The Indian Family: Needs for a Revisit

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe family as an integrated and functional unit of society has for a considerable period of time captured the attention and imagination of researchers. Eue to the multiplicity of characteristics possessed by the family, research continues to expand and grew both in volume and depth. The structural, functional, developmental and integrative functions which the family fulfills in societies the world over make it an important unit of analysis for sociological investigation. As an institution the family has evolved over the years, and has been subjected to extensive and, in sene cases, intensive influences from within and beyond the society. During its years of existence as an integral component of society, it has also from time to time adapted to acommodate the needs of individuals and society. As a consequence we have variant forms of the family across the world assisting in the life, growth and development of individuals-and by extension society. Apart frcm the roles the family plays on behalf of individuals, its indispensable role in the functioning of the larger social system has been recognized and well acknowleged. Studies of families frcm varied contexts, setting, and perspectives contribute to a better understanding of its existence, growth/decline, forms, roles, functions, and adaptations to the changing world we live in today.Since the 1990s, we began to think seriously about the drastic changes that have been taking place in the family the world ever (Gliding, 20C2) . Ine attention thus drawn to the family has assisted us in focusing not only on the transformation the family has been undergoing but also on the influances that have created the individuals and the social system in general. This was in relation to the changes that have been occurring in society at large-for instance globalization and technological determinism-and there have been attempts to link these changes to the transfomation the family (Gliding, 2002).Studies of the family are by any standards not scarce. The family has been investigated from a wide range of angles and standpoints. Undeniably these efforts have provided us with new insists into its functioning and the way it has been coping with the changes happening within the wider society. The available studies nevertheless do not form a limiting factor for further research that can add to cur knowledge of this social unit. This applies to famillies across the world, and not specifically to any kind, form, or region. The Indian family , which continues to attract curicus researchers, is no exception to this rule. The range of forms of the family within a vast and culturally and religiously diverse courtry like India has generated an increasing volume of research by Indian and foreign scholars. Due to its diversity in form and function, and that some 1.21 billion Indian people are involved, the Indian family is perhaps the one that has produced the highest number of inguiries, investigations, studies, and research.Systematic endeavors to study the Indian family reportedly began in the 1940s with indological studies (D'Cruz and Bharat, 2001). Studies of the Indian family have generally been directed towards the effects and impacts of forces external to individuals including industrialization, modernization, and urbanization on the traditional Indian family system (Chekki, 1988b). How these forces impacted on the size, form, type, composition, pattern, and roles of the families in the country were also part of the inguiry . Investigations have been conducted on a host of issues pertaining to relationships within the family as well. Included among these were studies that dealt with the parent-child relationship, marital relationships, conflicts, roles (changes and new) , and power relations (Chekki, 1988b). Of late there has been considerable renewed interest in the Indian family, focusing on other crucial issues and debates (Patel, 2005).The Indian family as a strong, cohesive, integral and fundamental unit is a solid foundation of the Indian social structure. …