Social change

• Change is the most permanent feature of any society. Social change can be defined as transformation in the methods of thinking and working of people.
• It is basically changes in social structures and social relationships of a society.
• At the most basic level, social change refers to changes that are significant and which alter the underlying structure of an object or situation over a period of time.
• Social change does not include any and all changes, but only big ones, changes which transform things fundamentally.

Social order

• Social order means systematic arrangement of the social structure.
• It helps in active maintenance and reproduction of patterns of social relationships.
• It helps society to prevent, control and regulate social changes.
• Social order is needed for systematic functioning of society.
• Social order is generally the periphery of the dominant groups. Hence, any changes that may alter their stability in the society will be resisted by them.

By 'living tradition', D.P. Mukerji means that the traditions were formed in the past but they kept on changing with the present and were evolved over time. A living tradition is the one which has some old elements as well as some new ones. In spite of all the changes with the change in time and other things the tradition manages to retain basic elements from the past. He insisted that Indian sociologists must be rooted in this tradition to understand the social system because to understand the social system he/she must be a part of it. The very first duty of an Indian sociologist is to study and to know the social traditions of India. He/she must be aware of the past tradition and also its sensitivity to change.

Sociological Perspective is a rational knowledge whereas common sense knowledge is based on general understanding. • Sociological Perspective is objective in nature whereas common sense knowledge is subjective. • Sociological Perspective has a body of concepts, method and objective data whereas common sense knowledge is unreflective since it does not question its own origins. • Sociological Knowledge arrives at conclusion by looking at things from different vantage points. while common sense tends to limit itself to constraints of time, space, gender etc

• Louis Dumont view of villages (i) He thought that social institution like caste were more important than villages, which was after all only a collection of people living in a particular place. (ii) He described Indian villages are unchanging, self-sufficient and `little republics'

Both Ananthakrishna Iyer and Sarat Chandra Roy were true pioneers who began practicing the discipline which neither existed in India and nor had any institution to promote it.

L.K. Ananthakrishna Iyer was one of the earliest and best known pioneers of social anthropology in India.

• Initially he was a clerk and later on he became a college teacher in Cochin State.

• In 1902, Dewan of Cochin asked him to assist an ethnographic survey of the state.

• The British government wanted similar surveys done in all the princely states as well as the presidency areas directly under its control, which was done by Ananthakrishna purely on voluntary basis.

• Later, he worked for British government as unpaid superintendent of ethnography.

• His work was very much appreciated and he was invited to help with a similar ethnographic survey in Mysore state.

• He was the first self-taught anthropologist to receive national and international recognition both as a scholar and an academician.

Practice of Social Anthropology by Sarat Chandra Roy is stated below -

• Sarat Chandra Roy had his education in the field of Law and English.

• He gave up his law practice and became a school teacher in Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand).

• Due to his professional needs he had to interpret tribal customs and laws to the court, and soon he developed interest in the tribal societies.

• He has published more than hundred articles in leading Indian and British academic journals regarding the tribal societies and their culture, in addition to his famous monographs on the Oraon, the Mundas and the Kharias.

• He was the founder of the journal "Man in India" in 1922, and at that time it was one of its kind in India.

SARAT CHANDRA ROY • He was a lawyer. • He did his graduation and post graduation in English. • In 1898, after starting practice of law, he decided to take up a job as an English teacher at a Christian missionary school. • In Ranchi, he became the leading authority on culture and society of tribal people of Chota Nagpur Region. • Started his anthropologists research when he left the school and was appointed as official interpreter in the court. • Anthropologist research was a byproduct of his professional need to interpret tribal customs and laws for the court. • His hard work and diligence and keen eye for details resulted in valuable research articles. • In addition to Monographs on various tribes like Oraon, Mundas and Kharias, he published more than hundred articles in leading Indian and British Journals. • Founded the journal ‘Man in India’ in 1922.

The term 'sanskritisation' was given by M.N. Srinivas, he defined it as a process in which the customs, rituals, beliefs, ideology and life style of upper castes (especially twice-born caste) are taken over by a low caste or tribe.

Sanskritisation has multi-fold impact. It influences language, literature, music, dance, drama, life style and rituals.

Environment is defined as the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources. It includes all the biotic and abiotic elements that influence each other.
All living elements-the birds, animals and plants, forests, fisheries etc. are biotic elements.

Abiotic elements of the environment includes non-living elements like air, water, land, rocks and sunlight etc.

Social order is the tendency of social institutions to resist and regulate change. It is useful as it provides a backdrop and relativity to compare social change.