About Contemporary India
In the 21st century, India is a country that is in transition and is still developing. Furthermore, fundamental changes are taking place in the politics, society, economy, and culture of contemporary India, Nevertheless, stratification continues to exist in 21st century India. Moreover, there is intermixing of modernity and tradition going on in India. Moreover, this intertwining is producing complex social relations. Most noteworthy, urbanization is increasing in contemporary India at a rapid pace. Therefore, the legitimacy of social attitudes is receiving challenges in contemporary India.
Contemporary India is certainly characterized by its massive diversity. Furthermore, this diversity is leading to some problems. Even in the 21st century India, these problems continue to exist. Above all, these problems are stratification and marginalisation. Also, there is a clear difference between diversity, stratification, and marginalisation that exists. These three aspects are certainly not the same thing.
Diversity in Contemporary India
Diversity is a widespread phenomenon in India. Furthermore, there is not a region of India that is devoid of some sort of diversity. This certainly shows the unity in diversity of Indians. Below are the various diversity dimensions in contemporary India:
Socio-cultural dimension- There are various aspects of diversity within the socio-cultural dimension. Furthermore, these aspects are caste, class, religion, and language. Caste has certainly been a major source of diversity. In Indian society, there are primarily four castes. Moreover, contemporary India has many religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. Also, more than forty languages are spoken in India.
Demographic dimension- There are some aspects of diversity within the demographic dimension. Moreover, these dimensions are gender, age and physically disabled. All these three categories contribute to diversity.
Stratification in Contemporary India
Contemporary Indian society is a complex society. Furthermore, Indian society faces the difficult task of placing its members in specific roles. Moreover, these roles are necessary for society to survive. These roles must have as little conflict as possible. Unfortunately, this is sometimes not the case. This is because of the presence of stratification in Indian society.
Stratification refers to the condition of being arranged in social classes or strata within a group. Stratification in contemporary India occurs on the basis of ascription. Most noteworthy, in some places in India, a person is judged not according to his achievement but rather according to his caste or class or group. Moreover, in India discrimination takes place on the basis of the caste system, gender, and economic status.
Marginalisation in Contemporary India
First of all, marginalization is different from stratification. Marginalisation refers to the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It means to relegate someone to an unimportant or powerless position within a group or society. Furthermore, marginalisation is an experience which affects millions of people in India. Most noteworthy, people who suffer from marginalisation, have little control over their lives. Moreover, India has a significant prevalence of marginalisation.
India consists of several marginalised groups. These groups are women, disable people, scheduled castes/tribes, old-age people, poor people, and children. Each of these groups have suffered marginalisation from time to time. Unfortunately, these groups have suffered a lot due to discrimination from time to time. Many women certainly lack several rights. Many people belonging to scheduled castes/tribes are denied job and education opportunities. Moreover, old-age people and children sometimes have to deal with oppression and cruelty.
