NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Sociology (Understanding Society) Chapter 5 Indian Sociologists

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SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 11th

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Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 5 Sociology

Class : 11th

Subject : Sociology

Chapter : 5

Chapter Name : Indian Sociologists

Q1 How did Ananthakrishna Iyer and Sarat Chandra Roy come to practice social anthropology ?

Answer. Ananthakrishna Iyer worked as unpaid Superintendent of Ethnography on the
weekends and his work was considered as exemplary piece that is why he was also nominated
for the ethnographic survey of Mysore state by the British government. He came to practice of
sociology through the subject of anthropology and also set up India's first post graduate
department of Anthropology. Later on , he became a part of Indian Science Congress and
continued his practice of ethnology.

Sarat Chandra Roy is often termed as an "accidental anthropologist" as originally he had
studied in Ripon College , Calcutta and most of his degrees are in 'English'. After moving to
Ranchi , he spent the majority of his time to study the tribal groups of that respective area.

Page : 101 , Block Name : Exercises

Q2 What were the arguments on either side of the debate about how to relate to tribal
communities ?

Answer. The colonialist administrators and anthropologists considered the tribal communities of
India as primitive and presented a blande assertion that the native tribes had no connection with
Hinduism or any other religious spheres of society , while on the contrary , Ghurye presents the
argument about the history of tribal communities being part of Indian tradition and culture ,
closely linked with Indian Exoticism. This debate was primarily between colonialist and
nationalist anthropologists.

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Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 5 Sociology

Q3 Outline the positions of Herbert Risley and G.S. Ghurye on the relationship between the
race and caste in India ?

Answer. Herbert Risley , a British official augmented that the race is based on different physical
and anthropometric features of an individual and society as a whole and stated that the caste
had originated from the race in the context of India to maintain the "racial purity".It means that
the above argument tries to maintain the narrative that the caste stratification of the Indian
society is majorly concerned with 'Aryans' as the upper caste considers and associates
themselves as descendants of 'Aryans' while as lower caste are considered as service class. He
lays stress upon the relationship between the race and caste.

On the contrary, Ghurye doesn't inherently attack the formation of relationship but argues on a
more practical issues where he states that the above theory only works for the Northern India
while as the discriminatory patterns of south are not subject to the theory of Aryans.He tries to
argue in terms of diversity present in India , where one theory cannot justify the patterns of
oppression across the map of India.

Q4 Summarise the socio anthropological definition of caste ?

Answer. The socio anthropological definition of caste mainly defines it as a social construct
which is segmental in nature. The caste is considered to be based on a power dynamic
structure which defines the distribution of goods among the sections of the society . The
concept of caste is also linked with the restriction upon occupational mobility and the institution
of marriage is also affected under the notions of 'endogamy' and 'exogamy'.

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Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 5 Sociology

Q5 What does D.P. Mukerjee mean by a 'living tradition'? Why did he insist that Indian
sociologists be rooted in this tradition ?

Answer. D.P. Mukerjee meant by 'living tradition' that the traditions were not only relevant in the
past but they also affected all the parameters responsible for change as he believed that the
Indian Sociologists should start analysing the country of India first because its exclusivity lies in
non-individualistic parameters, quite different from the western ideals. He suggested the idea of
realising the living tradition for sociologists because he believed that the Indian society cannot
be understood from the monochromatic lenses but it requires the study of the past , which has
been continued within Indian society since ages. He suggested this idea to enhance the domain
of sociology from individualistic to societal dynamism.

Q6 What are the specialities of Indian culture and society , and how do they affect the pattern of
change ?

Answer. The specialities of Indian culture and society evolve from the concepts of tradition ,
beliefs ,myths, etc . The inclination towards the orthodox and religious ideas is an intrinsic
feature to Indian Society .

These patterns affect the Indian society from its eruption and performance also as all the social
and political changes witness a complete shutdown from the masses and the crackdown from
the powerful sections of the society to resist change and ensure stability suitable for them.

Q7 What is a welfare state ? Why is A.R. Desai critical of the claims made on its behalf ?

Answer. The concept of 'welfare state' essentially means that form of state which works for the
welfare and betterment of the people . The welfare state is mostly concentrated to enhance the
living standards of the people to eradicate poverty, illiteracy,etc from the society.The formation
or practice of the welfare state is seen as the result of i"socialism" in a particular setting .

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Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 5 Sociology

A.R. Desai is very critical of its usage because often the capitalistic organs use these terms for
their vested interests in economic sphere and in the political realm , they change into an
undemocratic governments . Main tenets of welfare state often results in the maximum
capitalisation of institutions to increase employment but these projects primarily are capital
intensive rather than labour intensive but they get a green card from the government because of
the welfaristic claims.

Q8 What arguments were given for and against the village as a subject of sociological research
by M.N. Srinivas and Louis Dumount ?

Answer. The arguments presented by the Louis Dumount were that the village is to be not
considered as the area of specialised study.He believed that the villages were just "little
republics" and nothing else.

On the contrary, MN. Srinivasan believed that the villages were an imperative organ of the
Indian society.He augmented that the villages were the symbol of organic solidarity and
collectivism in context of India.

Q9 What is the significance of village studies in the history of Indian Sociology ? What role did
M.N. Srinivas play in promoting village studies ?

Answer. The village studies are quite imperative for the sociological study of India in terms of
decentralisation to understand the lowest administrative unit of India very elaborately and
exclusively.It is very essential to understand the social patterns and factors impacting the
practices of village functioning .

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Book : Understanding Society Ncert Solutions | Chapter - 5 Sociology

M.N. Srinivas played an important role in giving the ethnographic evidence about the majority of
villages and also tackling the colonialist perspective from the aspect of rationality and positive
argumentation.

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