What are the Factors Responsible for Changes in the Structure of Indian Rural Life?

The life of people in villages has experienced many changes. The factors are not very old but of recent origin. “The elements which have tended to dilute and even weaken old village solidarities and loyalties, like those which cement them, have developed out of the day-by-day life and living in local villages.”

Factors of Change

Many factors responsible for change can be studied under the following heads:

1. Natural Factors: The factors conditioning place where the rural community exists are treated as natural factors. For instance, a village near a river bears the effects of rivers and similarly, the villages prospering in the lap of mountains are even close to the mountains are seen affected by the mountains. In a similar way, the social, economic, cultural, and religious life of the communities settled in bamboo forests bear the effects of bamboo in their life. Animals and cattle are employed in their natural places and in other places they are treated as strange creatures. Cottage industries developing in a particular region much depend upon the minerals available in that area. In a similar way, the mountains, rivers, animals, minerals, and vegetation around a village, are the natural factors that influence the life of people in the villages. Whenever there is a change in these natural factors, rural life around it also experiences change.
2. Technological Factors: Man does not live only with, what nature has provided but a substantial part of it is created by him through various means. Technical assistance is taken by man to construct a favorable condition for him, much within the permission of the natural environment. The availability of electricity to the villages has altered many aspects of their life. The invention of the radio and other instruments has played a remarkable role in changing the lives of rural people. Ogburn points out those nearly 150 changes were brought into the way of rural life by the invention of the radio only. Installation of machines in the villages has changed the taste of the villagers towards their traditional and customary techniques and instruments, steam and electrical power is in no way lagging behind in creating a change in the life of the people. Technological changes have revolutionized the everyday life of rural people.
3. Social Factors: In view of the changes taking around, many practices pertaining to social life have either been changed or faced threats to their very existence. British rule has influenced to a very great extent many social practices prevalent among the people living in rural India. These changes included the abolition of sati system, child marriages, regularization of marriage, and restoration of rights to women has brought an appreciable change in rural life. The effects of these changes are apparent in the better conditions of women, in society. In addition to these, many systems have lost their effect. These include a system of joint family, jajmani customs that have lost their place in the life of rural India. Caste panchayats are outdated now, and so is the rigidity in the caste feelings. Backward classes, hitherto treated as downtrodden are being looked after by the special machinery of government and new laws have been made to bring up scheduled caste and scheduled tribe people. There has been a tremendous decline in the influence of the caste system also. 
4. Economic Factors: The increase in population has compelled rural folks to migrate to industrial and urban areas for their livelihood. Agriculture cannot employ and feed everyone and this urgency has been very well noticed which a quite clear from the pace of migration to urban areas. When the rural youth approaches an urban area, his way of thinking and living is influenced by urban life. This has affected not only the life of the people living in villages but also changed the existing values.
5. Cultural Factors: Cultural life comprises the beliefs, assumptions, and taboos of a community. In India, village life is much influenced by religious contacts. Westernization has changed the attitude of village youth toward their ancient customs and values. In tribal areas, once the dominator dominated the life of tribal youth, but with the impact of westernization brought into by Christianity, the place of the dormitory is fading away from the tribal culture. Western beliefs in individualism and materialism have been accepted by the village youth. Because of these changes has been changing attitude of people regarding casteism, family, and marriage.
6. Political Factors: Post-independence period has led to the politicization of village life. Now the villages have become the hub of political activities. Thus the various political forces like party activities, elections, and propaganda have caused changes in various communities living in rural areas. Now the rural people are much more aware of their rights and like the urban people the villagers also take part in political processes with a due sense of judgment.

Conclusion 

The factors discussed above have been instrumental in introducing many changes in the life of the people in rural India. Many changes have been introduced many changes in the life of the people in rural India. Many changes have introduced healthy practices at the same time; some effects of westernization have set receiving effects on the quiet and calm life of the villages.

Need to Study Rural Religion

The study of rural religion is very important for having a composite story of the ‘past cultural evolution of the Indian People”. The history of Indian culture is still scattered and is more over still in a fragmentary state. Controversy still exists regarding the genesis of Indian culture and the subsequent phases of its subsequent development. Different views have been advanced on the subject. ‘Also problems such as, where the Indian culture originated and how it spread in different parts of India, also remain in the domain of debate.’

Although the study of rural religion and its valuable role in ‘determining the life processes of the rural society’ must always form an essential part of the study of that society. The following are the principal reasons for this:

1. It has been observed by sociologists all over the world that rural people have a greater predisposition to religion than urban people. The dependence on agriculture the basic form of production in the countryside- on the hitherto un-mastered forces of nature like rains and the near absence of scientific culture, which provides a correct understanding of the natural social worlds, among the rural people are two main reasons for the greater degree of religiosity among them. Traditional religion composed of the crudest conceptions of the world holds their mind in its grip. Animism, magic polytheism, ghost beliefs, and other forms of primitive religion, are rampant among the rural people to a far greater extent than among the urban people.’
2. The religious outlook of the rural people overwhelmingly dominates their intellectual, emotional, and practical life. It is difficult to locate any aspect of their life which is not permeated with and colored by religion. Their family life, caste life, general social life, economic, and even recreational life, are more or less governed by a religious approach and religious norms. Religious conceptions also largely dominate their ethical standard; the form and content of their arts like painting, sculpture, architecture, folk songs, and others; as also their social and economic festivals. This special true of societies based on subsistence economies of the pre-capitalist epoch when religion was almost completely fused with social life and when even the then-existing secular scientific knowledge of man-psychology,  medicine, astronomy, mathematics, agronomy, mechanics, sociology, ethics, etc. was clothed in religions garb and was the monopoly of the priestly caste.
3. In societies based on subsistence economies, the leadership of the village life in all domains was provided by the priestly group, in India the Brahmins. Modes, which this group laid down for individual behavior as well as for social control, were determined by traditional religious concepts. Hence the life of the village aggregate in all spheres was molded in the spirit of religious ideas and was controlled by religious institutions and leaders.
4. A new development took place in modern times in India after the advent of British rule. The social, economic, and political life of the village, as stated elsewhere, experienced a progressive transformation. The development and spread of capitalist economic forms led to the disintegration of the subsistence economy of the autarchic village from the village panchayat and caste councils whose outlook was essentially religious and who were generally guided by religious conceptions and criteria even in secular matters. 

There has been a change in the past. The new economic and political environs, new norms, and secular forces have increasingly superseded the authoritarian religious norms which for centuries had governed even the secular life of the village people. It is because of these factors of change, ‘the village people for the first time in history felt the impact of secular, democratic, and equalitarian ideas on their consciousness. A new ferment began to spread among them which has been steadily affecting their life and outlook hitherto colored with religion. There have also led to the emergence of new secular institutions and associations, new secular leadership, and social controls, within the Indian rural society.

These changes have caused a slow but steady decline in the ‘hegemony and control of the leaders of religion over the life of the rural population.’

Causes of Urbanization

Urbanization is the process of social change and under its impact in our country cities are coming up and their population is increasing everywhere and village life is experiencing changes. It has already posed serious challenges to many rural institutions and practices prevalent among the villagers in our country.

Causes of Urbanization 

1. Man’s Exploitation of Nature: “Cities grow wherever a society, or a group within it, gains control over resources greater than are necessary for the mere sustenance of life.”  In ancient times these resources were acquired through the subjugation of man by man. Slavery forced labor or taxation by the ruling or conquering class supplied the foundations of the growth of city life. In modern times man has won over nature and extended his power. He has exploited the natural resources to such a great extent through technological improvements that now relatively few people can supply the basic needs of many.
2. Industrialization: The process of industrialization introduced new techniques, and better commodities, and created townships. Urban growth has also been greatly stimulated by the new techniques of production associated with the industrial revolution. It was only after the advent of industrial commerce and production. Industries present the most dominant feature of all modern cities. The invention of machinery, the development of team power, and the application of huge capital industrial enterprises led to the establishment of gigantic manufacturing plants which brought about the mobility of immobile groups of workers tending their concentration around the factory area. For the sake of working with others and of high wages men abandoned rural work and steamed into the industrial cities.
3. Commercialization: There has been a change in the nature and extent of commercial interaction between people. Thus where industrialization has stimulated city growth, trade, and commerce also played an important part in urban expansion. In ancient civilization, two cities grew wherein goods were distributed and commercial transactions were carried. Thus Athens, Sparta, Venice, and Patliputra were great trading centers. In modern times, the developments of modern marketing institutions and methods of exchange have greatly contributed to the growth of cities. 
4. Development of Transport and Communications: The development in methods of transportation and communication and the facilities that cities offer for satisfying the desire for communication also explain urban growth. Industrialization depends upon transportation so that raw materials and manufactured goods can be carried in large volumes. In an industrial city, the means of transport and communication are essentially developed. The city is connected not only with other parts in and outside of the country but through the development means of local transportation the different parts of the city as well are connected to each other.
5. Better Opportunities Offered by the Cities: In fact, cities provide more opportunities for personal advancements in comparison to rural areas. Modern business and commerce pull young men to the cities where they are paid magnified salaries. Employment opportunities are more in the city than in the village. Even businessmen come to the city from the village to avail of better opportunities for making higher profits. As the standard of living in the country rises, there is an increasing demand for the kinds of commodities that are supplied in and by cities. This increased demand means that people can earn livelihood in a larger percentage in the cities. It is in the city that leaders, religious or educational, receive special and high recognition. The general conception of attaining higher status in the cities and employment of better amenities is leading to the expansion of cities and towns.
6. Facilities of Education and Amusement: In comparison to rural areas the elementary schools in a city are better equipped and training schools, colleges, and technical schools are urban. Most big libraries are situated in cities. Art galleries and museums are urban. Prominent educationists give their talks in cities. Naturally on account of all these facilities young men and young are attracted to the cities for higher education. Better recreational facilities are also available in the cities. Amusement theaters and operas are urban. By making appeals to the feeling and play impulses of children and adults alike they draw them to the cities.

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.