TOPIC: Social Problems of Indian Rural Society

PROJECT REPORT
(Submitted towards Partial fulfillment of the degree of batchelor of Arts, P.C, as
part of the curriculum of semester 1st, 2011)

SOCIOLOGY

Submitted By:
Navnidhi chugh

B.A 1ST Sem Hnrs

ICG/2012/13686

Department of Sociology
The IIS University
 INDEX
1. Introduction
2. Aims and Objectives
3. Research Methodology
4. Social Problems in Indian Rural Society
 Illiteracy
 Traditionalism, Conservation and Superstitions
 Casteism and Untouchability
 Problems of Rural Women
a) Illiteracy
b) Child Marriage
c) Dowry
d) Death during Child Birth
e) Neglect during early childhood
f) Atrouites on Women
g) Female Foeticide
 Rural ill health
 Poverty
5. Suggestions
6. Bibliography
INTRODUCTION
According to A.W.Green,’’A rural community is a cluster of people
living within a narrow territorial radius who share a common way of
life.’’
Indian rural community may be defined as a group of about 5000 people
depending on agriculture and allied occupations, permanently residing in
a geographic area and participating in common socio-economic and
cultural activities. A rural community may also be defined as a group of
people permanently residing in a definite geographic area who, having
developed a certain community consciousness and cultural, social and
economic relations feel that they are separate from other communities.
Though India is known as the classical land of the villages her rural
socities are not free from problems. Ever since the Muslim rule and later
the British rule brought enough hardships to the rural socities. The rural
societies could no longer preserve their self-sufficiency and autonomy.
The centralized administration of the British brought untold miseries to
the Indian rural socities. The villages gradually became the centres of
problems. Indian society is facing many social problems since long
back.

The Rural Society of India is very much backward. It backwardness is

very much due to the several problems that haunt the Rural Society. The
process of change is very slow and so the problems are more or less age
old in recent years, the process of change has been accelerated and so
new problems are also cropping up.
The major problems consist of the agriculture, the ownership of the land,
the lack of cottage industries, lack of education social evils, death of
animal, wealth, bad wealth and so on. These problems are the result of
traditionalism and conservatism of the Rural Society. The problems of
the villages may be studied under the following heads:

 The problems concerning agriculture;

 The problems of cottage industries;

 The problems of population and the family planning 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 and conservatism

 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 of untouchability and

casteism.

 Problem of Illiteracy.
Aims and Objective
 To analyse the social problems of Indian rural society
 To suggest solutions regarding this problem
Research Methodology
Secondary sources of data were used. Help was taken from books and
Internet.
Social problems of Indian rural society

Illiteracy
Due to various social and economic problems India's education program
continues to be undercut. Of the biggest victims of the educational
system are those living in rural areas. The attitudes of the children and
teachers also affect the quality of the schools. Allocation of government
funds and the conditions of the destitute rural schools contribute to the
low quality of education by rural children.
Many children living in rural areas receive a level of education which is
very poor. Overall enrollment in primary and middle schools are very
low. Fifty percent of children living in these areas leave school before
the fifth grade. These children leave school for variety of reasons: 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 still illiterate by the age of forty. These
uneducated adults are also reluctant to send their own children to school
because of their failure in the education system. This in turn creates a
problem for the next generation.
While the children living in rural areas continue 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 in rural areas and those that do are
usually under-qualified. There is more of an emphasis on the training of
rural teachers, whose educational backgrounds are generally not as
sound as their urban counterparts. Those that refuse to teach in rural
areas cite distance and lack of interest by students as problems. Many of
the teachers also lack the enthusiasm to teach because of their meager
salary - less than one hundred dollars per month. Another obstacle faced
by the schools is that obtaining more teachers for rural schools is
difficult because of state guidelines that approve of high student-to-
teacher ratios. As the lack of teachers creates many obstacles for
children in rural schools, another setback is the lack of resources which
becomes detrimental to the learning process. Lack of books and other
reading materials seem to be a widespread problem. The use of high-
tech devices such as computers is very rare. Another condition of the
schools are the inadequate facilities the classes are actually taught in.
Some schools are located in warehouses while others in small houses.
Many of the rural schools operate without electricity.
While many rural schools search for the proper resources, the
distribution of government funds is major hindrance to the educational
system. According to a recent study done by the World Bank, thirty
percent of the total educational funding goes toward higher educational
institution. This is an important issue because the number of students
enrolled in these types of institutions represent such a small percent of
India's students. Other examples of the government's plans to undermine
rural education can be found in the Constitution of India. In the
Constitution it stated that the primary education of rural area children
was a low priority in budget outlays.
High illiteracy rates in rural parts of India is an area of the Indian
education system that cannot be overlooked. Hampered by the
government and by other factors the quality of education in rural
districts has been quite poor.

Traiditionalism, Conservation and Superstitions

India is still an extremely conservative society and tightly hold to traditional
beliefs. For example, many families (even in the middle classes) are reluctant to
educate their daughters beyond high school and many are married off in
their late teens. Indian ruralities are known to be conservative, traditional,
dogmatic and superstitious. Rural people are under the grip of caste, customs,
traditions and superstition. They are unprepared to change their way of life and
outlook. They are very slow to change and very often resist changes. Rural people
are bounded to their traditional thinkings and they do not accept any change in
their society easily. They are in a way status quoists. New things and novel ideas
are looked with suspicion by them. They lack initiative, and the urge to prosper.
Their fatalistic attitude does not allow them to take risk and experiment new
things.

Casteism and Untouchability

Casteism is a peculiar evil of Rural India. It is closely connected with
the Caste System. Therefore, casteism is basically old rural problem and
it exists only due to the one sides or particle loyalty in favour of a
particular caste. Indian villages are in a way controlled by the caste
system. It is dominant factor that decides almost all aspects of rural life.
one caste is socially different from the other caste in Rural India. . Rural
people are so illiterate and ignorant that they are very conservative and
deeply motivated by narrow thought and superstition. They believe
deeply in old customs, traditions, folkways, mores, norms and so on.
The rural people are very orthodox in their nature. They oppose strongly
to any change in society. Members of a high caste enjoy more wealth
and opportunities while members of a low caste perform menial jobs.
Caste System imposes certain restrictions on the institution of marriage.
Due to this restriction, the members of a particular caste are forced to
marry within its own caste. feasts and ceremonies given by Dalits are not
attended by higher-ranking castes. Being influenced by the rigid customs
and traditions, the rural people consider their own caste as superior
lower-caste people often view people of high rank as haughty and
unfeeling.Even in remote villages CASTE PANCHAYATS are
powerful.Since caste constitutes the social base and the source of
individuall’s identity,no one is able to ignore it in
villages.Untouchability and casteism often go together in rural
society.Difference between the TOUCHABLE and UNTOUCHABLE is
more apparent here.The untouchables who are mostly working as
landless laboursare exploited to the maximum and put to various
hardships.Their literacy level is also very low. .Casteism is damaging the
unity of the village

Problems of Rural Women

 Illiteracy
Women in rural areas are mostly illiterate. They are confined to
kitchen work and to look after the children. Mostly rural people
are so narrow minded that they do not send their daughters to
schools. They do not believe in womens studies. They think that
it is more important to learn household chours than to have
 books in girls hands. Books are the wastage of time and
diversions of girls minds. Women do not have individuality
.Due to their they are not able to give proper social training to
their children. Women in rural areas are not aware to their rights
due to illiteracy.

 Child marriage
Early marriage makes the womens life worst.Most of the
women in rural areas are married under the age of eighteen.
Poverty plays a central role in causing and perpetuating early
marriage. In rural areas people are often have few resources to
support healthy alternatives for girls, such as schooling. In such
families with limited resources, child marriage is often seen as a
way to provide for their daughter's future. Many people marry
their daughters in childhood to escape from dowry, and pre-
puberty marriage is an evil in itself. On maturity, the boys may
or may not be able to adjust with their wives. This crisis
situation is by no means left behind after the child marriage is
consummated on attaining maturity. If by chance a husband
becomes educated or professionally trained and his wife remains
uneducated, both partners face crises.

 Dowry
The practice of dowry abuse is rising in India. The situation is
worst in rural areas.The most severe in “bride burning”, the
burning of women whose dowries were not considered
sufficient by their husband or in-laws. Most of these incidents
are reported as accidental burns in the kitchen or are disguised
as suicide. It is evident that there exist deep rooted prejudices
 against women in India. Cultural practices such as the payment
of dowry tend to subordinate women in Indian society

 Death During Child Birth

As in rural areas girls are married in early ages,they face many health
problems too.Early marriage exposes women to longer childbearing
period. This means greater health hazards to women and children.
Several studies show that teenaged mothers risk to health for both
themselves and their children. This risk is further enhanced by poor
nutrition.
.In rural areas women expend a great deal of energy working inside and
outside the house, whereas they often have insufficient food.
Customarily they often eat after the men and other members of the
family have eaten. The lack of knowledge and improper care during
postnatal period, and frequent pregnancies lead to larger fetal 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 girl child starts very early in
life. The extent of neglect varies from family to family depending on
their economic position. But in comparison to her male counterpart a
female child is relatively neglected in most of the socioeconomic strta.
Data from various sources shows that from infancy till the age of 15 the
death rate for female child far exceeds the mortality rate for male child
in rural areas. There are several causes underlying this. Firstly, the
female children are breast fed for a far shorter period than their male
counterparts. Quite often enforced by poor economic condition. Finally,
in addition to the intake of insufficient and non-nutritious food the
female child is exposed to a greater workload very early in life. Often in
rural areas, families of weaker economic strength the girl child is found
attending the household chores as well as taking care of her younger
brothers and sisters.

 Atrocities on Women
Male violence against women is very common in rural areas.
Although not every woman has experienced it, and many expect
not to, fear of violence is an important factor in the lives of most
rural women. Fear of violence is a cause of women's lack of
participation in activities beyond the home, as well as inside it.
Within the home, women and girls may be subjected to physical
and sexual abuse as punishment or as culturally justified assaults.
These acts shape their attitude to life, and their expectations of
themselves. There are various forms of crime against women.
Sometimes, it begins even before their birth, sometimes in the
adulthood and other phrases of life. In the Indian society, the
position of women is always perceived in relation to the man, from
birth onwards and at every stage of life, she is dependent on him..
One important manifestation of these customs and practices has
been that of Sati. It is seen as a pinnacle of achievement for a
woman. This custom of self-immolation of the widow on her
husband's pyre was an age-old practice in some parts of India,
especially in rural area..The condition of widows is one of the most
neglected social issues in rural India. Because of widowhood the
quality of life is lowered for many Indian rural women. Three
 percent of all Indian women are widows and on an average,
mortality rate is 86 percent higher among elderly widows in
comparison to married women of the same age group.

Various studies indicated that in rural areas:

(i) legal rights of widows are violated,
(ii) they suffer forceful social isolation,
(iii) they have limited freedom to marry,
(iv) restrictive employment opportunities for widows,
(v) most widows get little economic support from their family or
from the community.
Our orthodox society is so much prejudiced by age-old habits and
customs that a violated woman, whether she is forced or helpless,
has no place in the society

 FemaleFoeticide
In rural areas female foeticide rates are very high. Baby girls are
killed . In 1991, the figure was 947 girls to 1000 boys. Ten years
later it had fallen to 927 girls for 1000 boys. Now a days it is 940
girls to 1000 boys .Most of the rural people do not want daughters
due to many reasons.They are bounded to some particular
thoughts and thus give no importance to female child and want to
get rid of their daughters somehow.

Rural Ill health

Rural people are facing the problem of ill health. The rate of
birth and also rate of death are relatively higher in the village.
Due to their illiteracy the rural people neglect their health and do
not take proper medical advice when required. Ryral women
rarely complain of diseases and prefer to suffer than to go for
medical check-up. The ill- equipped primary health centers are
also not able to give medical assistance whenever it is required.
Though the government has spent huge amount of money for
improving rural health, the progress achieved in this field is far
from satisfaction.

Poverty

The number of poor people in India, according to the country’s Eleventh

National Development Plan, amounts to more than 300 million. one
third of the country’s population of more than 1.1 billion continues to
live below the poverty line, and a large proportion of poor people live in
rural areas. Poverty remains a chronic condition for almost 30 per cent
of India’s rural population. Poverty is deepest among members of
scheduled castes and tribes in the country's rural areas. A major cause of
poverty among India’s rural people, both individuals and communities,
is lack of access to productive assets and financial resources. High levels
of illiteracy, inadequate health care and extremely limited access to
social services are common among poor rural people Poverty remains a
chronic condition for almost 30 per cent of India’s rural population. The
incidence of rural poverty has declined somewhat over the past three
decades as a result of rural to urban migration. A staggering 55 percent
of thr rural population of the country still live in kutcha houses. Most of
the poor rural people do not get enough food to satisfy their hunger.
Agriculture is a source of livelihood for 70 percent of the population but
agriculture accounts for less than 40 percent of the national income.
Poverty has adversely affected the standard of living of the ruralities.
Suggestions

 Rural people must be educated .Only education can help

them to improve their level. Various educational plans must
be run 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 Casteism and
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