Elite Thiyyas appropriate British culture as a move towards a more cosmopolitan life that critiqued caste. What is this process called?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Westernisation
Option (1) Westernisation — Correct. M.N. Srinivas defines westernisation as the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule. Srinivas held that upper castes sought to be Westernised, but the Thiyyas of Kerala, by no means an upper caste, made conscious efforts to westernise: their elite appropriated British culture as a move towards a cosmopolitan life that critiqued caste.
Option (2) Upliftment — Incorrect. Upliftment is an everyday word for raising someone’s condition. It does not name the taking over of British culture.
Option (3) Modernisation — Incorrect. Modernisation began as improvement in technology and production and came to mean a wider path of development in which local ties give way to universal commitments. The Thiyyas’ case is about adopting British culture in particular, which is westernisation.
Option (4) Sanskritisation — Incorrect. In Sanskritisation a ‘low’ caste takes over the customs and style of life of a high, ‘twice-born’ caste. The elite Thiyyas looked to British culture, and they critiqued caste instead of imitating the upper castes.
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’.…” “Srinivas suggested that while ‘lower castes’ sought to be Sanskritised, ‘upper castes’ sought to be Westernised. In a diverse country such as India this generalisation is difficult to maintain. For instance, studies of Thiyyas (by no means considered ‘upper caste’) in Kerala show conscious efforts to westernise. Elite Thiyyas appropriated British culture as a move towards a more cosmopolitan life that critiqued caste. Likewise, Western education often implied opening up to new opportunities for different groups of people in the North-East.…” |