Section Article

Changing Family Structures and Intergenerational Relations in Contemporary India: A Sociological Analysis of Social Change and Care Practices
Author(s): Prof Kartik

Abstract
Indian family life has undergone substantial transformation under the influence of urbanisation migration education changing employment patterns demographic ageing women’s increasing participation in paid work and digital communication. Although the family continues to remain a central institution of social and emotional support its structures and intergenerational relationships are increasingly being renegotiated. This study examines changing family structures and intergenerational relations in contemporary India with particular attention to care practices gender roles ageing migration and emerging forms of family support. Drawing upon secondary literature government data and recent sociological research the study argues that family transformation should not be understood simply as a movement from joint to nuclear families. Instead contemporary Indian families increasingly combine physical separation with emotional financial technological and caregiving connections across generations. The study finds that care responsibilities remain strongly gendered despite changing household structures while migration and digital communication are creating new forms of intergenerational interaction. It concludes that sustainable family care requires greater redistribution of unpaid work stronger public care infrastructure and social policies that recognise changing patterns of family life.