SOCIAL EVOLUTION

Darwinian hypothesis of biological evolution was one of the most path-breaking postulates of past couple of centuries. Its effect were felt across the disciplines. Even many theological arguments were turned on their head. It is even said that it heralded infusion of secular into the religious space. Many thinkers were so mesmerized by this hypothesis that they fancied new theories in their own respective disciplines. In fact, the circumstances that gave birth to the discipline of Sociology had a lot of bearing on Darwinian theory of Evolution. Early social thinkers were so infatuated with Darwinian thought that many linear evolutionary theories of society were put forth by as late as 1950s. Even today, we tend to believe that our ecosystems are evolving in some definite direction - some say it is progressive, while some others say it is regressive and downfall of human race will be the end result of the evolutionary process.

EK, ANEK aur EKTA

'Hind desh ke niwasi sabhi jan ek hain, rang roop, vesh bhaasha chahe anek hain' was a line from a beautiful 7 minutes animated film titled 'Ek, Anek aur Ekta' by NCERT in 1970s. Most of us remember these nostalgic lines from the video which won National Award as well as Best Children's Short Film in Japan. The message is so relevant even today in the chaotic order that prevails across the globe today. We tend to forget that all religions and philosophies point to some simple truths of life. We have tendency to deify pious humans into Gods, but we ourselves often fail to behave like humans.
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MEASURE of SOCIAL MOBILITY

Social Mobility is a measure of change in social status. When an individual shifts from one social setting to another, some social mobility always happens. Actions like migration, marriage, education, employment etc lead to social mobility. However, it is not same as other similar sounding concepts like socio-economic development, GDP growth etc. Social mobility is always a measure of individual (or a small group placed in a similar situation) upliftment. Others are generally collective indicators. A fast growing economy may still have millions of poor. In India also, a section of population had been less socially mobile than others. When benefits of development are reaped unequally, differential mobility is witnessed. The fact that we still have a quarter of population below poverty is a reflection of that.

SOCIALISM-CAPITALISM DIALECTIC

Socialism is dead. Many tend to claim this in the backdrop of the rise of capitalism in most of the countries in various forms. Even the so called socialist countries adopted some form of ‘modified capitalism’. This picture is far from the Marxian conception and prophecy of annihilation of capitalism and advent of socialism and the end of dialectic process of social evolution. It has not happened so far, but at the same time ideology of socialism also refuses to die and it incarnates in newer avatars. The fact is that capitalism and socialism maybe two binary ideologies, but never in the history have they been practiced in their pure form. Socialism is not merely about state hegemony and all things red. US adopted some of its elements in form of the new economic policy after The Great Depression, Europe continues to follow it in form of social security schemes, deficit budget of all governments in the world to fund public welfare is another hard to ignore example. Socialism remains relevant so longer there is human misery and inequality in society as the greatest emphasis of socialism is on equality of human beings and not so much on an all powerful state. 

JOINT FAMILY

Joint family is an amazing place to live. Old timers see it as an idyllic place which is the cradle of social learning and emotional bonding. For kids it is a haven of fun with unlimited supply of love and care. Working spouses find a solace here as kids are taken care of by the elderly members. Elderly people in turn find meaning to their lives as they turn children again with the new members of the family. Away from this rosy picture, many feminists see the joint family as a noose around the freedom of the womenfolk of the house. In a patriarchal society like India, the burden of joint family falls unequally on the members of the family. Women are made to make compulsory sacrifices for the family. While every member strives for freedom and individuality, joint family sometimes imposes collective will on them. It creates conflict as well and joint family becomes a liability. Apart from economic causes, relationship management is a big challenge in maintaining the cohesiveness of a joint family or even a nuclear family for that matter.

THE INDIAN MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY

'Middle Class' is an interesting word. People belonging to this stratum of society are so heterogeneous that many would even agree that they don't even belong to single class. A bureaucrat, a skilled workman, an entrepreneur, an emerging artist, a doctor and so on, each one of them claim to belong the ubiquitous middle class family. To reposition these heterogeneous members, concepts like 'upper' and 'lower' middle class were also introduced, but they are also equally volatile as the concept middle class itself. Some project middle class as the torchbearer of social innovations and change, while others blame it as an inward looking group always preoccupied with its own trifling issues. Demographers see a burgeoning middle class as potential future labor force, while the industry looks upon it as a profitable consumer base. Middle class imagination is far more diverse today than it was a couple of decades back when a typical family with a scooter was a poster child of the Indian middle class.

LAND and DEVELOPMENT CONUNDRUM

 

Development is a relatively simple sounding word, but is very difficult to define. Fallout of past developmental models have shown that how wrong we have been in the understanding of this word. However, whatever be the definition, it entails one irreplaceable ingredient – land. From housing to infrastructure, from schools to research parks, everything needs land. In India, land is not only an economic entity, but also has cultural and social significance attached to it. For a significant chunk of population, it is the only means of livelihood. However, historically the process of land acquisition process has been carried out in a sub-optimal manner. The benefits which accrued from the land were shared in an inequitable manner with the original right holders. Worst sufferers of this process were those like tribal people of India who had the least capacity to raise their voices. This further skewed the socio-economic scenario, especially in the context of rural-urban development. The new Land Acquisition Act of 2013 is a right step to correct some of the defects of the earlier legislation, but still a lot more needs to be done.