INTRODUCTION of indian rural society

TOPIC: Social Problems of IndianRural Society

PROJECTREPORT

(Submitted towards Partial fulfillment of the degree ofbatchelor of Arts, P.C, as part of the curriculum ofsemester 1st, 2011)

SOCIOLOGY

Submitted By: Navnidhi chugh

B.A1ST Sem Hnrs

ICG/2012/13686

Departmentof Sociology The IISUniversity

INDEX1. Introduction2. Aims and Objectives3. Research Methodology4. Social Problems in Indian RuralSociety

Illiteracy Traditionalism, Conservation andSuperstitions

Casteism and Untouchability Problems of Rural Womena) Illiteracyb) Child Marriagec) Dowryd) Death during Child Birthe) Neglect during early childhoodf) Atrouites on Womeng) Female Foeticide

Rural ill health Poverty

5. Suggestions6. Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

According to A.W.Green,’’A rural community is acluster of people living within a narrowterritorial radius who share a common way oflife.’’

Indian rural community may be defined as a groupof about 5000 people depending on agricultureand allied occupations, permanently residing ina geographic area and participating in commonsocio-economic and cultural activities. A ruralcommunity may also be defined as a group ofpeople permanently residing in a definitegeographic area who, having developed a certaincommunity consciousness and cultural, social andeconomic relations feel that they are separatefrom other communities.

Though India is known as the classical land ofthe villages her rural socities are not freefrom problems. Ever since the Muslim rule andlater the British rule brought enough hardshipsto the rural socities. The rural societies couldno longer preserve their self-sufficiency andautonomy. The centralized administration of theBritish brought untold miseries to the Indianrural socities. The villages gradually became

the centres of problems. Indian society isfacing many social problems since long back.

The Rural Society of India is very muchbackward. It backwardness is very much due tothe several problems that haunt the RuralSociety. The process of change is very slow andso the problems are more or less age old inrecent years, the process of change has beenaccelerated and so new problems are alsocropping up.

The major problems consist of the agriculture,the ownership of the land, the lack of cottageindustries, lack of education social evils,death of animal, wealth, bad wealth and so on.These problems are the result of traditionalismand conservatism of the Rural Society. Theproblems of the villages may be studied underthe following heads:

The problems concerning agriculture; The problems of cottage industries; The problems of population and the familyplanning animal wealth and animal husbandry;

The problems of rural health and education; The problem of the status of women, The problem of child marriage, The problem of traditionalism andconservatism

The problem of unemployment The problem of land less labour Rural indebtedness Problem of nutrition in villages Problem of housing. Apart from it there are also the problems ofuntouchability and casteism.

Problem of Illiteracy.

Aims and Objective To analyse the social problems of Indianrural society

To suggest solutions regarding this problem

Research Methodology Secondary sources of data were used. Help wastaken from books and Internet.

Social problems of Indian ruralsociety Illiteracy

Due to various social and economic problemsIndia's education program continues to beundercut. Of the biggest victims of theeducational system are those living in ruralareas. The attitudes of the children andteachers also affect the quality of the schools.Allocation of government funds and theconditions of the destitute rural schoolscontribute to the low quality of education byrural children.

Many children living in rural areas receive alevel of education which is very poor. Overallenrollment in primary and middle schools arevery low. Fifty percent of children living inthese areas leave school before the fifth grade.These children leave school for variety ofreasons: some leave because of lack of interest;most leave so that they can work in the fields,where the hours are long and the pay is low. As

these children grow into adults, many are stillilliterate by the age of forty. These uneducatedadults are also reluctant to send their ownchildren to school because of their failure inthe education system. This in turn creates aproblem for the next generation.

While the children living in rural areascontinue to be deprived of a quality education,part of the reason why is due to their teachers.A large number of teachers refuse to teach inrural areas and those that do are usually under-qualified. There is more of an emphasis on thetraining of rural teachers, whose educationalbackgrounds are generally not as sound as theirurban counterparts. Those that refuse to teachin rural areas cite distance and lack ofinterest by students as problems. Many of theteachers also lack the enthusiasm to teachbecause of their meager salary - less than onehundred dollars per month. Another obstaclefaced by the schools is that obtaining moreteachers for rural schools is difficult becauseof state guidelines that approve of highstudent-to-teacher ratios. As the lack ofteachers creates many obstacles for children in

rural schools, another setback is the lack ofresources which becomes detrimental to thelearning process. Lack of books and otherreading materials seem to be a widespreadproblem. The use of high-tech devices such ascomputers is very rare. Another condition of theschools are the inadequate facilities theclasses are actually taught in. Some schools arelocated in warehouses while others in smallhouses. Many of the rural schools operatewithout electricity.

While many rural schools search for the properresources, the distribution of government fundsis major hindrance to the educational system.According to a recent study done by the WorldBank, thirty percent of the total educationalfunding goes toward higher educationalinstitution. This is an important issue becausethe number of students enrolled in these typesof institutions represent such a small percentof India's students. Other examples of thegovernment's plans to undermine rural educationcan be found in the Constitution of India. Inthe Constitution it stated that the primary

education of rural area children was a lowpriority in budget outlays.

High illiteracy rates in rural parts of India isan area of the Indian education system thatcannot be overlooked. Hampered by the governmentand by other factors the quality of education inrural districts has been quite poor.

Traiditionalism, Conservation and SuperstitionsIndia is still an extremely conservative society andtightly hold to traditional beliefs. For example, manyfamilies (even in the middle classes) are reluctant toeducate their daughters beyond high school and manyare married off in their late teens. Indianruralities are known to be conservative, traditional,dogmatic and superstitious. Rural people are under thegrip of caste, customs, traditions and superstition.They are unprepared to change their way of life andoutlook. They are very slow to change and very oftenresist changes. Rural people are bounded to theirtraditional thinkings and they do not accept any changein their society easily. They are in a way status

quoists. New things and novel ideas are looked withsuspicion by them. They lack initiative, and the urgeto prosper. Their fatalistic attitude does not allowthem to take risk and experiment new things.

Casteism and UntouchabilityCasteism is a peculiar evil of Rural India. Itis closely connected with the Caste System.Therefore, casteism is basically old ruralproblem and it exists only due to the one sidesor particle loyalty in favour of a particularcaste. Indian villages are in a way controlledby the caste system. It is dominant factor thatdecides almost all aspects of rural life. onecaste is socially different from the other castein Rural India. . Rural people are so illiterateand ignorant that they are very conservative anddeeply motivated by narrow thought andsuperstition. They believe deeply in oldcustoms, traditions, folkways, mores, norms andso on. The rural people are very orthodox intheir nature. They oppose strongly to any changein society. Members of a high caste enjoy morewealth and opportunities while members of a lowcaste perform menial jobs. Caste System imposes

certain restrictions on the institution ofmarriage. Due to this restriction, the membersof a particular caste are forced to marry withinits own caste. feasts and ceremonies given byDalits are not attended by higher-rankingcastes. Being influenced by the rigid customsand traditions, the rural people consider theirown caste as superior lower-caste people oftenview people of high rank as haughty andunfeeling.Even in remote villages CASTEPANCHAYATS are powerful.Since caste constitutesthe social base and the source of individuall’sidentity,no one is able to ignore it invillages.Untouchability and casteism often gotogether in rural society.Difference between theTOUCHABLE and UNTOUCHABLE is more apparenthere.The untouchables who are mostly working aslandless laboursare exploited to the maximum andput to various hardships.Their literacy level isalso very low. .Casteism is damaging the unityof the village

Problems of Rural Women

IlliteracyWomen in rural areas are mostly illiterate.They are confined to kitchen work and tolook after the children. Mostly ruralpeople are so narrow minded that they donot send their daughters to schools. Theydo not believe in womens studies. Theythink that it is more important to learnhousehold chours than to have books ingirls hands. Books are the wastage of timeand diversions of girls minds. Women do nothave individuality .Due to their they arenot able to give proper social training totheir children. Women in rural areas arenot aware to their rights due toilliteracy.

Child marriageEarly marriage makes the womens lifeworst.Most of the women in rural areas aremarried under the age of eighteen. Povertyplays a central role in causing andperpetuating early marriage. In rural areaspeople are often have few resources tosupport healthy alternatives for girls,

such as schooling. In such families withlimited resources, child marriage is oftenseen as a way to provide for theirdaughter's future. Many people marry theirdaughters in childhood to escape fromdowry, and pre-puberty marriage is an evilin itself. On maturity, the boys may or maynot be able to adjust with their wives.This crisis situation is by no means leftbehind after the child marriage isconsummated on attaining maturity. If bychance a husband becomes educated orprofessionally trained and his wife remainsuneducated, both partners face crises.

DowryThe practice of dowry abuse is rising inIndia. The situation is worst in ruralareas.The most severe in “bride burning”,the burning of women whose dowries were notconsidered sufficient by their husband orin-laws. Most of these incidents arereported as accidental burns in the kitchenor are disguised as suicide. It is evidentthat there exist deep rooted prejudicesagainst women in India. Cultural practices

such as the payment of dowry tend tosubordinate women in Indian society

Death During Child Birth

As in rural areas girls are married in earlyages,they face many health problems too.Earlymarriage exposes women to longer childbearingperiod. This means greater health hazards towomen and children. Several studies show thatteenaged mothers risk to health for boththemselves and their children. This risk isfurther enhanced by poor nutrition. .In rural areas women expend a great deal ofenergy working inside and outside the house,whereas they often have insufficient food.Customarily they often eat after the men andother members of the family have eaten. The lackof knowledge and improper care during postnatalperiod, and frequent pregnancies lead to largerfetal wastage, birth of larger number of low

eight babies, and death of young women.

Neglect During Early Childhood

In rural areas of India, the neglect of the girlchild starts very early in life. The extent ofneglect varies from family to family dependingon their economic position. But in comparison toher male counterpart a female child isrelatively neglected in most of thesocioeconomic strta.Data from various sources shows that frominfancy till the age of 15 the death rate forfemale child far exceeds the mortality rate formale child in rural areas. There are severalcauses underlying this. Firstly, the femalechildren are breast fed for a far shorter periodthan their male counterparts. Quite oftenenforced by poor economic condition. Finally, inaddition to the intake of insufficient and non-nutritious food the female child is exposed to agreater workload very early in life. Often inrural areas, families of weaker economicstrength the girl child is found attending thehousehold chores as well as taking care of heryounger brothers and sisters.

Atrocities on WomenMale violence against women is very common inrural areas. Although not every woman hasexperienced it, and many expect not to, fearof violence is an important factor in thelives of most rural women. Fear of violenceis a cause of women's lack of participationin activities beyond the home, as well asinside it. Within the home, women and girlsmay be subjected to physical and sexual abuseas punishment or as culturally justifiedassaults. These acts shape their attitude tolife, and their expectations of themselves.There are various forms of crime againstwomen. Sometimes, it begins even before theirbirth, sometimes in the adulthood and otherphrases of life. In the Indian society, theposition of women is always perceived inrelation to the man, from birth onwards andat every stage of life, she is dependent onhim.. One important manifestation of thesecustoms and practices has been that of Sati.It is seen as a pinnacle of achievement for awoman. This custom of self-immolation of thewidow on her husband's pyre was an age-oldpractice in some parts of India, especially

in rural area..The condition of widows is oneof the most neglected social issues in ruralIndia. Because of widowhood the quality oflife is lowered for many Indian rural women.Three percent of all Indian women are widowsand on an average, mortality rate is 86percent higher among elderly widows incomparison to married women of the same agegroup.

Various studies indicated that in ruralareas:(i) legal rights of widows are violated, (ii) they suffer forceful social isolation, (iii) they have limited freedom to marry, (iv) restrictive employment opportunities forwidows, (v) most widows get little economic supportfrom their family or from the community.

Our orthodox society is so much prejudiced by age-old habits and customs that a violatedwoman, whether she is forced or helpless, hasno place in the society

FemaleFoeticide

In rural areas female foeticide rates arevery high. Baby girls are killed . In 1991,

the figure was 947 girls to 1000 boys. Tenyears later it had fallen to 927 girls for1000 boys. Now a days it is 940 girls to 1000boys .Most of the rural people do not wantdaughters due to many reasons.They arebounded to some particular thoughts and thusgive no importance to female child and wantto get rid of their daughters somehow.

Rural Ill health

Rural people are facing the problem of illhealth. The rate of birth and also rate ofdeath are relatively higher in the village.Due to their illiteracy the rural peopleneglect their health and do not take propermedical advice when required. Ryral womenrarely complain of diseases and prefer tosuffer than to go for medical check-up. Theill- equipped primary health centers arealso not able to give medical assistancewhenever it is required. Though thegovernment has spent huge amount of moneyfor improving rural health, the progressachieved in this field is far fromsatisfaction.

Poverty

The number of poor people in India, according tothe country’s Eleventh National DevelopmentPlan, amounts to more than 300 million. onethird of the country’s population of more than1.1 billion continues to live below the povertyline, and a large proportion of poor people livein rural areas. Poverty remains a chroniccondition for almost 30 per cent of India’srural population. Poverty is deepest amongmembers of scheduled castes and tribes in thecountry's rural areas. A major cause of povertyamong India’s rural people, both individuals andcommunities, is lack of access to productiveassets and financial resources. High levels ofilliteracy, inadequate health care and extremelylimited access to social services are commonamong poor rural people Poverty remains achronic condition for almost 30 per cent ofIndia’s rural population. The incidence of ruralpoverty has declined somewhat over the pastthree decades as a result of rural to urbanmigration. A staggering 55 percent of thr rural

population of the country still live in kutchahouses. Most of the poor rural people do not getenough food to satisfy their hunger. Agricultureis a source of livelihood for 70 percent of thepopulation but agriculture accounts for lessthan 40 percent of the national income. Povertyhas adversely affected the standard of living ofthe ruralities.

Suggestions

Rural people must be educated .Only education can help them to improve theirlevel. Various educational plans must berun by government.

Rural people must be awared of their rights.

Government must do councelling in the rural areas to decrease villagers’ narrow thinking.

Rural women should be wakeful and educated

More and more employments should be given in rural areas

Efforts should be done to erase Casteismand Untouchability

Modernization in a positive way should be introduced in villages

More plans for good health of villagers must be made

New schemes for reducing poverty in rural areas should be made

Bibliography

www.google.com

Aziz.A.,1983, The Rural Poor,Problems and Prospects,Artist Publishing House,New Delhi.

Desai.A.R.5th Edition 2008,Rural Sociology in India,Popular Prakashan