NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Sociology (Understanding Society) Chapter 2 Social change and social order in rural and urban society

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 11th

aglase .co

Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 Sociology

Class : 11th

Subject : Sociology

Chapter : 2

Chapter Name : Social change and social order in rural and urban society

Q1 Would you agree with the statement that rapid social change is a comparatively new
phenomenon in human history ? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer. Yes , the social change has been evidently rapid and dynamic in the contemporary era
due to the exposure to different facets of urbanisation and globalisation. The effect of the
political turbulence and turmoil has raised the sense of political consciousness among the
individuals of the society. The process of the 'democratisation' has raised the level of political
association among the affected sections in the society.

The vunerable position of different stratas in the respective stratified society has led to rapid
social change in terms of social movements.The education about the discrimination and
oppression due to the 'revolutionary change' and 'industrial change' has led to the change in the
communities to overthrow the regressive structure of the institutions.

The environment quite influenced by the waves of rationality empowered by the resources has
raised the bar in the countries to achieve the essence of complete freedom , though being a
myth and quite utopic.

Q2 How is social change to be distinguished from other kinds of change ?

Answer. The concept of the change is principally quite complex and entangled on the lines of
multiple identities. The whole essence of social change is exclusive in terms of it being
connected with different levels or layers of the society. The concept of social change include the

Page 1 of 6

Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 Sociology

informal institutions of family , religion etc as these discriminative structures have no position
among the political avenues.

The abolition of 'sati' and condemnation within the society among the masses was firstly a
political move but required the backing of the social transformation on the parameters of
gendered discrimination . The feministic change is to be considered as the social change to be
powered by the justified law systems.

The social change is also inclusive of caste , creed , colour , gender , sex etc as the whole ideas
of ' recognition' and 'acceptance ' is to be acheived within society whether it be LGBTQ+ rights
or Hindu-Muslim harmony.

Q3 What do you understand by 'structural change' ? Explain with examples other than those in
the text.

Answer. Structural change is essentially that type of change which takes place in the structures
of the societal institutions or the institutions that are responsible for its operation and application.
The introduction of the ' triple talaq bill' has significantly transformed the muslim structures of
marriage and is the primary example of social change in the status quo. The decriminalisation of
Article 377 by the supreme court of India will result in social change but firstly it's a structural
change in the constitution of India.

In the economic sense , the introduction of GST (Goods and Services Tax) is an imperative
example of structural change as it will impact the corruption and cronyism within the structures
but will also result in consequential harms . The demonetisation is another example of structural
change has it has changed the structure in terms of monetary production and usage.

Q4 Discuss some kinds of environment related social change ?

Answer. The environment has always been a debatable issue within the communities and has
led to the conflict between the state and the tribal groups in Asia as well as Europe . The clash

Page 2 of 6

Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 Sociology

between the ideas of economic development and the community conservation has been the
subject of discourse.

The "Chipko movement" is an environment related movement but it was originally a social
movement as the women's section of the society realised the importance of trees in terms of
economic value and the "Narmada Bachao Andolan" is also a civil society movement to prevent
the construction of large scale dams over the expense of the environment and affected
communities.

The recent agitation towards the Amazon fires and the issue of narmada valley has created an
uproar within the activists over the capitalistic and money oriented stances taken by Brazil and
Indian government respectively.

Q5 What are some kinds of changes brought about by technology and the economy ?

Answer. The parameters of technology and economy has brought extensive changes in the
form of structural changes . The industrial revolution in Europe has led to the advancement in
different sectors which led to the invention of the steam engine.

The introduction of paper has also led to the revolution in the field of literature and also
reinforced the political movements by the introduction of newspapers , magazines etc.

The development in the sector of media has helped in the creation of narratives about the
concepts of feminism , liberalism, neo- colonialism etc , mainly because of the tele-influence of
movies , albums , songs, shows etc.

Q6 What is meant by social order and how is it maintained ?

Answer. The established system in a social sphere along the lines of faith , belief etc which
resists the social change is characterised as 'social order'. These social orders are maintained

Page 3 of 6

Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 Sociology

by the essence of 'stability' as different sections of the society resist change and incoherence.
The idea of the stability being a subjective idea has also its relevance with the objective ideas
which are needed to maintain social order.

The power dynamics of the society plays a very important role in the maintenance of the social
order as the dominant group or the privileged one often resist the change in order to
concentrate the power among themselves. The institution of family often restricts any change in
order to limit the power among the patrimonial avenues of this structure.

These types of resistance are often seen as the obstacles in the way of social change and
broadly social movements. Its considered as a hindrance towards the eradication of gendered
and stereotyped notions of the society.

Q7 What is authority and how is it related to domination and the law ?

Answer. The authority is the form of the legitimised power as in the political realm it's often
backed by the political and social analysts like Max Weber,Robert Dahl etc. The authority is
backed by the essence of the legitimation that comes from the particular group of the society
associated with a common religion,ethnicity,belief,faith etc.

The domination or hegemonization of one particular group sociologically is mainly because of
the authority that a particular privileged section of the society enjoys. The idea of authority
legitimises this domination even in regressive economic structures and discriminatory social
institutions.

The law has a deep relationship with the authority as the laws of political structures are the
primary pillars that often normalises the authority of governmental and non-governmental
institutions of society.

Q8 How are a village , town and city distinguished from each other ?

Page 4 of 6

Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 Sociology

Answer. The distinguishment of village from a town and city is primarily on the terms of
economy as the village is more concentrated towards the sedentary agriculture rather than the
ancient hunting and gathering activities. On the contrary in towns and cities we see an extensive
impact of urbanisation and industrialisation.

The difference between the towns and cities is more of an administrative issue as the
demarcation mainly lies on their respective 'size'.

Q9 What are some features of social order in rural areas ?

Answer. The construction and characteristics of rural areas is quite different and mainly exists
on the lines of family relationships.The closely knitted society of a village often gives
significance to the caste,creed,gender etc.In the social sense , inclusivity and the eradication of
the traditional systems is very difficult to show its visibility.

The economic movements on the lines of agriculture and technological advancements have a
direct impact upon the social order of the rural areas. The social order of the villages is
dominated by the majoritarian class often associated with the upper class or the favoured
section of the society.

Q10 What are some of the challenges to the social order in urban areas ?

Answer. The main challenges to the social order of the urban areas is mainly along the lines of
freedom of speech and freedom of expression enjoyed by the masses. The resistance towards
the established traditional systems has created an uproar in terms of social and political
movements.

Page 5 of 6

Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 2 Sociology

The problem of 'space' for residential purposes and the nullification of the concentration of
power among the upper castes is also a major challenge to the social order in the urban areas
as they negate the primacy to the caste,class,gender etc.

Page 6 of 6