← GPSC syllabus
GPSC (Gujarat)Stage 2: Main Examination
Indian Society: Diversity, Unity and Family Structures
What the official syllabus says
GPSC Main Examination, Paper IV: General Studies-I, (C) Indian Society.
- Core characteristics and Diversity of Indian Society: Regional, linguistic, religious, social and cultural diversity in India. Key features of Indian society: Unity in diversity, Social division, family structures - Joint family, Nuclear family, Single parent family, Gender roles, Elderly etc.
Topics in detail
The questions here are sociological: describe a feature, explain what is changing and why, and say what it means for policy. Use examples, including from Gujarat.
Diversity in India
- Regional diversity: geography, climate and ways of life
- Linguistic diversity: language families, the Eighth Schedule, linguistic states
- Religious diversity: majority and minority communities, syncretic traditions
- Social diversity: caste, tribe, class
- Cultural diversity: food, dress, festivals, arts
Key features of Indian society
- Unity in diversity: what holds India together (shared history, Constitution, markets, pilgrimage, popular culture)
- Social divisions: caste and its changing role, class, rural-urban, religion
- Tradition and modernity together; the role of the village
- Patriarchy and kinship
Family structures
- Joint family: features, functions, strengths and strains
- Nuclear family: causes of its spread (urbanisation, migration, education, women's employment)
- Single-parent families: widowhood, divorce, migration; social and legal issues
- Other forms: live-in relationships, families of migrant workers
- Marriage and kinship: endogamy, inter-caste and inter-religious marriage
Gender roles
- Socialisation into gender roles
- Changing roles with education and work; unpaid care work
- Third gender and changing understandings of gender
The elderly
- Population ageing and its causes
- Issues: loneliness, health, economic security, abuse
- Policy: the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (2007), pensions, old-age homes
- Role of the family and the community
Caste and tribe in a changing society
- Features of caste: hierarchy, endogamy, occupation, purity and pollution
- Concepts: Sanskritisation and dominant caste (M. N. Srinivas), Westernisation
- Caste in politics and in economic life today
- Tribal society: distinctiveness, integration and assimilation debates
Forces of change in the family
- Urbanisation and migration
- Education and women's employment
- Law: the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, giving daughters coparcenary rights; laws on marriage and divorce
- Technology and media
- Falling fertility and smaller households
Types of family
| Type | Features | Current trend |
|---|---|---|
| Joint | Several generations, shared property and kitchen | Declining in cities, persists in farming and business families |
| Nuclear | Parents and children | Growing with urbanisation |
| Single-parent | One parent with children | Growing; needs social support |
Overlaps
- Demographic data and composition: General Studies-III.
- Social sector policy: General Studies-II.