~I

Introduction

The need to study rural society occured to me during my visit to village (or

some research purpose. More than 75% of Indian population resides in villages.

From the accounts given in various newspapers. periodicals. books and research

studies, one can gather information about the village life of earlier times. From

these accounts we gather that most of the villages had kuchcha houses and

Kuchcba roads. Most villages did not have approach roads and civic amenities.

like water, sanitation, dispensaries, and schools, leading to an isolated life. In

these villages, social customs and traditions were adhered to very strictly as even

the slightest deviation resulted in ex-communication or other form of social

punishment. Inspite of various hardships faced in the yillage life, the villagers are

appreciated for sustenance of their culture and tradition.

Along with kuccha houses, thatched roofs, simple dhoti clad people loving

their tradition. cattle and bullock carts, I observed signs of change and

advancement. The village had pucca houses, TV, fridge, coolers and loudspeakers at

temples. The milkman had a motorbike with milk cans tied to it. Advertisements of

·uncle chips' and 'Tata Tea' covered walls to mention a few brand names. Men

were wearing pants, shirts, women were wearing salwar-kameez suits without

covering their heads, and children were wearing Jeans, T -Shirts and Skirts. All this

made me wonder about the changes in attitude and the cuYural modernization of "

villages. Villages are supposed to be repositories of our cultural traditions. This

inspired me to make a holistic study about the emergent patterns of

communication and consequent changes in the folk culture· and communication,

social structure and power structure. The changes were mainly due·to alteration in

communication pattern, due to urban-contact. mass media and technological

1

innovations. These changes have now made many traditions, customs and

practices redundant or obsolete.

Thus changes in folk society and folk culture due to ramifications of

modernization became the area of my study. To study the emergent patterns of

communication, to understand the decreasing popularity of folk form of recreation,

performances, and , practices, it was important to perceive the changes and

understand people's attitude about their lives and culture. For this it was

necessary to understand modernization of traditional culture and communication

in a village society at present.

Communication functions as a sub-system within larger social system of

village. The outside changes also made an effect on village, as it was no longer

insulated from outer world. Mass media had also made an impact on lives ,and

behaviour of villagers. These all constituted the problem area to be studied in

present study.

For this purpose, I selected a village, Sikhera near Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh. __-::::::= -

It is situated at a distance of about seven kilometers from Meerut city. This was

found ideal to study my problem. In Sikhera 65% of the households have some

members - working outside in city. Sikhera also had all other variables like

mass media-use, close contact with city, a peculiar local 'little tradition' strongly

entrenched within village culture. All these factors, observed during pilot study,

helped me to decide to take Sikhera as my field of study.

In Sikhera Rajputs, Brahmins, Baniyas, Dhimars, Jatavs, Balmikis,Muslims

live together, but Rajputs, (mostly Chauhan Rajputs) were till few years back de-

facto rulers of the village. But now due to implementation of provisions of new

2

Panchayati Raj Act 1994, much has changed within its socio-political structure

and culture. Now the village Pradhan is a Balmiki (Bhangi) and most of the village

land, which was lying vacant but was formerly owned by Rajputs, has been given

on lease (patta) to lower castes by the government. Recently conflicts between

upper castes and lower castes have increased which have created problem of law

and order for District Administration. As the village has been made more accessible

· by metalled road to Disrtrict headquarter,· it becomes convenient for officials to

manage the problems easily.

All these factors, have helped me to understand the recent changes in

cultural communication and social structure in modernization perspective, in the

village.

IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Communication is an integral process of a society. It preserves and

transmits the culture of society. The defmitions of tradition and communication

are synonymous with each other and also complementary. Tradition means

something which is transmitted from generation to . generation through the

medium of communication. Only the nature of channel has been changing from

generation to generation. Now word of mouth is relpaced by mass media. Thus

communication has played an important role in preserving and communicating

tradition.

With technological innovations, communication became more complex· and

more efficient. It came to be associated with modernization and development

especially in the third world countries. Communication while being a modernizing

3

force has been criticized by Frankfurt School for creating 'universal symbols' and

destroying traditional culture and the specific nature of different cultures.

In India, mass media and technological innovations did not 'kill' our

tradition; infact mass media was adapted to keep our tradition thriving (Milton

Singer 1972). The themes and concepts adopted by mass media were much on the

lines of traditional recreational ways and religious themes. Most of the research

studies done on villages show this developmental side and modernization role of

mass media.

Communication is not only concerned with mass media, but it also

subsumes social interactions and ritual, recreational and symbolic

communication (R~mond Williams 1966, Edward T.Hall 1971, Y.Singh

1977,1994, James Carey 1992). The changes in society cause changes in

communication.

Communication broadly subsumes three aspects. Firstly, communication is

preserved through rituals, festivals, customs, day to day practices, folk dialects. folk

songs, other oral traditions, and aesthetic folk culture. Secondly, all these cultural

items and practices communicate about social stratification, economic and

political structure which are all part of "Communication Structure"

(Y,.Singh,77:14). Thirdly, these all overlap to express themselves in the

communication process. Hence 'universalization' or 'parochialisation' is itself a

process of communication between two levels of tradition i.e. 'little tradition' and

'great tradition'.

The study of the social cultural rites like marriage and other Vedic rites are

important to know how communication is integrated with cultural ethos of ·

4

society. Such studies on oral tradition and folk culture have been done by

sociologists like D.N.Majumdar, Stephen Fuchs, Milton Singer, Kathleenre; Ghough,

Pauline Kolenda, V.P.Vatuk, Sylvia Vatuk and Shyam Parmar. These studies arc

isolated studies of folk culture and aesthetics, but no study has been attempted

upon in the context of changes taking place in the folk society and its culture.

The present study has taken communication in a broader perspective and in

its various forms which arc emerging at present and which continue even today.

Cultural communication is collected after much probing regarding all castes. Their

ways of marriage, customs, rituals, sayings etc. are integrated in the present study.

An attempt has been made to study the little tradition of the village which is

integrated and is even prevalent in Western U.P. and neighbouring states of

Rajasthan and Haryana.

The importance of the study lies in studying cultural communication in

interaction with mass media and the overlapping areas. The study of

modernization is mostly done through developmental activities and indices of

change could be identified in the socio-cultural tradition and communication. The

communication has been treated both as 'a system' and a 'process' here. Rituals,

songs and recreational media are parts of communication system, but when lower

castes arc abused or not allowed to enter the temples, houses, or wells of upper

castes, or arc required to have separate residential area in the village,_ then it is a

'process'. The status of a person within the social stratification is communicated in

social functions, and festivals (Pauline Kolenda, Gough). Thus status, caste, class,

profession and power position arc processes of communication within a society.

This is termed as 'ritual view of communication'.

5

The modernization in the village has been studied through the process of

communication as the change in the professional structure in the village

communicates how far which caste is getting modernized. Hence I have made an

attempt to study rural social change through the process of communication in a

broader perspective which includes transmission of symbols, social interaction,

communication with town, folk communication, ritualistic communication and

mass communication.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

For. making a systematic study, review of literature has been divided in two

parts:

(A) First section deals with the review of Indian village studies done on rural

culture, social structure and power aspects. The studies also review the concepts

and theories, given by various sociologists for understanding and describing these

cultural changes occuring in the rural society.

(B) Second section deals with the studies done with communication perspective,

dealing with village and society in general. This section has again been divided in

two parts. First part deals with research in Latin American Villages sponsored by

UNESOJ and second part deals with studies done in Indian villages.

REVIEW OF INDIAN VILLAGE STUDIES

There are many village studies done since the time of Britishers who were

intrigued by these 'little communities' and their power of sustenance. Regarding

this, Bemad S.Cohn1 has identified three major traditions of approach for Indian

society which were, (i) The Administrative Approach, (ii) The Missionari.es

Approach and (iii) The Orientalist's Approach.

6

(i) The Administrative Approach

The studies which adopted the Administrative AppiR~ch were undertaken

for better understanding of village social structure, culture and economy, for

making policy of integration of villages in the financial system, for better

extraction of land tax and for production of cheap cash crops. The figures of

Census and lapdholding surveys were the main bases of the Administrative or

Official Approach which covered social structural, political and economic system

of villages.

(ii) Missionarie s'A.pproach

Missionaries who came with Britishers were out to show that the

western society and its culture is scientific, and based on egalitarian ideology.

Hence they saw the Indian society and culture as 'corrupt'2• Charles Grane. saw

Indian men as 'degenerate and base' with feeble sense of moral obligations and

obstinate. The Caste system, the legal system, the government and the despotic role ·

of Brahmins were considered the causes of the degraded state of the Hindus by the

followers of the Missionaries' Approach. Thus they supported the rationality of

denegration of Hinduism. This view was based on here...say accounts and not on

empirical investigations.

(iii) Orientalists' Approach

Orientalists' view of Indian society was textual version of Indian

'Civilization,' ·where Brahmins' supremacy over other variants was highlighted.

The Brahmins made the rules and controlled the social system through these

7

norms. Therefore this view placed Indian society among other traditional societies

as 'Static'. 'timeless'. 'castiest' and 'closed'4 ·

Britishers like Munro. Metcalf and Baden- Powell considered Indian village

'closed' and isolated5· This intrigued number of sociologists and anthropologists

who studied Indian village in larger perspective and took village as an active unit

· of Indian ~ivilization. Mandelbaum6 wrote that 'Indian village is far from. "a

locale", and more than "just a collection of houses. lanes and fields". There is a

variety of villages sprawled on Indian mainland. Some are multi-caste villages and

some are multi-village castes7• There are variations in dialects. rituals, culture,

traditions. religion. colour, almost in all the villages. On comparison among these

basic characteristics of villages from U.P, Kerala. West Bengal. there are some basic

characteristics of village which give it, its uniqueness while retaining some

similarities. According to Louis Dumont8 the Indian village community can be

studied (1) as a political society, (2) as a body of co-owners 1,the soil and (3) as

an emblem of traditional economy and polity. a catchword of Indian patriotism.

After independence. many village studies have been done like those of S.C.

Dube's Indian Villagt!, M.N.Srinivas's (ed) Village India/0 D.N.MajumdaA Rural

Profile/1 McKim Marriot (ed) Village India12 S.K.Dey's(ed) Indian Villages)J. Most

of the studies of villages have been done in the perspective of economic structure,

kinship structure and . caste and cultural tradition. Many concepts like great

tradition and little tradition of Robert Redfield inspired Milton Singer and Mckim

Marriot to conduct studies by utilizing this conceptual framework14• Secondly

concepts like Sanskritisation. Brahminisation, Kshatriyas~on. etc. within the

study of cultural approach were utilized to study society. In his study of Coorgs

8

Srinivas15 gave the concept of Sanskritisation to understand the changes taking

place in Coorg. Sanskritisation was seen as a social process through which the

lower castes were trying to bring about changes in their ways of life to obtain

greater ritual purity and thereby to attain higher status in the ritual hierarchy of

castes. Srinivas also analyzed the process of 'Westernization'. Similarly

'Universalisation' and 'Parochialisation' concepts given by Mckim Marriot are

refinements within the same general theme of Robert Redfield's16 concept.

D.N.Majumdar17 has given the term 'De-sanskritisation' regarding the social

change in a Northern Indian village. Majumdar through 'de-sanskritisation' -r~tu.zl..s

suggests a reverse process by which the Brahmin castes also try to~i¥4'.--u-~~). in some

matters. Secondly Edmund Leach18 .C. Parvathamma and others have criticized the

concepts of 'dominant caste' and 'sanskritisation' as these are based on upper caste

view. 19 K.Ishwaran20 considers that concept of Sanskritisation is misleading and be e

referred to as Brahminisation. Marriot ga\(: two polar processes of Universalisation'

and 'Parochialisation' which explains the complexity of Indian civilization and the

communication channels that exist between the Great and Little Traditions of the

country. To avoid the confusion created by these cultural distinctions. Dubel1

conceptualized the total realm of traditions into four fold divisions: contextual-

classical tradition. local regional (cultural) tradition, western (ideological-

technological) tradition and emergrent national (monitistic- reinterpretational

adaptive) tradition.

Like Mead. Damle (1968) and Lynch22 used the concept of 'reference group'

to analyse the structural process of caste mobility. Lynch claims that reference

group approach enables one to understand the structural aspects of mobility

9

implied in 'Sanskritization' and 'Westernization'. The approach focusses upon the

following three aspects:-

i. The motivational structure or aspirations of members to move upward.

ii. The opportunity structure or eligibility/ineligibility of members to move in

desired direction.

iii. Communication structure or the extent of 'visibility/observability' of the

degrees of relative deprivation in the system of stratification, which

influenc~s people's motivation for social mobility.

Some other important studies of social change have been 'Twice bom' by

Caisters in 1957, 'Caste and Communication In an Indian Village' by

D.N.Manjumdar 1958, 'Village Life In Northern India' (Oscar Lewis 1958),23

'Indian Changing Villages. by S.C.Dube 1958, 'Caste and Economic Frontier' by

F.G.Bailel4 1957, and 'Caste and Kinship in Central India' by Adrian Mayers25

1960. Dubey in his book has considered the impact of innovation of ideas,

implements and practices introduced through the medium of the community

development programmes in western U.P. Epstein26 (1962) made a comparative

study of two villages in Mysore and discussed the impact of economic factors on

social institutions. Similarly a study was made on various economic and political

. aspects in Orissa village Bissipara by Bail~y.In 'Politics and Social Change Study

(1963). Bailey examined the relationship between parliamentary democracy and

traditional forms of social and political organizations. Margaret Cormark (1961)27

discussed the attitude towards social change in relation to Indian student. In

1965, Orenstein's28 study yielded important findings about villagers becoming

apathetic to the village traditional ties of family and caste as a result of drift

10

towards impersonality, formality and secularization in social relations. Kathleene

Gough29 in her study of social structure of Tanjore village has takeri up class view

of caste. 30

Oscar Lewis has taken up comparative study of Mexican village Tepoztlan

and Rani Khera and established the superiority of Mexican village at structural

level. Similar to D.N.Majumdar's, Oscar Lewis's study empahasiied 'De­s

Sanskritiation' role of caste and clan in factionalism and horizontal mobility. The "

studies of villages done by Bailey, Epstein, Gough, Ishwaran, Mukherjee and Rao

have emphasized on specific aspects of village community such as social change,

economic development, social stratification, class relations, economy and

urbanization. The studies in fifties were neither memographic nor holistic as they

emphasized only one of these aspects.

In seventies the shift in Indian Sociologists' approach to study the villages

could be seen. K. Ishwaran31 observed that changes seen in the villages are

'national oriented' and 'global-oriented' i.e. the villages were not isolated entities

but were constantly influenced by outside world and its ramifications were

changing the village society33•

Earlier, the studies were influenced by structural and functional approaches

which gave lop-sided view of Indian village community. Secondly-apriori

ideological perspective have been prominent. Many factors which are important in

mordemizing Indian villages like education. legal system and technological

devices. which were ignored earlier. were henceforth taken up with extensive field

studies. Y.Singh32 (1972) has referred to the concept of 'levels' for analyzing social

change and social stratification. which integrates the Culturological Approach viz.

11

Little and Great tradition, Dialectic· Approach of D.P.Mukherjee and Structural

Approach of Bailey, Mayer, Epstien and others. The underlying theoritical

similarities in the conceptual formulations of various approaches to social change

were emphasised. These approaches were integrated on a systematic and logical

principle to achieve a fair degree of conceptual clarity. Y.Singh 33 has divided these

approaches on the levels of direction of change, levels of structure (Macro and

Micro), causes of change and the substantive domain undergoing changes. His

paradigm for an Integrated Approach can be understood clearly from the diagram

given below (1972:25).

Sources of changes Cultural Structure Littlle tradition Great tradition

Heterogenetic Islamization Secondary Changes Islamic Impact

Primary- Secondary-Westernization Westernization

or modernization

Orthogenetic Sanskritization or Cultural changes Traditionalization Renaissance

Table 1 Paradigm For An Integrated Approach (Source Y.Singh 1972)

Studies Done With Communication Perspective

(i) UNESOO And Latin American studies

Social Structure Micro structure Macro structure Role- Political Differentiation Innovations Legitimations New Structures

of / Elite. Bureaucrac)', Industzy, etc.

Pattern- Elite Circulation, Recurrence, Sucession of Compulsive Kings, Rise and migration or Fall of Cities and Population Shift Trade Centres

The 'United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization' has

sponsored many researches on the role of communication in the development of

the third world countries. In sixties an inter American school of sociology FLASOO

was set up with the collaboration of UNESOO. This school undertook community

studies in Latin American countries34

12

In association with UNESa:J, several sociologists have studied socio-

economic development in villages in Mexico, other Latin American countries.

Philippines and Indonesia. They have discussed the potential of communication

technology in bringing development and modernization in these developing rural

societies. john Kunkel's (1961) Economic Autonomy and Social Change in

Mexican Villages and Selvia Segal's (1961)" Ruista de Sociologia, B.A.Argentina.

English Translation are some of the prominent studies done in Latin America. Like

Si£lvia Segal, who studied incorporation of modern values in the folk communities.

Padam Guritno discusses the potential of shadow puppetry "Wayang Purwa" as an

important sources of change in his paper ' Wyang Purwa as a Medium of Change' 35

Besides the functional role of traditional communication the electronic mass

media has received the deserved attention from various sociologists working on

Latin American countries. They have noticed changes in socio-economic

conditions and inculcation of new cultural values or rather the increased affinity

towards Western values and life-style in these countries.Daniel Lerner, 36 after the

Second World War, noticed remarkable changes in the Middle East countries. To

an extent, he expounded hypothesis that the exposure to mass media is related to

increase in literacy in the Middle East countries.

Wilbur Schramm37 with his research in four countries concedes that

communication has been playing a refreshing role of bringing social change in

countries like Tanganyika, India, Cuba and Italy.

\1 0 Clifford Geertz38 has done study of two Indonesian villages of ModjokW:l:l and

Lebangn and studied the modernization process and changes in culture and values.

Patricia Arriaga [Publicity, Economic and Mass Communication, 'Mexico 1980]

discusses the change in life style, and consumption pattern after the introduction

of Mass communication. L.Doob39 (1961) in Communication in Africa: A Search

for Boundaries, shows that Disney Cartoons arc as popular among the people of

Cuba as in American society,Similar phenomenon has been reported by E. Santaro

in Caracas, while studying effect of TV on children [Problem of Culture And

Cultural value in Developing Countries, UNESOO 1983].

Sola de Pool and Everett Rogers in Lucian Pye40 (ed) l 975 Communication

and Political Development, consider that mass communication in Third World

IS · countries/\ utilized to increase' political socialization and political participation. The

Print media, Radio, TV and loudspeakers are used for improving living conditions

such as health, hygiene, literacy etc. in third world countries.

The role of interpersonal communication ·which is mostly verbal is also

dealt in context of culture, while discussing the issue of cultural change and

communication. Edward T. Halls41 has called communication as culture and he

termed the interpersonal communication mainly culture bound and defined

culture as transmission of symbols. Different meanings are assigned to symbols in

various cultures during verbal communication as the word 'rape' does not occur in

Arabic language, due to absence of the concept of privacy of females in that

culture. Blunqi's Symbolic lnteractionism-Perspective and Method 1969, Firth's,

Symbols, Public and Private, 1973, Fischer's Communication in Primitive Systems,

1973 discuss the role of interpersonal communication in developing rural illiterate

societies.42 Dr. Fuchs's paper" Village Peace Corps': A Study of Phillipine Village

14

discussed the role of interpersonal communication in bringing changes in the

country side.

(ii) INDIAN STUDIES

Considerable amount of work has been done by indigenous and western

sociologists on the role of communication in development of Indian villages.

The role and processes of traditional communication have been discussed by

D.N.Majumdar, 'Caste and Communication In An Indian Village: 1958, Me

Cormack, Forms of Communication in Vaishnava Religion 1951. J.T.Hitchcock

and Lugh Mintwin, The Rajputs of Khalapur, India, 1963 and V.R. Gaikward

Rural Social Structure and Communication in an Indian Village,1973. All these

studies have emphasized the socialization process through communication and

social messages conveyed through Kathas, Keertans and social values embedded in

religious rituals and practices.43

Extensive work has been done by sociologists to study the role of

communication in the development of villages and in bringing social change in the

country side. The studies include dissemination of information about better

quality seeds, fertilizers,agriculturalimplements, education, sanitation, and family

planning programmes etc.

Role of communication in development has been discussed in

Y.L.Lakshmana Rao44• 'Lommunication and Development: A study of Two Indian

Villages, 1961 and, Y.B. Damle's46 Communication of Modern Ideas. V. Desai has

done a project on Chambal where better quality seeds of rice were adopted and

were popularly known as Radio Rice in 'Communication and Rural Change,

15

1976". Paul Hartman, B.R. Patil and Anita Dighe46 in their study The Mass Media

and Village life, 1989., have discussed the role of communication in transforming

all aspects of social life at different levels in three villages, one each of A.P .. West

Bengal and Kerala. D.N.Saksena47 in his paper 'Communication Media and Target:

Reputation for Family Planning Program in Indian Context 73-74' in Saharanpur

discusses the congratulatory role of radio in making program successful.

The complementary role of interpersonal communication and folk

communication along with modern means of communication has been highlighted

by Madhu Malik in 'Folk Media and Communication'48 1986 and many other

sociologists. Similarly K.B. Kothari and A.G.K. Murthy in their study of an

Ahemdabad village about promotion of fertilizers found out [Rural Marketing

Communication-Role of Opinion Leaders in Promotion of Fertilizer. 1969] that

interpersonal communication is a potential.medium to disseminate information in

rural society.

Iqbal Nart(n, The Rural Elite in the an Indian State. A case Study of I'

Rajasthan, 1976, Joseph E.Kelvin and Prodipti Roy. Communication in India-

Experiments in Introducing Change 1968 and Nawal Singh and Maweal Singh

'Communication and Development-A study of Two Blocks in Ball{l District, UP.

1981, came out with similar findings. Arbind K. Sinha49 Mass Media and Rural O!J-t

development, 1985, in his study of a village of Bihar pointed;.__the role of T.V. in

education and over all development and considered that cultural norms, govern

communication in a stratified rural setting like India.. Similar views have been

expressed along with the study of various forms of communication in Kheda

16

district by Benod C. Aggrawal50 and M.R.Malik in TV in Kheda: A Social evaluation

of Site. A recent work has been done by Ranjit Singh in 'Communication

Technology for Rural Development in Village' through intelligent blend of

traditional and modern channels of communication.

All the above studies. have touched upon the concepts of change. culture

and communication. but they fail to present wholesome picture of the changes

that are occurring in Indian villages at present. This handicap could be

successfully· done away with the systematic study and sociological analysis of the

changes in social life attitudes and other practices related to culture.

THE PROBLEM

**

**

**

**

**

The existence and continuation of oral tradition despite the presence of

electronic and print media.

The changes in the folk cultural and recreational media's structures and

meanings.

Redundancy and discontinuation of certain parts of cultural

communication like sayings about weather, health, irrigation etc. due to

technological innovations.

Replacement of status symbols of ritual superiority and agriculture land

superiority by technology use efficiency.

Modernization among lower castes has been more than among upper castes

since the lower castes are exploiting associational and secular features of

caste, accepting technology, taking up salaried professions, and getting

education at much faster rate than upper castes who still live by their

17

**

**

**

**

**

tradition and fail to diversify sources of income and compete in new

environment.

The attitudes and values are changing due to new communication pattern.

The changes arc, however, restricted to peripheral values regarding

education, profession, adoption of new style of dressing, buying consumer

items, acceptance of mass media etc. whereas the core values regarding

caste, family, community, marriage, purity, social customs, norms and

taboos (even proverbs) serve as an interpretive frame.work within which

the folk communication operates. Any change in these 'core values' would

endanger the person's identity and position within his own community

(biradiri) and tradition's normative and hermeneutic aspects are to be tested

within the changed village scenario.

The integration of the 'little tradition' in the village communication. social

structure and culture.

The emergence of alternative structures of communication due to the effect

of modem communication structures in the village.

The changes in composition and structure of cultural communicators due to

lack of patronage and economic pressures of livelihood.

Model of mobility is no longer only cultural (viz. Sanskritisation etc.) but is

also through secular processes of education, reservation and politics, and

the latter form of mobility is followed by the former i.e. cultural.

18

REASEARCH METHODOLOGY

Introduction:

To understand the changes occurring in a village society it is difficult to do

a study just through sampling few houses and through interview schedules.

Observation of their everyday lives and activities gave me better insight. My

method of study included an understanding of the changes taking place in rural

communication process, the symbolic acts and rituals which cannot be expressed

or talked about. and participant observation in the various village practices like

Vrat (fasts). pooja (worships), marriages, festivals was also part of my study. I

conducted a stratified random sampling and age was controlled and maintained in

an equal proportion of all castes in each age group. This random sampling enabled

me to cover considerable number of households in Sikhera.

Area of Study -Sikbera

Sikhera village, lies about seven kilometers from Meerut District

Headquarter and is approachable with road transport facility. The village has

changed considerably during the past decades due to urban contact. media use and

political changes are sweeping over it. Despite being primarily an upper caste

village, presently, a Balmiki is its Pradhan. Mordem gadgets like TV_s Refrigirators. ~

Mixies, Scooters have been purchased by many villagers. There is an English

medium school in the village. The village has considerable number of lawyers,

doctors, judges from upper castes. The middle castes and the lower castes have

been emerging as middle class. purchasing number of· consumer durable and

luxury goods.

1~

The village has its own peculiar 'little tradition· for which it is known in

Meerut region. The informant, during this field study was Mr.Ravindra Kumar

Singh. a practising lawyer in Meerut district court. Interestingly till 1994. his

father and ancestors had been the pradhanJMukhiya of the village. This initial

introduction to villagers. through him. helped me to conduct my study smoothly

and successfully.

Data collection:

The sample size was decided 240. There were 120 males and 120 females.

Three age groups were taken both for males and females.

Males Females

I I I I I (40) (40) (40) (40) (40) (40)

<30Yrs 30-50 Yrs >50Yrs <30Yrs 30-50 Yrs >50Yrs

The caste was not controlled. but an attempt was made for equal

representation of households of various castes. Hence proportion was maintained

in each age group. Samples were selected randomly from the various households.

Secondly. case studies were taken to highlight the patterns of social. cultural and

political structure and communication. For example Bhats the geneologists.Jogis.

the religio-cultural mendicants Bhagats, the magico-ritual practitioners or local

shamans in Sikhera were studied and closely observed.

Thirdly, an interview schedule was prepared and I conversed with the

samples taken according to three levels of age group. The variations in age group

i.e. from below 30 years. thirty to fifty years and fifty and above helped in studying

.20

the changes in life-style.· and culture and social change. and attitudinal change.

occuring in the village.

Before beginning the sample survey. general information was obtained from

various village records during pilot survey.

(i) Lists of families with caste-wise classification maintained by Gram Pradhan.

(ii) Report of survey conducted in 1996 by Parivar Ka~van Samiti (Family Welfare

Commitee)

(iii) Lists of vaJ;ious government schemes and projects which have been completed

in recent years through the village Panchayat.

(iv) Lists of various government schemes and projects which were being

implemented through the village Panchayat presently.

(v) Record of landownership. maintained by Officer Incharge. Revenue Record

Room, Collectorate, Meerut.'

(vi) List of artisans, craftsmen and other professionals of Sikhera prepared by a

resident of Sikhera.

(vii) Lists of voters of the past two elections.

(viii) List of members of Panchayat.

(ix) District Census records

(x) District Gazetteer

The general proforma of Interview Schedule included the following particulars;-

(a) Basic information

Age, sex. marital status, relationship with the head of the family. nature of

occupation, education. and type of family Goint/nuclear).

(b) Older cultural patterns and communication

THESIS 302.20954 Si645 Cu

1111111111111111111111111 TH6926

21

\\1 "{) 31) ~~~ :5 ·l-\4 ~~ !!..~;:: s ("'~ q

~7

()..,

Observations of f!lcnd~c and household rituals viz. marriage. birth etc .. '1i 'I •

native folk songs, customs practised. traditional artists. traditional theatre and art

forms and other symbolic cultural patterns practised in the village.

(c) Emerging culture due to change in pattems of communication

Alternative-structures emerging due to changes in politics. economy,

occupation, cultural dependency, saving patterns. contact with urban culture and

change in power structure.

(d) Nature of change in social economic structure

Changes in rituals. cultural dependency. inter-caste relations. commensality

pattern, practice of caste related attributes like hierarchy observed during social

functions, changes in relation of caste, status and class structure of village and

convivial groups.

(e) Change in political structure and communication

Nature of change in political communication. political factions.

organisation on party lines. methods of propaganda and changes in power

relations between various castes.

(f) Change in cultural pattern and communication

Change in religious and ritualistic practices. symbolic communication.

professional cultural artists e.g. Jogis. Bhagats, Bhats. ~ahars and Bhaksors.

recreational media, folk songs, and aesthetic tradition.

(g) Attitudinal change regarding traditionalism and modemity,

Regarding caste. untouchability, religion, dowry, role of daughter-in-law.

media, status of women. changing social relations in joint family, education of

girls and other gender related matters.

22

The interview schedule was typed in local language, Hindi, khadi boli (local

dialect) and was pre-tested, which led to certain modifications in the final schedule

after initial survey. The field study was initiated in October 1995 and continued

till January 1997. The field was visited upon, in between for back up information

again and again.

Besides this interview schedule, the following sources were also tapped.

(i) Group discussions were held with the villagers especially the elder ones who

narrated old incidents and threw light on the nature of changes in rural society,

a.nd.. power structureAeconomy of the village.

(ii) Particip:iant observation in various cultural activities like marriage ceremonies,

village festivals, conflicts and caste fueds which provided opportunity to know

their customs, their religious functions and their responses to various situations.

Brief note on the field study

After the field study started, almost a week passed by before I could get

acquainted with the villagers. Initially, villagers suspected me to be a government

official under cover, with some ulterior motive. As recently the village has

undergone caste conflict, the villagers were apprehensive. Upper castes considered

it to be a government sponsored study, which was believed to be in favour of lower

castes and vice versa. This caused much trouble as many questions were

answered reluctantly by the villagers.·

Only with the help of the village informant and village Pradhan, villager's

apprehension was allayed regarding my research work. Except for some Muslims.

people were generally coperative in Sikhera. On the whole, this field study was a

23

unique experience. The villagers were very hospitable. They offered me food and

willingly allowed me to participate and observe their rituals and family functions.

Chapter scheme

The first chapter ~Introduction'has a discussion on the importance of study.

review of literature of village studies and studies done with communication

perspective in the rural society. The problem studied and research methodology

used also has been discussed. The research methodology includes area of study.

sample size, data collection, method, and information about interview schedule.

The second chapter, 'The Village-Sikhera' deals with the description of the

village Sikh era. In this chapter I have given Sikh era's origin, area of village,

population. spatial distribution about castes. family structure. occupation

structure, status of women, literacy, public institutions and facilities (schools.

village Panchayat. post office). places of socio-cultural importance as temples.

wells. weekly markets. shops, chaupal and transport.

The third chapter 'Traditional Forms of Communication' deals with

traditional communication like Chaupal, Nautanki, and Ramlila in general. along

with those features which are particularly evident in Sikhera like Ghera, Sang. The

various terms of traditional communication,have been further divided for heuristic

purposes since they overlap each other in recreational and religious spheres, like

Ramlila. folk tales, and epic stories.

The fourth chapter 'The Emergent Patterns of Communications' deals with

mass media-use and the pattern of programs. ·which are being watched and

24

preferred by the samples, in respect to Radio, TV newspaper/magazine and cinema.

This chapter explains the changes in the recreational patterns, media preferences

and changes in attitude with regard to oral tradition, like proverbs, sayings,

riddles etc.

The fifth chapter 'Changing Patterns of Communication and Social

Structure deals with prominent aspects of social structure, which are affected by

changing patterns of communication like castes, family structure, marriage,

women and youth. The areas of change seen in terms of language of

communication, content of communication and channel of communication and

how these three are changing with the time, have also been analysed in this

chapter. stvvc:t.IYC...'

The sixth chapter 'Changing Patterns of Communication and Power1 deals

with the emergent power structure with respect to the changes in communication

pattern; the intercaste conflicts and mutual relations; political communication,

and political participation in elections at the Parliament. Assembly, Block,

Panchayat levels: the role of opinion leaders as the channel of communication; the

content of communication about awareness regarding national leaders, party

symbols. contact with party workers and various unions in the village.

The seventh chapter, 'Changing Patterns of Communication and Culture

deals with changes in cultural sphere, religious rituals, festivals (both calendric

and pertaining to life cycle), oral tradition, traditional media, folk medicine, food

habits, leisure, cultural artefacts, as arts, crafts, architecture and technology

adoption in rural society.

Z5

The last chapter 'Conclusiori_ contains the conclusions of my research work

specifically in terms of Sikhera and generally in terms of Indian rural society.

,.~. Theoretical Framework·

" Communication. through language and other symbolic forms. comprises the

ambien'.:ce of human excellel nee. The activities we collectively call

communication. having conversations, giving instructions, imparting knowledge,

sharing significant ideas, seeking information, entertaining and being entertained

are so ordinary and mu, mdane thatit is difficult for them to arrest our attention."

(Carey, 1989).

CULTURE AS COMMUNICATION

Dewey (1916) de\fined communication as "the most wonderful" because it 'II

is the basis of human fellowship: It produces social bonds, bogus or not. that tie

men together and make associated life possible. Society is possible because of the

binding forces of shared information circulated in organic system. Communication

and culture overlap each other in the above definition because culture also refers

to shared beliefs, customs. conventions, habits. and practices which are

characteristics of a particular society. This conception of culture is termed as

Descriptive Conception. Defining culture by only focusing on the interpretation of

symbols and symbolic action is called as Symbolic Conception by J.B. Thompson

(Thompson, 1986).

In 1871. in 'Primitive Culture' E.B. T: ,ylor gave defmition of culture as

inter-related array of beliefs, customs, laws, forms of knowledge and art, which are

acquired by individuals as member of a particular society and concepts which

26

could be studied scientifically by sociologists. 'Taylor's interpretation of culture has

been considered scientific since he treated culture as the object of a systematic,

scientific inquiry, where as in earlier studies culture was found to be more

concerned with developing human faculties through work of scholarship and art.

Malinowski elaborated this scientific theory of culture, in 1940's. He

considered that 'culture comprises of inherited artefacts, goods, technical

processes, ideas, habits and values .... culture is a reality and must be studied as

such. This sort of cultural description became co-extensive with anthropology

itself or more precisely with 'cultural anthropology'. Culture is thus defined as

array of beliefs, customs, ideas and values, as well as the material artefacts, objects

and instruments. which are acquired by individuals as members of the group or

society.

Symbolic Conception of Culture

Whereas animals (non-humans) can emit and respond to signals of various

kinds, only human beings. it is argued, have fully developed language by virtue of

which meaningful expressions can be constructed and exchanged. Human beings

not only produce and receive meaningful linguistic expressions, but also bestow

meaning on non-linguistic constructions as on actions, worksof art. and material

objects of various kinds. Thus use of symbols is a distinctive feature of human life.

In recent years, the symbolic conception of culture has been placed at the

centre of anthropological debates by Clifford Geertz, whose major work. ("The

Interpretation Of Culture"), represents an attempt to draw out the implications of

this· conception for the anthropolog~cal inquiry. Geertz is mainly concerned with

questions of meaning, symbolism and interpretation of culture. Geertz has argued

27

that human behaviour is fundamentally symbolic and, therefore, laden with

meaning for social actors. Geertz considered human being, being suspended in

hP webs of significance that,\ himself has spun; thus culture is a 'stratified hierarchy of

meaningful structures; it consists of actions, symbols and signs of twitches.

conversations and soliloquies'. Thus analysing culture is like unfolding layer of

meanings, which are known to the individuals.

An ethnographer inscribes the social discourse and transforms culture from

fleeting, transient event into a durable, perusable text. The study of culture

according to Geertz, is an activity more akin to interpreting a text than to

classi(ying flora and fauna; and Anthropology, is not an experimental science,

looking for universal laws, but an interpretive science in search of meaning. Geertz

describes culture thus: "culture is the pattern of meanings embedded in symbolic

forms, including actions, utterances and meaningful objects of various kinds, by

virtue of which individuals communicate with one another and share their

experiences, conceptions and beliefs'.

Another theory regarding the symbolic conception is of symbolic

interactionism. This theory was developed in the University of Chicago by Herbert

Blumer in 193 7 and challenged the dominance of Parson's Grand theory. Again

the philosophical leanings to the Symbolic Interaction theory were provided by

G.H.Mead. This theory focussed on the ways in which meanias emerge through 1\

interaction. Its prime concern has been to analyse the meanings of everyday life,

through close observations, and intimate familiarity, and from these an

understanding of underlying forms of human interaction was developed.

2.8

There are four main foci in this theory. Firstly, human. beings are distinctly

seen as 'symbol manipulating individuals' and it is through symbols that culture is

transmitted. Interactions are concerned about the meaning that the individuals

give to their bodies. feelings. selves. biographers. situations and wider world in

which their lives exist. Participant observation has been employed by Becker

(1982) to study social relations. Secondly, for symbolic interactionists the social

world is a dynamic and dialecticial web. and it considers that social situations are

never fixed or stable. Thirdly. social world is interactive. From this view point

individuals are not isolated but are always connected to others. The most basic

unit is the self. which stresses the ways in which people can view themselves as

objects and assume role of others through process of role taking (Cooley. and

Mead). Fourthly. the symbolic ihteractionism looks beneath . these symbols.

processes and interactions in order to determine underlying patterns or forms of

social life. Thus while studying the life-experiences of doctors. dancers, band

musicians. drug users and dying artists they study the common processes at work

in all such seemingly disparate groups.

In "Mind. Self. Society" G.H.Mead laid the foundation for a social

psychology. An analysis was made on the experiences located flllilly within

society. The study of importance of language, symbols and communication in

human group life, the way in which our words and gestures bring forth our

responses to others and the process of role making are dealt by G.H.Mead. Mead's

idea of 'generalized other' has also contributed in developing interactional

conception of reference group theory. A reference group becomes any collectivity,

real or imagined. envied or disposed. whose perspective is assumed by the actor.

29

Hence reference group is one whose outlook is used by actor as the frame of

reference in the organization of his perceptual field. This is evident in Indian

society where lower castes consider upper castes as reference group for purpose of

social mobility. Thus in the symbolic conception of culture. the symbolic forms

have determinate relations with one another. The structure of a symbolic form is a

pattern of elements which can be discerned in actual instances of expressions. i.e.

in actual utterances. expressions or texts. The Swiss linguist Ferdiil./and. de

Saussure was primarily concerned with symbolic systems. By distinguishing

between language (/a-langue) and speech (Ia parole). Saussure sought to isolate

language as a system of signs so as to study its basic elements· and principle of

functioning of language.

The sign according to Saussure consisted of signifier (differentiated graphic

or sound image) and signified (differentiated item of thought or mental image).

The sign gains value or meaning syntagmatically according to its linear position in

discourse e.g. as determined by grammar. Secondly. it gains value paradigmatically

according to what signs could have been substituted for it but were not e.g. as

determined by nature of particular lexicon used in the language. For Saussure

language does not consist or operate on individuaUstic basis, but rather consists of

signs that are products of extra-individual structures or systems of differences

.f (such as alphabets, gramm<tr and lexicons). Thus language is a medium~social and

cultural <iJ expression besides being symbolic in nature.

Cultural Transmission and Mass Communication

The production of symbolic forms and their transmission is a social

phenomenon which involves different aspects. These aspects of cultural

30

transmission are:

(I) firstly, the technical medium of transmission.

(2) secondly)nstitutional aspects of transmission.

(3) and thirdly, the space-time of distanciation involved in

transmission.

Now. the symbolic cues have become more general than specific due to

abs;4nce of the same context of reference to interpret the meaning of symbols.

, The Social Int~actions have been changing from society to society as shown ~ .

in table 1.2. Primitive society. mostly used face to face interaction and word-of-

mouth channel. But as technology developed the channels of telegraph. wireless,

~ letters came in practice. Mass media developed in the late fifteenth century. when

techniques associated with Gutenberg's printing press were taken up by a number

of ·institutions and individuals in major trading centres for the purposes of

producing multiple copies of manuscripts and texts.

The aspects of Cultural transmt~{n can be categoritd on the common basis A 1\

of:

(1) Space time constitution- time difference/distanciation

(2) Range of symbolic cues- multiple/narrow range generalised

(3) Action stimulation -specific range/indefinite range (audience)

(4) Dialogical/Monological- personal interaction/through a medium of

technology

The figure given below clearly shows that the distance between two actors

has increased and the communication is more decontextualised as both of them

are miles away from each other.

31

Aspects Attributes

Technical medium~ ---------

Fixation

Reproduction

Participation

~ Channels of selective diffusion

Institutional apparatu~ . -------- Mechanisms for restricted implementations

Contexts of cQpresence

Space-time distanciatio~ ·

--------Extension of availability

Fig 1 Aspects of Cultural Transmission (Source J.B.Thompson)

The technical medium of transmission is the material substratum of

symbolic form. i.e. the material component with which and by virtue of which.

symbolic form is produced and transmitted. These components vary enormously

from the material conditions of face-to face conversation to electronic and satellite

communication. The technology-use also changes the degree of ftxation of

symbols (similar to Geertz's "said") since video CD or paper would 'fix' the symbols

for a longer time than done through use of phone, etc. Hence degree of

reprodtition of the messages is also dependent on technical medium used. Similarly "

the degree of participation in production of messages e.g. the skills. faculties and

32 \

resources. to write personal matter are different from one required in scripting,

producing, transmitting and watching a TV program. In addition to the technical

medium. the exchange of symbolic forms involves an institutional apparatus of

transm~ion. The institutional apparatus includes institutional arrangements

within which the technical medium is deployed and the individuals are involved in

encoding and decoding symbolic forms. These arrangements are characterized by

rules. resources and relations of various · kinds. They typically. involve

hierarchial relations of power between individuals occupying institutionalised

positions. By virtue of such arrangements, individuals are endowed with differing

degrees of control over the process of cultural transmission.

With commodific_~tions of symbolic forms. the channels of symbolic

diffusion acquire a key role in the process of 'econo~ic valorization' i.e. ascribing

certain valursto symbolic forms and ascribing certain values for which they can be

bought and sold in the market. Thus ~mbols become commodities for sale in

market. This is a historical process which is essential part of emergence and

development of mass communications. In primitive society the symbolic forms

could not be bought or sold but were shared by all, unlike in a modem society.

The institutional apparatus also includes mechanism for the restricted

implementations of symbolic forms. When symbolic forms are stored through

modem techniques, they can be controlled and their diffus:~nn can be restricted. It

is more operative in a folk society, where alternate apparatus of information is not

available except the institutional apparatus like, head of community, priest,

landlord or elites in the society.

33

Both Harold Innis and Anthony Giddens have emphasized on the

importance of space-time to social theory in the analysis of systems of

communication. The transmission of a symbolic form necessarily involves the

detachment of its form, to varying degrees. from the context of its production;· Ii is

distanced from this context, both spatially and temporally, and inserted into new

coritxt. which may be located at different times and places (distanciation). This

distanciation varies from one technical medium to another. Infact in face-to-face

interaction, the context of co-presence is there i.e. the availability of the symbolic

form is limited to the participants of the conversation as in table 1.2

Interactional Different Interactions perspective Face-to .face Mediated Mediated q1,1asi Space time constitution Context of prescence, Seperation of contexts, Seperation of contexts,

shared spatial- extended availability extended availability temporal reference in time space. in time and space. system.

Range of symbolic cues Multiplicity of Narrowing the range Narrowing the range symbolic cues. of symbolic cues. of symbolic cues.

Action stimulation Oriented towards Oriented towards Oriented towards an specific others. specific others. indefinite range of

potential recepients. Dialogicai/Monological Dialogical. Dialogical. Monological.

Table 1.2 Development of Interaction Perspective in Different Societies.

(Source J.B.Thompson. 1995;85)

The su~ementation of speech by certain technical media made the extention of

availability of symbolic forms in time and space. Thus prior to development of

telecommunication, symbolic forms could only be physically transported. Mass

media extended the availability of symbolic forms and time through press, phones,

and other electric channels.

In reference to time aspect, fixation of symbolic forms were facilitated by

development of mass media which allowed a high degree of fixation, which were

34

relatively durable. Thus symbolic forms stored on film, tape or disc also made the

availability possible in different times. Thus mass media exercised power across

temporal distances (Thompson, 1995).

Characteristics of Mass Media

The mass communications or mass media distinctively associated with the

nineteenth and twentieth centuries are the press. radio, gramophone. tape

recorder. cinema and television which have been traditionally grouped together

under the heading of 'mass-media'. The word 'mass' refers to the audience created

by the new media, which was socially undifferentiated, and lacking any clear

divisions along. class, caste, sex or race lines.

The mass communication is characterised by the institutionalised

production and generalized diffus, ·ion of symbolic goods through the transmission

and storage of information. Thus due to institutionalized production and diffu sion

of symbolic goods, the symbolic forms are reproducible and have become

commodities to be bought and sold in the market.

Due to its technical medium of transmission it breaks the process of

production and reception of symbolic goods. These forms were .. mediated" in the

society and were distanciated in time and in space. With increase in such mass

producing industries and media apparatus, sociologists became interested in the

effects of this mass production of symbolic forms on society. It would be

noteworthy, · that in twentieth century media studies these processes are

grouped under different headings. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, coined

the phrase ' the culture industry' while referring to the collective operations of

media, (Horkheimer arid Adon-no, 1972) whereas. Louis Althusser has grouped the

35

media with the family, the church, and the education system under the heading of

'ideological state apparatuses' (Althusser, 1971).

APPROACHES TO STUDY MASS MEDIA

There arc distinct schools and traditions which have been developed for the

study of mass communication. First is the Mass Society Tradition, of the mid­

nineteenth century, which has viewed the development of the media

pessimistically as constituting a threat to the integrity of elite cultural values or

viablility of political institutions of democracy. The second tradition, is the Liberal

Pluralist Tradition where media, functions as the fourth estate and plays an

important part in the democratic process and in constituting a source of

information that is independent of government. The third is the Critical Theory of

Frankfurt School which is an attempt to incorporate critique of the mass society

and is employed within Marxian framework. Fourth is the Marxist Approach to

the media, which is a more general theory of ideology concerned with the role

played by ideological institutions in the social process whereby existing relations of

class domination are reproduced and perpetuated.

Here we are concerned with the last two schools of thought on mass

communication.

The Frankfurt School

The mass culture or mass society arose with the rise of processes of

industrialisation, urbanisation, the development of political democracy, the

beginning of popular education and the emergence of contemlfr<UY ~s of "mass

communication". Some theorists even impute the emergence of mass society with

.l6

the formal processes of government through the extension of franchise, for others it

is due to the levelling and homogenisation effects of a market economy or to the

preponderance which has been given to the opinion of the 'average man' by the

development of the press.

The mass society outlook has also influenced the development of Marxist

theories of the media. Marx and Engels did not theorize the concept of mass media

and their ideological role in society. The attempt was made by Frankfurt School to

provide the criUque of culture industry. The Frankfurt School includes Theodor

Adorno, Herbert Marcuse and Max Horkheilfl:r. In early 20th century these three

were associated with Institute for Social Research founded in Frankfurt, Germany.

Three main factors which guided these scholars were-the revolution of 1917

which did not spread to western Europe, their experience of Fascim and lastly the

political instability which was present in the post war western world. These factors

played an important role in shaping their theories. Marcuse in One Dimensional

Man, 1968 contended that the apparent rationality of production in advanced

capitalism renders the social system immune to criticism. The system was 'sold' by

its ability to produce the goods and cultural artefacts.

The goods and services which the social system produces, are imposed on

the social system as a whole. The means of mass transportation and

communication, the commodities of food,lodging, and clothing, the irresistible

output of the entertainment and information industry carry with them prescribed MlcL

attitudes and habits,t certain intellectual and emotional reactions which bind the

consumers more or less pleasantly to the producers and through the latter. to the

whole society. The products indoctrinate and manipulate; they promote a false

37

consciousness which is immune against its falsehood .. Thus emerges a pattern of

one dimensional thought and behaviour in which ideas, aspirations and objectives,

by their content, transcend the established universe of discourse and actions.

~arcuse, 1968: 26-27).

According to Marcuse, the political issues discussed were how to manage

and maintain the system. No alternative political ends were looked into. This

tendency is called 'a closing of the universe of discourse' This is similar to

Haberma s'concept of 'public sphere' where the opinion becomes 'public' and more

people participate in public sphere, through mass communications' exposure. The

language used in mass media, was of overwhelming concreteness which imposes

the preconcieved 'images'.

Adorno and Horkheimer argued that the media had invaded and subverted

the world of traditionally high or bourgeois culture, by making it more widely

available only on the price of depriving its 'aura' of its seperatedness. Frankfurt

theorists consider that the media made serious culture more widely available only

at the price of depriving it of its critical substance and by bringing culture into

every day life, media wrenched it from the local tradition. Due to the techniques of

mass production the work of art was deprived of the 'aura' of its uniqueness

(Marcuse, 1970: 64). The followers of Fran'furt School despite their detailed "

discussion on 'culture industry' have not given positive suggestions as to how it

can be changed.

38

Marxism: Class, ideology and media

Frankfurt theorists, while remaining committed to Marxism, were more

interested in critique of mass society and the presuppositions of German

philosophical idealism was grafted on the framework of Marxist theory of ideology.

Marx ref ered to ideologies as definite forms of 'social consciousness. ' which,

together with legal and political relationships, constituted a 'superstructure' built

upon and was corresponding to the real foundation constituted by the relations of

production (Bottomore and Rubel, 1965: 67). Marx had_also discussed the relative

autonomy of ideology, their own distinctive properties, so that their dependence on

the 'base' may be viewed as a highly complex and mediated one.

Ideologies can be distorted and structured due to relative autonomy.

Althusser (71:154) said that. ideology is a process which takes place behind our

. backs, producing and structuring our consciousness in ways that we are not aware

of. Althusser sees ideology not as intellectual abstraction but as a concrete social

process embodied in the material culture signifying practices of a collectivity and

of ideological apparatus like the family, school, church and media. (Althusser.

1971). The media is thus an ideological state apparatus as opposed to more

classically repressive state apparatuses. The effecti~~ess of the media lies not in

an imposed false consciousness, nor in changing attitudes, but in the conscious

categories through which conditions are presented and experienced. This

perspective makes Althusser's approach a" structuralist approach.

39

Culturalist Approach

The culturalist approach to media was initiated by Raymond William: who

studied culture through every day practices, customs, and habits. Methods of

dealing with problems, and concept of space and time were seen as a Silent

Language continuing through the ages by him. The other proponents of this theory

.£.i..K-t- Haggart, Thompson, Hall, Bourdieu and Carrey. Stu art Hall, also define-_ society as

an expressive totality where the media play a part in c9mbination with other

primary institutional arrangements(Hall 1978).

The culture is defined as the study of whole way of life in the Culturalist

Approach. Besides Raymond William, and stuart Hall, James W. Carey has given a

'Ritual View of Communication', Carey states that communication is a symbolic

process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repailil.and transformed by social

beings. Ritual view does not exclude the processes of information, transmission or

attitude change which are included in mass media studies. It merely contends that ~

one cannot understand these proecesses if they are not studied in their own frame

of refer~ce. The Cultural Appro~h does not reduce communication studies to only II

mass communication or media studies (Carey, 1992).

The theoretical framework of Bourdieu has also been subsumed under

at culturist approach, from which one . can understand the mechanism of the

1\

communication process. His theory includes analysis of societal change and

production, lifestyle and preference. The habitJsthus function as 'structuring-

structure', systematically organized practices and perception of practices. The

habitus is the internalized class condition which varies and depends on the volume

40

of economic, social and cultural capital possessed. The composition ot total

volume can be symmetrical (high economic,high cultural) or asymmetrical.

Though influence of Bou(...()ieu on communication research paradigm has

been less (Garnham and William 1980), buJ, his theory is appropriate to

understand the cultural change in communication pattern. His theory is based on

historical understanding of human conditions. He propounds that human

behaviour is shaped by material conditions, shared by individuals belonging to

groups or classes with similar conditions of exisl:ence, without neglecting the part

played by individual in shaping his own existence. Secondly, social space is

coneidered a field of struggle, where every group strives to maintain and improve

its position.

According to Bourdieu pre-industrial and primitive social formations were

characterized by limited spatial extension, limited division of labour and simple

reproduction. The material and symbolic culture, the mode of production and

domination could not be seper:ated whereas in the developed societies autonomous

economic sphere and a relatively autonomous symbolic sphere exist. In the

transitional phase (as in Indian villages) the creation of market economy and

capitalism leads to an open exercise of material class power. The social agents

enter a field of struggle with an aim of reproducing the capital, cultural and

economic of their group and if possible to augment it.

Thus it remains important that cultural stratification is determined directly

by unequal distribution of economic capital and of cultural goods, for example

~working class cannot afford frequent visits to cinema, or expensive restaurants.

The class distinctions arc internalised within the habitus which arc distinguished

41

by differing dispositions, differing attitudes toward~ culture and diffcn)ng attittt_es

to utilize cultural objects and practices, and thus result in different logic of cultural

practices.

Hence the consumption pattern is dependent on one's habitus, taste, and

life style. Changes in one leads to change in another i.e. the cultural capital is

transformed into economic capital and vice versa. Thus the communication and

contact with symbolic goods and forms, defines oncistation and creates a relational

field of struggle where social actors, seck to convert their total volume of capital

composition. Thus individuals are constantly moving in social space. The habitus

thus structures the communication process and the contradiJions, struggles and

resistances in the social space of life styles. The never ending struggle between

groups in order to improve positions, is done through communication, and it also

creates new contests and struggles.

It is here, in this changing, social and cultural field, that one can

understand the underlying importance of the mechanics of communication in

· bringing social change.

Reference Notes

1. Cohn, B.S., "Notes On The History Of The Study Of Indian Society And Culture" in Milton Singer And Bernard Cohn, (ed)., "Structure And Change In Indian societ;l' Chicago, Aldine Pub., Co, 1968, p.6.

2. ibid p. 8.

3. Grant Charles, Quoted in Milton Singer And Bernard S.Cohn, (ed)., op. cit., p.lO.

4. Cohn, op.cit., p. 8.

5. l)umont, Louis., "The Village Community From Munro To Maine" In Contributions to Indian Sociology, No. IX. 1966, p.67.

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