Chapter 11 : Mysore Narsimhacharya Srinivas : Biography and Contribution to Indian Sociology

Biography and Academic Journey

• Birth and Death: Born on 16th November, 1916 in a Brahmin family in Mysore; died at the age of 83 on 30th November, 1999 in Bangalore.
• Academic Background:
• Obtained MA, LLB, and PhD from Bombay University, where he was a student of G.S. Ghurye.
• Obtained D.Phil from Oxford University, where he evolved the concept of sanskritization while preparing his doctoral dissertation under the guidance of Radcliffe-Brown and Evans Pritchard (1952). He was heavily influenced by Radcliffe-Brown's notion of structure.
• Career and Institution-Building:
• Emerged as a breath of fresh air in the "over-Brahminized world of Indian scholarship."
• Rejected a prestigious lecturer post at Oxford to build the Department of Sociology at Maharaja Sayajirao (M.S.) University of Baroda entirely from scratch.
• Left Oxford in 1951 and later helped set up the Department of Sociology at Delhi University.
• After leaving the Delhi School of Economics, he joined the Institute of Social and Economic Change, Bangalore as a Senior Fellow.
• Served as J.R.D. Tata Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.
• Preferred remaining a devoted teacher and professor all his life rather than accepting powerful government posts.

📌 Exam Tidbits

• M.N. Srinivas (1916–1999): Student of G.S. Ghurye (Bombay) and Radcliffe-Brown (Oxford).
• Institution Builder: Founded sociology departments at M.S. University Baroda and Delhi University.

Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives

• Macro-Generalizations from Micro-Insights: Srinivas initiated the tradition of basing macro-sociological generalizations on micro-anthropological insights, giving a sociological sweep to small-scale community investigations (Srinivas, 1996; Joshi, 2000).
• Empirical Focus: He rejected understanding India through western textbooks or indigenous sacred texts, advocating instead for direct observation, field study, and field experience.
• Key Field Studies:
• Coorgs (1940-1942): Conducted intensive fieldwork describing the concept of functional unity. He explained this through the ritual interaction of different castes: Brahmins (priests), Kaniyas (astrologers and magicians), and Bannas and Panikas (low castes).
• Rampura: Described that various castes in a village are interdependent.
• Conceptual Tools: Through his studies of caste and religion ( 1952, 1959, 1962,…