Consider the following statements about the two dimensions of social change associated with colonial India:
Statement 1: The efforts of 19th-century social reformers and early 20th-century nationalists involved conscious attempts to alter discriminatory social practices.
Statement 2: Sanskritisation, modernisation, secularisation and westernisation can be understood as processes through which cultural practices changed, but they did not all originate in the same historical circumstances.
Statement 3: Industrialisation and urbanisation brought changes in patterns of work and settlement, while also influencing people's ways of life, norms, values and behaviour.
Which of the following is correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option 4: Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct.
Statement 1: “The efforts of 19th-century social reformers and early 20th-century nationalists involved conscious attempts to alter discriminatory social practices.” — Correct. These reform efforts were deliberate attempts to change social practices that discriminated against women and lower castes.
Statement 2: “Sanskritisation, modernisation, secularisation and westernisation can be understood as processes through which cultural practices changed, but they did not all originate in the same historical circumstances.” — Correct. These four processes represent important forms of cultural change, but they have different historical backgrounds. Sanskritisation predates colonial rule, while modernisation, secularisation and westernisation can be understood more clearly in relation to the changes brought by colonialism.
Statement 3: “Industrialisation and urbanisation brought changes in patterns of work and settlement, while also influencing people's ways of life, norms, values and behaviour.” — Correct. Industrialisation changed patterns of work, while urbanisation changed patterns of settlement. These structural changes were accompanied by changes in culture, ways of life, norms, values, fashions and behaviou