SERICUL TURE AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE - Institute for ...

have the potentiality of disturbing the power equations within the
family. Thus, adoption of sericulture is bound to disturb the existing
structure and the functioning of family for better or worse. In this
context, it is useful to look into the dynamics of the family system. To
start with, an attempt has been made here to examine the changing
features of Indian family. Then, its structural variations and implications
are analysed in the context of sericulture. This is followed by an analysis
of the intra-family dynamics and authority relations. A detailed analysis
of gender relations, with a focus on women is also made in the
subsequent section.
Family in Indian Society
Family has occupied a central place in carrymg over the
traditional features of village life in India. For most part, the traditional
system has survived for centuries without any major institutional
alterations until recently. To be precise, with the advent of British rule
and the accompanied factors of industrialisation and modernisation, the
structural features of different traditional institutions of Indian social
fabric has started changing. }.;ational liberation has further speeded up
such changes, directly or indirectly by various governmental measures
initiated in the post-independent era towards meeting the development
objectives.
Various regional studies have revealed a diversity of patterns in
rural family structures (e.g., Morrison 1959; Desai 1956; Kapadia 1956).
According to Madan, the joint family system is now losing its ground
because of increasing population, smalIness of holdings, easy
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