IGNOU MSO-004 Assignment Answers 2025: : Sociology in India Solved Part 1
Question 1: Describe the socio-economic background of emergence of sociology.
Answer: The emergence of sociology as a distinct discipline in the 19th century was not sudden; rather, it was the outcome of a series of profound socio-economic transformations that took place in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries. Sociology arose as a response to the challenges and disruptions created by these changes. It sought to understand and explain the new patterns of social life that were emerging in modern industrial society. The discipline’s development is closely linked with the economic, political, and intellectual upheavals of the time — notably the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and the broader Enlightenment movement.
1. The Industrial Revolution and Economic Transformation
The Industrial Revolution, which began in England during the late 18th century and spread across Europe, fundamentally transformed the social and economic fabric of society. The shift from an agrarian, rural economy to an industrial, urban one brought dramatic changes. Traditional modes of production, based on small-scale craftsmanship and family labor, were replaced by factory systems and wage labor.
This industrial transformation led to the rise of a new social class structure. The capitalist class (bourgeoisie), who owned the means of production, and the working class (proletariat), who sold their labor, became the dominant social groups. The expansion of cities and the concentration of labor in urban areas created numerous social problems such as poverty, unemployment, child labor, poor working conditions, and urban slums. These new realities demanded systematic study and understanding. Thinkers like Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, and Max Weber sought to analyze these changes — Marx through the lens of class conflict, Durkheim through social solidarity, and Weber through rationalization and bureaucracy.
In this sense, the Industrial Revolution provided the economic foundation for the rise of sociology by reshaping human relationships and creating new social dynamics that traditional philosophical or religious explanations could no longer adequately address.
2. The French Revolution and Political Change
Parallel to the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution (1789) marked a major political and social turning point. It challenged the old feudal order, undermined the power of monarchy and aristocracy, and promoted ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. The Revolution symbolized the breakdown of traditional authority and the emergence of a new social order based on individual rights and democratic governance.
However, the revolutionary period also brought social chaos, violence, and instability, which made intellectuals question how society could maintain order amidst such rapid change. This concern for social order became central to early sociological thought. For example, Auguste Comte, often called the “father of sociology,” lived through the aftermath of the French Revolution and was deeply influenced by it. He believed that society could achieve stability and progress only through scientific study — leading him to propose “sociology” as the science of society.
Thus, the French Revolution provided the political background for sociology, highlighting issues of social order, change, and the relationship between the individual and the state.
3. The Enlightenment and Intellectual Background
The Enlightenment, also known as the “Age of Reason,” was a major intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized rationality, empiricism, and scientific inquiry. Thinkers like John Locke, Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau promoted critical thinking, questioning of authority, and the use of reason to understand and improve society.
This intellectual atmosphere inspired sociologists to apply scientific methods to the study of social phenomena. Comte, for instance, drew on the scientific spirit of the Enlightenment to propose that social behavior could be studied systematically and empirically, just like natural phenomena. The belief that society followed certain “laws” of development — much like the laws of physics — became central to early sociology.
Hence, the Enlightenment provided the intellectual foundation for sociology by encouraging systematic observation, empirical research, and rational explanation of human behavior.
4. Urbanization and Social Dislocation
As industrialization progressed, people migrated from rural villages to urban centers in search of work. This led to the rapid growth of cities, which became sites of both economic opportunity and social disorganization. Traditional family structures weakened, community bonds dissolved, and social alienation and anonymity increased. Early sociologists like Georg Simmel and Ferdinand Tönnies explored how urban life changed human relationships — shifting from close-knit “Gemeinschaft” (community) to impersonal “Gesellschaft” (society).
This process of urbanization brought new social realities such as crime, moral decay, and class conflicts, prompting the need for a scientific understanding of social order and change.
5. Rise of Capitalism and Social Inequality
The capitalist economy that emerged during the 19th century intensified economic inequalities. While it generated unprecedented wealth, it also deepened poverty for the working classes. This contradiction between wealth accumulation and exploitation became a central theme in sociological inquiry, particularly in Marx’s analysis of capitalism. Sociology, therefore, developed as a means to critically examine and address such disparities and to understand the structure and dynamics of modern economic systems.
Conclusion
In summary, sociology emerged in response to the rapid socio-economic and political transformations of the modern era. The Industrial Revolution, French Revolution, Enlightenment, urbanization, and rise of capitalism collectively shaped the conditions that made sociological thought necessary. These developments disrupted traditional social orders and created complex new societies that required systematic study. Thus, sociology arose as the science of modernity — a discipline dedicated to understanding the changing patterns of social life, the sources of order and conflict, and the processes that shape human interaction in a rapidly evolving world.
Question 2: Why did the major focus of sociologists and social-scientists became the village studies in India during the nineteen fifties? Discuss.
Answer: The emergence of village studies in India during the 1950s marked a crucial phase in the development of Indian sociology and social anthropology. After India achieved independence in 1947, the country was undergoing rapid socio-political and economic transformation. Sociologists and social scientists turned their attention to the village, recognizing it as the fundamental unit of Indian social life. This period witnessed a surge of empirical field studies aimed at understanding the nature of rural society, its structure, customs, and the impact of modernization and planned development. Several interrelated historical, political, economic, and intellectual factors explain why the focus of sociological research in India during the 1950s shifted to village studies.
1. Dominance of Rural India
At the time of independence, India was predominantly a rural society, with nearly 85% of its population living in villages. The village was not merely a settlement pattern; it represented the social, cultural, and economic foundation of Indian civilization. The saying “India lives in its villages,” popularized by Mahatma Gandhi, reflected this reality. Understanding the village was therefore considered essential to understanding Indian society as a whole.
Sociologists realized that despite centuries of political change, the basic structure of Indian society — caste hierarchy, joint family system, and agrarian relations — continued to revolve around the rural setting. The village became the natural starting point for studying continuity and change in Indian social life.
2. Need for Empirical and Indigenous Sociology
Before the 1950s, much of the knowledge about Indian society came from colonial administrators, missionaries, and British anthropologists. Their descriptions were often biased, static, and based on secondary data. Indian sociologists in the post-independence period felt the need to develop an indigenous sociology grounded in empirical fieldwork rather than armchair theorizing.
Pioneers like M.N. Srinivas, S.C. Dube, and A.R. Desai began conducting detailed ethnographic studies of Indian villages to build a sociological understanding from within Indian contexts. These studies provided first-hand insights into how caste, kinship, religion, and economy operated in rural communities. For instance, M.N. Srinivas’s study of “Rampura” village in “Remembered Village” and S.C. Dube’s “Indian Village” became landmark contributions to Indian sociology.
3. Impact of Planned Development and Nation-Building
After independence, the newly formed Indian government launched ambitious programs for economic planning and rural development. The First Five-Year Plan (1951–56) emphasized agriculture, community development, and poverty alleviation. To implement these programs effectively, the government required scientific data about rural life, such as landholding patterns, social hierarchies, and patterns of cooperation and conflict within villages.
Sociologists were thus encouraged and funded to conduct village studies to provide policy-relevant information. Many of these studies were undertaken in collaboration with government institutions like the Planning Commission and Community Development Projects. Consequently, village studies became an important bridge between academic research and practical development policy.
4. Transition from Caste-Centered to Community-Centered Studies
Earlier sociological and anthropological studies of Indian society, such as those by H.H. Risley, G.S. Ghurye, and D.N. Majumdar, mainly focused on the caste system as an isolated phenomenon. However, sociologists in the 1950s sought to move beyond caste as a separate category and study it within the larger village context.
For example, M.N. Srinivas introduced concepts such as “dominant caste” and “Sanskritization” based on his village fieldwork, showing how caste operated dynamically within a social and economic framework. This shift from studying caste in isolation to examining it within the total social organization of the village represented a major methodological and theoretical advancement.
5. Sociological Interest in Social Change
The 1950s were a period of social transition in India. The impact of land reforms, spread of education, new political institutions like the Panchayati Raj, and modernization projects were beginning to reshape rural life. Sociologists were deeply interested in observing how traditional structures were adapting to modern influences.
Village studies provided a microcosm for examining processes of social change, such as mobility, political participation, and the weakening of caste rigidity. They helped sociologists document how the forces of modernization and development were influencing traditional values, gender roles, and patterns of authority.
6. Influence of Western Anthropological Methods
The development of village studies was also influenced by British social anthropology, especially the works of Bronislaw Malinowski and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, who emphasized participant observation and intensive fieldwork. Indian sociologists adopted these methods to study their own society systematically.
This approach helped them produce rich, descriptive accounts of village life, grounded in empirical observation. It also marked the methodological shift from speculative sociology to field-based social research in India.
7. Academic and Institutional Support
The 1950s also saw the establishment of key academic institutions such as the Delhi School of Economics, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), and various universities offering sociology programs. These institutions promoted field research, funded village studies, and trained a new generation of Indian sociologists. The academic environment thus played an instrumental role in institutionalizing village studies as a dominant research tradition.
Conclusion
The focus on village studies in Indian sociology during the 1950s emerged from a combination of historical necessity, intellectual curiosity, and developmental urgency. India’s rural majority, the need for indigenous sociological understanding, the goals of planned development, and the influence of anthropological fieldwork collectively shaped this orientation. Village studies not only provided valuable empirical data for policymaking but also enriched sociological theory by revealing the complexity, adaptability, and dynamism of Indian rural society.
Ultimately, the village became the laboratory of Indian sociology, serving as the lens through which scholars could explore broader themes of social structure, change, and modernization in a newly independent nation.
Describe the socio-economic background of emergence of sociology.
Why did the major focus of sociologists and social-scientists became the village studies in India during the nineteen fifties? Discuss.
Describe the ‘Brahminical’ perspective on caste system in India.
Discuss the different views of Ambedkar and Lohia on Indian Society.
Describe the agrarian class structure in India with examples.
What are the village commons? Discuss its significance.
Discuss the debate between Verrier Ellowin and G.S. Ghurey regarding the tribes in India.
Discuss the different roles that religion plays in Indian society with suitable examples.
What is urbanisation? Discuss its role in transforming the urban areas in India.
What are the difference between old social movements and new social movements? Discuss with examples.
IGNOU MSO-004 Assignment Answers 2025: : Sociology in India Solved Part 1