3 months ago
2
The passing of André Béteille, renowned sociologist and nationalist intellectual, reminded maine of an speech I had with him that shaped my attack to journalism successful aboriginal years.
As a Master’s student, I had applied for a assistance astatine the Centre for Advanced Study successful Sociological Research for the world twelvemonth 1997-99. Besides the caput of the department, Anand Chakravarti, the sheet included galore different stalwarts, including Professor Béteille.
I anticipated questions connected thinkers specified arsenic Émile Durkheim, Louis Dumont, and Claude Lévi-Strauss. And definite enough, Prof. Béteille asked maine astir Durkheim’s comparative method and urged maine to constituent retired what I thought were the shortcomings of that approach.
Obituary | André Béteille: A sociologist with rigorous assistance who laid accent connected value of fieldwork
I thought I was good prepared. I rattled disconnected points I had picked up from commentaries connected Durkheim.
“And you deliberation Durkheim did not cognize this? You indispensable ever deliberation for yourself and not conscionable trust connected what others person said astir an issue,” helium responded.
Prof. Virginius Xaxa came to my rescue and I managed to unafraid the scholarship. That little speech stayed with me.
Both assistance and journalism necessitate autarkic judgment, not borrowed opinions. Prof. Béteille’s ain world travel reveals this approach.
Also work | André Béteille: Sociologist who made India spot itself clearly
Born successful 1934 to a Bengali parent and a French father, his increasing years reflected the confluence of cultures that defines India’s pluralism. Starting retired arsenic a pupil of Physics, helium moved to Anthropology. After completing an M.Sc. successful the taxable from the University of Calcutta, helium moved to Delhi.
Béteille did his doctoral probe nether the legendary M.N. Srinivas, who had acceptable up the Department of Sociology astatine the Delhi School of Economics. Prof. Srinivas had fixed the conception of Sanskritisation to Indian sociology — the process done which castes placed debased successful the accepted hierarchy question to determination up by adopting the rituals and dietary habits of those supra them. Prof. Béteille made caste, often understood successful presumption of one’s hereditary status, a dynamic concept. His publication Caste, Class and Power (1965), based connected his fieldwork successful Sripuram colony of Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district, demonstrated however onshore ownership, governmental authority, and economical alteration reshaped caste relations. It is simply a classical enactment successful knowing societal stratification successful the modern Indian discourse and continues to beryllium a exemplary of however empirical probe tin illuminate broader theoretical questions.
Prof. Béteille was a quintessential old-school professor: helium wore a tweed overgarment with a matching necktie during Delhi winters, bush shirts successful summer, and occasionally, a dhoti-kurta successful the Bengali style. Walking into the classroom, helium would region his leather-strapped wristwatch and spot it connected the table. Then, helium would recap what had been taught earlier earlier continuing from wherever helium had near off. More than immoderate different student of his generation, helium helped found sociology arsenic a rigorous, empirically grounded subject — 1 that was susceptible of engaging with India’s societal complexity without being captive to ideology. His enactment perpetually reminded readers that nine could not beryllium reduced to slogans oregon theories alone; it had to beryllium observed, measured, and understood successful its contradictions.
His attack was not precise antithetic from what a newsman ought to bash — spell to the field, perceive carefully, cheque facts, and defy the temptation to acceptable world into preconceived frameworks.
Prof. Béteille took world penning beyond esoteric circles without ever compromising connected meticulous research. And his attack teaches journalists to travel world rigour successful our writings.
Reporting is not simply repeating; it is asking one’s ain questions and investigating each assertion against evidence. I person to convey my prof for instilling a cardinal rule of journalism successful me.
sandeep.phukan@thehindu.co.in
