traditional’ to a ‘modern’ society. The teleology of modernization is described in social evolutionism theories, existing as a template that has been generally followed by societies that have achieved modernity. While it may theoretically be possible for some societies to make the transition in entirely different ways, there have been no counterexamples provided by reliable sources.

Sociologists of the present age use the concept of modernization in the analysis of social change. It means the development of modern approach and outlook and adoption of modernity in everyday life. Modernization refers to the deeper change in man’s way of thinking and feeling, a change in his whole attitude to life’s problems, the society and the universe. As such, modernization appears to be a complex phenomenon involving the development of rational outlook and acceptance of realities and facts in the context of scientific value.

Modernization is a process of socio-cultural transformation. It is a thorough going process of change involving values, norms, institutions and structures .It implies an inherent change in the mode of life in a particular direction for attaining modernity. Hence, man’s attitude, idea, outlook and approach are oriented towards change in that direction. The term modernization is used not only to describe the changes in the material culture of a nation but also in its belief system, values and way of life on the whole.

In the modern age, modernization theory looks at how new technologies and systems are leading to a more greatly homogenized world. Modernization theory encompasses the world of globalization, where cultural mores and ideas are easily spread throughout the world, leading to assort of universal culture that serves as a baseline for all cultures. As societies in the world

It is a process which brings desired types of changes in the social structure, value orientation, motivations and norms. It is a process of transformation of a society from its backward framework to a forward looking, progressing and prospering structural build up.

Modernization refers to a common behavioral pattern characterized by a rational and scientific world view, based on growth and ever increasing application of science and technology. It is an adaptation of new institutions emerged in the society to cope with the new situation dominated by science and technology.

C.E. Black defined modernization as, ”Modernization is a process by which historically evolved institutions are adopted to the rapidly changing functions that reflect the unprecedented increase in man’s knowledge permitting control over his environment, that accompanies the scientific revolution”.

Modernization is not a process which has emerged out just recently. The Western people have been undergoing this process for some five centuries and people in the least developed regions of the world for less than a century. In fact, the process of modernization has been slow in the initial stage but was accelerated after 1945. After World War Two it has been sped up and broad-based.

The foundations of modernization theory go back to the Age of Enlightenment, when a number of philosophers began to look at how society changed and progressed. Theories were laid out as to how technological advancement necessarily led to social advancement, which in turn led to an examination of how different facets of advancement were connected. The basic premise of this phase of modernization theory was that humans were able to change their society within a generation, and that this change was often facilitated by advancements in technology, production, and consumption.

Tenets of Modernization

Although there are many versions of modernization theory, major implicit or explicit tenets are that

(1) Societies develop through a series of evolutionary stages;

(2) These stages are based on different degrees and patterns of social differentiation and reintegration of structural and cultural components that are functionally compatible for the maintenance of society;

(3) Contemporary developing societies are at a premodern stage of evolution and they eventually will achieve economic growth and will take on the social, political, and economic features of western European and North American societies which have progressed to the highest stage of social evolutionary development;

(4) This modernization will result as complex Western technology is imported and traditional structural and cultural features incompatible with such development are overcome.

Conceptual formulations of modernization:

In social sciences, modernization is conceived through four conceptual formulations .

(i) Psychological formulation- Motivation and orientations of the individual, his mode of thinking, beliefs, opinions, attitudes and actions are all conceived in the psychological formulation .

(ii) Normative formulation, – The normative approach to modernization emphasizes norms and values like idealism, humanism, rationalism, individualism, pragmatism, liberalism and secularism.

(iii) Structural formulation- Structural conceptualizing of modernization stresses structural components of society such as bureaucracy, democratic associations and complex economy. Simultaneously it recognizes the importance of psychological as well as normative formulations.  -

(iv) Technological formulation-  Technological approach to modernization emphasizes the economic resources and the utilization of inanimate power in production system.

Ways of response to modernization:

As the process of modernization is not responded in an uniform manner in all social systems.  Herbert Blumer in his writing, “Industrialization and the Traditional Order” has mentioned five different ways through which a traditional society can respond to the process of modernization.

(i) Rejective response- When a traditional society  reject modernization and maintain traditional order due to powerful groups, landed aristocracy, oligarchy, religious fanaticism, vested interests, social prejudices, special interest and firm attachment to given forms of traditional life.

(ii) Conjunctive response- In  this response pattern, there occurs the co-existence of traditionalism and modernity without threatening the old order.

(iii) Assimilative response- It comprises of an absorption of the process of modernization by the traditional order. But simultaneously the traditional organizational pattern and life pattern are retained.

(iv) Supportive response- Here new and modern things are accepted on the ground that they strengthen the traditional order. The traditional groups and institutions utilize the scope provided by modernization to pursue the traditional interests in a more effective manner.

(v) Disruptive response- When modernization undermines the traditional order at many points while making adaptation to the changing situation. These five responses are controlled by values, interest or preferences and occur at different stages of the traditional order and in different combinations.

Conceptual formulations of modernization:

In social sciences, modernization is conceived through four conceptual formulations at the minimum.

These are:

(i) Psychological formulation- Motivation and orientations of the individual, his mode of thinking, beliefs, opinions, attitudes and actions are all conceived in the psychological formulation. -

(ii) Normative formulation- The normative approach to modernization emphasizes norms and values like idealism, humanism, rationalism, individualism, pragmatism, liberalism and secularism.

(iii) Structural formulation- Structural conceptualizing of modernization stresses structural components of society such as bureaucracy, democratic associations and complex economy. Simultaneously it recognizes the importance of psychological as well as normative formulations. -

(iv) Technological formulation-Technological approach to modernization emphasizes the economic resources and the utilization of inanimate power in production system.

Dimensions of Modernization

In Economic sphere a modern society is characterized by:

Specialization in economic role. Scope for saving and investment, expansion of market (from local to international). Modernization involves industrialization accompanied with monetization of economy, increasing division of labor, use of management techniques and improved technology and the expansion of service sector.  In the realm of technology, a developing society changes from simple and traditional techniques towards the application of scientific knowledge. In agriculture, the developing society evolves from subsistence farming towards the commercial production of agricultural goods. In Industry, the developing society undergoes a transformation from the use of human and animal power towards industrialization, or men working for wages at power-driven machines, which produce commodities marketed outside the community production. As regards the ecological conditions, the developing society moves from the farm and village towards urban concentrations.

New technology has revolutionized the speed and accuracy of production. Furthermore, increased global trade allows businesses to sell their products anywhere. But increased global production may hurt domestic business when international companies can offer products at cheaper prices.

In Political sphere modernization of a society expects:

Declining of traditional rulers, formulation of ideology for the rulers to handle the power and decentralization of power among the members of the society. Scope must be provided to all to participate in the decision making process. Modernization involves creation of a modern nation state and the development of key institutions political parties, bureaucratic structures, legislative bodies and a system of elections based on universal franchise and secret ballot.  The existence of a legal structure. The broadening of popular participation in the polity. The capability of maintaining national integration through orderly accommodation of various divisive forces. The capacity to blend administrative expertness, responsibility and rationality along with the popular will into an effective amalgam.

In the Cultural  sphere a modernizing society is characterized by:

Cultural modernization involves adherence to nationalistic ideology, belief in equality, freedom and humanism, a rational and scientific outlook. Owing differentiation among the major elements of culture like religion, philosophy and science. . Development of new cultural elements based on, progress and improvement, expression on ability and emphasis on dignity of the individual and his efficiency. ) In the religious sphere traditionalistic religions are gradually replaced by secularized belief systems.

On the one hand, modernization has encouraged the development of new forms of creative expression, such as film and television. These forms can be easily exported and viewed all over the world. However, a loss of culture may result from modernization. The spread of the Western culture has caused young people in non-Western countries to abandon traditional customs and values. Even languages begin to disappear as urbanization encourages people to learn a country’s dominant language.

In the Social sphere a modernizing society is characterized by:

Spread of literacy and secular education. Introduction of complex institutional system for the advancement of specialized roles. Expansion of media communication. Social modernization involves universalistic values, achievement motivation, increasing mobility both social and geographic increasing literacy and urbanization and the decline of traditional authority.

In the Educational spheres a modernizing society is characterized by:

The importance of education can be realized from the fact that all modernizing societies tend to emphasize on universalization of education. The secular and scientific education act as an important means of modernization. Education can be an important means of modernization. The importance of education can be realized from the fact that all modernizing societies tend to emphasize on universalization of education and the modernized societies have already attained it. The modern school system can inculcate achievement motivation. It helps in the diffusion of modern values of equality, freedom and humanism. Other values like individualism and universalistic ethics etc. can also be inculcated.  These values can form the basis of new relations in the society and growth of rationality can enable the development of administrative system through education

In the Environment spheres a modernizing society is characterized by:

Natural resources such as wood, water and oil are often processed in modernized society, and skyscrapers and factories begin to transform the landscape. Environmental problems, such as climate change, are believed to be the result of industrial development and production. However, in many poorer countries, the discovery of oil and the adoption of new technologies is welcomed for the financial opportunities it presents.

In the Information technology spheres a modernizing society is characterized by:

New inventions such as phones, televisions and computers allow people to communicate instantly anywhere on the globe. Increased global travel allows people to visit foreign cultures for business or leisure. Contact with foreign cultures fosters international cooperation, but can also result in further loss of culture as people begin to adopt the foreign cultures and languages they are exposed to. The media helps create knowledge of desirable things faster than these things themselves produced. Ideology also plays a significant role in changing mass behavior and attitudes. Attitudinal and value changes are pre-requisites of the creation of modern society, economy and political system. The growth of knowledge and its application will enhance man’s control over nature. Science has provided the information needed by people to increase the strength of their own impulse to modernize.

Modernization in India:

In India, modernization depends on three factors as it constitutes a multi-dimensional process.

Firstly, the nature of the choice that our society has made on the preference of the people in accepting modern elements like acceptance of scientific innovation. Introduction of new institutions like banking, mass media communication etc. Introduction of large scale industries.

Secondly, interest of the people in using modern elements also counts much for that expresses the nature of our response to the changes due to modernization. Increase in the standard of living. Emergence of the middle class.  Introduction of structural changes in social institutions like marriage, family, caste etc. Emergence of new forms because of synthesis of old and new elements. For example, nuclear family in structure but functioning as joint.

Thirdly, the role of the cultural tradition based on history is important as value system controls our behavior in using and interpreting modern elements. Adoption of new cultural traits such as new election system. Introduction of new value systems such as equality, justice, individualism, secularism etc. There are some eliminative changes like disappearance of cultural traits, behavior pattern, values etc. Example, abolition of feudal power. There is shifting of attitude from sacred to secular.

The impact of Modernization on our social system

The impact of Modernization on our social system can be described  in terms of four types of changes:

The Eliminative changes

The Eliminative changes are those which cause the disappearance of culture traits, behavior patterns, values, beliefs, institutions, etc.  Many reform movements came into being. Several traditional beliefs and practices dysfunctional to society were discarded and many new customs, institutions and social practices were adopted. The introduction of the new values, the rational and secular spirit, and the ideologies of individualism, equality and justice assumed great importance.

The additive changes

The additive changes refer to the adoption of new culture traits, institutions, behavior patterns and belief systems covering diverse aspects of life. These additions were not present earlier in the culture of people. Introducing divorce in the Hindu society, giving share to daughters in father’s property, introducing election system in panchayats, etc., are a few examples of this type of change.

The supportive changes

The supportive changes are those which strengthen the values, beliefs or behavior patterns present in society before contact with the West.  Modern education broadened the outlook of the people who started talking of their rights and freedom. The introduction of the modern means of communication, such as railway and bus travel, postal service, air and sea travel, press, an radio and television have affected man’s life in varied respects.  Modern institutions like banking system, public administration, military organization, modern medicine, law, etc., were introduced in our country.

The synthetic changes

The synthetic changes result in the creation of new form from existing elements plus adopted ones. The most simple instance is the creation of residentially nuclear but functionally joint family which continues to fulfill social obligations to parents and siblings. Continuing dowry system but putting restrictions on amount to be given or taken, and associating children along with parents in mate selection are some examples of synthetic change.

In certain areas of life, the positive impact of the modernization is worth appreciable. Modern medical science, modern technology, modern methods of combating natural catastrophes, etc., will go down in Indian history as incontestable contributions of the West. But India is using at the same time its traditional institutions, beliefs and practices for the uplift of the masses.

So except the technological inputs, even economic exploitations under free trade or repressive regimentation under government that came from the so called modern west, have least served the society to achieve equality. Social impacts have been worse.

Aggressive modernization, deserved respect, but not fit for absorption into our own way of life. Apart from an initiation into new unfolding findings of secular science and technology – which was absent in our nation under colonial subjugation – we had gained least in other spheres, particularly in the social and ethical qualities. We became divided, in the names of religion and castes losing the force of harmony that united us under the princely states!

The increasing divorce culture, night clubs and pub culture, promiscuity and desertions etc. among youth, the divide and rule policy among the politicians are major impacts in the social domain.

The breakdown of joint family system due to new life styles, uncontrolled deviancies in the name of liberty etc. have made youth defy control of society and family in a big way . It is observed any change made in any aspect of social sphere – agriculture or medicine or arts or whatever – may end up in unexpected ”side effects” as well. Thus, even after the impact of the West, and after the modernization of various systems, India will remain India. Indian culture will subsist and survive in eternity.

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Dr Zakia Rafat, M.A. (Socio, Ph.D )

Associate Prof ,R.B.D. .( P.G.) College, Bijnor.India

Theorists of social change agree that in most concrete sense of the word ‘change’, every social system is changing all the time. The composition of the population changes through the life cycle and thus the occupation or roles changes; the members of society undergo physiological changes; the continuing interactions among member modify attitudes and expectations; new knowledge is constantly being gained and transmitted

Among the theories of social change we shall study the theories regarding,  the direction of social change and the causes of social change.

We take a brief consideration of each of them.

Theory of Deterioration:

Some thinkers have identified social change with deterioration. According to them, man originally lived in a perfect state of happiness in a golden age. Subsequently, however, deterioration began to take place with the result that man reached an age of comparative degeneration. This was the notion in the ancient Orient.

It was expressed in the epic poems of India, Persia and Sumeria. Thus, according to Indian mythology man has passed through four ages—Satyug, Treta, Dwapar and Kaliyug. The Satyug was the best age in which man was honest, truthful and perfectly happy.

Thereafter degeneration began to take place. The modern age is the age of Kaliyug wherein man is deceitful, treacherous, false, dishonest, selfish and consequently unhappy. That such should be the concept of history in early times is understandable, since we observe deterioration in every walk of life today.

Cyclical theories:

Cyclical theories of social change focus on the rise and fall of civilizations attempting to discover and account for these patterns of growth and decay .Spengler, Toynbee and Sorokin can be regarded as the champions of this theory..

Modern society is in the last stage. It is in its old age. But since history repeats itself, society after passing through all the stages, returns to the original stage, whence the cycle again begins. This concept is found in Hindu mythology, a cording to which Satyug will again start after Kaliyug is over. J.B. Bury in his The Idea of Progress, pointed out that this concept is also found in the teachings of stoic philosophers of Greece as well as in those of some of the Roman philosophers, particularly Marcus Aurelius.

The view that change takes place in a cyclical way has been accepted by some modern thinkers also who have given different versions of the cyclical theory.

Spengler developed another version of cyclical theory of social change. He analysed the history of various civilizations including the Egyptian, Greek and Roman and concluded that all civilizations pass through a similar cycle of birth, maturity and death. Spengler pointed out that the fate of civilizations was a matter of destiny. Each civilization is like a biological organism and has a similar life-cycle, birth, maturity, old-age and death. After making a study of eight major civilizations including the west he said that the modern western society is in the last stage i.e. old age The western civilization is now on its decline which is unavoidable.

According to Chapin, cultural change is both selectively accumulative and cyclical in character. He postulated a hypothesis of synchronous cyclical change. According to him, the different parts of culture go through a cycle of growth, vigour and decay.

Relying upon data drawn from the history of various civilizations, Sorokin concluded that civilizations fall into three major types namely, the ideational, the idealistic and the sensate. In the ideational type of civilization’ reality and value are conceived of in terms of a “supersensory and super-rational God”, while the sensory world appears as illusory. In a word, ideational culture is god-ridden .In the sensate type of culture the whole way of life is characterized by a positivistic, materialistic outlookThe western civilization, according to Sorokin, is now in an “overripe” sensate phase that must be supplanted by a new ideational system.

In recent times Arnold J. Toynbee  maintained that civilizations pass through three stages, corresponding to youth, maturity and decline. The first is marked by a “response to challenge”, the second is a “time of troubles,” and the third is characterized by gradual degeneration.

Linear Theory/ Evolutionary Theories

Evolutionary theories are based on the assumption that societies gradually change from simple beginnings into even more complex forms,that human societies evolve in a uni linear way- that is in one line of development. Accordingly  social change meant progress toward something   positive and beneficial. To them the evolutionary process implied that societies would necessarily reach new and higher levels of civilization

Auguste Comte postulated three stages of social change: the Theological, the Metaphysical and the Positive. Man has passed through the first two stages, and is gradually reaching the Positive stage. In the first stage man believed that supernatural powers controlled and designed the world. He advanced gradually from belief in fetishes and deities to monotheism.

Some Russian sociologists also subscribed to the linear theory of social change. Nikolai K. Mikhailovsky opined that human society passes through three stages; (1) the objective anthropocentric, (2) the eccentric, and (3) the subjective anthropocentric. In the first stage, man considers himself the centre of the universe and is preoccupied with mystic beliefs in the supernatural. In the second stage, man is given over to abstractions; the abstract is more “real” to him than the actual. In the third stage, man comes to rely upon empirical knowledge by means of which he exercises more and more control over nature for his own benefit. Solo-view conceived of the three stages as the tribal, the national governmental, and the period of universal brotherhood.

.L.H Morgan believed that there were three basic stages in the process: savagery, barbarism and civilization. This evolutionary view of social change was highly influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of Organic Evolution.

Herbert Spencer argued that society itself is an organism. He even applied Darwin’s principle of the survival of the fittest to human societies. He said that society has been gradually progressing towards a better state. He argued that it has evolved from military society to the industrial society. He claimed that western races, classes or societies had survived and evolved because they were better adapted to face the conditions of life.

Emile Durkheim identified the cause of societal evolution as a society’s increasing moral density.Durkheim viewed societies as changing in the direction of greater differentiation, interdependence and formal control under the pressure of increasing moral density.

Functionalist or Dynamic theories:

Talcott Parsons stressed the importance of cultural patterns in controlling the stability of a society. According to him society has the ability to absorb disruptive forces while maintaining overall stability. Change is not as something that disturbs the social equilibrium but as something that alters the state of equilibrium so that a qualitatively new equilibrium results. He has stated that changes may arise from two sources. They may come from outside the society through contact with other societies. They may also come from inside the society through adjustment that must be made to resolve strains within the system. Parsons speaks of two processes that are at work in social change. In simple societies institutions are undifferentiated that is a single institution serves many functions. The family performs reproductive, educational, socializing, economic, recreational and other functions. A process of differentiation takes place when the society becomes more and more complex. Different institutions such as school, factory may take over some of the functions of a family. The new institutions must be linked together in a proper way by the process of integration.

Conflict theories:

According to Ralf Dahrendorf the conflict theories assume that – every society is subjected at every moment to change, hence social change is ubiquitous. Every society experiences at every moment social conflict, hence social conflict is ubiquitous. Every element in society contributes to change. Every society rests on constraint of some of its members by others. George Simmel too stressed the importance of conflict in social change. According to him conflict is a permanent feature of society and not just a temporary event. It is a process that binds people together in interaction. Further conflict encourages people of similar interests to unite together to achieve their objectives. Continuous conflict in this way keeps society dynamic and ever changing.

The most famous and influential of the conflict theories is the one put forward by Karl Marx who along with Engel wrote in Communist Manifesto ‘all history is the history of class conflict.’ Individuals and groups with opposing interests are bound to be at conflict. Since the two major social classes the rich and poor or capitalists and the proletariat have mutually hostile interests they are at conflict. History is the story of conflict between the exploiter and the exploited. This conflict repeats itself off and on until capitalism is overthrown by the workers and a socialist state is created. What is to be stressed here is that Marx and other conflict theorists deem society as basically dynamic and not static. They consider conflict as a normal process. They also believe that the existing conditions in any society contain the seeds of future social changes.

Deterministic Theories :

The deterministic theory of social change is a widely accepted theory of social change among contemporary sociologists. According to this theory there are certain forces, social or natural or both, which bring about social change. It is not reason or intellect but the presence of certain forces and circumstances which determine the course of social change.

Sumner and Keller insisted that social change is automatically determined by economic factors. Keller maintained that conscious effort and rational planning have very little chance to effect change unless and until the folkways and mores are ready for it.

Social change is an essentially irrational and unconscious process. Variation in the folkways which occurs in response to a need is not planned. Man can at most only assist or retard the change that is under way. It was Karl Marx who, deeply impressed by the German philosopher Hegel’s metaphysical idealism, held that material conditions of life are the determining factors of social change. His theory is known as the theory of economic determinism or “the materialist interpretation of history”.

Russell writes, “Men desire power, they desire satisfactions for their pride and their self-respect. They desire victory over rivals so profoundly that they will invent a rivalry for the unconscious purpose of making a victory possible. All these motives cut across the pure economic motive in ways that are practically important.” The deterministic interpretation of social change is too simple.

Gustave Le Bon, George Sorel, James G. Frazer and Max Weber held that religion is the chief initiator of social changes. Thus Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism have had a determining influence upon the economics of their adherents.

A number of sociologists have held that social change can be brought about by means of conscious and systematic efforts. Thus, Lester F. Ward asserted that progress can be achieved by means of purpose efforts of conscious planning. Through education and knowledge intellect can assert itself over the emotions so that effective planning is made possible.

Impact of Social Change and technology

Technological factor constitute one important source of social change. Technology, an invention, is a great agent of social change. It either initiates or encourages social change. Technology alone holds the key to change.

We go forward to describe the full power and reach of this extraordinary change. Some speak of a “Looming Space Age”, “Information Age”, “Electronic Era”, or “Global ‘ Village”. Brezezinski has told us, we face a “Technetronic Age”. Sociologist Daniel Bell describes the coming of a “Post-Industrial Society”. Soviet futurists speak of the STR-‘The Scientific-Technological Revolution”. Alvin Toffler has written extensively about the arrival of a “Super Industrial Society”.

The social effects of technology are far-reaching. Technological changes have influenced attitudes, beliefs and traditions.

In the words of W.F. Ogburn, “technology changes society by changing our environment to which we in turn adapt. This change is usually in the material environment and the adjustment that we make with these changes often modifies our customs and social institutions”.

The pace of change in the modern era is easily demonstrated by reference to rates of technological development. The technological revolution enabled human kind to shift from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture and later to develop civilizations.

“Modern technology,” produces not only more, faster; it turns out objects that could not have been produced under any circumstances by the craft methods of yesterday.

The rapid changes of every modern society are inextricably interwoven or connected with and somehow dependent upon the development of new techniques, new inventions, new modes of production and new standards of living.

Technology thus is a great bliss. It has made living worthwhile for the conveniences and comfort it provides, and has created numerous vocations, trades and professions. While, giving individual his rightful place, it has made the collectivism supreme.

Impact of Technology Change

Industrialization:

Technology has contributed to the growth of industries or to the process of industrialization. Industrialization is a term covering in general terms the growth in a society hitherto mainly agrarian of modern industry with all its circumstances and problems, economic and social. It describes in general term the growth of a society in which a major role is played by manufacturing industry.

Urbanization:

Urbanization denotes a diffusion of the influence of urban centers to a rural hinterland. Urbanization can be described as a process of becoming urban moving to cities changing from agriculture to other pursuits common to cities and corresponding change of behaviour patterns.

Modernization:

Modernization refers to an attempt on the part of the people particularly those who are custom-bound to adapt themselves to the present-time, conditions, needs, styles and ways in general. It indicates a change in people’s food habits, dress habits, speaking styles, tastes, choices, preferences, ideas, values, recreational activities and so on.

Development of the means of transport and communication:

Development of transport and communication has led to the social change  on a large scale. The road transport, the train service, the ships and the aero planes have eased the movement of men and material goods. Post and telegraph, radio and television, newspapers and magazines, telephone and wireless and the like have developed a great deal. The space research and the launching of the satellites for communication purposes have further added to these developments. They have helped the people belonging to different corners of the nation or the world to have regular contacts.

Transformation in the economy and the evolution of the new social classes:

The industrial or the capitalist economy has divided the social organization into two predominant classes-the capitalist class and the working class. These two classes are always at conflict due to mutually opposite interest. In the course of time an intermediary class called the middle class has evolved.

Unemployment:

The problem of unemployment is a concomitant feature of the rapid technological advancement. Machines take away the jobs of men through labor- saving devices. This results in technological unemployment.

Technology and war:

The dangerous effect of technology is evident through the modern mode of warfare. They can easily destroy the entire human race reveal how technology could be misused. Thus greater the technological advancement the more risk for the mankind.

Changes in social institutions:

Technology has profoundly altered our modes of life. Technology has not spared the social institutions of its effects. The institutions of family, religion, morality, marriage, state, property have been altered.. Technology has elevated the status of women but it has also contributed to the stresses and strains in the relations between men and women at home. Religion is losing hold over the members. People are becoming more secular, rational and scientific but less religious in their outlook. Inventions and discoveries in science have shaken the foundations of religion.

Cultural Lag:

Ogburn pointed out that social changes always originate in the invention by some individual of a new way of doing something new to do With each development in technology there comes, however, some disturbance to the effective working of the existing social order. A strain or stress is set up between the new technique and various organizational aspects of the social system, changes in which come slowly if at all; the result, disequilibrium between new technology and old social organization, is social lag.

Social Movements:

A social movement is generally oriented towards bringing social change. This change could either be partial or total. Though the movement is aimed at bringing about a change in the values, norms, ideologies of the existing system, efforts are also made by some other forces to resist the changes and to maintain the status quo.The counter attempts are normally defensive and restorative rather than innovative and initiating change. They are normally the organized efforts of an already established order to maintain itself.

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

The problem of social change is one of the central foci of sociological inquiry. It is so complex and so significant in the life of individual and of society that we have to explore the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of social change in all its ramifications.

Change is the law of life. Stagnation is death. It is said, “Today is not yesterday, we ourselves change. No change is permanent, it is subject to change. This is observed in all spares of activity. Change indeed is painful, yet needful”. Flowing water is wholesome, and stagnant water is poisonous. Only when it flows through and alters with changes, it is able to refresh and recreate.

Change is an ever-present phenomenon. It is the law of nature. Society is not at all a static phenomenon, but it is a dynamic entity. It is an ongoing process. The social structure is subject to incessant changes. Individuals may strive for stability, yet the fact remains that society is an every changing phenomenon; growing, decaying, renewing and accommodating itself to changing conditions.

The human composition of societies changes over time, technologies expand, ideologies and values take on new components; institutional functions and structures undergo reshaping. Hence, no society remains complete static. Incessant changeability is very inherent nature of human society.

A social structure is a nexus of present relationships. It exists because social beings seek to maintain it. It continues to exist because men demand its continuance.

Meaning of Social Change:

Change implies all variations in human societies. When changes occur in the modes of living of individuals and social relation gets influenced, such changes are called social changes.

Social change refers to the modifications which take place in life pattern of people.Hence, social change would mean observable differences in any social phenomena over any period of time.

Social change is the change in society and society is a web of social relationships. Hence, social change is a change in social relationships. Social relationships are social processes, social patterns and social interactions. These include the mutual activities and relations of the various parts of the society.

Social change may be defined as changes in the social organization, that is, the structure and functions of the society.

Theorists of social change agree that in most concrete sense of the word ‘change’, every social system is changing all the time. The composition of the population changes through the life cycle and thus the occupation or roles changes; the members of society undergo physiological changes; the continuing interactions among member modify attitudes and expectations; new knowledge is constantly being gained and transmitted.

Defining Social Change:

According to Jones “Social change is a term used to describe variations in, or modifications of any aspect of social processes, social patterns, social interaction or social organization”.

As Kingsley Davis says, “By Social change is meant only such alternations as occur in social organization – that is, the structure and functions of society”.

According to Maclver and Page, “Social change refers to a process responsive to many types of changes; to changes the man in made condition of life; to changes in the attitudes and beliefs of men, and to the changes that go beyond the human control to the biological and the physical nature of things”.

Morris Ginsberg defines, “By social change, I understand a change in social structure, e.g., the size of the society, the composition or the balance of its parts or the type of its organization”.

P. Fairchild defines social change as “variations or modifications in any aspects of social process, pattern or form.

B. Kuppuswamy says, “Social change may be defined as the process in which is discernible significant alternation in the structure and functioning of a particular social system”.

H.M. Johnson says, “Social change is either change in the structure or quasi- structural aspects of a system of change in the relative importance of coexisting structural pattern”.

According to M.D. Jenson, “Social change may be defined as modification in ways of doing and thinking of people.

As H.T. Mazumdar says, “Social change may be defined as a new fashion or mode, either modifying or replacing the old, in the life of people or in the operation of a society”.

According Gillin and Gillin, “Social changes are variations from the accepted modes of life; whether due to alternation in geographical conditions, in cultural equipment, composition of the population or ideologies and brought about by diffusion, or inventions within the group.

Merrill and Eldredge. “Social change means that large number of persons are engaging in activities that differ from those which they or their immediate forefathers engaged in some time before.”

Lundberg and others. “Social change refers to any modification in established patterns of inter human relationships and standards of conduct.”

Anderson and Parker. “Social change involves alteration in the structure or functioning of social forms or processes themselves.”

By analyzing all the definitions mentioned above, we reach at the conclusion that the two type of changes should be treated as two facts of the same social phenomenon. Two type of changes are e.g.

(i)         changes in the structure of society,

(ii)        changes in the values and social norms which bind the people together and help to maintain social order.

These two type of changes should not, however, be treated separately because a change in one automatically induces changes in the other.

Thus it may be concluded that social change refers to the modifications which take place in the life patterns of people. It does not refer to all the changes going on in the society. The changes in art, language, technology; philosophy etc., may not be included in the term ‘Social change’ which should be interpreted in a narrow sense to mean alterations in the field of social relationships.

Characteristics of Social Change:

The phenomenon of social change is not simple but complex. It is difficult to understand this in its entirety. To understand social change well, we have to analyze the nature of social change.

1.  Social change is community change:

Society is a “web of social relationships” and hence social change obviously means a change in the system of social relationships. Social change does not refer to the change in the life of an individual or the life patterns of several individuals. It is a change which occurs in the life of the entire community. In other words, only that change can be called social change whose influence can be felt in a community form.

2. Social change is a universal phenomenon:

Social change occurs in all societies. No society remains completely static. Each society, no matter how traditional and conservative, is constantly undergoing change. Speed and extent of change may differ from society to society. Some change rapidly, others change slowly.

3. Social Change occurs as an Essential law:

Social change occurs as an essential law:. Social change may occur either in the natural course or as a result of planned efforts. By nature we desire change. Our needs keep on changing. To satisfy our desire for change and our changing needs social change becomes a necessity

4. Social Change is Continuous:

Society is a system of social relationship. But these social relationships are never permanent. They are subject to change.Society is an ever-changing phenomenon. It is undergoing endless changes. It is an “ongoing process”. These changes cannot be stopped. Society is subject to continuous change. Here it grows and decays, there it finds renewal, accommodates itself to various changing conditions.

5. Social Change Involves No-Value Judgement:

Social change  is neither moral nor immoral, it is amoral. The question of “what ought to be” is beyond the nature of social change. The study of social change involves no-value judgement. It is ethically neutral.

6. Social Change is bound by Time Factors:

Social change is temporal. It happens through time, because society exists only as a time-sequences. We know its meaning fully only by understanding it through time factors. The reason is that the factors which cause social change do not remain uniform with the changes in time .Social change may be  Short-term and Long-term Change. The conceptualization of the magnitude of change involves the next attribute of change, the time span. That is to say, a change that may be classified as ‘small-scale from a short-term perspective may turn out to have large-scale consequences when viewed over a long period of time.

7. Speed of social change:

Speed of social change is not uniform and speed of social change is affected by and related to time factor. While social change occurs in all societies, the rate, tempo, speed and extent of change is not uniform In most societies it occurs so slowly that it is often not noticed by those who live in them. Social change in urban areas is faster than in rural areas.

8. Definite prediction of social change is not possible:

It is difficult to make any prediction about the exact forms of social change. There is no inherent law of social change according to which it would assume definite forms. Likewise it cannot be predicted as to what shall be our attitudes, ideas, norms and values in future.

9. Social change shows chain-reaction sequence:

A society’s pattern of living is a dynamic system of inter-related parts. Therefore, change in one of these parts usually reacts on others and those on additional ones until they bring a change in the whole mode of life of many people.

10. Social change results from the interaction of a number of factors:

As a matter of fact, social change is the consequence of a number of factors. A special factor may trigger a change but it is always associated with other factors that make the triggering possible.The reason is that social phenomena are mutually interdependent. None stand out as isolated forces that bring about change of themselves. Rather each is an element in a system.

11. Social changes may be considered as modifications or replacement:

Social changes may be broadly categorised as modifications or replacements. It may be modification of physical goods or social relationships.There may also be modifications of social relationships.

Change also takes the form of replacement. A new material or non-material form supplants an old one .Similarly, old ideas have been replaced by new ideas

12. Social Change may be Small-scale or Large-scale:

A line of distinction is drawn between small-scale and large scale social change. Small-scale change refers to changes within groups and organizations rather than societies, culture or civilization. According W.E. Moore, by small-scale changes we shall mean changes in the characteristics of social structures that though comprised within the general system identifiable as a society, do not have any immediate and major consequences for the generalised structure (society) as such.

13. Social Change may be Peaceful or Violent:

At times, the attribute ‘peaceful’ has been considered as practically synonymous with ‘gradual’ and ‘violent’ with ‘rapid’. The term ‘violence’ frequently refers to the threat or use of physical force involved in attaining a given change.

‘Peaceful’ has to do with the changes that take place by consent, acceptance or acquisition and that are enforced by the normative restraints of society.

14. Social Change may be Planned or Unplanned:

Social change may occur in the natural course or it is done by man deliberately. Unplanned change refers to change resulting from natural calamities.,

Planned social change occurs when social changes are conditioned by human engineering. Plans, programmes and projects are made by man in order to determine and control the direction of social change.

15. Social Change may be Endogenous or Exogenous:

Endogenous social change refers to the change caused by the factors that are generated by society or a given subsystem of society. Conflict, communication, regionalism etc. are some of the examples of endogenous social change.

On the other hand, exogenous sources of social change generally view society as a basically stable, well-integrated system that is disrupted or altered only by the impact of forces external to the system .

Although no hard and fast categories have yet been developed into which we can fit different types of change, the use of the foregoing distinctions, may be helpful in clarifying one’s conceptualization of any type of change or at least, they can help one to understand the complexities involved in developing a definition of the subject of social change.

Factors of  Social Change:

Physical Environment:

Major changes in the physical environment are very compelling when they happen. Human misuse can bring very rapid changes in physical environment which in turn change the social and cultural life of a people. Many human groups throughout history have changed their physical environment through migration. In the primitive societies whose members are very directly dependent upon their physical environment migration to a different environment brings major changes in the culture. Civilization makes it easy to transport a culture and practice it in a new and different environment.

Population changes:

A population change is itself a social change but also becomes a casual factor in further social and cultural changes. When a thinly settled , secondary group relations multiply, institutional structures grow more elaborate and many other changes follow. A stable population may be able to resist change but a rapidly growing population must migrate, improve its productivity or starve. Great historic migrations and conquests of the Huns, Vikings and many others have arisen from the pressure of a growing population upon limited resources. Migration encourages further change for it brings a group into a new environment subjects it to new social contacts and confronts it with new problems.

Isolation and Contact:

Societies located at world crossroads have always been centers of change. Since most new traits come through diffusion, those societies in closest contact with other societies are likely to change most rapidly. Areas of greatest intercultural contact are the centers of change. War and trade have always brought intercultural contact and today tourism is adding to the contacts between cultures.

Social Structure:

The structure of a society affects its rate of change in subtle and not immediately apparent ways. .When a culture is very highly integrated so that each element is rightly interwoven with all the others in a mutually interdependent system change is difficult and costly. But when the culture is less highly integrated so that work, play, family, religion and other activities are less dependent upon one another change is easier and more frequent. A tightly structured society wherein every person’s roles, duties, privileges and obligations are precisely and rigidly defined is less given to changes than a more loosely structured society wherein roles, lines of authority, privileges and obligations are more open to individual rearrangement.

Attitudes and Values:

Societies differ greatly in their general attitude toward change. People who revere the past and preoccupied with traditions and rituals will change slowly and unwillingly. When a culture has been relatively static for a long time the people are likely to assume that it should remain so indefinitely. They are intensely and unconsciously ethnocentric; they assume that their customs and techniques are correct and everlasting. A possible change is unlikely even to be seriously considered. Any change in such a society is likely to be too gradual to be noticed. A rapidly changing society has a different attitude toward change and this attitude is both cause and effect of the changes already taking place. Rapidly changing societies are aware of the social change. They are somewhat skeptical and critical of some parts of their traditional culture and will consider and experiment with innovations. Such attitudes powerfully stimulate the proposal and acceptance of changes by individuals within the society. Attitudes and values affect both the amount and the direction of social change.

Cultural Factor:

Cultural Factor influences the direction and character of technological change Culture not only influences our social relationships, it also influences the direction and character of technological change. It is not only our beliefs and social institutions must correspond to the changes in technology but our beliefs and social institutions determine the use to which the technological inventions will be put. The tools and techniques of technology are indifferent to the use we make of them. Thus cultural factors play a positive as well as negative role in bringing about technological change. Cultural factors such as habits, customs, traditions, conservatism, traditional values etc may resist the technological inventions. On the other hand factors such as breakdown in the unity of social values, the diversification of social institutions craving for the new thoughts, values etc may contribute to technological inventions.

Technological Factors:

Technology is a byproduct of civilization .When the scientific knowledge is applied to the problems in life it becomes technology. Technology is a systematic knowledge which is put into practice that is to use tools and run machines to serve human purpose. Science and technology go together. In utilizing the products of technology man brings social change. The social effects of technology are far-reaching. According to Karl Marx even the formation of social relations and mental conceptions and attitudes are dependent upon technology. He has regarded technology as a sole explanation of social change.

Types  of Social Movements

Reform Movements:

Reform movements are organized to carry out reforms in some specific areas. The reformers endeavor to change elements of the system for better.

Revolutionary Movements:

These movements are deeply dissatisfied with the social order and work for radical change. They advocate replacing the entire existing structure. Their objective is the reorganization of society in accordance with their own ideological blueprint.

Reactionary or Revivalist Movement:

Some movements are known as reactionary or regressive movements. These aims to reverse the social change .They highlight the importance and greatness of traditional values, ideologies and institutional arrangements. They strongly criticize the fast moving changes of the present.

Resistance Movement:

These movements are formed to resist a change that is already taking place in society. These can be directed against social and cultural changes which are already happening in the country.

Utopian Movement:

These are attempts to take the society or a section of it towards a state of perfection. These are loosely structured collectivities that envision a radically changed and blissful state, either on a large scale at some time in the future or on a smaller scale in the present. The Utopian ideal and the means of it are often vague, but many utopian movements have quite specific programmes for social change.

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

There have been quite a variety of definitions and theories of socialization. Some of these approaches are presented here as definitional variety is often informative.

Symbolic Interaction-ism –

This approach argues that socialization is a continuous, lifelong process and the self develops as a result of interrelated social interactions and interpretive processes; as a result, socialization is highly dependent on the situations and the ways in which the person finds him/herself

Role Theory -;

Here socialization is seen as a conservative force, permitting the perpetuation of the social organization in spite of the turn-over of individual members through time. It is seen as a process of acquisition of appropriate norms, attitudes, self-images, values, and role behaviors that enable acceptance in the group and effective performance of new roles

Reinforcement Theory –

Here the self develops as a result of cognitive evaluations of costs and benefits; this understanding assumes that the socializee, in approaching new roles, is an independent and active negotiator for advantages in relationships with role partners.

Internalization Theory -;

This approach was advocated by Talcott Parsons. Socialization is a series of stages in which the individual learns to participate in various levels of organization of society; this theory contends that the child internalizes a cognitive frame of reference for interpersonal relations and a common system of expressive symbolism in addition to a moral conscience;

Sociological Theories of Personality Development

There are four important theories to explain the development of self. These theories have been propounded by Cooley,Erikson, Mead and Freud.

Charles Horton Cooley Theory of Cognitive Development

Charles Horton Cooley, (1864-1929) concept of self development has been termed “looking-glass self’ concept. According to him, man develops the concept of self with the help of others. Man does not come to form opinions about him unless and until he comes into contact with other people and knows their opinions about him.

He forms the concept of himself on the basis of opinions held by others about him. In other words, just as the picture in the mirror gives an image of the physical self, so the perception of others gives an image of the social self. The knowledge about ourselves comes to us from the reaction of other persons. These other comprise our social looking-glass through which we form the image of ourselves.

To quote Cooley, “As we see our face, figure and dress in the glass and are interested in them because they are ours and pleased or otherwise with according as they do or do not answer to what we should like them to be; so in imagination we perceive in another’s mind some thought of our appearance, manners, aims, deeds, character, friends and so on and variously affected by it”.

The looking glass self is composed of three elements:

• our perceptions of how we appear to others
• our perceptions of how others judge us
• our feelings about those judgments

For Cooley, the primary groups like family, to which we belong are the most significant. The relationships are also the most intimate and enduring. The individual develops the idea of self through contact with the members of the family. He does this by becoming conscious of their attitudes towards him

According to Cooley, primary groups play crucial role in the formation of self and personality of an individual. Contacts with the members of secondary groups such as the work group also contribute to the development of self. For Cooley, however, their influence is of lesser significance than that of the primary groups.

The child conceives of himself as better or worse in varying degrees, depending upon the attitudes of others towards him. Thus, the child’s view of himself may be affected by the kind of name given by his family or friends.

The ‘looking glass self assures the child which aspects of the assumed role will praise or blame, which ones are acceptable to others and which ones unacceptable. People normally have their own attitudes towards social roles and adopt the same. The child first tries out these on others and in turn adopts towards his self.

The self thus arises when the person becomes an ‘object’ to himself. He is now capable of taking the same view of himself that he infers others do.

This concept of self is developed through a gradual and complicated process which  continues throughout life. The concept is an image that one builds only with the help of others. A very ordinary child whose efforts are appreciated and rewarded will develop a feeling of acceptance and self-confidence, while a truly brilliant child whose efforts are appreciated and rewarded will develop a feeling of acceptance and self – confidence, while a truly brilliant child whose efforts are frequently defined as failures will usually become obsessed with feelings of competence and its abilities can be paralyzed. Thus, a person’s self image need bear no relation to the objective facts.

It may also be referred that the reactions of the people about us are not similar or we may misjudge their reactions. An ego-boosting remark may be a mere flattery. Thus, the looking-glass self which the individual perceives may differ from the image others have actually formed. There is often a significant variation between the individual’s perception of how others picture him and the views they actually hold.

Erik Erikson’s(1902–1994) Theory of  Eight Life Stages:

Erikson, a psychologist, was one of Freud’s students, was one of the first to write about socialization as it occurs throughout life. Erikson theorized eight stages of development for humans. Each stage brings about physiological changes and new social situations.

Stage I: (1 year) (Infancy) Trust vs Mistrust:

Children are totally dependent upon adults. If their needs are met with warmth and love, kids develop a feeling of trust reliability, comfort in the world. On the other hand, if their needs are not met or people caring for them are not dependable and affectionate, kids develop mistrust– the world is a frightening, suspicious, insecure place.

Stage II: (2+3 yrs) ( toddlerhood )  Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt:

Kids learn how to walk, talk, climb, open and close things, control their bodily functions. If parents allow children freedom to try and even to fail, they will gain confidence that they can control their lives– autonomy. But, if parents are critical, impatient, and over-protective, the child develops a sense of shame and doubt in his abilities.

Stage III (4+5 yrs )( preschool )  Initiative vs. Guilt:

Children struggle to understand the difference between initiative and guilt. Children at this stage, try to extend their abilities, explore, initate, exploit opportunities and try new adventures. If parents praise children’s efforts, and courage them to find out about the world on their own, kids develop feelings of self-worth . However, if kids are punished and ridiculed for their failures in these attempts, they develop feelings of guilt.

Stage IV: (6-11 yrs) ,( pre-adolescence, )   Industry vs Inferiority:

The social setting of the school replaces that of the home. Children get rewards for following the rules. If they are praised in their attempts to learn about the world and to develop talents to live in it successfully, they will acquire a sense of industry. But, if they do poorly in school and are not encouraged in their studies, they will develop a sense of inferiority.

Stage V: (12-18 yrs) ( adolescence, ) Identity vs Role Confusion:

Teenagers experience the challenge of gaining identity versus confusion The “looking glass self” is very important as the adolescent relies upon peers for his/her own self-image.  If the adolescent  understand the aspects of his or herself, the ego is strengthened and a sense of identity develops. However if adolescents arrive at this point with feelings of mistrust, doubt, shame, guilt, or inferiority, they can’t integrate personalities and role confusion results. The self will be hazy– ill defined.

Stage VI: (young adulthood) Intimacy vs Isolation:

When young people gain insight to life when dealing with the challenge of intimacy and isolation. Learning to make close friends, falling in love, starting families— If young adults have acquired all the positive traits from the previous stages, they will be able to share and give themselves without fear– this is intimacy. However, if they have acquired negative self- feelings from the past stages, there will be isolation– the inability to get close to others.

Stage VII: ( middle adulthood, ) Generativity vs Self- absorption:

At this stage, people experience the challenge of trying to make a difference People will be concerned with those outside their immediate world — the welfare of the younger generation, for example, what Erikson calls generativity, if they feel that they, themselves have led useful, productive lives. On the other hand, people who believe that their lives have been a failure will fail to establish a sense of generativity and instead exhibit, self-absorption.

Stage VIII: (old age) Integrity vs Dispair:

, people are still learning about the challenge of integrity and despair. Integrity gives a person the ability to look back on his or her life with satisfaction and self-acceptance– recognizing that there have been good times, bad times, joy and pain. Despair results when a person sees hislife as a series of failures and disappointments and realizes that it’s too late to change anything.

George Herbert Mead, (1863-1931) Theory of Stages of Socialization

The American psychologist George Herbert Mead (1934) went further in analyzing how the self develops. According to Mead, the self represents the sum total of people’s conscious perception of their identity as distinct from others.

According to him the self develops out of the child’s communicative contact with others.    Mead said that the self has two parts: the “I” and the “me.”  Mead claimed that the “me” accounts for similarities between people while the “I” accounts for differencs between people.

The “I” is the part of the self that is innate– containing the spontaneous, natural, creative, special aspects of one’s self.

The “me” is the part of the self that’s socialized– the part that has internalized the values, norms, statuses, roles of society. The “I” represents our inner demands, while the “me” represents the societal demands.

The first people who impose restrictions on the “I” are called significant others. We can also call them “role models.” But there is a subtle difference. Role models are people whom we tend to admire. (Also people whom we would like to please).

Reference Groups are groups of people whom are meaningful in the development of the self.
Of course, there is a process involved in all of this: Mead said that the imitation of role models involves role taking: we put ourselves in the place of a role model. In doing this, we can anticipate the response we will get to our behavior and we can see how we appear to the other (person) and modify our behavior accordinglyNow, as the child grows older, its world enlarges and “others” (significant others), become more numerous. Gradually, what Mead calls the “generalized other,” becomes real to them. (The generalized other is akin to the greater society itself). Through repeated role taking, people begin to assimilate the values of the whole society– community values become set in their minds.
Significant others are real persons.The generalized other represents societal values.

The process of socialization is like  symbolic interactionists ,is a gradual process whereby we slowly (and realtively painlessly) assimialte the values of society.

The self is a social product arising from relations with other peopleThe process of forming the self, according to Mead, occurs in three distinct stages. The first is imitation. In this stage children copy the behaviour of adults without understanding it.

During the play stage, children understand behaviours as actual roles- doctor, firefighter,  and so on and begin to take on those roles in their play. In doll play little children frequently talk to the doll in both loving and scolding tones as if they were parents then answer for the doll the way a child answers his or her parents.

This shifting from one role to another builds children’s ability to give the same meanings to their thoughts; and actions that other members of society give them-another important step in the building of a self.

During Mead’s third stage, the game stage, the child must learn what is expected not just by one other person but by a whole group

An essential characteristic of the self is its reflexive character. By this Mead, George H. means that the self can be both subject and object to itself. It can reflect upon itself, or in other words, it can be self- conscious. Man can do so only through assuming the role of other persons and looking at himself through their eyes.

But acquiring the attitudes of others towards himself is not sufficient for the individual. He explores and finds out others’ attitudes toward him.

The attitudes can be known only through the mechanism of symbolic communication. He must learn to utilize the symbols by which attitudes are communicated, so that he can conjure up the attitudes of others in his own imagination and in turn communicate his own reaction to others in the light of what he imagines to be their attitudes.

Once he has acquired the attitude of others as part of himself, he can judge how another person will respond or how he himself responds to the words he utters. The individual thus speaks to himself. What he says or thinks, calls out a certain reply in himself. He takes the role of others. “No sharp line can be drawn between our own selves and the selves of others, since our own selves function in our experience only in so far as the selves of others function in our experience also.”

Jean Piaget- Developmental theory

Jean Piaget developed and articulated a highly respected and influential theory of cognitive development .It places emphasis on the internal processes of the mind as it matures through interaction with the social environment. . According to Piaget, each stage of cognitive development involves new skills that define the limits of what can be learned. Children pass through these stages in a definite sequence, though not necessarily with the same stage or thoroughness. Piaget showed that human beings gradually passed through a series of stages of cognitive development.There were four stages to his model:

Stage I; SENSORI-MOTOR (0-2 years):

During this stage, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects . At this point in development, a child’s intelligence consists of their basic motor and sensory explorations of the world. Infants are not rule-bound because they can’t understand and are not aware of the world up to 8 months. . During this period children develop the ability to hold an image in their minds permanently. Before they reach this stage. They might assume that an object ceases to exist when they don’t see it.Children are then able to begin to attach names and words to objects.

Stage II; PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE (2-7 years):

During this period children learn to tell the difference between symbols and their meanings. At this stage, children can’t handle concepts of speed, weight, number, quality, causality. Kids at this point of development begin to think more logically, but their thinking can also be very rigid. They tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts.

More importantly,  children at this stage can’t take the roles of another– can’t understand the feelings of others, nor do they care to understand. At the beginning of this stage, children might be upset if someone stepped on a sand castle that represents their own home. . They’re very egocentric.

Stage III; CONCRETE OPERATIONAL (7 TO 12 years):

In this stage, thinking is tied to the concrete world— real situations, not abstract ones. , children learn to mentally perform certain tasks that they formerly did by hand. Kids at this point of development begin to think more logically, but their thinking can also be very rigid. They tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts. At this point, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about how other people might think and feel. Kids in the concrete operational stage also begin to understand that their thoughts are unique to them and that not everyone else necessarily shares their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.  Children feel that they must obey the rules, but do not feel that they have to believe in them.

Stage IV; FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE (13+ years);

The final stage of Piaget’s theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas. At this point, people become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around them.  At this stage formal, abstract thought is obtained. Young adults come to realize that the rules are good for all members of the group. Rules are necessary for the existence of the social order. However, they also realize that rules are made by mutual consent and can be changed by mutual consent.

To better understand some of the things that happen during cognitive development, it is important first to examine a few of the important ideas and concepts introduced by Piaget. The following are some of the factors that influence how children learn and grow:

Fundamental Concepts

Schemas – Schemas are categories of knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the world.In Piaget’s view, a schema includes both a category of knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge. As experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas.

Assimilation – The process of taking in new information into our already existing schemas is known as assimilation. The process is somewhat subjective because we tend to modify experiences and information slightly to fit in with our preexisting beliefs.

Accommodation – Accommodation involves modifying existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information or new experiences. New schemas may also be developed during this process.

Equilibration – As children progress through the stages of cognitive development, it is important to maintain a balance between applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and changing behavior to account for new knowledge (accommodation). Equilibration helps explain how children can move from one stage of thought into the next.

Final Thoughts

One of the most important elements to remember of Piaget’s theory is that it takes the view that the creation of knowledge and intelligence is an inherently active process. Piaget explained. ” I believe that knowing an object means acting upon it, constructing systems of transformations that can be carried out on or with this object. Knowing reality means constructing systems of transformations that correspond, more or less adequately, to reality.”

The Theory of Psycho-Sexual Development:

Stages of Sexual Development:

According to Freud, personality is formed in four stages. Each of the stages is linked to a specific area of the body an erogenous zone.

Freud’s theory of personality development focused on the effects of sexual pleasure that affects one’s psyche. Childhood sexuality plays an important role in the development of the personality . According to him, every child is full of energy that needs to be channelized in the right direction. He named this energy as libido. He believed that libido provides the basic platform for the mind to run on. Freud postulated a series of developmental stages that describe this narrowing process of sexual gratification Freud’s stages of development essentially showcase how sexuality starts from the very young age in humans and how it develops till adulthood at different stages.

Stage 1 – Oral Stage ( Age Range: Birth to 1 Year .Erogenous Zone: Mouth)

This stage occurs from birth to around one year. As the name suggests, in this stage, a child tries to gratify his libidinal energy through his mouth by sucking, biting, chewing, etc. All desires are oriented towards lips and mouth, which accepted food, milk, and anything else he could get hands on . The first object of this stage was, of course, the mother’s breast, which could be transferred to auto-erotic objects (thumb-sucking).

Stage 2 – Anal Stage:( Age Range: 1 to 3 years. Erogenous Zone: Bowel and Bladder Control)

The anal stage develops during the second and third years of life as the anal area begins to assume a central position in the child’s sexual development. As children become capable of voluntary muscle control and eventual bowel control, they discover that sexual stimulation occurs from voluntarily retaining and expelling farces.

Stage 3 – Phallic Stage: ( Age Range: 4 to 6 Years. Erogenous Zone: Genitals)

This stage occurs between four to six years of age where the erogenous zones of the body are genitals start developing. At this age, children also begin to discover the differences between males and females.
At this stage the child discovers the pleasures of genital manipulation and another shift of the zone of sexual stimulation occurs. In the phallic phase, when the penis (or the clitoris, which, according to Freud, stands for the penis in the young girl) become primary object.
The most important aspect of the phallic stage is the Oedipus complex. This is one of Freud’s most controversial ideas and one that many people reject outright. This Oedipal is the generic (i.e. general) term for both Oedipus and Electra complexes. In the young boy, the Oedipus complex or more correctly conflict, arises because the boy develops sexual (pleasurable) desires for his mother. He wants to possess his mother exclusively and get rid of his father to enable him to do so.For girls, the Oedipus or Electra complex is less than satisfactory. Briefly, the girl desires the father,

Stage 4 – Latency Stage ( Age Range: 6 to Puberty. Erogenous Zone: Sexual Feelings Are Inactive)

Next followed a long “latency period” during which sexual development was more or less suspended and concentrated on repressing and sublimating of earlier desires and thus learned to follow the reality-principle. This stage occurs between six to twelve years when children express no psycho-sexual development. No further psycho-sexual development takes place during this stage (latent means hidden). The libido is dormant.

According to Freud, at this stage, children suppress their sexual energy and direct it towards asexual pursuits such as, school, athletics, hobbies, social relationships, friendship with same-sex, etc., During this phase, the child gradually freed himself from parents (moving away from the mother and reconciling with father) or by asserting the independence (if he responded to his incestuous desires by becoming overly subservient to his/her father.

Stage 5 – Genital Stage: (Age Range: Puberty to Death .Erogenous Zone: Maturing Sexual Interests)

This stage occurs between twelve to eighteen years which is also the puberty period. This fifth stage of psychosexual development is characterized by non-narcissistic behaviour that develops in the direction of biological reproduction. It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful resolution of which is settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another in our 20′s or so. Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure, rather than self pleasure during the phallic stage. In this stage, as the child’s energy once again focuses on his genitals, interest turns to heterosexual relationships

Freud’s Components of the Personality:

Let us now turn to the second part of Freud’s doctrine. Roughly speaking, Freud recognized three main parts of the brain functioning in the personality.

• The Id
• The Ego
• The Super-ego.

The Id works in keeping with the pleasure principle, which can be understood as a demand to take care of needs immediately. Just picture the hungry infant, screaming itself blue. It doesn’t “know” what it wants in any adult sense; it just knows that it wants it and it wants it now. The infant, in the Freudian view, is pure, or nearly pure id. And the id is nothing if not the psychic representative of biology.

According to Freud, the Id directs basic drive instincts. It is unorganized and seeks to obtain pleasure, or avoid pain, at times when increased arousal of tension takes place.

Freud described the Id as such: “It is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality, what little we know of it we have learned from our study of the dream-work… and most of that is of a negative character… We approach the id with analogies: we call it a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations… It is filled with energy reaching it from the instincts, but it has no organization, produces no collective will, but only a striving to bring about the satisfaction of the instinctual needs subject to the observance of the pleasure principle”.

The Id, according to Freud, “’knows no judgements of value: no good and evil, no morality… [It is] the great reservoir of libido”. From the outset (i.e. birth) the Id includes all the instinctual impulses as well as the destructive instinct.

The ego, unlike the id, functions according to the reality principle, which says “take care of a need as soon as an appropriate object is found.” It represents reality and, to a considerable extent, reason.

The Ego seeks to please the instinctive drive of the Id but only in realistic ways that will benefit in the long term. The Ego, says Freud, “attempts to mediate between id and reality”. The Ego comprises organized structure of one’s personality. In other words, the great majority of the Ego’s operative duties are at a conscious level (e.g. defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions).

There are two aspects to the superego: One is the conscience, which is an internalization of punishments and warnings. The other is called the ego ideal. It derives from rewards and positive models .The conscience and ego ideal communicate their requirements to the ego with feelings like pride, shame, and guilt.

The Super-Ego aims for perfection. Freud said: “The Super-ego can be thought of as a type of conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt. In other words, the Super-Ego, in its role of moral authoritarian, is the opposite of the Id.

Where the Id is entirely about satisfying instinctive need with no regulation over morals to achieve that objective, the Super-Ego operates in accordance with social conformity and appropriateness. Due to these extremes, the Ego  is constantly striving to regulate balance between the two. In all, the Super-Ego regulates our sense of right and wrong. It helps assimilate into the social structure around us via making us act in socially acceptable ways. It acts as our conscience, maintaining our sense of morality.

As stated above, Freud theorized that the Ego is constantly under the strain of causing discontent on two sides (i.e. the Id and Super-Ego). The role of Ego is like a servant in between two masters .Ego has a  role to minimize conflicts whilst simultaneously pretending to care about the said same reality.

The Super-Ego is the Ego’s constant watchdog and if/when it (the Id) steps out of line, the Super-Ego punishes it with feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inferiority. However, the Ego will then employ mechanisms to defend itself such as denial, displacement, intellectualization, fantasy, compensation, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and sublimation. These mechanisms are not undertaken at a conscious level, they kick in when the Id’s behaviour conflicts with reality .

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A. (Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D.

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

The human infant comes into the world as biological organism is govern by instinctive needs. He is gradually molded into a social being and he learns social ways of acting and feeling. Without this process of molding, the society could not continue itself, nor could culture exist, nor could the individual become a person.  Socialization makes it possible for us to fully function as human beings. Without socialization, we could not have our society and culture. This process of molding is called ‘Socialization’. Every man tries to adjust himself to the condition and environment predominantly determined by the society of which he is a member. This process of adjustment may be termed socialization.

The concept of Socialization

Human infants are born without any culture.  They must be transformed by their parents, teachers, and others into cultural and socially adept animals.  The general process of acquiring culture is referred to as socialization. Socialization is known as the process of inducting the individual into the social world. The term socialization refers to the process of interaction through which the growing individual learns the habits, attitudes, values and beliefs of the social group into which he has been born.

Socialization is the process by which human infants begin to acquire the skills necessary to perform as a functioning member of their society, and is the most influential learning process one can experience. Unlike many other living species, whose behavior is biologically set, humans need social experiences to learn their culture and to survive. . Many scientists say socialization essentially represents the whole process of learning throughout the life course and is a central influence on the behavior, beliefs, and actions of adults as well as of children.

Socialization, is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and educationalists to refer to the lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs, and ideologies, providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within their own society. Socialization is thus “the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained”.

Socialization is a processes with the help of which a living organism is changed into a social being. It is a process through which the younger generation learns the adult role which it has to play subsequently. It is a continuous process in the life of an individual and it continues from generation to generation. Socialization prepares people to participate in a social group by teaching them its norms and expectations. Socialization has three primary goals: teaching impulse control and developing a conscience, preparing people to perform certain social roles, and cultivating shared sources of meaning and value. Socialization is culturally specific, but this does not mean certain cultures are better or worse than others. The process of learning one’s culture and how to live within it.

Socialization is, thus, a process of cultural learning whereby a new person acquires necessary skills and education to play a regular part in a social system. The process is essentially the same in all societies, though institutional arrangements vary. The process continues throughout life as each new situation arises. Socialization is the process of fitting individuals into particular forms of group life, transforming human organism into social being sand transmitting established cultural traditions.

“Socialization” is defined as the process by which we acquire our social identities and internalize the values, norms, statuses, and roles of the social world. Schaefer: “Socialization is the process whereby people learn the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture”

Socialization, according to MacIver, “is the process by which social beings establish wider and profounder relationships with one another, in which they become more bound up with, and  perceptive of the personality of themselves and of others and build up the complex structure of nearer and wider association.”

Kimball Young writes, “Socialization will mean the process of inducting the individual into the social and cultural world; of making him a particular member in society and its various groups and inducting him to accept the norms and values of that society…. Socialization is definitely a matter of learning and not of biological inheritance.”

It is through the process of socialization that the new born individual is molded into a social being and men find their fulfillment within society. Man becomes what he is by socialization. Bogardus defines socialization as the “process of working together, of developing group responsibility, of being guided by the welfare needs of others.”

According to Ogburn, “Socialization is the process by which the individual learns to conform to the norms of the group.” Ross defined socialization as “the development of the we feeling in associates and their growth in capacity and will to act together.” Through the process of socialization the individual becomes a social person and attains personality.

Green defined socialization “as the process by which the child acquires a cultural content, along with self-hood and personality”.

Arnett, outlined what he believes to be the three goals of socialization:

1.            impulse control and the development of a conscience

2.            role preparation and performance, including occupational roles, gender roles, and roles in institutions such as marriage and parenthood

3.            the cultivation of sources of meaning, or what is important, valued, and to be lived for

In short, socialization is the process that prepares humans to function in social life. It should be re-iterated here that socialization is culturally relative – people in different cultures and people that occupy different racial, classed, gendered, sexual, and religious social locations are socialized differently. This distinction does not and should not inherently force an evaluative judgement. Socialization, because it is the adoption of culture, is going to be different in every culture and within different subcultures. Socialization, as both process or an outcome, is not better or worse in any particular culture or subculture.

Characteristics/ Features of Socialization

The following are some the important features/ characteristic of Socialization –

Socialization takes place formally and informally:

Formal socialization takes through direct instruction and education in schools and colleges. Family is, however, the primary and the most influential source of education. Children learn their language, customs, norms and values in the family.

Socialization is a continuous and gradual, rather than a salutatory process  :

Socialization is a life-long process. It does not cease when a child becomes an adult. In nature we find that every species or organism follows a pattern of socialization. The same is the case with human beings. Socialization occurs in orderly manner and follows a certain sequence which, in general is the same for most children. The rate and speed of development may vary in individual cases.

Socialization is a product of interaction of the organism and its environment.

. But it is not possible to indicate exactly in what proportion heredity and environment contribute to the   of an Individual Socialization. The two work hand in hand from the very conceptions. The environment bears upon the new organism from the beginning. Among, the environmental factors like nutrition, climate, the conditions in the home, the type of social organisation in which individual move and live, the roles they have to play and other.

Socialization is a continues process -

Socialization   does not stop at any time. It continues from the moment of conception until the individual reaches maturity. It takes place at a slow or a rapid rate but at a regular pace rather than by leaps and bounds.

There may be a break in the continuity of growth due to illness, starvation or malnutrition or other environmental factors or some abnormal conditions in the child’s life.

Socialization is rapid if there is more humanity among the- agencies of socialization:

Socialization takes place rapidly if the agencies’ of socialization are more unanimous in their ideas and skills. When there is conflict between the ideas, examples and skills transmitted in home and those transmitted by school or peer, socialization of the individual tends to be slower and ineffective.

Socialization proceeds from general to specific responses-

It is observed that general activity always precedes specific activity. The early responses of the baby are very general in nature which is gradually replaced with specific ones. The earliest emotional responses of the new born are generally diffused excitement and this slowly gives way to specific emotional patterns of anger, joy, fear, etc. Babies wave their arms in general, random movements before they are capable of such specific responses as reaching for an object held before them.

Socialization involves change-

The human being is never static. From the moment of conception to the time of death, the person is undergoing changes. Nature shapes most clearly Socialization through genetic programming that may determine whole sequences of later. It refers to a Socialization progressive series of orderly coherent changes.

Socialization is often predictable-

Psychologists have observed that each phase has certain Socialization common traits and characteristics. We have seen that the rate of for each child Socialization  is fairly constant. The consequence is that it is possible for us to predict at an early age the range within which the child is likely to fall.

Socialization is unique-

Each child is a unique individual. No two children can be expected to behave or develop in an identical manner although they are of the same age. For example, in the same class, a child who comes from a deprived environment cannot be expected to do as well in studies as a child of the same ability whose parents put high value on education and encourage the child to study.

Socialization is an individualized process:

These individual differences arise because each child is controlled by a unique combination of hereditary endowment and environmental factors. All children therefore do not reach the same point of   at the same Socialization age.

Socialization practices varied markedly from society to society.

The socialization practices were generally similar among people of the same society.  This is not surprising since people from the same culture and community are likely to share core values and perceptions. During the early 1950′s, John and Beatrice Whitiing led an extensive field study of early socialization practices in six different societies.  They were the Gusii   of Kenya, the Rajputs   of India, the village of Taira   on the island of Okinawa in Japan, the Tarong   of the Philippines, the Mixteca   Indians of central Mexico, and a New England community that was given the pseudonym Orchardtown.  All of these societies shared in common the fact that they were relatively homogeneous culturally

Types of Socialization-

Group socialization:

Group socialization is holds that an individual’s peer groups, rather than parental figures, influences his or her personality and behavior in adulthood. Adolescents spend more time with peers than with parents. Therefore, peer groups have stronger correlations with personality development than parental figures do. Entering high school is a crucial moment in many adolescent’s lifespan involving the branching off from the restraints of their parents. When dealing with new life challenges, adolescents take comfort in discussing these issues within their peer groups instead of their parents.

Gender socialization:

Henslin  contends that “an important part of socialization is the learning of culturally defined gender roles.” Gender socialization refers to the learning of behavior and attitudes considered appropriate for a given sex. Boys learn to be boys and girls learn to be girls. This “learning” happens by way of many different agents of socialization.

Parents plays a very significant role in gender socialization. Sociologists have identified four ways in which parents socialize gender roles in their children: Shaping gender related attributes through toys and activities, differing their interaction with children based on the sex of the child, and communicating gender ideals and expectations.

Anticipatory socialization and  Re-socialization:

Anticipatory socialization refers to the processes of socialization in which a person “rehearses” for future positions, occupations, and social relationships. Re-socialization refers to the process of discarding former behavior patterns and reflexes, accepting new ones as part of a transition in one’s life. This occurs throughout the human life cycle. Re-socialization can be an intense experience, with the individual experiencing a sharp break with his or her past, as well as a need to learn and be exposed to radically different norms and values.

Racial socialization and cultural socialization:

Racial socialization has been defined as “the developmental processes by which children acquire the behaviors, perceptions, values, and attitudes of an ethnic group, and come to see themselves and others as members of the group”. Cultural socialization refers to parenting practices that teach children about their racial history or heritage and is sometimes referred to as pride development.

Planned socialization and   Natural Socialization :

Planned socialization occurs when other people take actions designed to teach or train others—from infancy on.  Natural socialization occurs when infants and youngsters explore, play and discover the social world around them.

Positive socialization and Negative socialization:

Positive socialization is the type of social learning that is based on pleasurable and exciting experiences. We tend to like the people who fill our social learning processes with positive motivation, loving care, and rewarding opportunities. Negative socialization occurs when others use punishment, harsh criticisms or anger to try to “teach us a lesson;” and often we come to dislike both negative socialization and the people who impose it on us.

Broad and Narrow Socialization:

Arnett proposed an interesting though seldom used distinction in types of socialization. Arnett distinguishes between broad and narrow socialization. Broad socialization is intended to promote independence, individualism, and self-expression; it is dubbed broad because this type of socialization has the potential of resulting in a broad range of outcomes. Narrow socialization is intended to promote obedience and conformity; it is dubbed narrow because there is a narrow range of outcomes.

Primary and Secondary Socialization:

Primary socialization takes place early in life, as a child and adolescent. Primary socialization for a child is very important because it sets the ground work for all future socialization. Primary Socialization occurs when a  child learns the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. It is mainly influenced by the immediate family and friends.   Secondary socialization refers to the socialization that takes place throughout one’s life, both as a child and as one encounters new groups that require additional socialization. Secondary socialization refers to the process of learning what is the appropriate behavior as a member of a smaller group within the larger society. Basically, it is the behavioral patterns reinforced by socializing agents of society. Secondary socialization takes place outside the home. It is where children and adults learn how to act in a way that is appropriate for the situations they are in.^[22] Schools require very different behavior from the home, and Children must act according to new rules. New teachers have to act in a way that is different from pupils and learn the new rules from people around them. Secondary Socialization is usually associated with teenagers and adults, and involves smaller changes than those occurring in primary socialization

Agencies of Socialization:

Socialization is a process by which culture is transmitted to the younger generation and men learn the rules and practices of social groups to which they belong. Every society builds an institutional framework within which socialization of the child takes place. Culture is transmitted through the communication they have with one another and communication thus comes to be the essence of the process of culture transmission. In a society there exists a number of agencies to socialize the child.

To facilitate socialization different agencies play important roles. These agencies are however interrelated.

Family:

The family is rightly called the cradle of social virtues. Family being a mini society acts as a transmission belt between the individual and society. The family plays an outstanding role in the socialization process. The family is the most important agent of socialization because it is the center of the child’s life, as infants are totally dependent on others. Not all socialization is intentional, it depends on the surrounding.  Family plays the most important role in the formation of personality. The family has informal control over its members It trains the younger generation in such a way that it can take the adult roles in proper manner. As family is primary and intimate group, it uses informal methods of social control to check the undesirable behavior on the part of its members. . The parents use both reward and punishment to imbibe what is socially required from a child.

The process of socialization remains a process because of the interplay between individual life cycle and family life cycle.

According to Robert. K. Merton, “it is the family which is a major transmission belt for the diffusion of cultural standards to the oncoming generation”. The family serves as “the natural and convenient channel of social continuity. The most profound effect is gender socialization; however, the family also shoulders the task of teaching children cultural values and attitudes about themselves and others. Children learn continuously from the environment that adults create. Children also become aware of class at a very early age and assign different values to each class accordingly.

In rural societies, children have most of their early social contact with the family. Today, however, the family’s importance in the child’s life is changing. Although most children growing up  today will spend a great deal of time with people other than members of their families, this does not mean that the participation of families in socialization has ended.Still the family continues to be a major means of passing on values, attitudes, and behaviors.

The Day-care:

Today, however, the family’s importance in the child’s life is changing. The family no longer necessarily conforms to the stereotypical nuclear family with two parents and two or more dependent children. Fewer families are consists of a working father, full-time homemaker mother, and at least one child. There are more and more single-parent families, where mothers with children under 6 years old are working .More and more children are receiving their early and primary care from others in addition to their parents. For these children, day care is an important agent of socialization The day-care are informal arrangements at the home of a neighbor, large nurseries run by schools, churches, charities, corporations, and occasionally employers .

Social Class

Kohn, explored differences in how parents raise their children relative to their social class. Kohn found that lower class parents were more likely to emphasize conformity in their children whereas middle-class parents were more likely to emphasize creativity and self-reliance. Ellis et. al. proposed and found that parents value conformity over self-reliance in children to the extent that conformity superseded self-reliance as a criterion for success in their own endeavors. In other words, Ellis et. al. verified that the reason lower-class parents emphasize conformity in their children is because they experience conformity in their day-to-day activities

Peer Group:

A peer group is a social group whose members have interests, social positions and age in common. This is where children can escape supervision and learn to form relationships on their own.  A peer group consists of friends and associates who are about the same age and social status . Peer Group means a group in which the members share some common characteristics such as age or sex etc. It is made up of the contemporaries of the child, his associates in school, in playground and in street. The growing child learns some very important lessons from his peer group. Since members of the peer group are at the same stage of socialization, they freely and spontaneously interact with each other.

The members of peer groups have other sources of information about the culture and thus the acquisition of culture goes on. They view the world through the same eyes and share the same subjective attitudes. In order to be accepted by his peer group, the child must exhibit the characteristic attitudes, the likes and dislikes.

As children get older, going to school brings them into regular contact with other children of their age. As early as first or second grade, children form social groups. In these early peer groups, children learn to share toys and other scarce resources (such as the teacher’s attention). Peers may reinforce behaviors that are stressed by parents and schools. Youthful concerns may center on popular music and movies, sports, sex, or illegal activities. Conflict arises when standards of the peer group differ from the standards of the child’s family.  Parents and teachers, on the other hand, want children to do schoolwork, help at home, and “stay out of trouble.”

The influence of the peer group typically peaks during adolescence however peer groups generally only affect short term interests unlike the family which has long term influence In our society, adolescents are heavily influenced by their peers when it comes to dress, musical fads, cheating, and drug use. In making their future life plans, however, they are influenced more by their parents than by their peers . Girls seem to be somewhat more influenced in their future life plans by peers than are boys. Peer groups may provide social rewards–praise, prestige, and attention–to individuals for doing things adults disapprove of.

Language:

Depending on the language and situation at any given time, people will socialize differently . People learn to socialize differently depending on the specific language and culture in which they live. A specific example of this is code switching. This is where immigrant children learn to behave in accordance with the languages used in their lives: separate languages at home and in peer groups (mainly in educational settings.

Political Parities/ Nationalism:

Every society tries to influence how young people grow up. Much of this influence is expressed through parents, schools, and peers, but it is worth considering for a moment how children become exposed to the political and economic ideas that are considered important for citizens of a particular country.

Children learn political information and attitudes rapidly during the elementary school years. One of the first things they learn is that they belong to some kind of a political unit. Even very young children develop a sense of “we” in relation to their own country and learn to see other countries in terms of”they.” Children also tend to believe that their own country and language are superior to others. This bond may be the most critical socialization feature relating to the political life of the nation. The family helps provide this basic loyalty to country, but the school also shapes the political concepts that expand and develop children’s early feelings of attachment. Political orientations develop early and reach nearly adult levels by the end of elementary school, but there are still some critical changes that occur at other points during the life cycle. High school students become more aware of differences between political parties and tend to become more active politically.

Religion:

Religion has been an important factor in society. In the early society religion provided a bond of unity. Though in modern society the importance of religion has diminished, yet it continues to mould our beliefs and ways of life. In every family some or the other religious practices are observed on one or the other occasion. The child sees his parents going to the temple and performing religious ceremonies. He listens to religious sermons which may determine his course of life and shape his ideas.

Religion play a very important role in socialization. Agents of socialization differ in effects across religious traditions. Some believe religion is like an ethnic or cultural category, making it less likely for the individuals to break from religious affiliations and be more socialized in this setting. Parental religious participation is the most influential part of religious socialization—more so than religious peers or religious beliefs.

Educational Institutions:

Every civilized society therefore has developed a set of formalized agencies of education (schools, colleges and universities) which have a great bearing on the socialization process. It is in the educational institutions that the culture is formally transmitted and acquired.

The educational institutions not only help the growing child in learning language and other subjects but also instill the concept of time, discipline, team work, cooperation and competition. Through the means of reward and punishment the desired behavior pattern is reinforced.

Educational institution is a very important socializer and the means by which individual acquires social norms and values (values of achievement, civic ideals, solidarity and group loyalty etc) beyond those which are available for learning in the family and other groups.

Educational institutions try to impress upon children the importance of working for rewards, and they try to teach neatness, punctuality, orderliness, and respect for authority. Teachers are called upon to evaluate how well children perform a particular task or how much skill they have. Thus, in school, children’s relationships with adults move from nurture and behavioral concerns to performance of tasks and skills determined by others.

Mass Media:

The mass media are the means for delivering impersonal communications directed to a vast audience. The term media comes from Latin meaning, “middle,” suggesting that the media’s function is to connect people.

The mass media include many forms of communication–such as books, magazines, radio, television, and movies–that reach large numbers of people without personal contact between senders and receivers. Since mass media has enormous effects on our attitudes and behavior, notably in regards to aggression, it is an important contributor to the socialization process.

The mass media of communication, particularly television, play an important role in the process of socialization. The mass media of communication transmit information’s and messages which influence the personality of an individual to a great extent. In the last few decades, children have been dramatically socialized by one source in particular: television. Studies have found that children spend more time watching TV than they spend in school.

Reports may vary, but children in the fifth to eighth grades view an average of 4 to 6 hours daily .Most of the research on the effects of television has been on the cognitive and behavioral results of TV watching. The topic most often studied has been the influence of television on antisocial behavior, especially violence. Current research supports the view that seeing violence on television increases the chance that a child will be aggressive. Publicly available studies unambiguously relate changes in behavior (such as food habits or drug use) to exposure to television advertising.

Research also suggests that young children obtain considerable political and social information from television.

Winn (1977) suggests that the experience of watching television itself is limiting. When people watch television, no matter what the program, they are simply watchers and are not having any other experience. According to Winn, and many agree, children need to develop family relationships, the capacity for self-direction, and the basic skills of communication (reading, writing, and speaking); to discover their own strengths and limitations, and to learn the rules that keep social interaction alive. Television works against all these goals by putting children in a passive situation where they do not speak, interact, experiment, explore, or do anything else active because they are watching a small moving picture on a machine. This research shows the growing importance of television as a medium of socialization, although clearly it is only one among a number of important influences.

In addition to this, communication media has an important effect in encouraging individuals to support the existing norms and values or oppose or change them. They are the instrument of social power. They influence us with their messages. The words are always written by someone and these people too – authors and editors and advertisers – join the teachers, the peers and the parents in the socialization process.

Legal system:

The state is an authoritarian agency. It makes laws for the people and lays down the modes of conduct expected of them. The people have compulsorily to obey these laws. If they fail to adjust their behavior in accordance with the laws of the state, they may be punished for such failure. Thus the state also molds our behavior.

Children are pressured from both parents and peers to conform and obey certain laws or norms of the group/community. Parents’ attitudes toward legal systems influence children’s views as to what is legally acceptable.