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Author: haroonkhan

  • The Wolf Boy Grows Up

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    haroonkhan
    in

    On a cold windy morning in January, 1954, a quivering bundle of rags in a waiting room at the Lucknow railway station attracted the attention of passers-by who opened it to be greeted by a nine-year-old boy, crawling out on all fours. The boy could not speak and was running a high temperature. At the…

  • Story of a Wolf Boy from India

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    haroonkhan
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      Published in The Illustrated Weekly of India, January 1, 1961. page 77     Ramu at the Balrampur Hospital in Lucknow

  • SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT

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    haroonkhan
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    Early sociologists paid little attention to this aspect of a new recruit’s orientation—the entire educational process, the process of learning. Focusing on the environment and hereditary aspects, scholars engaged in a fruitless debate regarding nature versus nurture— nature signifying the physical, that is, the geographical environment, and nurture hinting at social and cultural transmission. The environmentalists gave a one-sided…

  • SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT

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    by

    haroonkhan
    in

    Early sociologists paid little attention to this aspect of a new recruit’s orientation—the entire educational process, the process of learning. Focusing on the environment and hereditary aspects, scholars engaged in a fruitless debate regarding nature versus nurture— nature signifying the physical, that is, the geographical environment, and nurture hinting at social and cultural transmission. The environmentalists gave a one-sided…

  • Introduction

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    haroonkhan
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    The major source of recruitment of members in a society is via birth. Children born out of wedlock are ‘natural’ members of the society of their parents. The newborn, however, is a biological brute. No matter in what society it is born, it possesses the same attributes that are characteristic of the species called Homo Sapiens. These…

  • THE FAMILY IN THE PHILIPPINES, THAILAND AND JAPAN

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    haroonkhan
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    Using the above concepts, let us briefly introduce the family in three Asian countries, namely the Philippines, Thailand and Japan, as they represent very distinct family systems to serve as a backdrop to understand family in India. The Philippines14 The Philippines is an archipelago that has Malay connections, but was significantly influenced by its colonizers—Spain…

  • Preferred Marriage

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    haroonkhan
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    If societies do not permit certain relations to marry (incest), they also at times have preferential marriages. One such preferential marriage is between cross-cousins; there are some religions (for example, Islam) which permit even parallel cousin marriages—in them, clan does not function as an exogamous unit. In many societies, cousins are lumped together and are regarded…

  • Exogamy and Endogamy

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    haroonkhan
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    We may now explicate the rules of exogamy (Gr. exo= outside + gamos marriage) and endogamy (Gr. endo = within + gamos marriage). Exogamy implies marriage outside the group, while endogamy signifies rules permitting marriage within the group. The two concepts are not contradictory. An in-marrying group is called an endogamous group, and this group is divided into several exogamous groups. In simpler societies, one can mention…

  • A Note on Incest Taboo

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    haroonkhan
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    In each society, there are rules that forbid marriage between close relatives. Who those relatives are differ from society to society. Marrying them is tantamount to incest. Incest taboos are almost universal. Incest taboo is a feature found in all societies. Murdock writes:   … with the exception of married parents, incest taboos apply universally…

  • Kinship Usages

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    haroonkhan
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    In any society, interactions with different types of kin are governed by certain norms. We briefly mention some of these rules that are in vogue not only among primitive tribes, but also in advanced civilizations. Early scholars have tried to explain these practices and relate them with evolutionary theories. Quite naturally disagreements exist with regard…