Indian society all through the ages has been a complex entity, both culturally and structurally. Indeed, with the maturity and institutionalization of the caste system, one of the most important systems of Indian society emerged, but its structural features never remained the same; it kept changing from time to time as for example, new jati formations and changes in rituals.

The mooring of Indian society is primarily considered to be rooted in Hindu religion. Unlike the Semitic religions, Hindu religion has no centralized organization and no central doctrine. Hinduism is a vast network of structures, institutions, beliefs, values, norms, and so many other things scattered all over. Hindu religion itself has influenced the basic nature of Hindu society resulting into a complex social system. Religious values and norms, as reflected in the various social structure, made the people readily conform to them.

The characteristics of Indian traditions are hierarchy, holism, continuity and transcendence. All these four traditions are deeply embedded in other elements of Indian social structure.

Hierarchy is to be found not only in caste and sub-caste stratification but also in the concepts of human nature, ashramas and dharma.

Holism, meaning the group encompassing the individual in respect of duties and rights, is to be clearly seen all along the line of traditional social structure, as for example, family, village community, caste and political territory or nation.

The principle of continuity is to be found in the principle of Karma, transmigration of soul, and a cyclical view of change.

Finally, the principle of transcendence the integration as well as rationalization of the other three traditions.

Basic Principles in Brief

1. Chaturvarna scheme – It forms a mechanism through which roles  are allocated in society. Four varnas Brahimns, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras form hierarchy of social life.
2. Purusharthas –– Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.
3. Hierarchy of Gunas  - the highest and most virtuous being sattva, that is, virtues associated with sages and the Brahmins, followed by rajas, that is, commitment to action and power as attributed to kings and Kshatriyas, and tamas, the lowest in hierarchy, associated with dullness and profane inclinations); and
4. Yuga hierarchy – It is a temporal hierarchy , kalyug, Satyug, Dwaper & Treta. Truth is dharma in Satyayuga, yajna (sacrifice) in Tratayuga, jnana (knowledge) in Dvaparayuga, and dana (alms) in Kaliyouga.
5. Varna Ashrama Hierarchy - Brahamcharya, Grihstha, Vanaprastha, sanyas
6. Karma Theory- Karma theory forms a broad background of the social life of THSO. According to Karma theory, soul is immortal. The rebirth and the accompanying happiness and suffering is due to accumulation of the karma According to Karma theory, Karma according to dharma can only lead to liberation.

Purushartha

Since ancient times the Indian ideal of four Purusharthas i.e., Dhrama, Artha, Kama, and Moksha has presented an integral view of life. The idea of Purusharthas is a fundamental principle of Indian ethics.  According to the Vaisesika philosophy, Dharma is that which leads to improvement in this world and to moksha in the next.  Dharma, Artha and kama relate to objects of this world.  These are, in brief called the Trivarga. Besides trivargas, moksha is just as important in human life.  At one time the Hindus interpreted trivarga as a means to Moksha but generally all the four purusharthas have been stressed. 

This four-fold value order is based on the understanding that the human personality has many needs. 

Man needs food and sex, power and property, and human society and relations with the universe,. 

The satisfaction of bodily needs is Kama.

The satisfaction of needs of power and property is artha. 

The satisfaction of needs of social order is dharma. 

The satisfaction of needs of oneness with the universe is moksha.

varna ashrams : Stages of the Life

The word ashrama comes from the Sanskrit  root asrama giving the meaning of ‘making an effort.  In this way ashrama literally means a step in the journey of life.  According to Hindu ethics, the final aim of life is liberation.  And every ashrama is a step in the long journey to that aim. 

Therefore Ashramas are the stages of life, which provide training and environment for realizing the ideal of our life.  There are four ashramas in all :

Brahmacharya (student life),

Garhasthya (family life),

Vanaprastha (retired life), and

Sannyasa (life of renunciation). 

The first two provide the training and environment for the Pravrtti Marg and the last two for the Nivrtti Marg of development.  Just as ashramas refer to specific duties in life, varnas refer to duties related to the four professional roles in life: the profession of scholarship, of defence and administration, of production and distribution, and of unskilled labour.  

Karma Theory

Karma theory forms a broad background of the social life of THSO. According to Karma theory, soul is immortal. The rebirth and the accompanying happiness and suffering is due to accumulation of the karma i.e. the deeds in the previous birth and commitment to the prescribed norms in the present birth.

According  to karma theory, the activities of an individual and the accompanying status is defined by an individual’s conformity to the norms and values and the activities  in the previous birth. According to Karma theory, Karma according to dharma can only lead to liberation. Again, the karma theory has to be seen in the context of various hierarchies and it can be seen as ensuring the continuity of hierarchies.

Karma theory is criticized as being against social change.

According to traditional Indian society, our society is divided into various sets of systems.

In addition to this cultural system i.e. dress; language etc has also undergone a change.

Change and continuity refers to two different processes.  Change represents a tranformation whereas continuity refers to the continuation of previous views. In context of Indian society, change and continuity are easily witnessed.

Cultural System:

The cultural life style of people in the traditional society was clearly defined. The type of dress to be worn, food to be eaten, and gods to be worshipped were clearly defined and determined by the traditional Hindu norms and values. With urbanization and spread of education, the cultural life style of people has undergone several changes. The traditionally clear demarcation in dress, food, and deities has diffused in modern times.Now a days India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the country. The Indian culture often labelled as an amalgamation of several cultures, spans across the Indian subcontinent and includes traditions that are several millennia old. Culture in India has deep imprints of religion.

India is the land of spirituality and philosophy and is considered to be the birthplace of many religions. Indian religion is varied in approach and different in meaning. In the Indian subcontinent Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism form a subgroup of the larger class of "Eastern religions". A wide assortment of religions exists in the country today.

Caste System:

Traditional Hindu Organization recognizes the caste system as the basis of stratification of Indian society, which is theoretically rigid and does not provide for mobility.

Caste has continued only in the personal life of the person.

The traditional role of caste in politics has changed. Instead, it has adapted itself to the new political structures. The predominance of upper castes holding power is breaking up. Caste alliances promoting class interests have emerged which have molded the role of caste in politics.

Family System: 

The traditional Hindu society recognizes the joint family system, which shares a common kitchen, common income and property. With industrialization and urbanization, the joint family system is showing signs of weakness and instead nuclear families are coming up. The nuclear families no longer share traditional values of common residence, common kitchen and common property. Industrialization and urbanization has made life of the person mobile, which goes against the principles of joint family.

Economic System:

Traditional Hindu Society is based on the Jajmani system. Castes are interdependent by providing services to each other. This interdependence of castes continued for centuries.

With the arrival of British and in the post-independence period, with industrialization and occupational differentiation, the Jajmani system has withered. Various caste groups are no longer restricted to take up their caste occupations. Jobs are undertaken on the basis of merit and who so ever pays more gets the services.

Occupation is no longer confined to particular caste groups Traditional occupational structure continues to exist to a great extent alongside the emergent economic role structures.  The present occupational structure in the villages is a conglomeration of the two structures, e.g. traditional (caste-based) and secular (non-caste based).  Today, the majority of the castes do not exclusively carry out either the traditional occupations or the secular occupations.

Political system

It was earlier dominated by higher castes in the form of village panchayats, but now a democratic political system, which is based in constitution, and a rational legal system.

Inspite of these changes that have undergone, continuity still exists in the Indian society.

• At time of marriage people still prefer to marry in the same caste group.
• Even today India’s traditional Hindu norms and valued of joint family have continued. Infact, joint families have contributed to the expansion of family business and reputation. For instance, the big industrial house of TATA’s, BIRLA’s are run by joint families.
• Political system is still driven by caste and people are still mobilized on the basis of caste.
• Furthermore certain caste groups are still continuing in their traditional occupation.
• On the whole factors like democratic political system, modern education, information technology, social movements etc have contributed towards continuity and change. 

Other Features

Villages

About three-fourths of India’s people live in some 500,000 villages, where India’s most basic business—agriculture takes place. Most villages have fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, but some have as many as 5,000 people. Indian villages are often quite complex and are not isolated socially or economically. Most villages include a multiplicity of economic, caste, kinship, occupational, and even religious groups linked vertically within each settlement. Residents typically range from priests and cultivators to merchants, artisans, and laborers. Various crucial horizontal linkages connect each village with many others and with urban areas both near and far. In daily life and at colorful festivals and rituals, members of various groups provide essential goods and services for one another. Villages are also known as microcosm of Indian Culture.

Tribes

Indian Tribal people or "Adivasi" is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous phylum of ethnic and tribal groups living in various stares in India. They are counted as a minor but they occupy a larger part of the country as they are the original inhabitant in India.

According to Article 342 of the Constitution of India there are 697 tribes as counted by the Central Government. These Indian tribal groups of people have been notified to occupy more than one State. More than half of the Indian tribal population is concentrated in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Jharkhand and Gujarat, whereas in Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Puducherry and Chandigarh no community has been notified as a specific tribal group. Other Indian tribal societies are found in Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, West Bengal, Mizoram and other states in north eastern part of India.

Urban-rural differences

Urban-rural differences can be immense. Nearly 74 percent of India's population dwells in villages, with agriculture providing support for most of these rural residents. In villages, mud-plastered walls ornamented with traditional designs, dusty lanes, herds of grazing cattle, and the songs of birds at sunset provide typical settings for the social lives of most Indians. In India's great cities, however, millions of people live amidst cacophony--roaring vehicles, surging crowds, jammed apartment buildings, busy commercial establishments, loudspeakers blaring movie tunes--while breathing the poisons of industrial and automotive pollution.

Gender distinctions

Gender distinctions are pronounced. The behavior expected of men and women can be quite different, especially in villages, but also in urban centers. Prescribed ideal gender roles help shape the actions of both sexes as they move between family and the world outside the home.

Kinship

In most of the country, the basic units of society are the patrilineal family unit and wider kinship groupings. The most widely desired residential unit is the joint family, ideally consisting of three or four patrilineally related generations, all living under one roof, working, eating, worshiping, and cooperating together in mutually beneficial social and economic activities. Patrilineal joint families include men related through the male line, along with their wives and children. Most young women expect to live with their husband's relatives after marriage, but they retain important bonds with their natal families. Despite the continuous and growing impact of urbanization, secularization, and Westernization, family and Kinship both in ideal and in practice, remains the significant ocial force in the lives of most Indians. Loyalty to family is a deeply held ideal for almost everyone.

Buddhist Ideology totally undermined the hierarchy. Buddhism aimed at minimizing of rituals in the social life. It emphasized on the idea of equality of the human beings and equal opportunity for all. It hammered on the poor status of women.

• By suggesting an egalitarian Ideology  Buddhism had moderated the otherwise exploitative caste system and Brahmanical order. Buddhism provided an alternative channel of social mobility for the exploitative groups in the society through the of conversions e.g. in 1956, in Maharashtra, large number of members of Mahar caste under the leadership of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism.
• The system of Mathas in Hinduism have their origin in Buddhism. The Buddhist tradition of worshipping the great teachers initiated the process of deification of Rama and Krishna. The Bhagavat School, which is particularly responsible for this humanitarian attitude in Hindu thought, owes much to Buddhist influence.
• Buddhist religion was open to both the sexes in an equal way which helped in  undermining gender discrimination and enhancing the status of women. There were no ceremonies which can only be performed by men or only by women.
• Thus, Buddhism had deep cultural impact on the Indian social life e.g. the Gandhara school of art had a distinct Buddhist influence. It affected the life styles of the people - emphasis on vegetarian and non-violence, their use of vernacular languages for preaching affected the Indian society.  Buddha directed his disciples to live in simplicity, following a commonly accepted moral code of social behaviour. His eightfold path has great ethical implications that make it an invaluable contribution to ethical thought.
• Buddhist religion helped to spread the elements of Indian culture in foreign countries,
• Even today one can find relics of Indian culture in countries in which Buddhist religion continues to be venerated and followed.

Islam came to India with the Arab conquest of sind in 8th Century A.D. Islam is based on monotheistic i.e.  one god, non-hierarchical and anti-ritualistic ideology.  Islam has shown considerable impact on socio-cultural life of Indian society.

• It moderated the exploitative character  of the caste system. It provided an alternative channel of social mobility by according equal status to all irrespective of the caste. During the Islamic period, for the first time, number of higher caste groups like Rajputs got converted to Islam for the satisfaction of opportunist interests e.g. to gain power  and economic benefits.
• It is considered that the position of women deteriorated under the impact  of Islam. The purdah system and conservative tendencies portion early w.r.t the purity of women gained momentum during the Islamic period.
• Impact on food habits – No. of caste groups changed their food habits under the impact of Islam e.g. Kashmiri Pandits took to meat eating. Urdu and Persian languages had considerable impact on Indian languages i.e. introduction of new words in the vocabulary e.g. words like Darwaza, Kameez, Pajyama have Islamic origin.Hindu festivals exhibit a influence of Islam e.g. Gale Milna . Painting, Architectural and sculpture styles show a clear cut influence of Persian art. Certain Rajputs groups totally changed their lifestyles under Islam.
• The sects in India which emerged during Islamic period e.g. various Bhakti cults (Nanak Panthis, Kabir Panthis) were influenced by monotheistic influence of Islam. This initiated a  process of rationalization of Hindu religions beliefs. The Bhakti cults also included in them the  Sufist  ideology and sometimes it is argued  that the sectarian tendencies itself has emerged under the impact of Islam.
• In Hinduism have their origin in Islam because in Islam the infallibility of religions scriptures was an integral element.  RSS and Shiv Sena wave is interpreted in the above light by Sociologists. Recent tendencies of the supreme preachers in Hinduism have come from Islam.