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After reading this term paper you will learn about the value of social research in India.
The field of social research is as broad as the range of human behaviour and its systematic manifestations. A realization of what this means should make it clear to us that the store of potential problems for social research is almost inexhaustible.
The state of social sciences with the exception perhaps of economics, is characterized by researches being conducted with a view to propounding special theories of limited applicability.
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These sciences are not yet prepared to ascend to the level of higher building up of what Merton terms, the middle range theories, applicable to not too broad and not too specific aspects of human phenomena and secondly, their synthesis in more general conceptual schemes. The social sciences, as of now, are not far up from the bottom of the ladder.
In this continuing process of social research, quite a few specialized theories have emerged. The emphases of concentration on areas of study and avenues of theorizing has kept shifting from time to time.
Unfortunately, very few areas (if at all) have been subjected to an intensive attack in terms of sustained attempts at replication or verification of theories, with the result that many of the prevailing theories might perhaps be on the level of plausibility.
It is also possible that some of them might be ‘context bound’ or ‘culture-bound’ (i.e., valid only in a particular spatio-temporal context or a particular culture). What is needed, therefore, is the testing of such ‘theories’ on the anvil of different concrete socio-cultural contexts.
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Needless to say, the theories to be representative must fit different social situations of a given class. Hence researches are needed to probe whether the theories hold good, irrespective of contexts.
It is well-known that some anthropological studies, e.g., M. Mead’s study of Samoa, conducted in simple ‘primitive’ societies sounded the death-knell for some earlier sociological and psychological theories. Just as the ‘primitive’ societies serve as testing points for certain theories of human behaviour, so also many developing countries like India serve as test bases for the existing theories of (just to mention, two) social organization and change.
It is not difficult to appreciate the replication of existing ideas in a new context, besides testing the theory developed elsewhere, enriches our understanding of what the theory principally applies to.
The developing countries are eminently suited as an anvil for the testing of theories or hypotheses of social change; for instance, of modernization of development, because it is here that one can vividly see change as a live process.
A study of’ modernization’ in the Indian context which may be considered a unique magnetic field of social forces pulling on opposite directions, is rightly expected to be quite revealing and enlightening besides its significant feedback value for theory.
Questions such as:
What are the tangible indices or referents of modernization? How can revival of certain traditional patterns in India be reconciled with the process of modernization? What would be the phases of the continuum of modernization? How can these be rendered in operational terms? Just to mention, a few are questions that social research may be expected to answer.
To expect the last, these answers can help clarification of the concept which is no small a contribution to theory building.
It should be clear now that research designed to test hypotheses deduced from social theories developed in different socio-cultural contexts, besides testing and clarifying the theories by unfolding the ramifications of their operation, also help to define them by pointing out their limitations and thus add to their representativeness.
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Social researches conducted in different socio-cultural context thus go a long way on providing rich insights whereby different concrete phenomena may be grouped under a concept, and by enlarging the limits of the concepts, i.e., the building blocks of theories help to enlarge the scope of the theories.
Thus, the process of ‘Sanskritization’ may be seen as an instance or reference group behaviour and as such may become amenable to scrutiny in terms of the orientation afforded by the theory of reference group behaviour. Needless to say that any specific phenomenon in a particular socio-cultural context which may legitimately be considered a concrete referent of a concept in a part, introduces a problem.
The solution of this problem by research has definite consequences for the theory in terms of its possible revision or clarification or even rejection.Why then, do we have to essay highlighting the importance of researches conducted in diverse socio-cultural setting, especially those preferred by the developing societies?
The thing is that the outcomes of researches conducted in particular socio-cultural settings, i.e., the generalizations of theories, cannot be expected to apply automatically to other socio-cultural contexts since typically, these contexts differ from one another in important respects.
The natural sciences, in this respect are in a more fortunate position attributable in turn to the homogeneity could in part be a result of scientific insight and depth of understanding on the part of those who deal with the subject matter.
To the heterogeneity of the subject matter of social sciences may be attributed the reason why the social scientist is skeptical of (and, it is a desirable quality of the scientific mind) conclusions and theories based on researches in particular societies.
A virtual transplant of research products, i.e., theories, on to any other socio-cultural context uncritically is rightly improper because the native soils are different. Spatio- temporal contexts and cultural operative in too subtle and imperceptible ways in influencing human behaviour.
This warrants acceptance of these products of research only after he screws of scientific test have been properly applied to them. It is here that researches in diverse socio-cultural setting have their own importance.
The developing countries have a very special status of import in this respect, precisely because these typify the conflicting social forces; some of which work for continuity of certain patterns and others against it — a conflict between tradition and modernity or industrialism, for instance.
Such societies are characterized, on the one hand by ‘norms’ that are pressing and striving for social acceptance or institutionalization, and ‘norms’ which are on their way out but not quite gone, on the other.
Such societies are not at rest with themselves; no society ever is; but unrest here is undeniably critical. In them, the social processes can be seen in their highly accentuated form; their problems are serious. So not only as testing points for theories but also in view of sheer riches, profuseness, challenge leadenness of their social realities, such societies have a pride of place as areas for fruitful conduct of research.
The practical value of social researches for such societies in terms of social policy formulation and planning, etc., shall be briefly illustrated with reference to India.
For the sake of convenience, the utility of social research of India to the period 1947, for the attainment of independence heralded a new era of consciousness and development of progressive policy formulation and legislation, and of multitudinous changes and attendant problems.
This was when the new born democratisation started to take its first faltering steps towards its distant cherished goal of welfare through socialism.
Social planning had to be the first need. This was planning for development — material, social and cultural, in such a manner that the weaker and more vulnerable sections of the population, in particular, would benefit from its fruit and smoothly enter the mainstream of national consciousness.
With this end in view, the Planning Commission, constituted of outstanding persons representing major fields of expertise, formulated development plans which were enthusiastically implemented.
The results, however, were not always what the planners would have liked them to be; wide divergence was often evidenced between the overt aims of policy and its consequences in practice; there was considerable waste of national funds, energy and talents. The evaluation reports brought into sharp focus the need for systematic social survey/researches in areas where plans were proposed to be implemented.
This need was recognized by planners themselves but the evaluation reports afforded a vivid demonstration of how social surveys or researches could have avoided much of waste.
It was not long, before the planners realized that if planning was to be meaningful to people for whom it was intend, if it was to be realistic in a particular context of needs and aspirations, if the programme of its implementation was to be a people’s programme and not one foisted upon them, then it should be based on complete and reliable data on the people who are to be the benefactors of planning, their need structure (priorities), their values, attitudes, their strengths and weaknesses.
That ‘social’ surveys/researches are as important as the ‘physical’ surveys of the area in that the success of programmes depended, in the ultimate analysis, on people’s acceptance and participation, was a realization which gave impetus to the initial setting up Research Programmes Committee in 1953 under the aegis of the Planning Commission of India and its eventual culmination in the establishment of the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research (ICSSR) in 1969.
The community development programme, an integral part of the Five Year Plans, was perhaps the most important single constructive activity “so big in content and so revolutionary in design” undertaken by the national government to bring about a rounded development of rural India in planned democratic manner.
Persistent difficulties in the implementation of these programmes in different parts of the country have brought about a clear realization that planning for human material presupposes a thorough knowledge of this complex material.
Failure to appreciate this was bound to decrease the fruits of planning for a community. Each community is in a sense unique, hence no standard designs of a programme can be rewardingly applied to a community, neglecting its peculiarities in terms of human needs, cultural values and the unique intermeshing of forces operating therein. Thus, the systematic studies of communities came to be reckoned as a prerequisite to any successful developmental programme.
The unimaginative application of the C.D. formula to the tribal communities has time and again illustrated how important it is that a community should be developed in terms of its own values and goals.
It has been pointed out by many an official that our ideas of development do not augur well with those of the tribal. What we deem necessary for a ‘civilized existence’ (so-called) has no place in their scheme of thinking and mosaic of values.
Hence, any scheme for their ‘development’ unrelated to the viewpoint and the philosophy of the tribals will not be an unwarranted interference their affairs but may bring them more harm than good.
Hence the need for scientific studies conducted to ascertain the whole kaleidoscope of the life pattern of tribals and of communities in general. It is gratifying to note that an important part of the role of tribal research institutes and anthropological surveys fulfills this need to some extent.
India is a welfare state. In addition to the general social services like education, health, etc. and the specialized social services intended for the benefit of the weaker and vulnerable sections of the population, e.g., women, children and the physically, mentally and socially handicapped, the state is in the process of passing progressive and protective legislation.
The social welfare services need professionally competent personnel serving the cause of the handicapped of various kinds. Such services in order to be beneficial and fruitful have to be based on reliable information about people whose welfare is being contemplated.
Welfare in the true sense implies giving just the right kind and degree of support to the purported beneficiaries in view of their problems so that the afflicted will acquire enough strength, capability and motivation to help themselves grow.
Such help or support that will not corrupt a person or a class of persons but will ennoble them, can only be administered on the basis of reliable data afforded by scientific social studies. It hardly needs to be emphasized that legislation which is a means to a amelioration, must be based on a reliable assessment of the needs and feelings of the people and not on mere assumptions.
As an up and coming industrial nation, India is faced with certain characteristic challenges, which need an urgent coming to grips with. The First and the most obvious social alteration of the country under industrialization has been in the productive organization itself.
Compromises with traditional norms of conduct, their effect or workers’ efficiency and the extent to which such compromises impede full social transformation are important questions concerning work relations in India. Industrial technology has imposed some minimum requirements on the organization of productive units.
The bureaucratization of labour force an accompaniment of industrialization, presents various transitional problems not only for factory recruits but also for the elite groups.
The need for subjective attitudes and objective incentives favourable to novel jobs and conditions of employment is implicit in the requirement of new work-relations and the new forms of productive organizations. Various obstacles in the way of fuller commitment of persons to the norms of industrial work are evident.
Industrialization involves gross changes in the occupational structures mooted by the economic sector and finer changes necessitated by demand for specialized skills. A vital economic problem of India is the shortage of capital; the budgetary behaviour of people also needs to be taken into active account.
The population explosion and the rapid rate of urbanization are evidently connected with industrialization in India. Infant mortality has gone down; there is in evidence a high city-ward migration; age composition has changed and with it has emerged the problem of dependency.
All this has serious implications for the varied spheres of social life. In India, cities seem to have grown at a rate surpassing both expansion of employment opportunities and of public services or amenities.
Technological modernization in India seems to be linked with profound changes in the family and kinship organization. A common symptomatic feature of industrialism appears to be the disintegration of the family.
Industrialization has given rise to many a problem of community organization, e.g., problems of residence, transportation, and congestion. Slums have appeared, constituting one major environmental source of a number of problems of social control. Crucial questions of social strategy are not involved in formulating an educational policy in view of industrial demands.
The correlation between education supply and man-power demand is hardly perfect. The mass media of communication supply the technical basis for promotion of a national public participation in political events and policy-making.
Political participation seems to have been organized around unions or other occupational groups for a variety of interests and loyalties. Industrialization seems to have influenced, in important ways, the religious organization and beliefs.
Realism appears to be the disintegration of the family. Industrialization has given rise to many a problem of community organization, e.g., problems of residence, transportation, and congestion.
Slums have appeared, constituting one major environmental source of a number of problems of social control. Crucial questions of social strategy are now involved in formulating an educational policy in view of industrial demands.
The correlation between education supply and man-power demand is hardly perfect. The mass media of communication supply the technical basis for promotion of a national public participation of political events and policy-making.
Political participation seems to have been organized around unions or other occupational groups for a variety of interests and loyalties. Industrialization seems to have influenced, in important ways, the religious organization and beliefs.
Industrialization has provided a new set of social positions and new criteria of placement and valuation. It has, therefore, resulted in the complication of the system of social stratification. This has been responsible in some measure for status ambiguities.
The above is a very brief outline of the major social implications of technological modernization or industrialization in India. The manifold and multi-faceted implications of industrialization for India seriously spell out the need for scientific social research on a fairly large scale, to provide for a systematic understanding of nature of problems, a sound diagnosis and an effective treatment plan.
In fact, the complexity of the situation (of which little is known) calls for some kind of an inter-disciplinary collaboration among researchers from specialized disciplines economists, political scientists, sociologists, psychologists and anthropologists etc., making for an effective multi-pronged attack on these social maladies, and for devising long-term social policies of real consequence.