BGS Assignment

Social Issues

The main social issues being discussed in this topic are:

1.Infant Mortality

2.Unemployment

3.Poverty

4.Female Infanticide

Infant Mortality
Defined as the number of deaths occurring in children below the
age of 1 year per 1000 childbirths.the situation in india is vey
precarious. According to a recent report by Save the Children, an
international NGO one –fifths of the world’s new born deaths occur
in India. The survey done in 14 countries reveal that countries like
Peru, Bangladesh and Nepal have done better than India in terms of
neo-natal mortality. According to the findings of the report, over
four lakh newborns die within the first 24 hours every year in India-
the highest anywhere in India.
India also has the highest under-five mortality with over 2 million
children dying before their fifth birthday-that is one death every 15
seconds. About 90% of these deaths are preventable. One-third of
 all malnourished children live in India.46% of children under 3 years
are underweight. A child’s chances of survival varies in different
states-the infant mortality rate in Orissa is 96 per 1000 live births in
Kerala it is only 14 per 1000.India ranks 171 out of 175 countries in
public health spending.
Despite rapid economic growth, India’s record on child mortality at
72 per 1000 live births is much higher than other poor countries like
Bangladesh. In 2000 India has vowed to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals of reducing under five mortality rate by two-
thirds by 2015.The report suggest that it is not possible to meet the
goal until 2020.
Unemployment
India as a nation is faced with massive problem of unemployment.
Unemployment can be defined as a state of worklessness for a man
fit and willing to work. It is a condition of involuntary and not
voluntary idleness. Some features of unemployment have been
identified as follows:

1.The incidence of unemployment is much higher in urban areas than

in rural areas.

2.Unemployment rates for women are higher than those for men.

3.The incidence of unemployment among the educated is much

higher than the overall unemployment.

4.There is greater unemployment in agricultural sector than in

industrial and other major sectors.

Economists and social thinkers have classified unemployment into

various types. Generally unemployment can be classified in two
types:
(1) Voluntary unemployment
In this type of unemployment a person is out of job of his own
desire doesn't work on the prevalent or prescribed wages. Either he
wants higher wages or doesn't want to work at all. It is in fact social
problem leading to social disorganization. Social problems and
forces such as a revolution, a social upheaval, a class struggle, a
financial or economic crisis a war between nations, mental illness,
political corruption mounting unemployment and crime etc.
threaten the smooth working of society.
(2) In voluntary unemployment
In this type of situation the person who is unemployed has no say in
the matter. It means that a person is separated from remunerative
work and devoid of wages although he is capable of earning his
wages and is also anxious to earn them. Forms and types of
unemployment according to Hock are.

a. Cyclical unemployment - This is the result of the trade cycle

which is a part of the capitalist system. In such a system, there is
greater unemployment and when there is depression a large
number of people are rendered unemployed.

b. Sudden unemployment - When at the place where workers

have been employed there is some change, a large number of
persons are unemployed. It all happens in the industries, trades
and business where people are employed for a job and
suddenly when the job has ended they are asked to go.

c.Unemployment caused by failure of Industries - In many cases, a

business a factory or an industry has to close down. There may
be various factors responsible for it there may be dispute
 amongst the partners, the business may give huge loss or the
business may not turn out to be useful and so on.
d. Unemployment caused by deterioration in Industry and
business - In various industries, trades or business, sometimes,
there is deterioration. In efficiency of the employers, keen
competitions less profit etc. are some of the factors responsible
for deterioration in the industry and the business.
e. Seasonal unemployment - Certain industries and traders
engage workers for a particular season. When the season has
ended the workers are rendered unemployed. Sugar industry is
an example of this type of seasonal unemployment.

3.Poverty
According to a recent Indian government committee constituted to
estimate poverty, nearly 38% of India’s population (380 million) is
poor. This report is based on new methodology and the figure is
10% higher than the present poverty estimate of 28.5%.
The committee was headed by SD Tendulkar has used a different
methodology to reach at the current figure. It has taken into
consideration indicators for heath, education, sanitation, nutrition
and income as per National Sample Survey Organization survey of
2004-05. This new methodology is a complex scientific basis aimed
at addressing the concern raised over the current poverty
estimation.
Since 1972 poverty has been defined on basis of the money
required to buy food worth 2100 calories in urban areas and 2400
calories in rural areas. In June this year a government committee
headed by NC Saxena committee estimated 50% Indians were poor
as against Planning Commission’s 2006 figure of 28.5%
 Even after more than 50 years of Independence India still has the
world's largest number of poor people in a single country. Of its
nearly 1 billion inhabitants, an estimated 260.3 million are below
the poverty line, of which 193.2 million are in the rural areas and
67.1 million are in urban areas. More than 75% of poor people
reside in villages. Poverty level is not uniform across India. The
poverty level is below 10% in states like Delhi, Goa, and Punjab etc
whereas it is below 50% in Bihar (43) and Orissa (47). It is between
30-40% in Northeastern states of Assam, Tripura, and Mehgalaya
and in Southern states of TamilNadu and Uttar Pradesh.

4.Female Infanticide
Five million girls were eliminated between 1986 and 2001 because
of foetal sex determination done by unethical medical
professionals. The rate of extermination continues to increase after
census 2001.Sex determination and sex selective abortion was
traced to an Amritsar clinic in 1979 and has now grown into an
Rs.1000 -crore country wide industry.
In recent years the misuse of ultrasound has reached remote tribal
areas of Rajasthan, Bundelkhand and emerged even in parts of India
where women were better treated such as Assam, Kerala and the
Kashmir valley. China as of 2000 census was eliminating one million
girls annually but present trends suggest that India is likely to
overtake China in less than a decade. Son preference has become
daughter hatred in India in the recent decades due to the widespread
legitimization of this form of violence against women.
Efforts of the media have certainly contributed to the increased
public discourse on this issue over the years. Today reports of female
fetuses found in drains or dug from dry wells or floating in lakes or
eaten by dogs are headline news. There have been stories on the
consequences like trafficking of women for marriage and
emergence of polyandry.
The government of India should set a target date by which the
country will have balanced sex-ratios at birth. The coming plan
needs to give a fair deal to women by abandoning fertility targets
and replacing it with solid commitments to restore sex-ratio at
birth.

Bibliography:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_issues
www.azadindia.org/social-issues/index.html
www.indianchild.com/womens_issues_in_india.htm
www.ugc.ac.in/policy/env/Chapter6.pdf
www.indianchild.com/abortion_infanticide_foeticide_india.htm