41. Secularization, Urbanization, Modernization, Globalization — Full Notes

CORE Key Points at a Glance

1. 1

   Secularisation (Peter Berger) is the process by which religion loses its influence over individual behaviour, social institutions, and public life; religious authority gives way to rational, scientific explanations. India follows the constitutional secular model — state neither promotes nor discriminates against any religion (Articles 25–28).

2. 2

   Urbanisation in India: Urban population rose from 17.3% (1951) to 31.1% (Census 2011); projected 40% by 2030. As of 2023, India has 4,041 statutory towns, 3,784 census towns, and 53 metropolitan areas (population ≥ 10 lakh).

3. 3

   Modernisation (S.N. Eisenstadt, 1966) refers to the multi-faceted transformation of traditional societies — structural differentiation, democratisation, urbanisation, industrialisation, secularisation, rationalisation — driven by the diffusion of modern values and technology.

4. 4

   Globalisation is the intensification of worldwide social, economic, cultural, and political connections. The WTO (1995) and liberalisation (1991 in India) are institutional drivers. India's merchandise trade to GDP ratio rose from 14% (1990) to 42% (2022), reflecting deep integration.

5. 5

   Arjun Appadurai's 5 Cultural Flows (Modernity at Large, 1996): Ethnoscapes (movement of people), Mediascapes (media images), Technoscapes (technology), Financescapes (capital), Ideoscapes (ideologies). These disjunctive flows create a complex, non-uniform global culture — not a monolithic "Americanisation."

6. 6

   Westoxication (Gharbzadegi) — coined by Iranian philosopher Jalal Al-e-Ahmad (1962); refers to excessive adoption of Western consumer culture and values by non-Western societies to the point of losing indigenous identity. RPSC 2023 asked a 2-mark Q on this.

7. 7

   Global Village — concept by Marshall McLuhan (1962): electronic media (TV, radio, internet) have compressed space and time so that the entire world functions as a single community — people everywhere participate in shared global events simultaneously. RPSC 2021 asked 2-mark Q on this.

8. 8

   Secularism in Indian Constitution — amended by 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976) to include the word "secular" in the Preamble. India's secularism = Sarva Dharma Sambhav (equal respect for all religions), not western separation of church and state. Articles 25 (freedom of conscience), 26 (religious denominations), 27 (no tax for religion), 28 (no religious instruction in state-funded schools).

9. 9

   Urbanisation and Slums: India's urban growth has produced severe inequalities — 17.4% of urban households live in slums (Census 2011); Mumbai's Dharavi (~1 million people in 2.1 sq km) is Asia's largest slum. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U, 2015) targets housing for all urban poor. Urban migrants form a "floating population" — neither fully rural nor fully urban — creating new sociological categories of circular migration and semi-urbanisation.

10. 10

    Modernisation and Its Critics — Dependency Theory: André Gunder Frank (1967) argued that Western modernisation theory is ideological — it ignores how colonial and neo-colonial structures keep developing nations in a state of underdevelopment. India's experience shows a partial modernisation: urban elites experience first-world consumption patterns while rural/tribal populations retain traditional social structures. This dual economy critique is relevant for RPSC's India-specific questions on modernisation.

11. 11

    Glocalization — concept by sociologist Roland Robertson (1992): globalisation does not produce uniform global culture; instead, global processes are adapted and modified by local cultures, creating hybrid outcomes. Examples: Indian fast food (McAloo Tikki at McDonald's India), Bollywood absorbing Hollywood production styles while retaining Indian content, yoga becoming a global fitness practice divorced from its Hindu origins.

12. 12

    Urbanisation in Rajasthan: Rajasthan's urban population increased from 23.4% (2001) to 24.9% (Census 2011) — below national average of 31.1%, reflecting the state's predominantly agrarian character. Jaipur is the only metropolitan city (3.07 million, 2011); the state has 184 urban local bodies. Rapid urbanisation around Jaipur-Delhi corridor and Jodhpur reflects industrial growth and in-migration. Desertification and drought accelerate distress migration to urban areas.