Question
Which statements express the ideas of A. M. Shah with regard to family and household in India?
A. M. Shah's Ideas on Indian Family and Household
Sociologist A. M. Shah distinguished between the concepts of 'family' and 'household' in the Indian context. Based on his analysis, the statements that accurately reflect his ideas are A, C, and D.
Statement Analysis
- Statement A: Correct. Shah viewed households as primarily defined by co-residence and the performance of domestic tasks. In contrast, he described families as broader kinship networks, whose members might not necessarily live together.
- Statement B: Incorrect. This statement mischaracterizes both concepts. Households are typically more localized units than the entire 'biradari' (wider kin network), and families are not exclusively neo-local.
- Statement C: Correct. Shah emphasized that households are the functional, operational units of daily life. These units operate within the framework of a shared family and kinship ideology and structure.
- Statement D: Correct. This statement aligns with Shah's perspective that the family, as a larger social and ideological system, provides the foundational principles and values that guide the functioning of the household.
Key Concepts Highlighted
A. M. Shah's work differentiates:
- Households: Task-oriented, localized residential units.
- Families: Kinship groupings, not necessarily confined to a single residence.
He stressed that the household functions as an operational unit influenced by the broader family and kinship system's ideology.
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Important Questions from Indian Family, Marriage & Kinship
- Who developed the concept of ‘seed and earth' as a way to understand the gendered division of labour and cultural construction of gender?
- Which of the following option(s) is/are CORRECT?
- Flavia Agnes (2013) writes, “Despite all the positive impact of the campaign revolving it, the Delhi gang rape incident does not foreground the different types of violations that take place in our society. Rather, it reinforces the popular perception that rape takes place in lonely places, late at night, by strangers and that rapists are brutes or psychopaths who deserve to be hanged. But most rapes take place in the privacy of our homes, in our schools. Rapes by family members are seldom reported."
From the above excerpt, which of the following statement(s) is/are CORRECT?
i. Progressive mobilisations protesting violence against women can themselves reproduce patriarchy
ii. Contrary to popular perception, sexual violence against women happens only in the privacy of our homes
iii. According to popular perception, rapists are brutes or psychopaths Patriliny is a kinship term that refers to_________.
- Which of the following author(s) highlighted the connection between kinship terminology and kinship structure in India?
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