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Tradition and Modernization in a North Bihar Village
A Case Study
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2024
Extract
The transformation of a traditional society into a modern well-knit organic structure can be demonstrated in various ways. In this paper an attempt will be made to study a village in North Bihar, in the district of Saran. This village, Dharampur, is about 8 miles north-east of Chapra the chief town of the district, and some 10 miles from Khairah, the nearest station on the North Eastern Railway. The old people claim that originally their ancestors inhabited another village, Panchpatra, about a mile to the south of the present settlement. There, according to legend, ghosts used to shower bones onto the roofs the houses. The inhabitants, disturbed at their work, and terrified, decided to seek the help of a Sâdhu Ramadas who lived in a nearby monastry. The saint indicated a site which he blessed, and the construction of the new village began. Thus it is clear that the migration as well as the site of the present village were linked with traditional factors, represented in this instance by the intervention of ghosts and by the Sâdhu. This incident may have happened about 200 years ago; today the former village is known as Dīha, meaning ancient dwelling place.
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- Copyright © 1969 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)
References
Ed. Note: Explanations of the Indian terms given in the footnotes have been made by Rita Régnier.
1 Sâdhu: a wise man, a religious recluse, recognizable by his yellow robe.
2 Ramadas, for Ramadasa: " slave " or " servitor " of Rama, i.e., belonging to Ramaite sect.
3 Kâyasthas: caste of the scribes.
4 Brahmins: also scribes.
5 Kurmis: agricultural workers of Bihar and Orissa.
6 Nonia: workers who, traditionally, were employed in the extraction of salt from the noni, land impregnated with brine on the right bank of the lower Ganges.
7 Kânu: workers employed in cutting into pieces the stalks of sugar cane before it was crushed; some of them also prepared the syrup from the cane.
8 Holi (Fagua): A festival celebrated throughout India which includes the throwing of coloured water in the streets.
9 Block Office: An abbreviation for " Block Development Project Office," indicating part of the five-year plan of the Indian Government for the esta blishment of projects for the improvement and modernization of villages. Each " Block " is concerned with the application of the project in a certain number of villages, generally five, where one finds the principle of co-operative agriculture.
10 Panchâyat (or, better, pañcâyat): the local Village Council.
11 Zamindar: a term originally referring to a special kind of farmer and land owner who dealt directly with the government in connection with revenue from the property; a system abolished in June, 1951. (M.S. Renou, L'Economie de l'Inde).
12 Masuria: (local Hindi, masur; Sanskrit, masûra), a type of lentil.
13 Arya Samaj (or, better, Arya Samaj), the Aryan Society founded by Dayânanda Sarasvati in Bombay in 1875 to extol the return to the Vedic tradition and to combat idolatry and polytheism.
14 Anand Marg (or, better, Anand Mârg), the " Voice of Happiness." It appears to be difficult to find any documentation on this movement which is probably of recent origin.
15 Janeva: (the sacred cord). This cord is composed of several threads that are given to young boys belonging to the three upper classes, then the Brahmin initiation makes them " twice-born." The cord passes over the left shoulder and falls, under the right armpit, nearly to the waist. It is worn for life and is renewed at certain moments.