B.A. Social Notes

                              Vedic Age The Vedic age began in India in about 1500 BC with the coming of Aryans, who scattered on the plains of of northern India. Max Muller believes it an anomaly to regard the race as Aryan because scientifically Aryans connotes nothing but language.The relationship between the race and language of these people with the classical languages of Europe was established by a Bavarian Franz Bopp 1816. Aryans developed Vedic culture based on Vedas. The meaning of the word Veda is "knowledge" , the best of all knowledge in the eyes of Hindus. It is a collection of hymns, prayers, charms, litanies, and sacrificial formulae. There are four Vedas, namely, Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda . Aryans' Arrival in India The Aryans came to India in several waves. The earliest wave is represented by the Rig Vedic people who appeared in the subcontinent in about 1500 BC. They...

                               Harappan Civilization In 1924, scholars in history were roused by the announcement of Sir John Marshall that his Indian  aides,particularly R.D. Banerjee, discovered (1922-23) at Mohenjo-daro in the Larkana district of Sind, now in Pakistan, the remains of a civilization, one of the oldest of the world. A few hundred miles towards the north of Mohenjo-daro, four or five superimposed cities were excavated at Harappa in the Montgomery district of the Punjab, now in Pakistan. Recently, excavations carried out on the site of Kalibangan have revealed a third city as large as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. That the civilization was not confined to the limits of Indus Valley can be understood from the finds of relics of the same civilization at Sutkagendor on the sea board of south Baluchistan, in the west of Alamgirpur in the Uttar Pradesh in the east; and from Ropar in the Hima...

                        Modern Individualism Decline of the 19th century Individualism and emergence of Modern Individualism in the 20th century. After the 18th century, there was a decline in the influence of individualism and in its place the idealism and collectivism gained importance. Joad says, "The theory of individualism or its doctrine of freedom, which is very valuable in politics,when applied in economic sphere,proved disastrous". According to Joad,individualism is based on three misconceptions: 1-That each individual is equally sagacious and he has an equal capacity for knowing what he wants. 2-That each individual possesses an equal power of obtaining what he wants and an equal freedom of choice. 3-That the satisfaction of the wants of all individuals is identical with the well-being of the community as a whole. Thus on the basis of the reasons mentioned above, individualism suffered a setback and idea...

                                      Nationalism Meaning of Nationalism Nationalism teaches us to love our motherland. The nationalists love their motherland, rivers, mountains, flowers, animals and birds very much and they say that motherland is better than paradise. Hans Kohn writes, "Nationalism is an idea, an idea-force which fills man's brain and heart with new thoughts and sentiments and drives him to translate his consciousness into deeds of organised action" . According to Dr. Garner , "It is one of the characteristics features of modern nationalism that most peoples who constitute a nationality aspire either to be independent and to be under a state organisation of their own choice and creation or at least to be according a large political autonomy where they are united with another nationality or nationalities in the same state" . Right of Self-Determination Meaning of the ...

                              Modernisation Introduction Modernisation,in fact, started first of all in England as a result of Industrial Revolution (1760-1830). When America also started modernising herself in all fields, then this process was called westernisation. When the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America also began to industrialise themselves and adopt modern technology, and adapt themselves in social and economic fields to the changing needs of the time, then this process came to be regarded as modernisation. Modernisation is thus a process of change in all fields and indicates social transformation. Meaning of Modernisation 1- A society was regarded as "more or less modernised" by Levy "to the extent that its members use inanimate sources of power and /or use of tools to multiply the effects of their efforts." 2- A modern society according to Ward is characterised "by its fa...

              Authority and Legitimacy In day-to-day language we use the word authority. For example,we say that parents have got the authority over their children or elder brothers and sisters have got authority over their younger brothers and sisters.Similarly, we find the teachers have got authority over their pupils and the doctors exercising authority over his patients. The patients accepts the authority of doctors without any hitch in order to get the disease cured. Prof. Carl J. Fredrick in his treatise Man and his Government suggest that "the person weilding authority possesses superior knowledge or insight. This may be often true, but it is probably more universally appropriate say that people are usually willing to accept that person do have such knowledge or insight, without asking for proof." Authority is always legitimate and backed by the power of law and common consent.Legitimate power of influence is generally called authority. Fo...

                              Influence Political Influence is the suitable outcome of possessions-wealth,health,education,charm and other things and the skill with which they are made use of. We have also seen that power is the ability of an individual or groups to influence another individuals or group. In this way influence is a relationship. It is a relationship between individuals or groups which can make another to act in a way that he may not do otherwise. We can distinguish between power and influence by saying that those who have got power, they can influence the conduct of others more easily than those who do not possess any power. It is admitted on all hands that power and influence are co-related terms but influence turns into power when sanctions enter. Suppose A is an officer and asks B (another subordinate official) to obey his orders,then if B refuses and A suspends him, then A has used his pow...