What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

What features did classical sociologists associate with industrial society?

Urbanisation, the loss of face-to-face relations and their replacement by anonymous professional ones, a detailed division of labour, and alienation.

What did Marx mean by alienation?

The condition in which workers do not enjoy their work and see it only as a means of survival, because they produce only a small part of a product repetitively.

How does Indian industrialisation differ from the western model?

A large share of Indians still work in agriculture, most are self-employed or in casual work rather than regular salaried jobs, and over ninety per cent of work is in the unorganised sector.

Distinguish between the organised and unorganised sectors.

The organised (formal) sector consists of registered units employing ten or more people with regulated wages, pensions and benefits; the unorganised (informal) sector lacks such security.

How has liberalisation changed Indian industry since the 1990s?

It encouraged foreign investment, removed licensing, led to multinationals buying Indian firms, disinvestment of public-sector companies, and a rise in outsourcing and contract labour.

How do most people in India find jobs?

Largely through personal contacts and references; factory and casual labour is often recruited through contractors or jobbers, sometimes binding workers through advances and debt.

What are the two main ways managers try to make workers produce more?

By extending working hours and by increasing the amount produced within a given time, often through mechanisation that may also replace workers.

What is home-based work? Give an example.

Production done at home, mostly by women and children and paid by the piece, such as rolling bidis, making lace, zari, carpets or agarbattis for an agent who supplies materials.

What is the difference between a strike and a lockout?

In a strike workers refuse to come to work to press their demands; in a lockout the management shuts the gates and prevents workers from entering.

What were the consequences of the Bombay Textile Strike of 1982?

Led by Datta Samant, it lasted nearly two years; about a lakh workers lost their jobs, many returned to villages or moved to powerloom towns, and mill land was later eyed for real estate.

Change and Development in Industrial Society

Class 12 Sociology · Social Change and Development in India · Chapter 5

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CBSE Class 12 · Sociology

Five examined chapters, 2025 Qs mapped

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CBSE Class 12 · Sociology

Ch 2, 3, 5, 6: the four examined chapters

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Summary

Work and the kind of jobs people do are an important part of who they are, and social institutions like caste, kinship, gender and region shape how work is organised. Classical sociologists — Marx, Weber and Durkheim — linked industry to urbanisation, the replacement of face-to-face relations by anonymous professional ones, a detailed division of labour, and what Marx called alienation, when workers find no satisfaction in repetitive work. Indian industrialisation differs from the western model: a very large share of the workforce is still in agriculture, most workers are self-employed or in casual labour rather than regular salaried jobs, and over ninety per cent of work is in the unorganised or informal sector, where personal relationships and insecurity prevail and unions are weak. Liberalisation since the 1990s has brought foreign investment, the buying-over of Indian firms, disinvestment of public-sector companies, and a rise of outsourcing and contract labour, increasing insecurity and income inequality. The chapter examines how people find jobs (largely through personal contacts and contractors), how work is carried out (managers seek to extract more work through longer hours or faster output and mechanisation, as in Maruti or the Taylorist IT sector), and working conditions in mining and migrant-employing industries. It also covers home-based work such as bidi-rolling done mainly by women and children, and the role of strikes and trade unions, illustrated by the Bombay Textile Strike of 1982.

Key terms

Alienation

Marx's term for the condition in which workers find no satisfaction in their work.

Organised sector

Registered units employing ten or more people with regulated wages and benefits.

Unorganised sector

The informal sector, with over ninety per cent of Indian workers, lacking job security.

Disinvestment

The sale of the government's share in public-sector companies.

Outsourcing

Contracting work out to smaller firms or homes, often for cheaper labour.

Strike

Collective refusal by workers to work, used to press demands on management.

Extra questions & answers

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Marx used the term 'alienation' to describe workers who:

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