Impact of Colonial Rule, Social Reformers and Processes of Secularisation, and Westernisation 

The vibrant tapestry of human societies is intricately woven with the threads of culture, shaping the way communities perceive, express, and evolve. Cultural Change stands as a pivotal force in this dynamic interplay, where the shifting landscapes of beliefs, values, traditions, and expressions mold the very essence of societal transformation. For example, the evolution of the perception of childhood led to laws against child labour and enforced compulsory education, marking significant social change.  In the context of India, the impact of colonial rule has been a catalyst for profound cultural change.

This article looks at two related developments, both a complex product of the impact of colonial rule. The first deals with the Role of 19th century social reformers and early 20th century and the second with four processes of sanskritization, modernisation, secularisation and westernisation. 

Awakening the Social Fabric: 19th Century Reform Movements in Colonial India

• Colonial Catalyst: Influenced by colonialism, social reform movements sprang up in the 19th century to address so-called social evils like sati, child marriage, caste discrimination, and the prohibition of widow remarriage. This transformative period not only sought to rectify immediate societal issues but also became a significant impetus for cultural change in India. The initiatives undertaken during this era were not merely reactionary; they represented a cultural renaissance, blending Western liberalism with a fresh perspective on traditional literature.
• Cultural Change or Renaissance: While there were efforts to fight discrimination in pre-colonial India through Buddhism, Bhakti, and Sufi movements, the 19th-century reform marked a distinct blend of Western liberalism with a fresh perspective on traditional literature.
• Modern Frameworks in Colonial India: Sociologist Satish Saberwal elaborates upon the modern context by sketching three aspects of the modern framework of change in colonial India.
  • It includes modes of communication, forms of organisation, and the nature of ideas.

Modes of communication: Connecting Minds and Movements

• Technological Catalysts: New technologies such as the printing press, telegraph, and steamship facilitated quicker communication and exchange of reformist ideas across regions. 
• Visionaries on the Move: Notable reformists like Keshav Chandra Sen and Pandita Ramabai traversed different parts of India, and some even ventured abroad, enriching the discourse around social reforms.

The Rise of Modern Social Organizations in Early 20th Century India

• Organisations like the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, and the All-India Muslim Ladies Conference (Anjuman-E-Khawatn-E-Islam, founded in 1914) emerged as platforms for public debate on social issues, both in public meetings and through newspapers and journals.

Literary Bridges, Emerging Ideologies, and Intra-Community Debates in the Epoch of Social Reform in Colonial India

• Literary Bridges: Reformist literature was translated across Indian languages, broadening the scope and reach of reform ideas.
  • Example: A Marathi translation of Vidyasagar’s book was published by Vishnu Shastri in 1868.
• Emerging Ideologies: New ideologies concerning homemaking, marriage, and education emerged, with education, especially female education, seen as crucial for societal progression. 
  • Jotiba Phule’s pioneering effort in opening the first school for women in Pune highlighted this shift.
• Diverse Perspectives and Intra-Community Debates
  • Diverse Concerns, Common Threads: While common themes pervaded, the reform movements bore diverse concerns. 
    • Some focused on upper-caste middle-class issues, others on caste-based oppression. 
    • Debates within communities were common, like the discussions around polygamy among Muslim reformers.
    • The opposition to sati among members of the Brahmo Samaj contrasting with the Dharma Sabha’s resistance to reformist interpretations of sacred texts.
• Reinterpretation and Intellectual Growth
  • Epoch of Inquiry: The period was marked by intense questioning and reinterpretation, fostering both intellectual and social growth. 
  • Disparate Narratives in Colonial India: Disparate narratives like Jotiba Phule’s recall of the pre-Aryan age’s glory and Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s emphasis on the Aryan period’s magnificence represented the era’s intellectual dynamism.
  • Catalysts of Change: This period of social reform, driven by a blend of modern and traditional ideas, underpinned by technological advancements, and characterized by fervent debates, laid substantial groundwork for the evolving social fabric of India. The cultural change during this era was not only about adopting new ideas but also about redefining cultural narratives and fostering a more inclusive and progressive society.

Now let’s discuss in detail different types of cultural change.

Types of Cultural Change

• Cultural Mosaic: India’s diverse cultural and structural panorama significantly impacts the assimilation and manifestation of Modernisation, Westernisation, Sanskritization, or Secularisation across different groups. 
• Multifaceted Modernisation: This diversity, influenced by region, class, caste, and gender, dictates the distinct experiences of modernisation within the country.
  • The text invites readers to delve deeper into the multifaceted ways modernisation interplays with various societal segments across regions, emphasising the space constraint in detailing out all the variations.

1. Sanskritization in India: Cultural Resonance, Regional Variations, and Transformative Trends in Social Identity

• Definition of Sanskritization: According to M.N. Srinivas It is a socio-cultural process where a ‘low’ caste, tribe, or group adopts the customs, rituals, and lifestyle of a higher caste, specifically a ‘twice-born’ caste. This complex phenomenon not only impacts social structures but also plays a crucial role in shaping cultural change within the Hindu domain and extends its influence to other religious sectors.
• Cultural Resonance: Its impact permeates language, literature, ideology, music, and other cultural facets within the Hindu domain, albeit visible in other religious sectors too.

Individual Narratives

• Kumud Pawade’s autobiography illustrates this through her journey as a Dalit woman, breaking gender and caste barriers by studying Sanskrit amidst varying degrees of acceptance and rejection. 
• Her story reflects the pervasive caste identity that individuals couldn’t shed.

Regional Variation in Sanskritization

• Divergent Paths: The process manifests differently across regions. 
  • In areas dominated by a highly Sanskritised caste, Sanskritization was more pervasive, while regions led by non-Sanskritic castes saw less influence or even ‘de-Sanskritization’. 
  • Example: Punjab had minimal Sanskritic influence but a prominent Persian impact until the late 19th century.

Implications for Social Hierarchy

• Srinivas posited that Sanskritization potentially elevates a group’s local caste standing.
  • Pathways to Upliftment: It often follows an economic, political, or self-consciousness upliftment from exposure to Hinduism’s ‘Great Tradition’. 
  • Caste Hurdles: However, the hierarchical nature of Indian society creates barriers for lower castes attempting to emulate higher caste customs.

Critiques of Sanskritization 

• Illusions of Mobility: It  exaggerates social mobility without altering structural inequalities,
• Reinforcing Hierarchies: It perpetuates upper caste superiority and lower caste inferiority ideologies,
• Purity and Pollution: It enforces a model of social exclusion based on purity and pollution beliefs, 
• Cultural change or Erosion: It leads to erasure or devaluation of Dalit culture, including practices and identities tied to work, crafts, and traditional knowledge.

Shifts Towards Regionalism and Dalit Identity

• Transformational Trends: The 20th century saw anti-Brahminical movements and regional self-consciousness, leading to decreased Sanskrit influence and a shift towards valuing secular factors for social mobility. This period witnessed a notable cultural change as dominant castes and Dalits started embracing their unique identities, moving away from the aspiration to assimilate into higher caste customs. 
• Embracing Identity: Dominant castes and Dalits started embracing their unique identities, moving away from the aspiration to assimilate into higher caste customs, marking a departure from the ethos of Sanskritization.

2. Westernisation in India through Colonial Encounters and Societal Transformation

• Definition of Westernisation: M.N. Srinivas delineates Westernisation as the societal and cultural change in India spurred by over 150 years of British colonisation, encompassing transformations in technology, institutions, ideology, and values. 
• Early Waves of Westernisation: Initially, Westernisation materialised through a sub-culture amongst a minority of Indians, including early 19th-century reformers and intellectuals who embraced and propagated Western cognitive patterns and lifestyles. 
• Westernisation happened in three ways.
• • Primary Westernisation: At the primary level, a minority of people who first came into contact with Western culture, and were its first beneficiaries.
  • Secondary Westernisation: At the secondary level, those sections of Indian society who came into direct contact with the primary beneficiaries.
  • Tertiary Westernisation: At the tertiary level are those who came to know indirectly about the devices introduced by the British.

Exploring the Impact of Westernisation on Society, Art, and Generational Dynamics in India

• Dissemination and Adoption of Western Traits: Besides the intellectual circles, a broader swath of the population began assimilating Western cultural traits resulting in cultural change.
  • It was  illustrated by the adoption of modern amenities like television sets and fridges, as well as changes in dress, food, and lifestyle habits. 
  • However, this adoption did not necessarily translate to the embracement of modern values like democracy and equality.
• Influence on Art and Literature: The colonial encounter significantly impacted Indian art and literature, with artists like Ravi Varma and Abanindranath Tagore, among others, blending Western and indigenous traditions. 
  • Example: Ravi Varma’s portrayal of a matrilineal family resembling a typical patrilineal nuclear family from the West highlights thematic and stylistic cross-cultural influences.
• Generational Conflicts and Cultural Evolution: Present-day generational conflicts are often seen through the lens of Westernisation, although it may not be the sole trigger. 
  • Despite the conflicting views, such clashes may not inherently be detrimental.

The intersection of Sanskritization and Westernisation leading to cultural change

• Srinivas posited a dichotomy where ‘lower castes’ aimed for Sanskritization while ‘upper castes’ leaned towards Westernisation. 
  • However, this generalisation falters given the diverse social fabric of India. 
  • Example: 
    • The Westernisation attempts by the Thiyyas of Kerala.
    • The opening up of new opportunities through Western education in the North-East.
    • These showcase a nuanced narrative of cultural assimilation beyond caste hierarchies.

3. Exploring Cultural change, Evolution of Identity, and Challenges to Tradition in India’s Developmental Pathway

Process of modernization brings cultural change and we will be able to better understand it through explanation below

• Definition of Modernisation: According to Yogendra Singh, modernization is a form of cultural response, involving attributes which are basically universalistic and evolutionary. They are pan-humanistic, trans-ethnic and non-ideological.

Feature of Modernisation

• From Local to Global: Local ties and parochial perspectives give way to universal commitments and cosmopolitan attitudes.
• Pragmatic Shift: The truths of utility, calculation, and science take precedence over those of the emotions, the sacred, and the non-rational.
• Individualism Ascendant: The individual rather than the group is the  primary unit of society and politics.
• Freedom of Association: The associations in which men live and work are based on choice not birth.
• Mastery Over Fatalism: That mastery rather than fatalism orientated their attitude toward the material and human environment.
• Chosen and Achieved Identity: Identity be chosen and achieved, not ascribed and affirmed; 
• The work is separated from family.

Emergence and Evolution of Modernisation

• Expanding Horizons: The term modernisation, associated with positive progress, broadened from technological and production enhancements to encompass a development pathway emblematic of West Europe or North America since the 19th and 20th centuries. 
• Distinct Threads: India’s encounter with capitalism and modernisation, unlike the West, is distinctly woven into its colonial history.

Impact of modernisation 

• Shifting Paradigms: With the advent of progress and the influences of modernisation, attitudes have changed to religion and to the celebration of the many festivals. 
• Evolution of Tradition: Rituals, procedures of ceremonies, taboos associated with these ceremonies, the value and amount of sacrifices to be made, are now all subjects of constant change, especially in the mushrooming urban areas.
• Challenges to Tribal Identity: These new pressures on the concept of tribal identity have meant that traditional practices and their preservation have become almost a necessary expression of being tribal. 
  • Festivals have emerged as an emphatic projection of that sense of a unified tribe identity.
• From Seasonal Cycles to Formal Dates: Traditionally, seasonal cycles determined the days of the celebration; now dates for the celebration have been formalised with each marked on the official government calendar.
• Evolution of Festivals: At these festival celebrations, flags of no definite design, chief guests and speeches, and Miss Festival contests have become the new necessities. 
• Unraveling Traditions: With rational concepts and worldviews infiltrating the minds of the tribal people, the practice and performance of the old faith is under due and undue scrutiny.

4. The Complex Dynamics of Secularisation in India, from Rituals to Caste and the Interlink with Modernisation

• Definition of Secularisation: According to Bryan Wilson, secularisation refers to the decline in organised religious participation indicates a way in which the churches are losing the direct influence over the ideas and activities of man.
• Secularisation in India: Contrary to the Western notion of secularisation implying a decline in religious influence, India showcases a complex interplay. 
• Secular Threads in Rituals: Secular dimensions to traditional rituals, often displaying social status and political affiliations.

The secularisation of Caste

• Caste Evolution in Contemporary India: Modern-day India observes a transformation of caste dynamics from religious tenets of purity and pollution to political pressure groups, signifying a secularisation of caste. 
• The Rise of Caste-Based Political Entities: This change underlines the emergence of caste-based associations and political entities advocating for their demands, marking a shift from religious to political arenas. It is leading to cultural change at social level.

Interlinking between Modernisation and Secularisation

• Rudolphs’ Thesis: The narrative of modernisation and secularisation in India reflects a move towards cosmopolitan attitudes, individual choice over ascribed roles, and a scientific, rational worldview over traditional, emotional, or religious perspectives, as posited by Rudolph and Rudolph (1967). 
• From Local to Universal: These processes underscore a broader shift from local to universal contexts influencing individual and collective choices.