Understanding Society Chapter 2 Social Change And Social Order In Rural And Urban Society

(b) Technology : Knowledge of tools and techniques by which man produces something for their use in society.

(c) Evolution : It means gradual (or slow) process of growth and development of society towards more developed stage.

(d) Revolution : Through conflict between groups sudden and overall change in the basic form of the society takes place. This process is revolution.

(ii) Social Change means changes in social structure and social relationships of a society. Under social change the changes in family marriage, kinship, economy, politics, age, distribution, birth and death rates of population, etc. are included.

(iii) Cultural Change means changes in the culture of a society, i.e., ideas, knowledge, values, morality, religion, art, etc.

(iv) Environment : Ecology, commonly known as environment.

2. The balance between the size of the population and natural resources (i.e., land, water, forest, minerals, etc.) of a country is significant. Any change in this balance brings social change. Industrialised nations require to maintain this balance. Otherwise, they will not be in a position to keep the continuity of growth and development due to shortage of resources.

1. Every society has two aspects : dynamic and statics.

2. Auguste Comte divides Sociology into social dynamics and social statics. Social dynamics studies social change. Whereas social dynamics studies social structure as well as its continuity and stability.

3. Society is dynamic and it keeping on changing continuously. Sometimes, society changes rapidly and sometimes very slowly.

4. Change in society is an inevitable and continuous process.

5. Any change in society is called social change. One can draw a disntinction between social and cultural change. Social change means changes in social structure and social relationships of the society. Therefore, the process by which social institutions (e.g., family, caste, kinship, state, etc.), status (or position), roles, norms, etc. are altered (changed) over the time is known as social change.

6. Under social change the changes in family, marriage, kinship, economy, politics, age distribution, birth and death rates of population, etc, are included.

7. Social change, sometimes, may occur rapidly and may also occur very slowly.

8. Example : For instance, social change in India took place very slowly when there was no innovation and planning for development. But with their introduction, various development of programmes have brought rapidity in the process of social change.

1. It is generally urged that change is the only unchanging aspect of society. Anyone living in modern society does not need to remain that constant change is among the most permanent characteristics of our present society.

2. It is a fact, the disciple of sociology itself emerged as an effort to make sense of the quick changes that Western European society had experienced between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.

3. Though social change appears such a common and obivious fact about modern life, it is - comparatively speaking - a very new and recent fact. It is estimated that human beings have existed on the earth for approximately 5,00,000 (five lakh) years ago but they have been living a civilized life for about 6,000 years.

4. Of these civilized millenniums, it is only in the last 400 years that we have seen constant and rapid change; even within these years of change, the pace has accelerated only during the last 100 years.

5. Because the speed with which change happens has been increasing steadily, it is probably true that in the last hundred years, change has been faster in the last fifty years than in the first fifty. And within the last fifty years, the world may have changed more in the last twenty years than in the first thirty.

1. Size : Villages are small in size so they usually permit more personalised relationships; it is not unusual for members of village to know all or most other members by sight.

2. Structure : The social structure in villages tends to follow a more traditionally pattern : institution like caste, religion, and other forms of customary or traditional social practice are stronger here. For these reasons, unless there are special circumstances that make for an exception, change is slower to arrive in villages than in towns.

3. Scope of expression : The subordinate sections of society have much less scope for expressing themselves in rural areas than their counterparts in cities.

4. Population : Given the small population, it is also very difficult to gather large numbers, particularly since efforts towards this cannot be hidden from the powerful and are very quickly suppressed.

5. Power structure : So, in short, if there is a strong power structure already in place in a village, it is very difficult to dislodge it. Change in the sense of shifts in power are thus slow and late to arrive in rural areas because the social order is stronger and more resilient.

Social change may occur in different forms. Some of the commonly known forms are (i) evolution, (ii) progress, and (iii) revolution.

They are quite different from one another and show different features.

1. Evolution : Social change inform of evolution exhibits gradual and slow process of change in different social institutions leading towards development from simple to complex forms.

2. Progress : Progress is also another form of social change which may occur slowly or rapidly and may or may not be associated with any evolutionary process of social change. Progress is an effort to attain the goal which is definite and which gets support from social values.

3. Revolution : Revolution takes place suddenly and may bring sudden and overall changes in the structure of society in a definite direction.

1. Culture : Contact and diffusion of social values, ideas and technology take place from one society to another. Diffusion is a vital mechanism of social change. Borrowing of cultural traits from an advanced society by a backward society is a normal process. This brings social change.

2. Standard : The backward societies change very quickly and become modern by borrowing advanced technologies from technologically advanced societies.

3. Diffusion of Culture : Cultural traits also takes place through face-to-face contacts and interactions between the members of two or more cultures.

4. Role of Educational Institutions :

Sometimes, diffusion takes place through educational institutions. The mass media (Press, TV, Radio, Cinema) diffuse information from one culture to the other and play an important role in bringing social and cultural change.

5. Change in Material Life : Diffusion of culture-traits takes place rapidly within a short period of time in the sphere of material life of the people. But non-material traits ideology, religion, beliefs and values change very slowly.

1. Revolution is an important process (or factors) of social change. It is a process which occurs rapidly.

2. Revolution takes place through conflict. This may be generally violent. It usually takes place between classes and between political groups. Clashes between them lead to social change.

3. Revolution seeks basic changes in the political, economic and cultural institutions.

4. To Karl Marx, revolution brings structural change in a society. This means revolution overthrows the existing mode of production i.e., the economic institutions of a society and a new mode of production is then introduced. This new mode of production gradually brings changes in political, social and other institutions of the society.

5. The changes brought by the revolution may bring a new set of social relationships, a new culture, a new political system or a new technology. Therefore, revolution triggers over all changes in a social system.

1. Technological advancement is one of the important reasons of social change in a society. Social change is more quick in technologically advanced societies.

2. In a traditional society, changes are very slow. Technological innovation, discoveries and diffusion accelerate the speed of social change in traditional society.

3. Developments, advancements and changes in human societies, have been historically based on changes in technology. Early man had simple technology and the society was also very simple.

4. Complexity in social structure grows along with advancement in technology. Earlier, animal power- based technology changed into industrial technology. Accordingly, society advanced from simple to complex social structures.

5. Before the Industrial Revolution simple family-based production system was characterised by manual labour. This has slowly changed to present-day production system based on industrial technology. Now production is no longer confined to family boundaries.

6. Due to advancement in technology simple division of labour of the traditional societies has changed into complex form of division of labour.

7. Complex form of division of labour has helped in the developedment of occupational specialization. Development of occupational specialization has divided the population of a society into a number of group.

1. Several Factors : Social change takes place due to several factors. Some of the factors of change are internal to the society concerned, while others are external.

2. Different Theories : Some theories of social change put stress on the role played by people in modifying the social structure. These theories suggest that people always try to find solutions to their problems and these solutions produce social change.

3. Natural Forces : Some other theories are deterministic. They stress the impact of such forces of change on society as are beyond human control. Some of these forces are natural disasters (e.g., flood, drought, famine, epidemic, earthquake) and unexpected developments in technology.

4. Conclusion : Some other theories combine both the above suferred explanations (see above given points 2 & 3) of change. For example Karl Marx felt technological changes are outside human control. But he also said that classes had to be aware of their interests and then they would engage in revolutionary action. Such revolutionary actions could produce social change are 1. environment, 2. population, 3. technology, 4. beliefs and diffusion.

2. Conflict between values and existing social conditions may also bring social change. Generally, some social problems have emerged out of the conflict between new and old values. This may bring about social change.

3. Change in values and beliefs take a long time to be realized. When changes take place in a community or in a society, they are noticed only partially. In some race cases these changes may bring changes in the whole society.

4. Karl Marx maintained that religion and its values have been resistant to change.

5. Max Weber has shown how religious values have influenced economic behaviour among the Hindus in India. The Hindus could not take progress in economic field by encouraging enterpreneurship and capitalism.

6. However, religion is not always a source of resistance to change in society. For instance, Max Weber urged that the Calvinist values of pre-destination and worldly asceticism have accelerated the social change by developing capitalism in Europe.

7. Growth and spread of secularism in India during the last few decades have brought considerable changes in religious practices, particularly, those relating to the practice of untouchability and inter-dinning among different caste groups. In this way, religious values may bring considerable social change in a society.

Under the following way we can mention difference between social changes and other types of changes.

(i) Scope : Social change does not include any and all changes, but only big ones. Changes which transform things fundamentally. The ‘bigness’ of change is measured not only by how much change it brings about, but also by the scale of the change, that is by how large a section of society it affects. In other words, changes have to be both intensive and extensive - have a big impact spread over a large sector of society - in order to qualify as social change.

(ii) A broiad term : Even after this kind of specification, social change still remains a very broad term. Attempts to further qualify it usually try to classify it by its sources or causes; by its nature, or the kind of impact it has on society; and by its pace or speed.

Example : For instance, evolution is the name given to a kind of change that takes place slowly over a long period of time. This term was made famous by the natural scientist Charles Darwin, who proposed a theory of how living organisms evolve – or change slowly over several centuries or even millenia, by adopting themselves to natural circumstances. Darwin's theory emphasized the idea of the survival of the fittest - only those life forms manage to survive who are best adapted to their environment; those that are unable to adapt or are too slow to do so die out in the long-run.

(iii) Biological changes : Charles Darwin suggested that human beings evolved from sea-borne life forms (or verities offish) to land-based mammals, passing through various stages the highest of which were the various varieties of monkeys and chimpanzees until finally the homo sapiens or human form was evolved. Although Darwin's theory referred to natural processes, it was soon adapted to the social world and was termed social Darwinism a theory that emphasised the importance of adaptive change in contrast to evolutionary change, change that occurs comparatively quickly, even suddenly, is sometimes called ‘revolutionary change’.

(iv) Political Context : It is used mainly in the political context, when the power structure of society changes very rapidly through the overthrow of a former ruling class or groups by its challengers.

Examples : For instances we can include the French revolution (1789-93) and the Russian revolution of 1917. But the term has also been used more generally to refer to sharp, sudden and total transformation of other kinds as well, such as in the phrase ‘industrial revolution’ or telecommunication revolution and so on.

Example :
(a) For instance, the emergence of paper money as currency marked a major change in the organisation of financial markets and transactions. Until this change came about, most forms of currency involved precious metals like gold and silver. The value of the coin was directly linked to the value of the gold or silver it contained. By contrast, the value of paper currency note has no relationship to the value of the paper it is printed on, or the cost of its printing. This idea behind paper money was that a medium or means for facilitating the exchange of goods and services needs not itself be intrinsically valuable.

(b) Importance of Money : As long as it represents values convincingly — i.e., as long as it inspires trust — almost anything can function as money. This idea was the foundation for the credit market and helped change the structure of banking and finance. These changes in turn produced further changes in the organisation of economic life.

(ii) Changes in values and beliefs : Changes in values and beliefs can also lead to social change. For example, changes in the ideas and beliefs about children and childhood have brought about very a important kind of social change, there was a time when children were simply considered small adults — there was no special concept of childhood as such, with its associated notions of what was right or wrong for children to do.

Example :

(a) As late as the 19th century, for example, it was considered good and proper that children start to work as soon as they were able to. Children were often helping their families at work from the age of five or six; the early factory system depended on the labour of children.

(b) It was during the 19th and early 20th centuries that ideas about childhood as a special stage of life gained influence. It then became unthinkable for small children to be at work, and many countries passed laws banning child labour. At the same time, there emerged ideas about compulsory education, and children were supposed to be in school rather than at work, and many laws were passed for this as well.

(c) Although there are some industries in our country that even today depend on child labour at least partially (such as carpet weaving, small tea shops or restaurants, match-stick making, and so on), child labour is illegal and employers can be punished as criminals.

2. Food and Clothes : The kind of food they ate or the clothes they wore the way they earned their livelihood, and their earned their livelihood and their patterns of social interaction were all determined to a large extent by the physical and climatic conditiors of their environment. The same was true for people, living in very cold climates, or in port towns, along major trade routes or mountain passes, or in fertile river valleys.

3. Technological Resources : The extent to which the environment influence society has been decreasing over time with the increase in technological resources. Technology allows up to overcome or adapt to the problems posed by nature, thus reducing the differences between societies living in different sorts of environments. On the other hand, technology also alters nature and our relationship to it in new ways (see the chapter on environment in this book). So it is perhaps more accurate to say that the effect of may have shaped the societies, but how did it play any role in the social change ?

4. Natural Clamaties : The earliest and most powerful answer to this question can be found in natural disasters. Sudden and catastrophic events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, or tidal waves (like the tsunami that hit Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands and parts of Tamil Nadu in December, 2004) can change societies quite drastically. These changes are often irreversible, that is they are permanent and don't allow a return to the way things were.

Examples : For instance,

(a) It is quite possible that many of these whose livelihoods were destroyed by the tsunami will never be able to return to them again, and that many of the coastal villages will have their social structure completely altered.

(b) There are numerous instances of natural disasters leading to a total transformation and sometimes total destruction of societies in history.

5. Ecological Factors : Environmental or ecological factors need not only be destructive to cause change, they can be constructive as well. A good example is the discovery of oil in the desert regions of West Asia (also called the Middle East).

6. Like the discovery of gold in California in the 19th century transformed the societies in which they are found. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates would be very different today without their oil wealth.

1. Ecology, commonly known as environment has influence on social change. Sometimes, it sets limits to the social change or in some cases it may bring very quick and fast changes in society.

2. Under special ecological or environmental conditions, development in society occurs in a specific direction. Generally, a large city can grow up quickly in favourable evironmental conditions. Cities near the sea or river grow faster due to commercial activities which get geared up through the water routes.

3. Difficult environmental conditions of desert or arctic regions may slow the development of advance technology.

4. In short we can say that a society under suitable environmental conditions may grow and develop faster. But a society under unfavourable environmental conditions may remain backward.

5. Societies located in geographically isolated areas may have less social interactions with other communities. Therefore, social changes in those isolated societies are very slow and cultures are underdeveloped (bear in mind as far as culture here is concerned we are saying so from scientific and technological point of view).

6. Societies where communications by road, water transportation are poor are backward. Social change can take place very slowly or partially in such societies.

7. Example : (a) As for instance, we can talk about the location of Mumbai and Kolkata cities, Kolkata is located on the bank of the river Hoogli and Mumbai on the shores of Arabian Sea. Growth and development of these two cities greatly depend on the commercial activities through the water routes. Trade and Commerce have brought very rapid social changes in these cities.

(b) On the other side, geographically isolated regions of North-East states of India have remained backward, even today. Although road and air communication have brought some piece of social change in the region, it remains unimportant in bringing expected economic development and social change.

8. Natural disasters like drought, flood, cyclone, tidal waves can cause quick change in a society. People are compelled to move from one place to another and can develop contact with other people and other cultures. Such a migration has great impact on the social life of the people in bringing social change.

(i) Change in social valies.

(ii) Change in institutions.

(iii) Change in the distribution of possessions and rewards.

(iv) Change in personnel.

(v) Change in the abilities or attitudes of personnel.

We will explain in brief each of the above referred areas here one by one :

(i) Change in Social Values : The most vital strutueral change is a change in the standard of society, which we call Values'.

(a) The values that we are talking of are those that directly affect the content of social roles and social interaction.

(b) Changes in such ‘Values’ are likely to have far-reaching consequences for the more detailed aspect of social structure and for the overall functioning of social systems.

(c) Example : For instance, when India got independence the framers of India's Constitution decided to promote secularism which came to influence other values of the polity and society of free India.

(ii) Change in Institutions :

(a) Change occuring in the more definite structures, such as focus of organisation, role and role content, refer to institutinal change.

(b) A change can consist in the introduction of something new or in a shift in the relative significance of patterns already existing.

(c) Example : For instance, with urbanisation and increasing mobility the family system which were originally joint became increasingly nuclear. This has also affected interrelationships among members in the nuclear family in the redefinition of roles.

(iii) Change in the Distriubution of Possessions and Rewards :

(a) There is a close connection between possession and rewards. In some particular cases, the distinction between the two is almost analytical.

(b) Wages, for instance, are a reward for services, a symbol of approval and at the same time a possessions.

(c) There are also intangible rewards such as prestige, reputation, love, affection, etc. Such rewards are constantly shifting.

(d) Rewards constitute a form of power and affect processes of decision making and possibly the level of functioning of the social system.

(iv) Change in Personnel :

(a) If any change takes palce in the position of a personnel in the social system, it brings social change. The significance of these changes varies.

(b) At a very concrete level, everyone is unique in so far as one occupies a special social status.

(c) In a subtle way, the expectations with regard to quality and type of role performance is affected by the strange personality of the role occupant.

(d) Changes in personnel way slowly lead to changes in values or in institutional patterns.

(e) As for instance a change in the head of any institution say school lead to a corresponding change in a series of aspects ranging from change in the style of working to changing patterns of relationships to change values.

(f) The overall efficiency obtains a different character with the change in the head of the institution.

(v) Change in the Abilities or Attitudes of personnel :

(a) A change in the attitude of the personnel cannot always constitute structural change but it can sometimes lead to it. For whole behaviour and attitude of people towards time, punctuality, etc, underwent a change.

(b) Similarly the invention of the computer brought about far-reaching changes not only within the family but also in the larger social system.

1. The combination of technological and economic : Change has been responsible for immense social changes, specially in the modern period. Technology affects society in a wide variety of ways. As seen above, it can help us to resist, control, adapt to or harness nature in different ways. In combination with the very powerful institution of the market, technological change can be as impressive in its social impact as natural factors like a tsunami or the discovery of oil.

2. Industrial Revolution : The most famous instance of massive and immediately visible social change brought about by technological change in the Industrial Revolution itself.

3. Discover of new source of Energy : The discovery of steam power allowed emerging form of large scale industry to use of a source of energy that was not only for stronger than animals or human beings, but was also capable of continuous operation without rest. When harnessed to modes of transport like the stream ship and the railway, it transformed the economy and social geography of the world.

4. Beginning of Railways : The railroad enabled the westward expansion of industry and trade on the American continent and in Asia. In India too, the railway have played a very important role in shaping the economy, specially in the first century after their introduction in 1853. Steamships made ocean voyages much faster and much more reliable, thereby changing the dynamics of international trade and migration. Both these developments created gigantic ripples of change which affected not only the econony but also the social, cultural and demographic dimensions of world society.

5. Impact and Role of new sources of energy : The importance and impact of steam power became visible relatively quick; however, sometimes, the social impact of technological invention or discovery may produce limited immediate effects, as though it were lying dormant. Some later change in the economic context may suddenly change the social significance of the same invention and give it recognition as a historic event.

Example : Example of this are the discovery of gunpower and writing paper in china which had only limited impact for centuries until they were inserted into the conext of modernising Western Europe.

6. Use of gunpower and paper : From the vantage point, given the advantage of enabling circumstances, gunpowder helped to transform the technology of warfare and the paper-print revolution changed society forever. Another example closer home is the case of technological innovations in the textile industry in Britain. In combination with market forces and imperial power, the new spinning and weaving machines destroyed the handloom industry of the Indian subcontinent which was, until then, the largest and most advanced in the world.

7. Changes in economic organisation (Agriculture) : Sometimes changes in economic organisation that are not directly technological can also change society. In a well- known historical example, plantation agriculture — that is, the growing of single cash crops like sugarcane, tea or cotton on a large scale — created a heavy demand for labour. This demand helped to established the institution of slavery and the slave trade among Africa, Europe and the Americas between the 17th and 19th centuries.

8. Plantation Industry in India : In India, too, the tea plantation of Assam involved the forced migration of labour from Eastern India (specially the Adivasi areas of Jharkhand and Chattisgarh). Today, in many parts of the world, changes in custom duties or tariffs brought about by international agreements and institutions like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can lead to entire industries and occupations being wiped out or (less often) sudden booms or periods of prosperity for other industries or occuaptions.

In other words, social change has to be understood together with social order, which is the tendency within established social system that resist and regulates change.

2. Relationship between social change and social order :

(a) Another way of looking at the relationship between social change and social order as to think about the possible reasons only society needs to prevent, discourage, or at least control change.

(b) Stability requires that things continue more or less as they are — that people continue to follow results, and more generally, that individuals and institutions behave in a fairly predictable manner.

3. Need to resist change : There are usually more create and specific reasons why societies do in fact resist change. Most societies most of the time and stratified in unequal ways, that is the different strata are differently positioned with respect to command over economic resources, social status and political power. It is not surprising that those who are favourable placed wish for things to continue as they are, while those who are suffering disadvantages are anxious for change. So the ruling or dominant groups in society generally resist any social changes that may alter their status, because they have a vested interest in stability. On the other hand, the subordinated or oppressed groups have a vested interest in change.

4. Prevailing condition : Normal conditions usually favour the rich and powerful and they are able to resist change. This is another broad reason why societies are generally stable.

5. Pattern of Social Relations : However, the notion of social order is not restricted to the idea of resistance to change, it also has a more positive meaning. It refers to the active maintenance and reproduction of particular pattern of social relations and of values and norms.

6. Main forms of Social Change : Broadly speaking, social order can be achieved in one of two ways — when to abide by a set of rules and norms : or when poeple are compelled in various ways to obey such norms. Every society employs a combination of these methods to sustain social order.

7. Values and Norms : Spontaneous consent to social order derives ultimately from shared values and norms which are internalised by people through the process of socialisation. (Revisit the Discussion of Sociolisation in Introducing Sociology). Socialisation may be more or less efficient in different contexts, but however efficient it is, it can never completely erase the will of the individual.

8. Socialisation : (a) Socialisation cannot turn people into progammed robots — it cannot produce complete and permanent consent for all norms at all times. You may have experienced this in your own lives : rules or beliefs which seem very natural and right at one point of time, don’t seem so obviously correct at other times.

(b) We question things we believe in the past, and change our minds about what we regard as right or wrong.

(c) Sometimes, we may even return to beliefs we once held and then abandoned, only to rediscover them afresh at some later stage of life or in different circumstances. So, while socialisation does takes on much of the burden of producing social order, it is never enough by itself.

Most modern societies depend on some form of power or authority to ensure that institutions and individuals conform to establish social norms. Power (or authority) usually defined as the ability to make other do what you want regardless of what they themselves want.

(b) Dominantion : When a relationship of power or authority stable and settled, and the parties involved have become accustomed to their relative position we have a situation of domination.

If a social entity (a person, institution or group) is routinely or habitually in a position of power, it is said to be dominant.

In normal times, dominant institutions, group or individuals exercise a decisive influence or society. It is not as though they are never challenged, but this happened only in even though it implies that people are being forced to do things they don't necessarily want to do, domination in normal times can be quite ‘smooth’ in the sense of appearing to be without friction or tension.

(c) Law : In social terms, legitimacy refers to the degree of acceptance that is involved in power relations. Something that is legitimate is accepted as proper, just and fitting. In the broadest sense, it is acknowledged to be currently prevailing.

In brief, legitimacy implies conformity to existing norms of right, property and justice. Everyone must obey the lawful authority (or power) of the police office, when on duty, the policemen or policewomen has authority over the public actions of all citizens except her/his superior officers.

But police officers do not have jurisdiction over the private activities of citizens as long as they are not suspected of being unlawful in different way — different because the nature of the authority involved is less strictly or explicitly defined — the teacher has authority over her/ his pupil in the classroom. The authority of the teacher does not extend into the whole of the pupil where parents or guardians have primary responsibility and authority over their children.

A law is an explicitly codified norm or rule. It is usually written down, and these are laws that specify how laws are to be made or changed, or what is to be done if someone violates them.

1. Village : From a sociological point of view villages emerged as part of the major changes in social structure brought about by the transition from nomadic ways of life based on hunting, gathering food and transient agriculture to a more settled form of life. With the development of sedentary forms of agriculture — or forms that did not involve moving from place to place — social structure also changed. Investment in land and technological innovations in agriculture created the possibility of producing a surplus -something over and above what was needed for survival. Thus, settled agriculture meant that wealth could be accumulated and this also brought with its social differences. The more advanced division of labour also created the need for occupational specialisation. All of these changes together shaped the emergence of the village as a population settlement based on a particular form of social organisation.

2. Distinction between rural and urban settlement : The distinction between rural and urban settlements is usually made on the basis of two major factors : population density and the proportion of agriculture related economic activities. (Contrary to appearances, size is not always decisive; it becomes difficult to seperate large villages and small towns on the basis of population size alone.) Thus, cities and towns have a much higher density of population — or the number of persons per unit area, such as a square km — than villages. Although they are smaller in terms of absolute numbers of people, villages are spread out over a relatively larger area. Villages are also distinguished from towns and cities by the larger share of agricultural activities in their economic profile. In other words, villages will have a significant proportion of its population engaged in agriculture linked occupations, much of what is produced there will be agricultural products, and most of its income will be from agriculture.

3. Town and city : The distinction between a town and a city is much more a matter of administrative definition. A town and a city are basically the same sort of settlement, differentiated by size. An ‘urban agglomeration’ (a term used in Census and official reports) refers to a city along with its surrounding sub-urban areas and satellite settlements. A ‘metropolitan area’ includes more than one city, or a continous urban settlement many times the size of a single city.

2. Homelessness : The question of urban housing brings with it a whole host of problems. Shortage of housing for the poor leads to homelessness and the phenomenon of ‘street people’—those who live and survive on the streets and footpaths, under bridges and flyovers abandoned buildings and other empty spaces. It is also the leading cause for the emergence of slums.

3. Problems of Slums : Though official definition vary, a slum is a congested, overcrowded neighbourhood with no proper civic facilities Csanitaion, water supply, electricity and so on) and homes made of all kinds of building materials ranging from plastic sheets and cardboard to multi-storeyed concrete structures. Because of the absence of‘settled’ property rights of the kind seen elsewhere, slums are the natural breeding ground for ‘dadas’ (दादा या बहुबली) and strongmen who impose their authority on the people who live there. Control over slum territory becomes the natural stepping stone to other kinds of extra-illegal activities, including criminal and real estate-related gangs.

4. Socio-cultural identities : Residential areas in cities all over the world are almost always regreted by class, and after also by race, ethnicity, religion and other such variables.

5. Conflicts and Riots : Tensions between such identities both cause these segregation patterns and are also a consequence. For example, in India, communal tension between religious communities, most commonly Hindus and Muslims, results in the conversion of mixed neighbourhoods into single-community ones. This in turn gives a specific spatial patterns to communal violence whenever it erupts, which again furthers the ‘ghettoisation’ process.

6. Example : This has happened in many cities in India, most recently in Gujrat following the riots of 2002. The worldwide phenomenon of gated communities is also found in Indian cities. This refers to the creation of affluent neighbourhoods that are separated from their surroundings by walls and gates, with controlled entry and exit. Most such communities also have their own parallel civic facilities, such as water and electricity supply, policing and security.

7. Urban transport system : The urban transport system is directly and severaly affected by the location of residential areas relative to industrial and commerical workplace. If these are far apart, as is often the case, an elaborate mass transit system must be created and maintained. Communing becomes a way of life and an ever present source of possible disruption.

8. Impact of Transportation : The transport system has a direct impact on the ‘quality of life’ of working people in the city. Reliance on road transport and specially on private rather than public modes (i.e., cars rather than buses) creates problems of traffic congestion and vehicular pollution.

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