Revision summary
Urban work favours smaller or differently crowded households. Joint family as process often survives as extra-household kin. Gender ideology lags behind residence change. Class splits the urban family into salaried nuclear and migrant huddle. Yogendra Singh’s modernization of tradition fits better than simple nuclearisation.
Model answer
Introduction
Industrialisation and urbanisation have shrunk many co-resident households and stretched kin across mill, slum, and metro. Family as lineage and duty has changed more slowly than the roof.
Body
Household impact
- Factory and office housing favour smaller conjugal households, which A. M. Shah would count as household change.
- I. P. Desai’s jointness continues as remittance, ritual, and elder duty among split units, a modified extended family.
- Informal industrial labour may crowd kin into slum rooms, which is urbanisation without a suburban nuclear ideal.
Kinship and gender
- Karve’s regional patterns mix in the city; cross-cousin and village exogamy both meet classifieds and caste matrimony sites.
- Leela Dube’s Seed and Earth still organises who inherits the village plot while daughters work in town.
- Age at marriage and some love choice rise, beside dowry inflation.
Class split
- Salaried nuclear homes and migrant joint-like messes are both urban family structures.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD IU[Industry city] --> HH[Smaller or crowded households] IU --> EX[Extended duty remittance] SK[Seed line caste] --> EX
Conclusion
Industry and city change family mainly as household form and as women’s double shift. The Indian family as caste kinship adapts rather than becoming a Western isolate.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Broadly compare the kinship system of North and South India.
Next question on this syllabus topic (2015 · Q2(c)). View answer →
-
Did the factory create the nuclear family in India?
It encouraged conjugal residence for some. Caste marriage and natal duty continued.
-
Is the village family unchanged?
No. Remittance and missing men change the village household too.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2020 · Q4(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Discuss the conceptual issues about lineage and descent in India. Give suitable illustrations , -
2018 · Q3(c) · Sociology GS 2 · 15 marks
Illustrate the importance of 'Kanyadaan' and 'Kulavadhu' in changing institution of marriage and family. -
2018 · Q8(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 15 marks
Western patriarchy which surrenders feminine principles is the development project in India. Do you agree with this view? Why? -
2018 · Q8(c) · Sociology GS 2 · 15 marks
Assess the impact of ban on 'Triple Talak' on marriage and divorce among the Muslim community in India. -
2017 · Q3(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Clarify the distinction between "household" and "family" and evaluate Whether joint families have completely disintegrated -
2016 · Q3(a) · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Bring out the significance of the difference between family and household. -
2015 · Q2(c) · Sociology GS 2 · 15 marks
Broadly compare the kinship system of North and South India. -
2015 · Q3(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 15 marks
What is patriarchy? How does it affect the child socialization pattern in India?
More from this topic
Q1(e) · UPSC Mains 2024 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Despite the efforts of the government, bonded labour still continues in India. Discuss.
Systems of Kinship in India
The 1976 Act abolished bonded labour in law; neo-bondage continues in kilns, farms and migration streams. Advances and contractors tie Dalit, Adivasi and other poor households season after season. Breman’s neo-bondage is market unfreedom, not only old agrestic serfdom. Rescue without credit and work leads to re-bondage. Informal capitalism and caste together explain why government effort has not ended the practice.
Q1(d) · UPSC Mains 2024 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Do you think that family bondings are being affected by the changing kinship patterns in India? Comment.
Systems of Kinship in India
Kinship patterns in India are changing through migration, law, education and marriage markets. Shah and I. P. Desai separate residential nuclearisation from continuing joint family obligations. Bonds are stressed around care, authority and marriage choice. Remittances, caste weddings and digital contact keep translocal jointness alive. The family remains the main care institution for most groups.
Q8(a) · UPSC Mains 2023 · Sociology GS 2 · 20 marks
Explain the thematic linkages between 'Patriarchy' and 'Honour killing' in India, citing some recent cases
Systems of Kinship in India
Patriarchy stores family and caste honour in control of women’s and men’s marriage choice. Honour killing punishes alliances that break endogamy, gotra or status rules. Manoj–Babli, Nitish Katara and Shankar–Kausalya are court-reported illustrations. Shakti Vahini 2018 rejects khap punishment and affirms adult choice. The theme is structured power, not inexplicable rage.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.