Causes of Disintegration of Village Communities

Village communities have been self-sufficient and isolated entities. This feature of village communities was further sharpened due to the sheer territorial vastness of the country. Villages are placed at a greater distance from one another for centuries, the Indian villages existed unaltered in the constitution and nature is unaware of the outside world. Unless a new civilization forced them to feel its impact, the new civilization was the companion of foreign political powers which penetrated this country and conquered and ruled. The new civilization that followed the political invasion was a product of the industrialization of the scientific mode of production and it breed a culture that was mostly an outcome of economic relations in the society. These factors proved to be the main reasons for the integration of the Indian village community.

A. Industrialization and Extension of Trade

For many centuries agriculture was the main source which supplied the demands of both rural as well as urban communities all over the world. Cities of the past were more the centers of political power and administration than the centers of industry and trade with the increase of the economic complexities of economic activities of men, especially with the advent of industrial methods of production, cities began to assume the role of industrial and business centers. By industrial method of production, we mean the mechanized way as contrasted to what we may call the cottage industries system of production which implies production by tools.
 

Until the introduction of the industrial method of production in Indian or to be more precisely until the introduction of industrial commodities by the British all commodities of consumption in our villages were either agricultural in origin or were produced by village artisans. The mode of production of the village carpenter o the blacksmith or the weaver cannot be placed even in the category of cottage industries. Thus we can sum up that the entire mode of production in our villages both agricultural and non-agricultural fell under the category of production by tools. This was true of cities but not in the same limited sense.
 

The prevalent mode of production at that time was reflected in the nature and characteristics of the then-Indian village commodities and in the lives of the people who lived there. The villages were self-contained, self-supporting, and isolated centers, and the general way of life there was marked for its simplicity, contentment, and closeness to nature. Our farmer was a retiring contemplative fellow unaware of the ways and mods of the rulers and unfamiliar with the political changes. His standard of living was very low if we apply the ones. His wants were limited and few and above all his attitude toward his lot were totally fatalistic.
 

Disintegration or otherwise is a relative term or process. Contact with the industrial civilization proved harmful to the life of our people in the villages and disintegrated for its solidarity, or was it just the opposite. It is a question of preferences whether we think and like to assume that the old forms of our village communities were more in harmony with the lives of the farmers and the new changes have disturbed that harmony and hence the disintegrating whether we think that the new changes are for the upliftment of the material standards of Indian villages life and are in better harmony with the changed temper of our rural life and hence are good and strengthening instead of being disintegrating.  However, there is one more aspect of the problem that is more important from the sociological viewpoint. This aspect refers to the way in which industrial civilization was introduced irrespective of the fundamental virtues of that civilization, it is important to examine whether that civilization was introduced in a way in which the village communities could digest it and could their mode of life to the changed circumstances. Industrial productions imply production by power machines, production on a mass scale, and then the distribution of production on a wider scale. Modern industries do not cater to a few individuals. They cater to whole masses, the people at large. Industrial production also pools the labor in ever-increasing dimensions and utilizes it to the best advantage, that is to say, it tries to produce maximum with minimum labor. In this case, the lesser cost of production of industrial commodities when these industrial products reached Indian villages, the villages level producer of non-agricultural goods found himself thrown out of his community role. His products could not compete with industrial products both in quality and cost. The villagers began to prefer the goods coming from cities. The natural result of all this was that on the one hand, the self-sufficiency of villages was broken and on the other, the physical pattern of the economic life was disturbed. Village leave production of non-agricultural commodities began to wither away. This was of great significance because by losing self-sufficiency in economic matters our farmers come in a competitive position with the city dwellers. He had to bargain with the city for secure tools, implements, etc., and in payment, he had given the far product's wealth of the village began to prick painfully.
 

It was not enough. The industrial civilization was satisfied by the replacement of essential village-level non-agricultural commodities. It, at the same time, poured new things and commodities into village commodities. These did not cater to the basic requirements of life in rural areas but stood as symbols of a new culture and as demands of a new civilization. The wants of rural life began to grow.
 

Industrial civilization not only invaded our villages at the material level. It also caused major changes in the thought and outlooks of the farmers. The awareness of nationalism which itself was a product of new contact with the new civilization and culture being to agitate our farmers. He became conscious of the sociopolitical happenings in the outside world in which his interest gradually grew. Thus the cumulative effect of industrial civilization was in nature opposed to the self-sufficient, self-contained, and self-centered lives of our village people. In this sense, our village life is integrating. This was further enhanced by the mutually comparative position in which our rural communities were placed by the prevalent economic system of bargaining which was still far away from being cooperative and hence was contradictory with the spirit hither to prevailing in our village life. Our farmer felt cheated by the city dwellers and this feeling became the central theme of a villager’s attitude towards a city dweller. Such was then the impact of industrial civilization.

B. Urbanization of Rural Communities

The localization of the industries in the urban area tends to attract men from the villages. Villagers not only supply the demand for unskilled labor in industries but also contribute to the other manual requirements of the city. Importance of money as a medium of transaction between the villages and the city grew. Along with these happening came the problem of urban housing, overcrowding, and sanitation, etc. Planned development of cities began to push towards villages. New localities began to appear at the periphery of big cities which were both urban and rural in characteristics.

C. Social Causes

Social causes refer to the spread of modern education and with that the spread of modern ideas regarding marriage, politics, traditions, etc. For many centuries, education in the villages was not considered to be a subject of any importance or concern. Hindu organizations permitted education only to children of higher castes. Modern education was introduced in India by the efforts of Macaulay. It gradually penetrated our villages.

Social Importance and Changes in Villages

Social Importance of Villages

The Indian village plays an important part in our social setup. Most of the population of the country lives in villages. The villages are the indicators of social progress and advancement. Village help strengthens our social bounds and brings stability to our society in many ways. In the villages, violent changes are opposed and efforts are made to keep the old order intact. It is in the villages that real bonds of family and family life are realized. Customs and conventions are respected more in the village than in the cities. There is no rat race for earning more and more wealth. They are not as materialistic as the people in cities. They hold old values very dear. They preserve our culture and heritage. They love and worship nature and have firm faith in doctrines of karma, rebirth, etc. they are the strongholds of local self-Government, institution, and democracy. The Panchayats had their way in the villages before the British rule in India. These Panchatas are again revived.

Changes in the Villages

The village community is less susceptible to change. Changes are coming there but quite slowly. These changes can be seen particularly in the following spheres:

1. Caste System: It is not so rigid now. The hold of caste has loosened. The caste system has now lost its traditional hold on the villages.
2. Family System: Joint Family system is no longer the peculiar characteristic of the village community. Small family norms are being accepted. Family control over the members is not as strict now as it used to be in ancient days.
3. Marriage System: Changes can also be noticed in the institution of marriage. Although inter-caste marriages are still rated now boys and girls are being consulted by the parents in matters of choice of life companions.
4. Living Standards: The standards of living in the village community are gradually going higher. It is evident by the change in the mode of dress, diet, and other matters. Gold ornaments have replaced the old heavy silver ornaments. They now use soap for bath and washing purposes. The safety razors are used for shaving.
5. Economic System: Changes have also come in the economic field. The educated youths seek jobs in the cities instead of setting on ancestral land. The Sahukara system is on the wane. The cooperative banks have taken the place of village mahajans.

Thus villages everywhere are at present passing through a transitional period. The relations, bounds, and tries have fallen into disfavor and they cannot be reinstated in their original form.

Salient Features of Indian Villages

When man was ignorant of the art of agriculture he was compelled to wander in search of food and could not settle down in any one place. As an acquired skill and knowledge in agriculture, he became proficient in procuring all his needs from the same tract of land. When some families lived as neighbors in the same area shared in each other’s joys and sorrows and joined hands in the struggle against the physical elements, and communities. Various factors like topographic, economic, and social have been active in the growth of the village community. India is mainly a country of villages.

Salient Features of Indian Villages

In India, about 83 percent of the people live in villages. Villages play an important part in Indian life. India can rightly be called a land of villages. There are 575721 villages in the country. The salient features of Indian villages are the following:

1. Faith in Religion: The people in the village are usually God-fearing and they believe mysterious powers of gods and goddesses. They worship a large number of gods and believe they are the cause of their joys and sorrows. They have firm faith in rebirth, destiny, and luck.
2. Self-Sufficiency: Each village used to be a self-sufficient unit before the British rule in India. This self-sufficiency was destroyed by the introduction of a market economy during the days of British rule. 
3. Neighborly Relations: Another significant feature of village life is that stress is laid on neighborly relations. The people are simple and honest. Life in the village is not very fast. Their wants are few and simple. They have a sense of unity. They personally know each other. They have common customs and festivals.
4. Joint Family: Joint family system is breaking down in the cities but in villages, it still retains its hold. The agricultural occupation requires the cooperation of all the members of the family. The men folk work in the fields while the women look after the household chores.
5. Simplicity: The people in the village live a very simple life. They lead a peaceful life away from the hustle and bustle of city life. They live in the lap of nature. Their needs are few and simple.
6. Fellow Feelings: They work in the spirit of fellow feeling and that of give and take. They willingly come forward to help one another. They share their joys and sorrows. Fellow feelings have become a part of their nature. They are cooperative and helpful to one another.
7. Conservatism: the villagers are generally very conservative. They do not like to adopt new ways and hate radical changes. They are attached to their old customs and traditions. They love old ways and are least eager to follow the advice of social reformers in matters of marriage and other social customs. So Charles Metcalf wrote, “They seem to last where nothing else lasts. Dynasties tumble down; revolutions succeed Revolution, Hindu, Pathan, Mughal, Marathas, and Sikh. English all the masters change in turn but the village communities remain the same.”
8. Poverty and Illiteracy: The most glaring and depressive feature of Indian villages is the poverty and illiteracy of the Indian village people. They are generally poor with a very low income. They are indebted heavily and have to pay high rates of interest to village mahajan. They take coarse food. Their holdings are small and uneconomical. The opportunities for education are meager. Illiteracy is a great stumbling block in the way of any improvement. They waste their hard-earned money on the observance of too many festivals and religious rites.
9. Group Feelings: In the life of the villagers, group feelings occupy an important place. They respect the judgment and obey the order of their elders and the panchayat has control over the individuals. People are afraid of being publicly criticized or condemned.

Reference

Rural Sociology by Dr. G. Das

Factors in the Growth of Village Community

Literally speaking a village implies a settlement of people which originated many thousand years ago, during the early periods of human society. It contained a few hundred people who lived together in the surroundings of nature and whose main occupation was agriculture. Agriculture is not only their main occupation it is rather their way of life. It is a way of life in the sense that its mode of production and what it tempers is reflected in every form of village activity. It has been said that “The village is the name commonly used to designate settlement of ancient agriculturists”. When we talk of rural society we mean the aggregation of villages in the country.

Factors in the Growth of Village Community

Historically following factors have contributed to the growth of the village community:

A. Topographical Factors:

1. Land: It has always been an important topographical factor. It is difficult to carry on agriculture on land which is rocky and uneven. If the land is unfertilized and sandy, villages cannot easily develop there. That is why there are very few villages in the desert Sahara; where we find villages every two or three miles in the plains of the Ganges and the Yamuna.
2. Water: Water is in dire need of agriculturists for cultivation. If water is scarce, not much use can be made of even the most fertile land. In the desert water is scarce, and villages are scattered far and wide.
3. Climate: A temperate climate is the most favorable for the growth of agriculture. Better soil varieties and conditions have been responsible for the growth of village communities in the plains of Northern and Central India and also in other parts of the country.

B. Economic Factors

1. Condition of Agriculture: It is fact that if agriculture yields a fair amount of produce, the village community will be prosperous.
2. Economy: If the village has the facility of getting money in times of need, it will be a favorable condition for the growth of the village community. Cottage industries play a very important factor in the economic growth of the community.

C. Social Factors: 

These are the factors of peace, security, cooperation, intelligence, and love and thus the conditions of soil, climate, moisture, availability of water, condition of agriculture, and economy, and the conditions of peace and security play an important part in the growth of the village community.

Reference

Rural Sociology by Dr. G. Das

Criteria to Classify Village

Eminent sociologists have put forward many criteria to classify village communities. Some of these are:

(A) According to one criterion the village aggregates have been classified according to the types which evolved during the period of the transition from man’s nomadic existence to settled village life. Thus villages have been divided into three groups: 

• The Migratory agricultural villages where the people live in fixed abodes only for a few months;
• The semi-permanent agricultural villages where the population resides for a few years and then migrates due to the exhaustion of the soil; and
• The permanent agricultural villages where the settled human aggregates live for generations and even centuries.

(B) According to the second criterion villages have been classified into grouped (or nucleated) villages and dispersed villages. In grouped villages, the farmers dwell in the village proper in a cluster. They work on the fields which lie outside the village site. Since they dwell together in a single habitat, they develop a compact life. In the case of the non-nucleated dispersed village type, the farmers live separately on their respective farms. Their habitats are thus dispersed, and their social life assumes a different form.

(C) Village arrogates have been also classified according to a third criterion, that of social differentiation, stratification, mobility, and land, ownership.

Thus criterion group village aggregates into six broad types viz.

• That composed of peasant's joint owns;
• That composed of peasant joint tenants;
• That composed of farmers who are mostly individual owners, but also include some tenants and laborers;
• That composed of individual farmer tenants;
• That composed of employees of a great private landowner; and
• That is composed of laborers and employees of the state, the church, the city, or the public landowner.

Reference

Rural Sociology by Dr. G. Das

Settlement Pattern of Rural People

The settlement pattern of rural people is based on two aspects and fundamental types. These are grouped or cluster-dwelling forms. There exist different combinations of patterns of settlement exist between them.

According to Karve there are three types of villages: 

1. Tightly Nucleated villages.
2. Villages on two sides of a road.
3. Clustered villages.

According to Tyagi the villages are of the following categories:

1. Shapeless cluster.
2. Linear cluster.
3. Square of the rectangular cluster.
4. Villages formed of isolated homesteads.

According to A.R.Desai, ‘In the history of different people lives in different parts of the world and different types of villages emerged with the rise and spread of agriculture’. This was mainly due to differences in the geographical environments in which those people lived. Further, the early village of a people also underwent changes in time due to its subsequent technical, economic, and social evolution as well as due to the impact of other societies on it.                                

This history of the village, in time and space, reveals such diverse village types as the Saxon village, the German Mark, the Russian Mir, the self-sufficient Indian Gram, the village of feudal Europe which was an integral part of the manor; and finally the modern village, which is an integral part of national and world economic systems, with its variants such as the U.S.A. village, the typical West European village, the village of the backward modern countries of Asia, the village of the Soviet Union based on collectivized agricultural economy and others.

Hence the student of rural society should study the village, the basic unit of rural society as it originated and underwent a constant state of development and change due to the action of its own developing internal forces as also due to its interaction with other societies.’

Pattern of Settlement 

The patterns of settlement identified are as given below:       

1. Isolated Farmstead: In this form, the individual lives on his farm with his farmland surrounding him. “His neighbor may be a few miles from him depending on the size of their respective farms. Adjacent to his dwelling he keeps his livestock, bar, farm equipment, harvested produce, and other parts commodities.”
2. Village: This pattern of settlement comprises dwellings of rural people “concentrated together with their farmland outlying their cluster dwelling of the village. The number of dwellings will vary and will indicate the size of the village. Examples, of the village pattern of settlement due to be found in most of the countries of the East, where such predominates.” 
3. Line Village: In such a type of village houses are located along a road, a waterway, or an artery of transportation, each with adjoining strips of farmland belonging in shape extending away from the road. Residences are thus close and easily accessible to one another and at the same time are located on their respective farms. This pattern of human settlement may be witnessed along canals in “Thailand, in certain parts of Canada along the St. Lawrance River, in French Canadian settlement in Maine and Louisiana in the U.S.A. and is characteristic of the French land tenure pattern, many villages in France and Germany are also of this type.”
4. Round Village or Circular Pattern: In this type “houses are arranged in a circle enclosing a central area with the houses and yard at the apex of the triangular plot. In this way, houses are closer together without creating a corresponding greater length in the tract of farmland.” Such a pattern can easily be seen in some villages in Israel where irrigated land is very limited.”
5. Cross-Roads and Market Center Settlements: This pattern of settlement is common in various places trough out the world. It is “based on economic factors of location for simply and distribution of goods, this settlement provides needed products and commodities, such as prepared foodstuffs, refreshments services such as petrol station, repair shop, etc. market center settlement, therefore, are predominantly is habited by Merchants who handle agricultural products, bankers, shopkeepers and other.” In such centers, farmers usually do not reside unless their farmland is adjacent. Generally, it consists of shops along the line of the road.    
6. Hamlets: Small villages located away from villages or on the fringes of larger villages are called hamlets and they do not possess adequate supplies usually and services that may be more available in the larger village.
7. Other Patterns: In addition to these other types of settlements exist to serve a specific function. For, instance, in India at points of religious pilgrimage or a church is usually built along with dwelling places for those who visit and worship. Similarly, there are historical and other places of tourist interest around which settlements have come to exist.

Reference

Rural Sociology by Dr. G. Das

Origin and Development of Village

A village is the most ancient form of human life togetherness. According to Desai “The village is the unit of the rural society. It is the theater wherein the quantum of rural life unfolds itself and functions.’ 

He further adds that “Like every social phenomenon the village is a certain stage in the evolution of the life of man, its further growth and development in subsequent periods of human history, the varied structural changes it experienced during thousands of years of its existence, the rapid and basic transformation it has undergone during the last hundred and fifty years since the Industrial Revolution all these constitute a very fascinating and challenging study.”

Rise of Villages

Historically, the rise of the village is linked with the rise of the agricultural economy. The emergence of the village revealed that man passed from the nomadic mode of collective life to the life of settled individuals, basically due to the ‘improvement of tools of production which made agriculture easy and hence settled life on a fixed territorial zone possible and necessary”.

It has been one of the most complex problems of social research to find out “How humanity, in different parts of the world, passed from the nomadic hunting and food gathering stage to that based on roving hoe agriculture and thereafter on settled plow agriculture carried on by means of draft animals.”

The invention of the plough and its use led man to develop stable agriculture, the basic source of assured food supply, and man’s nomadic mode of life disappeared. No longer had men roamed in herds from place to place in search of means of subsistence on the contrary they settled on a definite territory and organized villages based on the agricultural economy. There emerged the agrarian communities with villages as their fixed habitation and agriculture as their main occupation and these developments marked a landmark in the history of mankind, inaugurating a higher phase of social existence. Agriculture assured the community, for the first time, a relatively stable food supply in contrast to previous stages of social life. While food supply derived from such sources as hunting, fishing, fruit gathering, and migratory hoe agriculture had always been insufficient and precarious, grain and other types of food products derived from plough agriculture could be counted upon and also be stored for use in periods of emergencies, thereby assuring relative food security for the future.

The development in the field of agriculture brought the struggle for existence to a relatively low level. Consequently at a certain stage of the development of the agricultural economy, due to the greater productivity of agriculture, a section of the community could be liberated from the necessity of participating in food production and could therefore concentrate on the secondary industrial or ideological activity. This gave momentum to the growth of technology, art, sciences, and philosophy, it also brought about, though slowly, the significant transition in the social organization of humanity, from an organization funded on kinship and clan to that based on territorial ties. With the development of agriculture at a certain level, mankind took a leap from optimistic collectivist clan society to territory civil society with its distinct multi-class social structure and the resultant institution of the state.”

This is how Civilization began with the development of agriculture and the village which is the first settled form of

 ‘collective human habitation and the product of the growth of agricultural economy’ pared the way for the rural society, and  from the surplus of its food resources, nourished the town which subsequently came into existence.’

Reference

Rural sociology by Dr. G. Das

Difference between Rural World and Urban World

P. A. Sorokin and C. C. Zimmerman in their “Principles of Rural-Urban Sociology” have given the following decisive differences between rural and urban words:

Topic	Rural World	Urban World
Occupation	The totality of cultivators and their families. In the community are usually a few representatives of several non-agricultural pursuits.	The totality of people engaged principally in manufacturing, mechanical pursuits, trade, commerce, professions, governing, and other non-agricultural occupations.
Environment	The predominance of nature over the anthropic-social environment. Direct relationship to nature.	Greater isolation from nature. The predominance of the man-made environment over natural, poorer aid, stone, and iron.
Size of community	Open farms or small communities, “Agricultural” and size of the community are negatively correlated	As a rule in the same country and in the same period, the size of the urban community is much larger than the rural community. In other words, urbanity and the size of the community are positively correlated.
Density of population	In the same country and at the same period the duty is lower than in the urban community. Generally density and rural are negatively correlated.	Greater than in rural communities. Urbanity and density are positively correlated.
Heterogeneity and homogeneity of the population	Compare with urban populations, rural communities are more homogeneous in racial and psychological traits (Negative correlation with heterogeneity).	More heterogeneous than rural communities (in the same country and at the same time). Urbanity and heterogeneity are positively correlated.
Social differentiation and stratification	Rural differentiation and stratification are less than urban	Differentiation and stratification show a positive correlation with urbanity.
Mobility	Territorial, occupation and other forms of social mobility of the population are comparatively less intensive. Normally the migration current carries more individuals from the country to the city.	More intensive. Urbanity and mobility are positively correlated. Only in periods of social catastrophe is the migration from the city to the country greater than from the country to the city.
System of interaction	Less numerous contacts per man. Narrower area of the interaction system of its members and the whole aggregate. More prominent part is occupied by primary contacts. The predominance of personal and relatively durable relations. Comparative simplicity and sincerity of relations, “man has interacted as a human person”.	More numerous contacts. The wider area of interaction system per aggregate. The predominance of secondary contacts. The predominance of impersonal casual and short live relations. Greater complexity, manifolds, superficiality, and standardized formality of relations. Man has interacted as a “number” and “address”

Various Aspects of Rural Population

One of the foremost tasks of the rural sociologist is to define the rural people and distinguish them from the urban population. Various approaches have been put forward for that purpose by eminent thinkers. The classification adopted by government Census Departments in various countries is, however, generally accepted as the most convenient. However, item classification may vary from one country to another.

Composition of Rural-Urban Population: Ratios

One of the important steps after the identification of the rural populations is to determine the ratio of rural and urban populations. In many countries, this ratio in a great measure points out the level of living of the people as a whole as it reveals the relative ‘proportion of industry and agriculture and hence the total wealth of the people. The ration, further, considerably influences the apportionment of social amenities with the country.’ It thereby works as a guide for evolving a correct program for social progress. One of the great mistakes writes A.R.Desai, committed by a number of reformers and social engineers is to transplant mechanically the techniques adopted for reform in a country inhabited by a small agrarian population and with a vast area of land to a country inhabited by an overwhelmingly agrarian population and with scarce land resources. The effort to introduce steps adopted to improve the farm sector of the U.S. which is overwhelmingly industrial to predominantly agrarian backward countries of Asia is an instance of such an error. Even within the same country, a detailed study of the ratios of rural and urban populations in different regions is essential because these differences considerably alter the nature of problems relating to those regions. The problems vary from state to state in India as the problems of Gujarat and those Bihar are different because there is a difference in the proportion of the ‘rural-urban population’ of these two states. Similar situations arise when we extend our study to other states.

The Density of Rural People

The density of people varies from state to state in India. “Sociologists after adequate investigation have reached the conclusion that the average density beyond a particular limit indicates an undesirable overconcentration of the people in that area. This is because the density of the population affects production and distribution and also generates various social reactions which greatly influence the total life of a society. The density of the population further affects the level the standard of living of the people. A systematic study of the density of the population in different regions and districts in India and also of the proportion of various groups belonging to diverse castes, religions, and vocations which comprise the population, will unfold the variegated picture of the complex social life of the Indian people with all its multiple tensions, antagonisms as well as mutual adjustments among these groups.

Birth and Death Rate-Mortality Factor

Another important aspect of the study of the demography of the rural sector is the study of birth rates, death rates, rates of suicides, specific bodily diseases, and other matters. This study reveals ‘the quantitative and qualitative growth or decline of the rural people. Further, when this study is correlated to that of the social, economic, and religious life processes of various social groups, it provides intelligent and correct criteria for evaluating the norms of those groups.

General Health and Longevity

Besides a study of the ‘death and survival rates’ existing among the rural people, there are also other techniques to determine their vitality such as a study of their ‘general health and longevity.’ Further, ‘estimates of mortality prevailing among separate groups such as infants, females, and old people; upper, lower and middle social strata, and land laborers, farmers, artisans, and other social categories, will give a detailed picture of the vitality of various section of the rural people.’

Age and Sex groups

Age and sex groups are other important aspect of the life of a population that requires a close sty in their distribution. The analysis of the age group gives us a correct understanding of the proportion of the people who belong to the productive age group and those who are to be looked after by society. The greater number of children and the aged over the working class people would considerably influence their economic and social life. In the same way, the analysis of the ‘sex composition is also important because it is generally recognized by sociologists that “sex mores, social codes, social ritual, and social institutions are all likely to be affected where extremely unbalanced sex rations are found”

There are still other aspects of the rural population such as ‘Caster, race nationality and religious composition” and thus has a great social significance. “it gives rise to a rich, complex, diversity of social life and varied patterns of culture. More often it breeds animosities, antagonisms, and conflicts. We know how in India in recent years the multi-religious composition of the Indian people endangered ghastly communal Hindu-Muslim riots. We know how both nationality conflicts are steadily corroding the body politic of India. A very particular type of social grouping is found in caste grouping. A student of Indian society who fails to study closely and carefully this variety of social grouping will miss the very essence of that society.

There is an urgent need to adopt a systematic, coordinated, and internal stated study of the rural people from various angles to achieve social progress.

Reference

Rural sociology by Dr. G. Das

The Regional Approach

A region is a geographic area or unit having certain limits and bounds. Regional Approach undertakes a large territorial or geographical unit as its subject of study. There are several villages within a region. In geographical studies, the concept of a region plays an important role.

A region was defined by Dr. Bernard purely from the sociological point of view as ‘an area’ in which a consciousness of individuality has been developed by the combined influence of historical and environmental factors. From this definition, given by Dr. Bernard following three aspects of a region may be understood.

• Homogeneity in more than one aspect is exhibited by the region.
• People are well aware of the uniqueness of their region.
• Every region is in an area with a core.

Today, one of the significant aspects from which rural social life is increasingly being analyzed is the ‘aspect of its spatial organization.’ The discussion and analysis include the questions like, ‘What factors determine the growth of varied types of villages, what factors operate to combine a cluster of villagers into an agrarian region, what factors tend to transform an agrarian region into a cultural, linguistic, or political region, and how do regions evolve into and provide these problems are of considerable significance in the study of rural society.’
 

There are many factors responsible for regional variations. Attempts have been made by sociologists to locate the factors explaining this process. Some of the important factors, ‘which have determined the structural pattern of the village the formation of regional and other bigger units, and the interrelations of the village with those units, are as follows:

• Natural conditions like relief, configurations, soil water resources, and others;
• The stage of agrarian economy, whether it is the nomadic stage, the stage of fixed subsistence agriculture, or that commercial agriculture and
• The nature of social conditions such as needs of defense forms of property and others.

The Distinction between Grouped Villages and Dispensed Habitats

From the ecological point of view, the first great division which has been made of village communities is that of ‘nucleated or grouped villages’ and ‘dispersed habitats’. It has been pointed out that such a distinction is vital from the point of view of the study of the entire social life of rural communities. The members of a rural community who dwell in villages have generally stronger social urges, exhibit a stronger feeling of social cohesion, and possess greater ability for cooperation than those who are dispersed and live on their respective farms. Each type of habitat furnishes a different framework for social life. The nucleated village is marked by “proximity, contact, the community of ideas and sentiments” while its dispersed habitats “everything to speak separation, everything marks the fact of dwelling apart.”

Difficulties in the Study of Larger Rural Regions

The study of  “the emergence of a larger rural area’ is one of the most complicated tasks confronting the student of rural society. ‘The factors which have combined to evolve homogeneous rural regions demand a very careful examination. Again we find that the larger rural regions change their characteristics with the change in the techno-economic, socioeconomic, and sociopolitical forces. The epoch of self-sufficiency evolved into one category of regions. Under the impact of the Industrial Revolution and production for the market, a totally new type of rural area came into being. The change from a market economy to a planned economy, where the agrarian sector is consciously developed as a part of the total life of the community, is creating in some countries and will create in other life of the community, is creating in countries and will create in other countries a new type of regional units. And, above, all the gigantic development of productive forces which is evolving an international economic and cultural community in the modern epoch is forcing the students of human society and especially of rural society to discover the appropriate variety of rural regions which will be in consonance with this development.
 

Efforts are on to define economic, linguistic, administrative, religious, and cultural regions in different countries of the world. Efforts are also being made to determine where these regions coincide together with ‘the laws which bring about this concurrence.”

Studies Conducted in the U.S.A.

The studies of Sanderson, Kolb, Taylor and other, sociologists embody an intensive study of rural economic and cultural zones in the U.S.A. these studies have thrown considerable light on the process of the development of such zones. ‘Various studies of primitive tribes-their geographical milieu, technical equipment, economic organization, social institutional structure, religion, arts and culture and, further, their transformation under the impact of communities belonging to various stages of civilized life- also furnish rich material for discovering the laws of rural development. Works dealing with the role of geographical factors such as mountains, rivers, deserts, sea, rainfall, and various species of trees and animals indirectly or directly influencing the nature of the economic organization, social institutions, styles of architecture and beliefs, and other ideological elements of man’s life, also provide valuable clues for a correct understanding of the emergence of varied rural cultures”
Pointing out the significance of the regional approach A.R.Desai writes, 

“The environmental and regional approach will help to distinguish chief village types and village social structures.it will also assist in scientifically classifying principal regional district and provincial units. It will also aid in locating the underlying factors which have operated to create distinct culture-areas. And finally it will help to evolve a systematic account of the evolution of Indian society as a whole.”

Merits of the Regional Approach

The merits of the Regional approach are as under:

1. A regional approach is most suitable in the countries like the USA because it conducts a study of geographical division. In countries like USA broad areas represent cultural uniformity.
2. It helps in developing broad laws for rural development.
3. It is not as time-consuming as the village community approach.
4. This enables the investigator to find out the lifestyle of the people very quickly.

Demerits of the Regional Approach

The regional approach suffers from the following major drawbacks

1. It attempts a general study of village life. The lifestyle of a particular village cannot be grasped through this method.
2. It fails to give the details of the varieties and diversities of village life.
3. Small-scale studies find no place in this approach.

Reference
Rural sociology by Dr. G. Das

Merits and Demerits of Community Approach in the Study of Rural Society

There are two major approaches to the study of rural society, namely (1) the Community Approach and (2) the regional Approach. The style of life and the types of inhabitants of a rural area are the major factors on which the suitability and importance of these two approaches rest. An analysis of the nature of these approaches is essential for evaluating the relative merits and demerits of these two approaches.

The Community Approach

The community approach studies various aspects of village life, both from historical and contemporary perspectives. The unit of study under this approach is a village. A fine example of the study of a village community approach is, the study conducted by Dr. S.C. Dube of the Shamirpet village in Telegu speaking area. Dr. Dube attempts a round study of the village, namely its historical, geographical, cultural, social, and economic, aspects of life. In another study, Dr. S.C. Dube found that “160 out of 189 farmer families in a village hold less than five acres of land. Thus, the farmers have hardly spare sufficient marketing.”
 

The studies carried on by Dr. Dube and other sociologists establish at the very outset that Indian culture in ancient times was a highly rich culture in the world. The villages in general like the village studied by Dr. Dube, are inhabited by a large number of Hindu castes and enjoy a particular type of complex migration. The village studied through this approach comes out as a unit of the wide social spectrum and political security.  Traditions, both regional and local influence the life of villagers. Every aspect of the village life including the dress, festivals, speech, manner, and even the construction of the house clearly reflects the culture of the area. However, Dr. Dube stresses that in every case, the village represents the cultural area.
 

The study of Indian villages conducted through a community approach reveals the following facts:

• A village is a distinct unity and the term village signifies territorial, ritual, and economic unit.
• A village has a composite population inhabiting individuals belonging to different religions and castes.
•  The village people feel as well as exert mutual obligation towards one another.

Merits of the Community Approach

The merits of the community approach are as under:

1. A study conducted through a community approach gives us a comprehensive picture of the life of village people in a particular village.
2. The varieties of village culture and its diversities are discovered through this method. 
3. The approach facilitates several small-scale studies of many villages which may be compared to find out the common elements and uniformity in their life.
4. The position of a village in its region is easily established through this method.
5. This approach is the most suitable for studying villages in remote areas and isolated environments.

Demerits of the community Approach

The community approach suffers from certain drawbacks. Some of these weaknesses are:

1. The village community approach is time-consuming, expensive, and lengthy.
2. The laws of rural development are not supplied by the approach. It only provides the particular position of these laws.
3. It fails to give the picture of life quickly.
4. The approach is based on the wrong presumptions that a village is representative of a region or area. It is not always true to presume it.

Reference
Rural Sociology by Dr. G. Das

Relationship between Rural Sociology and Economics

Economics deals with human activities the aim of which is to use natural resources to produce goods and direct them toward the satisfaction of human needs and wants. Adam smith called it the science of wealth to meet and satisfy human demands goods are produced and distributed which are ultimately consumed and thus the process of satisfaction of needs, wants and desires continues. There are circumstances in which the demand goes up where as in another set of circumstances it decreases. It is within the scope of economics to study the mechanisms of demand and supply and other factors which influence the relationship between supply and demand. It also seeks to find out how can there be equitable distribution of wealth.

To seek to answer the questions like. Is it possible to remove disparities? What are the economic and social consequences of economic disparities etc.?

Should a country adopt industrialization and cover every phase and corner of a country? Is it preferable to localize the industries at a few selected places?

Rural economics has grown into a complete subject. Rural economics in fact deals with what is also termed agricultural economics. The study of the economics of villages can reveal suggestions to improve the agricultural produce by the use of new techniques and better implements but no economic strategy can be applied without fully understanding and overcoming the opposition of tradition and patently repugnant rural psychology.

Therefore, the achievements of any economic program presuppose a penetration into the psychological attitudes of village life and in this regard, rural sociology comes to the rescue of economics.

The economic activities affect deeply the social life of the villages. The nature and distribution of land holdings, the system of following, the problem of rural indebtedness of small farmers and labor, and inadequate means of livelihood of a majority of villagers particularly landless labor are some of the economic factors, which deeply influence and affect the rural society. In orthodoxy, traditionalism, and opposition of the rural people to any social change without adequate study of these economic factors it is not easy to understand rural society. It is difficult to devise ways and means to bring changes in its structure.

In the field of nature and subject matter, rural sociology and economics are deeply interrelated and interwoven. Whereas rural sociology investigates and studies the economic life and structure of rural society from a social and human viewpoint; when economics investigates the rural society and its structure and functions from the economic viewpoint. Thus there is a difference between the approaches of the two subjects.

Relationship between Rural Sociology and Political Science

Rural Sociology and political science are closely related subjects. Weinberg and Shabat say: “Political science is the study of the ways in which a society organizes and operates a state.” From this inter point political science appears to be sociology. The elements of rural health, education, religion, economic structure and organization, family system, etc. are constitutional rural sociology. In like manner, political institutions, associations, and organizations are the elements that constitute the subject matter of the science of state and government i.e. political science.

In political science studies the institution of Panchayat, various subsidiary Panchayat associations, District Board, Area Committee, etc. from the political viewpoint. The institutions constitute elements of rural society and rural sociology studies them from the social interpoint.

The approach of political science towards certain institutions entrusted with the task of rural administration and justice is narrow and limited to strictly political implications. Rural sociology attempts a board’s approach toward these institutions. And it is a matter of fact that it is impossible to study and understand the rural political institution in isolation from social institutions preventing. Therefore, knowledge of rural sociology is essential for a student of political science to understand fully the system of rural government and its administration. So, political science and sociology are closely interlinked branches of social science.

Besides the similarities between rural sociology discussed above, these are seeking differences between the two subjects. To a nation, whereas rural sociology studies political, social, religious, and cultural institutions, political science studies only political institutions. “in political science we should accept the facts of sociology”.

Relationship between Rural and Urban Sociology

The economic and topographic view of the society divides it into two groups or communities employed either in agriculture sector or industrial sector. There exists relative difference in the density of population. These two groups are rural and urban and that the former going is less dense and engaged primarily in agriculture as profession where the latter group is more dense and engaged basically in the industry. It is to be noted that the study of one group involves necessary reference to the other group. Therefore if one sets to study Rural Sociology, he can do so accurately, scientifically and usefully only if he is able to understand the differences of scope and aim of rural and urban sociology precisely and doubtlessly. Thus the relation of rural and urban sociology is factual. It is not possible to have one without the other. To put it more precisely fields of study are complementary to each other. It is rather impossible to study either of these, in complete isolation.

So, we can study rural sociology effectively only by drawing upon urban sociology and working in close cooperation with it. Their subject matter is interlinked and interdependent. In order to have a complete knowledge of the village life, one has to study urban life and vice versa. Since the distinguishing characteristics of rural society can only be brought into light by comparing and contrasting these peculiarities with the chief characteristics of the urban society. The village life is affected by the economic and social factors of urban society. It is not possible to understand either of these exclusively and in isolation. Therefore it is apt to say that “the studies of rural as well as urban sociology are possible only if both are there.” It is commonly agreed that no study of a society can be complete unless it takes into account the life of its people in the villages as well as those living in cities and towns. It is here two sociology. i.e. Rural and Urban become complementary to each other.

Relationship between Rural Sociology and Sociology

Rural sociology is a specialized branch of Sociology with scope of making extensive and intensive survey and investigation of the rural society. It is also an object of rural sociology to study the peculiar characteristics of rural society problems or rural people in the most micro-way’. Such a study cannot be expected in general sociology wherein the urban societies are also given equal weight age and coverage.

Rural sociology attempts an extensive as well as intensive investigation of the rural problems. In comparison to the urban societies, the rural society is much more complicated and vast. Though, it shares some common features with the urban society.

So vast is the scope of rural society its peculiarities and problems that it is not possible for the general sociology to do justice to all these aspects of rural society. It is rather impossible for the general sociology to fully investigate and explore the rural problems and the rural way of life.

To explain the manner in which the two disciplines differ and the way the peculiar problems  of these can be at most appropriately, touched by general sociology we may refer to the problems of ‘Slums’ and Hookah Club. The problem of slum is peculiar to cities and will be studied adequately by urban Sociology alone whereas ‘Hookah Club’ exists only in a village and this has no role to play in urban life. Both urban and rural society shares a common approach and adopts similar methods but there is sizable difference between the two.  As the subject matter is concerned both study social events, actions and organizations. But whereas sociology is indifferent to the geographic and environmental factors and tries to grasp the most general laws of social action and organization, the rural and urban sociologists study the same in their environment, that is, whether a problem or event occurs in rural or urban context. Furthermore, while the scope of rural sociology assimilate both rural and urban life and also extends far beyond. Thus, rural sociology is a specialized discipline of sociology; on the other hand, sociology is a general science.

In short, whereas there is a common approach of both the subjects of study when each pursues the subject matter; there is vast difference between their scopes.

Refernces

Rural Sociology by Dr. G. Das

Importance of Rural Sociology

Major portion of Bangladesh is constituted of rural areas. Where, about eighty percent of the Bangladeshi people still live in the villages. The truth is that even the urban population is constituted by the migrating from the rural areas to the towns and cities and also many villages have grown into towns. Villages have been the fountain head of Bangladeshi culture; Bangladesh’s economy is predominately agricultural. In our country it is not possible to achieve a political ‘awakening without redeeming the rural population from its obscurity.’

It is strongly felt that it is essential to understand and to act according to the laws prevailing in the village if the objective is to achieve is to achieve progress of the villages and in such a circumstance only the rural population be able to create the development plans of their own and offer their co-operation. This makes it essential to attempt a special study of the rural society. “In order to effect a desirable change in the rural institutions and communities, the laws introduced against their laws will be an imposition which will not be able to attain permanency. Without understanding the special features, qualities and defects of the rural religion and culture the village level workers will not be successful in effecting rural reconstruction.’ It is essential to study the attitude, customs and practices of the rural people.

The importance of rural sociology is far greater in Bangladesh. In the theoretical background of the plans devised the country’s progress the study of rural society is essential to achieve objectives and such a study will reveal the conditioning factors which govern the development, change and control of society. These factors will have to be kept in mind if the plans for the villages are to be successful.

The discussion leads to the stage which emphasis the urgent need to study the rural community in a comprehensive way. Following reasons put forward the highlight the importance of the study.

According to A. R. Desai, It is ‘urgently necessary to make scientific and systematic study of the rural society, of its economic foundation and social and cultural superstructure, of its institutions and their functions, of the problems arising from the rapid process of disintegration which is undergoing and which even threatens its breakdown.”

1. Bangladesh is a classic land of agriculture. Its long past history, its complex social organization and religious life, its varied cultural pattern, can hence be understood only if a proper study is made of the rise, growth crystallization and subsequent fossilization and breakup of the self-sufficient village community, the principal pivot of the Bangladesh society only till recently.
2. Due to historical reasons, the existing Bangladesh rural society has become a veritable mosaic of various types of rural societies and hence reveals a diversified cultural pattern. The culture of the hunting and food gathering tribes; the culture of the primitive hoe-agriculturists; further, all the varied culture of people engaged in agrarian production with the plough and the bullock, as also the modern culture of a rural people influenced by new technical and economic forces-all these cultures are juxtaposed in the contemporary by the ideological currents of the rural humanity is also being influenced by the ideological currents of the rural humanity is also  being influenced by the ideological currents of the rural humanity is also being influenced by the ideological currents of the modern era. Consequently we find in the Bangladesh rural world today, the persistence of primitive cults of magic and animism, polyeism, pantheism of the ancient world, monotheism and other idealistic philosophic world outlooks inherited from the ancient medieval periods as also a minor current of modern rationalist world view. This has transformed it into a veritable museum of different and even conflicting cults and ideologies.
3. The unique agrarian socioeconomic structure of Bangladesh experienced a decisive transformation as a result of the impact of the British conquest and rule. On the eve of the British conquest of Bangladesh. Bangladesh rural society was composed of a multitude of villages. Each village lived almost an independent, atomistic, self-sufficient social and economic existence. The village represented a closed society based on economic autarchy and social life governed by case and community rules.

Refernces

Rural sociology by Dr. G. Das

Scope of Rural Sociology

Rural sociology is comparatively a new branch of sociology. It is a science with its own characteristics standpoint and methods. Therefore, its scope should be clarified to distinguish it form other social sciences. In the words of N.L.Sims, 

“The field of rural sociology is the study of association among people living by or immediately depends upon agriculture. Open country and village groupings and groups behavior are its concern.” 

According to Lowry Nelson 

“The subject matter of rural sociology is the description and analysis of progress of various groups as they exist in the rural environment.” 

Thus the scope of rural sociology includes the study of all the social groups in the village. In the words of  Burtrand and associates, “in its broadest definition rural sociology is the study of human relationship in rural environment” thus, the scope of rural sociology includes all the social relationships in rural environments.

An analysis of the scope of rural sociology leads to the study of the following

1. Rural Problems: The subject matter of rural sociology includes the problems of rural life, such as social, economic, political and cultural problems. These problems are studied in isolation as well as in relation to each other. In the former sense each problem is analyst separately and effort is made to arrive at some conclusion for its remedy. For the second viewpoint all the rural problems are taken as different aspects of one single problem. Sometimes this viewpoint leads to confusion since the problems are entangled into each other, therefore, in the integral standpoint towards rural social problems, it is necessary to remember similarities as well as distinctions. Some problems cannot be solved unless studied separately such as the rural problems of poverty, illiteracy, disease, low standard of life, inadequate housing, lack or recreation, traditionalism, religious superstition etc.
2. Rural Social Life: Smith has rightly called rural sociology as the sociology of rural life. It aims at the study of rural social life. Rural social life includes rural people, rural population, rural environment, rural standard of living, rural vocations and rural economic conditions. Thus, rural sociology studies both enacted and developed rural social organizations.
3. Rural Social Organization: The most important function of rural sociology is to provide knowledge concerning rural family organization. Rural social organization includes rural family, rural marriage, rural social stratification, rural education, rural administrative system, rural religious and cultural institutions and rural division of labor etc. thus; rural sociology studies both enacted and developed rural social organizations.
4. Rural Institutions: Rural sociology includes the study of rural institution. Institutions are procedures of activities which are developed to fulfill a certain aim. Such institutions may be economic, political, social, religious or cultural. Rural sociology studies all these types of institutions in the context of rural society.
5. Rural Community: In the words of Sanderson “A rural community consists of the social interaction of the people and their institutions in the local area in which, they live in dispersed farm-steads and in a hamlet or village which forms the center of their common activities”. Thus rural community includes all the general activities or rural people. Rural sociology studies the characteristics, forms and activities or rural community.
6. Rural Social Structure: Social structure is the most important basis of social life therefore; rural social structure is the most important element in the scope of rural sociology. Thus, the rural sociologists concentrate on the analysis and the study of rural social structure.
7. Rural Urban Contrast: As has been already pointed out, the village and city present two contrasting modes of community life. Rural sociology studies this rural urban contrast. In other words, it studies the fundamental distinctions between rural and urban culture and also their relationship. 

From the above discussion it is clear that rural sociology study with rural society under natural circumstances and conditions. It pay special attention to structural and functional aspects of village organization, family organization, class and caste structure, folk, art, dance and literature, folk culture and customs and traditions.

Methods and Essential Qualities of Social Research

Social Research

Another important method or rural study is social research. Social research is the discovery of new truths about society. It is a systematic method of discovering new facts or verifying old facts, their sequences, inter-relationship, causal explanations and natural laws. In this way, social research or investigation discovers new facts about social activities, social circumstances, social assumptions, social groups, social values or social institutions etc. and investigates the old facts on these subjects. It locates inter relationship or causal relations among social incidents. It locates those natural laws which stimulate different phenomena in social life.

In this way the objective of social research is to formulate general laws by collection, analysis, interpretation and generalization of facts, having studied social incidents and activities, and to predict on the basis of these general laws as well as to indicate future changes and reactions. The aim of social research is obviously and purely theoretical and scientific lacking any direct relation with human welfare.

Social research is, by nature, scientific. Its aim is to gather fresh knowledge and to verify the knowledge which has been obtained. It is not connected with practical and immediate social planning or social engineering or with ameliorative and therapeutic measures. It is not concerned with administrative changes and refinements of administrative procedure as with social reform.

There are the following four steps in the method of social research

• Forming a hypothesis.
• Observation an collection of data.
• Classification and organization of collected data.
• Generalization.
• Verification of general laws and examination of their truth.

Social research starts with the formulation of a most probable hypothesis regarding a particular problem. For example, in order to investigate the relations of broken family with crimes, one may form a hypothesis that broken family is a cause of crime. The result of the research will either prove or disprove this hypothesis. The next step in social research will be the observation of several broken families and collecting data about criminal tendencies in them or observing criminals and finding out as to how many of them come from a broken family. This requires an alert, keen and objective approach in the researcher.

After observation and collection of the data it is classified and organized in that the implicit pattern may become sufficiently explicit. In the above mentioned example, the research will classify the families of the criminals under observation. Now, one may generalize broad principles on the basis of particular cases. By seeing that most of the criminals come from broken families or that the member of broken families generally exhibit criminal tendencies one may conclude that the broken families ten to breed crime. This proves the initial hypothesis. But before it is accepted as a scientific principle in sociology, it should be verified by many sociologists in different concrete situation.

Essential Qualities of a Social Research Worker

Compared to their fields of research, social research demands better social qualities in its research worker. He should be equipped with an 

• appropriate knowledge of the subject 
• have experience of conducting research 
• possess knowledge of past researchers
• historical facts corresponding to the present one
• the ability to profit by the experiences of others. 

He should have knowledge of the necessary machines and be able to handle them. He should also be capable of choosing tools appropriate to the time, place and subject. But besides these qualities, which are characteristic of scientific research worker, the social research worker must also supplement them with some special qualities because while other scientists conduct their research in the laboratory, the social research worker has the society as this laboratory where he has to cooperate with individuals, depend on their cooperation. Hence, he must be possessed of an attractive, adaptable and cheerful disposition. He should be a master of etiquette, and be a skilled, intelligent, impartial, alert, active, balanced, good conversationalist, forbearing and constructively imaginative.

References:

RURAL SOCIOLOGY BY RAJENDRA KUMAR SHARMA

Objectives and Types of Social Survey

Social Survey

The word survey is derived from two words sur or sor which means over and the word veeir or veor which means to see. In this way, the word survey means to oversee or to look over. According to Webster Collegiate Dictionary the word connotes, 

“A critical inspection, of then official, to provide exact information, often a study of an area with respect to a certain condition or its prevalence as a survey of school”.

Objectives and subject matter of social survey

The following are the major objectives which social survey strives to achieve

1. Collection of data related to the social aspect of community: Social survey studies individuals as members of society and in this way studies social circumstances and problems.
2. Study of social problems, labor class and its problems: In social survey social problems and in particular, problems of the labor class like illiteracy, poverty, in sanitation, unemployment, drinking, crime, juvenile delinquency, prostitution, labor problems etc. are studied.
3. Practical and utilitarian view point: Studies of social survey are made from a practical and utilitarian viewpoint in order that suggestions for constructive programs in solving different problems may be offered.

In this way, the subject matter of social survey includes—(1) demographic characteristic. (2) Social Environment. (3) activities of the members of the community. (4) opinions and attitudes.

The following are the important kinds of social survey

1. General or specialized surveys: Originally, social survey was taken to be two kinds –general and specialized. In the general survey the community is made the subject of study like a country, state, town or village. In the specialized or topical survey the study is confined to some special aspect only e.g. unemployment, health, cleanliness, labor welfare, child welfare etc.
2. Direct or indirect surveys: Direct survey is one in which the facts can be quantitatively interpreted while, on the other hand, no such quantitative interpretation is possible in the case of an indirect survey, e.g. the survey of population is direct, while on the other hand, the surveys of the state of health or the level of nutrition are indirect. Different problems of social sciences are studied by both kind of survey.
3. Census survey or sample survey: in the census survey the different parts of the entire area are individually studied and the figures are then complied into one. On the other hand, in the sample survey, instead of the whole is being studied, a part which represents the entire area is taken. Now this representative part is studied. Compared to the census survey, the sample survey is far less expensive and it is, therefore, very popular in the study of rural sociology which makes much use of it.
4. Primary or secondary surveys: in the primary survey, the survey work is started right from the beginning. In this, the survey or himself collects facts concurring with his objectives and hence the primary surveys are more reliable and pure. But, if some data have already been collected in the study of any subject a new start has not to be made. The survey conducted under these circumstances is called a secondary survey. It is obvious that when the situation is favorable to a secondary survey there is much saving of time and money.
5. Initial or repetitive surveys: if the survey conducted in the area is the first of its kind, it is called an initial survey while if some survey has been done in the past then the present survey is termed a repetitive survey. An initial survey involves comparatively greater effort and exertion and comparable data are not available. In repetitive survey the information obtained is more reliable and can be compared.
6. Official, semi-official or private surveys: As the names indicate, official survey is the survey sponsored by the government, semi-official survey is the survey conducted by universities, district boards, municipalities and other similar semi-official institutions and private survey is a survey attempted by an individual. Among these, official survey has the greatest probability of success because it is not hampered by a dearth of finances or trained personnel. Semiofficial survey is not only less economic but also more difficult. In the private survey, the problem of expenditure, time and trained personnel is even more acute. But, in spite of the fundamental difficulties, some semi-official and private surveys have yielded better results than some government surveys.
7. Widespread or limited surveys: surveys are given these names according to their extension or coverage. A survey covering a greater area is called widespread survey while a more delimited or less extensive survey is known as a limited survey. A limited survey is comparatively more reliable and less liable to mistakes but it carries with it the probability of some of the facts being omitted. On the other hand, a widespread survey includes many aspects of the subject under study and presents a more complete picture. But, due to its extension, it becomes less reliable because the probability of irregularities is increased.
8. Public or confidential surveys: it is evident from the very name that public surveys are those in which the processes and results of study are not concealed while the confidential surveys are those in which the processes and results are not revealed to people. Whether the survey is going to be public or confidential depends upon it nature and aim.
9. Postal or personal surveys: postal survey, as the term itself implies, is a method in which the survey or obtain the answers by sending the questionnaire by post. If the survey is to be a personal one then the surveyor has to move about the area to be surveyed and collect information. Postal survey certainly does economies upon effort and money but the information which it can obtain is very limited and lacks reliability. Although personal survey demands more time, energy and money the information obtained is correspondingly more comprehensive and more reliable.
10. Regular or ad-hoe surveys: regular surveys are conducted after the lapse of a fixed period of time. The organization made for an ad-hoe survey is temporary and is dissolved after the survey has been completed. An ad-hoe survey, in comparison with a regular survey, supplies less extensive and less comparative information but it, all the same time, involves the expenditure of less time, money and energy.

In the book Social Survey in Town and Country Areas, Herman N. Morse has accepted the following steps in the scientific methods of social survey:

1. Definition of the purpose or object.
2. Definition of the problem to be studied.
3. The analysis of this problem in a schedule.
4. The delimitation of the area or scope.
5. Examination of all documentary sources.
6. Field work.
7. Arrangement, tabulation and statistical analysis of the data.
8. The interpretation of the results.
9. Deduction.
10. Graphic expression.

Social surveys are carried on by official or non-official bodies with a  set purpose or object, for example, to explore particular facts regarding a particular  problem. This problem should also be well defined and precise. Clarity of the problem is the sine quo of all scientific research. Now each problem involves several important aspects which should be minutely studied. Hence, after defining the problem, it should be analyzed in a schedule. Then, the researcher should delimit the area of scope or survey. Without this delimitation, survey would be neither possible nor useful. For example, there can be no general survey of the working conditions of the laborers. Only the working conditions of the laborers at a particular factory or city may be studied. Now, actual survey starts. This is a twofold job, first, examination of documentary sources and second, field work. Examination of documentary sources is table work and if done properly, it will save much labor besides clarifying the actual lines of field work. The field work involves on the spot inquiries from the person concerned. For this, the surveyor should visit the area of survey and gather necessary information in the pre-planned schedule. After the gathering of the data through the above mentioned steps, facts are systematically arranged, tabulated and analyzed. These results are now to be interpreted. This requires a statistically keen understanding of the problem and an objective approach. In fact, interpretation of the results is the most important steps in a survey. This interpretation helps in the deduction of useful principles. Finally, the results are graphically expressed so that the whole thing may be understood at a glance.

Limitations of Social Survey 

As in evident from the meaning and purpose of social survey, this method has certain limitations. It studies only one part of the society. In it the study of the working of the lower classes is made something of a specialty. Obviously enough, in social survey, there is no endeavor to obtain detailed information about the middle and the upper class people. But to be limited is no defect in any scientific method. The scientific method invariably studies only a delimited subject, a fact which constitutes its limitation, but it is, at the same time the secret of its success and validity. It is for this reason that the survey method yields organized, systematic and scientific information about the problem, on the basis of which, programs for social development and social reconstruction can be formed. It also protects the society from becoming disintegrated. Information regarding different aspects of social institutions and society is supplied by the use of the survey method.

REFERENCES

RURAL SOCIOLOGY BY RAJENDRA KUMAR SHARMA