The process by which the rural population adopts the way of life and the nature of work of the urban people is called?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Urbanisation
Option (1) Sanskritisation — Incorrect. Sanskritisation, a term coined by M.N. Srinivas, is the process by which a ‘low’ caste or tribe takes over the customs, ritual, beliefs and style of life of a high, in particular a ‘twice-born’ caste. It is about caste ranking, not about village and city.
Option (2) Urbanisation — Correct. Urbanisation is the growth of towns and cities and the spread of the urban way of life. Many villages all over India are increasingly subject to the impact of urban influences, and with modern development the significance of the agrarian-rural way of life declines relative to the industrial-urban way of life. When rural people take up urban ways of living and urban kinds of work, they are being drawn into this process.
Option (3) Westernisation — Incorrect. Srinivas defines westernisation as the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule, in technology, institutions, ideology and values. Its source is the West, not the Indian city.
Option (4) Industrialisation — Incorrect. Industrialisation refers to the emergence of machine production, based on the use of inanimate power like steam or electricity. It is a change in how goods are produced, not the adoption of the urban way of life by villagers.
NCERT (2025-26): “Urbanisation in Independent India … Writing on the different kinds of urbanisation witnesses in the first two decades after independence sociologist M.S.A. Rao argued that in India many villages all over India are becoming increasingly subject to the impact of urban influences. But the nature of urban impact varies according to the kind of relations a village has with a city or town.…” “2.6 Rural-Urban Differences … It is not a question of numbers alone; processes of modern development ensure that the economic and social significance of the agrarian-rural way of life declines relative to the significance of the industrial-urban way of life. This has been broadly true all over the world, and it is true in India as well.” |