Social customs in Uttar Pradesh
Society is Patriarchal like most of Uttar Pradesh and male elders are considered heads. Though many governmental schemes like LPG connection that is given only in the name of female elder of the house has brought somewhere female on front but in decision making they are considered subordinate to men. Caste System is abundant in this region but in much liberal form. Generally people of Scheduled Castes are treated badly or humiliated but that in exceptional cases. Villagers live on principle of mutual cooperation. Caste ostracities are rarely reported. Much to the surprise all people gather and take part in functions and religious ceremonies that are organized by local administration forgetting all differences.
Culture encompasses the way of life of a society. It includes the attitude of the people towards others, their behavior, mannerisms and ways to celebrate different aspects of life. It also includes the ways in which the people express themselves through fine and performing arts. Uttar Pradesh’s greatest gifts to humanity are the two epics, ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’. From the epic age, the territory of Uttar Pradesh being watered by several fresh streams of culture, the two most significant being those generated by the teachings of the Buddha and Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankar. The fountainheads of Brahmanical culture were centered at holy places as Kashi, Ayodhya, Prayag, Mathura and the Himalayan hermitages. Mathura has proved to be a veritable store-house of buried ancient art, both of the Brahmanical and Buddhist varieties and Kashi, which has withstood the ravages of times, of living Hindu art. Its people belong to many religions and come from distant parts of the country but have had the latitude to recreate their own native cultures. Afghans, Kashmiris, Bengalis, Parsis and Punjabi immigrants settled here. Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists all found the freedom to practice their religions and pass it on to successive generations. While it is secular, liberal and progressive, at the same time it is deeply rooted in social and religious traditions and taboos.
Uttar Pradesh is a melting pot of cultures. Society is basically patriarchal. Families are nuclear, joint and extended. Now joint families have become rare. Much due to the advent of British in India family structure changed as new agrarian systems put a burden on famers and it became hard for one to look after whole family. New commercial changes that have given rise to self-dependent youngsters are also a reason for less popularity of joint family systems. People are generally habituated to all type of clothing but it is still considered modest to wear traditional dresses for women.