The social problems of modern India

India has become an independent country, more than a half century ago. Our population has trebled after independence. This explosion has affected our development adversely. In recent times, corruption in different walks of life has grown tremendously. This has seriously undermined our progress and social life. Every society continues to changes with time. The process of shredding the old and accepting the new dispensation creates problems of adjustment. Our country is also confronted with some major social problems.

However, there are many areas in which Indian society is experiencing a variety of problems. Some of these problems have their roots in our colonial past while others are related to demographic changes, socio-political conditions and cultural processes. For example… We all have heard about the term illiteracy, 35% people of our country are illiterate even after 62 years of our independence.

Some of the major social problems of modern India are:-

POVERTY

RACISM

CORRUPTION

FEMALE FOETICIDE

DOWRY

HONOR KILLING

GENDER DISCRIMINATION

POVERTY

A large section of the Indian society is suffering from poverty. Poverty is a phenomenon which is objective as well a subjective. Objectively poverty implies a dehumanizing condition in which people are unable to look after the basic needs. Subjectively poverty stands for Perceived deprivation. Poor people lack the necessary resources and capacity to satisfy basic needs like food, shelter, health and education. They live under difficult conditions which are not conducive for development of their human potential. Poverty interferes with development in many ways. For instance lack of or inadequate nutrition arrests mental development during early childhood. A large section of poor children do not go to school. Even if they go they become drop outs and fail to complete education.

CAUSES OF POVERTY ARE:-

SOCIAL CAUSE:

ECONOMIC CAUSE:

POLITICAL CAUSE:

REIGIOUS CAUSE:

PHYSICAL CAUSES:

CORRUPTION

Corruption is an act by someone who is ready to do dishonest and illegal things in return of money or for something else they want, or behave in a way what is considered morally wrong. Corruption in our country is all pervasive and omnipresent. India is largest democracy of world. It is the second populous country of the world. India had cherished honesty, morality and also high values from time immemorial. With passage of time and fast socio-economic changes in the country, corruption has affected all walks of life. In our country corruption is existing in every sphere of life.

CAUSES OF CORRUPTION:

A number of causes are associated with the prevalence of corruption in our society. Some of them are — to make illegal things legal on the basis of bribe or commission, to acquire more and more wealth and consumer goods, high aspirations from jobs, to enhance status in the society, to pay dowry, to meet expenditure on technical and higher education of children, to get required no. for constituting and running the government, to collect money for fighting election, etc.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Women and men are equally important for the growth and development of individual and Social lives. The women play the important role as mother and the same makes it unique. However, careful analysis of Indian society indicates that the situation is not good for Women folk. The sex ratio of male and female in the India population has been changing and becoming unfavorable towards women. In the Indian society women are considered major contributors to family and society. We have gods and goddesses both and one of the incarnation of lord Shiva is Ardhanareeshwar, which is made of half male and half female in its constitution.

CAUSES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION ARE:

Religion, family law, education, workplace discrimination, physical factors.

RACISM

Racism is the belief that race is a primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Or, on the opposite side, racism can be described as the belief that a certain race or races portray undesirable characteristics . In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or receive preferential treatment. Racial discrimination typically points out taxonomic differences between different groups of people, although anyone may be discriminated against on an ethnic or cultural basis, independently of their somatic differences.

CAUSES OF RACISM:

Stereotypes: One of the most common causes of racism is stereotypes. Through television, through radio, through the internet, through music, through books, and the like, the potential for stereo types to build are a definite possibility.

Unfamiliarity: Another very common, and probably the most common cause of racism is unfamiliarity. People fear what they do not know or understand. If someone hasn’t grown up around a particular race before, then there is more of a chance the person can be racist toward that particular group.

Selfishness: Selfishness is another obvious cause of racism. Humans are sometimes very selfish creatures caring only about their own at the expense of others. If individuals aren’t taught how to respect others, then the potential

DOWRY

Dowry System in Indian Marriages can be called the commercial aspect of the marriage. The practice of giving dowry was very common among all people of all nations. A girl gets all the domestic utensils that are necessary to set up a family. Dowry system in India was prevalent since the Vedic period. In Epic period gifts from parents, brothers and relatives and relatives were recognized as woman`s property-stridhan. According to Kautilya “Means of subsistence or jewellery constitutes what is called the property of the woman. it is no guilt for a wife to make use of this property in maintaining her son her daughter-in-law or herself if her absent husband has made no provision for her maintenance”.

CAUSES OF DOWRY SYSTEM:

The poverty in India.

The low status of woman in past.

The orthodox mentality of the people in past.

FEMALE FOETICIDE

The killing of women exists in various forms in societies the world over. However, Indian society displays some unique and particularly brutal versions, such as dowry deaths and sati. Female foeticide is an extreme manifestation of violence against women. Female foetuses are selectively aborted after pre-natal sex determination, thus avoiding the birth of girls. As a result of selective abortion, between 35 and 40 million girls and women are missing from the Indian population. In some parts of the country, the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than 800:1,000. The United Nations has expressed serious concern about the situation.

CAUSES OF FEMALE FOETICIDE:

Dowry system where parents of the bride have to pay the groom’s family to marry their daughter. Higher the dowry, better the chances of a girl getting married. Of course, an unmarried girl is a blot on a family’s honor, which leads me to my next point.

Misplaced archaic cultural (nonsense) of girls being the ‘honor’ of the family. Sadly, this is true for a majority of cultures around the world, but some take it seriously enough to resort to murderous acts for the sake of ‘honor’ that is driven by super-sized inflatable male chauvinist egos.

Girls don’t propagate family name and neither does the family property stay in the same family.

HONOR KILLING

An honor killing or honour killing (also called a customary killing) is the murder of a (female) family or clan member by one or more fellow (mostly male) family members, where the murderers (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonor upon the family, clan, or community. This perceived dishonor is normally the result of:-

(a) Utilizing dress codes unacceptable to the family.

(b) Wanting out of an arranged marriage or choosing to marry by own choice.

(c) Engaging in certain sexual acts or.

(d) Engaging in relations with the same sex.

These killings result from the perception that defense of honor justifies killing a person whose behavior dishonors their clan or family.

TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Steps Taken development by Government to Reduce Poverty are Small farmer’s development Programme, Drought area development Programme, Minimum needs Programme, Assurance on employment.

The Indian constitution should prohibits against such discrimination and has abolished Untouchability

The citizen of India should strictly follow the rules as considered in the constitution and should not perform the nefarious acts like female foeticide, bride burning, dowry, racism, gender discrimination etc

Women and men should be equally treated for the growth and development of individual and social lives.

Youth should make the organizations that having the agenda to eradicate these social problem in India by spreading awareness and demonstrations.

Government had put forward number of steps for woman empowerment like passing of women reservation bill in Rajya sabha

REFRENCES

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080622064535AAwPN1i

http://www.advancingwomen.com/politics/49842.php

http://nz.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071205033403AAe10lv

http://archive.thepoint.gm/youthf79.htm

http://www.vedamsbooks.com/no21045.htm

http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-economy/growth.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Role_of_youth_in_nation_building

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/india_1900_to_1947.htm

http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/forced-annexation-land-grab-15430

http://arjelito.wordpress.com/