Rural sociology in India

755 Pages·1961·14.358 MB·English

by  Akshay Ramanlal Desai

,
RURAL SOCIOLOG-Y
IN
INDIA
A. R. DESAI, Ph.D.
READER, D£PAR'f~NT or SOCIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF BOMBAY
BOMBAY
THIRD EIIl'l'lOIY
THE INDIAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
46-48, Esplanade .Mansions.
Muhatnm Gandhi Road, Fort.
BOMBAY 1.
RURAL SOCIOLOGY
IN
INDIA
i
By the same author
•
1. I:""TRODUCTION TO RURAL SOCIOLOGY IN INDIA.
The Indian Society of Agri('ultural Economi('s,
Bombay 1.
2. SOCIAL BACKGROU!-.'D qF INDIAN~NATIO~ALISM.
Popular Book Depot,
Bombay 4.
3. RECENT TRENDS rs INDIAN NATIONALISM
Popular~ B ook Depot,
Bombay 4.
-
4. RURAL INDIA IN- TRANSITION
I'opular Book Depot,
Bombay 4.
Sol~ Distributor.:
VOU & CO .. PUBLISHERS (PRIVATE) I
:3, Round Building,
Kal badevi Road,
BOMBAY 2.
U. A. S. BANGALORE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY.
ACC.
CL. NO· •• •·•••••••·• ..• . . •. ..... ····_···
First Edition 1958
Second Edition 1959
Third Edition 1961
PJUNTED By:
Shri V. G. Moghe, B,A., at the
Bombay University Press, Fort,
Bombay 1. (India).
PUBLISHED By:
lor
Shri S. G. Tejura,
The Indian Society of Agrk'Ultural Economies,
46-48, Esplanade Mansions,
Mahatma Gandhi Road, Port,
Bombay]. (Iudia).
FOREWORD TO THE REVISED EDITION
The Indian Society of Agricultural Economics is happy to
bring out the Third Edition of 'Rural Sociology in India' with
in a period of less than two years. The earlier two editions were
well received by research scholars, students and the general
reader in India as well as abroad.
The Third Edition is a revised and enlarged version of the
earlier Edition. The text has also been rearranged. These
efforts of the author have greatly enhanced the value of the book.
We hope. the new edition will prove even m,lre useful than the
original one and would be welcomed by the students and
workers in the field of Rural Sociology, The SoCiety is grateful
to the author for the trouble he has taken in revising the book
and bringing it up-to-date.
Bombay, D. G. KARVE
October, 196L President
PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION
The present volume is the third, revised and enlarged
edition of ' Rural Sociology in India.'
The present edition, like the previous one, is composed
of two parts. The first part provides an outline of rural socio
logy prepared by me. Part two consists ot readings chosen
from the writings of others. However, part two is consider
ably altered in the present edition. The readings are grouped
into twelve sections instead of ten as in the second edition.
Each section contains readings which are prefaced by a sec
tional introduction by me attempting to explain the signific
ance, both theoretical and methodological, of the sections as
well as the readings comprising the section. Sectional Introduc
tions are a new feature of this edition. Further there is a
considerable amount of alterations in selections. A number of
old selections have been replaced by new ones. The present
edition further contains many readings which also provide a
factual background of Indian rural society. Readings have also
been chosen from studies which have been made after the
Second Edition was published. In making these alterations,
additions and inserting of sectional introductions I have at
tempted to meet the deficiencies pointed out by the scholars
and reviewers. I am deeply grateful to them for their concrete
suggestions.
As pointed out in the preface to the Second Edition, the
readings are indicative and not comprehensive. Numerous
factors prevent me from making it comprehensive. Inaccessibi-
lity to some ,literature, copyright difficulties ""d others compel ,
one to restrict the choice of selections. However, I have t,~/t_,_;;
FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION
Indian Society of Agricultural Economics has been pop
ularising the study of agrarian life in India for last number of
years. As a part of this programme, a series of publications have
been brougbt out. "Introduction to Rural Sociology in India"
by Dr. A. R. Desai was published in 1953 with the view to
emphasising the need of evolving a SOCiological and a synthetic
approach for studying the Rural Society. This work received
warm response from academicians, research institutions and field
workers. The book was out of print soon.' There was a keen
demand for it as some of the universities and research centres
had prescribed it as a text-book.
During the intervening period considerable literature port
raying the condition of rural India has been coming out as a
number of institutions, government and private, as well as in
dividual scholars and constructive workers are conducting valu
able researches. The studies on the one hand, provide rich mat
erial portraying various facets of Indian Rural Life and on the
other, indicate diverse research techniques used for the study
of Rural Society. We, therefore, invited Dr. A. R. Desai to pre
pare a revised edition of his earlier work with the main ohject
of making the fullest use of this new material.
The revised volume is thus a pioneering work which
attempts to provide a synoptic multi-sided and rich picture
of Indian rural society as it is emerging from the growing body
of literature. It assembles important scientific studies from
sources not easily accessible to the student, and research work
ers in this country. Dr. Desai has devote<! considerable time
and energy in collecting the relevant Indian literature on
the subject and I am sure it would serve the purpose for which
this volume has been compiled. It should serve as a guide to
the numerous students and workers in Rural Life.
Bombay, MANILAL B. NANAVATI
January, 1~ 5~. Pl-esident .
.'
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
RURAL SOCIOLOGY IN INDIA, though emerging from
the earlier work 'Introduction to Rural Sociology in India' is
a thoroughly revised, enlarged and so far as readings are con
cerned. a completely new work on the subject.
'Introduction to Rural Sociology in India' was published
in the year 1953. It went off the market in 1955. It was essen
tially prepared as ah approach to R ural Sociology in India. It
was comprised of two parts; the first part serving as a general
theoretical guide to the study of rural society in India, and the
second part embodying numerous readings. These readings ex
pressed the views of eminent scholars (many of international re
pute) and organisations on the scope, method, utility and the
lines of studies developed by the new disCipline 'Rural Socio
logy.' These readings were incorporated with a view to help
ing the inauguration of such studies in India.
The scope and content of the present work have been sub
stantially changed. It no longer merely emphasises the need
for a scientific approach, but actually delineates the picture of
rural society in India, emerging out of various studies of its
numerous aspects that have been made. It is almost a new
book. Even the Part One of the book which remains almost in
tact acquires a new meaning in the context of the new. Part
Two contains readings selected exclusively for providing a kale
idoscopic picture of the drama of rich and complex rural social
life which is unfolding in the Indian countryside.
Though Part Two of the volume is composed of readings
from various studies, it has a definite design. The ten sections
enveloping the readings constitute a pattern. If perused care
fully. they i1fdicate the tendency of development of rural society
in India. In the context of the theoretical formulations eIi\l~
xii RURAL SOCIOLOGY IN INDIA
bodied in Part One and some special studies made by me, which
have been embodied as readings in Part Two, the present work
ceases to be merely an introduction of Rural Sociology in India.
It can be rechristened as 'Rural Sociology in India.' It can also
claim to be a source book of Rural Sociology about our country.
Rural society in India has acquired a new significance after
Independence. It is now no longer considered as a mere raw
material-producing hinterland. The Agrarian Sector provides
the very morphological framework to the underdeveloped Indian
society. The Government of the Indian Union is making a vigor
ous effort to transform the underdeveloped Indian society in
conformity to the basic postulates of progress embodied in the
Constitution of the Indian Union and concretely formulated in
the various Five-Year ·Plans. Agrarian social structure which
provides the very anatomy to the Indian society is attempted
to be re-shaped with a greater thoroughness. From the incep
tion of the First Five-Year Plan, a huge endeavour is being
made to overhaul the very productive base of the rural society
as also its institutional and ideological superstructure. Serious
efforts are being made to transform its ecological framework, the
mode and motif of its economic production, the pattern of class
relationships prevailing in it, the types of social institutions and
associations composing it, the configurations of political power.
and the very value systems underlying cultural life. Indian rural
society is subjected to the pressures of actively operating agen
cies of social change. It has been hurled into the whirlpool of
unprecedented change. However shapeless the rural social order
may appear. after a decade of independence Indian society and
its rural sector have been acquiring a design. This design re
quires to be comprehended.
It is heartening to note that a number of institutions,
sponsored both by the Government and other agencies as well
as a large number of academicians and reformers have started
observing and analysing the transformation that is taking place
in the structure, functions, power:relations, regulative systems
and cultural norms within rural society. They have also begun
to attaIyse the institutional, associationai, and ideological
changes that are taking place in rural society. Nay, eminent
PltEFACE xiii
scholars belonging to different disciplines like sociology. anthro
pology. social psychology. archaeology. economics, politics.
history and others have launched studies which throw fresh
light on the Indian civilization, past and present_ These studies
which have been increasing in number are helping, on the one
hand to rediscover the true characteristics of " the classic Agra
rian Civilization "of India and, on the other to evolve a picture
of the rapidly changing present society. Unfortunately, most of
the literature is in monographs and articles. A large body of it
is not easily available. A considerable portion of it attempts to
portray only segments of total reality. Some of it is photo
graphically static in its narration. There are very few efforts
to evaluate the total scene. The perspective of the total forest,
however dim or sketchy in outline it may be, to evolve out of
the innumerable intimate and valuable studies of trees that are
made, has become absolutely urgent. It is the author's feeling
that such an outline is now possible even on the basis of the
available literature.
The present work attempts to contribute to the compre·
hension of the new design of social living that is emerging in
rural society. My findings and opinions are embodied in Part]
of the book and the four studies which are incorporated in
Part II of this work.
Part II of the Volume is divided into ten sections, each
comprising a number of readings.
Section 1--' Introductory' :-Contains two articles by the
author. It attempts to provide a statistical background of the
Indian Society and points out the major problems which are
emerging as a result of the transformation that is taking place
in Indian Society as a consequence of the operating of the
philosophy of mixed economy.
Section II--' Historical' :-Containing five readings, at
tempts to focus attention on the geographical, historical and
sociological background of the classic agrarian social order of
India.
'Section III-' Indian Village Community, lts History and
Types ':--Compr-ising eight readings, attempts to draw attention
to this basic unit of Indian society from various angles.