Question

What arguments were given for and against the village as a subject of sociological research by M.N. Srinivas and Louis Dumont?

Answer 1

According to Louis Dumont, social institutions like caste were more important than the study of villages. He argued that villages are just a group of people, who live or die or may move to another location, but their social institutions always follow them. Hence, he thought that the study of the village as a category should not be given much importance.

Contrary to this, M.N. Srinivas argued that the Indian villages were relevant social entities and historically the villages were a unifying factor in Indian society. Further, he criticised the British administrators because they studied the villages as a self-sufficient entity, and mentioned them as “little republics”. With the help of historical and sociological data, M.N. Srinivas concluded that the Indian villages had undergone considerable change, were connected with the outside world, and had always been a part of the Indian economy. Thus, he believed it was necessary to study the function of villages in the Indian social life.