Classification of villages.
1. On the Basis of Structure:
The Nucleated Village:
This is a common pattern of settlement mostly discernible in paddy growing areas. In this type of
village, homes of farmers and artisans are clustered together.
Their land is located outside the village at varying distance. Their livestock are often housed along
with them or nearby them.
This type of villages are characterised by residential proximity, neighbourhood, community feeling etc.
The Linear Village:
In this type of village, houses are built on parallel rows. Each house is surrounded by small gardens.
The paddy fields are at a distance from the house. This pattern of settlement unites the social
advantage of residential closeness and economic advantages of living on one's land.
Dispersed Village:
The village in which the dwelling places of the village lay scattered or diffused is called a dispersed
village. These villages have no definite structure or shape. This type of village is found in hilly areas.
The Mixed Village:
It is the mixer of nucleated and dispersed pattern of settlement. In this type of village settlement,
there is a larger compact settlement of houses which is surrounded by a few small hamlets at a
distance. This type of settlement can be seen both in plain as well as hilly areas.
Difference between Urban and Rural
Based on the density of population, development, amenities, employment opportunities, education,
etc. human settlement is majorly divided into two categories i.e. Urban and Rural. Urban refers to a
human settlement where the rate of urbanisation and industrialisation is high. On the other hand, in a
rural settlement, is one where the rate of urbanisation is quite slow.
Another important difference between the two human settlements is that while urban areas are
highly populated, rural areas have comparatively less population than the urban ones.
Definition of Urban
The term urban simply refers to the region or area which is densely populated and possess the
characteristics of the man-made surroundings. The people residing in such area, are engaged in trade,
commerce or services. In this settlement, there is high scale industrialisation that results in better
employment opportunities. The Urban settlement is not confined to the cities only, but towns and
suburbs (suburban areas) are also included in it.
There are many advantages of life in urban areas like easy access to various amenities, better
transportation facilities, entertainment and education options, health facilities. Although it suffers
certain drawbacks like pollution, caused due to large scale industrialisation and means of
transportation like buses, trains, cars and so on, leading to increasing in health problems in the people
living in that area.
Definition of Rural
We define the term 'rural' as a region located on the outskirts. It refers to a small settlement, which is
outside the boundaries of a city, commercial or industrial area. It may include, countryside areas,
villages or hamlets, where there are natural vegetation and open spaces. There is a low density of
population in such area. The primary source of income of the residents is agriculture and animal
husbandry. Cottage Industries also form a chief source of income here.
In India, a town whose population is below 15000 is considered as rural, as per the planning
commission. Gram Panchayat is responsible for looking after such areas. Further, there is no
municipal board, in the villages and maximum percentage of the male population are engaged in
agriculture and related activities.
The fundamental differences between urban and rural are
discussed in the following points:
1. A settlement where the population is very high and has the features of a built environment (an
environment that provides basic facilities for human activity), is known as urban. Rural is the
geographical region located in the outer parts of the cities or towns.
2. The life in urban areas is fast and complicated, whereas rural life is simple and relaxed.
3. The Urban settlement includes cities and towns. On the other hand, the rural settlement includes
villages and hamlets.
4. There is greater isolation from nature in urban areas, due to the existence of the built environment.
Conversely, rural areas are in direct contact with nature, as natural elements influence them.
5. Urban people are engaged in non-agricultural work, i.e. trade, commerce or service Industry.
In contrast, the primary occupation of rural people is agriculture and animal husbandry.
6. Population wise, urban areas are densely populated, which is based on the urbanisation, i.e. the
higher the urbanisation, the higher is the population. On the contrary, the rural population is sparse,
which has an inverse relationship with agriculturism.
7. Urban areas are developed in a planned and systematic way, according to the process of
urbanisation and industrialisation. Development in rural areas is seldom, based on the availability of
natural vegetation and fauna in the region.
8. When it comes to social mobilisation, urban people are highly intensive as they change their
occupation or residence frequently in search of better opportunities. However, in rural areas
occupational or territorial mobility of the people is relatively less intensive.
Land revenue system: refers to the various methods adopted
historically. especially in agrarian societies, by governments or britishers to collect revenue from
land. Here are some notable examples of land revenue systems:
• Zamindari System:
It is also known as permanent settlement system or land tenure system. It was introduced in 1793 by
Lord Cornwallis. This system involved landlords or zamindars who were responsible for collecting
taxes from the peasants who worked on the land. The zamindars acted as intermediaries between the
government and the peasants.
• Ryotwari System: It was introduced in 1820 by Thomas Munro and was also
known as owner cultivator system. Under this system, the land revenue was collected directly from
the peasant or ryot who owned the land. The ryotwari system eliminated intermediaries and sought
to establish a direct relationship between the government and the peasant,
with land revenue being a fixed proportion of the produce or its cash value.
• Mahalwari System: It was introduced by Mackenzie and William Bentick in
1833. This was another system implemented in parts of the Indian subcontinent, where the village or
a group of villages was considered a unit (mahal) for tax assessment purposes. The collective
responsibility for paying taxes rested with the entire village or mahal. The amount was then
distributed among individual landholders based on the size and productivity of their holdings.
VILLAGES
A hamlet but smaller than a town.
• Hamlet Population: Under 1,000 people.
• Village Population: 1,000 to 20,000 people.
HERE ARE SOME KEY FEATURES OF VILLAGES:
• Definite locality:
Locality is the physical basis of village community. A group of people forms village community only
when it begins to reside in a definite locality.
• Small size:
Village communities are small in size. The census in India designates a place with 5000 inhabitants as
a village community. 80% of the Indian villages have less than 1000 population each.
• Community sentiment:
Community sentiment is the very essence of village community. The ruralites exhibit a strong sense of
belongingness and we-feeling. Often "my own village" is the natural expression of such community
sentiment.
• Joint family system:
The joint family system still forms the basic structural unit in the Vilage community. All the members
live together under the same roof. take food cooked in the common hearth, hold property together,
participate in common worship and are related to each other as some particular type of kindred. It is
found that the number of joint families in villages is much more than that in towns and cities.
• Agricultural economy:
Agriculture is the biggest occupation in rural India. It is essentially a way of life for the ruralites as
their whole mode of social life, daily routine, habits and attitudes revolve round agriculture. A small
section of the rural population depend upon non-agricultural occupations such as carpentry, pottery,
basket making ete for their livelihood but these occupations are also indirectly related to the major
occupation that is agriculture.
• Caste System:
Caste system is a unique feature of the Indian village community. It determines the role, status,
occupation and marital relationships of the people residing in rural areas.
• Jajmani system:
Jujmani system is another peculiarity of village life in India. Under this system, members of a caste or
many castes offer their services to the members of other castes. People to whom such services are
offered are called, 'Jajmans' and those who offer their services are known as "Parjans" or "Kamins".
:
IDEA OF INDIAN VILLAGES:
Village studies used participant observation and ethnographical approaches as the primary
investigation tool to generate an empirical image of the villages which was closer to contemporary
reality.
According to Andre Beteille- Village was not merely a place where people lived. It had a design in
which were reflected the basic values of Indian society.
According to Charles Metcalfe- Indian villages are little republics, having everything they want within
themselves and independent of any foreign relations.
According to B.R. Ambedkar- Villages are cesspool of degradation and exploitation as they promote
inequality in the society.
According to Andre Beteille- in his study Sripurum, Tanjore, 1962 stated that-
"Atleast as far as back in times as living memory goes, there was no reason to believe that village was
fully self-sufficient even in economic sphere.
A.R. Desai, on the other hand, viewed Indian village as isolated, at least in economic terms. He added
a new dimension by using Marxist perspective in his works Rural Sociology in India, 1969 and Peasant
Struggles in India 1979.
