S  C Dubey

Shyama Charan Dubey is one of the famous sociologists and anthropologists of the country. He has presented his views on many subjects like tribes, rural life, social change, community development etc. He did his study under structural-functional perspective. Shyama Charan Dubey was born on July 25, 1922. He started his professional career as a lecturer from Hislop College, Nagpur. Thereafter he started working as a spokesperson for Political Science in Lucknow University. It was here that he edited the magazine Eastern Anthropologist with D.N. Mazumdar. After some time Dubey took over as Reader in the Department of Sociology of Osmania University. Thereafter he was appointed Professor of Anthropology at Sagar University.

The credit of rural studies in India is given to the well-known sociologist Prof. Shyama Charan Dubey. His book An Indian Village is considered an immortal work. This work is based on the study of the village of Shamirpet, about 25 miles from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. This study was done in 1951-52 AD and the book was published in 1955 from London. There are two important features of this study – first, it is an all-round study of Shamirpet village and has been successful in presenting the village life in depth in a simple way and second, it was a new effort from methodological point of view because it included Prof. Dubey. Under the guidance of an interdisciplinary team, the work of compiling the material was done. After 3 years, Dubey wrote till a second under the title India’s Changing Villages, in which he gave prominence to the changes taking place in rural society and the forces responsible for it. Dubey held high positions in many national and international organizations and institutions.

He was the Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies , Shimla (1972-77 ) . He has held the prestigious posts of University Vice Chancellor (1978-80), National Fellow of ICCR (1980-83) besides UNESCO and several institutions of the United Nations. He has also been the Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Grants Commission, Bhopal. Initially, Dubey was a consultant in the ‘National Institute of Community Rural Development’. Dubey also received the honor of becoming the President of the ‘All India Sociological Council’ (I.S.S.) in 1975-76. On February 4, 1996, at the age of 73, Dubey died in heaven.

 

 

Following are the major works of Dubey

 ( 1 ) The Kamar ( 1954 ) ;

(2) Indian Village ( 1955 ) :

 ( 3 ) Power and Conflict in Village India ( 1956 ) ;

( 4 ) India ‘s Changing Villages ( 1958 ) ;

( 5 ) Essays on Modernization (1971 ) ;

( 6) Explanation and Management of Change (1971):

 ( 7 ) Contemporary India and its Modernization (1973 ) ;

( 8 ) Social Sciences in Changing Society (1974 ) ;

( 9 ) Tribal Heritage of India ( 1977 ) ;

( 10 ) Modernization and Development ( 1988 ) ; 7911

( 11 ) Indian Society ( 1992 ) .

 

This fact is very important about Dubey that he has always been moving in geographical and intellectual form and that is why his personality was multi-faceted. He also stressed on propounding a broad ideal theory (Frame of Reference) to understand Indian reality and complex cultures.

 

Structural – Functional Analysis of Dubey’s Shamirpet [ DUBE’S STRUCTURAL – FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF SHAMIRPET )

 

 The credit of rural studies in India is given to the well-known sociologist Prof. Shyama Charan Dubey. His book An Indian Village is considered an immortal work. This work is based on the study of the village of Shamirpet, about 25 miles from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. This study was done in 1951-52 AD and the book was published in 1955 from London. There are two important features of this study – first, it is an all-round study of Shamirpet village and has been successful in presenting the village life in depth in a simple way and second, it was a new effort from methodological point of view because it included Prof. Dubey. Under the guidance of an interdisciplinary team, the work of compiling the material was done. After 3 years, Dubey wrote another book under the title India’s Changing Villages, in which he gave prominence to the changes taking place in rural society and the forces responsible for it. Social Structure of a Rural Community The most prominent feature of Indian culture is called unity in diversity. If we look at the variations, it is surprising that where on one hand Muslim women in a village of Uttar Pradesh come out from top to bottom in a burqa covering their whole body, on the other hand a group of Naga sadhus or Digambar Jain monks are completely visible naked. go. On the one hand such human communities will be found whose normal diet is non-vegetarian, while on the other there are also communities which are completely vegetarian. If there are communities with polygamous or polyandrous systems, then Ram on the opposite extreme

And Sita a wife ideal is prevalent in the Indian public. If there is a matriarchal system, there is also a patriarchal system. To describe the rural social structure amidst such diversities

 

 Not only difficult but impossible. It is a fact that the Indian rural social structure is influenced by all India traditions of class, caste and religion in terms of the sources of unity. But in the meaning and importance of these traditions, regional or local features also show their clear influence and that the most appropriate and simple way to understand the social structure of each village would be an empirical study of a village by an eminent Indian sociologist. Take the tune In view of these above objectives, we will take India’s leading sociologist S.C. Dubey Amar’s work ‘An Indian Village’ as an ideal.

 

Introduction to Shamirpet

 

 Shamorpet village is situated at a distance of about 25 miles from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh. This village comes in the Telangana region, which is a part of the wider culture area of ​​Andhra Pradesh. The Telangana region can be called a land of fertile fields, deserted rocks, lakes and lakes and temples. Shamirpet is situated on the banks of one such pond and on the road leading to Karimnagar, the main town of the northern district. The nature of the village corresponds to its shade of the southern plateau. There is very little forest around it. Cheetahs are rarely seen in forests 15-20 miles away, but leopards often come to the village in search of goats, calves or dogs. Wild boars also cause great damage to crops. According to the 1951 Census, Shamirpet and two nearby towns – Babu Guda and Upar Palli had a total population of 2,494 divided into 508 families.

 

According to religion, there were 340 Muslims and Hindus in this population. From the cultural point of view, the customs and customs of Hindus and Muslims differ in a visible way. Muslims are Urdu speakers, while Hindus are Telugu speakers. In practice most of the people in the village are bilingual. Shamirpet is not very old village. Its history is about 350 years old. In 1978, the Nizam of Hyderabad gave this village as a jagir to a person named Fakhrul Mulla Khan Khanan. Since then this village remained in Jagirdari and after the police action of 1948, like Hyderabad State, this village also became an integral part of the Indian Republic. Shamirpet as an independent socio-economic and religious unit is disturbed: self-reliant in many aspects of community life. In the wider organization of the village community it is also turbulent: autonomous but in the broader social sense, Shamirpet has the closest relations with the neighboring villages and the residents of Shamirpet are deeply interested in what happens in those villages. major crises of life; For example, at the time of birth, marriage and death, the residents of Shamirpet often visit their friends and relatives living in these nearby villages. Different castes have their own caste panchayats for a group of villages that meet together, in which only matters related to caste are decided.

 

Social Structure of Shamirpet

 

 The social structure of Shamirpet village can be described in three major units. These major units are as follows – caste system in the village community, internal formation (power and justice) and inter-caste and inter-village organization.

 

 

 (1) Caste System in the Village Community Both Hindus and Muslims live in Shamirpet. Muslims are a minority but their group is well organized in socio-religious matters. They all belong to the Sunni branch and there is no class distinction in them on the basis of wealth or capital. They behave like an autonomous and self-sufficient group. Before 1948 AD, due to being in Shamirpet Muslim Jagir, the Muslims there were in a position of special convenience in state affairs. Their position in the village is counted as equal to that of the agricultural castes, but among the Hindus, they have always been considered below themselves from the point of view of religion. Surrounded by the rigid and hierarchical caste system of the Hindus, these Muslims also appear trapped in the periphery of the caste hierarchy and their status has become semi-caste. The basic basis of the Hindu social system is the caste system. Its all-India hierarchical form is found in the Varna system, in which there are four Varnas – Brahmins (priests and scholars), Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), Vaishyas (merchants) and Shudras (servants). But with the passage of time it has become five divisions. There are three ancestors called dvija varnas, only those who perform the Upanayana ceremony who wear the thread. After these, many commercial castes come in the fourth group which are considered relatively ‘clean’ and after this the fifth group belongs to those castes which are said to be unclean and untouchable. Under this rough outline of the varna system, different regions of the country have their own autonomous hierarchical system of castes, but two characteristics of caste are universal – first, they are endogamous and their food behavior and ritual purity are clearly regulated. Each caste is divided into several endogamous sub-castes and behaves as an independent group in almost all respects. these subspecies

Again divided into different clans, which are governed by the exogamous rule, the gotras are also further divided into lineages, which is exogamous. Thus, the caste system in the Indian village is a complex hierarchical system and is the mainstay of social life. The caste system of the Hindus of Shamirpet also reveals a complex and hierarchical structure of different castes. Brahmins hold the highest position among Hindus. Barring the Vaddar, Erkala, Pichcha-Kuntala, Mala and Madiga castes, Brahmins of all other castes are priests. Except for the Panchabrahma group, everyone else accepts food from their hands. They do not accept food from anyone other than their own caste. Reddy, Kumari and Golla are on equal status and are endogamous. Eating behavior is found in them. The situation in Muttarasi is slightly different. Reddy and Golla eat food from their hands but Kumari does not eat food touched by them. After these castes come brother-in-law and Gondla, who have the behavior of bread and daughter in their own caste. They accept food from the hands of a caste higher than themselves. Then there is the condition of Sakali and Mangli, who are similar to each other but do not behave like roti-daughter. Similarly, other castes also have their own rules regarding endogamy and food. The above mentioned castes are also divided into most of the endogamous sub-groups which can be considered independent from all practical point of view like Brahmins of Andhra Pradesh are divided into two main groups (Vediki and Niyogi). These two are also divided into many branches which are endogamous. This

 

 The types are divided into six endogamous groups, the Reddys into four subgroups, the Muttarasi into three subgroups, the Kumaris into four subgroups and the Gollas into seven subgroups. Other castes also have their own sub-groups, which are bound by the rules of marriage and food. Every independent endogamous caste group is divided into exogamous gotras. These gotrams are likewise divided into many clans. The main function of those subdivisions is to regulate matrimonial relations. A person has to marry not only in a Gotra different from his own, but in a lineage different from that of himself. Thus, the structure that emerges as a unit of a caste consisting of endogamous sub-castes, gotras and clans can be shown by the diagram drawn on the next page.

 

(2) Internal Structure: Power and Justice (Internal Structure: Authority and Justice) Two clear units are visible from the point of view of internal control of Shamirpet – first, the socio-religious unit of the village, which has its own functionaries and workers; Second, the administrative unit of the government and semi-government officials. The Socio-Religious Unit Structure can be explained as follows: Socio-Religious Power and Judicial Structure Deshmukh Panchayat Ganadi (Organizer of village religious activities) Kulam Peddha (Head of different castes) Pedhamanshi or Inti Peddha (Head of the family) Deshmukh is the head of the entire village. This position is hereditary. Descendants of the same family have been in this position for nearly 300 years. Deshmukh’s position is paramount and influential due to wealth, position and contact with government officials. He is honored with respect in all the functions of the village and also settles all the big disputes. His decision is universal. But he does not take this decision himself, but takes it on the advice of the Panchayat. In May 1951, there were 27 people in the Panchayat – four village officials (Deshmukh and all three Ganadis), the important functions of the 17 big Panchayats living in the village are as follows (i) Settlement of petty civil or criminal disputes; (ii) to prepare a program of village posts; (iii) The head of the castes and six other wealthy and influential persons in the nearby village or in Shamirpet as soon as there is a possibility of cholera, smallpox or plague. To determine the date of religious worship and to perform rites; To fix the amount of donations to be taken from each family for

 

 

 DUBE : CULTURAL STRUCTURE OF A RURAL COMMUNITY [ DUBE : RITUAL STRUCTURE OF A RURAL COMMUNITY

 

 In any society, on the basis of religion or on the basis of social life, many rites, festivals and ceremonies are organized. These festivals, fasts and festivals are spread throughout the year. There are many rituals related to the life cycle of human beings. All these sanskars are the protectors of the core values ​​in the society and their repetition reinforces the beliefs inherent in them in the members of the society and regulates the conduct of the members. These sanskars are the carriers of the culture of the society, which become the medium of transfer of culture from one generation to another. These many sacraments are the determinants of good and bad, holy and impure and sin and virtue. They are related to many gods and goddesses, heaven and hell and life and death. These long-term rites of any society are not scattered but are in the form of a systematic structure bound by the strings of religious concepts and beliefs. The study of any society is incomplete without their study. Dr. Shyamacharan Dubey’s work has described an Indian village with reference to the social structure of the village. Apart from the social structure of Shamirpet in this book, economy, religious activities, family relations – sources, standard of living, community life

and changing forms are included. Religious activities present the original image of the cultural structure. Both the analysis and description are unique and the mirror form of life has become a reality. The religious activities of the residents of Shamirpet village represent a true example of the cultural structure. Dubey has made a meticulous study of religious activities. A complex cultural structure emerges from this study. Shamirpet is predominantly a Hindu village. Muslim people also live there. That is why the rites of both have been described. To understand the rural cultural structure easily, we can divide it into three major parts. They reveal the cognitive, affective and functional aspects of the structure. By combining these three the overall form of the structure comes out. Briefly they can be described as follows (1) Cognitive Aspect of Ritual Structure Literature, p. 99