Notes Class 12 Chapter 6 Sociology Maharashtra Board

Social Problems in India

6.1 Meaning and Nature of Social Problems

Individual Problem

• Definition: A problem experienced by an individual, not necessarily felt by others.
• Characteristics:
  • The cause may lie with the individual (e.g., habits, lethargy, personality traits) or external factors (e.g., lack of job opportunities, societal mindsets).
  • The individual must take initiative to resolve it, though external support (family, friends, professionals) may be needed.
  • Solving individual problems requires self-motivation but can be challenging without help.

Social Problem

• Definition: A condition affecting a significant number of people, seen as undesirable and requiring collective action to address.
• Key Definitions:
  • Fuller and Myers: A condition defined by many as a deviation from cherished social norms.
  • Broom and Selznick: A problem in human relationships threatening society or impeding aspirations.
  • Horton and Leslie: A condition considered undesirable by many, solvable through collective action.
• Characteristics:
  • Involves behavior unacceptable to many, violating social norms or aspirations.
  • Prompts a need for collective action to resolve.
• Focus: This chapter examines prevalent social problems in 21st-century India, including ageing, unemployment, farmers’ suicide, domestic violence, and addiction.

6.2 Ageing

Definition

• Hess: An inevitable and irreversible biological process.
• Birren and Renner: Regular changes in mature organisms as they advance in chronological age.
• Chronological Age: Measured by years lived since birth; in India, 60+ years is considered the ageing population (per Census of India).

Characteristics (Strehler)

1. Universal: Occurs in all members of a population, unlike diseases.
2. Progressive: A continuous process.
3. Intrinsic: Internal to the organism.
4. Degenerative: Leads to deterioration over time.

Context in India

• Increasing ageing population due to higher longevity and lower mortality.

Problems of Ageing

1. Health Concerns:
   • Physical: Deterioration of body parts (e.g., dental, bones, heart, vision).
   • Mental: Feelings of alienation, anxiety, loneliness.
   • Emotional: Issues affecting well-being.
2. Loneliness:
   • Common among single, childless, or isolated elderly.
   • Exacerbated by loss of spouse, inability to perform tasks, or neglect by family/community.
3. Abuse:
   • Physical, emotional, or financial abuse within families or by outsiders.
   • Examples: Forced labor, cruelty, harassment, or abandonment.
4. Economic Insecurity:
   • Many elderly depend on family or limited pensions, particularly in patriarchal setups where sons are expected to provide.
5. Lack of Empathy:
   • Busy lifestyles and materialistic priorities reduce attention to elderly needs.
   • Caregivers may use coercive methods or fail to understand their issues.
6. Mental Health Issues:
   • Anxiety, depression, guilt, or feeling like a burden.
   • Social stigma around seeking professional help persists.
7. Inadequate Healthcare:
   • Limited access to treatment for conditions like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, or mental health disorders.
8. Lack of Old Age Homes:
   • Insufficient facilities, often unaffordable or lacking basic amenities.
9. Weaker Sections:
   • Women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and disabled elderly face compounded challenges due to societal biases.
10. Exploitation:
    • Dependency increases vulnerability to exploitation in personal or financial matters.

Measures to Address Ageing Problems

1. Government Role:
   • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment formulates policies and collaborates with states, NGOs, and civil society.
2. National Policy on Older Persons (NPOP, 1999):
   • Focuses on well-being through shelters, healthcare, sensitization programs, and protection for vulnerable groups.
3. Inter-Ministerial Committee:
   • Ensures effective implementation of NPOP across ministries.
4. NGOs:
   • Organizations like HelpAge India, Dignity Foundation, and Nightingales Medical Trust provide support.
   • Online communities also offer assistance.
5. Education:
   • Schools can promote awareness through community service, NSS, and SUPW, fostering empathy and care for the elderly.
6. Family Role:
   • Create an enriching, respectful home environment, involving elderly in family and community activities.

6.3 Unemployment

Definition

• Refers to people aged 15-59 who are jobless, actively seeking work, and available for jobs.
• NSSO (PLFS, 2018): Rural unemployment at 5.3%, urban at 7.8%, overall at 6.1%.
• Unemployed: Those with less than 14 hours of paid work per week.

Causes

1. Inadequate Skills:
   • Mismatch between individual skills and industry needs.
   • Technological advances render some skills obsolete (e.g., manual typing vs. online exams).
2. Frequent Job Shifts:
   • Temporary unemployment during job transitions.
   • Example: Farmers unemployed post-harvest, seeking urban jobs.
3. Changing Economy:
   • Economic fluctuations (e.g., construction sector booms and lulls) affect job availability.
4. Seasonal Shifts:
   • Seasonal employment in agriculture, banking, or shipping leads to periodic unemployment.
   • Monsoon-dependent agriculture causes rural-to-urban migration.
5. Demand-Supply Gap:
   • More job seekers than available positions, especially for white-collar jobs.

Consequences

1. Unutilized Human Resources:
   • Unemployed adults become dependent, straining the working population.
2. Educational Stagnation:
   • Education often fails to equip students with employable skills, wasting resources.
3. Underemployment:
   • Skilled individuals in unrelated or low-skill jobs (e.g., PhD holders working as clerks).
4. Anti-Social Activities:
   • Lack of opportunities may lead to crime or undesirable activities, especially among dropouts.
5. Mental Health Impact:
   • Frustration, depression, or suicidal tendencies due to unemployment.
6. Adverse National Development:
   • High youth unemployment hinders long-term societal progress.

Measures to Tackle Unemployment

1. Educational Reform:
   • Develop need-based, learner-centered curricula aligned with community and industry needs.
2. Skill Development:
   • Focus on employment-worthy skills to foster entrepreneurship (e.g., RUSA initiatives).
3. Vocational Training:
   • Integrate vocational programs at all educational levels (per NEP 2020).
4. Industry-Education Symbiosis:
   • Promote collaborations in fields like science, engineering, and media studies.
5. Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment:
   • Government support for startups (e.g., OLA, Flipkart) encourages self-reliance.
6. Government Schemes:
   • MGNREGS (2009), PMKVY (2015), Startup India (2016).

6.4 Farmers’ Suicide

Context

• India is an agrarian society with over 70% of the population in primary/secondary sectors.
• Rising farmer suicides are a serious social issue, particularly in regions like Vidarbha and Marathwada.

Causes

1. Environmental Deterioration:
   • Deforestation, resource overexploitation, and climate change cause crop failures due to floods or droughts.
2. Impact of Globalization:
   • Free-trade policies lead to dumping of cheap agricultural produce, lowering local prices.
3. Indebtedness:
   • Farmers borrow for seeds, equipment, or personal needs but struggle to repay due to crop failures.
   • Expensive BT cotton seeds and lack of irrigation exacerbate debt.
4. Ignorance:
   • Lack of awareness about modern farming techniques hinders progress.
5. Disparity in Land Holdings:
   • Small and medium farmers face economic insecurity compared to large landholders (zamindars).
   • Landless laborers are most vulnerable.
6. Dowry System:
   • Borrowing for dowry payments diverts funds from agriculture, contributing to debt and suicides.

Consequences

1. Impact on Families:
   • Loss of the main earner causes economic and emotional trauma.
2. Impact on Spouse:
   • Widows often take up hard labor with inadequate skills.
3. Impact on Children:
   • Children may drop out of school, assuming premature responsibilities.
4. Impact on Economy:
   • Suicides deter youth from agriculture, leading to urban migration and reduced agricultural output.
5. Impact on Social Environment:
   • Creates despair, guilt, and fear in farming communities, dampening morale.

Measures to Tackle Farmers’ Suicide

1. Support Systems:
   • Provide aid for crop failures, failed monsoons, or indebtedness.
2. Insurance:
   • Offer life and crop insurance to protect against losses.
3. Direct Sales:
   • Eliminate middlemen to ensure farmers receive fair profits.
4. Water Harvesting:
   • Implement water management to address floods and droughts.
5. Role of Banks:
   • Simplify loan processes and promote savings to reduce reliance on private moneylenders.
6. Multi-Cropping:
   • Encourage growing multiple crops to reduce risks, with government support for seeds and training.

6.5 Domestic Violence

Definition

• Abuse within the family, including psychological, emotional, verbal, or physical torture.
• Involves perpetrators and victims; often unreported due to being seen as a private matter in patriarchal setups.

Causes

1. Patriarchy:
   • Male dominance creates power imbalances, marginalizing women, transgender persons, and children.
2. Insecurity:
   • Male insecurity (e.g., suspicion, ego threats) triggers violence.
3. Dysfunctional Relationships:
   • Personal insecurities, cultural differences, or incompatibility lead to conflicts.
4. Traditional/Religious Outlook:
   • Norms in marriage and family normalize male supremacy, encouraging violence.
5. Heteronormativity:
   • Social expectation of binary gender roles (male/female) leads to discrimination against non-conforming individuals.
6. Vulnerability:
   • Youth, women, elderly, and disabled are exploited due to economic or power disparities.

Consequences

1. Psychological Trauma:
   • Long-term emotional scars requiring counseling or psychiatric care.
2. Unfulfilled Lives:
   • Victims lose hope, develop cynicism, and distrust others.
3. Health Effects:
   • Psycho-somatic disorders (e.g., bed-wetting, depression, irregular menstruation).
4. Perpetration of Abuse:
   • Children exposed to violence may normalize abusive behaviors.
5. Decline in Productivity:
   • Poor mental/physical health reduces individual potential.

Measures to Address Domestic Violence

1. Creating Awareness:
   • Promote that domestic violence is unacceptable through education and rational thinking.
2. Personal Empowerment:
   • Support vulnerable groups via SHGs, NGOs, and social workers.
3. Role of Media:
   • Sensitize public through real-life stories and awareness campaigns.
4. NGOs:
   • Provide legal and emotional support to victims (e.g., women, children, transgender persons).
5. Role of Law:
   • Legal provisions (e.g., Section 377 decriminalization) empower victims.
6. Role of Police:
   • Train police to handle domestic violence sensitively, with specialized women’s units.

6.6 Addiction (Substance, Internet, Mobile)

Definition

• Psychological and/or physical dependence on substances (alcohol, drugs), internet, or mobile phones, leading to withdrawal symptoms and harmful behaviors.

Types of Addiction

1. Substance Addiction:
   • Dependence on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, gutka, whiteners, or narcotics.
   • Tobacco: Nicotine-driven; causes cancers; prevalent across tribal, rural, and urban areas.
   • Alcohol: Depressant slowing brain functions.
   • Whitener: Contains addictive trichloroethane.
   • Gutka: Carcinogenic chewing tobacco.
   • Narcotics: Highly addictive drugs requiring medical supervision.
   • Statistics: 20 million children (10-14 years) addicted to tobacco; 1-5 million heroin addicts in India.
2. Internet Addiction:
   • Compulsive need to access gaming, adult sites, or social media, not for professional purposes.
   • Impacts all age groups; causes stress, health issues, and strained relationships.
3. Mobile Addiction:
   • Obsession with mobile phones (e.g., selfies, social media, gaming).
   • Leads to anxiety, injuries (e.g., distracted driving), and reduced real-world interactions.

Causes

1. Personal Factors:
   • Gradual development of habits (e.g., occasional drinking becoming habitual).
2. Peer Pressure:
   • Friends encourage habits like smoking or drug use to fit in.
3. Social Status:
   • Certain addictions (e.g., narcotics, imported alcohol) are seen as prestigious.
4. Validation of Self:
   • Social media obsession (e.g., “selfitis”) for validation.
5. Psychological Factors:
   • Insecurities, anxiety, or loneliness drive addiction.
6. Inadequate Role Models:
   • Lack of positive influences leads to adopting harmful behaviors.

Consequences

1. Psychological Impact:
   • Dependency and obsession with validation (e.g., social media likes).
2. Impact on Family:
   • Addiction (e.g., alcohol) causes domestic violence or communication breakdowns.
3. Health Impact:
   • Stress, anxiety, or physical ailments (e.g., cancer from tobacco).
4. Work Impact:
   • Reduced efficiency, absenteeism, or workplace harassment.
5. Economic Impact:
   • Financial drain due to addiction costs and treatment.
6. Isolation:
   • Addicts withdraw from social interactions, preferring virtual or substance-based escapes.

Measures to Tackle Addiction

1. Creating Awareness:
   • Educate through programs and camps about addiction risks.
2. Counseling:
   • Professional intervention by psychologists or counselors.
3. De-Addiction Clinics:
   • Centers like Muktangan (Pune) or Jeevan Jyot (Nagpur) offer support.
4. Laws:
   • Enforce anti-smoking laws, age restrictions, and regulations against drug peddling.
5. Mass Media:
   • Use platforms for awareness via helplines, FAQs, and campaigns.
6. NGOs:
   • Organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous provide support.
7. Group Activities:
   • Promote hobbies, sports, or community engagement to reduce isolation.