30 Science Technology and Society Studies

Sangeeta Dey

Contents:

1.  Introduction.

2. Meaning of Society.

3. Some Definition of Society.

4. British impact on Indian Society

5. Impact of Science and Technology on Indian Society

5.1 Impact of Westernisation on Indian Society

5.2  Impact of Education on Indian Society

5.3 Impact of  Urbanisation and Industrialization on Indian Society

5.4  Impact of  the Means of Transport and Communication on Indian Society

5.5  Impact of National and Social Awakening on Indian Society

6. Summary

Learning objectives:

• Students will be able to know about the advent of science and technology.
• Students will be able to visualize society studies in the domain of technology.
• Students will be able to explain about the impact of science and technology on society studies.
• Students will be able to explain the impact of westernisation, industrialisation, urbanisation and industrialisation.

1. Introduction:

Indian Society is not only a conglomeration of various ethnic, religious, linguistic, caste and regional collectivities. It is also quite complex in terms of differentiation in each one of the collectivities and their historical and social – cultural specificities. India is a plural society both in letter and spirit. It is rightly characterized by its unity and diversity. A grand synthesis of cultures, religions and languages of the people belonging to different castes and communities has upheld its unity and cohesiveness despite foreign invasions and the Mughal and the British rule. National unity and integrity have been maintained even through sharp economic and social inequalities have obstructed the emergence of egalitarian social relations. It is this synthesis which has made India a unique mosaic of cultures. Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity are the major religions. There are fifteen national languages, besides several hundred dialects. There is diversity not only in regard to racial compositions, religious and linguistic distinctions but also in pattern of living, life styles, land tenure systems, occupational pursuits, inheritance and succession law and practice and rites related to birth, marriage, death, etc. The concepts of all these phenomena were changing or are modified under the domain of science and technology. With the advent of technology, the various societies in the due course of time have modified their approach to every possible event of their life. They are also in the state of welcoming the science. Earlier it was so difficult to combat their own tradition and customs and adopt something which is out of their cultural domain. But now -a-days, as science, technology, education, industrialization, globalization, westernization has given enough life comfort and support for their future, each and every society comes and take this opportunity and makes fruitful outcome. But there are many societies who are not at all aware with the development of science, or the benefit plans for their welfare. The advent of science and technology also helps in various societies studies.

2. Meaning of Society

The word “society” is usually used to designate the members of specific in-group, persons rather than the social relationships of those persons. Sometimes the word is used to designate institutions like Arya Samaj (Society) or Brahmo Samaj. Thus used, it refers to tangibles rather than observations, to specific rather than norms. In Sociology and Anthropology, the term “Society” refers not to a group of people but to a complex pattern of norms of interaction that arise among them. People are valuable only as agencies of social relationships. They are “things”. A Society is intangible; it is “a process rather than a thing, motion rather than structure”. The important aspect of society is the system of relationships, the pattern of the norms of interaction by which the members of the society is the system maintain themselves. Some writers include in society only those relations between men which have been embodied in associations, possessed of definite structure and organization. Thus, the relations which are not organized in definite associations are excluded from the definitions of society. Such a conception of society however is incomplete since unorganized personal relations, that constitute the cavity out of which organizations emerge, cannot be ignored in the study of Sociological studies.

Some social anthropologists say that society exists only when the members know each other and possess common interests or objects. Thus if two persons are travelling in a train, their relationship of coexistence in the same compartment of being at the same time in the same place does not constitute society. But as soon as they come to know each other, the element of society is created. This idea of reciprocal awareness is implied in Giddings’ definition of Society “a number of like-minded individuals, who know and enjoy their like mindedness and are therefore able to work together for common ends”. But this restriction of reciprocal awareness appears to be inconvenient since indirect and unconscious relations are of very great importance in social life.

3. Some Definition of Society

“Society is a system of Usages and procedures, authority and mutual aid, of many groupings and divisions, of control of human behaviour and of liberties”. – Mclver and Page.

“Society is the union itself, the organization, the sum of formal relations in which associating individuals are bound together.” – Giddings.

“A Society is a collection of individuals united by certain relations or modes of behaviour which mark them off from others who do not enter into these relations or who differ from them in behaviour.” – Ginsberg.

“A Society may be defined as a group of people who have lived together long enough to become organized and to consider themselves and be considered as a unit more or less distinct from other human units.” – John F. Cuber.

“The term society refers not to group of people, but to the complex pattern of the norms of interaction, that arise among and between them”. – Lapiere.

“Society may be defined as the total complex of human relationship in so far as they grow out of action in terms of mean-end relationship, intrinsic or symbolic.” – Parsons.

“Society is a complex of forms or processes each of which is living and growing by interaction with the others, the whole being so unified that what takes place in one part affects all the rest.” – Cooley.

4. British impact on Indian Society

It is generally accepted that society in India was nearly stagnant at the time of the British intrusion. The British were advised not to interfere with the social customs and religious beliefs of the Hindus. Caste and class structures in rural India were rigid and stagnant at the beginning of British rule. The Individual was considered subordinate to the caste, the family and the village panchayat. Economy was archaic. Technological development was nullified. People lacked national consciousness. At such a time the advent of the British created a new situation.

The British government, Christian missions, and English education were three main sources of British impact on Indian society. The British government replaced the indigenous systems of administration and governance. The missions made efforts to convert Indians to Christianity. British educationists tried to spread education to bring about change in the outlook of the indigenous population. The British community in India also had a influence on the people in different parts of the country. The port towns and coastal areas were more affected; at least in the beginning of the Raj. The emergence of a national consciousness, the realisation of the value of organisation and of the importance of agitation led to the formation of Indian National Congress in 1885. K.M. Panikkar notes that “the most notable achievement of British rule was the unification of India.” This was done unconsciously by the British, in the interest of the Indian people. They were interested in spreading and consolidating their rule throughout the country. The same argument can be made about the introduction of Western education, means of transport, communication, technology and judiciary.

Y. Singh observes that “the contact of the Indian (Hindu) tradition with the west was of a different and radical sociological significance. Historically, it was a contact between a pre-modern and a modernizing cultural system.” The western tradition had “the Scientific and technological world-view based on rationalism, equality and freedom.” Consequently, the Indian tradition, which already had a sort of “breakdown”, became further open, liberal, equalitarian and humanistic. The western or British tradition of scientific and technological advancement posed a serious challenge to the Indian tradition. Hierarchy, the principle of social ranking based on birth in a particular caste group and holism, the “organic” interdependence between different caste groups, based on norms relating to performances of the assigned functions and duties by various groups were considerably affected by the western tradition.

5. Impact of Science and Technology on Indian Society

Impact of Science and technology on Indian society can be seen in terms of westernisation, Education, Urbanisation and Industrialization, Means of transport and communication, National and social awakening.

5.1 Impact of Westernisation on Indian Society

M.N. Srinivas defines westernisation in terms of change in Indian society due to the impact of British rule in India. The areas of change include technology, dress, food and changes in the habits and life styles of people. Westernisation takes place at three levels: primary, secondary and tertiary. At the primary level, there are a minority of people who first came into contact with the Western culture, and were its first beneficiaries. The secondary level of westernisation refers to those sections of Indian society who came into direct contact with the primary beneficiaries. At the tertiary level are those who came to know indirectly about the devices of technological advancement introduced by the British. Its spread has been uneven and unequal among the different sections of Indian society. Westernisation has contributed to the re-emergence of a pan-Indian culture on new grounds. Some areas of western impact include education, law, science, technology, new forms of politicisation, urbanisation, industrialization, the press, means of transport and communication. The Western impact has brought about “a new great tradition of modernisation”. Certainly this poses the problem of conflict between the indigenous tradition and the western tradition on Indian soil.

Westernisation has created the following in the view of Y. Singh:

• The growth of a universalistic legal super – structure
• Expansion of education
• Urbanisation and industrialisation
• Increased network of communication
• Growth of nationalism and politicisation of the society.These elements contributed to modernisation throughout the country. The judiciary, law-courts, legislations (for prohibiting child marriage, infanticide and Sati, etc.), law commissions and several other legal innovations relating to rules of marriage, family, divorce, adoption, inheritance, minority, land rights, trade, commerce, industries, labour, etc. were enacted.

5.2 Impact of Education on Indian Society

Macaulay’s policy of 1835 to promote English education and language, the emergence of missions to spread education and the first Indian Education Commission of 1882 are the highlights of the British period. Educational Institutions was centred in three cities – Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. English education has two fold impact: inculcation of the western values and ideologies among the educated people and the rise of social and cultural reformation movements. Education was confined to upper and middle class urban people. The British policy put more emphasis on higher education. Education at the primary and secondary levels was considerably neglected. Even today, in terms of course content and management of educational institutions, India continues to follow the British model. The education Commissions was set up in 1948 and 1964, under the chairmanship of Dr. S. RadhaKrishnan and Dr. D.S. Kothari.

There has been tremendous progress in the field of education. More than 100 million children receive education at the primary level. The increase in numbers at the Secondary stage is also impressive. Education at college and university levels has also increased enormously. Today there are about 140 universities in India. Diversification of education at senior school, college and university levels has also been taken up by government of India. Today at senior school and university levels, emphasis is being put on vocationalisation, computer studies, applied sciences, management and on some other relevant and gainful fields of Science and technology or knowledge to tackle the problem of unemployment. Special attention has been given to the education of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes, women and backward sections of the society. Education has promoted migration of people from villages to towns and cities and the process of urbanisation.

5.3 Impact of Urbanisation and Industrialization on Indian Society

Urbanisation and Industrialisation in India are generally concomitant. Several studies have shown that both the processes reinforce tradition. Urbanisation is a slow process in India compared to the developed countries. However, urban population has increased over the years. Cities or urban centres have a concentration of all the major infrastructural facilities and highly skilled professionals. Urbanisation has been uneven for different cities and regions; and so is in the case of industrialisation. A number of institutional factors have hindred the rapid growth of industrialisation in the past. However, studies by Richard Lampert, Milton Singer, N.R. Seth, etc. have shown that caste, joint family and other traditional values have not obstructed a healthy pattern of social relations in factories and industrial organisations.

A large number of industries have been established in the post-Independent India in private, public and joint sectors. There are a lot of industrial resources and raw materials available in this country. Industrial towns like Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela, Ranchi, Jamsedpur, Renukoot, etc. are the products of this era. The enduring factors which contributed to the growth were vast natural resources, economic surpluses, large labour force, high urban concentration, concentration of surpluses within a small social group, availability of trained personnel, a stable political structure, powerful means of state economic control. Today India is one of the top developing countries compared to the situation in Africa and South America. However the production of luxury goods, control of monopolies, sluggish rates of agricultural development etc have come as obstacles in industrial development in India.

It has been hypothesized that industrialisation would tend to change the structure of the family to a particular type more suited to its functioning in a given society. Further it is said that in an industrialising society where there are different types of family, certain types of family would facilitate industrialisation more than certain others. It is also said that a fast moving industrial economy cannot develop within a society whose hardened social barriers force every son to follow his father’s occupation. But this is not true as there is no occupational homogeneity among the members of a caste.

5.4 Impact of the Means of Transport and Communication on Indian Society

Means of transport and communication have really ushered in an era of new social and cultural contacts. Newspapers, periodicals and magazines particularly in regional languages, postal services, movies and radio were all introduced by the British had a great impact on Indian societies. The same is true of the railways, roadways and airways. These new devices weakened the institutions of caste, notion of pollution-purity and hindrances in migration. Spatial mobility was undoubtedly a concrete gain of these means, but “Psychic mobility” also became a fact of life.

5.5 Impact of National and Social Awakening on Indian Society

Finally, national and social awakening was created by the British. Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Mahatma Gandhi borrowed several humanistic elements from the British tradition and used them for rousing national feelings and creating political consciousness. The idea of Communalism, secularism and nationalism, borrowed from the western philosophers proved very useful.

6.    Summary

•  Our effort in this exercise was to learn about the science and technology in the domain of society studies. Traditional society in India is characterized by division of labour, virtues in social life and recognition of man’s virtues and objectivities of life. Life was not static; it had both order and change as its essential features. There is diversity not only in regard to racial compositions, religious and linguistic distinctions but also in pattern of living, life styles, land tenure systems, occupational pursuits, inheritance and succession law and practice and rites related to birth, marriage, death, etc. The concepts of all these phenomena were changing or are modified under the domain of science and technology.
• With the advent of technology, the various societies in the due course of time have modified their approach to every possible event of their life. They are also in the state of welcoming the science.
• Earlier it was so difficult to combat their own tradition and customs and adopt something which is out of their cultural domain. But now -a-days, as science, technology, education, industrialization, globalization, westernization has given enough life comfort and support for their future, each and every society comes and take this opportunity and makes fruitful outcome.
• But there are many societies who are not at all aware with the development of science, or the benefit plans for their welfare. The advent of science and technology also helps in various societies studies. It is generally accepted that society in India was nearly stagnant at the time of the British intrusion. Technological development was nullified. People lacked national consciousness. At such a time the advent of the British created a new situation. The impact of Science and technology on Indian society can be seen in terms of westernisation, Education, Urbanisation and Industrialization, Means of transport and communication, National and social awakening. M.N. Srinivas defines westernisation in terms of change in Indian society due to the impact of British rule in India. The areas of change include technology, dress, food and changes in the habits and life styles of people.
• There has been tremendous progress in the field of education. More than 100 million children receive education at the primary level. Today there are about 140 universities in India. Today at senior school and university levels, emphasis is being put on vocationalisation, computer studies, applied sciences, management and on some other relevant and gainful fields of Science and technology or knowledge to tackle the problem of unemployment.
• A large number of industries have been established in the post-Independent India in private, public and joint sectors. The enduring factors which contributed to the growth were vast natural resources, economic surpluses, large labour force, high urban concentration, concentration of surpluses within a small social group, availability of trained personnel, a stable political structure, powerful means of state economic control.
• Newspapers, periodicals and magazines particularly in regional languages, postal services, movies and radio were all introduced by the British had a great impact on Indian societies. The same is true of the railways, roadways and airways. These new devices weakened the institutions of caste, notion of pollution-purity and hindrances in migration.