Answer : Social transformation is the change of culture and social structure over time. Society is never static – the social, political, economic and cultural changes occur constantly. Idealistic factors include values, beliefs, and ideologies arevital factors instigating social transformation. According to Max Weber, in essence, values, beliefs, and ideologies have a decisive impact on shaping social change. These factors have broadly shaped directions of social change in the modern world. For example:

• Freedom and self-determination
• Material growth ....

Answer : Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. Secularization captures a long-term societal change, but it has consequences for religion itself. It refers to the belief that as society’s progress, particularly through modernization and rationalization, religion loses its authority in all aspects of social life and governance.

Secularization is the process of things becoming more secular. Most of the Western world has seen ....

Answer : Sociologists have tended to define and redefine “social movement” in response to the kind of protests they saw taking place around them. American sociologists like Blumer defined in the early- to mid-twentieth century characterized movements as being on a continuum of innovative collective behavior, as the organized end of a spectrum whose opposite pole was crowds and riots. For these scholars, known as collective behaviorists, social movements were highly organized but non-routine entities where people ....

Answer : Economic development theorists over the last few centuries have developed models for explaining the ‘underdeveloped-ness’ of countries in the third-world countries. There are wide ranges of theories ranging from Durkheim to IMF to understand the underdevelopment but it is Andre Gunder Frank’s dependency theory lasted over the years in explaining the development and underdevelopment in international sphere. Here, we analyze Andre Gunder Frank’s dependency theory from Latin American perspective and its relevance in 21st century.

Andre ....

Answer : Max Weber has defined power as, ‘the chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in communal action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action’. Power is, therefore, an aspect of social relationships. An individual or group do not hold power in isolation, they hold it in relation to others. Power is therefore power over others. In terms of Weber’s definition, it is simply ....

Answer : Political parties are interested in gaining power at the government level. Parties compete in election for votes by putting candidates forward to govern the whole nation-state by winning elections and are interested in every issue of political discussion. On the other hand, Pressure Groups are usually concerned with a single issue, or a set of related issues. They do not seek election but rather operate in the political process by lobbying those in power for ....

Answer : T.H. Marshall’s concept of citizenship is a status, given to all full members of a community. That status is assuring rights and duties, though there is no universal principle what those should be; in general the idea of citizenship goes in the direction of greater equality.

Marshall points out three elements of citizenship:

• CIVIL - freedom of speech, thought, faith, liberty of the person, the right to own property and to conclude valid contracts, right to justice
• POLITICAL ....

Answer : David Held defined civil society as those aspects of social life—the domestic world, the economic sphere, cultural activities and political interaction—which are organized by private or voluntary arrangements between individuals and groups outside the direct control of the state. Various positive functions of a civil society are as follows.

1. To limit state power—By checking its political abuses and violations of the law and subjecting them to public scrutiny.
2. To empower citizens by “increasing the political efficacy and ....

Answer : Pressure groups formally organized groups which pressurize the government to make policies favorable to them. They are the characteristic of modern political system and are directly linked to modern parliamentary democracy. According to Parsons, they are the direct result of structural differentiation. With structural differentiation the groups emerge in specialized form, when they organize themselves in pursuit of their interests then they are called as interest groups. When these interest groups pressurize the government then ....

Answer : Nation is such cultural community of people voluntarily living under one political system which is united by the powerful power of moral feeling. Generally, nationality is said to be the group of people which is united by one race, language, religion, culture, geographical area etc. and motivated by feeling of historical heritage.

State is an united group for the system in definite geographical area while nation is said to be those people who are psychologically united. ....

Answer : Social movement is that social action done by large group of people which is performed with aim to change some values, patterns and social relations but in this process there is continuity and effort. Any social movement is collective action which not only encourages changes but also resist changes. Ideology and leadership are most important factors contributing for emergence and continuity of social movements.

Ideology is a system of beliefs adopted by a group of people. ....

Answer : W.F. Ogburn has presented the concept of cultural lag in his book Social Change published in 1922. According to this theory culture of any society has two aspects- physical or non-physical aspects. Technological development brings fast changes in physical aspect. But non-physical part fails to coordinate or they lag culturally. We can see easily that all aspects of culture do not change with same pace. Today in this materialist era, people have concentrated their attention ....

Answer : World system theory has been closely associated with Immanuel Wallerstein and this theory is a macro-sociological perspective that seeks to explain the dynamics of the capitalist economy as a total system. For Wallerstein, a world system is a social system that has boundaries, structures, member groups, rules of legitimation and coherence.

Its life is made up of the conflicting forces which hold it together by tension and tear. It has the characteristics of on organism in ....

Answer : Participatory democracy is a process emphasizing the broad participation of the constituents in the direction and operation of political system. Etymologically roots of democracy imply that the people are in power and thus, democracy is participatory.

However, participatory democracy tends to advocate more involved form of citizen participation than traditional representative democracy. participatory democracy strives to create opportunities for all members of a population to make meaningful contributions to decision making and seeks to broaden the ....

Answer : The rise in popularity of civil society was largely due to the struggles against tyranny waged by resistance groups in Latin America, Africa and the former communist world. These civil societies not just triggered the demise of many forms of dictatorship but also played a significant role in their democratic transition over the years. Civil society diversified into many roles and today it is seen as representing, in true sense, the ‘people’s power’.

Democracy stands on ....

Answer : According to Weber, power may be defined as the capacity of a person or a group of people to execute his/their will despite opposition from others. Power is therefore an aspect of social relationship. An individual or a group do not hold power in isolation, they hold it in relation to others. Weber’s definition, however is vague about the resources, which can be used in the exercise of power.

Anything, which provides a person or a ....

Answer : Identity politics refers to political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self identified social interest groups and ways in which people’s politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance. Not all member of any group are necessarily involved in identity politics.

Groups who participate in identity politics may or may not be a marginalized class of people, However, group advocates will often ....

Answer : Elite theory was first developed by two Italian sociologists, Vilfredo Pareto and Gastano Mosca. This theory was developed as reaction to Marxism. It rejected the idea of a communist utopian. This theory saw Marxism as ideology rather than an objective analysis of society. Elite theorists argue that all societies are divided into two main ruling groups, a ruling minority and the ruled. This situation is inevitable; whatever may be the economic infrastructure be it a ....

Answer : The term social movement covers a great variety of forms of collective action aimed at social reorganization. When we talk of social movement as an expression of protest, we refer to an effort to block a proposed change or to uproot a change already achieved. This movement arises because people consider social change too fast.

This type of social movement emerges as a reaction against the action taken by the government. Since the decision does not ....

Answer : A compulsory element in every political system is political participation. In every society, though the political power is concentrated in few hands,

attempt is made for participation of the maximum number of persons in the political system. This increases political stability and provides validity to political authority. In a society where political participation is very limited so that very few people participate in political activities, there is more possibility of a violent revolution. It is ....

Answer : ‘A social movement’ is a collective venture extending beyond a local commodity or single event and involving a systematic effort to bring about changes in the way people think and behave.

Considering the elements in the above definition, first, ‘social movement is a collective venture’, a considerable number of persons must be involved in an activity for it to be considered a social movement. Secondly, ‘movements are change-oriented’. They have as their objective, some forms of ....

Answer : The term social movement was first used by Saint Simon in France in 18th century to describe the movement of social protests that emerged there against political forces for status quo.

In a broader term social movement is an organised attempt or effort to bring change or resist change in social structure. It can also be defined as collective attempt to further a common interest or secure a common goal through collective action.

Social movement may originate ....

Answer : According to the theory of power of elite, every society is ruled by a minority that possesses the quality necessary for its ascendency to fall social and political power. Those who get on the top are always the best. They are known as elite. The elite include successful person who rise to the top in every occupation and stratum of society, there is an elite of lawyers, an elite of mechanics and even an elite ....

Answer : A compulsory element in every political system is political participation. In every society, though the political power is concentrated in few hands, attempt is made for participation of the maximum number of persons in the political system. This increases political stability and provides validity to political authority. In a society where political participation is very limited so that very few people participate in political activities, there is more possibility of a violent revolution. It is ....

Answer : Karl Manheim in his book, "Ideology and Utopia" (1936) argued that ideology is all thought distorted by the desire to conserve the present social order and to restore the past. Ideology is the manifestation of vested interest or the programme of action. It is contrasted with the special uses of the term utopia. The ideological social change in society that results from a social movement may not be seen first in terms of the changes ....

Answer : Political participation is a necessary ingredient of every political system. All political system encourage political participation through varying degree. By involving the people in the matters of state, political participation, foster stability and order by reinforcing the legitimacy of political authority. A society in which the substantial part of the population is denied any participation whatsoever, is likely to be highly explosive. This is why even in the modern non-democratic political system, the idea of ....

Answer : James C. Davies and Neil J. Smelser have presented two theories which account for a diverse lot of collective behaviour in social situations that lead to social movements. Davies argued that collective outbursts come when a period or economic prosperity is followed by a sudden down-turn in the economy, creating an ‘n tolerable gap’ between what the people expect and what they receive. Davies 'theory has tow shortcomings-the existence of contrary historical examples and the ....

Answer : Authority and Legitimacy are interlinked to each other. Authority is to be considered as legitimate power. Authority is that form of power which orders or articulates the actions of other actors through commands which are affective because those who are commanded regard the commands as legitimate. Authority is therefore by definition legitimate authority. Its effectiveness in controlling the action of those towards whom it is directed is affected by the concurrent operation of other mechanisms. ....

Answer : Social structure and political participation: Many pluralists have argued that representative government does not require the active participation of the mass of the population. This would appear to be the case if democracies operate as they suggest, with elites representing the interests of the majority. However, the levels of political participation are not uniformly distributed throughout the population. In general the higher an individual’s position in the class structure, the greater his degree of participation.

....

Answer : A social movement undoubtly involves collective action as distinct from the individual action. However, only, when the collective action is somewhat sustained, as distinct from a sporadic occurance, does it take the form of movement. Socially, a social movement is oriented towards bringing about change, either partly or totally in the existing system of relationship, values and norms. Although, there are efforts towards resisting change and maintaing status quo. The social changes that result from ....

Answer : Community power refers to distribution of power at the local community level. Floyd Hunter, on the basis of his “Community power structure” in Atlanta concluded that: (i) Atlanta was ruled by conscious and a cohesive group of upper class businessmen (ii) political and civil leaders are subordinated to upper class elite. In reality they enjoy less power and take order from the upper class elite. (iii) Most decisions are taken by the upper class elite ....

Answer : The term power simply refers to the strength or capacity to control. Sociologists describe it as the ability of individual or group to fulfill its desires & implement its decisions & ideas. It involves the ability to influence or control the behaviour of others even if against their will. In this way, anyone can exercise power over others. When the power of a person or group is legalized or legitimized, it is known as Authority. ....

Answer : Most of the sociologists have expressed consensus about three major social conditions, genesis or origin or causes or factors of social movement. These are considered as the motivational forces which give rise to a movement. These are as follows:

(i) Relative Deprivation: Some of the prominent sociologists who are affiliated to this approach are R.K. Merton, Runciman, Marx & Engels, Aberle, Gurr etc. According to this approach if a group, class, community etc realises that ....

Answer : Pressure group is any organised association of persons with the aim of influencing the policies and actions of governments or simply changing public opinion. It is different from political parties in that it does not seek to become the government. Bharatiya Kisan Union, an organisation of the farmers in northern India is an example of a pressure group.

Pressure group is one of the important units of the democratic polity. Its very existence shows the ....

Answer : Ideology is one of the most important elements, which make a movement. As without an ideology there cannot be a social movement. Which­ever movement we take to ana­lyse, a coherent system of ideology is there, which makes the people move, fight, and see the shape of the things to come. The early 19th century of India saw a spurt of social move­­ments and they all had an ideology.

Ideology as a term is ridden with ....

Answer : The traditional social structure consists of the authoritarian and monarchial system, landlords and feudal governance. The Charismatic and traditional structure of power have been abolished with the emergence of rational democratic society. In the traditional political system, the importance of religion, custom, folkways constitute the basic ethos of politics which have been reduced by rational and logical democratic set up. Only a few individual or group of elites enjoyed the power in the society. Now ....

Answer : The concept of social movement and revolution are closely associated and it may be called that both are considered as the two side of the same coin. The social revolution is a type of social movement which seeks to overthrow the existing social system itself and replace it with a greatly different one. For example, the communist revolution in Soviet Russia overthrew the Czarist regime and replaced it with the communist system of production and ....

Answer : A social movement undoubtedly involves collective action as distinct from the individual action. However, only when the collective action, somewhat sustains, as distinct from a sporadic assurance, does it take the form of movement. This collective action, however, need not to be formally organised. But should be able to create an interest and awaking in a sufficiently large number of people. Hence, a social movement essentially involves sustained collective mobilisation through either formal and informal ....

Answer : According to Max Weber, power may be defined as "The chance of a man or a number of men to realise their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action". Power is therefore, an aspect of social relationship. An individual or group do not hold power in isolation, they hold it in relation to others. Power is therefore, power over others. In terms of Weber's ....

Answer : A social movement may be defined as "a collectively acting with some continuity to promote or resist a change in the society or group of which it is a part". According to Anderson and Parker social movement is "a form of dynamic pluralistic behaviour which progressively develops structure through time and aims at partial or complete modification of the social order". Lundberg and others define social movement as" a voluntary association of people engaged in ....

Answer : The Reformative Social Movement may be identified with partial change in the value system and consequential change in the quality of relationship. Often reform are associated with belief system, world views, outlook, rituals and style of life of the affected group. Indian history abounds with example of reform movements. The Bhakti movement during the medieval India, socio- religious reform movements like Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj etc. during British India are some of the important ....

Answer : One of the characteristic features of the traditional social structure is the feudal system around the world, in general and Varna or caste system in India, in particular. The essence of feudality refers to the dominance and concentration of power in a few hands known as Lords. On the other hands the Serfs enjoy no authority, but are suppressed and imposed by the will of Lords. Similarly, in India, the entire society has been divided ....

Answer : The political elite may be defined as a group of high stratum decision makers in political structure which monopolises political power, influences major political policies and occupies all important positions in political command. In the present day India, political elite includes the members of Central and State legislature, important leaders of All India and State level parties and individuals of the political influence. According to Prof. Yogendra Singh, the traditional elite structure of Indian society ....

Answer : Under the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendment act, the power structure of the democratic polity has been further decentralised; that is power is distributed at the various levels and large number of people have a share in the decision-making process. Power has been endowed to the Panchayati Raj at the village level in the rural areas and Nagarpalika or Nagar Nigam in the urban areas. The case studies of the functioning of the Panchayati Raj ....

Answer : Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication & expression through various medium including various electronic media & published materials. The Constitution of India in Article 19(1) (a) lays down that “All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech & expression.”

This is subject to restrictions on the grounds of sovereignty, integrity & security of India, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality and contempt of court. The Freedom of ....

Answer : The theory of Marxism emphasizes on the material relations of production and describes various historical epochs in terms of its major class contradictions based on the relations of production. Marx and Engels’ support to the nationalist movements, wherever existed, was on a strategic ground rather than on any intrinsic value that they thought to be existing in national mobilizations.

The real eradication of national oppression, according to Marx and Engels, is possible not through nationalism, but ....

Answer : In his last speech to the Constituent Assembly—delivered on November 25, 1949—Ambedkar issued three warnings that are compellingly relevant to the predicament that the nation finds itself in today.

First, he urged his compatriots to “abandon the bloody methods of revolution”. In the circumstances of colonial rule, there were grounds for taking to the streets to protest, but with the coming of a free, sovereign and democratic republic, there can be no justification for these unconstitutional ....

Answer : An élite is a selected and small group of citizens and/or organizations that controls a large amount of power. Based on the social distinction with regard to other groups of lower strata, most of these selected groups are constantly searching differentiation as well as separation from the rest of society. Normally the concept of élite is used to analyze the groups that either control or are situated at the top of societies.

According to C. Wright ....

Answer : Gandhi was spiritual and secular at the same time. He understood the importance of communal harmony in India not only from the religious point of view, but he was sure of its necessity in the socio-political sphere. To Gandhi, unity between peoples who holds different faiths was an unavoidable factor in the process of national integration.

Conflicts between individuals should be seen as conflicts between the citizens of India. If two parties, one Hindu and another ....

Answer : Even in the era of globalization, the concept of nation-state is largely intact.Countries have formed regional groupings for economic purposes, or formed alliances at international level for strategic reasons, but by and large, nations have maintained their individualness. The concept of global citizen has certainly attained meaning for people who are involved in several countries for business or other purposes. The political and eco-nomicidentities have remained intact despite transnational cultural influences. Citizenship is defined as ....

Answer : Regional political elites have important place in giving strength to the democratic process in India. Role of these regional political elites have increased in past decade in awakening people at regional level and fulfilling their interests related with their duties and rights. In India due to its fed-eral structure some problems have always cropped up in relation between state and centre.

If there is government of a particular party in Centre, then no satisfactory steps are ....

Answer : Ethnicity refers to a group of people who are conscious of their identity based on common language, culture, common ways of life. Ethnic group is engaged in maintaining its own identity distinguishing itself from others. Frederik Barth in “Ethnic Groups andBoundaries”, said that ethnic group are highly elastic. They create and recreate identities for themselves for search of mobilisation in search of power and privileges. Primarily an ethnic group can be evolved on the basis ....

Answer : Secularism stands for an ideology and has strong ideological connotations. The characteristics of secularism includes—

• Separation of authority between the religion and the state.
• Emphasis on this world as opposed to the other world.
• Rationalisation and scientific outlook.

In other word, secularism implies that state will not be governed by the religious authority such as Bishop, Pandit, Mullah or Khalifa. The doctrines promoting social inertia such as fatalism and divine retribution have no place in secularism. Secularism is also ....

Answer : ‘Pressure Group’ refers to those organised association, institutions or group of peoples who exercise influence on the government in the formation of policies for their particularistic interest or values. During the British period, the Congress party worked as a pressure group on the colonial government. It was only after independence, when the people’s participation in the democratic system of politics increased, the role of pressure group has become important. The low sense of political efficiency ....

Answer : Even as the chime of the midnight clock marked the awakening of a colossus sixty years ago, there were many who expressed little confidence in the ability of a nascent nation as diverse and as heterogenous as India, to remain united, especially given the agonising events surrounding partition. However, the diversity of India that had once been a cradle for the emergence of four major world religions, yet again became the melting pot of myriad ....

Answer : Demands for the formation of separate states, inter-state disputes or secession from the Indian Union, all point towards the increasing threat that Regionalism poses to national unity and the political fabric of the country.

Demands for autonomy and statehood from various quarters like Vidarbha, Telangana or North-East or formation of 2nd State Reorganization Commission have multiple causes to them like lack of cultural homogeneity, multiple ethnic identities, loose federal polity, regional disparities, etc.

Cultural diversity lies at ....

Answer : India is one of the first country adopting family planning programmes since 1951 but these programmes has not been successful due to various factors like government’s faulty approch, regional variations not taken into account, lack of people participation due to various social and cultural factors, and also poor services provided through family planning programmes. The family planning programmes which was initiated during 1951 sought to integrate most of the basic social services including education, public ....

Answer : Religion is an integral factor in the existing state of social consciousness in our society. Religion provides an identity of being part of a community to all those who believe in the same religion. It is perceived and believed that those who belong to the same religion have a certain common identity. It is this belief in commonality which is used for communal mobilisation. Such an identity can be manipulated for purposes of power at ....

Answer : The 73rd and the 74th constitutional amendments have opened the door for democratic decentralisation in India. The question of division of power among institutions and individuals has been a matter of considerable debate among the people involved in governance. Decentralisation means sharing of decision making authority with the lower level in institutions and organisation. It is called democratic as this sharing is based on the basic principle of democracy and democratisation. There are different forms ....

Answer : In India regionalism is one of the heavy weights on political system. Not just today but even before independence, regionalism was used as a tool by the British imperialists to promote their policy of keeping India divided. Regionalism was deliberately encouraged by many with the result that the people of each region thought more in terms of their region rather than that of India as a whole. Bengalis, Gujaratis, Marathis, Punjabis and what not were ....

Answer : Oxford Dictionary of Sociology defines pressure groups as groups of persons, employers, or other organizations joining together to represent the interests of a particular sectional groups-vis-a-vis governments, the public at large or other interest groups. Pressure groups are interest groups but not all interest group can subsume pressure groups. The pressure groups have lucid goal of mobilizing public opinion in support of their aims and pressurize the decision making bodies to agree to and support ....

Answer : The pluralist society of India is composed of many religious groups; however, these groups are further divided into various sub-groups. Hindus are divided into sects like Arya Samajis, Shivites, Sanatanees and Vaishnavas while Muslims are divided into Shias and Sunnis on the one hand, and Ashrafs (aristocrats), Azlafs (weavers, butchers, carpenters, oilmen) and Arzals on the other. Strained relations between Hindus and Muslims have existed for a long time, whereas some Hindus and Sikhs have ....

Answer : The Panchayati Raj institution was introduced under the 73rd constitutional amendment Act-1992 to decentralise power and to ensure democracy at the grass-root or village level of our nation. To ensure equal participation of different caste, class, community, section, gender etc. the provision of reservation was made so that all may equally participate in the decision making and policy formulation process. There is a provision of one-third reservation of seats for the Scheduled Caste/Tribe and the ....

Answer : According to Donald Smith “A secular state is one which guarantees individual and corporate, freedom of religion, deals with the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion, is not constitutionally conneted to a particular religion, nor does it seek to promote or interfere with the religion”. M. N. Srinivas writes, “The term “secularisation” implies process that was was previously regarded as religious is now ceasing to be such and it also implies a process ....

Answer : Elite are those who excel. A group is identified as a elite group in a particular field in which it is the "power exerciser" or "influential" or "commands excellence". On this basis, the "Political elite" may be identified as a group of higher stratum decision makers in political structure which monopolises political power, influences major political policies and occupies all important positions of political command". In the present day India, according to above definition, political ....

Answer : The word secularism implies two things: (i) secular state and (ii) secular society. According to Donald Smith a secular state is one "which guarantees individual and corporate, freedom of religion, deals with the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion, is not constitutionally connected to a particular religion, nor does it seek to promote or interfere with the religion."

On the other hand a secular society is one which has undergone a process of ....

Answer : The idea of decentralisation is inherent in democracy. It is democratic decentralisation which aims at associating people with the government to the maximum possible extent. It simply aims at breakdown of the centralised power structure and participation of common people in the decision making and policy formulation process. There are so many objectives of the decentralisation. The political objective consists of promotion of democracy at the grassroot level and the transfer of power to the ....

Answer : Before going into the logic of the protective discrimination as sanctioned by the Constitution, we should be well aware of the character of Indian society. The founding principle of this society as we received it from our past as a heritage was ineqality and hierarchy. That is why inequality of the Indian society is called institutionalised inequality- inequality which is sanctioned by the customs, values and institutions of society.

This kind of inequality in a ....

Answer : Religious fundamentalism according to International Encyclopedia of society refers to the beliefs and behaviours of those who regard religious laws and values as the only legitimate principles for organising society and are willing to use any means, including violence to achieve this goal.

Religious fundamentalism involves a belief in the authority of sacred scripture. The believers seek to apply the principles and ideology as given in the book. They see history as a process of ....