Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BY
TANVI JAIN
ASST PROFESSOR SRMU,LUCKNOW
Social Issues
A society can only be developed when all the amenities are fulfilled or achieved. In India certain issues have been over come and achieved but still some social issues are in the half way e.g. people below poverty line, literacy rate, unemployment of youth, public health system, dowry system, domestic violence, corruption and political system of India
Dowry
UNEMPLOYMENT
India as a nation is faced with massive problem of unemployment. Unemployment can be defined as a state of worklessness for a man fit and willing to work. It is a condition of involuntary and not voluntary idleness. Some features of unemployment have been identified as follows: The incidence of unemployment is much higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Unemployment rates for women are higher than those for men.
The incidence of unemployment among the educated is much higher than the overall unemployment.
There is greater unemployment in agricultural sector than in industrial and other major sectors. Economists and social thinkers have classified unemployment into various types. Generally unemployment can be classified in two types:
TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT
Voluntary unemployment:- In this type of unemployment a person is out of job of his own desire doesn't work on the prevalent or prescribed wages. Either he wants higher wages or doesn't want to work at all. In voluntary unemployment:- In this type of situation the person who is unemployed has no say in the matter. It means that a person is separated from remunerative work and devoid of wages although he is capable of earning his wages and is also anxious to earn them.
Poverty is one of the main problems which have attracted attention of sociologists and economists. It indicates a condition in which a person fails to maintain a living standard adequate for his physical and mental Even after more than 50 years of Independence India still has the world's largest number of poor people in a single country. Of its nearly 1 billion inhabitants, an estimated 260.3 million are below the poverty line, of which 193.2 million are in the rural areas and 67.1 million are in urban areas. More than 75% of poor people reside in villages efficiency. It is a situation people want to escape. According to a recent Indian government committee constituted to estimate poverty, nearly 38% of Indias population (380 million) is poor. This report is based on new methodology and the figure is 10% higher than the present poverty estimate of 28.5%. The poverty level is below 10% in states like Delhi, Goa, and Punjab etc whereas it is below 50% in Bihar (43) and Orissa (47). It is between 30-40% in Northeastern states of Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya and in Southern states of Tamilnadu and Uttar Pradesh.
The largest credit-based government poverty reduction programme in the world, the Integrated Rural Development Programme provides rural households below the poverty line with credit to purchase income-generating assets. Launched in 1979, the programme has supplied subsidized credit to such groups as small and marginalized farmers, agricultural laborers, rural artisans, the physically handicapped, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Within this target population, 40% of the beneficiaries are supposed to be women. Although the programme has reached 51 million families, only 27% of the borrowers have been women. The programme has significantly increased the income of 57% of assisted families. Rural poverty is largely a result of low productivity and unemployment. The Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, a national public works scheme launched in 1989 with financing from the central and state governments, provides more than 700 million person days of work a year about 1% of total employment for people with few opportunities for employment
TRYSEM (Training rural youth for self employment) was started to provide technical skills to the rural youth and to help them to get employment in fields such as agriculture, industry, services and business activities. Youth of the poor families belonging to the age-group of 18-35 are entitled to avail the benefits of the scheme. Priority is given to persons belonging to ST/SC and ex-servicemen and about 1/3 seats are reserved for women. Minimum Needs Programme was taken up as an integral part of the 5th Five Year Plan and it was intended to cater to the minimum needs of the people such as rural water supply, rural health, road building, adult education, primary education, rural electrification and improve-ment of the urban slums etc. With the intention of removing urban unemployment some schemes such as SEPUP (Self-employment programme for the urban poor); SEEUY (Scheme for self-employment of the educated urban youths) .These schemes gives loans and subsidies for the urban unemployed youths to create or to find for themselves some jobs. The SEPUP had provided financial help for about 1.19 urban unemployed youths in the year 190-91.
India has banned tobacco consumption in public places but only 12 states have started implementing the ban. More than 10 lakh people at present die in India every year due to tobacco consumption. At present more than 57% male and 10.9% female consume tobacco while 15% children consume tobacco. Female feticide continues to tarnish Indias image.The child sex ratio (0-6 years) was 945 (1991 census) and this declined to 927 girls per thousand boys (in 2001 census).The figures are alarming in prosperous states like Punjab(798),Haryana (819),Chandigarh (845),Delhi (868),Gujarat (883) and Himachal Pradesh (896). In india many health problems like Polio, women health system, dialysis problems cancers etc.
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela The Indian education are not provide the practically knowledge to the student it only provide the theoretically knowledge to the student. The vocational education system are not good. In India some degree and education certificate are sold at mass basis. Govt. university are paying the role of good listener and no strict rule or act is import to nip this evil. Some university and institute are give the admission to the student only on the basis of financial status of student. Education system is going very costly from day to day and student or poor section are debarred to get the admission in university even there are more talented then that of student getting the admission by paying the heavy amounts.
POPULATION
India is the world's second most populous country and is expected to be the most populous by 2040.The country is undergoing the same forces of demographic transition that have been experienced elsewhere, only delayed by few decades. Almost 70% of Indians still reside in rural areas although in recent decades migration to larger cities has led to a dramatic increase in the country's urban population. The emerging middle class will surge tenfold; exceeding 500 million by 2025.It will command 60% of the country's spending power. The growth in population is a bad factors in the development of society because the available infrastructure/sources are not adequate to cop with the population growth.
LITERACY
Literacy is an effective instrument for social and economic development and national integration. It is defined in Census operations, as the ability to read and write with understanding in any language. Any formal education or minimum educational standard is not necessary to be considered literate. The latest census report (2001) reveal that at the beginning of new millennium literacy rate in India stands at 65.38% with male literacy level at 75.85%and female literacy level at 54.16%. There has been only marginal increase in literacy level from the last census in 1991 (literacy level was 52.2%). The pace of progress in literacy rates, as revealed by decennial censuses, is very slow in India. Between 1961 and 1991, a span of thirty years, literacy rate has gone up by a mere 23.9 percentage points, from 28.3 in 1961 to 52.2 in 1991.From 1991 to 2001 there is 13.36%increase.
During the first Five Year Plan, the program of Social Education, inclusive of literacy, was introduced as part of the Community Development Program 1952. The National Policy on Education in 1968 not only endorsed the recommendations of the Education Commission but also reiterated the significance of universal literacy and developing adult and continuing education as matters of priority. While the formal elementary education program was supplemented by a Nonformal Education system, it was also decided to undertake Adult Literacy programs culminating in the Total Literacy mission approach. (a) A multi-pronged approach of universalization of elementary education and universal adult literacy has been adopted for achieving total literacy. (b) A systematic program of non-formal education in the educationally backward states. (c) The National Literacy Mission that aims at making 100 million adults literate.
DOWRY SYSTEM
Dowry is derived from the ancient Hindu customs of "kanyadan" and "stridhan". In "kanyadan", the father of the bride offers the father of the groom money or property, etc. whereas for "stridhan", the bride herself gets jewelry and clothes at the time of her marriage, usually from her relatives or friends. In "varadakshina", the father of the bride presents the groom cash or kind. All of these could be done voluntarily and out of affection and love. For this man, and his family, a woman becomes the ticket to shortcut riches through the system of dowry. There are a number of things people desire to have in their own houses but cannot afford; they use the opportunity of a son's marriage to get them
Official statistics show a steady rise in dowry crimes. More than 9, 5000 women are killed every year in India over dowry. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh still record the maximum number of dowry crimes, but Bangalore, India's fastest growing city also shows an alarming rise four women reportedly die every day because of dowry harassment and domestic violence. The cases of dowry torture are the highest accounting for 32.4% of crimes against women in the country. The dowry custom continues to rule society. In majority of Indian families the boy has inheritance rights while the girl is given a hefty sum at the time of her marriage in lieu of the Government regulated equal rights for girls in parental property. The evil of the dowry system has spread its tentacles in almost all parts of the country and sections of society. There are several reasons for the prevalence of the dowry system, but the main one is that it is a necessary precondition for marriage. "No dowry, no marriage," is a widespread fear.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Domestic violence can be described as when one adult in a relationship misuses power to control another. It is the establishment of control and fear in the relationship through violence and other forms of abuse. It is basically an abuse of power. Although men, women and children can all be abused, in most cases the victims are women. In every country where reliable, large-scale studies have been conducted, results indicate that between 16 and 52% of women have been assaulted by their husbands\partners. Violence within the home is universal across culture, religion, class and ethnicity. The abuse is generally condoned by social custom and considered part and parcel of marital life .An example of this can be seen through the gist of a popular Spanish riddle: Question: What do mules and women have in common? Answer: A good beating makes them both better."
The statistics reveal grim picture of the realities prevalent in developing and developed countries alike. In the United States a women is beaten every 18 minutes; between 3 million and 4 million are battered each year, but only 1 in 10 cases of domestic violence is ever reported. In the United Kingdom, 1 in 3 families is a victim of assault and 1 in 5 a victim of serious assault, according to a recent report by the home office. In Austria, in 59%of 1500 divorce cases, domestic violence is cited as a cause in the marital breakdown. In India the records of National Crimes Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs government of India revealed a shocking 71.5% Increase in cases of torture and dowry deaths during the period from 1991 to 1995 .In 1995, torture of women constituted 29.2%of all reported crimes against women. In Bangladesh, half of the 170 reported cases of women murdered between 1983 and 1985 took place within the confines of the homes.
CORRUPTION
In India, the web of corruption probably has a bureaucratic core. A vast bureaucracy that is instituted to control every aspect of economic life creates the incentives for individual and institutionalized corruption. Then the democratic political system uses that bureaucracy to extract rents that are used for fueling the vast political machinery. In India total system are corrupted from the top to bottom level . Any work in government office is not materialised unless other wise hand full money is paid. Corrupt politicians, corrupt judges, corrupt police officers, corrupt bureaucrats, corrupt contractors, etc. are looting our country for last 60 years. They are nothing but thief's and criminals. Due to their plunder of public funds millions of people, including children, have died. By crude estimation, these corrupt officials constitute at least 90% of all the officers.
Finland remains the least-corrupt country in the world, according to the latest annual index compiled by Transparency International, a Berlin-based organisation. The index, which measures perceived levels of corruption, focuses on the misuse of public office for private gain. The United States ranks as the 18th least-corrupt country, only a little less so than Chile. Botswana is reckoned to be less corrupt than Italy. India ranks 83 in the list of least-corrupt countries. Finland is the least corrupt and ranks first; Singapore is fifth; Botswana is ranked 30th thus leading India by about 50 places. I suppose if Sri Lanka were in that list, it would get a higher score than India. And I also suppose that the northern states of India (UP, Bihar, etc.) would be more found to be more corrupt than the southern states (Kerala, AP, TN).
ALCOHOLISM
Alcoholism is a condition in which the individual has lost control over his alcohol intake in that he is constantly unable to refrain from drinking once he begins. The problem of alcoholism in terms of personal misery, family budget, discord, and loss of wages, failure of health, accidents and cost in damage claims, cost of hospital treatment, cost in custodial treatment, inducement to crime are almost disastrous. A good number of persons arrested for crimes like rape, burglary, murder and theft are those who committed them under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is a major factor in the highway accidents. Since alcoholism affects the family members, friends and even the community, it affects millions of people in the country. Drinking reduces ones operational activities and efficiency to below the minimum level necessary for social existence.
Detoxification in hospitals: Alcohols need medical care and medical supervision. Tranquilizers are used for treating their withdrawal symptoms like hallucinations. Vitamins and electrolyte balance are used for physical rehabilitation. Treatment centres: These centres are developed as alternative centres to hospital treatment having 10-12 residents. Counselling and anti-drinking rules are observed. Changing values through education: Some voluntary organizations undertake educational and information programmes to alert the alcoholics to the danger of excessive drinking. Social workers help the drinkers in coping with life and changing the social values and attitudes about drinking.
TRANSPORTATION
In India the transportation system is being controlled by the State Transport Commissioner how ever there are lapses in the Transport Acts of the states, aggravating complications/ litigation in the transportation system. Light Vehicles likes two wheeler are being drivel by the children (before the attain the age of Driving Licenses) .Driving Licenses Authority are not so serious tantamount the issue of driving licenses to a person who is not well aware about the traffic rules and driving skills. Traffic Police is not performing there duties dedicatedly resulting the road accidents are increase.
Analysis carried on the basis of all India road accidents data shows that drivers fault accounts for 83.5 per cent accidents. Other contributory causes of road accidents are: mechanical defects in the vehicles (3.0 per cent), fault of pedestrians (2.3 per cent), fault of passengers (2.4 per cent), bad road (1.1 per cent), bad weather (0.9 per cent) and other causes (6.8 per cent) like cattle, fallen trees, road blockage, sudden failure of vehicles ahead, absence of rear reflectors, non-functioning of signals and absence of road signage's etc.
CONCLUSIONS
In India many social problems are there from those some are described below. Government makes many new rules and regulation to stop social evil but many rules, regulation and policy gets failed. The main cause of failure of those policy is no proper implementation of rules & policies and corrupt officers are not carrying out their duties regularly. Public also responsible for increasing the social issues in India. If the government implements the policy and rules by force. People start blocking the road, doing strikes etc. If one person obeys the rules and regulations which are made by the government other people oppose him, In government offices no work is being done without taking bribe, and this increases the corruption.
Students(Youth) play a very important role to remove the social evils from India. For e.g. educate the illiterate people, obey the traffic rules and also tell others to obey the traffic rules, not use the wrong methods to get the admission in Institute, Apply one rule for marriage A marriage With out Dowry, for removing corruption student also play an important role e.g. not give the money to any officers to get the work done illegally.