SOCIO-CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF RURAL COMMUNITY

• Rural people, primarily engaged in agriculture, have a closer connection to nature, maintain strong kinship and friendship ties, and emphasize tradition, consensus, and informality.
• The density of population in villages is low, which impacts production, distribution, and the overall standard of living in the community.
• Both birth rate and death rate are higher in villages compared to cities, negatively affecting the quantitative and qualitative growth of rural populations.
• The distribution of rural people in terms of age and sex groups is important to study:
  • About 45% of rural people belong to the productive age group (15-59).
  • About 55% of rural people are sustained by the working population.
• The presence of a higher proportion of children (under 14) and the aged (60+) influences the economic and social lifeof the working population.
• The number of females per 1,000 males is higher in rural areas than urban areas, and 33% of rural women are part of the working force (compared to 56% of rural men).
• These gender dynamics impact sex mores, social codes, rituals, and institutions in rural areas.
• Aspects such as family structure, caste composition, religious variations, economic life, land relations, poverty, and standard of living also affect the life of villagers.

The Family

• Family and familism play a crucial role in the material and cultural life of villages and influence the psychological characteristics of the rural community.
• The joint family system remains predominant, but the nuclear family is emerging due to the market economy, youth migration to cities, and the influence of urban socio-economic forces on rural society.
• Compared to urban families, rural families are more homogeneous, integrated, and organically functioning.
• Ties between parents and children, husband and wife, siblings, and affinal kin are stronger and longer-lasting in rural families than in urban ones.
• Rural families are generally agriculture-oriented, with most members involved in agriculture.
• The rural family functions as a single economic unit, where members cooperate in agricultural operations and hold property in common, usually managed by the oldest member.
• The family spends most of its time together, leading to similar beliefs, attitudes, aspirations, and values.
• The interdependence of family members fosters a more collectivist family consciousness and less individualistic emotion.
• Despite the weakening of traditional authority structures due to urbanization, industrialization, and education, the family unit remains strong and does not disintegrate.
• While the dominance of familism is decreasing and family ego is diminishing, family as an institution is still resilient, and the rule of law is replacing the rule of custom.

Caste System

• Up to the 1940s, the caste system in rural areas was rigid, and caste councils were powerful, determining the statusand mobility of individuals.
• Land ownership and power structures were aligned with caste lines.
• Post-1950s, means of communication, education, and the growth of a competitive economy have transformed self-contained castes into mobile classes.
• Some castes have lost their previous status and functions, merging into the lower classes, while many lower castes have gained economic and political power, emerging as dominant castes.
• Scholars such as A.R. Desai, Andre Beteille, Yogendra Singh, and B.R. Chauhan have noted the declining effect of the caste system and the growing influence of the class system.
• Economic life and rural indebtedness based on caste have also changed.
• R.K. Nehru pointed out the historical connection between caste and indebtedness and credit in rural areas.
• Certain castes were historically composed of hereditary debtors, while others were predominantly creditors.
• Recent studies show a change in the relationship between caste and indebtedness.
• The habitat pattern in rural areas, which was previously determined by caste, has changed. There is now no direct relation between caste and housing.
• Occupational mobility has increased, and people no longer perform caste-determined occupations. This has led to some castes moving up or down the economic ladder.
• Even the most backward castes now send their children, including girls, to school, breaking previous caste-determined attitudes towards education.
• Religious practices in rural areas, which were once strictly determined by caste, are now changing.
• While caste still influences political life, it no longer solely determines the choice of candidates or election propaganda.
• Extra-caste factors now influence political prejudices and predilections.
• Leadership is no longer entirely based on caste membership, and caste leaders no longer dominate the social, economic, political, and ideological spheres of village life.
• The pajmani system and inter-caste economic relations have undergone significant changes.
• New legislative measures have also affected inter-caste relations in rural areas.

Religion

• Rural religion can be studied through three aspects:
  1. Beliefs like possession by spirits, magic, witchcraft, worship of dead ancestors, etc.
  2. Religious practices, including prayers, sacrifices, and rituals.
  3. Institutional complex, i.e., various sub-religious and religious cults such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, etc.
• Pre-independence, religion played a crucial role in shaping the life of rural society.
• Rural people were more predisposed to religion than urban populations.
• Factors like agricultural production, dependence on nature, and pleasure/displeasure of gods emphasized the religiosity of villagers.
• Beliefs in spirits, magic, ghosts, witchcraft, and primitive religion were widespread.
• Religious outlook dominated intellectual, emotional, and practical life in rural areas.
• Nearly every aspect of rural life was permeated by religion, including folk songs, paintings, marriage customs, and social festivals.
• Rituals played a central role in ensuring individual and social purity.
  • Types of rituals include eating, birth, marriage, death, occupational, sowing, and harvesting rituals.
  • Rituals prescribed behavior for individuals and social groups.
  • Caste-specific rituals were enforced with social sanctions, including excommunication.
• Temples were significant, serving not only for prayers but also for education, cultural activities, social functions, welfare work, and political meetings.
  • Temples had idols of gods and goddesses and local deities.
  • Some temples were publicly owned, while others were privately owned.
• After independence, new norms emerged based on secular and democratic principles.
• Villagers began adopting democratic and egalitarian ideas.
• New secular institutions, associations, leadership, and social controls emerged in rural society.
• However, religion still holds a powerful influence in contemporary rural life.
• Modern rural society is a battle-ground between religious orthodoxy and secular democratic forces.