Question

Try to find out what Marx and Weber wrote about India.

Answer 1

(i) Karl Marx - He referred to the villages of India as “little communities”. He was of the opinion that India was a self-sufficient group which had no contact with the outside world. India had its own institutions and beliefs that controlled human behaviour. Marx also opposed British rule in Indian society and was totally against it. He wrote many articles on India under the British Raj, in order to throw light upon his views.

(ii)Max Weber - He studied India under his works on the ‘Sociology of Religion’. Weber understood Indian society as orthodox and suppressed, under the barriers of the caste system. He emphasised throughout his studies the need for rational thinking, which was opposed by the caste system in India. He also believed that the religion and caste system together acted against economic development.