M. N. Srinivas
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Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas (16 November 1916 – 30 November 1999)
Biography
Srinivas was born in a brahmin family[4] on 16 November 1916.[5]
Srinivas earned his doctorate in sociology from the University of Bombay (later renamed as University of Mumbai) and went to
He died on 30 November 1999 at Bangalore, two weeks after his 83rd birthday.[5]
Contribution to Indian sociology and social anthropology
In a Frontline obituary, Parvathi Menon described him as India's most distinguished sociologist and social anthropologist.[6] His contribution to the disciplines of sociology and
It was the conjuncture between
Srinivas' scholarship was to challenge that dominant paradigm for understanding Indian society and would in the process, usher newer intellectual frameworks for understanding Hindu society. His views on the importance of caste in the electoral processes in India are well known. While some have interpreted this to attest to the enduring structural principles of social stratification of Indian society, for Srinivas these symbolised the dynamic changes that were taking place as democracy spread and electoral politics became a resource in the local world of village society.[citation needed]
By inclination, he was not given to
Methodology
As part of his methodological practice, Srinivas strongly advocated ethnographic research based on
His The Remembered Village (1976) is considered a classic in this field. It is a study based on the 11 months he spent in the village in 1948 and on subsequent visits until 1964.[8]
Recognition
He received many honours from the
Attributional approaches to caste
The scholars using the attributional approach stress the attributes of a
This aspect becomes clearer in Srinivas's work on positional mobility known as 'Sanskritization'. Sanskritization is a process whereby a caste attempts to raise its rank within the caste hierarchy by adopting the practice, the attributes of the caste or castes above them, in the rank order. This is to say the 'low' attributes are gradually dropped and the 'high' attributes of the castes above them are imitated. This involves adoption of vegetarianism, clean occupations and so on. Closely connected is the concept of dominant caste. The dominant caste in a village is conspicuous by its:
- Sizeable numerical presence
- Ownership of land
- Political power
- Access to western education
- Jobs in administration
- Place in local caste hierarchy
Books
- Marriage and Family in Mysore (1942)
- Religion and Society Among the Coorgs (1952)
- Caste in Modern India and other essays (1962), Asia Publishing House
- The Remembered Village (1976, reissued by OUP in 2013)
- Indian Society through Personal Writings (1998)
- Village, Caste, Gender and Method (1998)
- Social Change in Modern India(1966)
- The Dominant Caste and Other Essays (ed.)(1986)
- Dimensions of Social Change in India(1977)
References
- ^ Barry Bearak, M. N. Srinivas Is Dead at 83; Studied India's Caste System, The New York Times, 3 December 1999.
- ^ M.N. Srinivas: Obituary in the Hindu Frontline[usurped].
- ^ "History – Department of Sociology". Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- ^ Basu, Napur (23 December 1999). "MN Srinivas". the Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ JSTOR 23619893.
- ^ a b Menon, Parvathi. "A scholar remembered". Frontline. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ^ Social Change in Modern India, Orient Longman, New Delhi, 2000.
- ^ a b Jamie Cross "Book Review: The Remembered Village", London School of Economics blog, 5 September 2013
- ^ "National Portal of India". www.india.gov.in.
- ^ "Mysore Narasimhachar Srinivas". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
External links
- In memoriam by Veena Das
- An interview with M. N. Srinivas by Chris Fuller, London School of Economics, 1999
- Discussion led by Jack Goody and Stephen Levinson 24 May 1982, Cambridge (video)
- Basu, Napur (23 December 1999). "Obituary: MN Srinivas - Scholar of Indian village life and the caste system". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2019.