IRAWATI KARVE- SPECIAL WOMENS’ DAY TRIBUTE TO A PIONEER
As the world pays tributes to women today, the blog has decided to pay homage to a female pioneer, Irawati Karve!Back in the early 1900s when Indian sociology was only in its infancy as a science her work played a huge role in its development due to her empirical data collection methods.
Her use of empirical data, proper field observational fieldwork and biological basis of differentiating the Indian population paved the way forward for sociology.This thoroughly scientific approach was sure because of her Western schooling, having completed her PhD in anthropology from Wilhelm Institute, Germany.This,at that time, was a commendable step not only because her in-laws were not supportive of this move but also not many women in her field went abroad for education!Karve was born in a well to do Marathi family in Burma,1905.Her schooling would happen in Pune.It is important to know where she gets her sirname Karve from.She married Dr Dinkar Karve whose father was none other than the eminent social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve!Now on to her famous works.Now onto her famous literary /sociological works.
Her use of empirical data, proper field observational fieldwork and biological basis of differentiating the Indian population paved the way forward for sociology.This thoroughly scientific approach was sure because of her Western schooling, having completed her PhD in anthropology from Wilhelm Institute, Germany.This,at that time, was a commendable step not only because her in-laws were not supportive of this move but also not many women in her field went abroad for education!Karve was born in a well to do Marathi family in Burma,1905.Her schooling would happen in Pune.It is important to know where she gets her sirname Karve from.She married Dr Dinkar Karve whose father was none other than the eminent social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve!Now on to her famous works.Now onto her famous literary /sociological works.
Her magnum opus was surely the precise yet informative 1953 treatise- Kinship Organization in India. In this book, the various kinship terms like mata,putra were used to denote various family members as mentioned in Vedas and other sacred texts were mentioned in a lucid way.Here she divided the Indian population into four geographically, ethnically and socially distinct zones-Eastern, Northern, Central and Southern Zones.This was largely based on historical data and field trips undertaken by Karve herself. Each zone had a different familial and kinship structure which was elegantly pointed out by the author.For Ex. in Northern Zone, marriages outside the family were allowed to some extent while in Southern Zone, marriages inside the family were allowed.
This zone classification based study allowed a better all-round understanding of Indian social systems by experts as well as laymen.She insisted to collect data considering all relevant regions instead of just 1,2 regions, keeping in mind India's complex socio-cultural system.This was a fundamental step in approaching the study of a diverse caste system like Indian society!Karve also considered the behavioural characteristics of different people based on their positions in the family hierarchy, thus ushering in behaviour based socio-anthropology in the country.Karve also used a holistic approach bringing the philosophy and knowledge of multiple fields in her works like paleo-anthropology, Indology, behaviour and linguistics.This holistic approach will serve anthropology well for decades to come.
photo-I.Karve
Another of Karves influential works was Hindu Society — an interpretation (Deccan College, 1961), which was a fresh take on the caste system. It was a study of Hindu society based on data which Karve had collected in her field trips, and her study of old texts in Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit. In the book, she discussed the pre-Aryan existence of the caste system in Hinduism and traced its current development. Karve delved, successfully into hardcore mythological literature with her book Yuganta: The End of an Epoch, a study of the main characters of the Mahabharata which casts them as historical figures. Karve used these characters and their behaviour as indicators to understand the ways of living during those times.The book won the prestigious 1967 Sahitya Academy Award for best book in Marathi, and it was also translated into English later.
Apart from these books, Karve also wrote various books on Indian/Maharashtrian culture in Marathi.An active academic, she served as the Head of Sociology department of various institutes in Pune, including Deccan college.She was also known as a good teacher.A dedicated professional ,she was a vociferous supporter of Womens’ Rights. Karve continued to be a pioneering sociologist, writer and anthropologist up until her passing away on 11 August 1970.
Dr. Irawati Karve will continue to be a guiding to light to many in Indian science and sociology. Her dedication, useful ideas, bravery and holistic way of thinking will inspire many of her countrymen in years to come.Her works will be long remembered as cornerstones of social anthropology in the country today!I, on behalf of meanenthusiast blog salute this courageous woman, who showed the way for many young Indians alike, enlightening what was a very young field of study then.The empirical and anthropometric surveys are less used now in sociology but continue to be widely used in socio-ecological studies to date.Thus, some of the methods and of course all of her books have still left a mark in her field today!
References-
1.Wikipedia Irawati Karve
2.www.sociologygroup.com Irawati karve
3.THE KINSHIP USAGES AND THE FAMILY ORGANISATION IN ṚIGVEDA AND ATHARVAVEDA Irawati Karve
Source: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 20, No. 3/4 (1938-39)
This, a first article in a new start with many more to come.Happy womens' day fellow science enthusiasts!
