Sociology

• One racial group of India is the Nordic
• One sub-division of the Mongoloid race in India is the Paleo Mongoloid
• Christianity in India was introduced by St. Thomas
• The first European colonial group to enter India was the Dutch
• Two racial groups of India are Negrito and Mongoloid
• The oldest civilization of India is the Indus Valley Civilization
• Two difficulties to the process of Aryanization are tribal groups refusing to be absorbed and later waves of immigrants
• Racial groups classified by B.S. Guha include:

  • Negrito
  • Proto-Australoid
  • Mongoloid
  • Mediterranean
  • Western Brachycephals
  • Nordic
• Processes of Aryanization involved:

  • Indo-Aryans being pastoral people with a flair for poetry and rituals
  • They regarded themselves as superior and practiced endogamy
  • Indo-Aryans were divided into Rajanya, Brahmana, Vaishya, and Shudras
  • Avarna or Pancham group had low ethnic status
  • Aryanization involved cultural conflict, accommodation, and compromise
• Spread of Christianity and Islam in India:

  • Christianity introduced by St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew
  • Christianity spread over Kerala and Kalyan
  • Islam came peacefully to India with encouragement from Hindu rulers
  • Arab and Persian immigrants settled along the coast
  • Islam spread through love and persuasion by missionaries
  • Muslim rulers had other interests besides spreading Islam
  • Despite Muslim rule, the majority of the population remained Hindu
  • Hindu and Muslim societies had internal differentiation and interactions
• The word caste is derived from the Portuguese word “casta”
• Mahatma Gandhi used the term ‘Harijan’ for Dalits
• Two tribes of the southern zone are Kadu kuruba and hakki-pikki
• Verrier Elwin proposed the policy of isolation for tribal welfare
• Jawaharlal Nehru advocated the policy of tribal panchasheela
• The alternative names for the First Backward Classes Commission and the Second Backward Classes Commission are Mandal Commission
• M.N Srinivas introduced the concept of Dominant Caste
• The concept of tribe is a group of people who live together and share common language, culture or history
• G.S Ghurye called the tribals as ‘Backward Hindu’
• Social inequality refers to the distribution of resources or opportunities based on social stature, religion, ethnicity, caste, creed, gender, and language
• A collection of families or a group of families bearing a common name, claiming a common descent from a mythical ancestor, human or divine, professing to follow the same hereditary calling and regarded by those who are competent to give an opinion, as forming a single homogeneous community is the definition of caste
• Dominant Caste is when a caste preponderates numerically over other castes, wields preponderant economic and political power, and enjoys a high ritual status in the local caste hierarchy
• Social exclusion refers to a situation where multiple deprivations prevent individuals from participating in important activities
• Two problems faced by Scheduled Tribes are social and economic
• The three views of tribal welfare are the policy of isolation, assimilation, and policy of integration
• Other Backward Classes (OBCs) comprise non-untouchables, lower and intermediary castes traditionally engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, services, and other castes
• Creamy layer refers to the relatively wealthier and better educated members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC's) who are not eligible for Government sponsored Educational and professional benefits
• The criteria of backwardness given by Mandal Commission include social, educational, and economic criteria
• Tribal Panchasheela as enunciated by Jawaharlal Nehru includes principles such as developing along their own genius, respecting tribal rights in land and forests, training and building up a team of their own people, avoiding over-administration, and judging results by the quality of human character
• Scheduled Castes face problems such as social disabilities, economic disabilities, and religious disabilities