The social sciences in general and sociology in particular have always been last in the pecking order when a student chooses a subject to specialise in at the graduate level. One of the key reasons for this has been the widespread misconception that sociology is merely a collection of understandings, perceptions and judgements of social phenomena that can be figured out in the realms of ‘everyday, practical life’ and ‘common sense’.
This issue has also been discussed extensively by scholars like Chaudhari, Deshpande, Beteille, and many others. The root cause of this widely and tightly adhered to perception cannot be traced without understanding the journey of a sociology student, introduced to the subject as they are, through faulty textbooks.
The manner in which a subject gets introduced at the level of secondary education plays a crucial role in stimulating and sustaining a student’s interest in the same. In a developing country like India, the textbook remains the only source through which students and teachers may have access to it.
Therefore, it is imperative that textbooks are written with the utmost prudence and foresight. However, the Maharashtra State Board’s Class 12 sociology textbook is neither written prudently, nor does it provide any insight to differentiate ‘common sense’ from sociological knowledge.
The class XII sociology textbook
The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is an autonomous body in charge of secondary and higher secondary education in the state. Every year, the maximum number of students in the state from various socio-economic backgrounds appear for their Class 10 and 12 exam through this Board.
The Board’s Class 12 sociology textbook, titled, Understanding Indian Society was published by Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research, Pune, in 2020.
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In the preface of the book, Vivek Gosavi, director of the Bureau, mentions that the focus of the Class 12 sociology syllabus is “ …on understanding different groups within our society, various social problems, social movements and social change from the viewpoint of the Indian context”.
This textbook is prescribed by all 7,000 colleges Maharashtra affiliated with the state board. In March 2020, there were 2,32,746 students who had registered for Sociology.
Analysis of the textbook
If one carefully observes the competency statement given at the beginning of this textbook, words such as ‘describe’, ‘illustrate’, ‘explain’, ‘demonstrate’, ‘point out’, ‘compare’ and ‘assess’ are used to copious degrees. Thus, right from the beginning, it is clear that the focus of the entire book is largely on providing information.
Unit one of the textbook: ‘Introduction to Indian Society’, is divided into three subunits – ‘Ancient and Medieval India’, ‘The Colonial period’ and ‘Post-Independence India’. The entire section on ancient and medieval India is filled with incomplete information on various religious beliefs and practices, like any other history textbook on the topic; information on religion is presented without any critical understanding of religion as a social institution. Thus, one is bound to feel perplexed as to why one is studying history in a sociology textbook!
History and sociology are closely related disciplines; however, what differentiates sociology from history is that the focus of the former is to understand social patterns and relationships between various social institutions.
In the section on ‘Education in Colonial India’ (page 16), there is no mention of Macaulay’s minutes, the Britishers’ motives behind introducing English education, the Hunter Commission, Mahatma Phule’s critique of Hunter Commission or how the access to education was limited to the ‘upper’ castes.
Similarly, in the ‘Economy’ section (pages. 16-17), there is no mention of Dadabhai Naoroji’s ‘drain theory’.
Hence, the repetitive and scattered information about history does not offer any sociological point of view for understanding the structures of Indian society. An introduction to Indian society is expected to give a social map of Indian society and its structures, which will help students locate their own social position and equip them with the tools to understand the interlinkages between various social structures. With the absence of any such perspective, this textbook reinforces the incorrect notion that sociology is equivalent to ‘common sense’ knowledge; thus subverting the entire understanding of the discipline itself.
Sociology is a theory-driven subject and concepts lie at its core. In this book, the concepts are introduced hurriedly and without context or theoretical understanding. They are presented in a manner that a Class 12 student will hardly comprehend.
For example, on page 48, without adequately discussing the concept of gender, the advanced concepts of gender expression, and gender fluidity are randomly mentioned. Moreover, no examples or case studies are provided which could have enhanced students’ comprehension of these critical concepts.
Further, crucial concepts like caste are erroneously explained in the book (pg 47). Caste in India is the system of social stratification and a basis for discrimination. However, in this book caste is included under the term ‘diversity’, which is simply wrong. The problem with mentioning caste under the heading of ‘diversity’ is that it indirectly ends up justifying caste based discrimination and violence.
The concept of race, too, is introduced in the book, but the most important aspect of race for a sociology student – that is, the understanding that race is a basis for social discrimination – is absent from the book. Thus, students are clueless as to why this concept is introduced and why it is studied in sociology.
Overall, the book neither gives any conceptual clarity, nor any theoretical understanding of the sociological concepts. Every textbook has limitations of space but a glossary is an effective way to address this issue. Sadly, the textbook has no glossary either.
The book has also been structured in a problem-solution format, which is the domain of ‘social work’ and not sociology. Social work is an advocacy-driven field designed to connect individuals or groups with the resources needed to solve problems in their lives. Sociology, on the other hand, is a theory-driven social science focussing on the study of social behaviours and interactions among people, groups and societies.
Sociologists identify and examine patterns of human behaviour. However, Unit 4, ‘Processes of Social Change in India’, proposes solutions to tackle problems that arise out of the processes of social change in Indian society, and Unit 6, ‘Social Problems in India’, formulate solutions for social problems using the social work paradigm. Any sociology textbook is expected to give a sociological perspective to students to look at the processes of social change and social problems and not just describe what these social changes and problems are.
For example, the issue of domestic violence is mentioned in the book (p. 91 ) but it is not discussed in the context of larger social structures like family, marriage and patriarchy. It briefly mentions patriarchy, heteronormativity, insecurity, dysfunctional relationships and the like as the causes of domestic violence, but doesn’t explain the link between them.
Similarly, unit 6 only explains the difference between individual problems and social problems, but does not elaborate on the connection between individual and social problems. The role of sociology is to precisely unravel how the personal and public are related (using sociological imagination.)
The need for revision
The Class 12 Sociology textbook fails to explain the complexities of Indian society and gives a very shallow, superficial and, in some places, patently wrong understanding of the same.
Our analysis of the textbook finds it wanting in many aspects. First, the book is poorly edited with redundant information that lacks any critical perspective. It does not sharpen any analytical understanding in students, nor does it provide even a basic sociological perspective on Indian society.
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Second, concepts in the book are introduced hurriedly without any context or theoretical understanding.
Third, the book reaffirms the incorrect notion that sociology is equivalent to ‘common sense’ and subverts the entire understanding of the discipline.
Finally, the book conveniently side-lines any critical sociological perspective. It fails to provide an understanding of structural inequalities and social exclusion in Indian society and thus, indirectly contributes to reproducing those very unequal structures which students are supposed to understand and dismantle.
Overall, the book fails to highlight the scope and importance of sociology in contemporary times and, therefore, needs to be revised without any further delay. That will benefit the discipline by conveying the true significance of sociology and generate genuine interest in the students.
Madhura Joshi completed her M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and Sumati Unkule has a doctorate in Sociology from Savitribai Phule Pune University. Education has been their area of research.
Featured image: Reuters