Rural life in india (Sociology)

1. RURAL LIFE IN INDIA

2. RURAL INDIA India is a land of villages. Present world still dominated by villages. Many people prefer to stay back in villages. World population predominantly rural More than 2\3 of world’s population still lives in villages. More than ¾ population of India resides in more than 5.58 lakh villages. Study of India becomes meaningful only if villages are studied The task of rural sociology is to study village life.

3. Vedic Period Villages existed in India even during vedic period. These villages self contained little republics. They enjoyed for centuries autonomy Under B ritish period exposed to modern trends Scholars started making systematic studies. They have thrown light on village solidarrity , villge settlement patterns, rural class structure, land reforms, agrarian unrest.

4. Indian villages undergoing fast change have not brought positive results. Large number of villages suffer from problems like- poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, indebtedness, superstition Progress can be achieved only if the problems solved.

5. INDIA A CLASSIFIED LAND OF VILLAGES Social life of man undergone different stages of development Earliest human communities, loosely organised aggregations of few families for food gathering and defending themselves against enemies. With development of agriculture, these communities had permanent settlement known as village communities Village is oldest permanent community of man All early communities basically rural in character

6. Bogardus : H uman society craddled in rural group. Kropotikin : We do not know one single human race or single nation, which has not had its period of village communities. India is a land of villages Villages constitute back bone of the country immemorial Villages continue to dominate the indian way of life Villages constitute one of the elements of social stucture , caste and joint family Majority of India’s population liveing in more than 5.58 lakh villages

7. VARIED SIZE OF THE VILLAGES Less than 500-village Between 500-2000 Between 2000-5000 Medium size villages constitute half of total villages Uttar pradesh followed by Madhya pradesh , B ihar, Orissa, Maharashtra In S ikhim and Nagaland, smallest number of villages People prefer to settle in villages where they get some land for cultivation, some source of drinking water, friendly physical environment.

8. Causes for the decline in the importance of villages: Denial of financial assistance: - B ritish government never provided any grant to village fund from village revenue Centralisation of administration: -The B ritish established centralised and uniform legal system -It put an end to power and authority of village administration - B ritish courts took over criminal and civil matters.

9. 3. Impact of urbanisation: During British rule, process of urbanisation got momentum Cities became more attractive than villages 4. Introduction of Exploitative Zamindari system: The British introduced Zamindari system A new system of revenue collection. It ruined the villages. Class and caste hatred started.

10. 5. No Sincere Efforts To Revenue Village Panchayats : The British passed Panchayats Acts to revive village Panchayats only for name sake. The Acts remained dead letters. 6. Impact of Industrialisation and technology: Process of industrialisation, technological advancement, transport, communication resulted in rural-urban migration Western culture made people egoistic individualistic This led to group conflicts, factional strife's, caste, class conflicts at the cost of village harmony. Thus self-reliance, self-sufficiency autonomy of villages sacrificed at the alter of british rule.