IGNOU B.

A Sociology Solved Assignment 2011

Maximum Marks: 100 Programme Code: BDP
Weight age: 30% Course Code: ESO-06/16
Assignment Code: ESO-06/16/AST/TMA/2010-11
Answer all the questions.
Section 1

Answer the following in about 500 words each. Marks

Q1.Critically examines the approaches to social problems and brings out their
inadequacies. (20)
Solution: Social problems, also called social issues, affect every society, great and
small. Even in relatively isolated, sparsely populated areas, a group will encounter
social problems. Part of this is due to the fact that any members of a society living
close enough together will have conflicts. It’s virtually impossible to avoid them,
and even people who live together in the same house don’t always get along
seamlessly. On the whole though, when social problems are mentioned they tend to
refer to the problems that affect people living together in a society.

The list of social problems is huge and not identical from area to area. In the US,
some predominant social issues include the growing divide between rich and poor,
domestic violence, unemployment, pollution, urban decay, racism and sexism, and
many others. Sometimes social issues arise when people hold very different
opinions about how to handle certain situations like unplanned pregnancy. While
some people might view abortion as the solution to this problem, other members of
the society remain strongly opposed to its use. In itself, strong disagreements on
how to solve problems create divides in social groups.

Other issues that may be considered social problems aren't that common in the US
and other industrialized countries, but they are huge problems in developing ones.
The issues of massive poverty, food shortages, lack of basic hygiene, spread of
incurable diseases, ethnic cleansing, and lack of education inhibits the
development of society. Moreover, these problems are related to each other and it
can seem hard to address one without addressing all of them.

It would be easy to assume that a social problem only affects the people whom it
directly touches, but this is not the case. Easy spread of disease for instance may
tamper with the society at large, and it’s easy to see how this has operated in
certain areas of Africa. The spread of AIDs for instance has created more social
problems because it is costly, it is a danger to all members of society, and it leaves
many children without parents. HIV/AIDs isn’t a single problem but a complex
cause of numerous ones. Similarly, unemployment in America doesn’t just affect
those unemployed but affects the whole economy.

It’s also important to understand that social problems within a society affect its
interaction with other societies, which may lead to global problems or issues. How
another nation deals with the problems of a developing nation may affect its
relationship with that nation and the rest of the world for years to come. Though
the United States was a strong supporter of the need to develop a Jewish State in
Israel, its support has come at a cost of its relationship with many Arabic nations.

Additionally, countries that allow multiple political parties and free expression of
speech have yet another issue when it comes to tackling some of the problems that
plague its society. This is diversity of solutions, which may mean that the country
cannot commit to a single way to solve an issue, because there are too many ideas
operating on how to solve it. Any proposed solution to something that affects
society is likely to make some people unhappy, and this discontent can promote
discord. On the other hand, in countries where the government operates
independently of the people and where free speech or exchange of ideas is
discouraged, there may not be enough ideas to solve issues, and governments may
persist in trying to solve them in wrongheaded or ineffective ways.
The earliest approach to the study of social disorganization is that of the social
problems. The problems were discussed without any particular sociological frame
of reference both the facts and suggested reform programmes being taken from the
fields in which the problems were found. Each problem was considered in
complete isolation from others. It was assumed that society could progress if it
would attack the mal-adjustment which delayed human advancement. Thus the
social problems were the diseases of society which threatened the welfare of the
group. This is not a scientific approach because social problems in one period of
history are not so considered in another. Besides some of the so called social
problems are not generally accepted as such. Therefore this approach is called
evangelistic one. For all its imperfections and inadequacies the social problem
approach contributed to the understanding of social disorganization paving the way
for a more scientific analysis.
The second approach to the study of social disorganization is the bio-
pyschological.It is the result of the development of the sciences; biology and
psychology. The beginnings of this approach can be traced in the formulation of
racial theories by Gobineau.He and his followers declared the theory that the decay
of all societies is the result of racial intermixing. This is because that the races are
not equal in capacity. The eugenists were of the view that there are biological
differences not only between races but between individuals within the same race.
Therefore society would take drastic steps to prevent conception among the
mentally unfit. This is only way open to solve social problems and for the
prevention of social disorganization. This approach helps us to know that the
disorganization of society is the direct result of deficiencies in the biological make-
up passed on from generation through heredity. The third approach is geographical.
Geographical factors such as land, water, rainfall, climate and soil decide the
superiority of a given culture or the backwardness of people. The forms of social
disorganization which are explained in terms of geographical factors are crime,
cultural retardation, illiteracy, suicide, divorce and insanity. Geography imposes
limitation to man's ingenuity but it does not determine the patterns of social
adjustment.

The fourth approach to the study of social disorganization is cultural because it

explains social problems in terms of cultural processes. Thus the different forms of
social-organization show institutional malfunctioning.

The fifth approach is the cultural lag frame of reference. The term cultural lag
explained by Ogburn is based upon the distinction between material and non-
material culture. Rapid changes takes place in the material culture whereas slow
changes in non-material culture. Changes in material culture necessitate related
changes in non-material culture. According to this school the disorganization of the
modern family is the result of a lag in the continued functioning of and failure to
develop suitable substitutes for the old folkways and mores governing family
relations. Cultural anthropologists attempt to broaden the concept cultural lag to
include lack of harmonious functioning between two associated cultural traits.
Thomas and Znaniecki in their Polish Peasant talk of the cultural approach. This
may be called the culture conflict approach. According to them the social
disorganization of the immigrant community is the result of conflict between the
cultures of the old and the new worlds in which the control of the primary group
breaks down.

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Q2. Would a change in social structure and processes end violence against
woman? Comment. (20)
Solution: Change in social structure in insidious ways slowly creeps its way up,
accompanied by a lot of evidence to the contrary. And for ever, whatever we say
about Indian women, the opposite will also be true. There will be positive
empowerment as a result of panchayat reservations and change in inheritance laws
and gender-friendly police stations, but it may take several generations before
women actually ride on these newly built roads.

It is true that women are getting more of a say in homes and families and their own
lives than they have had before. They are getting more educated, more
entrepreneurial, and more gutsy about narrowing the gap between them and
authority figures in their lives — more so spouses and in-laws than parents. This is
going to keep increasing because once the worm turns, there is no stopping it.

So, let’s try and separate the signal of change from the noise, and examine how
urban women’s lives are changing in India and understand what is driving this
change. At the least, we will be able to market to them better, and at best to help
them evolve further.While it is true, by women’s own admissions, that mothers-in-
law are more tolerant and husbands less repressive, and she has equal voting rights
on family issues, it isn’t social evolution that is driving this change as much as the
state of the economy. In other words, we have God (or Goddess?) EMI or equated
monthly installment to thank for driving this change. The concept of family has
changed from a predominantly social unit to an economic unit. The new truth
about Indian marriages is the old truth — that its business model is around a
pragmatic ‘life business’ partnership rather than around romance. Ask any young
man, or woman, and you will know.Taking a loan for whatever purpose is the new
Indian way of life. The EMI is here to stay. And everyone has to do whatever they
can in the family to enable family earnings to happen, so that the quality of living
can be improved or the house can be owned or made livable. What is the role of
the woman in this? In the lower social class, she must either earn and be a co-
contributor or she must look after the housework and the children of the extended
family so that the men and the women who are working outside the home can
maximize their earnings.

In the middle and upper class households, she must take care of all home and
‘outdoor work’ of the family so that she facilitates and insulates the man who is
better qualified and who can earn big bucks to continue to do so with no
distraction.

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Section 2
Answer the following in about 250 words each.
3. Delineate the various changes in the urban family system. (12)
Solution: Family has always been at the base of urban society. Most of the Urban
take pride in the essence of family life. However the recent changes in the socio-
political and economic arena have had a significant impact on individuals and
families. India is a country that truly befits the phrase” unity in diversity” with so
many religions, languages, cultures, castes and yet the oneness that binds them
together. Each family unit in India is influenced by his or her cultures and values.
Urban joint family system was quite prevalent a few years back. However, with
western influences, more and more people are now willing to stay as a nuclear
family especially in urban areas. Traditional roles in family structure are now
changing but even modern and educated families imbibe the intrinsic values of
family life in India.

Family ties are very important to Urban. Arranged marriages within the caste
system are still very much prevalent all over the country. The traditional role of a
man to support the family economically and the traditional role of a woman to look
after the domestic chores can be seen in rural areas. Working women which are
now common in urban areas are still expected to fulfill their domestic
responsibilities.

The Urban family is being exposed to fast paced lifestyles that are taxing
considering the structure of family as a social institution. Urban families and their
mental set up are not well prepared to confront the competitive and challenging
world of today. Most young Urban face a dilemma when exposed to a new pattern
of living and a different set of values as against those which were promoted by
their parents and grandparents.

Most Urban families are conservative and sons are always more preferred than
daughters as sons normally earn money for the family and support their parents
during their old age. Urban family life has its own merits and demerits. With a
family, there is emotional security, co-operation, values etc.

However individual freedom might get restrained. Sharing and caring is another
important aspect that Urban joint families believe in. An Urban family typically
consists of a man, his wife, their children, the man’s parents and unmarried sisters,
if any. The man mostly make his parents live with him and looks after them. The
family system is given a lot of importance in India and has worked more often than
not.
Most Urban marriages are arranged and within the community. Normally, the
parents of the prospective spouses get together either through a common relative or
through a matchmaker. Most Urbans get together with their family and celebrate
Urban festivals like diwali, holi, navratri etc with great joy.

The rigid Urban family system in imbibed in the culture of India and though
changes are taking place, it will require a very long period of time for Urbans to
change their living patterns.

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Q4. Outline the constitutional provisions and government policies to eliminate

Child labor. (12)
Solution: The problem of child labour continues to pose a challenge before the
nation. Government has been taking various pro-active measures to tackle this
problem. However, considering the magnitude and extent of the problem and that it
is essentially a socio-economic problem inextricably linked to poverty and
illiteracy, it requires concerted efforts from all sections of the society to make a
dent in the problem.

Way back in 1979, Government formed the first committee called Gurupadswamy
Committee to study the issue of child labour and to suggest measures to tackle it.
The Committee examined the problem in detail and made some far-reaching
recommendations. It observed that as long as poverty continued, it would be
difficult to totally eliminate child labour and hence, any attempt to abolish it
through legal recourse would not be a practical proposition. The Committee felt
that in the circumstances, the only alternative left was to ban child labour in
hazardous areas and to regulate and ameliorate the conditions of work in other
areas. It recommended that a multiple policy approach was required in dealing with
the problems of working children.

Based on the recommendations of Gurupadaswamy Committee, the Child Labour

(Prohibition & Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986. The Act prohibits
employment of children in certain specified hazardous occupations and processes
and regulates the working conditions in others. The list of hazardous occupations
and processes is progressively being expanded on the recommendation of Child
Labour Technical Advisory Committee constituted under the Act.
In consonance with the above approach, a National Policy on Child Labour was
formulated in 1987. The Policy seeks to adopt a gradual & sequential approach
with a focus on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations &
processes in the first instance. The Action Plan outlined in the Policy for tackling
this problem is as follows:

Legislative Action Plan for strict enforcement of Child Labour Act and other
labour laws to ensure that children are not employed in hazardous employments,
and that the working conditions of children working in non-hazardous areas are
regulated in accordance with the provisions of the Child Labour Act. It also entails
further identification of additional occupations and processes, which are
detrimental to the health and safety of the children.

Focusing of General Developmental Programmes for Benefiting Child Labour -

As poverty is the root cause of child labour, the action plan emphasizes the need to
cover these children and their families also under various poverty alleviation and
employment generation schemes of the Government.

Project Based Plan of Action envisages starting of projects in areas of high

concentration of child labour. Pursuant to this, in 1988, the National Child Labour
Project (NCLP) Scheme was launched in 9 districts of high child labour
endemicity in the country. The Scheme envisages running of special schools for
child labour withdrawn from work. In the special schools, these children are
provided formal/non-formal education along with vocational training, a stipend of
Rs.100 per month, supplementary nutrition and regular health checkups so as to
prepare them to join regular mainstream schools. Under the Scheme, funds are
given to the District Collectors for running special schools for child labour. Most
of these schools are run by the NGOs in the district.

Government has accordingly been taking proactive steps to tackle this problem
through strict enforcement of legislative provisions along with simultaneous
rehabilitative measures. State Governments, which are the appropriate
implementing authorities, have been conducting regular inspections and raids to
detect cases of violations. Since poverty is the root cause of this problem, and
enforcement alone cannot help solve it, Government has been laying a lot of
emphasis on the rehabilitation of these children and on improving the economic
conditions of their families. The coverage of the NCLP Scheme has increased
from 12 districts in 1988 to 100 districts in the 9th Plan to 250 districts during the
10th Plan.
Strategy for the elimination of child labour under the 10th Plan

An evaluation of the Scheme was carried out by independent agencies in

coordination with V. V. Giri National Labour Institute in 2001. Based on the
recommendations of the evaluation and experience of implementing the scheme
since 1988, the strategy for implementing the scheme during the 10th Plan was
devised. It aimed at greater convergence with the other developmental schemes
and bringing qualitative changes in the Scheme. Some of the salient points of the
10th Plan Strategy are as follows: Focused and reinforced action to eliminate child
labour in the hazardous occupations by the end of the Plan period.Expansion of
National Child Labour Projects to additional 150 districts.Linking the child labour
elimination efforts with the Scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of Ministry of
Human Resource Development to ensure that children in the age group of 5-8
years get directly admitted to regular schools and that the older working children
are mainstreamed to the formal education system through special schools
functioning under the NCLP Scheme.Convergence with other Schemes of the
Departments of Education, Rural Development, Health and Women and Child
Development for the ultimate attainment of the objective in a time bound manner.

The Government and the Ministry of Labour & Employment in particular, are
rather serious in their efforts to fight and succeed in this direction. The number of
districts covered under the NCLP Scheme has been increased from 100 to 250, as
mentioned above in this note. In addition, 21 districts have been covered under
INDUS, a similar Scheme for rehabilitation of child labour in cooperation with US
Department of Labour. Implementation of this Project was recently reviewed
during the visit of Mr. Steven Law, Deputy Secretary of State, from the USA. For
the Districts not covered under these two Schemes, Government is also providing
funds directly to the NGOs under the Ministry’s Grants-in-aid Scheme for running
Special Schools for rehabilitation of child labour, thereby providing for a greater
role and cooperation of the civil society in combating this menace.

Elimination of child labour is the single largest programme in this Ministry’s

activities. Apart from a major increase in the number of districts covered under the
scheme, the priority of the Government in this direction is evident in the quantum
jump in budgetary allocation during the 10th Plan. Government has allocated Rs.
602 crores for the Scheme during the 10th Plan, as against an expenditure of Rs.
178 crores in the 9th Plan. The resources set aside for combating this evil in the
Ministry is around 50 per cent of its total annual budget.
The implementation of NCLP and INDUS Schemes is being closely monitored
through periodical reports, frequent visits and meetings with the District and State
Government officials. The Government’s commitment to achieve tangible results
in this direction in a time bound manner is also evident from the fact that in the
recent Regional Level Conferences of District Collectors held in Hyderabad, Pune,
Mussoorie and Kolkata district-wise review of the Scheme was conducted at the
level of Secretary. These Conferences provided an excellent opportunity to have
one-to-one interaction with the Collectors, who play a pivotal role in the
implementation of these Schemes in the District. Besides, these Conferences also
helped in a big way in early operationalisation of Scheme in the newly selected
150 districts. The Government is committed to eliminate child labour in all its
forms and is moving in this direction in a targeted manner. The multipronged
strategy being followed by the Government to achieve this objective also found its
echo during the recent discussions held in the Parliament on the Private Member’s
Bill tabled by Shri Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi. It was unanimously recognized therein
that the problem of child labour, being inextricably linked with poverty and
illiteracy, cannot be solved by legislation alone, and that a holistic, multipronged
and concerted effort to tackle this problem will bring in the desired results.

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5. Discuss the causes and patterns of violence and terrorism in India. (12)
Solution: The causes and patterns of violence and terrorism in India include:
Political causes: This is seen essentially in Assam and Tripura. The political
factors that led to insurgency-cum-terrorism included the failure of the government
to control large-scale illegal immigration of Muslims from Bangladesh, to fulfil the
demand of economic benefits for the sons and daughters of the soil, etc.

Economic causes: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar are prime
examples. The economic factors include the absence of land reforms, rural
unemployment, exploitation of landless labourers by land owners, etc. These
economic grievances and perceptions of gross social injustice have given rise to
ideological terrorist groups such as the various Marxist/Maoist groups operating
under different names.

Ethnic causes: Mainly seen in Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur due to feelings of
ethnic separateness.
Religious causes: Punjab before 1995 and in J&K since 1989.In Punjab, some
Sikh elements belonging to different organisations took to terrorism to demand the
creation of an independent state called Khalistan for the Sikhs. In J&K, Muslims
belonging to different organisations took to terrorism for conflicting objectives.
Some, such as the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front, want independence for the
state, including all the territory presently part of India, Pakistan and China. Others,
such as the Hizbul Mujahideen , want India's J&K state to be merged with
Pakistan. While those who want independence project their struggle as a separatist
one, those wanting a merger with Pakistan project it as a religious struggle.

There have also been sporadic acts of religious terrorism in other parts of India.
These are either due to feelings of anger amongst sections of the Muslim youth
over the government's perceived failure to safeguard their lives and interests or due
to Pakistan's attempts to cause religious polarisation.

The maximum number of terrorist incidents and deaths of innocent civilians have
occurred due to religious terrorism. While the intensity of the violence caused by
terrorism of a non-religious nature can be rated as low or medium, that of religious
terrorism has been high or very high. It has involved the indiscriminate use of
sophisticated Improvised Explosive Devices, suicide bombers, the killing of
civilians belonging to the majority community with hand-held weapons and
resorting to methods such as hijacking, hostage-taking, blowing up of aircraft
through IEDs, etc.

Certain distinctions between the modus operandi and concepts/beliefs of religious

and non-religious terrorist groups need to be underlined, namely:

Non-religious terrorist groups in India do not believe in suicide terrorism, but the
LTTE does. Of the religious terrorist groups, the Sikhs did not believe in suicide
terrorism. The indigenous terrorist groups in J&K do not believe in suicide
terrorism either; it is a unique characteristic of Pakistan's pan-Islamic jihadi groups
operating in J&K and other parts of India. They too did not believe in suicide
terrorism before 1998; in fact, there was no suicide terrorism in J&K before 1999.
They started resorting to it only after they joined Osama bin Laden's International
Islamic Front in 1998. Since then, there have been 46 incidents of suicide
terrorism, of which 44 were carried out by bin Laden's Pakistani supporters
belonging to these organisations.

Non-religious terrorist groups in India have not resorted to hijacking and blowing
up of aircraft. Of the religious terrorists, the Sikh groups were responsible for five
hijackings, the indigenous JKLF for one and the Pakistani jihadi group, the Harkat-
ul-Mujahideen (which is a member of the IIF), for one. The Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh
terrorist group, blew up Air India's Kanishka aircraft off the Irish coast on June 23,
1985, killing nearly 200 passengers and made an unsuccessful attempt the same
day to blow up another Air India plane at Tokyo. The IED there exploded
prematurely on the ground. The Kashmiri and the Pakistani jihadi groups have not
tried to blow up any passenger plane while on flight. However, the JKLF had
blown up an Indian Airlines aircraft, which it had hijacked to Lahore in 1971, after
asking the passengers and crew to disembark.

All terrorist groups -- religious as well as non-religious -- have resorted to

kidnapping hostages for ransom and for achieving other demands. The non-
religious terrorist groups have targeted only Indians, whereas the religious terrorist
groups target Indians as well as foreigners. The Khalistan Commando Force, a
Sikh terrorist group, kidnapped a Romanian diplomat in New Delhi in 1991. The
JKLF kidnapped some Israeli tourists in J&K in 1992. HUM, under the name Al
Faran, kidnapped five Western tourists in 1995 and is believed to have killed four
of them. An American managed to escape. Sheikh Omar, presently on trial for the
kidnap and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Karachi in January last
year, had earlier kidnapped some Western tourists near Delhi. They were
subsequently freed by the police.

Non-religious terrorist groups in India have not carried out any act of terrorism
outside Indian territory. Of the religious terrorist groups, a Sikh organisation blew
up an Air India plane off the Irish coast and unsuccessfully tried to blow up
another plane at Tokyo the same day, plotted to kill then prime minister Rajiv
Gandhi during his visit to the US in June 1985 (the plot was foiled by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation), attacked the Indian ambassador in Bucharest, Romania,
in October 1991, and carried out a number of attacks on pro-government members
of the Sikh diaspora abroad. The JKLF kidnapped and killed an Indian diplomat in
Birmingham, England 1984. In the 1970s, the Anand Marg had indulged in acts of
terrorism in foreign countries.

None of the non-religious terrorist groups advocate the acquisition and use of
Weapons of Mass Destruction. Of the religious groups, the Sikh and the
indigenous Kashmiri terrorist groups did/do not advocate the acquisition and use of
WMD. However, the Pakistani pan-Islamic groups, which are members of the IIF
and which operate in J&K, support bin Laden's advocacy of the right and religious
obligation of Muslims to acquire and use WMD to protect their religion, if
necessary.
The Sikh terrorist groups did not cite their holy book as justification for their acts
of terrorism, but the indigenous Kashmiri groups as well as the Pakistani jihadi
groups operating in India cite the holy Koran as justification for their jihad against
the government of India and the Hindus.

The Sikh and the indigenous Kashmiri groups projected/project their objective as
confined to their respective state, but the Pakistani pan-Islamic terrorist groups
project their aim as extending to the whole of South Asia -- namely the ‘liberation'
of Muslims in India and the ultimate formation of an Islamic Caliphate consisting
of the ‘Muslim homelands' of India and Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Sikh terrorist groups demanded an independent nation on the ground that
Sikhs constituted a separate community and could not progress as fast as they
wanted to in a Hindu-dominated country. They did not deride Hinduism and other
non-Sikh religions. Nor did they call for the eradication of Hindu influences from
their religion. The indigenous Kashmiri organisations, too, follow a similar policy.
But the Pakistani pan-Islamic jihadi organisations ridicule and condemn Hinduism
and other religions and call for the eradication of what they describe as the
corrupting influence of Hinduism on Islam as practised in South Asia.

The Sikh and indigenous Kashmiri terrorist organisations believed/believe in

Western-style parliamentary democracy. The Pakistani jihadi organisations project
Western-style parliamentary democracy as anti-Islam since it believes sovereignty
vests in people and not in God.

Religious as well as non-religious terrorist groups have external links with like-
minded terrorist groups in other countries. Examples: The link between the Marxist
groups of India with Maoist groups of Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; the link
between the indigenous Kashmiri organisations with the religious, fundamentalist
and jihadi organisations of Pakistan; the link between organisations such as the
Students Islamic Movement of India with jihadi elements in Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia; and the link between the Pakistani pan-Islamic jihadi organisations
operating in India with bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the Taliban

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6. Write a note on tribal economy. (12)

Solution: Tribal economy is an area of research that is directed at studying various
aspects of the tribal economy, viz. nature of tribal poverty, livelihood practices,
impact of development schemes, dynamics of the tribal economy, access to
financial services, marketing linkages, etc.

Any tribal or primitive economy, including how all the great civilizations started,
was communal and usually had barter or a primitive money system. Barter is
simply swapping; a goose for a knife, a bag of corn for a sandal, etc.Primitive
money would be like wampum used by American Indians or Stone money used by
the tribesmen of Yap island. The trouble with the barter system is that you might
not have what the other fellow wants. He wants a donkey for his knives but you
don't have a donkey, and so on and so forth. Primitive money, like wampum, might
not be universally accepted by all the Indian tribes plus it is clumsy to carry. So
tribal economy was simple. Hunter/gatherers divided their labor: women gathered
and men hunted, the barter system was used or primitive money (pretty shells etc.
In an isolated area there's no requirement for employment, jobs or industry. They
live off the land or migrate with the change in weather or game. They may not
have TV's radios and cars but you don't miss what you don't know about. I've seen
many happy people where they had no contact with the outside world.
Advancement in Technology has no guarantees of happiness and carries a lot of
problems. How is someone with enough food, clothing and education to survive
within their society considered to be in poverty. They only become poor when they
require money to pay for technology and new toys.

A country like Ethiopia has Tribal economies because their resources come from
outside the tribe. Is their famine not due to improper agriculture and distribution
methods because someone makes money by exploiting the resources?

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Section 3

Answer the following in about 100 words each

7. List the social consequences of ecological degradation. (6)

Solution: Social consequences of ecological degradation are:

a. Water pollution and water scarcity: As per the estimation of UN, more than
two million deaths and billions of illnesses a year are attributable to water
pollution. Water scarcity compounds these health problems. Productivity is
affected by the costs of providing safe water, by constraints on economic activity
caused by water shortages, and by the adverse effects of water pollution and
shortages on other environmental resources such as, declining fisheries and
acquifer depletion leading to irreversible compaction.

b. Air pollution: As per the estimation of UN, urban air pollution is responsible
for 300,000—700,000 deaths annually and creates chronic health problems for
many more people. Restrictions on vehicles and industrial activity during critical
periods affect productivity, as does the effect of acid rain on forests and water
bodies.

c. Solid and hazardous wastes: Diseases are spread by uncollected garbage and
blocked drains; the health risks from hazardous wastes are typically more
localized, but often acute. Wastes affect productivity through the pollution of
groundwater resources.

d. Soil degradation: Depleted soils increase the risks of malnutrition for farmers.
Productivity losses on tropical soils are estimated to be in the range of 0.5-1.5 per
cent of GNP, while secondary productivity losses are due to siltation of reservoirs,
transportation channels and other hydrologic investments.

e. Deforestation: Death and disease can result from the localized flooding caused
by deforestation. Loss of sustainable logging potential and of erosion prevention,
watershed stability and carbon sequestration provided by forests are among the
productivity impacts of deforestation.

f. Loss of biodiversity: The extinction of plant and animal species will potentially
affect the development of new drugs; it will reduce ecosystem adaptability and
lead to the loss of genetic resources.

g. Atmospheric changes: Ozone depletion is responsible for perhaps 300,000

additional cases of skin cancer a year and 1.7 million cases of cataracts. Global
warming may lead to increase in the risk of climatic natural disasters. Productivity
impacts may include sea-rise damage to coastal investments, regional changes in
agricultural productivity and disruption of the marine food chain.

Conclusion: The impact of Ecological degradation can be devastating on the

social, economic, and environmental systems of a country or region as well as the
global ecosystem. Ecological degradation do not recognise man-made borders, and
threaten the legacy left to future generations of a clean and supportive
environment. Because of the interdependency of earth ecosystems international co-
operation is paramount to prevent, and when disaster strikes, respond to relieve
quickly and effectively the effects of environmental disasters. Thus, Governments,
International organizations and communities must work together – at all levels – to
lessen the risks associated with environmental degradation and its contributing
factors, such as climate change, and ensure that vulnerable people are prepared to
survive and adapt. At the same time, companies, organizations and individuals
must also ensure that their work is environmentally friendly and sustainable.

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8. Outline the reasons for migration in India. (6)

Solution: India as a nation has seen a high migration rate in recent years. Over 98
million people migrated from one place to another in 1990s, the highest for any
decade since independence according to the 2001 census details. However in 1970s
migration was slowing down. The number of migrants during 1991-2001 increased
by about 22% over the previous decade an increase since 1951.

Apart from women migrating due to marriage, employment is the biggest reason
for migration. The number of job seekers among all migrants has increased by 45%
over the previous decade. Nearly 14 million people migrated from their place of
birth in search of jobs. The overwhelming majority of these-12 million was men.

Migrants have created pressure on others who are in same job market. While
freedom to migrate within the country is an enshrined right the uneven
development, levels of desperation and other factors have created friction points.
Most people migrate because of a combination of push and pull factors. Lack of
rural employment, fragmentation of land holdings and declining public investment
in agriculture create a crisis for rural Indians. Urban areas and some rural areas
with industrial development or high agricultural production offer better prospects
for jobs or self-employment.

Contrary to common perception the search for jobs is more often within the same
state than in some other state. About 9 million persons were intra-state migrants
often within the district while 5 million went to other states. The intra-state figures
include people moving from villages to nearby towns and cities in search of better
jobs. Over 5.7 million persons who moved in search of jobs migrated from rural to
urban areas. Another 4.5 million migrated within the rural areas looking for work.
The data shows that among people migrating in search of jobs, literates constitute
the vast bulk over 10.6 million while illiterate migrants are about 3.3 million.
Three out of four job-seeking migrants are educated males. Among literate,
migrant job-seekers less than 1% was women. Nearly 40% of literate persons
migrating for work had studied up to secondary level and another 32% had studied
beyond. Graduates numbered over 1.8 million or about 17% while technical
diploma or degree holders constituted about 8%.

About 72% do get regular work but over 11 million get less than 183 days of work
in a year. This is a higher proportion than non-migrants. Independent NSS data
from 1999-2000 indicates that migrant workers take up regular or casual
employment or self-employment in nearly equal proportions. Around 8.1 million
of the migrants were reported as available for or seeking work. The census data
may not fully reflect seasonal or circulatory migration, estimated to be up to 10
million by the National Commission on Rural Labor. Seasonal migrants are usually
dalits and other highly impoverished sections that go out to work in harvesting
seasons or on construction sites, in brick kilns, salt mines etc.They go out to pay
their debts and to survive.

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