BIOGRAPHY OF M.N SRINIVAS

M.N. Srinivas full name Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas. He was born in 16th Nov. 1916 in Mysore and passed away in 1999 in Bangalore. M.N. Srinivas is an unforgettable name in Indian sociology. He was an internationally acclaimed Indian Anthropologist-cum-Sociologist. After completing his earlier education at Mysore he joined the Department of sociology at Bombay University for M.A. degree on 17th June 1936. His studies are prominent in the area of caste and its other classification, sanskritization and many other topic that revolve around caste itself. He was a student of Dr. Ghurey and also had the privilege of becoming the student of A.R. Redcliffe Brown and Evans Pritchard at Cambridge. As Andre Beteille has pointed out in his article: "The passing of M.N. Srinivas in 1999 marks the end of an era in the life of the social sciences in India. It is difficult to think of anyone who can fill the place vacated by him." The impact of his work was felt by historians, political scientists, economists and others.

Books on Indian Society:

Marriage and Family in Mysore (1942).
Religion and Society Among the Coorgs of South India (1952).
Caste in Modern India and Other Essays (1964).
Social Change in Modern India (1971).
The remembered Village (1976).
India's Villages edited by Srinivas (1955).

SANSKRITIZATION

INTRODUCTION

The term "Sanskritization" was introduced into Indian Sociology by M.N. Srinivas. The term refers to a process whereby people of lower castes collectively try to adopt upper caste practices and beliefs as a preliminary step to acquire higher status. Thus, it indicates a process of cultural mobility that is taking place in the traditional social system of India.

M.N. Srinivas in his study of the Coorg in Karnataka, for that lower castes, in order to raise their position in the caste hierarchy, adopted some customs and practices of the Brahmins, and gave up some of their own which were considered to be "impure" by the higher castes. For examples they gave up meat-eating, drinking liquor and animal sacrifice to their deities. They imitated Brahmins in matters of dress, food and rituals by doing this, within a generation or so they could claim higher positions in the hierarchy of castes. In the beginning, M.N. Srinivas used the term "Brahminisation" to denote this process. Later on, he replace it by "Sanskritization". The lower castes imitated not only Brahmins but also Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Jats, Shudras, etc in different parts of the country. Hence the term Brahmins does not completely explain this process. M.N. Srinivas itself acknowledged this fact and wrote: "I realise that, I emphasised unduly the Brahminical model of sanskritization and ignored the other models Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra". Sanskritization denotes the process of upward mobility. In this process, a caste is trying to increase its position in the caste hierarchy not at once, but over a period of time. It would take, sometimes, a period of one or two generations.

DEFINITION

M.N. Srinivas defined that, "Sanskritization is a process by which a lower caste or tribe or any other group changes its customs, rituals, ideology and way of life in the direction of a higher or more often twice born caste".

According to M.N. Srinivas, "the process of mobility of lower castes by adopting vegetarianism and teetotalism to move in the caste hierarchy in a generation or two" (1962).

Sanskritization is not a new phenomenon as such it has been a major process of cultural change in Indian history, and it has occur in every part of the Indian sub-continent. It denotes the process in which the lower caste try to imitate the life styles of upper castes in their attempt Sanskritization, Modernization, and Westernization to raise their social status. The process seems to be associated with the role of local "dominant caste" castes which enjoyed higher economic and political power but rated relatively low in ritual ranking went after sanskritization for they felt that their claim to a high position was not Fully effective sanskritization does not place in the same manner in all the places.

CHARACTERISTICS

Sanskritization is a process of imitation in Indian Society. Social status of an individual is fixed on the basis of caste, hierarchy. There are many lower castes who suffer from economi, religious or social disabilities. So in order to improve the statu, the lower castes people imitate the life style of the upper caste people.
Sanskritization is helpful in the social mobility of lower caste. In this process a caste is only trying to change the status and not the social structure.
The concept of sanskritization has also given rise to De-sanskritization. There are some instances in modern times, some of the higher castes are imitating the behaviour pattern of lower caste, and for example Brahmins have started taking meat and liquor. This process is called De-sanskritization.
Sanskritization process also followed by the tribes. Sanskritization process is not only confined to the caste people of Hindu Society, it is also found among the tribal society.
Sanskritization is the upward mobility in the ritual hierarchy and it generally becomes possible because of the upward mobility achieved in secular hierarchy i.e in the economic and political sectors. The dominant castes got the higher status (ritual mobility) because of the factors like land ownership after the land reform, government jobs, political power, constitutional safeguard etc.

EFFECTS OF SANSKRITIZATION

Sanskritization has an influential effect on society in man way:-

More Equality and Liberty - Some Scheduled castes adopted upper caste names, discovered myths about their origin and changed their traditional occupations. Now they sit along with the higher caste on the cots without any fear or hesitation.
Behavioral Change - Lower caste adopted other castes living patterns which gave them the liberty to sit and stand before other castes. For example, lower caste people were not to keep a clean atmosphere but due to sanskritization, they started maintaining hygiene. They have left prohibited food also keep their houses clean and put on dresses like higher castes.
Value Transmission - It helped in socio-economic and cultures value transmission in several groups of society.
Exposure to New ideas - Sanskritization is not just the adopt of new customs and habits, but also includes exposure to new ideas and values appearing in Sanskrit literature.
Redefined caste system - Sanskritization challanged that the prevalent idea that caste was a rigid and unchanging institution the concept of sanskritization addressed the actual complexity and fluidity of caste relations. It brought into audience focus the dynamics of the recognition of status by various castes and communities in India.
Societal upgradation of lower caste - The lower caste individuals are inclined towards sanskritization because in that way the can elevate their social status and get higher status in the caste hierarchy.
Reduced Untouchability - Now the situation is that the untouchable practice is almost a abolished from society.
Professional Changes - The lower caste people have given up uncleaned occupation to raise their economic status because clean traders are a symbol of social light.
Modern education, Western literature and philosophy of people widened, and as a result the mental horizons of visionary of people changed. They welcomed rationality and other good features of and made good use of liberal and humanitarian ideas and thoughts.
Vedas has been conceived through intellectual contemplation and empirical observation and used Upanishads for the care of human imagination.
Reformists and their organisation had purely an economic or social thrust. They aimed at establishing a social order based on Vedic teachings and practices. They criticized the mumbo-jumbo of rituals and superstitions created by some selfish people to entangle the ignorant and poor masses. They laid emphasis on interpreting Vedas in a rational and scientific way.
It reduced or removed the gap between the ritual and secular rankings. It also helped upliftment of weaks persons. The lower caste group which successfully got in the seat of secular power also tried to avoid of the services of Brahmins especially at the time of observing rituals, worshipping and offering things to God.
Many ST and SC changed their dressing style and eating habits in a similar way of upper castes. But they had face a lot of violence by upper castes for following their way of life . Though the process is followed by many, One those that are politically or economically powerful succeed in the process.

An Analysis of the process of Sanskritization

'Sanskritization' denotes the process in which the lower castes try to imitate the life styles of upper castes in their attempt to raise their social status. The process seems to be associated with the role of local "dominant caste".

Sanskritization denotes the process of upward mobility. In the process, a caste is trying to increase its position in the caste hierarchy not at once, but over a period of time. It would take, sometimes, a period of one or two generations.

Mobility that is involved in the process of Sanskritization results only in "positional changes" for particular caste or section of castes, and need not necessarily lead to a "structural changes".

The process of Sanskritization serves as a "reference group", it is through this process, a caste group tries to orient its beliefs, practices, values, attitudes and "life styles" in terms of another superior or dominant group, so that it can also get some recognition.

Process of Sanskritization does not automatically result in the achievement of a higher status for the group. People will have to wait for a period of a generation or two before their claim can be accepted.

Industrialization, occupational mobility, mass media of communication, spread of literacy, advent of western technology, improvement in the transportation system etc, have speeded up the process of Sanskritization.

Sanskritization is a type of protest against the caste system in which the status is ascribed or predetermined.

Factors Promoting Sanskritization

Factors that have made sanskritization possible are industrialization, occupational mobility, developed communication, spread of literacy and western theory.
The spread of the sanskritization was possible because of the spread of Sanskrit Theological ideas which immersed along the British rule.
The development of the communication carried sanskritization to the areas previously inaccessible and the spread of literacy carried it to group very low in the caste hierarchy.
The restrictions imposed by Brahmins on the non-twice born castes banned only the chanting of mantras from the Vedas. Thus, the low caste people could adopt the social practices of the Brahmins. This made the sanskritization feasible.

The political institution of parliamentary democracy has also contributed to the increased sanskritization according to M.N. Srinivas.

Thus, these factors are responsible promoting sanskritization.

CRITICISMS

Yogendra Singh opines that "Sanskritization fails to account for many aspects of cultural change in past and contemporary India as it neglects the non-Sanskrit traditions".
"As suggested by Harold A. Gould, often the motive force behind sanskritization is not of cultural imitation per se but an expression of challenge and revolt against the socio-economic deprivation".
Dr D.N. Majumdar comments that it is wrong to assume the process of Sanskritization as universal process to be observed throughout India. In his study of Mohan village in UP he observed a strong exception to this assumption. In this village as he observed, the lower caste people do not have any urge or inclination to imitate the ' life-styles ' of Brahmins or any other dominant higher caste.
It is also commented that much against the assumption of M.N. Srinivas, the "Sanskritic influence has not been universal to all parts of country. In most of northern India, especially in Punjab, it was the Islamic tradition which provided a basis for cultural imitation".

Study material