MODERNIZATION OF INDIAN TRADITION
	Saroj Kumar Samal M.A(Gold-Medalist) M.Phil(Sociology) & LL.B Director, Saroj Samal’s I.A.S, New Delhi Email: sarojksamal@gmail.com

           

Tradition lays emphasis on uncritical acceptance of past. Modernity is invariably related to the spirit of freedom, science and reason. So modernity is the substantial break with tradition. There is a misconceived belief that Indian society is a rigid, static, timeless and space less society. But we know it rationally that a living society can not be the replica of its past, howsoever glorious it might have been. People living its culture are not only the carriers of tradition but also its modernizes. Therefore by modernization of Indian tradition, we mean that its is a process of change brought into Indian society by which certain alteration is made in the traditional elements so that tradition makes adjustment with the emergent modern elements. Therefore in the process of change, tradition and modernity coexist.

The tradition of India is characterized by four attributes such as hierarchy, holism, continuity and transcendentalism. Tradition of our society may be divided into (a) Great tradition and (b) Little tradition. Great tradition refers to the cultural beliefs and practices which are held through out the country. Little tradition comprises the cultural beliefs and practices held by folks through oral tradition and localized adaptations of cultures, roles and values of the great tradition: All the Hindu, Muslim and Christian traditions of India were rooted in the principle of hierarchy, holism, continuity and transcendence. Modernization of tradition means a change from hierarchy to equality from holism to individualism, from continuity to historically and from transcendence to this Worldly rationalism and secularism.

Indian society/tradition was exposed to modernization under the impact of westernization. There emerged universalistic legal system, educational modernization, expansion of communication networks, technologies, urban-industrial Centres and the modern political institutions. All these account for the institutionalization of a parallel “Great tradition”. In the sphere of “little tradition” two forces of change namely Sanskritization and Islamization which emanated from within the Hindu and Islamic tradition respectively. Sanskritization refers to the “Process by which a low caste or a tribe or any other group, changes its customs, rituals, ideology & way of life in the direction of a high frequently twice – born caste”. Islamisation refers to conversion to Islam. It was determined by such structural factors as redefinition of self image, frustration from the closure of the existing system of stratification and anticipation that conversion would improve status. Like Sanskritization, Islamisation was popular among lower castes.

Indian society was exposed to the exogenous(external) source of modernization through its contact with the western society. The diffusion of modern rational ideas and elements has also contributed in strengthening some of the elements of our tradition. For instance, when caste is sought to be dislodged from ritual (religious) domain, it enters into political domain and caste consciousness comes back with a vengeance through urbanization. In the face of scientific temper, religiosity and ritualism also increased by using the advanced means of transportation and communication. The joint family norms instead of fading away in face of urbanization and industrialization, still may be retained by adopting to the process of democratization and acceptance of dissent. All these examples bear testimony to the fact that what is being continued is a transformed version of the past. Probably this point was in mind of Clifford Geertz when he titled his book “Old Societies, New states”.

Another significant dimension of modernization of Indian tradition is the peaceful coexistence of the elements of tradition and modernity. Even among the modern educated class, during sickness in the family, a modern physician visits the patient in the morning and the same family takes recourse to sorcery and taveez (amcelet) from the so-called godmen, swamis and babas, pirs and faqirs in the evening. A common sight in any Indian village is the puja for the tractor bought by a farmer, invoking the blessing of local deity, performing aarti and applying sindoor (vermilion) to the tractor, a product of modern technology. The live telecasting of Mahakumbhamela at prayag, car festival at PURI bears testimony to the fact how tradition has been consolidated by using the means of modernity. Probably it was in mind of the great sociologist of India Prof Yogendra Singh while he presented the book under the title “Modernization of Indian Tradition”.

The live telecasting of Ustad Bismillah Khan playing Shehnai on the threshold of Kashi Viswanath temple immediately after performing Haj at Mecca is a pleasant scene for us, which tells us that there is something inherent in our tradition, which facilities cultural continuity. Now-a-days goddess Vaishno Devi, draw pilgrims in their hundreds of thousands to her mountain cave near Jammu from all parts of India virtually through out the year. In Kashmir, military and the risk of violence and even death has not deterred devotees, in very large number to take annual pilgrimage to Lord Amarnath bears evidence to the fact of utilization of science and technology for continuation and consolidation of tradition.

It can be concluded that modernization in India has helped India in eradicating the irrational/superstitious practices from its tradition but the rational beliefs and values of our tradition has been strengthened with the onset and advancement of modernity.