Sociology is unlike other subjects because everyone already knows something about society before formal learning.

Knowledge of other subjects like History, Geography, Psychology, or Economics is taught, but knowledge about society is acquired naturally or automatically.

Even young children have some understanding of social relationships, and by eighteen, individuals know a lot about society without formal study.

This prior knowledge is both an advantage and a disadvantage for learning sociology:

• Advantage: Students feel sociology is accessible because they are familiar with society.

• Disadvantage: Students must “unlearn” prior knowledge to study sociology properly.

Common sense knowledge about society comes from the social group and environment one is socialized into, shaping opinions, beliefs, and expectations.

Prior knowledge is often partial, meaning it is:

• Incomplete (not whole)

• Biased (tilted towards one’s own social group)

Sociology teaches self-reflexivity — the ability to reflect on oneself from an external perspective critically.

Sociology helps locate an individual on a social map, including:

• Age group (e.g., “young people” forming ~40% of India’s population)

• Regional or linguistic community (e.g., Gujarati from Gujarat, Telugu from Andhra Pradesh)

• Economic class (e.g., lower middle class, upper class)

• Religious, caste, or tribal identity

Sociology explains groups and groupings, their relationships, and implications for individual life.

According to C. Wright Mills, sociology links personal troubles to social issues:

• Personal troubles: Individual concerns like family treatment, friendships, future job prospects, pride, tension, or embarrassment.

• Social issues: Problems concerning large groups, not individuals.

The study of Indian society in this book aims to adopt a sociological perspective rather than a common sense view.

Sociology examines the larger processes shaping Indian society, which will be explored in detail in the book.