Family matters in India: A sociological understanding

Abstract

This chapter examines the reasons for the resilience of the family unit in India despite the many challenges it faces from social, cultural, demographic, economic, political and technological shifts and innovations. The middle-class imaginary of the family as a close-knit unit based primarily on relationships of blood and marriage and a place where the ordinary laws of economics are suspended remains a goal and an ideal for many, especially those aspiring to middle-class status. Necessary interdependence between family members, both intra- and inter-generational, is sustained by the lack of provision of social support and safety nets by the state. However, challenges to this middle-class imaginary of the ‘glued-together’ family remain hidden beneath the veneer, requiring disciplining and coercion of members to conform to normative ideals. Numerous laws seeking to govern violence within the family—such as honour killings, domestic violence, child abuse and elderly abuse—point to the cracks that are carefully and continuously papered over.