BharatNotes What is Westernisation?
Westernisation is a sociological concept coined by M.N. Srinivas to denote "the changes brought about in Indian society and culture as a result of over 150 years of British rule" — changes operating at four levels: technology, institutions, ideology and values. Srinivas first developed the idea in his ethnographic classic Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India (1952) and elaborated it in Social Change in Modern India (1966).
Crucially, Srinivas intended the term to be value-neutral — it describes the adoption of Western forms and ideas without implying that such change is good or bad. This separates it from loaded ideas of "progress" or "civilisation."
Key Features
- British rule as the carrier — the printing press, railways, English education, the modern judiciary, the bureaucracy and a free press were the principal vehicles of change.
- Humanitarianism as the core value — Srinivas held this to be the most important value, defined as an active concern for the welfare of all human beings irrespective of caste, class, religion, age and sex. He noted it subsumes both equalitarianism and secularisation, and underlay 19th-century social reforms such as the abolition of sati.
- Multi-level reach — Srinivas distinguished a primary Westernisation affecting the daily lives, dress, food, vocabulary and material culture of people generally, from changes confined to particular sub-cultural groups (e.g. an English-educated elite).
- A paradox of mobility — Srinivas famously observed that while Brahmins were becoming increasingly Westernised, lower castes were becoming increasingly Sanskritised.
Westernisation vs Sanskritisation vs Modernisation
| Dimension | Sanskritisation | Westernisation | Modernisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coined by | M.N. Srinivas | M.N. Srinivas | Daniel Lerner (popularised) |
| Reference model | "Twice-born"/upper castes | British/Western culture | Rational, universal "modern" society |
| Direction of change | Within the caste hierarchy (positional) | Secular, towards Western forms | Towards rationality, science, efficiency |
| Value character | Sacred outlook | Value-neutral (per Srinivas) | Seen by Srinivas as value-loaded |
| Outlook | Caste-centred mobility | Secular institutional change | Broad structural-attitudinal change |
Criticisms and the UPSC Angle
The concept has been contested. Daniel Lerner argued "Westernisation" is too local a label, since the model imitated need not be Western (it could be, say, Soviet), and preferred "modernisation." Yogendra Singh held that equating change solely with British impact is too narrow and that "Westernisation" carries a pejorative, colonial connotation for new Asian elites — making "modernisation" a more value-neutral substitute; his own thesis on the Modernisation of Indian Tradition stresses India's capacity to absorb modernising influences without abandoning tradition.
For exams, the high-value skill is comparison: hold Sanskritisation, Westernisation and Modernisation side by side, attribute each correctly, and reproduce Srinivas's value-neutrality claim and the humanitarianism point. Foundation concept — underpins multiple questions on social change, secularisation and the impact of colonialism and globalisation on Indian society.
For contemporary current-affairs linkage on globalisation and cultural change, cross-reference Ujiyari.com.
