SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF GROWTH OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS:

SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT OF GROWTH OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS:
Urbanization has been viewed as an important force of social change in India; this process has, on the one hand, meant economic growth, political change new values and new attitudes. It reflects also the elements of continuity between rural and urban social structures. In the process of urbanization the towns and cities of India have achieved heterogeneous character in terms of ethnicity, caste, race, class and culture. 50 pctenbos has always been coexistence of different cultures.
In the urban areas there Studies show that though various ethnic and/or caste groups have adjusted themselves with each other in the city they have also tried to maintain their traditional identity. The migrants have maintained distinctive cultural traditions in the towns. Various migrant groups have maintained their own cultural identity.
N.K. Bose points out that the migrants tend to cluster around people with whom they have linguistic; local regional, caste and ethnic ties.
Jagannath and Haldar in their study on the pavement-dwellers in Calcutta shows that they retain close ties with kingship and caste groups for socializing and transmitting or receiving information from the village. Thus cultural-pluralism has been an important socio-cultural dimension of the urbanites.
According to Srinivas many of the Indian towns have a “mixed” character, i.e., they are the capital cities, centres of trade and commerce, important railway junctions etc. In these types of cities we find a “core” area which consists of the old inhabitants. This area is the oldest in the city and on its fringe we find the new immigrants. The pattern of residence of this “core” population shows a close relation to language, caste and religion. Bombay is cited as an example of this type of city
Lynch also points out that in many Indian cities, especially in the traditional cities like Agra and its neighbourhoods have remained homogeneous in terms of caste and religious groups. There the untouchable Jatav caste is concentrated in particular areas called mohallas (ward). But changes have taken place mostly because of politicization, spread of education and occupational diversification. In the the planned city like Chandigarh neighbourhood has not been developed basis of ethnicity, common interest and other similarities. In this city the religious activities, friendship and educational ties are often outside one’s own neighbourhood.