Definitions of Social issues

Social issues are matters which directly or indirectly affect many

or all members of a society and are considered to be problems,
controversies related to moral values, or both.

these are issues that are not controlled by individuals, but affect
communities or societies as a whole. They usually are caused by
two or more conflicting viewpoints or opinions

Poverty in India

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%.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%.
Poverty is one of the main problems which have
attracted attention of sociologists and
economists. It indicates a condition in which a
person fails to maintain a living standard
adequate for his physical and mental efficiency.
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
villagesPoverty 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

Social issues are matters which directly or indirectly affect a person or

many members of a society and are considered to be problems,
controversies related to moral values, or both. Under certain models of
political issues, they are seen as distinct from economic issues
Dowry deaths are the deaths of young women who are murdered or
driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and
in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry. Dowry deaths are
reported in various South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh. Dowry death is considered one of the many categories of
violence against women in South Asia.
Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the
harassment and torture, commits suicide. Most of these suicides are by
hanging, poisoning or by fire. Sometimes the woman is killed by setting
her on fire; this is known as "bride burning", and sometimes disguised as
suicide or accident. According to Indian police, every year it receives over
2,500 reports of bride-burning [1], while human rights organisations in
Pakistan report over 300 deaths per year. [2] The Indian National Crime
Records Bureau (NCRB) reports that there were about 8172 dowry death
cases registered in India in 2008 [3]. Incidents of dowry deaths during the
year 2008 (8172) have increased by 14.4 per cent over 1998 level
(7146). [4]
'The 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act' prohibits the request, payment or
acceptance of a dowry, "as consideration for the marriage". where
"dowry" is defined as a gift demanded or given as a precondition for a
marriage. Gifts given without a precondition are not considered dowry,
and are legal. Asking or giving of dowry can be punished by an
imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs. 5000. It replaced
several pieces of anti-dowry legislation that had been enacted by various
Indian states. [5] Indian women's rights activists campaigned for more
than 40 years to contain dowry deaths without much success. The Dowry
Prohibition Act 1961 and the more stringent Section 498a of IPC (enacted
in 1983) did not achieve the desired result. Using the Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) implemented in 2006,
a woman can put a stop to the dowry harassment by approaching a
domestic violence protection officer. Due to demands by women's rights
activists, the Indian government has modified property inheritance laws
and permitted daughters to claim equal rights to their parental property.
 Some religious groups have urged the people to curb the extravagant
spendings during the marriages

Caste related violence

Main articles: Caste system in India, Caste politics in India, and Caste-related
violence in India

Caste-related violence and hate crimes in India have occurred despite the
gradual reduction of casteism in the country. Independent India has
witnessed considerable amount of violence and hate crimes motivated by
caste. Ranvir Sena, a caste-supremacist fringe paramilitary group based
in Bihar, has committed violent acts against Dalits and other members of
the scheduled caste community. Phoolan Devi, who belonged to Mallah
lower-caste, was mistreated and raped by upper-caste Thakurs at a
young age. She then became a bandit and carried out violent robberies
against upper-caste people. In 1981, her gang massacred twenty-two
Thakurs, most of whom were not involved in her kidnapping or rape.
Phoolan Devi went on to become a politician and Member of Parliament.
Over the years, various incidents of violence against Dalits, such as
Kherlanji Massacre have been reported from many parts of India. At the
same time, many violent protests by Dalits, such as the 2006 Dalit
protests in Maharashtra, have been reported as well.
The Mandal Commission was established in 1979 to "identify the socially
or educationally backward",[34] and to consider the question of seat
reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination. In
1980, the commission's report affirmed the affirmative action practice
under Indian law whereby members of lower castes were given exclusive
access to a certain portion of government jobs and slots in public
universities. When V. P. Singh Government tried to implement the
recommendations of Mandal Commission in 1989, massive protests were
held in the country. Many alleged that the politicians were trying to cash
in on caste-based reservations for purely pragmatic electoral purposes.
In 1990s, many parties Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Samajwadi Party
and the Janata Dal started claiming that they are representing the
backward castes. Many such parties, relying primarily on Backward
Classes' support, often in alliance with Dalits and Muslims, rose to power
in Indian states[35]. At the same time, many Dalit leaders and intellectuals
started realizing that the main Dalit oppressors were so-called Other
Backward Classes[36], and formed their own parties, such as the Indian
Justice Party. The Congress (I) in Maharashtra long relied on OBCs'
backing for its political success[35]. Bharatiya Janata Party has also
 showcased its Dalit and OBC leaders to prove that it is not an upper-caste
party. Bangaru Laxman, the former BJP president (2001–2002) was a
former Dalit. Sanyasin Uma Bharati, former CM of Madhya Pradesh , who
belongs to OBC caste, was a former BJP leader. In 2006 Arjun Singh
cabinet minister for MHRD of the UPA government was accused of playing
caste politics when he introduced reservations for OBCs in educational
institutions all around
Poverty
Main article: Poverty in India

Percent of population living under the poverty line

One-third of India's population (roughly equivalent to the entire

population of the United States) lives below the poverty line and India is
home to one-third of the world's poor people.
Though the middle class has gained from recent positive economic
developments, India suffers from substantial poverty. According to the
new World Bank's estimates on poverty based on 2005 data, India has
456 million people, 41.6% of its population, living below the new
international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day. The World Bank further
estimates that 33% of the global poor now reside in India. Moreover,
India also has 828 million people, or 75.6% of the population living below
$2 a day, compared to 72.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa.[41][42][43][44]
Wealth distribution in India is fairly uneven, with the top 10% of income
groups earning 33% of the income. [45] Despite significant economic
progress, 1/4 of the nation's population earns less than the government-
specified poverty threshold of $0.40/day. Official figures estimate that
27.5%[46] of Indians lived below the national poverty line in 2004-2005. [47]
A 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the
Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) found that 25% of Indians, or 236 million
people, lived on less than 20 rupees per day [48] with most working in
"informal labour sector with no job or social security, living in abject
poverty."[4
The economic structure of rural areas is such that children, especially
girls, are required to help in household work and perform their chores.
Young girls have to look after their younger brothers and sisters, have
to get water from the well, have to carry food to the father in the field,
etc. Since there is so much to be done at home, they cannot be spared
for the luxury of attending a school. The resources of the poor farmer
are so limited that he does not have anything to spare for the
education of his children. If there are resources available it the boy
who is sent to school first. Parents also do not see the value of
educating their children specially daughters who would get married
after all and be only housewives. Since they cannot see any direct
relationship between education and economic betterment, they have
very little motivation to send their children to school.
It is still not being realized that there is definite connection between
education, good motherhood and efficient house management. The
management of millions of household and the upbringing of millions of
children in thus is the hands of illiterate women. It is here that a
change is required if our democratic and socialistic intensions are not
to remain a mere pretence. People can be motivated to have their
children educated only if educational system is directly linked with
economic and social development. As long as our education remains
oblivious of the felt needs of people to solve their immediate problems
and on the contrary, actually alienates them from their natural, social
and cultural surroundings, they will rightly resist sending their children
to school. It is the area of primary education, especially in rural areas,
which should be given maximum attention. Primary education for both
girls and boys is what we should be concerned about while planning
our policies and allocation funds. It is this sector of our education
structure that gets neglected in favor of all sorts of institutes of ‘higher
learning’ and ‘research’ of a kind that are neither relevant nor pertinent
to our pressing problems. The role of women outside home is becoming
an important and even essential feature of our present day reality
Rural poverty is largely a result of low productivity and
unemployment. The Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, a national public works
scheme launched in 1989 with financing from the central and state
governments, provides more than 700 million person days of work a
year about 1% of total employment for people with few opportunities
 for employment. The scheme has two components: a programme to
provide low-cost housing and one to supply free irrigation wells to poor
and marginalized farmers. The public works scheme is self-targeting.
Since it offers employment at the statutory minimum wage for
unskilled manual labor, only those willing to accept very low wages the
poor are likely to enroll in the scheme. By providing regular
employment and thereby increasing the bargaining power of all rural
workers, the public works scheme has had a significant effect in
reducing poverty. It has also contributed to the construction of rural
infrastructure (irrigation works, a soil conservation project, drinking
water supply). Evaluations show that 82% of available funds have been
channeled to community development projects. Targeting was
improved in 1996 when the housing and irrigation well components
were delinked and focused exclusively on people below the poverty
line.
TRYSEM (Training rural youth for self employment) was started to
provide technical skills to the rural youth and to help them to get
employment in fields such as agriculture, industry, services and business
activities. Youth of the poor families belonging to the age-group of 18-35
are entitled to avail the benefits of the scheme. Priority is given to
persons belonging to ST/SC and ex-servicemen and about 1/3 seats are
reserved for women. Minimum Needs Programme was taken up as an
integral part of the 5th Five Year Plan and it was intended to cater to the
minimum needs of the people such as rural water supply, rural
health, road building, adult education, primary education, rural
electrification and improvement of the urban slums etc.With the intention
of removing urban unemployment some schemes such as SEPUP (Self-
employment programme for the urban poor); SEEUY (Scheme for self-
employment of the educated urban youths) .These schemes gives loans
and subsidies for the urban unemployed youths to create or to find for
themselves some jobs. The SEPUP had provided financial help for about
1.19 urban unemployed youths in the year 190-91.
The participation of civil society organizations in poverty reduction efforts,
especially those directed to women, has increased social awareness and
encouraged governments to provide better services. Cooperatives such as
the Self-Employed Women's Association provide credit to women at
market rates of interest but do not require collateral; they also allow
flexibility in the use of loans and the timing of repayments. These civil
society organizations have not only contributed to women's material well
being; they have also helped empower them socially and politically. Such
credit initiatives, by bringing women out of the confines of the household,
are changing their status within the family and within village hierarchies.
The demands of civil society organizations for better social services have
 spurred the government to launch campaigns to increase literacy and
improve public infrastructure. And their calls for greater accountability
and real devolution of power are increasing the likelihood that
expenditures for poverty reduction will reach the needy, especially
women.
The

Child Labour

Bild: laxman/stock.xchng

What Is "Child Labor"?

"Child labor" is, generally speaking, work for children that

harms them or exploits them in some way (physically,
mentally, morally, or by blocking access to education).

BUT: There is no universally accepted definition of "child labor".

Varying definitions of the term are used by international
organizations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions
and other interest groups. Writers and speakers don’t always
specify what definition they are using, and that often leads to
confusion.
 Who Is A "Child"?

International conventions define children as aged 18 and

under.
Individual governments may define "child" according to
different ages or other criteria.
"Child" and "childhood" are also defined differently by different
cultures. A "child" is not necessarily delineated by a fixed age.
Social scientists point out that children’s abilities and maturities
vary so much that defining a child’s maturity by calendar age
can be misleading. For a discussion, see Jo Boyden, Birgitta
Ling, William Myers, "What Works for Working Children"
(Stockholm: Radda Barnen and Unicef
Who Are Child Laborers? And How Many Are There?
In 2000, the ILO estimates, "246 million child workers aged 5 and 17 were involved in
child labor, of which 171 million were involved in work that by its nature is hazardous to
their safety, physical or mental health, and moral development. Moreover, some 8.4
million children were engaged in so-called 'unconditional' worst forms of child labor,
which include forced and bonded labor, the use of children in armed conflict, trafficking
in children and commercial sexual exploitation

Unicef’s State of the World’s Children Report says only that

although the exact number is not known, it is surely in the hundreds
of millions
Where Do Child Laborers Live?

What Do Child Laborers Do?

Work ranges from taking care of animals and planting and harvesting food, to many
kinds of small manufacturing (e.g. of bricks and cement), auto repair, and making of
footwear and textiles

A large proportion of children whom the ILO classifies as child

laborers work in agriculture

Note: Less than 5% of child laborers make products for export to

other countries. Sources for this statistic include Unicef’s State of
the World’s Children Report 1997.

Why Should We Care?

Many children in hazardous and dangerous jobs are in danger of injury, even death.

Beyond compassion, consider who today’s children will become in the future. Between
today and the year 2020, the vast majority of new workers, citizens and new consumers
— whose skills and needs will build the world’s economy and society — will come from
developing countries

How Can Ordinary People Help Reduce Child Labor?

Learn about the issue. Support organizations that are raising awareness, and providing
direct help to individual children
What Are Some "Myths" Or Misunderstandings About Child Labor?
Unicef lists four "myths":

1. It is a myth that child labor is only a problem in developing

countries. "But in fact, children routinely work in all
industrialized countries, and hazardous forms of child labour
can be found in many countries. In the US, for example, children
are employed in agriculture, a high proportion of them from
immigrant or ethnic-minority families. A 1990 survey of Mexican-
American children working in the farms of New York state
showed that almost half had worked in fields still wet with
pesticides and over a third had themselves been sprayed."
2. It is a myth that child labor will only disappear when poverty
disappears. Hazardous labor can, and should be eliminated by
even the poorest countries.
3. It is a myth that most child laborers work in sweatshops making
goods for export. "Soccer balls made by children in Pakistan for
use by children in industrialized countries may provide a
compelling symbol, but in fact, only a very small proportion of
all child workers are employed in export industries - probably
less than 5 per cent. Most of the world’s child labourers actually
are to be found in the informal sector - selling on the street, at
work in agriculture or hidden away in houses – far from the
reach of official labour inspectors and from media scrutiny."
4. It is a myth that "the only way to make headway against child
labour is for consumers and governments to apply pressure
through sanctions and boycotts. While international
commitment and pressure are important, boycotts and other
sweeping measures can only affect export sectors, which are
relatively small exploiters of child labour. Such measures are
also blunt instruments with long-term consequences that can
actually harm rather than help the children involved."
 What Causes Child Labor Today?
Poverty is widely considered the top reason why children work at inappropriate jobs for
their ages. But there are other reasons as well -- not necessarily in this order:

1. family expectations and traditions

2. abuse of the child
3. lack of good schools and day care
4. lack of other services, such as health care
5. public opinion that downplays the risk of early work for children
6. uncaring attitudes of employers
7. limited choices for women

What Are Some Solutions To Child Labor?

Not necessarily in this order:

1. Increased family incomes

2. Education — that helps children learn skills that will help them
earn a living
3. Social services — that help children and families survive crises,
such as disease, or loss of home and shelter
4. Family control of fertility — so that families are not burdened by
children
The ILO’s International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) has
explored many programs to help child laborers. See IPEC documents on the

Dropout - Definition

Education
The term "dropout" means a child who quits school before graduation. Compare pushout, a child counseled or forced out of school
before graduation.
Why This Topic Is Important
Children who are abused or neglected, including those who witness domestic
violence, often exhibit emotional, cognitive, and behavioral problems, such as
depression, suicidal behavior, difficulty in school, use of alcohol and other drugs,
and early sexual activity. Children who are abused or neglected also are more
likely to repeat the cycle of violence by entering into violent relationships as teens
and adults or abusing their own children. More

Addictions (Doctor-reviewed Article)

Addiction occurs when an individual becomes physically or psychologically dependent
on something, such as alcohol, drugs (legal or illegal), or gambling. Individuals may
become addicted to or have compulsive behaviors in regard