The Urban Family: A Study of Hindu Social System

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The present work is a modest attempt to add to the available data on the Indian family. The findings of the present study are likely to help sociologists locate common and unique features of the Indian family in different geo-ethics and social environments. Broad dimensions covered in the study are: composition and types of family, pattern of inter-personal relationships, distribution of power, pattern of role allocation, patterns of marriage as operative in the families, inter-relation between family and education and family and occupation. The family type represents the most important independent variable in the study. The behavioural pattern of the family and attitudinal dimensions of the respondents as manifested through the operation of the forces of urbanization constitute the theme for discussion in the present work.

Dr. A.K. Lal holds a Ph. D. in Sociology from Patna University. He joined A. N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies in 1967 and has conducted a number of research projects and training programmes. As Director, Sulabh Institute of Applied Research, Sulabh Institute of Human Resource Development, he developed a number of courses pertaining to sanitation and social work.

He has participated in a number of national and international seminars. Articles and reviews written by him have been published in journals of repute. His contributions include Politics of Poverty and Behavioural Scientist. He has co-authored with Sachchidananda Harijan Elite and Elite and Development (Concept, 1980)

THE STUDY of the Hindu social system holds a great challenge for sociologists in India. The three essential units of this social system are: the family, the village and the caste. Although the village and the caste have received adequate attention at the hands of Indian and foreign sociologists, the family still needs a great deal of research, both in depth and in coverage.

Barring certain outstanding recent works, viz., the studies by Aileen D. Ross, Desai, Gore and Madan, the entire country is almost a terra incognita in the sphere of family studies. While Ross analyses the internal processes in the family and the areas of strain and stress generated by change in the structure of the society, Gore has studied the impact of urbanization upon the family by employing the structural functional approach. Desai, on the other hand, proposes a functional classification of family and has delved deep into the analysis of the pattern of mutual aid and observance of familial obligations by family members. Madan analyses the family patter of Kashmiri Pandits. Thus, it appears that though all these works have contributed to our understanding of this basic institution, considerable work remains to be done to arrive at scientific formulations on the Hindu family.

The present work is a modest effort to supplement the existing literature on family in a hitherto unknown area with a view to providing comparative data on the Hindu family upon which ultimately. theoretical formulations might be based.

The prime objective of the study has been to analyse the structure and internal processes of 160 families in Patna. Attempts have been made to have a comparison of the patterns revealed with regard to nuclear and joint families. This does not, however, mean that differences revealed are absolute. Any family structure is subject to various and quick changes and if a family changes its structure from joint to nuclear or vice versa it might not always depict any distinct pattern of behaviour immediately.

**Contents and Sample Pages**