Definitions of social institutions:-

"A social institution is an organized system of social relationship which embodies certain
common values and procedures and meets certain needs of the society."        - Horton

Social institutions are formal cultural structures devised to meet basic social needs.
Social institution is social patterns that establish the organized behavior of human being
in the performance of basic social functions.


Major social institutions in rural society:
There are five major institutions in rural society. These institutions are present in all
societies so there are called as a basic institutions.
1. Family:
As an institution provides for care, protection and nature of children.
2. Educational:
Institutional imparts knowledge, skills and society acceptable attitudes.
3. Political/Government:
Government Institution provide for law orders, settlement of disputes, administration
affairs.
4. Religious:
Institution prescribes prayers and worship as a part of relation with God.
5. Economic:
Institution provides basic physiological needs of the body- food, shelter and clothing. For
this society provides farming and industry.


Definition of family:
Family can be defined as a relatively permanent and socially sanctioned group of parent,
and children.
According to Maclver “family is a group defined by sex relationship sufficiently precise
and enduring to provide for procreation and upbringing of children”.

Ogburn and Nimkoff say, “Family is more or less durable association of husband and
wife with children or of a man and women alone.”


Characteristics of family:
1. Permanent marital sexual relationship between husband and wife.
2. Common stay under one roof.
3. Economical interdependence among members.
4. Emotional attachment among members.
5. Acceptable social behavior.
6. Basic unit of society.
7. Members have blood relationship of marriage between man and woman necessary.


Functions of Family:
1. It helps in perpetuating the race through procreation.
2. It provides for a means to satisfy sexual needs of man and woman.
3. It helps in socializing the children and makes them acceptable to the society.
4. It means the basic needs of its member.
5. It is the starting point of division of labor.
6. Family as a primary economic unit ensures that economic activities are shared by the
family members.
7. It provides for education and vocational training of members so that they can share the
economic burden.
8. It arranges to regulate the sex activities of unmarried members of a family in line with
the restraints imposed by the society.
9. Family provides the children with a status till he becomes economically independent.
10. Children learn about customs, mores, superstitions and religion while they live in family
and thus these are passed on from generation to generation.
11. The family carries out certain recreational activities for the benefit of young children and
thus educates and broadens their outlook.
12. Family provides a sense of security to its members.
13. Family contributes towards preservation and enrichment of cultural heritage.
14. Family looks after its aged and disabled members.
15. Family disciplines its members so that the family is held in high esteem.
16. Family nourishes its member with mutual love and affection.


 

Classification of Family
The families can be classified according to various criteria:
a) On the Basis of Lineage/Ancestry:
1) Patrilineal Family: When properly inheritance and reckoning descent along the male
line (father).
2) Matrilineal Family: When it is along the female (mother) line.

b) On the Basis of Headship:
1) Patriarchal Family: In this case father is head of the family.
2) Matriarchal Family: In this case mother is head of the family.

 

c) On the Basis of Transfer of Bride Groom/ residence:
1) Patrilocal Family: There are the families where wife transfer to the husbands house
after marriage.
2) Matrilocal Family: Where husband transfer to the wife’s house after marriage.
Matrilineal families are matrilocal families.
3) Neolocal:-

 

d) On the Basis of marriage:
1) Monogamous Family: In this case the husband marries only one wife.
2) Polygamous Family: In this case the husband can marry more than one wife.
3) Polyandrous Family: In this case the wife can marry more than one husband.

 

e) Nuclear or Conjugal or Individual Family:
Such a family consists of married couple and their children, and is well separated from
other relatives who may pay short visits if at all.

f) Consanguine Family:
Such a family consists often of grandparents, their sons, their sons ‘wives and even their
sons’ grand children. Consanguincal literally means “of one blood”. Eldest male member is the
head of family.


Marriage system: - Marriage is a socially sanctioned union of male and female.





Joint Family System
The joint family is prevalent in India since the times immemorial. This institution was
introduced in India and some other countries by Aryans. It consists of a group of people of
common descent, living together under one roof, who worship a common deity, hold common
property. It comprises of male members having a common male ancestors, unmarried female
children and females married to male members. The eldest male member is the head of family
and its absolute rural. The members of family contribute their labor and receive their share of
produce to meet their basic minimum needs.

 

Characteristics of Joint Family
1. The head of family is its absolute rural.
2. The family owns a common property and the head of family is the trustee of the property.
3. The landed property is prevented from fragmentation. An agricultural family finds it
economically profitable to sow larger lands using the lager manpower by joint family.
4. In a joint everyone is assured of meeting his basic minimum needs in turn everyone performs
the work allotted to him by the head of family.
5. Commonality of place of living saves lot of expenses which would have otherwise to be made
on houses rent of cost of constructing house and cost of the articles of daily use.
6. There is little chance of children going astray as there is always somebody to look after them,
even when parents are away for work.
7. In a joint family every member has to do limited work. Everybody gets more time for
recreation and leisure.
8. The family has clear-cut division of labor. The members do their work efficiently.
9. In rural India joint family is still considered a matter of pride.

Disadvantages of Joint Family System
1. The joint family under the strict control of head of family tends to be conservative and
orthodox. It cannot change with times.
2. Member of family lack initiative because fruits of their initiative will ultimately be shared by
other members who may be lazy and idle. Therefore, nobody puts in hard labor, which is so
necessary for advancement in standard of living.
3. Due to lack of initiative in its members, the economic condition of the joint family goes on
deteriorating.
4. There is disharmony due to generation gap in the family which affects the progress of the
family adversely.
5. In a joint family the women look after household chores. Thus their talents are wasted and
their lives are rendered miserable
6. The common property is looked after by none and its condition worsens for want of proper
attention.
7. Due to diverse temperaments, there is always conflict between males and females and young
and old.
8. As a large family has to live in limited space, there is no privacy.
9. Members tend to spend more and more due to the feeling that expenses will be scared by the
whole family. This makes the economic condition of family worse.
10. Because of presence of numerous other members of family a harmonious relationship based
of mutual love and affection cannot develop.
11. As the responsibility for upbringing of children is shared, there is uncontrolled reproduction.
As a result of this the family economy goes down.
12. When a joint family disintegrates, the commonness of property leads to family founds and
often to litigation in courts of law.


Definition of Religion:
Religion is a set of beliefs regarding the relationship of a man to the supernatural power
called God”.
Green says, “Religion is a system of belief and symbolic practices and objects governed
by faith rather than by knowledge, which relates to man to unseen supernatural realm beyond the
known and beyond the controllable.”

Basic Function of Religion
 It prescribes different prayers and worships as a part of relation with god.
 It provides idea about the religious life and teaches the people how to live in the life.
 It teaches the moral to the people.
 It acts as a social control.
 It helps in transmitting culture.
 Help to understand truth
 Provide relaxation
 Support during crisis
 Help handicapped
 Guide for desirable bahaviour

Social Function and Social Roles of Religion – As Motivating and Restraining Agent
1. In primitive societies religion maintained social cohesion and controlled individual conduct.
2. In civilized societies while it unites group belonging to a particular religion, it is also a cause
for conflict between such groups forming part of a large society. Religion provides set of
doctrines and beliefs to unite people.
3. Religion has also influence on economic order.
4. In India, Hinduism through its caste system was responsible for systematic division of labor.
5. Religion teaches people to obey the men in authority with reverence and live peacefully and
harmoniously.
6. Religion has encouraged literary activity.
7. Religion provides relief from human suffering and pain by explaining these as the type will of
the God it soothes human mind and thus it saves people from frustration.
8. Religion plays an important role in shipping other social institutions. Its presence is felt in all
activities, be it social political economic or domestic.
9. It encourages people to becomes benevolent and help their poor and needy fellowmen. It
promotes tolerance and brotherhood.
10. It helps in creating fear of God in minds of people and thus restrains them from any anti
social activities.
11. It strengthens and rationalizes the group values and thus checks the disintegrating tendency.


Functions and Role of social institutions in Agricultural Extension
The social institution is important instruments for the extension worker. If he works
through the institutions in the society. He can take advantage of the role played by the institutions. The institutions can help extension programme if they are in line with the objectives
of the institutions. The roles, status and other forms of social relations are already prescribed and
defined. It provides co0ordinations and stability to culture and give sense of security to the

individuals.