Social ills that ail the Indian

society!Gowtham

Chandrasekar.

INDIA!India is an ancient country and according to some estimates, Indian civilization is about five

thousand years of age. Therefore, it is natural that its

society will also be very old and complex.

Throughout its long period of history, India has witnessed and

received several waves of immigrants such as Aryans,

Muslims etc. These people brought with

themselves their own ethnic varieties and cultures and

contributed to India’s diversity, richness and vitality.

Therefore, Indian society is a complex mix of diverse

cultures, people, beliefs and languages which may have come from anywhere but now is a part of this vast

country. This complexity and richness gives Indian

society a unique appearance of a very

vibrant and colorful cultural country.

But the very same complexity brings with itself complex nature of social

problems and issues.In fact every society of the world has their social issues unique to

their society. So does Indian society. Indian society is very

rooted in religious beliefs; there are people of different religious beliefs such as Hindus, Muslims,

Jains, Sikhs, Parsis etc.

These all adds to the socio-cultural varieties of the country. India’s social problems are also rooted in the religious practices and beliefs of it’speople.

Almost all forms of social issues and problems find their origin in the

religious and cultural practices of the people of India.

These social problems are developed in a long period of times and are still

continuing in one form or other.

THE INDIAN SOCIETY HAS SEVERAL ILL PRACTISE OUT OF WHICH SOME MOST COMMON

PRACTISES AREOVER POPULATION

ILLITERACY CHILD LABOUR

DOWRYCASTEISM

AND POVERTY.

Today, India’s population is

1.3 billion, and it is increasing……….

It is a curse that hampers development and harms society. According to sources, India has about 33 births a minute; 2,000 an hour; and

48,000 a day.

What are the Factors Responsible?

Lack of proper education Being superstitious by

nature, Indians regard children as the gift of

nature.

They know very little about the modern

methods of population control.

They do not realise the importance of better standards of living. 

Social Legislation prohibiting early marriage. 

Improvement in the percentage of literacy.

Family norms should be implemented so that they are made aware of the consequences of large

families 

Suggestions for Population control

• . The availability of resources is unable to meet the increase in population.

• With a rapidly increasing population, the resources per person will decrease further, leading to the next two major challenges that India faces.

Well,The next challenge is Poverty.

Statistics say that India is the 10th largest economy in the world, but the real condition of our nation is evident to just anybody.

According to World Bank reports, 32.6% of the population of India falls below the international poverty line of US $1.25/day!.

Not just that – 68.7% of the people live on less than US $ 2 each day!.

What is more devastating than the problem of poverty itself is the

disparity it creates – the social g a p between the

poor and the rich!.

They say that India is a land of vivid diversity. One can see a group of people blowing away money in

smoke, and another, working hard to earn enough for two meals a day.

Godowns overflow with grains while people still die of starvation!.

Solutions: The solutions for poverty are discussed

below:• Poverty can be checked by

increasing job opportunities. It will decrease the rate of unemployment which ultimately results in decrease of poverty in economy.

• Government should take more steps towards charity, trusts and also have some transparency while spending money in those social institutions.

• The education system should be reformed and initiatives should be taken to bring more children to schools.

• The next is Illiteracy…

Illiteracy is a condition which becomes a blot on the development

of nation. India possesses the largest illiterate population.

Illiteracy in India is a problem which has complex dimensions attached to it. Illiteracy in India is more or

less concerned with different forms of disparities that exist in the

country.

The Indian government though has launched several schemes

to combat the menace of illiteracy but due to the poor conditions of sanitation and expensive private education and defective mid-day meal

schemes, illiteracy still prevails.

Not only the government, but every literate person needs to

accept the eradication of illiteracy as a personal goal.

Each and every contribution by a literate person can make a contribution to eradicate the

menace.

Child labour!

• Child labour typically means the employment of children in any work with or without

payment.• Child labour is not only limited to India, it

happens to be a global phenomenon

• As far as India is concerned, the issue is a vicious one as children in India have

historically been helping parents at their farms and other primitive activities.

• Over population, illiteracy, poverty, debt trap are some of the common causes which are

instrumental in this issue.

Multinational companies also recruit children in garment industries for more work and less pay

which is absolutely unethical.

Child labour as a global concern has been raised on international platforms as well.

• Abolition of child trafficking, elimination of poverty, free and compulsory education, and

basic standards of living can reduce the problem to a great extent.

• The World Bank, International Monetary Fund can help in eradicating poverty by providing

loan to the developing countries.

The Next is DOWRY…

Dowry means the money, goods or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage. Dowry

is a continuing demand. It is not one isolated payment made initially at the time of marriage

alone, but a series of gifts before and after marriage till the in-laws and the husband are appeased. This custom of dowry has been in

vogue since very ancient times

As per the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Dowry is Any property or valuable

security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly

CASTEISM IN INDIA

Caste system is a phenomenon related to Hinduism in particular. Its origin, evolution and

existence are peculiar to India.

• Caste system is a system much like western concept of

racism where people are discriminated against due to their skin color; similarly, in caste system, discrimination is done on the basis of birth

i.e. a person’s social status is defined on the basis of

his/her caste in which he/she took birth and that is the sole

criterion of establishing his/her social status.

• In other words, on the basis of caste, it is fixed at the time

of a person’s birth that whether she/he would have

higher or lower status in social hierarchy.

Caste system is based on the principle of inequality. It believes that some people are higher than others. • They are to be deprived of all privileges and facilities.• They are denied high posts and positions.• Their educational backwardness stood on the way of their consciousness, on the way of social justice.• Once backward in educational field they had least share in bureaucracy and decision making process, to their own advantage. 

Solution: Education is the only way which will helps the people to become aware of the disadvantages of Caste system.

Bibliography

• http://www.indiacelebrating.com/social-issues• https://prezi.com/d_fuifmniwuo/social-ills-that-ail-t

he-indian-society/

• http://www.educationinsider.net/detail_news.php?id=544

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_issues_in_India• http://www.importantindia.com/17493/social-issue

s-in-india-causes-effects-and-solutions/

• And Google images..