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Glossary Terms
| Term (EN) | Definition | Exam Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Secularisation | Process by which religion loses influence over social institutions and public life | Core concept |
| Laïcité | French model: strict separation of state and religion (church-state wall) | Indian vs. Western comparison |
| Sarva Dharma Sambhav | Indian principle: equal respect and treatment for all religions by the state | Indian secularism |
| Communalism | Political mobilisation of religious identity leading to inter-group conflict | Challenge to secularism |
| Disenchantment | Weber's Entzauberung — loss of magic and religion as world is explained scientifically | Secularisation theory |
| Urbanisation | Process of population shift from rural to urban areas and transformation of settlements | Demographic change |
| Slum | Overcrowded, underserviced informal urban settlement; 65.5 mn in India (2011) | Urbanisation problem |
| Mega-city | City with population exceeding 10 million | India has Delhi, Mumbai |
| AMRUT | Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (2015/2021) | Urban scheme |
| Modernisation | Multi-faceted transformation of traditional society through industrialisation and rationalisation | Core concept |
| Multiple Modernities | Eisenstadt's thesis: different societies modernise through different cultural paths | Counter to Eurocentric view |
| Westernisation | M.N. Srinivas (1956): adoption of Western customs, language, institutions via British influence | India modernisation |
| McDonaldisation | Ritzer: global spread of fast-food rationality — efficiency, calculability, predictability, control | Cultural globalisation |
| Globalisation | Intensification of worldwide economic, social, cultural, and political interconnections | Core concept |
| LPG Reforms | Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation — India's 1991 economic reform package | India globalisation context |
| Global Village | McLuhan 1962 — electronic media make world a single interconnected community | PYQ 2021 |
| Westoxication | Al-e-Ahmad 1962 — uncritical adoption of Western consumer culture eroding indigenous identity | PYQ 2023 |
| Ethnoscapes | Appadurai: global flows of people — migrants, tourists, refugees | PYQ 2023 |
| Mediascapes | Appadurai: global flows of media images and narratives | PYQ 2023 |
| Financescapes | Appadurai: rapid global movement of financial capital across borders | PYQ 2023 |
| Ideoscapes | Appadurai: global flows of political ideologies (democracy, human rights) | PYQ 2023 |
| Cultural Hybridisation | Local and global cultures blend to create new hybrid forms (Hinglish, fusion music) | Globalisation debate |
| Disjuncture | Appadurai: five global scapes flow at different speeds and in different directions | Appadurai's key insight |
| FDI | Foreign Direct Investment — cross-border capital for production; India: $83.6 bn (2021–22) | Globalisation data |
| Rationalisation | Weber: replacement of tradition/religion with reason, rules, efficiency in modern society | Modernisation theory |
Sources: RPSC Mains PYQ 2021, 2023; Arjun Appadurai, Modernity at Large (1996); Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962); Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, Gharbzadegi (1962); S.N. Eisenstadt, Modernization: Protest and Change (1966); Peter Berger, The Sacred Canopy (1967); Census of India 2011; NASSCOM Annual Report 2022–23; Oxfam India Inequality Report 2023; Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (AMRUT 2.0 data); PLFS 2022–23.