Indian culture and society are not individualistic in the western sense. The average Indian individual's pattern of desires is rigidly fixed by his socio-cultural group pattern, and he hardly deviates from it. The Indian social system is basically oriented towards group, sect, or caste-action, not 'voluntaristic' individual action. India was an ancient and advanced civilization but also had 'primitive' societies within it. The first experience of modernity in India was intertwined with colonial subjugation. Traditions are strongly rooted in the past through parampara (succession) or aitihya, kept alive through repeated recalling of stories and myths.

The link with the past does not rule out change but indicates a process of adaptation to it. The economy, the most commonly cited source of change in western societies, has not been as effective in India. Class conflict had been "smoothed and covered by caste traditions" where new class relations had not emerged sharply.

D.P. identified three principles of change: shruti, smriti and anubhava. Anubhava (personal experience) is the revolutionary principle, but in India it flowers into collective experience. The most important principle of change is generalised anubhava — the collective experience of groups. High traditions were periodically challenged by collective experience of groups and sects, as in the bhakti movement. This applies to both Hindu and Muslim cultures, where Sufis stressed love and experience over holy texts.