UNIT 6 N K BOSE 

Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Biographical Sketch
6.3 Central Ideas
6.3.1 Methods and Approaches to the Study of Society
6.3.2 Civilizational View of Indian Society
6.3.3 Caste System
6.4 Important Works
6.5 Let Us Sum Up
6.6 References
6.7 Answers to Check Your Progress

6.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit you should be able to
 outline the biographical details of N K Bose;
 explain the socio-historical environment which influenced his work;
 explain his central ideas; and
 outline some of his important works

6.1 INTRODUCTION
Nirmal Kumar Bose was a scholar with varied academic interests. He figures
prominently in any discourse on the development of anthropology and sociology
in India. He wrote on a wide range of subjects: social and cultural history,
political science, architecture, human geography. His scientific curiosity in
anthropological investigations was always matched by profound concern for
human welfare. His significant works continue to inspire generations of
anthropologists, sociologists and many others. In this unit we will begin with a
brief biographical sketch of his life which will throw light on the factors that
shaped his ideas. Thereafter, we will focus on his central ideas, identify some of
his important works and finally sum up the contents of this unit.


Written by Shaily Bhashanjaly, North Cap University, Gurugram
Sociologists in India-I
6.2 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Nirmal Kumar Bose was born in Kolkata in the year 1901. His father
Bimanbehari was a doctor by profession. Young Nirmal was very good in sports.
Nirmal Kumar admired his father’s wisdom, altruism and sense of dedication for
his work. His mother was Kiranshashi Devi. She led an extremely disciplined and
organized life. It is said that Nirmal Kumar Bose imbibed the trait of self-
restraint from his mother. In the last phase of her life, Kiranshashi Devi stayed in
Puri as a widow. But, no matter how engrossed he remained with studies, Nirmal
Bose would frequently visit his mother so that she did not feel lonely without his
father. He received his school education from different schools in Bihar, Bengal
and Orissa. He completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours in Geology and
Master of Science in Anthropology from the University of Calcutta.
Box 6.1 Bose’s Involvement with Civil Disobedience Movement
After completing his Masters in 1925 and gaining an exposure to field based
social anthropological research Bose at the age of 29 began his career not as an
academic but as a social worker who was an ardent follower of Gandhi and read
almost all the relevant Gandhian literatures by that time. Since 1930 he engaged
himself with Gandhian social activism and worked particularly among the
subaltern Harijans of Birbhum through establishing Khadi sangha (a centre of
cottage industry), and Sikshaghar (adult literacy centre). His active participation
in civil disobedience movement resulted in his imprisonment for the first time as
category‘C’ political prisoner and Bose was put behind the bars for almost two
years (1930– 1932) initially at Suri and then at Dumdum Central Jail. In 1934 he
met Gandhiin person for the first time at Sebagram, Wardha and started working
at Bolepur until 1938 (the year when he joined as a faculty in Calcutta
University) following Gandhian principles with revitalized vigor and enthusiasm.
Again since 1942 to1945 he took part in August Movement and was debarred in
a phased manner but this time as category ‘A’ political prisoner. Again in 1946
he was appointed as a professor of Cultural Geography in the University of
Calcutta but managed to get an early leave to work as personal secretary to and as
Bengali interpreter of Mahatma Gandhi till September 1947, and joined Gandhi
during his station at several places from Noakhali (now in Bangladesh) to
Kolkata (Calcutta). (Sarkar 2012: 428)
He was drawn into the national movement at a young age and this gave a
distinctive edge to his scientific and literary work. He also went to jail for
nationalist activities during the movement for India’s Independence.
The greatest single influence on Bose’s life was his association with Gandhi.
Bose was interested in Gandhi’s ideas on the creation of new society in India, and
began by making a detailed study of his writings. He was Gandhi’s secretary and
close companion.
Bose was impressed about Gandhi’s search for truth through experience. In his
view, Gandhi was the quintessential fieldworker, always ready to see and listen,
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and never drawing conclusions about a human situation without first N K Bose

experiencing it. He has written several books on Gandhi, including Selections

from Gandhi’s Writings.
Bose had a varied career wherein he held high positions with great distinction.
He taught in various universities in India and abroad. He was the director of the
Anthropological Survey of India from 1959-64 and from 1967-70 held the office
of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the
Government of India.
In recognition of his excellent work in anthropology, Bose was awarded
Annandale Gold Medal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1948. He was elected
as the President of Anthropology and Archae-ology Section of Indian Science
Congress in 1949. He was elected a fellow of the National Institute of Science of
India in 1955. He was a devoted social worker and served in various capacities in
many philanthropic organizations. He received Padma Shri in 1966.

6.3 CENTRAL IDEAS

Amongst several of writings N K Bose three Bengali books, Maben o Pracbeen,
Paribrajaker Diary and Hindu Samajer Garban are considered perhaps the best.
The first two are collections of essays and sketches, and the third is a brief but
very bold and imaginative account of the basic features of Hindu social structure
in which the perspectives of ethnography, Indology and history are combined. A
great anthropologist, he tried to present a single framework involving three
approaches of ethnographers, indologists and social historians.
6.3.1 Methods and Approaches to the Study of Society
Bose laid great emphasis on conducting fieldwork. He believed that every idea
should be put to the test of observation and experience. Nothing concerning
human society should be decided a priori or taken at the face value. Bose
travelled extensively, throughout the length and breadth of the country,
constantly interacting and sharing experiences. He was of the opinion that in
order to understand Hindu civilization, an anthropologist should go beyond the
applied aspect. Bose had developed his unique approach of studying social
phenomena and cultural attributes in specific situational contexts. He was of the
view that there could be no set ways for actual fieldwork. The nature of task at
hand should guide the researcher about what tools of investigation to adopt or,
even, fashion depending on the problem of inquiry. He consistently emphasized
the importance of careful and meticulous observation.
According to Bose, Indian society had an inexhaustible capacity to absorb and
transform ideas and experiences from every conceivable quarter. He studied the
lives of tribals in India and examined the relations between tribal and non-tribal
population in a larger social and cultural perspective. Bose perceived clearly that
the tribal communities of India are not all of the same kind and do not stand in
the same relation to the wider society. Bose uses ethnographic data to show the
nature of tribal communities of Orissa and Chota Nagpur and their relations with
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Sociologists in India-I wider community. For classifying the tribal communities in India, he uses two
related criteria - their level of technological development and the degree of their
geographical and social isolation.
Check Your Progress 1
1) What attracted Bose most about Gandhi?
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2) What was the most important aspect of fieldwork outlined by Bose?
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6.3.2 Civilizational View of Indian Society
In his book, The Structure of Hindu Society, Bose gives civilizational view of
Indian society. He has divided it into three parts. The first part mainly belongs to
the domain of ethnography, where he presents material based on his own
fieldwork. Fieldwork is mainly done among tribal communities. The second part
is predominantly Indological, where he presents an account of the theory and
practice of Hindu social life. The third part deals with social history.
Bose conducted his first independent field research among the Juang tribesmen
of Orissa who practised shifting cultivation. Bose was struck by the fact that
although Juangs were outside the fold of Hinduism, there were clear indications
that Hindu religious ideas had penetrated their culture. They bath in the morning,
the offerings of sun-dried rice, the terms satya, devata, dharama – all prove how
strongly Juang religious ceremonies have been influenced by those of the
neighbouring Brahminical people. Yet they have their own language; they
perform their marriage and funeral customs all by themselves, eat beef and are
not considered by the Hindus to be one of the Hindu castes. This brief spell of
field research gave him the basic insight into the ways tribes were being absorbed
into the fold of Hindu caste-based society.
Bose shows that the influence of Aryan or Brahminical civilization has been
greater in both extent and depth among the Mundas and Oraons than the Juangs
or Savaras. It is through influences of this kind that tribal communities become
increasingly articulated with the wider society. The process was described as “the
Hindu Method of Tribal Absorption” and according to Bose it enabled marginal
communities to become a part of Hindu society without requiring them to
abandon all their particular customs.
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It is interesting to note that Hindu castes like Ahir, Lohar and Midha also join the N K Bose

tribal people in their celebrations, and unless one is told who is who, no
distinction can be drawn between them.
On the nature of cultural process of change, he observed that there are occasional
fissions within one caste. Also, absorption of tribal groups from outside into the
pail of Hindu social organization is observed. New recruits like Juang or Mundas
may not exactly now be called Hindu castes. The reason is that they have yet
retained their independent social rites which are not ruled over by Brahmins. But
here we see the operation of a method by means of which the Hindus absorbed
tribal groups within their own system.
The co-existence and inter-penetration of two modes of social organization –
‘Brahmanical’ and ‘tribal’ – was investigated by Bose in the field which clearly
indicates his capacity as a field scientist. According to Bose, these two modes of
social organization have coexisted in India for a very long time. The first had a
superior technological base, was larger in scale and complex in organization than
the second. It was the higher technical efficiency and the right given to all
communities to practice their distinctive customs even when in a hierarchical
arrangement that attracted the tribal communities to it.
As an anthropologist, Bose was interested not merely in revealing a certain
pattern of culture but also in discovering the theory behind the pattern. The
theory was an indispensable aid in understanding how the society actually
worked.
Bose also seeks evidence from the domain of indology to test his ideas about the
design of Hindu society. He has borrowed material from a variety of sources such
as the epics, the Smritis, Buddhist texts etc. He notes that the processes which can
be reconstructed from a reading of the sacred literature are substantially the same
as those which are identified by the ethnologist from observations made in the
field. He quotes a story from Ramayana as an example of attempts made by
individuals of the lower castes to adopt the practice of the twice-born. Bose tries
to identify the design of the ‘varna’ system from a reading of the epics and the
Smritis. He finds in them the continual attempt to explain the ranks occupied by
particular communities according to their origin and function. He also gives brief
ideas of the king’s duties as laid down in various texts. The king’s rule
accommodated the diversity of customs that prevailed among the different
communities which together constituted the larger society. Underlying these
customs was the principle of a particular type of economic organization which,
according to Bose, gave Hindu society its distinctive character.
The village life was in many ways the basic unit of economic organization in the
traditional system. Bose discusses the village life and focuses on the division of
labour which was fairly elaborate. The villagers produced most of what they
consumed and to this extent that village was a self-sufficient unit. But, the self-
sufficiency of the village was relative and not absolute. What was not produced
within the village could be procured from weekly markets or fairs or pilgrim
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Sociologists in India-I centres, which were visited by people from far and wide. Bose also gives some
glimpses of city life, drawing mainly from the work of Vatsyayna, the ancient
Indian philosopher.
Muslim rule brought some changes in Indian society. Some new crafts were
introduced, but these were confined mainly to towns and cities. Even when they
penetrated into the rural areas, they did not alter the basic pattern of economic
organization in the village. Bose gives two examples of attempts to challenge the
very basis of Hindu social organization, i.e., Buddhism in the ancient period and
the Bhakti movement of Chaitanya in the medieval period.
These movements rejected the ascription of status by birth and the hierarchical
ranking of castes. They brought new life into religion but they failed to make a
significant dent on the existing social order. They did not generate any
fundamental changes in the organization of production.
Fundamental changes in the economic order were ushered in by the British. The
new economic forces introduced steadily eroded the traditional division of labour
based on caste. Bose shows from an analysis of census data that the association
between caste and traditional occupation began to weaken. Through an analysis
of caste journals and other documents, Bose tries to identify the new demands put
forward by various castes. The lower castes put forth the claims to higher social
status and demanded concessions from the British government. The ideological
basis of traditional Hindu society came to be challenged.
Bose felt that an exploration of the past would be used to the present and the
future only if it were conducted in a truly scientific spirit. Using historical
examples, Bose discusses some of the ways in which the structure of Hindu
society began to loosen and change under the impact of British rule.
Thus the book The Structure of Hindu Society is an exposition of the ideas on
which Hindu society was constituted. Bose attached great significance to the
economic factor as a source of both stability and change in social life. He was
also aware of the importance of agriculture technology. It is common knowledge
imparted by anthropology that the tribals learned the skills of agriculture from the
caste Hindus. Tribals had an opportunity to come closer with the caste Hindus
because of the Gandhian struggle for freedom. Bose believed that one very
prominent contribution of freedom struggle was that it narrowed down the
society’s diversity.
Bose took special interest in the economic organization of the tribal people. He
believed that the best way of classifying the numerous tribal groups in India is
not by language, religion or race but by mode of livelihood.
This type of classification enables one to see more clearly the relationship
between the ‘tribal’ and the ‘non-tribal’ dimensions of Hindu civilization. Bose
believed that the ‘tribal’ and ‘non-tribal’ people have been in continual
interaction, and the key to understanding of this inter-action lies in the different
types of productive system under which they lived. In his book Tribal Life in
80 India (1970), Bose has observed that barring a very small fraction, there is little
difference in economic life of tribals and peasant and artisan communities. The N K Bose

difference between our rural folk and urban classes is undoubtedly greater than
that between peasants and the tribal communities so for as their occupations are
concerned.His understanding of tribals’ absorption to caste is a significant angle
to analyse the unity of Indian culture. He focuses on how similar material culture
helps in binding zones of India into one framework.Bose felt that the tribal
people were under constant pressure to abandon their isolation in favour of
absorption into the wider society. This pressure was generated mainly by
economic circumstances..
Besides, Bose was deeply interested in the study of architecture, Indian
Civilization, caste system. During his lifetime at Puri in Orissa, Bose came in
contact with a temple architect who initiated Bose to the traditional canons of
Orissa architecture. He learnt from the field that a student of civilization will
have to integrate information from various levels: the text as well as the product
of arts. The elegance of ancient Orissan temples fascinated Bose so much that he
started giving lectures on these temples to the visitors of Puri. Bose has written
authoritatively on temple architecture – a subject that was very dear to his heart.
He had an abiding interest in the material culture of the tribal people, and wrote
with professional skill technology of shifting cultivation, and on various crafts
such as oil-pressing, pottery and weaving.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Name the tribal community with which Bose conducted first independent
research.
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2) List two criteria used by Bose to classify tribal communities in India.
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6.3.3 Caste System
With respect to caste system, Bose draws a distinction between varna system and
several jatis that operate ‘under specific conditions’ of a village or region. He
emphasises that caste system is not as immutable as it is generally assumed to be.
The varna system became increasingly more complex due to the internal process
of formation of new jatis as well as by assimilation of external groups within its
fold. Bose’s interest in the study of caste system in India appeared in his mind
when he was working among the untouchables in the slums under the Gandhian
Reconstruction Programme. He rejected the myth of divine origin, reincarnation
and notion of purity and pollution.
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Sociologists in India-I In a series of articles ‘Hindu Method of Tribal Absorption’ (1941), ‘Caste in
India’ (1951), and ‘Some Aspects of Caste in Bengal’ (1958), Bose proposes that
the root of persistence of the caste system is to be found in the economic and
cultural security provided by the non-competitive, hereditary, and vocation-based
productive organization. Such a system operated in isolated village communities
guided by general norm of inter-ethnic cultural tolerance. Bose viewed that the
recent developments indicate deviations from the non- ascribed traditional system
towards a one. In other words, the old structure being used in various
combinations in new social meaning.
Besides having interest in change-oriented study of Indian caste system, Bose
also developed interest in the study of castes as self-regulating corporate groups,
guiding the social life of their members. A number of studies on operation of
caste associations in different regions of India were initiated by him. In some of
these, the roles of kings, temples, mathas, etc. were also brought into focus in
regulation of caste norms. Bose rejected the argument that weakening of the caste
system in India was a consequence of the spread of western education. He
maintained that western education would not be able to hit the caste system if it
was not accompanied with large-scale reorganization of economic life of the
country.
Box 6.2 Gandhi’s Notion of Trusteeship
Indeed at the root of this doctrine of equal distribution must lie that of the
trusteeship of the wealthy for the superfluous wealth possessed by them. For
according to the doctrine they may not possess a rupee more than their
neighbours. How is this to be brought about? Non-violently? Or should the
wealthy be dispossessed of their possessions? To do this we would naturally have
to resort to violence. This violent action cannot benefit society. Society will be
the poorer, for it will lose the gifts of a man who knows how to accumulate
wealth. Therefore the non-violent way is evidently superior. The rich man will be
left in possession of his wealth, of which he will use what he reasonably requires
for his personal needs and will act as a trustee for the remainder to be used for
society. In this argument honesty on the part of the trustee is assumed (Gandhi
1940: 260-61).
N K Bose was appointed Commissioner of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes in 1967. Among others, he was chiefly engaged with monitoring their
social and economic condition, social security in different parts of the country.
His contribution towards nation building is evident in the efforts that he made
towards ameliorating their condition. Bose compared the condition of scheduled
tribes in India with those in European countries. The sharp contrast between the
two is attributed to deep rooted hierarchy and stratification in Indian society.
Hierarchy and stratification opposed social change in India. Bose was critical of
the caste system in India. He was committed to the idea of equality among castes.
He felt that Gandhi’s way of bringing social equality and justice was holistic.
Bose was in complete agreement with Gandhi’s notion of trusteeship and
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favoured the idea of building a trusteeship of wealth. This would enable the poor N K Bose

to benefit from collective wealth without being obliged to the rich.

6.4 IMPORTANT WORKS

Some of the important works of N K Bose are:
Cultural Anthropology (1929)
Culture and Society in India (1967)
The Structure of Hindu Society (1975)

6.5 LET US SUM UP

Bose was a leading Indian anthropologist, who played a formative role in
building an Indian tradition in anthropology. We began his unit with an
understanding of the social and cultural background which influenced the life and
ideas of N K Bose. We learnt that even as a child, he was disciplined and
sensitive to the suffering of others. He joined the movement for Independence of
the country. He acknowledged a number of scholars and writers from whom he
got his intellectual stimulation. His basic insight of social science was grown at
the time when he proceeded to solve the socio-political problem of the country
under the idealism of Gandhi. Towards the end of the unit, we noted some of his
important works. The contributions of Bose are immensely valuable and is
widely acclaimed.

6.5 REFERENCES
Béteille, André (ed., Tr. & Int) 1976 (1975) The Structure of Hindu Society
(English Translation of Bengali work by Bose, 1949), New Delhi:
Sangam Books.
Choudhuri, Srabanti. 2016. ‘Understanding Indian Society: A Study on the
Contribution of Prof N K Bose’ (unpublished dissertation, Department
of Sociology, University of Calcutta).
Gandhi, M K 1940. ‘Doctrine of the Equal Distribution’, Harijan, 25-8
N K Bose Memorial lecture Series. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre
for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi.
Nirmal Kumar Bose. 1971 An Anthropological View of Indian Civilization,
Science and Cultures. December 1971. pp. 541 – 549.
Nirmal Kumar Bose. 1929. Cultural Anthropology, Arya Sahitya Bhaban.
Nirmal Kumar Bose. 1976 “The Study of Civilization. ” In Sinha. S. C. (ed.)
Interrogating the civilizational approach of N. K. Bose
Sarkar, S. 2012. Appraising the potency of N. K. Bose's paribrajaker diary as a
social history text, Man in India 92(3-4):427-432.
Sinha, Surajit. 1994. Nirmal Kumar Bose: Pragya Paribrajik. New
Delhi:National Book Trust. 83
Sociologists in India-I
6.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Check Your Progress 1
1) The greatest single influence on Bose’s life was his association with Gandhi.
Bose was interested in Gandhi’s ideas on the creation of new society in India
2) Bose emphasized the importance of careful and meticulous observation in
fieldwork.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Bose conducted his first independent field research among the Juang
tribesmen of Orissa who practised shifting cultivation.
2) N K Bose lists two criteria to classify tribal communities in India: level of
technological development; and degree of geographical and social isolation.

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