Social organization
Indian society has a complex, heterogeneous structure that is difficult to synthesize. Ethnic, religious, linguistic, geographical, gender, caste and wealth diversity are all strata of a mille-feuille whose binding factor is belonging to " Mother India ", the motherland. It seems more accurate to consider Indian society as the sum of a multitude of micro-societies rather than as a whole. The transition from one group to another is rare and severely judged. You're born into a group and you stay there. Only the improvement of living conditions is commonly accepted. But if wealth is accompanied by certain privileges, it only ensures a more enviable place within the group, without allowing any real upward social mobility. Class membership is not a marker for society as a whole. Social organization operates in concentric circles, with the family at the core. This core is surrounded by the religious circle, then by the caste circle. While the caste system is firmly anchored in the Hindu religion, it is often adopted in a less rigid way by other religions. Some lower castes practice Sanskritization, a process whereby they adopt the rites of higher castes in the hope of being assimilated into them. Ethnic or linguistic circles enable mutual recognition between several groups and create a broader sense of identity. Social disparities are also very marked between urban and rural areas. The rigidity of social organization is more marked in the countryside than in the cities. Lifestyles are also very different.
Gender also assigns a very specific place. Social responsibilities are not the same for men and women. The man's priority is to provide for his family. The woman's role is to run the home, in the broadest sense. She is responsible for her children's education, as well as for water and wood supplies. This role is extended to the outside world. That's why you'll come across women working on construction sites, carrying bricks, sand or cement on their heads. They are also responsible for the manufacture and application of adobe on traditional houses in the countryside.
The family
The family is the crucible of social and communal life. It abolishes all individual freedom. When a child is born, it belongs to its parents until their death. If it's a boy, he follows the studies assigned to him by his parents. He practises the profession chosen by his parents and marries the woman they deem worthy of joining the family. He gives all or part of his income to his parents. He is responsible for his elders. If it's a girl, her mother teaches her everything she needs to know to run the household. Once her apprenticeship is complete, she is literally given in marriage. Once married, the girl belongs to her in-laws. In many rural areas, the concept of the " joint family " is still very much alive. Grandparents, sons and wives, grandchildren all live under the same roof. No one tries to escape this environment, where the path of life is set. In a country with no social security or pensions, the family provides a secure base to fall back on in times of hardship.
This traditional upbringing is less marked in the cities than in the countryside, even if parental authority persists. New generations tend to deviate from this well-established model, where pressure from parents or in-laws can be perceived as a brake on progress. This is especially true among the educated and affluent. In spite of this, Indian youth display a certain conservatism, particularly when it comes to arranged marriages, against which they have no objection.
Life is divided into 4 distinct stages. The time of childhood and apprenticeship, which is also the time of freedom. The time of marriage, which sanctions entry into social life and confers status on the individual; he or she will in turn found a family. The time of retirement at the expense of one's sons, which is seen as a just return on investment. The time of old age and renunciation, when the individual prepares for death.
The place of women
Despite their colorful saris and sparkling jewels, women don't have the upper hand in Indian society. While the Indian Constitution places men and women on an equal footing, women's role is often confined to the home. Traditionally, little girls receive less attention than their brothers. Parents invest their money in dowry rather than education. Although dowry is forbidden by Indian law, the tradition persists. It can represent a considerable sacrifice for a family, given the high demands of in-laws. The Rajasthani proverb "to have a daughter is to plow the neighbor's field" sums up the general feeling. Once married, a woman obeys not only her husband's authority, but also that of her mother-in-law. The latter often takes advantage of the arrival of a daughter-in-law to relinquish her household responsibilities. Many young girls leave home and are thrust into a Cinderella life. They are expected to give birth to boys, preferably, and to toil from morning to night scrubbing, cooking, fetching wood, drawing water, grinding grain and beautifying the house. However, mores have evolved in affluent Hindu circles. Young girls go to university, but it's often the in-laws who decide whether or not to allow a young wife to work. Women can be found in every sector of the Indian economy and at every level of responsibility. Lawyers, politicians, doctors, airline or air force pilots, those who are supported by their families flourish and succeed everywhere.
Homosexuality and hijras
Homosexuality is an absolute taboo in India. But this has not always been the case. The Kāmasūtra devotes an entire chapter to erotic practices between people of the same sex. The advent of Islam and the Mughal Empire changed all that. The application of Sharia law in the 17th century provided for corporal punishment for homosexuals. These were 50 lashes for a slave, 100 lashes for a non-Muslim free man and stoning to death for a Muslim. The British colonial government perpetuated this ban, but lightened the sentence in its 1861 law. Any sexual act other than penile-vaginal penetration is an offence. While in practice this article was rarely applied to acts freely consented to, it fixed disapproval of homosexual practices, leading to violence and discrimination against the minorities concerned. Article 377 of the Indian Penal Code takes up this prohibition. Following pressure from associations and members of civil society, the Supreme Court finally decriminalized homosexuality on September 6, 2018. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Indian society condemns homosexuality as a contagious disease imported from the West. To succumb to these practices is tantamount to rejecting one's family, as it means refusing marriage and procreation, and thus deliberately placing oneself outside society and one's own family. In India, many homosexuals consent to a marriage of convenience and lead a double life.
The reality of transgenderism is long-standing and part of the social corpus. Hinduism has created a caste, and therefore a social role, for hijras. This community includes eunuchs, hermaphrodites and transgenders. They are mentioned in the Rāmāyana, where the god Rāma, to thank them for their devotion, grants them auspicious powers of blessing on the occasion of inaugural events. Thus, hijras are often summoned by Hindu families on the occasion of the birth of a son or a marriage. In the Mahābhārata, the exiled hero Arjuna takes on the guise of a eunuch and performs rituals of song and dance. These rituals are practiced by hijras at weddings and birth ceremonies under the name of badhai.
In reality, hijras are rejected by Indian society and often discriminated against. Living on the bangs of society, they band together in small communities led by a guru. They often live by prostitution or begging. Objects of repulsion as much as fascination, the government has granted them a special status. In 2014, they obtained the addition of a third box on official documents, enabling them to identify themselves as "transgender". They also benefit from quotas in the administration. A first police officer was appointed in 2017, as well as a school principal.
Education
Education has become a major issue for families who can afford it. Indians have understood that access to a good education can transform a family's economic prospects. Advertisements for private schools, English-language education and higher education courses are everywhere on city walls. North India has caught up in terms of literacy: 74.04% of the population is literate (82% for men and 65% for women). This is still 10 points below the world average. School enrolment is virtually non-existent in desert and tribal areas. In some remote districts, it barely reaches 10%. In the rest of the countryside, in principle, every village has a public school, which provides a minimum of education up to the end of primary school. However, families have to pay for books, exercise books, pens and uniforms, which can be a real sacrifice for the poorest. Often, they send only one of their children, and not necessarily every day, as he or she may be more useful at home. The best performer in North India in terms of literacy is Mizoram, with a rate of 91.5%, while Bihar comes last with only 63.8% of its children literate. The improvement is nonetheless noteworthy, since in 1947 the literacy rate in India was just 12%!
