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Social issues in India

Major Social Issues Affecting the Growth and

Development of India

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It's been more than six decades since we got freedom

from the British rule. The largest democracy in the world,
India is unparalleled in its diversity. The country is home
to one billion people who belong to different cultural,
religious, linguistic, social and economic background. But
what has India achieved all these years?

It's time to reflect now. We can cite hundreds of

achievements that have made us proud of our country.
Science, technology, space, sports, transport,
communication, literature, entertainment, medicines - in
every field, we have seen Indians making a remarkable
name at the global level. India is no doubt one of the
fastest developing countries of the world. But, these
achievements are not enough to give us a true picture of
our country. It is sad, but true, that even after so many
years of Independence, India has to confront many social
issues that are obstructing the development of the
country.

Rape
Nirbhaya gang rape; a six-year-old schoolgirl allegedly
raped by school staff in Bangalore; two dalit girls in
Lucknow raped and hanged; a 14-year-old dalit girl gang-
raped in a moving bus in Madhya Pradesh.... the list is
endless. Rape is one of the most common crimes against
women in India.

According to a recent report of the Commonwealth

Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), the total number of
reported rape cases in 29 states in the period 2001 to
2013 rose to 2, 64,130. According to this report, on an
average there are almost 56 rapes in one day in India.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported that

the number of rapes in India increased from 24, 923 in
2012 to 33,707 in 2013. According to this report, among
the states, Madhya Pradesh has recorded the maximum
rapes in 2013, followed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra and
Uttar Pradesh. Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Pune are the
top unsafe cities in the country.

It has also been mentioned in NCRB that in most cases,

the victim knows the rapist, which include neighbours,
other known persons, relatives, and also parents. The
victims are usually 14 to 30 years of age, though there is
no dearth of news reporting the rape of children as well
as old women.

A new case of rape is reported every 20 to 30 minutes in

India. The actual numbers will be much more than these
as many don't report such matters due to societal
pressures, family, embarrassment and fear.

There has been constant public outrage for such a

heinous crime against women and lots of changes in the
Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rape are underway. But
unless and until the social attitudes on women change,
the focus in rape prevention shifts from the victim to the
attacker, severe punishment is given to the rapist
immediately, all efforts to prevent rape will remain futile.

Domestic Violence
Around 70 per cent of women in India are victims of
domestic violence, which can be physical, emotional and
mental. Domestic violence is not only the violence
against women in matrimonial homes but also in their
maternal homes. According to the report of "United
Nation Population Fund" in 2012, nearly two-thirds of
married Indian women are domestic violence victims and
most of them are in the age group of 15 and 49 years.
Some of the most common forms of domestic violence on
women, which are recognised by Indian law are as
follows:

Marital rape
Keeping a woman locked in the house
Causing mental torture by not letting her see or
meet her children
Physical violence (beating, punching, kicking,
slapping, twisting, burning or attack using a
weapon) by husband and other family members
Taunting and demoralising the woman
Name calling, blaming, stalking and isolation
Not allowing the woman normal sexual intercourse
Unwanted kissing, touching, or fondling
Abusing children in front of her
Threatening divorce
Asking for dowry
Denial of food and clothing etc.

To prevent violence against women and to protect the

women rights, Parliament passed "The Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005". According to
this Act, every woman who has been a victim of domestic
violence as per the reasons given above can file a
complaint to the police officer, protection officer, or
magistrate. In such a case, the Protection Office must
ensure the victim gets complete protection, custody and
monetary relief by passing some legal orders. The
government must come up with more stringent laws and
preventive measures to protect women rights.

However, strict law should also be enforced against a

woman who falsely implicates her husband and relatives
thereby misusing the Domestic Violence Act.

Child Abuse
The National Crime Records Bureau June 2014 Report
has stated that in the year 2013, a total of 58,224 child
abuse cases were registered which showed an increase
of 52.5 per cent compared to 2012. The number of
crimes per 1 lakh children showed a rise of 13.2 per cent.
According to UNICEF, child abuse means violence
against children and this violence can be of any forms
like as physical and mental abuse, neglect, negligent
treatment, injury, sexual abuse, rape, child prostitution,
exploitation, including child labour. In India, child abuse is
a very common crime and it takes place in schools,
orphanages, workplaces, on the streets, in places of
detention, in prisons as well as at homes. Any kind of
abuse inflicted on the child can affect him or her
physically and mentally and in extreme cases, result in
death.

The states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Delhi

have reported the highest incidence of child abuse in our
country.

Child Labour
Child Labour is a serious form of child abuse in our
country. It is estimated that India is one of the leading
countries to have the maximum number of child
labourers, due to a large chunk of population below the
poverty line. Hence, to increase the earnings of a family,
parents do not hesitate to make their children work. It has
been found that in India, the maximum number of
children are employed in textile, firecracker, carpet
making, match stick factories, roadside restaurants and
dhabas, or as domestic workers. Most of these works are
hazardous for children and the working conditions are
also not good. Rural children are more into child labour.
According to a report, there were 17 million child
labourers in 2012. It has also been estimated that there
are more than 2 million children between the age of 5
and 15 years who act as commercial sex workers. Sad
but true, every year around 5 lakh children are forced into
this trade.

The Government of India has come up with many laws

and policies to protect the rights of children. The Child
Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 was
introduced to stop children below the age of 14 years to
work. The Act was further modified in 2006, and again in
2008. But, then 2 years after the ban, the Labour Ministry
had carried out 12,000 child labour operations out of
which prosecution took place only in 211 cases.

Female Foeticide
Another social issue, rather a social evil, prevalent in our
country is female foeticide - the practice of killing female
foetus in the womb itself. Preference for son over
daughter, illiteracy, patriarchal social structure where men
are superior to women, are some of the reasons of
female foeticide. The result is that in India, the number of
girls per 100 boys is going down with every passing
decade. Leaving aside few states in South India and
North East India and the two Union Territories of
Lakshwadeep and Pondicherry, in almost all the states of
India, the sex ratio is going down. As a result of female
foeticide, we have seen a decrease in the number of
females, adverse effects on women's health, increase in
women trafficking, forceful marriage and low stature of
women.

The Union government has come up with laws and acts

that prohibit pre-natal sex-selection tests and sex-
selective abortions in India. This is why the Pre-
Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act 1994 (PCPNDT) was
introduced to prevent female foeticide in India. Still,
female foeticide is a major social issue in the country.

Dowry
Some parents give dowry willingly to the groom's family
as per their convenience and to help their daughter
maintain her dignity after marriage. Some give dowry due
to social pressure or due to demands by the groom's
family. In such cases, some parents agree while some
fail due to monetary constraints. The result is increase in
dowry abuse, dowry deaths, bride burning, suicides and
violence against women. The violence can be physical,
emotional or sexual.

In 1961, Dowry Prohibition Act was passed to ban taking

dowry and punish any person involved in it with
imprisonment. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
stated that there were 8,233 dowry deaths reported in
2012 from various states. However, most cases of dowry
violence go unreported.

Gender Inequality
Despite more than six decades of independence, gender
inequality is still prevalent in India. Women are always
considered as the weaker sex. No doubt, women have
made their presence felt in various walks of life, but
Indian society still has a long way to go. So long as the
perception of men towards women and traditions and old
views do not change, gender discrimination will continue.

Illiteracy, Poverty, Unemployment

The major cause of all social problems in our country is
illiteracy. Despite several government programmes like
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, National Literacy Mission and
others, the illiteracy rate is still high. It is a shame that
other small countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and the likes have acquired a much better level
of literacy within a short span of time. But India is still
lagging behind. Illiteracy gives rise to problems like
unemployment, child labour, poverty, female foeticide,
population explosion and many others in our country.

Corruption
There is widespread corruption in our country. Out of 176
countries in Transparency International's Corruption
Perceptions Index, India's rank was 94th in 2012. The
Anti-Corruption Movement "India Against Corruption"
started by Team Anna needs to be taken to its logical
conclusion with the support of political leaders to make
India a corruption-free country.

Rapid Urbanisation
Last but not the least, rapid urbanisation in the country is
another major social problem. Urbanisation is good for
the development of the country. But the cities are not
able to accommodate the growing number of migrants
from villages in search of greener pastures. The result is
lack of civic facilities like water, electricity and roads,
emergence of slums, illegal and unauthorised
construction, crimes, problem of waste disposal,
increasing traffic, commotion, pollution, deforestation,
health related problems etc.

Conclusion
The above social problems are just tip of the social
issues affecting our country. It is not possible to get rid of
these problems so easily. Solutions to them require
efforts of all concerned. Not only the government but we,
as citizens of our country, are equally responsible for the
growth and development of our country.

'Other Social issues in India'

Anaemia in Urban
India
Paediatric
HIV/AIDS in India
and their solution
HIV in India
Family planning in India
Drug Abuse in
Overpopulation in India
India
Poverty in India
Gender Bias in
Euthanasia in India
Health Concerns in
Water supply and
India
sanitation in India
Crimes by
Corruption in India
Juveniles in India
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Plight of women in
Religious violence in
India
India
Caesarean Births
Terrorism in India
in India
Caste system in India,
Infant Mortality in
Caste politics in India
India
and Caste-related
Smoking among
violence in India
women in India
Suicide in India
Honour Killings in
Debt bondage in India
India
Secession in India
Problems faced by
Secularism in India​
working women
Superstition in India
Malnutrition Deaths
Indian caste system
Female Foeticide
Farmers' suicides in
in India
India
Sex Workers
Environmental issues in
Prostitution in India
India
Child Malnutrition
Labour relations in India
in India
Waste management in
Tuberculosis in
India
India
Female foeticide and
Beggary in India
infanticide in India​
Flood Management
Gambling in India
in India
Health care access
Gender Gap in
among Dalits in India
India
Vigilantism in India
Birth Registration
Child marriage in
in India
India/Child Brides in
Corruption in
India
Education system
Improving Child Nutrition
in India
Trends in Divorce in
Girl and Women
India
Trafficking in India
Khap Panchayat:
Gender Inequality
Tradition v. Modernity
in India
Gender Discrimination
Status of Dalits in
Child abuse
India
Child Mortality In India
Crime against
Urban Mental Health in
Children
India/Mental Health in
Migration in India
India
Colonial Police of
Free India!
Bonded
Labour/Bonded
Child Labour in
India

WBRP06.08.2014

Last Updated on : August 6, 2014

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