Important Questions & Answers: Demographic Structure & Indian Society - 3 | Sociology Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Long Answer Type Question

Q.57. What is Social Demography? Give its definitions.

Demography is an English word which is taken from the Greek language. First of all, this word was used by Gulliard, a French Scholar, in 1885. It is the science which studies and analyse the characteristics of the population. In other words, the study of the human population is known as demography.
Different scholars gave different definitions of demography from their own point of views. That is why it is very difficult to reach a common definition of it. But still, some of these definitions are given ahead:

• According to Julliard, “Demography is the mathematical knowledge which studies the same features, material, social, intellectual and moral conditions of the population and in its broadest sense it is a natural and social history of the human race.”
• According to Donald Bogg, “Demography is a mathematical and numerical study of the size of the human population, organization, local distribution and changes which occur in it due to birth and death rate, marriage, migration and fine processes of social mobility.”
• According to Benjamin, “Demography is the related study of increase, development and mobility of the human population in the form of a universe.”
• According to Hwipal, “Demography is the numerical study of human life.”

So on the basis of given definitions, we can say that demography is related to human science which deals with the distribution of the population. Qualitative and quantitative aspects of the population are studied in demography. Many elements could be included in it like the size of the human population, the structure of the population, its local distribution, birth rate, death rate, marriage, immigration, emigration, unemployment, mobility, etc. All these things are part of a demographic study. For example, the size of the population will increase with the increase in birth rate and size of the population will reduce with the increase in the death rate. In this way, all those things could be included in demography which affects distribution and density of population.

Q.58. Which subjects are included in the subject matter of social demography?

• Distribution of Population: Distribution of the population in cities and villages, business and geographical distribution are included in it.
• Size of Population: What is the size of the population, which factors affect the population, birth rate, emigration, immigration, growth rate etc. are included in it?
• Structure of Population: Many subjects related to population are included in it like age and structure, sex ratio, education, level of health.
• Changes in Population: Factors that are responsible for bringing change in the size and structure of the population are included.
• Features of Population: The features of the population and their comparative study are included in it.

From the point of view of the facility of study, the following subjects are also included in it.

• Biological: In this, birth rate, death rate, growth rate, causes of birth and death rate, sex ratio, age-structure, etc. are included.
• Social: Marital status, a form of religion, familial structure, education, caste system etc. are included in it.
• Geographical: Geographical distribution of population and their causes are included in it.
• Economic: In this, the status of employment and unemployment, living standard, income-level, quality of eatable things and their distribution, mobility of the population, the formation of the division of labour, the ability of population are included in it.

The subject of demography has got more importance since 1954 because its scope is increasing day by day.

Q.59. Give the main features of National Population Policy-1976 and National Population Policy-2000.

India’s population has increased rapidly after 1947 because of the improvement of health services and a reduced rate of death. Yet birth rate was also reduced but not at the same pace as the death rate. That is why the National Population Policy was made which is given below.
National Population Policy 1976. On 25 June 1975, the then Prime Minister declared an emergency in the country that remained till 1977. During an emergency, the National Population Policy was announced.

• Minimum age of marriage for girls was increased from 15 years to 18 years and it was also increased for boys from 18 years to 21 years.
• The government especially tried to raise the literacy rate of women.
• Compensation for sterilization of male and females for family planning was increased.

The government started the process of sterilization with great pace and took advantage of emergency in the country. Hundreds of thousands of people were sterilized even against their wish. Around 8.2 million people were sterilized during this time period which is a record in itself.
National Population Policy 2000:- Government consulted different voluntary organisations, scholars, government machinery and those people who were interested in demography and made National Population Policy 2000 whose main aims are given below:-

• To bring down infant mortality rate up to 30 per thousand.
• To bring down the death of pregnant women up to 100 per lakh.
• To encourage the late marriage of girls.
• To register all the births, deaths, marriages and pregnancies.
• To give information, services and consultancy of types of delivery to all the people.
• To know new ways of prevention of pregnancy and to give this information to the people.
• To take steps for free and compulsory education for the children up to the age of 14 years.
• To stop spreading of AIDS.
• To maintain a balance between family planning and people-centred programmes.

So the main aim of both the policies was to bring down population growth. It has been said that around 25 crore children were stopped to take birth between 1976-2000.

Q.60. Explain briefly about the achievements of Indian Population Policy.

Some of the achievements of Indian population policy are given below:-

• Decline in Birth Rate: Population after independence has increased rapidly due to the decline in the death rate. The government also tried to reduce the birth rate with the death rate. That is why population policy was prepared. Birth rate, in 1951, was 40 per thousand but it reduced to 19.8 per thousand in 2011. In this way, the decline in birth rate is the main achievement of this programme.
• Decline in Death Rate: Very fewer health services were available before independence because of foreign rule. After independence, our own government tried to maintain health services because of which death rate was reduced. The death rate, in 1951, was 27.4 per thousand but it came down to 7.8 per thousand in 2011. This rate is less as compared to all the other developing countries.
• Life Expectancy: Life expectancy was very less before Independence due to non-availability of health services. But after Independence health services were increased and efforts were made to control the population. That is why life expectancy was doubled.
  Life expectancy was 32 years in 1951, but it rose sharply and came to 66 years in 2011. One thing should be kept in mind that life expectancy is more among females as compared to males.
• Sterilization: Sterilization is one of the good, popular and non-dangerous methods of population control. It is just like a small operation with which power of fertility of the person comes to an end. This number was 7153 in 1953 which became 18 lakh in 1967¬68, 80 lakh in 1976-77 and reached up to 6 crores in 1999-2000.
• Decline in Infant Mortality Rate: The infant mortality rate has been reduced to half from 1947 to today. This rate was 146 in 1956 and it came down to 70 in 2001.

Thus, we can say that the Indian government has started many programmes to control the population and has got some success in it. Yet the birth rate is higher as compared to the death rate but still, the government is trying to reduce the birth rate.

Q.61. Describe Malthus’s theory of population growth and the theory of demographic transition.

(a) Malthus’ theory of population growth: One of the most famous theories of demography is related to the English political economist, Thomas Robert Malthus. He was of the view that the human population tends to grow at a much faster rate than the rate at which the human subsistence can grow. Therefore, humanity is condemned to live in poverty forever because the growth of agricultural production will always be overtaken by population growth.
Because population growth is always more than the growth in production of subsistence resources, the only way to increase prosperity is by controlling the growth of population. But humans have very limited methods to voluntarily reduce the growth of population. Malthus was of the view that positive checks to population growth are in the form of famines and diseases. These were inevitable because they were nature’s way of dealing with the imbalance between food supply and increasing population.

According to Malthus, there are two checks of population control:-

• Positive Checks: Those checks which are implemented by nature are called positive checks. That is why the death rate increases. For example, war, epidemic, earthquake, famine, tsunami, flood etc. These natural checks are very painful but they reduce the population to a great extent. These checks are not permanent.
• Preventive Checks: These types of checks are the efforts made by humans. There are divided into two parts-morality and prevention through artificial means. In moral checks person uses his mental level to control the population. According to Mathus, moral checks are good but artificial checks are against religion.

(b) Theory of demographic transition: One of the significant theories in demography is the theory of demographic transition. This theory says that population growth is directly related to the overall levels of economic development and generally every society follows a typical pattern of development related to population growth. Three basic phases of population growth are there. The first phase is that of low population growth in an underdeveloped and technologically backward society. Growth rate here is low because the death rate and birth rate both are very high. That is why the difference between both or net growth rate is low.
The third phase is also one of low growth in a developed society where both the birth rate and death rate have been reduced to a great extent and there is very less difference between the two. But there is second or the transitional stage between the two, which is a movement from a backward to an advanced stage. This stage has a feature of very high rates of growth of population.
The transitional phase is related to population explosion because the death rate is brought down very quickly through better nutrition, public health and advanced methods of disease control. But birth rate does not reduce to such an extent and that is the reason why growth rate goes very high. Many countries are struggling to reduce the birth rate in keeping with the falling death rate.

Q.62. Explain the different characteristics of Rural Society.

• Agriculture main occupation: The main occupation of rural society is either agriculture or any of the related work because they are very closely related to nature. Because of their close relationship to nature, their views towards life are very much different. Yet, many other occupations, like carpenter, blacksmith, etc. are there in villages but they also make tools related to agriculture.
• Simple Life. Life of rural people is very simple: People in ancient rural societies used to do a lot of hard work to fulfil their needs and they were very much away from leisures of life due to this hard work. People engaged their children in agricultural works because they were unaware of the merits of education. They have any mental conflicts and problems. They are always ready to help each other in their problems.
• Scarcity of population and homogeneity: The population of villages is very less as compared to the urban areas. People live in small groups in villages. There are very fewer occupations in rural areas except for agriculture because of which people like to go to cities to earn money and that is the reason why the population in villages is very less. People have close relations with each other and their views are also the same due to the same occupation.
• Importance of neighbourhood: The neighbourhood is of great importance in rural society. The main occupation of the people is agriculture in which they get enough time at hand. People meet, talk and co-operate with each other. People have very close relations with their neighbours. Neighbours generally are of the same caste because of which their status is also same. People generally respect their neighbours.
• Control of family: A person is in complete control of the family in rural societies. Generally, patriarchal families are there in the villages and every type of decision of the family is taken by the head of the family. Division of labour in villages is being done on the basis of sex. Males either do farming or move out of the house to earn money and females take care of the house. The joint family system is there in villages and person adopts the traditional occupation of the family. Every member of the family works with others and that is why they have community feeling among them. Family is known as the primary group.
• Common culture: People of a village are not the outsiders who come to live in the village but are the original inhabitants of that village and that’s why their culture is common. Their culture, rituals, traditions, customs etc. are also common. That’s why they live with each other in a peaceful atmosphere. They have unity among themselves.

Q.63. What is meant by the Urban Community? What are its definitions? Explain them.

Urban areas and people living in urban areas are rapidly increasing. More than 5,000 cities and towns are there in our country. Life of the people of urban areas has been greatly affected due to this increasing population. People of the middle class and higher class have been able to fulfil their needs but it has become very difficult for people of lower classes to fulfil their needs.

In simple words, the city is a formally spread community which is determined on the basis of living standard of the people living in any specific area and on the basis of urban characteristics. Word ‘city* is an English word that has the Latin language ‘civitas’ that means citizenship. In the same way, the English word ‘urban’ which has come out of a Latin word ‘urbs’ which also means city. To understand the exact meaning of the city, it is necessary for us to look at the definitions of this word given by different scholars. These are given below:

Definitions on the basis of population. According to the Census Bureau of America, the city is that place with a population of 25,000 or more. In the same way, Egypt has the limit of 11,000 and France has the limit of 2,000 for any place to be called a city. In India, a community of population more than 5,000 is known as an Urban area where the density of population is 400 or more and where 75% or more than 75% of people are engaged in non-agricultural occupations.

Definitions on the basis of occupations. The area is considered an Urban area where the main occupation of the people is not agriculture.

• According to Willcox, “The cities included all districts in which the density of population per square mile is more than 1,000 and where there is practically no agriculture.”
• According to Bergal, “City is an institution whose most of the citizens are engaged in other industries except agriculture.”
• According to Anand Kumar, “Urban community is a complex community of secondary relation with more population, based primarily on occupational and environmental differences.”
• According to Lewis Mumford, “City is that centre where more and more power of community and concentration of culture is there.”
• According to Louis Wirth, “In the city, people with many social differences are living in an area with more concentration of population.”

So on the basis of these definitions, we can say that the urban communities are those which are large in size, where secondary relations are of great importance, where a number of occupations are there and where the features like division of labour, specialisation and social mobility exist.

Q.64. What are the differences between rural and urban societies? Write in detail.

• Difference between family: Families in rural societies have complete control over the members because of which families are of great importance in villages. Very close relations are there among the members of a rural family. The joint family system exists in rural societies because their main occupation is agriculture and this occupation needs a number of people. All the members of the family have to obey the orders of the head of the family. Families in villages are patriarchal and the life of the person depends upon the thinking and decisions of the whole family.
  But urban societies stand in contrast, where the family has very less control on its members: Generally, nuclear families exist in cities and very few joint families are there. Status of women in the urban family is very high as compared to rural areas but formal relations are there among the members of the family. Family, in cities, does not fulfil all the needs of the person but his needs are being fulfilled by many other means Females are working in offices and children are brought up in creches. Functions of urban families are very much opposed to that of rural families.
• Difference between neighbourhood: Importance of neighbour in urban societies is very less. People in cities belong to different places, religions, castes etc. and hardly know anything about each other. Life of people is very much busy, that’s why they don’t have time to keep any type of relations with their neighbours.
  Neighbourhood in rural society is considered as a primary group. Neighbourhood in villages gets enough importance because of the fact that people need each other’s cooperation in their daily fife. People of the village belong to the same caste, religion and economic class because of which they are very much close to each other.
• Difference in occupation. Many types of occupations exist in urban society. Occupation is not generally forced on a person but is chosen according to the individual’s ability. Division of labour and specialization are in great demand in urban society.
  The main occupation of the people of the village is generally agriculture and many other related works. Very limited occupations are there in villages during the last century. Generally, people used to adopt the occupation of agriculture or any other related work.
• Difference in the density of population. The density of population in urban areas is too much because people come from far off places and start to live here. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, etc., many people are living only in one room. People are coming out of their villages in search of a job and go to the city.
  But the population in villages is very less because of which density of population is also very low. The main occupation of the people is agriculture because of which enough land is required for them.
• Difference in the status of women. Status of females, in cities, is just like males. Girls are given higher education so that they are able to become economically self-dependent. Female is not restricted only to the four walls of the house but she also has a social status. She is very much independent to take her own decisions. Even males are working under females in some places. Important decisions of the family are being taken with the advice of female. Even family asks for her decision regarding marriage. In this way, her status is higher in urban areas.
  But the status of women in rural society is very low. She doesn’t have any type of freedom. She is restricted only to the four walls of the house. Very less education is generally given to her. Her work is restricted only to take care of the children and the family.

Q.65. Explain briefly about the scope of social demography.

Scope of Demography. Two points of views are there regarding the scope of social demography i.e. wider point of view and narrow point of view. Vans, Murrey and Spengler are the main exponents of a wider point of view and Burkley, Thompson and Lewis, Howzer and Dunkin are the main exponents of a narrow point of view. Certain differences are there between both points of views. In the first viewpoint, scholars study humans, their families and groups. The second point of view studies systems made by humans, their culture and social system. Usually, the deductive method is used in demography but now researchers have started using the inductive method. Demography can be divided into two parts.

• Formal demographic processes in which the processes of birth, death, marriage, divorces are included.
• Informal demographic processes in which age group, sex ratio, size and composition of the population are included.

Economic and social problems related to population are included in informal demography. These days informal demography has been changed into social demography because now demography is developing gradually into a particular subject. Size, distribution, the composition of the population, socio and economic factors are also included in its scope. Demography also studies socio-economic causes of change.
Bases of social demography are social processes and these bases regulate the social structures. In social processes, social and cultural exchange, values, customs, beliefs, education, familial structure, mobility, class, caste, marriage, occupations, kinships etc. are included. Sociologists who study social demography, he directly or indirectly also studies about the given concepts.

Q.66. Tell us something about the changing demographic position of India.

To understand the changing demographic position of India, it is necessary to understand the following factors:

• Birth and Death Rate: It is necessary to know about birth and death rate if we want to know something about the population of any country. This difference in birth and death rate tells us about an increase or decrease in population.
  (i) The birth rate has been reduced after independence but the death rate has also been reduced to a great extent due to better health services. Until 1951, the death rate was more because of which growth of population was very less. But during 1951-1991, the birth rate started reducing very slowly as compared to the death rate. The death rate has come in control. The death rate was 11.4 in 1991 which came down up to 9.0 in 2001 but the birth rate was 27 at the same time. That is why population growth was also higher. The birth rate in 2011 was 20.97% and the death rate was 7.48%.
• Life Expectancy: Life expectancy is the possibility of a life of persons, in general conditions, who were born in a particular time period. According to the Human Development Report, life expectancy age was 77.7 years in 1997 in developed countries, 64.4 years in developing countries and it was 51.7 years in under-developed countries. Average life expectancy in India in the year 2011 was 66.8 years.
  (i) Life expectancy in India during 1911-21 was only 20 years which was increased up to 32 years in 1951. After independence, medical services were improved because of which it was increased to a great extent. It was 62.5 years in 2001.
• Sex Ratio: Meaning of sex ratio is how many females are there behind 1000 males. In 2001, 49.6 crore females were there for 53.1 crore males. From this, it is clear that females were less than males. During 1901-2000, the general sex ratio has been reduced. Yet, the number of females increased in 1991, 2001 and even in 2011. Kerala is the only state in India where this ratio is in favour of females. Kerala has 1084 females for 1000 males. This ratio is 1000:1031 in Puducherry. In 2011, Haryana’s sex ratio was 877 and Chandigarh’s sex ratio was 818 which is the lowest.
• Literacy: Literacy is not only a necessary element of demographic structure but it is also a symbol of human development of a country. Literacy rate in India at the beginning of this century was very low and it increased very slowly till 1947. Literacy rate in 1901 was 5.35% out of which 9.83% males and 0.60% females. In 1951, this rate was 27.16% for males and 8.86% for females and the overall rate was 18.33%. During the time period of 1951-2001, this literacy rate was increased from 18.33% to 65.38%. According to the Census Survey of 2001, 75.85% males and 54.16% of females were educated and in 2011, this rate was changed to 82.1% and 65.5% respectively. This difference is decreasing day by day. According to the Census of 2001 and 2011, Kerala and Lakshadweep have the highest rate of literacy.
• Population Density: Population Density shows the ratio of land and population. Meaning of population density is the number of persons living in one square km. According to the Census of 2011, it was 382 persons per square km. In 2001, it was 324 and in 1991, it was 267. Some states of the country have a higher density of population and some have lower density. West Bengal, in 2011, was the highest among all the states in 1028 and Arunachal Pradesh was the lowest of all at 17. Delhi’s density of population was 11320 and it was 46 in Andaman and Nicobar.
• Rural and urban population: Knowledge of rural and urban population is necessary to understand the demographic structure of the country. The population of urban areas has increased rapidly during 1901-2011.
  (i) Only 10.8% of people were living in cities in 1901. In 1951, 82.7% of people were living in villages and 17.3% in cities. It became 72.2% and 27.5% in 2001 and in 2011, it was 68.84% and 31.16% respectively. From this data, it is clear that people are migrating towards urban areas. In 2001, Goa was the first state where the most numbers of people (49.77%) were living in cities. In Himachal Pradesh, only 9.79% of people were living in urban areas.
• Age structure: The age structure of the country shows an interesting picture of the population. According to the Census Survey of 1991, 36% population was of children up to the age of 14 years. 57% of people were of the age group of 15-59 years and 7% of people were of the age of 60 years and above. From different censuses, it is clear that age group up to 14 years is decreasing continuously and a population of 60 years and above is increasing. It is because of the increasing age of life expectancy.
• Religion: Followers of many religions live all over India. In 1961, Hindus were 83.5% but they were reduced to 79.5% in 2011. Hindus are decreasing but Muslims were 10.7% in 1961 and became 13.2% in 2011. So during the time period of 1961-1991, Hindus decreased up to 1% but Muslims increased up to 1%. Christians and Jains also reduced during this time period but Sikh and Buddhist population has been increasing at the same time.
  So, we can see that Indian demography is constantly changing.

Q.67. Give the main features of population policy of India.

India’s population has crossed the mark of 121 crores. It comes next to China. It has been said that if the Indian population will increase with this rate then it will cross China by the year 2020. Indian Government is very much worried about this aspect.

That is why it has made many population policies from time to time. Main features of all these policies are given below:

• Reduction of Birth Rate: The death rate, from 1947 till today, has been reduced to a great extent. To stop the growth of population, it is necessary that the birth rate should also be reduced. So many direct and indirect methods are used while keeping in mind this thing. Indirect methods are reducing poverty, the spread of education among females and increasing literacy rate and direct method is family planning. Determination of age of marriage can also lead to the reduction of birth rate.
• Wider scope: Scope of the subject of population policy is very wide. It includes methods of population control and other programmes like the health of mothers and infants, etc. This programme is developing within the programme of family planning.
• Voluntary policy: The population policy adopted by the Indian government is a voluntary policy whose main aim is to control the population with the help of masses. People are told about the advantages of the small family under this programme and they are motivated to reduce the birth rate.
• Different methods: The main aim of these policies is to reduce the birth rate and different methods are used in it. People are being informed about population control in family planning centres so that no problem should come to them while using these methods.
• Propaganda: Family planning programme was started at a large scale. People are given related things either free of cost or at very less price. With this, this programme is propagated through Doordarshan, T.V., Radio, magazines, newspapers, books, etc. Doctors and nurses are being given special training so that they can inform the people about these programmes.
• Organisation and Research: Money related to family planning programme is being given by the central government but this programme is implemented by state governments. People are being told about methods to reduce the birth rate and research related to this programme is still going on.

Q.68. What were the shortcomings of the population policy of India? Also, give some suggestions for better results.

• High Birth Rate: Indian Government has spent billions of rupees in the last 50 years on the programmes of family planning. Even this amount increases in every budget but the birth rate has been reduced only to 19.8 per 1000 from 41 per 1000 in a square km. This rate is 10 per 1000 in developed countries like the U.S.A., Japan, etc.
• Low Life Expectancy: Life expectancy was 32 years in 1951 in India which was increased to 66 years in 2011 due to health services. This is 68 years in some countries, 78 years in developed countries and 64 in developing countries, which is higher than in India. So, even after the increase in life expectancy, this is less as compared to other countries.
• High Infant Mortality Rate: The infant mortality rate is very high in India. This rate is 98 in India for the age of below 5 years but the 138 other countries have less infant mortality rate than India. Even some countries have infant mortality rate less than 10.
• It remained a Government Programme: Family welfare and family planning programmes are completely financed by the central government but they are implemented by state governments. But even after such a long time, these programmes are unable to associate themselves with general masses. As a result of this, people take it as a governmental programme and hardly associate with it.
• More concentration on expenditure: One of the drawbacks of population policy of India is that the government officials concentrate only on the expenditure of finance which is available for these programmes. They hardly care about the fact on which section this money is being spent and whether this expenditure is necessary or not.

Except this, illiteracy of the people, poverty, hesitation towards these programmes also became one of the reasons for drawbacks of these programmes.

Suggestions For Better Results

The following suggestions could be given to achieve better results in this programme:

• Youngsters should be motivated for late marriage so that they could be mature enough and should be able to understand the drawbacks of more children.
• Females should participate in economic activities, except household work, so that they could become economically independent and should take their own decisions regarding the size of the family.
• To achieve 100% literacy rate so that people should be able to understand governmental programmes.
• This programme should be implemented on those groups or castes which have higher birth rate so that their birth rate could be reduced.
• Complete registration of marriages, birth and death rate so that government should get complete data.
• Methods of family planning could be propagated through means of communication so that people could be able to understand them.

Q.69. What is the Rural Society? Explain its definitions.
Or
What is meant by Rural Community? What are its definitions?

India is a rural country in which most of the population lives in villages. The rural area is that area where technique is scarcely used, importance is given to primary relations, which is small in size and where most of the population depends upon agriculture. Rural culture is very much different from urban culture. Yet the rural and urban cultures are not the same but they both are very much inter-related. It is very much different from urban society due to many factors yet it is a part of the whole society. Many of its factors like economic, geographical, social etc. differentiate it from urban society. Many scholars have tried to define it and its description is given below:-
Definitions

• According to A.R. Desai, “The village is the unit of rural society. It is the theatre wherein the quantum of rural life unfolds itself and functions.”
• According to R.N. Mukherji, “A village is that community which is characterized by relative homogeneity, informality, prominence of primary groups, the lesser density of population and agriculture as the main occupation.”
• According to Peake, “The village community consists of a group of the related or unrelated persons larger than a single or unrelated person larger than a single-family, occupying a large house or a number of dwellings placed close together, sometimes irregularly, sometimes in a street and cultivating, originally in common, a number of arable fields, dividing the available meadowland between them and pasturing their cattle upon the surrounding wasteland, over which the community claims rights as far as the boundaries of adjacent communities.”

Thus, we can say that the rural community is that community which lives at a definite place, is small in size, which have very close primary relations. People know each other with great proximity and their main occupation is either agriculture or other related work.

Q.70. What are the changes coming in Rural Society? Explain them.
Or
What are transformations that took place in the rural society in post-Independent India? 

• Decreasing rural-urban differences: There were a number of differences in rural and urban societies during earlier times. But these differences between both societies are decreasing day by day. It is not so because rural people imitate the styles of urban people but it is so because the relations of rural and urban people are increasing due to the open market economy. They are selling their produce in the cities and are adopting new occupations. Their relations with outsiders are increasing and their way of living, eating, wearing, thinking, etc. are changing according to the urban people. Rural people are getting every type of urban facility due to developed means of transport. The lifestyle of urban areas is improving due to the mobility of occupation and rural-urban differences are decreasing.
• Decreasing difference in the area: The most important change which came in rural society is that the difference between the village and the city is decreasing. Cities are moving towards villages and villages are coming closer to cities. Means of transport, roads, the spread of education and means of communication have brought villages closer to the urban areas. Now rural people are also moving very quickly towards cities. They work in cities and commute daily.
• Changes in the structure of agriculture and the marketing of agriculture. With the advent of science and technology and with the opening up of agricultural institutions, the structure of agriculture has been completely changed. With the advent of new machines like tractors, thrashers, etc., increased facilities of irrigation, development of irrigation through rivers and drips, the advent of new seeds and with the development of markets, agriculture has reached the market level from subsistence level. Now, agriculture is not being done to fulfil the needs but is being done to earn the profit. Now, the exchange of things with money has taken place of exchange of things. Agricultural produce is 4 times a year. Production has been increased to a great extent. Now, India exports food grains instead of importing them.
• Decreasing impact of religion: Religion had a great influence on the mindset of rural people in ancient times. Every activity of agriculture was according to religion and it is not seen today. In earlier times, many trees, animals, etc. were considered as sacred but now this influence has been reduced. Religious beliefs, customs of rural people have been completely changed.
• Change in the rural social structure: Marx was of the view that social change comes with the change in economic structure. With the commercialisation and mechanisation of agriculture, not only people have become economically better but changes are also coming in old relations. Joint families are disintegrating, changes are coming in the division of labour, social values are deteriorating, mental tension is increasing, changes are coming in the status of women, etc. There are many aspects in which we can see many changes. Time of rituals at the time of birth, marriage, death, etc. is decreasing, Jajmani system no more prevails, the effect of social kinship is decreasing, the importance of the primary group is also decreasing.
• Increasing impact of science: The land was considered as sacred in rural areas. Agriculture was done while keeping in mind the time of sowing. But now old beliefs are no more. Farmer is not a scientist but is using the new scientific methods and no more believes in age-old customs. Earlier, people were afraid of using chemical manures to their land but now they are using more and more fertilizers and machines so that the production could be increased.

Q.71. Explain briefly the various characteristics of urban society.

• Large population: A most important feature of urban society is the large number of people living and more density of population. Meaning of density of population is how many people are living per square kilometre. Cities can be divided into different classes on the basis of more or less population like small cities, medium cities and metropolitan cities. The population of the metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, etc. is more than one crore but the population of 13 states of India is less than one crore. Industrial houses, educational institutions, business centres and commerce centres are more in cities because of which the density of population is more in cities. Because of more population, many problems arise in cities like poverty, unemployment, crime, starvation, slums, etc.
• Fewer places of living: Another important feature of cities is the lack of a place of living. It is so because of the more population of cities. It is a very serious problem in large cities. Many poor people are living on roadsides or under the trees or in slums. Middle-class families are living in small houses in cities where there is no place to play for children and where there is no separate room for them to sleep and study.
• Secondary and formal relations: The most important feature of urban society is a large number of population. People do not have direct or face to face relations due to this large number of population. People in cities have formal relations with each other. A person establishes relations with other persons whenever any need arises.
• Different occupations: Cities are developed on the basis of different occupations. Many industries, occupations and institutions exist in cities because of which different people are engaged in different types of occupations. Doctors, managers, engineers, specialised labourers, non-specialised labourers, and thousands of occupations exist in urban areas. More population is necessary for the needs of these different occupations.
• Division in economic classes: Not much importance is given to the caste, religion and occupation of the person in urban areas. But the population in cities is divided into economic classes on an economic basis. Population, in cities, is not divided only in two classes of capitalists and labourers but many other small classes and sub-classes exist in cities on the basis of their economic status. The difference between higher and lower classes also exists.
• Competition: Every person, in cities, gets enough chances to progress in every sector. We can find literate and able persons, in cities, in large number. That’s why too much competition is there in cities whether it is to get admission in educational institutions, to get a job and to get promotion in the job. Competition has been increased to a great extent.

Q.72. Read the passage and answer the following questions:-
Hospital deliveries on the rise, maternal deaths dip New Delhi: Institutional deliveries, where children are delivered at health centres or hospitals have picked up in India over the last five odd years, around 60 lakh infants were born in safe confines of health care centres in 2010-11 as compared to 2005-06.
Experts say one main reason for this spurt is the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), which was launched in April 2005 to reduce India’s shamefully high maternal and infant mortality rates. The JSY promoted institutional delivery among would-be mothers by providing cash assistance.
Emboldened, the Ministry has launched the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) this year. The initiative entitles all would-be mothers free delivery, free drugs and free diagnostics.
(i) What are the entitlements given under the JSSK?

The entitlements which are given under the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) are all the would-be mothers would be given free delivery system, free drugs and free diagnostics.

(ii) What were the possible reasons behind an improvement in low maternal and infant mortality rates during 2005-2011? What were the outcomes?

• The major reason behind an improvement in low maternal and infant mortality rates during 2005-2011 is institutional deliveries where children are delivered at health centres or hospitals which were picked up during the last five to six years in India.
• The programme of Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) which was launched in April 2005 to reduce India’s shameful high maternal and infant mortality rates.
• In the year of 2011, Central Govt, launched a new programme called Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK). The initiative entitles all the mothers would be given free delivery system, the mother’s free drugs and free diagnostics.