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