Can you find illustrate examples of conflict drawn from Indian society ? Discuss the causes that led to conflict in each instance.

I. Meaning of Conflict : The term conflict implies clash of interests. We have already seen how conflict theorists believe that scarcity of resources in society produces conflict as groups struggle to gain acces to and control over those resources.

II. Bases of Conflict : The bases of conflict vary. It could be class or caste, tribe or gender, ethnicity or religious community. As young students you are well aware of the range of conflicts that exist in society. The scale and nature of different conflicts that occur are however different.

III. Changes in nature and forms of conflicts : A widely held commonsense perception is that conflicts in society are new. Sociologists have drawn attention to the fact that conflicts change in nature and form at different stages of social development.

IV. Conflict in Indian Society and its Causes : But conflicts have always been part of any society. Social change and greater assertion of democratic rights by disadvantaged and discriminated groups make the conflict more visible. But this does not mean that the causes for conflict did not exist earlier. The quote in the box emphasises this. It is also important to understand that conflict appears as a discord or over clash only when it is openly expressed.

V. Example of Conflict : For example, the existence of a peasant movement is an overt expression of a deep rooted conflict over land resources. But the absence of a movement does not imply the absence of a conflict. Hence, this chapter has emphasised the relationship between conflict, involuntary cooperation and also resistance.

Examination of some of the conflict its relationship with competition and cooperation : Let us examine some of the conflicts that exist in society and also the close relationship that exists between competition, cooperation and conflict. We just take two instances here. The first is the family and household. The second, is that of land based conflict.

(1) Traditionally the family and household were often seen as harmonious units where cooperation was the dominant process and altruism the driving principle of human behaviour. The last three decades have seen a great deal of questioning of this assumption by feminist analysis. Scholars such as Amartya Sen have noted the possibility of enforced cooperation.

(2) Since, conflict is often not overtly expressed, it has been found that subaltern or subordinate sections, whether women in households or peasants in agrarian societies, develop different strategies to cope with conflict and ensure cooperation.

Findings of many sociological studies seem to suggest that convert conflict and overt cooperation is common.