Discuss the organizational and socio-cultural aspects of Indian urban communities.

The forms and functions of family have undergone adaptive changes in the urban communities. One way to characterize this change is to associate conjugal or nuclear forms of families with relatively modernized or industrial society and extended or joint families with traditional agrarian and per-industrial “societies.

However, sociological research negate this contention. Family jointness continues to be a major sociological phenomena in the Indian social structure. I.P.Desai’s study casts serious doubts on the measurement of structural changes in the family system simply on the basis of incidence of structural differentiation from joint to nuclear families in India.

What matters most is not the composition of the residential family group but the nature and quality of social interaction emanating from the supposedly nuclear family which interlinks it in sentimental bonds, ritual and economic obligations to other family units in the same place or in other places which too may be nuclear as residential group but functionally may be joined in obligation ties with this nuclear family.

KM. Kapadia found that joint family pattern was not only generally predominant but contrary to popular image was stronger in the towns in comparison to the villages.

It has been observed by I.P. Desai and others that nuclear family in India is merely a stage in the joint family cycle. Nuclear families grow into extended joint families and then break up into nuclear families again. However, certain evident changes are, tendency to have smaller family and the contraceptives help in checking the birth; several functions of the family are taken over by the specialized agencies, women in urban family have attained an increasing degree of economic independence and enjoy relative equality.

Inmate selection the principle of personal choice is on the increase. However, it is most commonly reconciled with the parents’ approval. Age of marriage is on the rise. Thus, changes in the structure and function of family and marriage is following a conciliatory pattern.