Pooja uses a smartphone, goes to the mall for shopping, orders food online, but feels that women should take the primary responsibility for household chores and leave their paid job if they cannot balance household duties. Which process best describes her situation?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Westernisation
Option (1) Modernisation — Incorrect. Modernisation is a change in the way people think: choice, equality and a scientific outlook take the place of tradition and fixed roles. A modern outlook would treat household work as a duty shared by men and women. Pooja still holds that the home is mainly the woman’s job, so her thinking has not modernised.
Option (2) Westernisation — Correct. Westernisation is the spread of Western cultural traits: new technology, dress, food and changes in habits and styles of living. It is mostly the imitation of external forms of culture, and it does not necessarily bring the modern values of democracy and equality with it. Pooja has taken up the outward forms (a smartphone, the mall, ordering food online) but keeps a conservative idea of women’s role at home. Her way of life has changed; her values have not.
Option (3) Sanskritisation — Incorrect. Sanskritisation is the process by which a ‘lower’ caste copies the rituals, customs and way of life of a ‘higher’ caste in order to raise its status. Nothing in Pooja’s case concerns caste or caste rituals.
Option (4) Secularisation — Incorrect. Secularisation means the decline in the influence of religion on public life. Pooja’s case says nothing about religion.
NCERT (2025-26): “Westernisation … Srinivas defines westernisation as ‘the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule, the term subsuming changes occurring at different levels…technology, institutions, ideology and values’. …There were, therefore, small sections of people who adopted western life styles or were affected by western ways of thinking. Apart from this there has been also the general spread of Western cultural traits, such as the use of new technology, dress, food, and changes in the habits and styles of people in general. Across the country a very wide section of middle class homes have a television set, a fridge, some kind of sofa set, a dining table and chair in the living room. Westernisation does involve the imitation of external forms of culture. It does not necessarily mean that people adopt modern values of democracy and equality. Activity 2.5 … We may find people who are western educated but holding very prejudiced views about particular ethnic or religious communities. A family can adopt external forms of western culture like the way the interiors of houses are done up but may have very conservative ideas about women’s role in society.…” |