Cultural Change — Reform Movements, Sanskritisation, Westernisation, Modernisation and Secularisation

Structural change altered how Indians worked and where they lived; cultural change altered what they believed, valued and practised. This chapter follows the social reform movements that arose under colonial rule — why they took the shape they did and the ideas they drew on — and then introduces four concepts sociologists use to describe cultural change in India. Two of them, Sanskritisation and Westernisation, were coined by M. N. Srinivas; the other two, modernisation and secularisation, come from wider sociological debate. The paper tests the definitions closely, and also the criticisms of Sanskritisation, so read both sides.

Social Reform Movements under Colonial Rule

In the nineteenth century, Indian reformers took up practices such as sati, child marriage, the ban on widow remarriage, the denial of education to women, and caste discrimination. The book stresses that these movements arose in the colonial context: they responded both to the challenges colonial rule and Western ideas posed and to criticisms of Indian society made by colonial officials and missionaries. Following the sociologist Satish Saberwal, the book identifies three aspects of the modern framework of change in colonial India:

Saberwal's three aspects of the modern framework of change
AspectWhat changed
Modes of communicationThe printing press, the telegraph and later the microphone, and the movement of people and goods by steamship and railway, spread new ideas quickly and widely
Forms of organisationNew associations — the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal, the Arya Samaj in Punjab, the Prarthana Samaj and the Sarvajanik Sabha in Maharashtra, the Arya Mahila Samaj founded by Pandita Ramabai, and the Anjuman-e-Khawatin-e-Islam, an all-India Muslim women's organisation founded in 1914
Nature of ideasNew ideas of liberalism and freedom, of homemaking and marriage, and new roles for women and men, combined with fresh readings of traditional texts

Reformers drew on both modern ideas and traditional sources. Raja Rammohun Roy, who campaigned against sati, and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who championed widow remarriage, argued that their reforms were supported by ancient texts properly read, while also appealing to reason and humanity. Jotiba Phule went further, attacking caste and the subordination of women together and founding the Satyashodhak Samaj. In Kerala, Sree Narayana Guru challenged caste discrimination with the message of "one caste, one religion, one God for mankind". Sir Syed Ahmad Khan argued for modern education among Muslims and for an interpretation of Islam that valued free enquiry. Reform also provoked debate within communities, as orthodox groups organised to oppose it — modern associations and the press were used on both sides.

Sanskritisation — Definition and Criticisms

M. N. Srinivas defined Sanskritisation as the process by which a "low" caste or tribe or other group changes its customs, ritual, ideology and way of life in the direction of a high, and frequently "twice-born", caste. Groups adopting vegetarianism, giving up practices regarded as "impure", taking on the rituals and names of higher castes, and claiming a higher place in the caste order are typical examples. Srinivas noted that the model imitated was not always the Brahmin: in many regions it was the locally dominant caste. Sanskritisation could bring a group upward mobility within the caste order over a generation or two.

  • It exaggerates social mobility: it leads to positional change for some groups, not structural change — a few groups move up, but the hierarchy itself remains, and inequality is not removed.
  • It accepts the ideology of hierarchy: it treats the "upper" caste way of life as superior and desirable, so imitating it implicitly endorses the idea that the "lower" ways are inferior.
  • It can justify exclusion and inequality: a group that sanskritises may begin to practise discrimination against those below it.
  • It can worsen the position of women: adopting upper-caste norms has meant practices such as the seclusion of women and the replacement of bride-price by dowry.
  • It devalues the culture of the excluded: the skills and culture of Dalit communities — including the value of labour — come to be seen as backward rather than worth preserving.

The opposite movement, sometimes called de-Sanskritisation, is seen in the anti-Brahmin and non-Brahmin movements — such as the Self-Respect Movement associated with Periyar in the Tamil region — and in Dalit movements that reject the upper-caste model and assert pride in their own identity and culture.

Westernisation, Modernisation and Secularisation

Srinivas defined Westernisation as "the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule, the term subsuming changes occurring at different levels — technology, institutions, ideology and values". It included a Westernised sub-culture among the small group of Indians who first came into contact with Western culture — the English-educated intelligentsia — and also the wider adoption of Western cultural traits such as new technology, dress, food and changes in everyday habits. Srinivas observed that Westernisation and Sanskritisation could proceed together: upper castes Westernising while lower castes Sanskritised.

Modernisation at first referred to improvements in technology and production, and came to mean the path of development that Western Europe and North America had taken. The book quotes a list of the assumptions it carries: that local ties and parochial perspectives give way to universal commitments and cosmopolitan attitudes; that the truths of utility, calculation and science take precedence over those of emotion, the sacred and the non-rational; that the individual rather than the group is the primary unit of society and politics; that the associations in which people live and work are based on choice, not birth; that mastery rather than fatalism guides their attitude to the environment; that identity is chosen and achieved, not ascribed; and that work is separated from family, residence and community in bureaucratic organisations.

Secularisation usually means a decline in the influence of religion, measured by participation in religious organisations, their social and material influence, and the extent of religious belief. The book notes that the Indian experience is more complicated. Religious rituals have not simply declined; many have become more elaborate. But rituals also have secular dimensions: they are occasions for socialising, for meeting kin and caste members, and for the display of wealth and status. Similarly, caste associations and caste-based political mobilisation show caste being used for secular, political ends — a kind of secularisation of caste itself.

⚠️ Sanskritisation is not Westernisation in Sanskrit clothes
Sanskritisation moves a group towards the customs of a higher caste — the model is internal to caste society. Westernisation moves people towards the technology, institutions and values introduced under British rule — the model is external. Both were coined by M. N. Srinivas, which is why distractors swap their definitions.

Key takeaways

  • Satish Saberwal: modes of communication, forms of organisation and the nature of ideas framed modern change in colonial India.
  • Reformers combined modern ideas with readings of traditional texts; Sree Narayana Guru preached "one caste, one religion, one God for mankind".
  • Srinivas: Sanskritisation is a "low" group adopting the customs and way of life of a high, often twice-born, caste — or of the local dominant caste.
  • Critics: Sanskritisation brings positional, not structural, change; accepts hierarchy; can justify exclusion and worsen women's position.
  • Srinivas: Westernisation is change resulting from over 150 years of British rule, at the levels of technology, institutions, ideology and values.
  • Modernisation assumes universal commitments, the individual as the unit, choice over birth, and achieved rather than ascribed identity.
  • Secularisation means religion's declining influence; in India rituals have secular dimensions and caste is used for secular ends.

Practice questions (8)

Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.

  1. Satish Saberwal identified three aspects of the modern framework of change in colonial India. They are:

    1. Modes of communication, forms of organisation and the nature of ideas
    2. Caste, class and gender
    3. Sanskritisation, Westernisation and secularisation
    4. Industrialisation, urbanisation and migration
    Show answer

    Answer: A — Modes of communication, forms of organisation and the nature of ideas

    Saberwal pointed to new modes of communication (the press, telegraph, railways), new forms of organisation (associations such as the Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj) and the new nature of ideas (liberalism, freedom, new roles for women and men). Sanskritisation, Westernisation and secularisation are the trap: they are processes of cultural change discussed in the same chapter, not Saberwal's framework.

  2. The process by which a "low" caste, tribe or other group changes its customs, ritual, ideology and way of life in the direction of a high, frequently "twice-born", caste is called:

    1. Westernisation
    2. Modernisation
    3. Sanskritisation
    4. Secularisation
    Show answer

    Answer: C — Sanskritisation

    This is M. N. Srinivas's definition of Sanskritisation. Westernisation, also coined by Srinivas, is the likeliest confusion, but it describes change resulting from British rule — in technology, institutions, ideology and values — not imitation of a higher caste. Modernisation and secularisation are broader concepts not tied to caste.

  3. Which of the following is a criticism of the concept of Sanskritisation recorded in the book?

    1. It describes upper castes adopting lower-caste customs
    2. It applies only to urban factory workers
    3. It ignores the influence of the printing press and the railways on caste
    4. It brings positional rather than structural change
    Show answer

    Answer: D — It brings positional rather than structural change

    Critics argue that Sanskritisation exaggerates social mobility: some groups move up, but the hierarchy remains — positional, not structural, change. The book also notes that it accepts the ideology of hierarchy and can worsen the position of women. The first option reverses the direction of imitation, which runs from "low" groups towards higher castes.

  4. M. N. Srinivas used the term "Westernisation" to refer to:

    1. The migration of Indians to Western countries
    2. Changes resulting from British rule in technology, institutions, ideology and values
    3. The adoption of upper-caste rituals by lower castes
    4. The decline of religion in public life
    Show answer

    Answer: B — Changes resulting from British rule in technology, institutions, ideology and values

    Srinivas defined Westernisation as the changes brought about in Indian society and culture by over 150 years of British rule, at the levels of technology, institutions, ideology and values. Adopting upper-caste rituals is Sanskritisation, his other concept, and the decline of religion is secularisation — the three are distinct and distractors swap them.

  5. Which of the following is NOT one of the assumptions of modernisation listed in the book?

    1. Local ties give way to universal commitments
    2. The individual rather than the group is the primary unit
    3. Associations are based on choice rather than birth
    4. Identity is ascribed by birth rather than achieved
    Show answer

    Answer: D — Identity is ascribed by birth rather than achieved

    Modernisation assumes that identity is chosen and achieved, not ascribed and affirmed — so the statement that identity is ascribed by birth reverses it. The other three are on the book's list, alongside the precedence of science and calculation over the sacred and the separation of work from family and community.

  6. The reformer from Kerala associated with the message "one caste, one religion, one God for mankind" was:

    1. Jotiba Phule
    2. Sree Narayana Guru
    3. Dayanand Saraswati
    4. Raja Rammohun Roy
    Show answer

    Answer: B — Sree Narayana Guru

    Sree Narayana Guru challenged caste discrimination in Kerala with this message. Jotiba Phule is the closest trap, since he too attacked caste, but he worked in Maharashtra and founded the Satyashodhak Samaj. Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj, and Rammohun Roy is associated with the campaign against sati in Bengal.

  7. Assertion (A): In India, the observance of religious rituals has not simply declined with modernisation. Reason (R): Rituals often have secular dimensions, serving as occasions for socialising and for the display of wealth and status.

    1. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A
    2. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A
    3. A is true, but R is false
    4. A is false, but R is true
    Show answer

    Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

    The book notes that many rituals have become more elaborate rather than fading, and it explains this partly by their secular functions — meeting kin and caste members, and displaying wealth and status. R therefore helps explain A. Treating rising ritual as proof that secularisation has not touched India misses this point: the ritual persists partly because it serves secular ends.

  8. Match the reformer with the cause most associated with them.
    A. Raja Rammohun Roy B. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar C. Jotiba Phule D. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
    1. Modern education among Muslims
    2. Campaign against sati
    3. Attack on caste and gender oppression; the Satyashodhak Samaj
    4. Widow remarriage, argued from the shastras

    1. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
    2. A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
    3. A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1
    4. A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
    Show answer

    Answer: C — A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1

    Rammohun Roy campaigned against sati, Vidyasagar championed widow remarriage and cited the shastras in its support, Phule attacked caste and gender oppression together and founded the Satyashodhak Samaj, and Sir Syed promoted modern education among Muslims. Swapping Rammohun Roy and Vidyasagar is the usual error, since both were Bengal reformers who argued from ancient texts.