GS-I

Contents
GS-I............................................................................................................................................1
Effects of Globalisation on Indian Society.........................................................................2
Salient features of world's physical geography..................................................................8
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism...................................23
Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity,
cyclone.................................................................................................................................33
Urbanization, Their Problems and Their Remedies.......................................................53
Population and Associated Issues......................................................................................65
Poverty and Developmental Issues....................................................................................75
Political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc. - their forms and
effect on the society.............................................................................................................85
Natural Resources in India & World..............................................................................105
Role of Women and Women's Organization..................................................................117
World History and World wars......................................................................................132
World History Colonization and De-colonization.........................................................143
World History: Industrial revolution from 18th century.............................................150
Indian culture: the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from
ancient to modern times...................................................................................................166
 Effects of Globalisation on Indian Society
Globalization is a significant factor in competitive world that integrate and mobilize cultural
values of people at global level. In the age of rapid technical progression, many countries are
unified and transformed due to the process of globalization. Globalization has a huge impact
on cultural, social, monetary, political, and communal life of countries. Abundant theoretical
studies demonstrated that globalization intercedes in a cultural life of populace that raises
numerous critical issues (Robertson, 1992). In broad sense, the term 'globalization' means
combination of economies and societies through cross country flows of information, ideas,
technologies, goods, services, capital, finance and people. Globalization is described by
theorists as the process through which societies and economies are integrated through cross
border flows of ideas, communication, technology, capital, people, finance, goods, services
and information.
Aspects of Globalisation in India
Cross country incorporation has several aspects and can be political, cultural, social and/or
economic, all which equal globalization. Nevertheless, financial integration is the most
common aspects. Economic integration involves developing a nation's economy into an
international economy. After World War I and II the early trends of globalization decreased
throughout the world due to many barriers which restricted the movement of goods and
services. In fact, cultural and social integration are even more than economic integration.
Globalization increases competitiveness at company level and national level, which leads
company management and governments to embrace strategies designed to increase labour
effectiveness with reference to productivity, quality and innovation.
Generally, globalization involves economies that are opening up to international competition
and that do not distinguish against international capital. Consequently, globalization is often
accompanied by a liberalization of the markets and the privatization of productive assets. But
globalization also leads to unemployment, increasing casual employment and weakening
labour movements. Theoretical literature denotes that Globalization has made countries to
realize that they can share their cultural values and economic exchanges to promote business
and gain competitive advantage. The fervour of globalization has even enforced Governments
to be tuned to the merits of a Global economy. Management studies have defined the process
of globalization. Fraser (2007) explained that Globalization is a word on every commentator's
lips nowadays, but is very difficult to define satisfactorily, for it arises in so many different
contexts like economic, sociological, political, cultural and environmental.
Akteruzzaman.Md, 2006 stated that globalization is the interconnectedness of nations and
regions in economic domain, in particular, trade financial flows and multinational
corporations.
Concept of Globalisation
The concept of globalization means that the world is getting smaller as well as bigger.
Akteruzzaman.Md, 2006 described that globalization can contribute to develop pattern of
cross border activities of firms, involving international investment, trade and strategic
alliances for product development, production, sourcing and marketing. These international
activities companies to enter new markets, to exploit their technological and organizational
advantages and to reduce business costs and risks. Other theorists stated that globalization is
a social phenomenon that defines the geographical boundary in terms of many different
issues. According Brinkman, 2002, globalization as a triumphalism light, as the penetration
of capitalism into every corner of the world, bringing with it the possibility for all of the
world's population to participate in the fruits of the international division of labour and
market economy. ALI, 2015 explained the globalization as a process of rapid economic,
cultural, and institutional integration among countries. This association is driven by the
liberalization of trade, investment and capital flow, technological advances, and pressures for
assimilation towards international standards. Globalization has reduced barriers between
countries, thus resulting in strengthening of economic competition among nations,
dissemination of advanced management practices and newer forms of work organization, and
sharing of internationally accepted labour standards.

Challenges of globalization and its effects

Many theorists asserted that change in environment has both positive and negative aspects
(Harris, 2002). These stimulate driving or resisting forces toward the change of the status
quo. This is most obvious relative to both globalization, and the resulting spread of the global
organization. There are four factors that accelerate globalization.
The market imperative: Impact on national economies of larger, transnational markets
characterized by free, convertible currencies, open access to banking, and contracts
enforceable by law.
The resource imperative: Growing interdependence of nations and their activities on one
another, fostered by the depletion of natural resources, misdistributions of arable land,
mineral resources, and wealth, as well as overpopulation. The undeveloped nations need the
capital, technology, and brainpower of the wealthier countries, while the First World
economies are progressively dependent on the natural and human resources of the developing
nations.
The IT imperative: Modernizations in glob communications, science and technology
contribute toward universalization or planarization.
The ecological imperative: Globalization does have great effect on the ecologies and
environments of nations which need to safeguards that lessen the negative effects rather than
exploiting without regard to such concerns.
India was main mover of globalization. The government of India made major modifications
in its economic policy in 1991 by which it allowed direct foreign investments in the country.
As a result of this, globalization of the Indian Industry occurred at large scale. In India,
economic expansion was observed in nineteenth century due to major crisis led by foreign
exchange. The liberalization of the domestic economy and enhanced incorporation of India
with the global economy helped to step up gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates which
made good position in global scale. Effects of globalization in Indian Industry are observed
as this process brought in large amounts of foreign investments into the industry especially in
the BPO, pharmaceutical, petroleum, and manufacturing industries. As a result, they boosted
the Indian economy quite significantly. The benefits of the effects of globalization in the
Indian Industry are that many foreign companies set up industries in India, especially in the
pharmaceutical, BPO, petroleum, manufacturing, and chemical sectors and this helped to
offer great opportunities for employment to Indian people. Also this helped to reduce the
level of unemployment and poverty in the country. It is observed that the major forces of
globalization in India has been in the development of outsourced IT and business process
outsourcing services. Since last many years, there is an increase of skilled professionals in
India employed by both local and foreign companies to service customers in the US and
Europe. These countries take advantage of India's lower cost but highly talented and English-
speaking work force, and utilizes global communications technologies such as voice-over IP
(VOIP), email and the internet, international enterprises have been able to lower their cost
base by establishing outsourced knowledge-worker operations in India. The foreign
companies brought in highly advanced technology with them and this made the Indian
Industry more technologically advanced. Globalization in India has been beneficial for
companies that have ventured in the Indian market. It is recommended by researchers that
India has to focus on five important areas to enhance its economic status. The areas include
technological entrepreneurship, new business openings for small and medium enterprises, the
importance of quality management, new prospects in rural areas and privatization of financial
institutions.
In terms of export and import activities, Many Indian companies have expanded their
business and became famous at global level such as fast food, beverages, and sportswear and
garment industries. Records indicated that Agriculture exports account for about 13 to 18% of
total annual export of the country. In 2000-01, agricultural products valued at more than
US$6 million were exported from the country of which 23% was contributed to the marine
products alone. Marine products in recent years have emerged as the single largest
contributor to the total agricultural export form the country accounting for over one fifth of
the total agricultural exports. Cereals (mostly basmati rice and non-basmati rice), oil seeds,
tea and coffee are the other prominent products each of which accounts for nearly 5 to 10%
of the countries' total agricultural exports. Globalization speeded export of food items in
India in the form of increased consumption of meat, western fast food, sodas and cool drinks,
which may result in public health crisis. The rich biodiversity of India has yielded many
healthy foods prepared from locally available entities. But the marketing by MNCs with large
advertisement campaigns lead the people to resort to their products (Mascarenhas, 2003).
Figure: Indian companies going global:

Technological and Cultural impact of globalization in India

With the process of globalization, there is an access to television grew from 20% of the urban
population (1991) to 90% of the urban population (2009). Even in the rural areas satellite
television has a grown up market. In the cities, Internet facility is everywhere and extension
of internet facilities even to rural areas. There is an increase of global food chain /restaurants
in the urban areas of India. Excessive Multiplex movie halls, big shopping malls and high rise
residential are seen in every cities. Entertainment sector in India has a global market. After
economic liberalization, Bollywood expanded its area and showed a major presence in the
global scale. The industry began to explore new ways to become more global and modern. In
India, modernity is observed with the West. Therefore, Western philosophy began to be
incorporated into Bollywood films. As these new cultural messages began to reach the Indian
population, Indian moviegoers were pushed to re-evaluate their traditional Indian cultural
ideology. Bollywood movies are also distributed and accepted at international level. Big
international companies (Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures) are
investing on this sector. Famous International brands such as Armani, Gucci, Nike, and
Omega are also making investment in the Indian market with the changing of fashion
statement of Indians.
Impact of globalization on education in India
There is immense effects observed in educational sector due to globalization such as literacy
rate become high and Foreign Universities are collaborating with different Indian
Universities. The Indian educational system faces challenges of globalization through
Information technology and it offers opportunities to evolve new paradigms shifts in
developmental education. The distinction between formal, non-formal and informal education
will vanish when move from industrial society to information society takes place.
Globalization promotes new tools and techniques such as E-learning, Flexible learning,
Distance Education Programs and Overseas training.
It is observed in current Indian society that through globalization, women have gained certain
opportunities for job options and to recognize women's rights as a part of the human rights.
Their empowerment has given considerable opportunities and possibilities of improving
employment conditions through global solidarity and co-ordination. It is found that the
growth of computer and other technologies enabled women with better waged, flex timings,
and capacity to negotiate their role and status in home and at corporate level.
There are some negative impact of globalization such as this process made disparity between
rural and urban Indian joblessness, growth of slum capitals and threat of terrorist activities.
Globalization increased competition in the Indian market between the foreign companies and
domestic companies. With the foreign goods being better than the Indian goods, the
consumer preferred to buy the foreign goods. This reduced the amount of profit of the Indian
Industry companies. This happened mainly in the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, chemical,
and steel industries. The negative Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry are that with the
coming of technology the number of labour required are decreased and this resulted
increasing unemployment especially in the arena of the pharmaceutical, chemical,
manufacturing, and cement industries. Some section of people in India that are poor do not
get benefit of globalization. There is an increased gap between rich and poor that lead to
some criminal activities. Ethical responsibility of business has been reduced. Another major
negative effect of globalization in India is that youngsters of India leaving their studies very
early and joining Call centres to earn fast money reducing their social life after getting
habituated with monotonous work. There is an increase of every daily usable commodities.
This has an adverse effect on cultural aspect. The institution of marriage is breaking down at
fast rate. There are more people approaching divorce courts instead of maintaining marital
life. Globalization has considerable impact on the religious situation of India. Globalization
has brought about raising a population who is agnostic and atheist. People visiting places of
worship are reducing with time. Globalization has reduced nationalism and patriotism in
country.
It can be said that Globalization is motivating factor in current business environment. There
are few challenges for companies due to globalization such as Migration, relocation, labour
shortages, competition, and changes in skills and technology. Globalization powerfully
influences the social partners' attitudes since traditional labour relations have to cope with
completely new and very dynamic situations. In political field, globalization helps to
eradicate poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, ill-health and fighting cross border terrorism and
global terrorism. Globalisation in context of status of women implicates the relegation of the
stereotypic pattern of duties of the women like rearing and caring the children to the back
ground and taking up the various diversified occupation and thus making their living quite
vibrant and alive. Globalisation benefits the schedule caste people in promoting cultural
homogeneity in the way of loosening of the ideas of pollution and purity and eradication of
untouchability and so many socio-cultural and economic disabilities associated with them.
Globalisation of goods has developed enthusiasm in India for western brand names. A
consumerist mentality has been carefully fostered. This leads to an adversative impact on the
tendency to save or the domestic accumulation of capital. Lastly, in Indian scenario,
globalization developed a consumer credit society. Today, people can buy goods and services
even if they do not have sufficient purchasing power and the prospect of raising a loan has
become easy in the age of globalisation. Credit cards have given boost to consumerism and
pushed many households into indebtedness. At the same time globalization has unfavourable
impact on mass-media in India. Currently, realistic coverage of events and happening doesn't
receive much importance because it doesn't determine the standing of a newspaper or TV
channel. Globalisation has brought violation of journalistic ethics in India.
To summarize, the process of globalization has changed the industrial pattern social life of
global people and it has immense impact on Indian trade system. The globalization of the
economic, social and cultural structures happened in all ages. Previously, the pace of process
was slow. Today with the start of the information technology, new ways of communication
have made the world a very small place. With this process, there is a big market place.
Globalization has resulted in increase in the production of a range of goods. MNCs have
established manufacturing plants all over the world. It has positive effects and India will
overcome many obstacles and adopt global policies to expand business at international scale.
India is gaining international recognition and strengthening in economic and political areas.
 Salient features of world's physical geography
(GS Paper- 1 Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and
Society)
Earth is splendid terrestrial haven. It is imperative to know physical geography through its
display of environmental diversity. In scientific studies, it is established that Geography is a
word that originated from two Greek roots. Geo-denotes to "Earth," and graphy stands for
"picture or writing." Geography is the study of earth as the home of present day human being
(Sagmit, 1998).The main objective of geography is the assessment, and explanation of Earth,
its variability from place to place, the way places and features transform over time, and the
processes responsible for these variations and changes. Geography is termed as the spatial
science because it incorporates recognizing, analysing, and explaining the variations,
similarities, or differences in phenomena situated on the surface of Earth. Geography is
unique among the sciences by virtue of its characterization and central purpose. It describes
the values and attitudes towards environment and sharpen intellectual and practice skill.

Earth's structure is divided into three zones that include crust, Mantle and core. Crust is the
solid outer layer of the Earth, and its depth is usually never more than 1 per cent of the
Earth's radius, or averaging 40–50 km, but this varies significantly around the sphere. These
are two different types: oceanic and continental. Mantle is the region within the Earth's
interior that range from 25 to 70 km below the surface, to a depth of ~2,900 km. It is
composed mainly of silicate rocks, rich in iron and magnesium. At the base of the mantle,
temperatures may reach up to 5,000°C. These high temperatures may help to generate
convection currents which drive plate tectonics. Core is the very centre of the Earth and is
composed of iron and nickel. It consists of an outer core (semi-molten) and inner core (solid).
The temperature at the very centre of the Earth (~6,300 km below surface) may reach
5,500°C.
Structure of earth

Geography is inherently encompassing discipline. It brings together facts from other sciences
such as physical biological and social. Physical geography is related to the physical science.
Physical geography includes the processes and attributes that constitute Earth which
incorporate human activities where they interface with the atmosphere. Different branches of
Physical geography are climatology, Meteorology, Geomorphology and pedageography
(Sagmit, 1998).
Scientific studies have revealed that physical geographers are more interested in
comprehending all aspects of Earth and can be considered generalists because they are
qualified to scrutinize a natural environment in its entirety, and how it functions as a unit. In
physical geography, researchers study about lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and
biosphere. Due to interaction of these elements, numerous changes occur on earth surface.
Most physical geographers concentrate on advanced study in one or two specialties. For
instance, meteorologists and climatologists believe how the interaction of atmospheric
components influences weather and climate. Meteorologists focus their studies learning the
atmospheric processes that affect daily weather, and they use current data to predict weather
conditions. Climatologists are interested in the averages and extremes of long-term weather
data, regional classification of climates, monitoring and understanding climatic change and
climatic hazard, and the long term impact of atmospheric conditions on human actions and
the surroundings.
The study of the nature, development, and modification of landforms is a field of
geomorphology, a major sub field of physical geography. Geomorphologists are excited to
know and elucidate variation in landforms, the processes that produce physical landscapes,
and the nature and geometry of Earth's surface features. The factors involved in landform
development are as varied as the environments on Earth, and include gravity, running water,
stresses in the Earth's crust, flowing ice in glaciers, volcanic activity, and the erosion or
deposition of Earth's surface materials. Biogeographers scrutinize natural and human-
modified environments and the ecological processes that influence their characteristics and
distributions, including vegetation change over time. They also research and explain the
ranges and patterns of vegetation and animal species, seeking to find out the environmental
factors that limit or facilitate their distributions. Several soil scientists are geographers, who
are concerned in mapping and analysing soil types, determining the aptness of soils for
certain uses, such as agriculture, and working to conserve soil as a natural resource.
Geographers are broadly concerned to study water bodies and their processes, movements,
impact, quality, and other features. They may serve as hydrologists, oceanographers, or
glaciologists. Many geographers involved with water studies also function as water resource
managers, who work to ensure that lakes, watersheds, springs, and groundwater sources are
suitable to meet human or environmental needs, provide an adequate water supply, and are as
free of pollution as possible. Hydrology is merging science. It helps to understand the
processes in which water plays an important role in nature through oceans, rivers and glaciers
in sustaining life forms of earth surface.

Main perspective of physical geography

Geographic knowledge and studies often start with locational information. The location of a
feature usually uses one of two methods: such as absolute location, which is articulated by a
coordinate system (or address), or relative location, which recognizes where a feature exists
in relation to something else, usually a fairly well-known location.
Physical geographers are more concerned in exploring the environmental features and
processes that merge to make a place unique, and they are also involved in the shared
characteristics between places. Another feature of the characteristics of places is analysing
the environmental benefits and challenges that exist in a place. When there is a need to know
how features are arranged in space, geographers are generally engrossed in two spatial
factors. Spatial distribution means the extent of the area or areas where a feature exists.
Spatial pattern denotes to the arrangement of features in space that are regular or random,
clustered together or broadly spaced.
It is well established that Earth's features and landscapes are constantly changing in a spatial
context. Weather maps demonstrate where and how weather elements change from day to
day, over the seasons, and from year to year. Storms, earthquakes, landslides, and stream
processes change the scenery. Coastlines may change position because of storm waves,
tsunamis, or changes in sea level. Areas that were once forested have been clear-cut,
changing the nature of the environment there.
The main interest of Geographers is to comprehend the physical and human characteristics of
places, seeking to identify and explain characteristics that two or more locations may have in
common as well as why places vary in their geographic attributes. Geographers collect,
systematize, and analyse different types of geographic data and information, yet a unifying
factor among them is a focus on explaining spatial locations, distributions, and relationships.
They use array of skills, techniques, and tools to respond geographic questions. Geographers
also study processes that influenced Earth's landscapes in the past, how they continue to
affect them today, how a landscape may change in the future, and the significance or impact
of these change.
When appraising the geography of world, it is recognized that there are seven continents on
Earth which include Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South
America. Each has its own unique intermingle of physical features such as mountains,
deserts, plains, valleys, forests, and bodies of water. In all over world, Latitude, landforms,
and nearness to bodies of water greatly affect climate. Landforms, soil, and climate
significantly influence the plants and animals that can be found in each place.
North America is ranked as third largest continent in area in the world. It is situated in the
Western Hemisphere, it extends from near the North Pole southwards almost to the equator. It
covers the territory between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from east to west. Central
America, North America is surrounded by the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans. South of
Mexico, the land narrows into Central America. Central America links North America to
South America. Although Central America contains far less than 1% of the Earth's surface, it
has 7% of the world's biodiversity that include various plants and animals. West Indies is in
Northeast of Central America composed of a huge number of islands in the Caribbean Sea.
Physical Features of this region of the world include mountains, water bodies, and rain
forests. Major mountain ranges found in North America include the Rocky Mountains to the
west and the Appalachian Mountains to the east. The Rocky Mountains expand northward
into Canada and southward into Mexico. Main feature of Bodies of Water is the St. Lawrence
River which separates parts of the United States from eastern Canada. The Mississippi River
flows in much of the United States.
The Great Lakes include Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake
Ontario form the biggest system of fresh water on Earth. The Rio Grande detaches the United
States from Mexico. The Panama Canal, located in Central America, connects the Atlantic
and the Pacific Oceans. Areas of Plains include west of the Mississippi River, a region known
as the Great Plains, containing some of the world's most productive farmland, Rainforests.
Much of Central America and the islands of the West Indies have warm, humid climates and
rainforests.
Another important region of world is South America which is sited in the Western
Hemisphere south of Central America. South America is considered as the fourth major
continent in area. It extends over 7,000 miles in length, it lies between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans. Physical Features of this region include Mountains, Grasslands and Plains
and others. The Andes Mountains are among the uppermost in the world. They lengthen over
4,500 miles in the western part of South America. The Andes were once the foundation of the
Inca Empire. Grass lands and Plains are also important part of this region. Mountains and
poor soils are unproductive in South America. One exception is the pampas of Argentina and
Uruguay. The pampas give large areas of productive soil to grow crops and grazing cattle.
Another physical feature of South America is Rainforests. Rainforests are situated on the east
coast of Central America and the northern part of South America. Climatic conditions in this
area are warm and humid. The vegetation closely reflects the climatic conditions in this
continent. There are numerous vegetation as the major types of climate. The six Amazon
Rainforests are the world's biggest tropical rainforest in Brazil. Thousands of different
varieties of trees are found here. Tropical grasslands are found in Venezuela, Guianas and
South Brazil. Tropical grasslands are called Savannas. The prevailing vegetation consists of
coarse grass varying heights. There is Mediterranean vegetation. The summer droughts and
winter rains in central Chile produce a drought resisting vegetation having thick leaves and
long roots.
 Physical features of South America (Source: J.K. Bhatnagar' 2006 )

Every year, there is deforestation to provide land for ranches and farms. Bodies of Water in
South America include The Amazon River which is the second longest river in the world.
Furthermore, South America has the Orinoco River and the Rio de la Plata. Main population
of South America lives on or near these river systems. Climate of South America is warm
because it lies near the equator. Nevertheless, this region is surrounded by its mountains and
ocean winds, majority of places in South America have comfy temperatures. Some of the
greatest concentrations of people can be found in higher elevations where temperatures are
cooler. The basic temperament of the South American landscape is driven by tectonic
forcing, which has given the continent its site and general structural design and provided it
with its major relief features and mineral resources. While tectonism is a mostly slow process
on human timescales, it involves pulses that are frequent reminders of underlying forces.
Earthquakes along the active Pacific Rim are a primary expression of these forces, and great
earthquakes (Magnitude [M] > 8) happen somewhere along the continent's western margin
every few years.
Africa is important and the second largest continent in area. It is three times bigger in the size
of United States. To the north, Africa is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea. To
the east, it stretches out the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. On the west, Africa is encircled by the
Atlantic Ocean. Physical Features of Africa include Deserts, water bodies and mountains.
When describing physical geography, The Sahara Desert, which covers most of North Africa,
is the world's major desert. It separates Africans north and south because of dry, sandy area
and it is difficult to cross. Since ancient time, the Sahara isolated sub-Saharan Africa (Africa
south of the Sahara) from the other part of the world. Beyond south, Africa's land also covers
the Kalahari Desert. Savannas; Africa's region covers savanna land where tall, uncultivated
grasses grow with some trees. Savannas are the paramount areas in Africa to cultivate crops
and raising livestock. Most populace of Africa live in the savanna area or along the coasts. It
is the most tropical of all continents. Climate and vegetation range from equatorial
rainforests, tropical deserts and savanna grassland to Mediterranean. The Sahara Desert, the
largest of its kind anywhere in the world, is over 10.4 million km2. North to south is approx.
1800 kms and east-west is 5600km. Tropical Rainforests in Central and West Africa are hot
and humid which get 60 to 100 inches of rainfall a year. This climate creates thick forest and
jungle an area in which travelling is very difficult. Rainforests are the home to more plant and
animal species than anywhere else on the globe. Africa has many mountains and Valleys. The
Atlas Mountains are found on the northwest edge of Africa. The Great Rift Valley runs
through the highlands of Ethiopia and Kenya, to the east. Bodies of Water; Africa has
numerous major rivers such as the Nile, Congo, Zambezi, and Niger. The Nile, the world's
longest river, flows 4,150 miles from Central Africa through Egypt into the Mediterranean.
The banks of the Nile River give some of Africa's richest farmland. Important lakes in Africa
are Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Nyasa. Climate of Africa is warm, with hot
summers and mild winters. The amount of rainfall varies greatly. Deserts receive too little
water for farming, while some other areas get excessive rainwater. Although Africa
comprises of one landmass, it has a numerous islands, which are structurally not different
from the main land. Major Islands are Madagascar, Zanzibar and Pemba; the Comoros;
Mauritius; Reunion, Seychelles (all in the Indian Ocean); Cape Verde, Fernando Po, Principe,
Sao Tome and Annobon.
Climate and topography of South Africa
Europe is ranked as the second smallest continent in land area of the world. Europe and Asia
actually both share the same land mass. This land mass is so big that geographers have
divided it into two continents. Great Britain, Ireland and Iceland are island nations in the
Atlantic Ocean that are considered part of Europe. According to Geographers, this area is
known as Europe a "peninsula of peninsulas". Salient physical features of this region include
mountains, Bodies of Water .There are several mountain ranges in Europe. They include the
Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines, and Balkans. These mountains shield borders between areas.
Europe has many major bodies of water. In the north are the Baltic and North Seas. In the
south, there are the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Europe also has many major rivers,
including the Danube, Rhine, Loire, Rhone, Elbe, Vistula, and Volga. Wind has great impact
the climate of Europe. The climate and vegetation in this continent vary from the cold,
barren, tundra and sub-arctic starches of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, to the warm
shrub covered Mediterranean coasts of Italy, Spain and Greece.

Asia is known as biggest continent in area wise in world. Presently, it is domicile to two-
thirds of the world's inhabitants. Because of its huge size and the multiplicity of its cultures,
geographers consider the region of Asia as being composed of numerous distinct regions. The
Middle East lies at the junction of three continents, connecting Africa, Asia and Europe. It
has most important waterways of the world, the Suez Canal, which cut downs the travelling
distance between Europe and Asia. Physical geography of Asia includes desserts, mountains
and water bodies. In the region of the Middle East, major area is covered by desert. Most of
the Arabian Peninsula is occupied by 900,000 square miles of the Arabian Desert. The other
major desert in the Middle East is the Syrian Desert. There are several important rivers in the
Middle East such as Jordan, Tigris, and Euphrates Rivers. In this region, it is found that there
is mild climate and fertile soil along these rivers made them centres of some of the world's
most primitive culture. Other main bodies of water adjoining the Middle East include the
Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf. In regard to climate and
resource, most of the Middle East is located near the equator. The area has warm winters and
hot, dry summers but there is scarcity of adequate water supplies. The Middle East has about
half of the world's famous oil reserves.
Northern Asia is covered by Russia, which extends from Eastern Europe to the Pacific.
Russia is the world's biggest country in area. Although the majority of its inhabitants are
located in Europe, most of Russia's land area is in Asia. Central Asia composed of a huge
passageway to south of Russia, made up of mountains, deserts and steppes (treeless
grasslands). The steppes supply good grazing land. Siberia, in north-eastern Russia, is a cold
area with forests. Northernmost Russia is tundra, where the land is ice-covered most of the
time in the year. Afghanistan, a dry mountainous country in Central Asia, separates Iran and
Russia from Pakistan. Its physical geography include mountains and Bodies of Water. The
Arctic Ocean, north of Russia, is frozen for most of the time. Major rivers in Asian Russia are
the Ob and Lena. The Ural Mountains separate European and Asian Russia, while the Pamir
Mountains separate Russia from China. In major part of Russia, there is long, cold winters
and short mild summers.
East Asia consists of three important countries namely China, Korea, and Japan. China is the
third largest country in the world area wise. Korea is a neck of land extending from the north-
eastern coast of China. Japan consists of four main islands and a number of smaller islands,
separated from the Asian mainland by the Sea of Japan. Physical geographical features in
these three areas include Bodies of Water, Mountains. Important rivers are the Hwang Ho
(Yellow River) and the Yangtze in China. These river valleys were the origin of early
civilizations. China's southern and western borders are ringed by the Himalayan, Kunlun, and
Tianjin Mountains. To the west is the mountainous plateau of Tibet. In Japan and Korea,
most of the area is covered by mountains. About 85% of Japan is covered by mountains and
hills. Mount Fuji, an extinct volcano, is the highest and most famous mountain in Japan. The
Gobi Desert is situated to the north of China in Mongolia. Since earlier times, mountains,
deserts, and surrounding seas served to separate East Asia from the rest of the world.
Majority of South Asia is a subcontinent. It has various natural resources. The Indian
'subcontinent, approximately the size of the United States, appears a large triangle extending
out of Asia into the Indian Ocean. Southeast Asia consists of a peninsula (land surrounded by
water on three sides) and a series of islands on the southeast comer of the Asian mainland.
These are enclosed by the Pacific and Indian Oceans, which is the shortest water route
between these two oceans. As with other continents, South Asia has numerous mountains,
bodies of water. The Himalayas, located at the north of India, are the topmost mountains in
the world. They separate the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia. Mountains also cut off
Southeast Asia from the rest of the continent. The main rivers of the Indian subcontinent are
the Indus and Ganges. The Mekong, Salween, and Irrawaddy Rivers are main rivers in
Southeast Asia. Both South and Southeast Asia have warm winters and hot summers. The
most important climatic aspect is the monsoons. These vicious winds blow over the region
and bring heavy rains in the summer. Monsoon rains give water for crops and support life,
but also cause flooding, landslides, property damage, and even death.
Physical feature of south Asia

Australia, bordered by the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is cut off from Asia by the Arafura and
Timor Seas. It is the smallest continent of the world. It is also the lowest, the flattest and the
driest. The highest point on the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales,
at 2228 metres above sea level. The lowest point is the dry bed of Lake Eyre, South Australia,
which is 15 metres below sea level. The mainland and Tasmania are enclosed by thousands of
small islands and many larger ones. The mainland continents are divided into western
plateau, eastern highlands and central lowlands. The areas have no boundaries. Much of the
western plateau is relatively flat. There are many rugged areas near the coastal boundaries of
the plateau including the Kimberley region and Hamersley ranges in Western Australia. The
central lowland *stretches from the Gulf of Carpenteria through the great artesian basin to the
Murray darling plains. Most of these areas are flat and low lying. The eastern highlands
extending along most of the length of the east coast are characterized over much of their
length by steep escarpment on the coastal side, a series of high plateaus and then most gentle
sloping towards the inlands (Year Book Australia 1982).
Elevation of Australia continent (Source: Australian surveying and land information
group, 1996).

Nearly 40 per cent of the total coastline length comprises island coastlines. As an island
nation, coastlines play a vital role in defining national, state and territory boundaries. Almost
20 per cent of Australia's land mass is desert. As well as having a low average annual rainfall,
rainfall across Australia is also variable. The rainfall pattern is concentric around the
extensive arid core of the continent, with rainfall intensity high in the tropics and some
coastal areas. Climatic zones range from tropical rainforests, deserts and cool temperature
forests to snow covered mountains. Within this climate, plants and animals have evolved on a
geographically remote continent, through a time of a slowly drying climate, combined with
continuing high variability. The central regions of Australia are mostly deserts. The world's
biggest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef, is located in Australia. Many unique animals are
found in this continent.
Mean temperatures and rainfall (Source: Australian bureau of meteorology).
Period (b) Temperature deviation °C Rainfall  mm
10- YEAR PERIODS --ANNUAL AVERAGE
1900 .. 9 n.a. 425
1910 .. 19 -0.33 449
1920 .. 29 -0.40 430
1930 .. 39 -0.28 418
1940 .. 49 -0.41 436
1950 .. 59 -0.27 468
1960 .. 69 -0.22 431
1970 .. 79 -0.12 527
1980 .. 89 0.23 463
1990 .. 99 0.39 485
YEARS
1990 0.50 418
1991 0.68 469
1992 0.15 452
1993 0.30 499
1994 0.25 341
1995 0.18 523
1996 0.60 470
1997 0.23 527
1998 0.84 565
1999 0.21 584
2000 -0.21 727
2001 -0.10 559
2002 0.63 341
2003 0.62 487
2004 0.45 512
2015     1.06 406
Droughts can occur in all parts of Australia and they are most economically damaging in
south eastern Australia, an area encompassing about 75% of Australian populace and much of
its agriculture. Thunderstorms are more frequent over northern Australia. During most years,
snow covers much of the Australian Alps over 1500 metres for varying periods from late
autumn to early spring. In terms of water vapour content, Australia is dry continent (Year
Book Australia 1982).
Antarctica is the world's southernmost continent and wraps the South Pole. It is encircled by
the Southern, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Since 2000, most geographers call this the
Southern Ocean. Antarctica is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest
average elevation of all the continents. About 98% of this continent is enclosed by ice,
averaging one mile in thickness. Only plants and animals adjust to the severe cold and
survive in this region.
Physical feature of Antarctica represented that it is surrounded by water ( Source:
Evan-Moor Educational Publishers).

In Antarctica, The landmass is made up of 98% ice sheet with the remaining 2%, barren rock.
The standard height of Antarctica is between 2000 and 4000 m with resident mountain ranges
up to 5000 m in elevation. Roughly half of the coastal areas are ice free. Ice shelves form
along the coast and in the areas where seawater comes in contact with the ice shelf, these
chunks of ice break free in the form of icebergs. Temperatures in Antarctica remain around
the freezing mark around the coastal areas in the summer, which occurs from December to
February. In the winter, temperatures range from -10°C to -30°C in the coastal regions. The
higher plateaus have a much colder weather. Because of their higher elevation and the
distance from the ocean, summer temperatures range anywhere from -20°C to -60°C, in the
winter.
To summarize, Physical geography is imperative for understanding various things about
countries and regions of the world. It is the branch of science that deals with processes and
patterns in the natural environment such as hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and
geosphere. Physical geography is a scientific discipline that addresses the distribution of
natural features and processes within a spatial, or geographical, reference frame.
 Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism
Social empowerment: In societal development, conception of empowerment has vital role.
This phrase is linked with gender equality. Modernization of global development will need a
reappraisal of the concept and its application to many facets of human life. The notion of
empowerment entails numerous things to many people. Concepts of choice, liberty, agency,
capacity, contribution, self-sufficiency, and increased resources are common to almost all
definitions. Most of the researchers agreed on the idea of empowerment as ways to improve
quality of life and expand the basis of human well-being. Briefly, empowerment can serve as
a tool for effecting deep and broad-based social revolution.
In social science literature, it is documented that the process of social change can be
discovered at the personal and structural levels. At one end, social change is visualized as a
consequence of the development of individuals, gained through education, training, access to
material resources, and the like. From this perspective, structural change is supposed to be an
automatic result of personal alteration. On the other end, the human being is seen as a part of
society, and change is considered impossible unless social structures related to political
power are changed primarily. Individual and structural transformation are closely associated
with the individual's inner life shapes, social environment, and that environment, in turn,
exerts a deep influence on one's mystical and psychological well-being. The symbol of the
body politic, likening all of humanity to a single social organism gives a valuable framework
to discover empowerment as means to follow the transformation of individuals and
civilization. Empowerment depends on and contributes to a system in which different actors
are provided the resources needed for each to make a unique contribution to the whole. From
this conception, it can be established that individual and collective empowerment can be
considered as the extension of vision, capacity, and choice necessary for people to act as
active agents of human well-being and affluence.
The Protagonists of Social Transformation: It suggests that there are three elements critically
important such as the individual, the institutions of society, and the community. In this view
empowerment is described as the act assisting individuals to manifest constructive capacities
in creative and disciplined ways, institutions to exercise authority in a manner that leads to
the progress and upliftment of people and communities to provide an environment in which
culture is improved and individual wills and capacities combine in collective action. Ideas of
"us" and "them" deserve particular consideration. Discourse in development spheres is often
entrenched in conceptions of the "empowered" members of society that help the
"disadvantaged" or "downgraded group." Many researchers revealed that the desire to
eliminate social inequalities is indisputably moral feeling, but us/them dichotomies only
extend and reinforce existing divisions. Careful thought needs must be given in which
empowerment can be approached as a universal and shared enterprise. It has been observed
that Historical processes have developed inequalities that must be addressed. But the
development basis should be one in which every individual and group is presumed to have
scope for progression. From this viewpoint, the marginalized are not without capacity, and
the privileged are not all strong. All have capacity to develop and all have a responsibility to
advance the welfare of the whole. Lastly, though empowerment signifies someone or
something being invested with authority, the social dynamics of power seem to have been
generally overlooked in debates on development at the United Nations.
Prerequisites for Social Transformation: Scholars stated that participation in the systems and
structures of society is important prerequisite for social transformation. It is not sufficient for
people to get projects, even if they have a voice in certain decisions. They must actively
involve in decision-making processes: identify problems, formulate solutions and approaches,
enjoy benefits, and determine criteria for appraisal.
At last, the ability to recognise the root causes of inequality will be decisive to the
empowerment of populations to become agents of social transformation. Though population
gets benefits of advancement, if it is unable to discriminate the drivers of social injustice and
inequity, they cannot eliminate such practices from social structure. If empowerment is to
lead to social transformation, it must involve the ability to identify the forces that modernize
one's social reality, to recognise the opportunities and challenges offered by that reality, and
to plan initiatives for the improvement of civilization.
Communalism: Communalism is practiced in society since ancient and it is part of human
life. When appraising in Indian context, it is great faithfulness to one's own holy group.
Communalism is defined as a mechanism to energize people for or against by raising an
appeal on communal lines. It is revealed in literature that Communalism is related with
religious fundamentalism and intransigence. Studies have demonstrated that the
communalisation was first began in nineteenth century. The British historian (James)
categorized ancient period as Hindu period and medieval period as Muslim period and this
ordering was further used by both the British and Indian historians. Social literature
documented that in medieval period, Muslim people were underprivileged, they were also
oppressed as then people of Hindu community and the ruling class included both the Muslims
and Hindus. Abdul Ahmed explained that "Communalism is a social phenomenon
characterized by the religion of two communities, often leading to acrimony, tension and
even rioting between them". Communalism is also described by few other eminent theorists.
According to Prabha Dixit, "Communalism is a political doctrine which makes use of
religious and cultural differences to achieve political ends". It is a dominant force in Indian
scenario. Many factors such as casteism, communalism and religious fundamentalism pose
challenge in India that are the major threats to Secular state. They deteriorate the working and
strength of democratic secular Federal state and influence against the fundamental beliefs of
national life and provide means to new individuality. 'Casteism' and 'Communalism' are
destroying the Indian cultural diversity.
In academic literature, Communalism is elucidated as multi-dimensional, complex, social
fact. Numerous social, political, economic, cultural and religious factors affect the occurrence
of communalism and communal ferocity. Communalism is sometimes aggravated by non-
religious forces. A careful inquiry of the demands which have been and are made by
communal leaders will reveal the true character and objective of communal politics under the
cover of religion, ritual and culture. It has been documented in reports that Previously, British
imperialism used communalism as a divide and rule policy. Similar kind of policies are
continued by leaders after independence using various factors. The origin of communalism is
very deep and diversified. Some of the roots lie in the structure and nature of Indian
civilization which has different religions, multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-castes and multi-
regional. A society divided on these grounds helps the development of communal
organizations. It may be emphasised that the financial condition of the Hindu and the Muslim
and other communities and their different development also contributes to the development of
communalism. It is established that the communalism of society is a response of the
communalism of another community.
Communalism has three stages. First stage include insight of people believing in a particular
religion that have similar interests such as political, financial, social and cultural interests. For
political perspective of India, Indian society is group of people from different religion,
language and regions but not as a country. For citizen of India, different people have different
leaders, who declare themselves as national/regional/religious/caste leaders. The second stage
of communalism begins when people consider that the social, monetary, cultural and political
interests of people following a particular religion are dissimilar from that of the believers of
other religions. This phase of communalism is termed as Liberal Communalism. People who
have belief in Liberal Communalism assumed that the interests of the people of India can be
amalgamated and India can be integrated as one country. The third stage of communalism is
considered when people of one religion are the opponents of the people of other religions.
The third phase of communalism is extremist communalism which has a concept of fear and
revulsion.
Characteristics of Communalism
1. Communalism is a philosophical notion.
2. It is a multifaceted process.
3. It has a wider base which incorporates social, economic and political aspects for its
manifestation.
4. It causes competition, ferocity and tension among different communities.
5. Communalism is used by the upper class people and elites as advice for separation
and mistreatment of the communal identities of the poorer groups of their co-
religionists.
6. Communalism is simply planned by opportunistic political and economic interest of
contending groups and factions within a political party or by political parties.
7. Communalism assaults at the roots of egalitarianism, secularism and national
amalgamation.
8. The consequences of Communalism are ruinous.
Causes of Communalism
There are numerous of causes for the occurrence of communalism. First is the tendency of the
Minorities. The Muslims fail to be intermixed in the national mainstream. Some reports
indicated that majority of Muslim people do not partake in the secular nationalistic politics
and insist to sustain separate identity. Another cause of communalism is Orthodoxy and
Obscurantism. The orthodox members of minority groups feel that they have a distinct entity
with their own cultural pattern, personal laws and thought. There are strong elements of
conservatism and fundamentalism among the Muslims. Such feeling has prevented them from
accepting the concept of secularism and religious tolerance.
Design of the Leaders is also a cause of communalism. It has grown in India because the
communalist leaders of different religious communities such as Hindu and Muslim desire to
succeed it in the interest of their communities. The demand for separate electorate and the
organization of Muslim league were the practical indicators of this belief. The British rule
which gave the divide and rule policy, separate electorate on the basis of religion, reinforced
the basis of communalism in India. Finally the partition of the country into India and Pakistan
provided further an aggressive feeling towards each other.
The cause of communalism is due to weak Economic Status. Most of Muslims in India did
not embrace the scientific and technological education and they lagged behind on educational
front. Due to poor education, they have not been represented satisfactorily in the public
service, industry and trade. This leads the feeling of withdrawal which causes communalism.
There are geographical Causes for communalism. The regional settlement of different
religious groups particularly Hindus Muslims and Christians causes more variation in the
style of life, social standards and belief system. These patterns are clashing and leads to
communal tension.
Communalism also evolves from historical causes. It has been revealed in literature that the
Muslims in some of the regions are converted from Hinduism under the compulsions of
Muslim rulers. The problems of social separation, illiteracy and poverty that had set apart the
low caste people remain unresolved for them, as the foreign elite that polished never shared
power with them. Their work ended with the conversion of the Indians and the converts
began by replicating the masters in thought, speech and costume. It caused their hostility.
Progressively, communalism developed in the Muslim community.
Social Causes of communalism also emerges as there is cultural similarity in fostering
harmonious relations between any two social groups. But the social institutions, customs and
practices of Hindus and Muslims are so deviating that they think themselves to be two
different communities.
Psychological factors have vital role in increasing communal tension. The Hindus group
considers that the Muslims are crusaders and fundamentalists. They also have a feeling that
Muslims are unpatriotic. On the other hand, the Muslims believe that they are not treated as
superior group in India and their religious beliefs and practices are sub-standard. These
feelings causes communal tension.
Aggravation of rival Countries is also cause of communalism. Some overseas countries
weaken Indian nations by setting one community against the other through their
representatives. They encourage and promote communal riots in the nation.
Negative Impact of Mass Media also create communal tension. The messages related to
communal tension or riot in any part of the country spread through the mass media. This
results in further tension and riots between two rival religious groups.
Communalism has been a severe threat to national unity in India. It harmed numerous
elements of modern India, such as, secularism, democracy and world harmony. Communal
ideology leads to many cases of communal violence and riots. Gujarat violence of February
-March 2002 which terrorized the whole country was consequence of prior spread of
communal ideology (Chandra, 2004).
Ways to eradicate Communalism: Communalism can be lessen between different religious
groups through taking some measures.
1. Eradication of Communal Parties: All the political parties which prosper on religious
loyalties should be banned or abolished by the government. Even non-political
cultural organizations should always be kept under constant watch so that they cannot
expound communalism.
2. Spread of the Past Heritage: Feelings of patriotism should be taught to the people by
reminding them about the wonderful moments of history in Hindus, Muslims and
Sikhs who were united for the wellbeing of the nation.
3. Public Opinion: Mass media must play imperative role to generate awareness about
harmony between different communities and make efforts to change the attitude of
people towards other communities. People must be aware of the dangerous
consequences of the communalism.
Both the Government and people should create mindfulness to eradicate communal tension
and clash.
Abundant of literature have demonstrated that the practice of communalism leads to
communal politics and communal violence. It is supposed that communalism is the bequest
of the past because they use the thought of ancient and medieval times. But communalism is
a modern thought and political movement. The origin of communalism is linked to the
politics of modern times when the people are more inclined towards politics. The economic
slowdown of the people of India was primary reason for communalism.
Regionalism: In current global trade system, regionalism is spreading at great pace. The huge
spread of regionalism is encouraged by the explosion of regional institutions that give rise to
substantial academic interest in both their sources and consequences. In bulk of academic
literature, Regions are described as groups of countries situated in the same geographic space
but it is not clear where one region ends and the next begins. According to Russett (1967), a
region is based on geographic closeness, social and cultural similarity, shared political
attitudes and political institutions, and financial interdependence. Deutsch et al. (1957) stated
that high levels of interdependence across multiple dimensions that include economic
transactions, communications, and political values as determining whether a group of
countries constitutes a region. Thompson (1973) debated that regions comprises of states that
are geographically close to each other, interact extensively, and share numerous facts,
behaviours and culture. Regionalism is an arguable concept among scholars, sociologists and
theorists. Regionalism is a national phenomenon and took shape of organized agitations and
campaigns. Regionalism has widely spread in Indian politics since the independence of India.
It has the major basis of various regional political parties. In Indian scenario, regionalism has
increased in close identification with the regions. After independence, it is a great force of
conflicts as well as collaboration, which depends on the manner of accommodation.
Regionalism is elaborated as situations in which different religious or ethnic groups with
idiosyncratic identities exist within the same state borders, often concentrated within a
particular region and share strong feelings of shared individuality.
Regionalism is basically an intense feeling of a particular region or an area in preference to
the nation or any other region. It often involves ethnic groups whose major objective is to get
freedom from a national state and the development of their own political influence. In Indian
perspective, regionalism denotes to proclamation of different ethnic, linguistic or economic
interests by various groups within the nation. It has been well documented that the roots of
regionalism lie in linguistic, ethnic, economic and cultural identities of the people who stay in
particular geographical area. Political scholars have elaborated various types of regionalism
which include economic regionalism, linguistic regionalism, political regionalism and even
sub-regional movements. Various political scientists have contested that regionalism is a
political process discernible by cooperation and policy harmonization, whereas
regionalization is viewed as an economic process in which trade and investment within the
region develop more fast than the region's trade and investment in other part of world
(Haggard 1993). Pempel (2015) described regionalism in different manner. According to him,
regionalism involves the process of institution creation and is the deliberate product of
interstate collaboration. Regionalism is a topic of debate among theorists. Katzenstein (2006,
p. 1) described regionalism as institutionalized practices and regionalization as "a process that
engages actors". According to Fawcett (2004), regionalism is as a policy or a project.
Regionalism is basically associated with ideas, identities, and ideologies to a regional project.
Munakata (2006) stated that regionalism comprises of institutions established by
governments to support regional economic integration but emphasizes the changeable degrees
of promise by members. Extensive research has been conducted on regionalism that focused
on preferential trading arrangements (PTAs), institutions that offer each member state with
better access to the other participants' markets. Such arrangements involve states in close
geographic closeness, for example the European Union or Mercosur.
In Indian context, regionalism is extremely engrossed in its diversity of languages, cultures,
tribes, religions, communities. It instigates from the sense of regional awareness, which is
often powered by a sense of regional withdrawal. In India, there is huge population of
different castes, creeds, customs and cultures and its broad regions are dissimilar from one
another. For example, southern India, the home of Dravidian cultures, itself a region of many
regions is very different from the north.
Major Characteristics of Regionalism
1. Regionalism is accustomed by economic, social, political and cultural inequalities.
2. Regionalism sometimes is a psychic phenomenon.
3. Regionalism is developed as an expression of group identity as well as devotion to
particular region.
4. Regionalism assumes the concept of development of one's own region without
considering the interest of other regions.
5. Regionalism proscribes people from other regions to be benefited by a particular
region.
Causes of Regionalism
There are many reasons for the eruption of regionalism in Indian setting. First is the efforts of
the national government to execute a particular ideology, language or cultural pattern on all
people and groups. People are forced to cultivate the regionalism movements. With these
policies of regional groups, the states of the South began to fight the imposition of Hindi as
an official languages they feared this may make north more powerful. Second major cause for
the development of regionalism is constant negligence of an area or region by the ruling
parties and focus of administrative and political power has given rise to demand for
decentralization of authority and divide of unilingual states. Thirdly, there is a wish of the
various units of the Indian federal system to maintain their sub cultural regions and self-
government has promoted regionalism and given rise to demand for greater independence.
Fourth reason for the rise of regionalism is the desire of regional leaders to gain power. In
Southern state, political parties like DMK, AIADMK, Akali Dal, Telugu Desam, Asom Gana
Parishad have encouraged regionalism to dominate these regions. Other reason for huge
growth of regionalism is the interaction between the forces of modernisation and mass
contribution in India. Feeling of regionalism is developed among the people of backward
areas as they are being discriminated from other powerful groups. The local political leaders
exploited this issue and stimulate people against Central Government for deliberately trying
to maintain regional imbalances by neglecting social and economic development of some
regions.
Types of Regionalism in India: Regionalism in India is of various types that include
demand of the people of certain areas for separate statehood, demand of people of certain
Union Territories for full-fledged statehood, demand of certain people for favourable
settlement of inter-state disputes, and the demand of the people of certain areas for secession
from the Indian Union.
1. Supra-state regionalism is a manifestation of group identity of numerous states. In this
form of regionalism, the group of states unites to make common views on the issue of
mutual interest vis-à-vis another group of states or at times against the union. The
group identity forged is negative in character and based on specific issue. But it is not
permanent unification of state identities in the collective identity. Even at times of
inter-group rivalries, tensions and conflicts may tend to continue, concurrently along
with their cooperation. North-eastern states in India have the supra-state regionalism.
2. Inter-state regionalism is coterminous with local territories and involves contrasting of
the identities of one or more states against another. This form of regionalism is issue
specific. For example disagreements between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the
distribution of Kaveri water may be interpreted as inter-state regionalism.
3. Intra-state regionalism is a type of regionalism that signify that wherein a part of the
state strives for self-identity and self-development and therefore, it is taken in a
positive sense. In negative terms, it affects against the collective interest of the state as
well as the nation. For instance there is a feeling of coastal region and western region
in Odisha, coastal region and Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh.
Process of combating regionalism: Regionalism is considered as significant facet of Indian
political system. Sometimes, it poses threat to the harmony of the nation. Therefore, it is
imperative to take immediate steps to curb such feeling among Indian populace. Social
scholars have recommended numerous measures to reduce the propensity of regionalism.
First major step is to promote uniform development of the hitherto abandoned areas so that
people feel a part of the national mainstream. Secondly, the central government must not
interfere in the matters of the State unless it is unescapable for national interest. Another
remedy for reducing regionalism is to resolve Problems of people in a peaceful and
constitutional manner. Politicians must not be allowed to misappropriate the issue of regional
demands. The states must be given authority to resolve their issues except the major issues
that are related to national interest. Some necessary changes must be done in the Central-
State relations in favour of the states, and to introduce a system of national education that
would assist people to overawed regional feelings and develop patriotic sense towards the
country.
It is established in political studies that regionalism has unfavourable impacts which lead to a
reduction of world welfare as compared to free trade. A clash between regionalism and global
free trade occurs, but these negative effects are lessened by the continuing globalisation
process and the efforts for multilateral liberalisation. Regional parties have dominant role for
spreading regionalism and generating awareness for regional issues among inhabitants. Since
these parties have their political reality in regional support, they give rise to regionalism for
their interest and to gain power. It is a recognised strategy of the regional leadership to
propagate their agenda against the Centre, such as blaming the opposition party for
discriminating against the state with political motives. Alongside, the regional press, which is
mainly language-oriented, immensely play lead role in developing the feeling of regionalism.
Secularism: Secularism is contrasting phenomenon of communalism. It was adopted by
Indian Constitution, which signifies respect for all religions and broad-mindedness of all
faiths, no State religion and support or favour to any religion by the State. Secularism is a
form of government process that enhance democracy and commitment to financial
development.
When appraising historical records, it is documented that Indian secularism started with the
protest movements in the 5th century B.C. Tehre are three main a secularist and materialistic
philosophical movement, Buddhism, and Jainism. All three secularism movements discarded
the authority of the Vedas and prominence of belief in a divinity. In the 18th century, when
the British East India Company had dominance over India, secularism have more impact on
the Indian populace. Secular India has undergone several tremors in many decades. Many
professionals relate these convulsions to the nature of Indian civilization, to which they
attribute centrality to religion in both personal and public matters. The Indian concept of
secularism is based on respect for all religions by the state and separation of religion from
public institutional practices. The obsession with the European experience supervises the
historicity of the Indian phenomenon.
The process of secularisation is not alike in all societies. With technical progression, human
culture has undergone the process of secularisation. In India, secularism is huge political and
constitutional struggle and disagreement. The perception was promoted by Mahatma Gandhi
and it has been the central model of secularism after Independence of India. Indian
secularism is based on a more functional approach to the belief of equal respect and
acceptance of all religions, which has allowed for the defence of religious minority rights
principally through temporary special measures, which is similar to the positive action in the
United States. But, the Hindu Right has progressively been trying to cast itself as main
successors of India's secular practise, that is, as promoters of new secularism. There is a good
understanding of secularism in India and the Hindu Right visualized secularism based on a
formal approach to impartiality. In their views, secularism entails that all religious
communities must be treated equally. Any protection of the rights of religious minorities is
cast as appeasement, and a violation of the principles of secularism. In secularism, religious
minorities are to be treated the same as the majority groups.
Secularism is essential for India because it enables people of different religions to live in
politeness with respect for all faiths. It is a part of democratic system, which grants equal
rights. It protects democracy by limiting the powers of the majority and it protects the equal
rights of minorities to populace. Secularism also regulates the relation between the State and
various religious groups on the belief of equality that the State shall not differentiate against
any religion. When evaluating the history, it has been demonstrated that in the period of
freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi made great efforts to unite various communities. He
explored many beliefs and dogmas to connect people of different conviction. This principle
had to assure the marginal groups that they would not be differentiated against and to caution
the majority groups that the majority rule is inequitable since democracy supports freedom
and egalitarianism for all factions. Mr. Gandhi became understood this theory in the principle
of 'sarva dhharma samadbhava' which entails that all religions should be treated uniformly. It
was not a political belief meant to integrate people. It was a normative that everyone must
identify the value of religion in people's lives. Indian society has vast religious diversity
therefore it is imperative to respect all religious feelings. People have right to religion and
culture. The fight against the British was not only a struggle for independence but also a
struggle to maintain impartiality and democratic system in the nation. This was Gandhi's
contribution to the decree of religious conflict in India.
Jawahar Lal Nehru also contributed for the development of secularism and raised the concept
of 'Dharma Nirapekshata'. This principle signified that the State would not be impacted by
religious considerations to devise its strategies. Later on, Pt. Nehru realized that policy
making could not be detached from the realm of religion and that religion could not be exiled
from the political and public area. During independence, the violence happened and followed
the partition of the country which proved that religion had become an inherent part of
political area. Nehru asserted that secularism did not signify a state where religion is
discouraged, instead it denotes freedom for all religion, including the freedom for those who
have no religion. Pt.Nehru stated that the secular was not opposed to religion. It is a state
which respects all faiths uniformly and it does not permit any religion to presuppose the
status of the State religion.
Copious studies have revealed that secularism is the main tool to develop a modern society. It
was anticipated that in a secular democratic establishment, government and people would get
involve in monetary development collectively, thus they can build modern Indian society.
There is no theology in the secular character of the State. Principles of secularism is not
against Deity. It treats similarly the devout, the agnostic and the atheist. The main aim of
secular approach is to eradicate religious feeling from the matters of the State and guarantees
that people should not be victim of discrimination against the ground of religion. According
to scholars, secularism is a system of social ethics which is based upon a policy that ethical
standards and conduct should be determined exclusively with reference to the present life and
social security without considering religious factor.
Heterogeneity is basis of Indian culture and religious tolerance is the core factor of Indian
secularism. Secularism belief states that all religions are equally good and effective to attain
the God. It is evident in the constitutional scheme that secularism ensures impartiality on
religious ground to all individuals and groups regardless of their faith emphasizing that there
is no religion of the State itself. The Introduction of the Constitution read with Arts 25 to 28
highlights that this aspect of the concept of secularism represented in the constitutional
scheme. The notion of secularism basically ascribes the right to equality intertwined in the
scheme of the Indian Constitution. The term "secular" has not been explained in the
Constitution of India, "because it is very flexible terms that do not have exact meaning. It is
considered that secularism is one of the basic structures of the Indian Constitution which can
neither be condensed nor be spoiled. The indispensable principle of secularism is to explore
human improvement by material means alone. In brief, secularism permits people to live in
standard of politeness. It forces people to admire on other religious believes. Secularism is a
part of democratic state which grants to citizens equal rights. It guards democracy by
restricting the power of the majority. Secularism is therefore advantageous for a plural culture
in India.
In the Indian framework, secularism and communalism are considered to be two contrasting
facts. Secularism is a symbol of modernity, plurality, co-existence, rationalism and
developing with a fast growing multicultural society. The raucous attack on religious
minorities is representative of a deep crisis troubling secularism in India. Communalism has
come to acquire the disparaging meaning of an attitude that is narrow, based on prejudices
about the 'other' and almost based on abhorrence and violence. In India, communal politics as
religion is the main factor and also act against the interests of the others.
 Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes,
Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone
Geophysics is associated with thorough study of the physics of the Earth and its environment
in space. It also deals with the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The notion of
geophysics ascribes to the geological applications such as Earth's shape, its gravitational and
magnetic fields, its internal structure and composition; its dynamics and their surface
expression in plate tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation.
Contemporary geophysics organizations describe the geophysics as the hydrological cycle
including snow and ice; fluid dynamics of the oceans and the atmosphere; electricity and
magnetism in the ionosphere and magnetosphere and solar-terrestrial relations; and analogous
problems associated with the Moon and other planets. Geophysical phenomena and society
interact in both directions. It has been observed that strong and sudden Geophysical forces
greatly affect society. Basically, Geophysical phenomena include earthquakes, Tsunami,
Volcanic activity, cyclone, geographical features and their location, changes in critical
geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the
effects of such changes. Societies sometimes do not manage well its proximity and relation to
geophysical risk. At the same time, there is a poor and declining monitoring and forecasting
capabilities and inadequate warning systems.
In broadly unified world, any single geophysical danger can have appalling consequences far
beyond the range of immediate physical effects. In environment, Global geophysical events
are naturally occurring observable facts, but these happen in huge intensity. Except within the
circumstances of scale and extent, the processes and mechanisms that support them, and their
physical effects and consequences, are no dissimilar from the geophysical events whether
windstorm, flood, volcanic outbreak, earthquake or tsunami that causes natural disasters
every year. Global geophysical events are low frequency high consequence geophysical
phenomena which can have harmful implication for the environment and civilization. Global
geophysical events have detrimental consequences for the world's environment, market and
civilization. These events may occur due to a global physical effect, such as an incident of
severe terrestrial cooling in response to a volcanic 'super-eruption' or large comet or asteroid
impact, as a consequence of subsidiary outcome for the global market and social fabric of a
catastrophic regional event, such as an Atlantic- or Pacific-wide 'mega-tsunami', or a more
spatially confined event at a deliberately sensitive location, such as the expected major Tokyo
volcanic activity.
In current environmental situation around the globe, Geophysical phenomena cause
worldwide problems which may have had comparatively minor consequences in the narrow,
detached, subsistence societies for centuries. However, observations, records and accounts,
some more reasonable than others, do exist in support of disastrous geophysical events
occurring in the last several millennia that have capability to disrupt the societal activates.
These provide us with some restraint on return periods of those GGEs that are more
recurrent. Such as, serious climate-perturbing volcanic eruptions occurred in both 1783
(Grattan et al. 2003) while comparable events occurred at Baitoushan volcano (North Korea–
China border) in AD 1030 and at unknown locations in AD 450 and 1259 (Oppenheimer
2003a,b).
In our natural environment, various forms of disasters occur in severe intensity. All disasters
threaten the humans or societies and had their impact from one decade to another.
Disasters can be categorized as
1. Natural Disasters such as Volcano, Tsunami, Earthquake; landslides
2. Human Made Disasters
3. Human Induced Disaster
Natural Disasters
Earthquake
Earthquake is a vicious tremor, rolling or hasty shock on surface of earth's crust, sending out
a sequence of shock waves in all directions from its place of source which is known as
epicentre. Earthquake is considered as most dangerous natural disasters causing massive
destruction and causality to human life and debilitating impact on societies. Reports signify
that an earthquake is caused by the sudden discharge of gradually accumulating strain energy
along a fault within the earth's crust. Areas of surface or underground fracturing that can
results in earthquakes are known as earthquake fault zones. Environmental reports indicated
that approximately fifteen percent of the world's earthquakes happen in Latin America,
focused in the western cordillera. An earthquake's power is measured on the Richter scale
using an instrument called a 'seismometer'. A seismometer detects the vibrations caused by an
earthquake. It plots these vibrations on a seismograph. The strength, or magnitude, of an
earthquake is measured using the Richter scale. The Richter scale is numbered 0-10.
Table: Richter magnitude and its effects

 
 Relationship between earthquake and triggering hazards by earthquake (Shield,

2004) 
Causes of Earthquake
There are numerous causes that can result in devastating natural disaster such as earthquake.
Earthquakes are mainly due to sudden release of energy in rocks. It is well studied that An
Earthquake is a sequence of underground shock waves and movements on the earth's surface
caused by natural processes within the earth's crust. By appraising the seismograms from
many earthquakes, scientists have revealed that three main levels or shells exist within the
Earth. Crust is the outmost surface of Earth. The crust is comparatively light and fragile.
Most earthquakes occur within the crust. Scientists consider that underneath the lithosphere is
a relatively narrow, mobile zone in the mantle called the asthenosphere. Mantle is the area
just below the crust.
Core is beneath the mantle in Earth. The Earth's core consists of a fluid outer core and a solid
inner core.
 Internal layer of earth ( Source: Tom Garrison, 2012 ) no change

Tectonic plates which are present in the form of rocks move very slowly. It is frequently
caused when underground rocks rapidly breaks down or crush and particle against each other
along fault line. This lead to the creation of seismic waves or called as earthquake waves,
leads to the quivering of earth surface. The points at which earthquake originates called as

FOCUS or HYPOCENTRE, point on earth surface above this is called as EPICENTRE.

 Diagram of earth quake
Plate tectonic theory: Huge theoretical framework describes the causes of earthquake, but
the most dominant theory is plate tectonics theory which deals with the factors causing
earthquake. The outer surface of earth is composed of tectonic plates which are about
hundred km thick and are continually moving like an objects sometime moving towards,
away from each other. Earth liberates its inner heat by convective mechanism. Hot
asthenospheric mantle increases to the surface and extend laterally, transporting oceans and
continents as on slow conveyor belt and speed of this movement is very slow. Earthquake
explodes only in outer, fragile portions of these plates, where temperature of rocks is very
low. Deep in earth centre convections of rocks caused by temperature differences in earth
induces stresses that results in movement of overlying plates. This stress from convection
discharge enormous amount of heat which stress can collapse the brittle portions of overlying
plates. If accumulating stress surpass the strength of rocks comprising these brittles zones, the
rocks can break rapidly releasing the stored stretchy energy in the form of an earthquake.
There are three types of plate boundaries which are called Spreading, Convergent, or
Transform, depending on whether the plates move away from, toward, or laterally past one
another respectively. Subduction happens when one plates touches toward another, move
beneath it and plunges as much as several hundred kilometres into earth interior.
Death associated with major coastal earthquakes (Source: Nott, 2006) 

Hazards of Earthquake
It is said that Earth creates direct hazard to human life. Depending on its size and location, an
earthquake can cause the physical phenomena of ground shaking, surface fault burst, and
ground breakdown. Several research reports have shown that earthquake hurt economic,
population and environmental in very different way such as destruction of buildings, lifeline,
triggering fires, releasing of toxins, radioactive and genetically active material and cause
other natural disasters such as floods, avalanches, Tsunami, landslides. Earthquakes also have
dangerous consequences in socio economic and political arena, disruption of vital services
such as supply, medical, law enforcement, drop of production, unemployment, economic
deceleration (Robert, 2010).
The major danger of earthquake is consequence of ground shaking. Buildings can be
damaged by shaking itself or by ground under them settling to a different level than it was
before earthquake. It may lead to the ground displacement along fault, which can badly
damage that buildings. Flooding may happen due to break of dams or levees along river.
Water from river would flood the area, damage the buildings. Surface faulting is the
counterbalance or tearing of the ground surface by differential movement along a fault during
an earthquake. This effect is usually related with Richter magnitudes of 5.5 or greater and is
limited to particularly earthquake-prone areas. Displacements range from a few millimetres to
several meters, and the damage usually increases with growing dislocation. Considerable
devastation is usually restricted to a narrow zone ranging up to 300 meters wide along the
fault, although subsidiary ruptures may occur three to four kilometres from the main fault.
Earthquake-Induced Ground Failure: Landslides occur in various forms. Not only can
earthquakes trigger landslides, they can also cause the soil to liquefy in certain areas. These
forms of ground failure are potentially disastrous.
Earthquake-Induced Landslides: Earthquake-induced landslides happen under different
conditions such as in sharply sloping to nearly flat land; in bedrock, unconsolidated
sediments, fill, and mine dumps; under dry and very wet conditions. The major criteria to
categorise landslides are types of movement and types of material. The types of landslide
movement that can occur are falls, slides, spreads, flows, and combinations of these.
Materials are grouped as bedrock and engineering soils, with the latter subdivided into debris
(mixed particle size) and earth (fine particle size) (Campbell, 1984).
Some earthquake-induced landslides can take place only under very wet conditions. Some
types of flow failures, grouped as liquefaction phenomena, occur in unconsolidated materials
with almost no clay content. Other slide and flow failures are caused by slipping on a wet
layer or by interstitial clay serving as a lubricant. In addition to earthquake shaking, generate
mechanisms can include volcanic eruptions, heavy rainstorms, quick snowmelt, rising
groundwater, undercutting due to erosion or excavation, human-induced vibrations in the
earth, overloading due to construction, and certain chemical phenomena in unconsolidated
sediments. Rock avalanches, rock falls, mudflows, and rapid earth flows can cause huge
deaths due to earthquake-induced landslides. Rock avalanches begin on over-steepened
slopes in weak rocks. They are unusual but can be disastrous when they occur. It was
reported that The Huascaran, Peru, avalanche which originated as a rock and ice fall caused
by the 1970 earthquake was responsible for the death of approximately 20,000 people. Rock
falls happen most commonly in closely jointed or weakly cemented materials on slopes
steeper than 40 degrees. While individual rock falls cause comparatively few deaths and
limited damage but they are considered as a major earthquake-induced hazard because they
are so recurrent.
Earthquake Hazard Prediction, Assessment, and Mitigation:
Scientists make great efforts to minimize the natural disaster through prediction. In order to
lessen the impact or to avoid the risks from earthquakes, it is necessary to predict their
occurrence. While scientists cannot regularly predict earthquakes, but it is appealing area of
study and may be major factor in reducing risks in the future. Another way to lessen the
impact of disaster is seismic risk assessment, which enables planners to recognize areas at
risk of earthquakes and/or their effects. This information is used to tackle the third area of
earthquake risk reduction-mitigation measures. Currently scientific studies demonstrate that
major earthquakes do not happen again in the same place along faults until sufficient time has
elapsed for stress to build up, usually a matter of several decades. In the main seismic
regions, these 'quiet' zones present the greatest danger of future earthquakes. According to the
seismic gap theory, several gaps that had been recognized near the coasts of Alaska, Mexico,
and South America affected by huge earthquakes during the past decade. In some regions,
earthquakes occur at the same place, but decades apart, and have nearly indistinguishable
characteristics. Monitoring this seismic gap is an important constituent to know about
earthquakes, predicting them, and preparing for future ones. According to the seismic gap
theory, the U.S. Geological Survey has developed maps of the coast of Chile and parts of
Peru for the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster
Assistance (USAID/OFDA (Nishenko, 1985). These maps provide possibility estimates and
rank earthquake risk for the time period 1986 to 2006. It can be established that Earthquake
prediction involves checking several aspects of the earth, including slight shifts in the ground,
changes in water levels, and emission of gases from the earth, among other things. A seismic
risk assessment is basically the appraisal of potential economic losses, loss of function, loss
of confidence, fatalities, and injuries from earthquake hazards.
Hazard Prediction Probabilistic ground motion maps outline earthquake ground motions that
have a common probability of being exceeded in a certain period of time. They are based on
historical earthquake locations and geological information on the reappearance rate of fault
ruptures, and assume that the historical trends can be projected into the future.
Geomorphology as a guide to fault activity Dip-slip faults (that is normal and thrust faults)
are related with vertical motions and create topographic fault scarps. In perfect earth, the
most recently active faults would have the highest, steepest fault scarps, allowing prediction
of earthquake hazards. Unfortunately, very active, hazardous faults may have no discernible
fault scarps if they cut through soft unconsolidated sediments and if they have only recently
become active. Strike-slip faults are associated with lateral movement and often have no
topographic expression. Instead, lateral offset of rivers or linear geological features can
confirm where these faults are. Oblique-slip faults have both lateral offsets and topography.
Some major earthquakes are indicated by the occurrence of foreshocks which can be
identified by dense local monitoring networks. However, if a small seismic event is recorded,
it is very hard to tell whether it is just a single, low-magnitude earthquake or a foreshock to a
major, high-magnitude earthquake.
Other indicators: In the periods between earthquakes, strain amasses gradually in the general
region surrounding a fault as the deep, spongy parts of the plates slip past each other
continuously. This inter-earthquake deformation should cause micro-cracks to form, which
should modify physical properties of the rocks. In various seismically active parts of the
world, electrical and magnetic properties and changes in seismic speed are continually
monitored to better understand the inter-earthquake deformation process. Such monitoring
systems cannot yet forecast earthquakes but it is anticipated that it will work in future.
The knowledge of seismic phenomena is very little to modify the hazard by controlling
tectonic processes, but there are many ways to control the risk or exposure to seismic
hazards. There are four steps involved in conducting a seismic risk assessment. An evaluation
of earthquake hazards and prepare hazard zonation maps; an inventory of elements at risk, for
example structures and population; and a vulnerability assessment; and determination of
levels of acceptable risk.
Evaluating Earthquake Hazards and Hazard Zonation Maps: In an earthquake-prone zone,
information will certainly exist on past earthquakes and associated seismic hazards. This can
be added with existing geologic and geophysical information and field observation.
Depending on geologic circumstances, some combination of ground shaking, surface
faulting, landslides, liquefaction, and flooding may be the most severe potential earthquake-
related hazards in an area. Maps must be drawn to demonstrate zones of these hazards
according to their comparative severity. These maps give the schemer with data on such
considerations as the spatial application of building codes and the need for local landslide and
flood safeguard.
Assessing Ground Shaking Potential: Albeit ground shaking may cause devastating
earthquake, it is one of the most difficult seismic hazards to forecast and quantify. This is due
to the intensification of the shaking effects by the unconsolidated material overlying the
bedrock at a location and to the differential resistance of structures. Subsequently, best way to
communicate ground shaking is in terms of the probable response of particular types of
buildings. These are grouped according to whether they are wood frame, single-story
masonry, low-rise, moderate-rise, or high-rise.
Different approaches can be used for planning purposes to foresee where ground shaking
would be most stern. The groundwork of intensity maps based on devastation from past
earthquakes rated according to the tailored Mercalli Index, the use of a design earthquake to
compute intensity and in the absence of data for such approaches, the use of information on
the causal fault, distance from the fault, and depth of soil overlying bedrock to estimate
possible destruction.
Assessing Surface Faulting Potential: This is comparatively easy to perform because surface
faulting is linked with fault zones. Three factors are vital to assess appropriate mitigation
measures that include probability and extent of movement during a given time period, the
type of movement (normal, reverse, or slip faulting), and the distance from the fault trace in
which damage is expected to take place.
Assessing Ground Failure Potential: This process is appropriate for earthquake-induced
landslides. Liquefaction potential is determined in four steps that include a map of recent
sediments is prepared, distinguishing areas that are probable to be subject to liquefaction
from those that are unlikely; a map representing depth to groundwater is prepared; these two
maps are combined to produce a liquefaction susceptibility map and a "liquefaction
opportunity" is prepared by combining the vulnerability map with seismic data to
demonstrate the allocation of probability that liquefaction will take place in a given time
period.

Safety measures from Earthquake

Natural disaster cannot be controlled but planners can develop indicators to get warning of
such disturbing geophysical events. There are numerous of mechanisms that can be used as
safety measure to lessen the impact of such hazards such as land-use zoning; engineering
approaches such as building codes, support of existing structures, stabilizing unbalanced
ground, redevelopment; the establishment of warning systems and the distribution of losses.
In earthquake prone areas, buildings can be resistant and builder can make such designs that
prevent likelihood of crumple during an earthquake. The inhabitants can be knowledgeable to
get ready in event of earthquake and rescue plans can be drawn up in advance to reduce the
turmoil when earthquake occur.
Ground Shaking Mitigation Measures: Once the potential severity and effects of ground
shaking are established, numerous types of seismic zoning measures can be applied. These
include:
1. Relating general ground shaking potential to allowable density of building habitation.
2. Relating building design and construction standards to the degree of ground shaking
risk.
3. Implementing rules that require geologic and seismic place examination before
development proposals can be accepted.
4. In developed area, adopting a hazardous building abatement ordinance and an
ordinance to require removal of dangerous parapets.
Surface Faulting Mitigation Measures: Since fault zones are somewhat easy to demarcate,
they lend themselves to effectual land-use planning. Where evaluation of the consequences of
surface rupture indicates an inadequately high possibility of damage, several substitute
alleviation measures are available. These are:
1. Restricting permitted uses to those compatible with the hazard, that is open space and
recreation areas, freeways, parking lots, cemeteries, solid-waste disposal sites.
2. Establishing an easement that requires a hindrance distance from active fault traces.
3. Prohibiting all uses except utility or transportation facilities in areas of tremendously
high hazard, and setting tight design and construction standards for utility systems
navigating active fault zones.
Ground Failure Mitigation Measures: Land-use safety procedures to lessen possible
destructions due to landslides or liquefaction are analogous to those taken for other geologic
hazards. Land uses can be limited. Geologic investigations must be done before development
is allowed, and grading and foundation design can be synchronized. Stability categories can
be established and land uses proportionate with these categories can be recommended or
ordained. Land-use zoning may not be suitable in some areas because of the potential for
substantial difference within each mapped unit.
General Land-Use Measures: In developed areas who are prone to earthquake hazards,
measures can be accepted to recognize dangerous structures and order their removal, starting
with those that imperil the greatest number of lives. Tax incentives can be established for the
elimination of hazardous buildings, and urban regeneration policies should restrict
reconstruction in unsafe areas after earthquake demolition.
In brief, it can be said that earthquakes are most dangerous and destructive natural
phenomenon because every year huge amount of people rendered homeless, displaced,
injured or dead. Growing population and global urbanization is increasing the threat to
earthquake. Spiral distribution of earthquake shows that some regions are more prone to this
natural disaster than others. The Indian sub-continent is very prone to several natural disasters
such as earthquakes which is destructive natural hazards with the potentiality of causing huge
loss to human lives and assets. Earthquakes pose major threat to India. It is estimated that
59% of its geographical area is vulnerable to seismic disturbance of varying intensities
including the capital city of the nation. Almost the entire Northeast region, Northern Bihar,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and some parts of Kutch are in seismic zone V, while
the whole Gangetic plain and some parts of Rajasthan are in seismic zone IV.
Tsunami
Tsunami is devastating natural disaster and immensely affects the economic and living
conditions of region where it hits. Tsunami is a Japanese phrase which means tsu means
harbour and nami means wave. This geophysical phenomenon is associated with earthquake
or volcanic eruption or landslides or adjacent to oceans and results in unexpected movement
of water column (Bryant, 2008). The channel of tsunami involves the movement of water
from surface to seafloor which indicates it is directly linked to depth of water bodies that is
deeper the ocean, higher is the movement of water. Consequently, as wave approaches land
and reaches increasingly shallow water, it gets slow down. However, the water column still in
deeper water is moving slightly faster and catches upward, resulting into wave gathering up
and becoming much higher. Tsunami is a succession of waves and first may not necessarily
be biggest. Tsunami is a cruel turbulence deep below the ocean surface that results due to
under water earthquake and subduction zones (Irasema Alcántara-Ayal, 2010).
Reports indicated that before 1990, public perceived Tsunami as originating from large
distant, underwater earthquakes. The fear of Tsunami was allayed by the knowledge that an
early warning system existed to prevent loss of life. In the 1990s, 14 major Tsunami events
struck the world's coastline from which scientists aware that these events are pervasive
(Bryant, 2008). Tsunami belongs to the category of long period oceanic waves generated by
underwater earthquake, submarine or sub-aerial landslides or volcanic eruption. The Tsunami
fact includes three overlapping physical stages. First is the generation of waves by any
external force that disturb water column, second is propagation of that wave at high speed in
Open Ocean and third is propagation of Tsunami waves through shallow coastal water and
inundation of dry land by run up. Moistly Tsunami occurs in pacific regions but there is
record of Tsunami disaster in Atlantic and Indian oceans (Tom Beer, 2010). Often Tsunami
waves warns of its appearance with roaring and rumbling from ocean but sometime, it is
observed that water level rise without any noise. The flowering and crowded sea coast may
be transformed into destructive ruins with in few minutes. The waves propagate from source
with the velocity long gravity water waves according to the below equation:
CG = (g H )1/2
In this equation, G is acceleration due to gravity, H is depth of the basin
Table: Major Tsunami ranked by number of deaths (Source: NOAA, 2008) 

Accounts for Tsunami extend back almost 4000 years in China, 2000 years in Mediterranean
where the first Tsunami was described in 479 BC and about 1300 years in Japan.
Mediterranean Sea is one of the longest records of Tsunami. The Caribbean is also prone
tsunami.
Percentage distribution of tsunami in the world's Ocean and seas (Source: Bryant,

2015) 
Causes of Tsunami
The major cause of Tsunami is seismic activity. Over the past two millennia, earthquakes
have produced approximately, 83% of all Tsunami in pacific oceans (Edward Bryant, 2014).
When an oceanic plates strikes the continental plate, these plates press together and build the
pressure. Finally the heavier oceanic plate slips under the lighter continental plate and causes
earthquake which elevates the level of ocean and drops other parts down, this event on ocean
floor is reflected on surface of water above. The gravity acts fast to even out of water surface.
The seismic energy generated that giant wave and it does not just disappear. Tsunami extends
thousands of feet deep into ocean which carries lot of water and energy so they can travel
very far.
Most trans-oceanic tsunamis are produced by major (Mw≥9.0) earthquakes. These happen
several times a century and recently happened in countries like 1960 (Chile), 1964 (Alaska)
and 2004 (Sumatra). The Chile event generated tsunamis that were 3–4 m high when they
struck Japan, while run-up heights of 4 m were also recorded on the East African coast
following the December 2004 Sumatra earthquake. 'Mega-tsunami', is basically a media-
driven descriptor. These waves are in excess of 100 m in height at source, and which remain
destructive at oceanic distances. The great (Mw∼9) Cascadia (western North America)
earthquake of 1700 generated Pacific-wide tsunamis, but these appear to have been of the
order of 3 m high at shore in Japan (Satake et al. 1996).
Tsunamis related with massive collapses at oceanic-island volcanoes can, however, have run-
up heights at least an order of magnitude greater. Giant waves caused by ancient collapses in
the Hawaiian Islands may have been of Pacific-wide extent. Young & Bryant (1992) stated
signs of catastrophic wave erosion up to 15 m above current sea level along the New South
Wales coast of Australia, 14 000 km distant, in terms of impact by tsunamis associated with a
major collapse in the Hawaiian archipelago around 1.05×105 years BP. These phenomena
have been appraised as a tsunami generated by a marine impact. Putative giant-tsunami
deposits have been observed at increasing numbers of locations.
A landslide generated Tsunami has local temperament, in case of huge landslide, that involve
the bottom sediments of continental shelf or at the fall of marine glacier, the Tsunami source
may reach the size of several kilometres. These waves have huge heights and attacks
aggressively to coastal populace. Landslide motion process is caused by long-term
accumulation of segments at some ocean bottom areas, submarine slants of basins into the
river deltas. These accumulation segments are subjected to streams, storms, wind waves,
tides, hurricanes, tectonic process and after this, landslide body comes into non-equilibrium.
In this situation, any weak perturbation action has vital role for failure of unstable slide body.
When the landslide moves at a speed equal to the velocity of the long gravity wave in the
basin, the harmonization happens. This particular conditions cause a resonance for
transmission of energy from the landslide to the surface of water wave and height of the wave
crest increases accordingly.
Tsunami generated by landslide motion 
Destruction of Tsunami results from inundation by salt water, impact dynamism and erosion.
Considerable damage is also caused by flooding debris that enhances the destructive force of
flooding. Flotation and drag force can destroy frame buildings, overturn railroad cars and
move large ship far inland. Average height of Tsunami caused by earthquake with magnitude
of 7.5- 8.00 is between 3 and 10 m along 100- 300 Km to the coastline closest to the
epicentre (Tom Beer, 2010).
Hazards of tsunami: Tsunami is highly disturbing natural disaster that cause huge amount of
the loss of humans and infrastructure. The risk potential of tsunamis is main interest for
scientists. The Asian tsunami caused approximately 250 000 deaths, huge economic losses
and long-term harm to development programmes in the affected countries, brought home to
the world the realities of the hazard. The Asian tsunami was a really global disaster which
affected in many countries in the region as well as tourists from the industrial world in
Southeast Asia. The probable consequences of severe events consist of global economic
crises, many millions of deaths, calamitous and irrecoverable destruction of super cities and
possibly whole countries, global disturbance of food supplies, transport and communications,
severe climate states and environmental pollution on a global scale. These effects may results
in food shortage, disease, political trouble, disintegrate social order, failure of international
and national organizations and perhaps the occurrence of wars and fall down of development.
Reducing the threat of Tsunamis
It is important that scientists must explore the ways to reduce the hazards of Tsunami which
strike many shorelines. Numerous nations monitor the generation and movement of
Tsunamis. The seismic sea wave warning system was established and became operational
after the major Tsunami strike in 1946 in Hilo, Hawaii and parts of Japan and other coastline
around the pacific. This system generally operate by monitoring seismograms to detect
potentially seismogenic earthquake, then monitor tide gauges to determine if a Tsunami has
been generated.
Great progress has been made in predicting Tsunami both in long term and short-term
following Tsunamogenic earthquake. These progresses reflect recognition of the association
of Tsunamis with plate tectonic boundaries, particularly convergent margins. USGS and other
civil defence agencies have identified many areas that are prone to Tsunamis. Tsunami
warning signals are in place and people are given guidelines to follow if the alarms are
sounded (Timothy M. Kusky, 2008)
To summarize, Tsunami natural disaster has 5th ranking among devastating natural events in
the world in terms of huge loss of life. Tsunami is a series of long water waves, propagating
with high speed from source in the Ocean to coastline. When these waves encounter shallow
water, they may form huge breaking waves with walls of water tens of 100 feet tall that slam
ashore. Every few years these waves rise suddenly out of the ocean and sweep over coastal
communities results in huge causalities and massive destruction. Triggering mechanisms for
Tsunamis include earthquake related displacements of sea floor, submarine slumps and
landslides that displace sea water, submarine volcanism, explosive release of methane gas
from deep ocean sediments and asteroid impacts.
Volcano
A volcano is type of vent or smokestack which transmits molten rocks called as Magma from
depth to earth surface. Magma outbreak from volcano recognized as lava, it is a material
which builds up the cone. Volcanoes are mountains built by the accumulation of their own
eruptive products such as lava, bombs. The explosive nature of volcano eruptions depend on
flow of magma and amount gas trapped within magma. Huge amount of water and carbon
dioxides are dissolved in magma. As magma quickly rises through earth crust gas bubbles
form and expands up to 1000 times of their original size. In the twentieth century, volcanic
explosions have dangerous impact on substantial economic and societal arena. Perilous
volcanic activity will continue to occur in countries like U.S., and, because of increase in
populations, development pressures, and expanding national and international air traffic over
volcanic regions, there is a great risk of life and property through exposure to volcano
hazards.
In volcano eruption, heat concentrated in the Earth's upper mantle raises temperatures
adequately to melt the rock locally by fusing the materials with the lowest melting
temperatures that results in small, isolated blobs of magma. After that, these blobs collect,
rise through conduits and fractures, and some ultimately may re-collect in larger pockets or
reservoirs a few miles under the Earth's surface. Increasing pressure within the basin may
drive the magma further growing through structurally weak zones to explode as lava at the
surface. In a continental environment, magmas are generated in the Earth's crust as well as at
varying depths in the upper mantle. The variety of molten rocks in the crust, plus the
possibility of mixing with molten materials from the underlying mantle, leads to the creation
of magmas with broadly different chemical compositions.
A volcano in an oceanic environment (left) and in a continental environment 

There are different types of volcano:

1. Shield Volcano
2. Composite Volcano
3. Caldera Volcano.
The form of volcano is determined by types and sizes of its explosions which is controlled by
characteristics and composition of magma.
Volcanic incidents influence the world's ambience far more recurrently than asteroid or comet
impacts. In particular, major volatile eruptions are capable of altering the Earth's climate
through the discharge of large quantities of sulphur gases capable of mixing with atmospheric
water to form stratospheric aerosol clouds. The level of solar radiation reaching the
troposphere and the Earth's surface is considerably reduced by volcanic aerosol clouds. In the
last century, two eruptions, at El Chichon (Mexico) in 1982 and Pinatubo (Philippines) in
1991, have had a considerable cooling effect around the globe. Reviewing the historical
events, eruptions at Laki (Iceland) in 1783 and Tambora (Indonesia) in 1815 had major,
damaging impacts on the regional and global climate. The Tambora outbreak was the biggest
identified historic eruption (Oppenheimer 2003a). Though, this may be regarded as a minor
volcanic event in comparison with the 7.35×104 years BP 'super-eruption' of Toba (Chesner
et al. 1991).
major volcanic eruption of past 250 years (Source: Robock and Free,
1995) 

The Hazard of volcano eruptive events are Pyroclastic explosions, Hot ash releases, Lava
flows, Gas emissions, Glowing avalanches (gas and ash releases). Secondary events include
melting ice, snow and rain accompanying eruptions are likely to provoke floods and hot
mudflows (or lahars), hot ash releases can start fires.
Classification of geophysical hazards 

Tectonic Plates And Volcano

The earth crust is their thinnest layer which is broken down into various pieces termed as
plates. These plates are above the hot liquid magma.
1. Each plate consists of some continental crust and some oceanic crust.
2. Huge currents of molten rocks move deep in mantle and cause plates to move about
very slowly on earth surface.
3. Many of world volcano happen along boundaries of boundaries of plates.
4. Plate boundaries are among most active geologically active place on earth. Here new
rocks have been formed and destroyed. In these areas, most important volcanic
activity occurs.
Hazards of Volcanic Eruption
Volcanoes have perilous impact on the species of earth. Major hazards includes explosions,
lava flows, bombs, mudflows, landslides, earthquakes, ground deformation, tsunami, air
shocks, lightning, poisonous gas, glacial outbreak flooding. Each volcanic eruption has
dissimilar outcomes.
Volcano Hazards Program (VHP) under the Disaster Relief Act (P.L. 93-288) is to augment
public protection and lessen losses from disastrous volcanic events through effectual
forecasts and warnings of volcanic hazards based on the best possible scientific information.
The Volcano Hazards Program conducts four major science activities to decrease volcanic
jeopardy in the Nation that include monitoring volcano unrest and eruption, preparing
volcano hazard assessments, conducting research on volcanic processes, and providing
reliable forecasts, warnings, and volcano-hazard information.
Measurement of volcano: Volcano event is measured through simple descriptive index
called as volcano explosively index which ranges from zero to eight. This index includes
volume of material ejected with height of an eruption column and duration of eruptions.
To summarize, Volcanic explosion can flash storms of lightning that are as strong as the
biggest super storms. Fundamentally, a volcano is a landform formed by magma from the
earth's interior which penetrates through weaknesses in the Earth's surface. Most volcanoes
are created at plate boundaries. Volcanic eruptions produce hazardous conditions, which
sternly affect people and human infrastructure, near the volcano, in downstream valleys, and
thousands of miles away.
Cyclones
A Cyclone is described as geophysical phenomenon on the surface of planet and atmospheric
system of low barometric pressure accompanied by strong winds that revolve counter-
clockwise in northern hemisphere and clockwise direction in southern hemisphere. The
phrase "Cyclone" is originated from the Greek, word "Cyclos" which means the coils of a
snake. Henri Peddington stated that the tropical storms in the Bay of Bengal and in the
Arabian Sea appeared like the coiled serpents of the sea and he named these storms as
"Cyclones". It is also identified as hurricanes in western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific,
typhoons in western Pacific, cyclone in Indian Ocean and Southern Pacific Ocean. Wind
speed of cyclone can exceed 90m/s, rainfall rate approach 100mm/hr, and ocean waves are
churned up to 35m. At land fall death and destruction spread across wide areas without
respect for geopolitical boundaries. Coastal buildings are flooded by ocean surge, inland
water waves overflow their banks and claim homes and businesses, tornadoes chart narrow
but unpredictable path in outer bands and eyewall and both coastal and inland structures are
damaged after prolong mauling by wind and wind driven projectiles (Barrett, 2007). It has
been documented in environmental studies that Cyclones have considerably affected
populations in Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific, and the Americas since last century. In
future, susceptibility to cyclones will augment due to population growth, urbanization,
increasing coastal settlement, and global warming.
The Meteorological Department of India categorize the low pressure systems in the Bay
of Bengal and in the Arabian Sea: 

Causes of Cyclones
Major source of energy for humid cyclones is the warm ocean in tropical regions. To instigate
a tropical cyclone the sea surface temperature must be around 26C or above. However,
existing cyclones often persist as they move over cooler water. The expansion of tropical
cyclones also realises on positive broad scale regions and can continue for several days with
many following quite erratic paths. They lose their source of energy when they move over
land surface or colder oceans causing them to disperse. Deteriorating may also occur if
cyclone moves into an adverse wind regions which disturb the structure of wind system.
Sometimes a decomposing tropical cyclone may interact with weather system in higher
latitudes to cause impact far from tropics.
Formation of Cyclone
1. Cyclone can form only in warm ocean waters near equator.
2. To form a cyclone, warm, moist air over ocean rises upward from near the surface. As
this air moves up and away from ocean surface, it leaves it less air near the surface.
3. Air from adjacent region with higher air pressure shoves into low pressure area, then
this new cool air become warm and moist and increases to give birth to cyclones.
4. As warmed moist air rises and cool the water in air forms clouds. The whole system
of clouds and winds rotates and move, fed by ocean heat and water dispersed from
ocean surface.
5. As storm system spins faster and faster, an eye form in centre, which is cool and clear
with very low pressure. Higher pressure air from above flows down into the eye.
Impact of Cyclone
Tropical cyclones can unfavourably affect, and sometimes positively impact on society and
environment. The most widespread impact is heavy rainfall and strong winds that can cause
flooding. In some parts of world, Australia tornados have been reported during cyclones.
Storm flow or coastal flood by sea water, is also seen during cyclones. Cyclones are linked
with high-pressure gradients and resulting strong winds. These, consecutively, produce storm
surges. A storm flow is an unusual rise of sea level near the coast caused by a severe tropical
cyclone; as a result, sea water floods low lying areas of coastal regions drowning human
beings and livestock, corroding beaches and banks, destroying plant life and dropping soil
fertility. Very strong winds may damage installations, dwellings, communication systems,
trees resulting in loss of life and possessions. Heavy and long-lasting rains due to cyclones
may cause river floods and submergence of low lying areas by rain causing huge loss of life
and assets. Floods and coastal inundation due to storm surges contaminate drinking water
sources that results in outburst of diseases.
Major tropical cyclone ranked by number of deaths (Source: Langshore, 2008) 
Safety Measures for Cyclone
1. Keep observing weather and listen to radio, TV, newspapers.
2. Get to know nearest cyclone protection or secured house and safest route to reach
their.
3. Do not believe in rumours.
4. Check the roof and cover it with net or bamboo.
5. Thoroughly check the walls, pillars doors and windows to see if they are secure.
In India, the Government have made stronger the Meteorological Department, through
offering Cyclone Surveillance Radars at Calcutta, Paradeep, Visakhapatnam, Machilipatnam,
Madras and Karaikal in the east coast and at Cochin, Goa, Bombay and Bhuj in the west
coast to cyclone forecast and advance warning. For safety of Indian population, Satellite
picture receiving equipment's at Delhi, Bombay, Pune, Madras, Visakhapatnam, Calcutta and
Guwahati are receive satellite pictures of the cyclones from the polar-orbiting Satellites of the
U.S.A. and U.S.S.R.
Disaster Prevention and Preparedness for cyclone: At National level, The Government of
India recommended in 1969, to the governments of the maritime states to establish "Cyclone
Distress Mitigation Committee" in the own states to prevent human loss and reduce damage
to properties. CDMC planed the communication systems in the state for fast distribution of
Meteorological warnings and prevention measures. Prevention process include development
of storm shelters, connecting roads for migration of people, construction of wind breaks,
dykes, bunds, flood storage reservoirs, afforestation along the coastal belts and development
of drainage facilities. An advance warning will not be successful unless the public is
progressive about the critical features and the actions to be taken by them to avoid affliction.
At International level, The World Meteorological Organisation has established in 1972, a
Tropical Cyclone Project with the aim to help the member countries to boost their capabilities
to identify and predict the approach and landfall of the tropical cyclones, appraise and
forecast, the storm surges, forecast the flooding arising from the cyclones and to develop
system to organise and implement disaster prevention and preparedness measures. One of the
effective plans that is in operation to help the countries adjoining the Bay of Bengal and the
Arabian Sea is the panel on the tropical cyclones of World Meteorological Organisation and
the Economic and Social Council for Asia and Pacific. The WMO/ESCAP panel has a
technical support unit.
In contemporary global environment, there is revolutionary change due to advent of
technology. But most geologic events cannot be prohibited or even predict with accuracy.
Landslides are an exception. They can often be prevented. Areas prone to such events can be
recognized as earthquake fault zones, active volcanoes, and coastal areas susceptible to
tsunamis. However, not all earthquake faults have been identified. Estimates of an incidence
of a given hazardous event are probabilistic, based on consideration of the magnitude of an
event and its occurrence in time and space. Nevertheless, appropriate alleviation measures
can extremely reduce the damage caused by geologic cyclone hazards.
To summarize, Geologic hazards like cyclone are accountable for huge human and asset loss
of life and annihilation of property. In the twentieth century, more than a million causalities
occurred due to natural disaster. 'Cyclone' is globally used to cover tropical weather systems
in which winds equal or surpass 'gale force' (minimum of 34 knot, i.e., 62 kmph). These are
strong low pressure areas of the earth atmosphere coupled system and are extreme weather
events of the tropics. Enormous studies have shown that Tropical cyclones are characterised
by destructive winds, storm surges and heavy rainfall which adversely impact on human and
farm animals, and their activities.
 Urbanization, Their Problems and Their Remedies
Urbanization is pervasive and recent phenomenon. In present global atmosphere, all nations
undergo with the challenges of environment, social, transportation, economy in their
respective cities. These issues are commonly occurred in developing countries due to the
difference of development in cities and villages (Latif Fauzi, 2007). Most of countries focus
on development of cities instead of rural areas. Consequently, the urban areas are equipped
with infrastructure, public facilities as well as provide employment opportunities compared to
the rural areas. Therefore inhabitants are more attracted to migrate in cities to avail hi tech
facilities, enhance their lifestyles and ultimately these activities raise numerous urbanization
issues. Cities have major role to enhance economic growth and prosperity. The sustainable
development of cities largely depends upon their physical, social and institutional
infrastructure. An urban area is spatial concentration of people who are working in non-
agricultural activities. The essential characteristic is that urban means non-agricultural. Urban
can also be explained as a fairly multifaceted concept. Criteria used to define urban can
include population size, space, density, and economic organization. Typically, urban is
simply defined by some base line size, like 20 000 people (Long 1998).
Concept of urbanization: The term Urbanization is well explained by Nsiah-Gyabaah as the
change from a rural to an urban society which involves an augment in the number of people
in urban regions during a particular year. Likewise, Gooden argued urbanization as the
immigration of people in huge numbers from rural to urban areas and this process happen due
to the concentration of resources and facilities in towns and cities. Other theorists like,
Reynolds (1989) characterized urbanization as the development of the population and cities,
so that higher proportion of population lives in urban areas. Normally, urbanization is directly
associated with innovation, industrialization, and the sociological process of good reason.
Urbanization process had been started during the industrial revolution, when workforce
moved towards manufacturing hubs in cities to get jobs in factories as agricultural jobs
became less common. Theoretical studies have demonstrated that Urbanization is the result of
social, economic and political developments that lead to urban concentration and expansion
of big cities, changes in land use and revolution from rural to urban pattern of organization
and governance. Urbanization is a process in which an increased proportion of society lives
in cities and the suburbs of the cities. Historically, it has been strongly related with
industrialization. Industrialization is processes that widely utilize inanimate sources of energy
to improve human productivity.
Global urban population is growing at rapid rate from 17% in 1951 to 20% in 2001 and
expected to increase 41% in 2020. It is observed that developing countries urbanize faster
than industrialized nations because they have more issues of urbanizations. It has been
documented in studies that Cities and towns operate as mechanisms for growth, often driving
much of people's cultural, intellectual, educational and technological accomplishment and
modernization. Though, in contemporary living style of people of new, low-density
approaches to urban development results in better consumption of energy, resources,
transport and land, in this manner raising greenhouse gas emissions and air and noise
pollution to levels that often surpass the legal or suggested human protection limits. Overall
consumption, energy use, water use and waste generation go along with an increasing number
of urban families.
Urban environmental management, is also the big business of local governments, play major
role to offer services; civil society, and promotes citizens health and its rights to provide
hygienic, liveable environment. The private sector can increase the efficiency and
effectiveness of service delivery. Currently, cities are taking on roles that expand far beyond
the conventional provision of infrastructure and services. A theoretical move may be
perceived (European Environment Agency, 1996). The most remarkable immediate change
accompanying urbanization is the fast change in the existing character of local livelihoods as
agriculture or more traditional local services and small-scale industry give way to
contemporary industry and urban and related commerce, with the city drawing on the
resources of an ever-widening area for its own nourishment and goods to be traded or
processed into manufactures (Dear, 2000).
When referring to the pre-industrial city, Wheatley (Wheatley, 1971) described urbanism as
"that particular set of functionally integrated institutions which were first devised some 5,000
years ago to mediate the transformation of relatively egalitarian, inscriptive, kin-structured
groups into socially stratified politically organized, territorially based societies". The stress
on institutional change relates the growth of cities to a major socio-political reorganization of
society, which he considers as a main constituent in the development of society.
Correspondingly, Childe offers a listing of ten characteristics of an urban civilization. These
may be separated into five primary characteristics referring to primary changes in the
organization of society and five secondary features indicative of the presence of the primary
factors (Childe, 1951).
Table: Childe's ten characteristics of an urban civilization (Source: Pacione, 2004) 
Major causes of urbanization: Following are the main causes of urbanization:
1. Industrial revolution: Industrial employment catches the attention of people from rural
to urban areas. In the urban areas, people work in modern sector in the occupations
that assist national economic development. This represents that the old agricultural
economics is changing to a new non-agricultural economy. This is the trend, which
will build a new modern society (Gugler 1997).
2. Emergence of large manufacturing centres.
3. Job opportunities: There are ample job opportunities in mega cities therefore village
people or individuals from town frequently migrate to these areas.
4. Availability of transportation: Due to easy transport, people prefer to stay in big cities.
5. Migration: Migration is main cause for rapid growth of mega-cities. Migration has
been going on over centuries and it is normal phenomenon. When considering
urbanization rural-urban and urban-rural and rural-rural migrations are very
important. Urban-urban migration means that people move from one city to another.
People may move to the city because they are forced by poverty from rural
community or they may be pulled by the magnetism of city lives. Combination of
these push and pull factors can force people to migrate to cities (Gugler 1997).
6. . Infrastructure facilities in the urban areas: Infrastructure has vital role in the process
of urbanization in the development of countries. As agriculture becomes more fruitful,
cities grow by absorbing workforce from rural areas. Industry and services increase
and generate higher value-added jobs, and this led to economic growth. The
geographic concentration of productive activities in cities creates agglomeration
economies, which further raises productivity and growth. The augments income and
demand for agricultural products in cities.
7. Growth of private sector.
Factors lead to urbanization: There are several aspects that lead to urbanization. According
to Gooden (u.d.), the factors can be categorized into three categories that include, economic
opportunities, proper infrastructure and utilities and availability of public facilities.
Economic opportunities: It is general perception that living standard of urban area is
superior as compared to village areas. People consider that more job opportunities and more
jobs are offered in the city instead of rural area. Besides, the income also will be higher.
Proper infrastructure and utilities: In today's economy driven society, majority of nations
in the world are focusing on the development of major cities as the centre of government and
business. As such, the cities will be certainly equipped with a better infrastructure and
utilities such as roads and transportation, water, electricity and others. Apart from that, the
communication and internet coverage also are good in the cities which are believed as one of
the pulling factors of migration.
Availability of public facilities: To make smart city, metropolitan cities also offered better
public facilities which are not there in rural areas. Since a variety of public facilities such as
health and education are provided in the cities, people have more choices either to use public
or private. Additionally, the provision of leisure area, postal services as well as police station
and others are also provided to meet the needs of the urban community. In urban area, a
greater variety of entertainment such as restaurants, movie theatres and theme parks attract
more people to live in cities.
Global perspective: The urbanization progression and nature of the problems in more
developed and less developed ones are very dissimilar. While in the framework of more
developed countries, urbanization and city growth were necessary conditions for
industrialization and modernization, it has become a risk to better living in the less developed
countries because of the unpredictable growth of the cities, mainly of a few super cities. The
speedy population growth in urban areas is due to migration of people from rural to urban and
small cities to large ones are creating problems such as urban overcrowding, poor housing,
and crowded transportation, lack of basic services, ill health, low educational status and high
rate of joblessness. Such problems in the less developed countries may become heightened. It
is necessary that studies should be undertaken on the patterns of urbanization observe the
process so as to lessen its unfavourable consequences. India, the second most crowded
country in the world has reached a state where urban problems have assumed to be serious.
Urbanization Issues and Problem: Some scholars think that the process of urbanization will
bring numerous benefits for monetary growth, expansion of business activities, social and
cultural incorporation, resourceful services, as well as resources of utilization. Though, there
are some issues occur due to the urbanization. These include:
Rapid rate of urbanization: It is observed that fast rate of urbanization which is increasing
every year has needed more growth of new areas for housing, social amenities, commercial
and other urban land uses. Though, the lack of clear urban limits has led to the formation of
urban slump encroaching upon environmentally sensitive areas, major agricultural areas and
areas which are not appropriate for development (TCPD, 2006). In addition, the high demand
of land use at strategic areas also has led to land use variances. These situations led to various
urbanization issues such as environmental pollution, traffic congestion, depletion of green
areas and degradation in the quality of urban living.
Problems due to rapid rate of urbanization 
Degradation of environmental quality: Due to urbanization, there is environmental
degradation especially in the quality of water, air and noise. With the influx of more people in
cities, there is great demand of facilities such as housing. Some unlawful factories and even
houses which have a poor infrastructure, the waste from buildings are directly channelled to
the nearest river or water resources which directly pollute the water. The domestic waste,
industrial effluents and other wastes that were dumped directly to the river, degrade the water
quality. Another after effects of rapid urbanization is the air pollution which has also
increased due to emanation from motor vehicles, industrial development and use of non-
environmental friendly fuel sources. The noise pollution is produced from the various human
actions which also degrade the environment and ultimately affect the human health. The
growth of population has generated a very high quantity of solid waste and there is pressure
to provide a waste disposal place in the urban areas.
Inefficient transportation system: Urbanization created severe problem of transpiration. Due
to movement of people into metropolitan cities, the number of vehicles on the road is
increasing every year. Although various types of public transportation are provided in the
cities but people in cities still prefer to drive private vehicles. This is due to the ineffective
public transportation. The public transportation facilities are provided without referring to the
need to integrate the different modes of transportation. Consequently it is difficult for the user
to change the modes of transportation. Since the public transportation is not trustworthy,
people usually travel from private vehicles which led to the severe problem of blockage in the
cities. If any traffic jam happens, public transportation, especially bus and taxi and private
vehicles are trapped together and cannot move. It creates lot of problem for people.
Decline in quality of living for urban dwellers: Urbanization is major concern for
management researchers because it decline in quality of living for urban inhabitants. As the
metropolis becomes a developed city, the land value will also increase. The housing
provision will focus more to fulfil the needs of the high income group. As such, there will be
a problem in the provision of housing, especially for the middle and low class people. The
supply of housing for the urban poor is still inadequate as the cost of these houses is very
high to which low and middle income group cannot afford. The lack of housing provision for
the low income group has led to the continuation of unlawful resident settlements in the city.
These unlawful tenant settlements will certainly lack in proper infrastructure that will bring
about many hindrances to the urban environment and create social problems such as child
education, crime, drugs, delinquency and others. Besides housing problem for low income
group, the process of urbanization has also increased the demand on infrastructure and utility
which cannot be fulfilled from the existing facilities. The maintenance of drains and debris
collection is incompetent which can raise other serious problems such as flash floods and
poor public health. The reappearance of flash floods is due to the drainage system being
unable to contain surface water run-off that has greatly increased with the higher intensity of
urban activities.
Unsuccessful urban governance: The urban authority undergoes with multifaceted
challenges to manage a city. The fast speed of urbanization is major challenges which need
every party to be more focused in undertaking each and every responsibility in urban
development. However, the involvement of several agencies and departments in urban
management made it complicated to synchronize many actions and resultant, it affects the
efficiency of those actions. Besides this, the local authority also deals with the different goals
and interests of community groups which they need to fulfil. The local authority also needs to
find solution for different social issues.
Cities are developed on two percent of the land's surface. Their inhabitant uses over three-
quarters of the world's resources and release similar amounts of wastes. Urban wastes have
local impacts but these are issues at global scale. The impacts of the cities are usually seen
both locally and globally such as air pollution, city populations, as the major users of energy,
cause both regional and worldwide pollution. These factors have adverse impact on health of
the people, air quality and biosphere (Girardet 1996).
City consumption:

Urbanization issues in Indian context: India is known for its rural population in the world
with about 73 percent of its population living in rural villages. The growth of urban
population as well as the speed of urbanization has been usually slow as compared to most of
the other Asian countries. When evaluating urbanizing process in Indian perspective, it is
observed that major problems of urbanisation in this nation are Urban Sprawl, Overcrowding,
Housing, Unemployment, Slums and Squatter Settlements, Transport, Water, Sewerage
Problems, Trash Disposal, Urban Crimes, and Problem of Urban Pollution. While
urbanisation has been a mechanism of economic, social and political progress, it can pose
serious socio-economic problems. The absolute magnitude of the urban population, random
and unplanned growth of urban areas, and lack of infrastructure are major issues in India due
to urbanization. The fast growth of urban population both natural and through migration, has
put immense pressure on public utilities like housing, sanitation, transport, water, electricity,
health, and education.
Poverty, joblessness and under employment among the rural immigrant, beggary, thefts,
dacoities, burglary and other social sins go wild. Urban slump is encroaching the valuable
agricultural land. According to the statistical reports in 2001, the urban inhabitants of India
were more than 285 million. It is estimated that by 2030, more than 50 per cent of India's
population is expected to live in urban areas. Numerous problems need to be emphasized.
Urban sprawl or real development of the cities, both in population and geographical area, of
rapidly increasing cities is the major cause of urban troubles. In most cities, the financial
support is unable to deal with the problems created by their expansion. Huge immigration
from rural areas as well as from small towns into large cities has occurred almost consistently
and as a result the size of the city is increased. Historical records signify that initial large flow
of migration from rural to urban areas was during the "depression" of late 1930s when people
moved for searching employment. Afterwards during the decade 1941-51, another a million
persons migrated to urban areas in response to period of war industrialisation and division of
the country in 1947. During 1991-2001, more than 20 million people migrated to urban areas.
It is commonly observed that such big cities attracted to majority of people to get
employment opportunities and live in modern style. Such hyper urbanisation leads to
increased cities sizes which challenge imagination. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Bangalore are examples of urban slump due to huge migration of people from the nearby
places.
Migration consequences:

Overcrowding is a situation in which large number of people lives in too little space.
Overcrowding is a consistent result of over-population in urban areas. It is obviously
expected that cities are increasing their size due to massive movement of people from
undeveloped ar-eas but it squeezed in a small space due to overcrowding.
Housing: It is another intense problem due to urbanization in India. Overcrowding leads to a
constant problem of scarcity of houses in urban areas. This problem is particularly more
severe in those urban areas where there is large invasion of jobless or underemployed
immigrants who could not find place to live when they come in cities and towns from the
nearby areas. The major factors for housing problems are lack of building materials and
financial resources, insufficient expansion of public utilities into sub-urban areas, poverty and
unemployment of urban immigrants, strong caste and family ties and lack of enough
transportation to sub-urban areas where most of the available land for new construction is to
be found.
Unemployment: The problem of joblessness is also serious as the problem of housing. Urban
unemployment in India is estimated at 15 to 25 per cent of the labour force. This percentage
is even higher among the educated people. It is approximate that about half of all
knowledgeable urban unemployed youth are living in four metropolitan cities such as in
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Additionally, although urban incomes are higher than
the rural incomes, they are awfully low because of high cost of living in urban areas. Major
causes of urban unemployment are the huge relocation of people from rural to urban areas.
Slums and Squatter Settlements: The natural development of unchecked, unexpected and
random growth of urban areas is the growth and spread of slums and unlawful resident
settlements which present a prominent feature in the environmental structure of Indian cities,
particularly of urban centres. The fast urbanisation in combination with industrialisation has
resulted in the enlargement of slums. The explosion of slums occurs due to many factors,
such as, the lack of developed land for housing, the high prices of land beyond the reach of
urban poor, a large influx of rural migrants to the cities in search of jobs.
Transport: Urbanization poses major challenge to transport system. With traffic blockage,
almost all cities and towns of India are suffering from severe form of transport problem.
Transport problem increases and becomes more complex as the town grows in dimension.
With its growth, the town performs varied and complex functions and more people move to
work or shop.
Water: Water is one of the most essential elements of nature to maintain life and right from
the beginning of urban civilisation. However, supply of water started falling short of demand
as the cities grew in size and number.
Sewerage Problems: Urban centres in India are almost consistently beset with inadequate
sewage facilities. Resource crisis faced by the municipalities and illicit growth of the cities
are two major causes of this pitiable state of affairs. Most cities do not have proper
arrangements for treating the sewerage waste and it is drained into a nearly river or in sea as
in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and these activities pollute the water bodies.
Trash Disposal: Urbanization pushed Indian cities to grow in number and size and as a result
people have to face the problem of trash disposal which is in alarming stage. Enormous
quantities of garbage produced by Indian cities cause a serious health problem. Most cites do
not have proper arrangements for garbage disposal and the existing landfills are full to the
edge. These landfills are breeding grounds of disease and countless poisons leaking into their
environs. Wastes putrefy in the open inviting disease carrying flies and rats and a filthy,
poisonous liquid, called leachate, which leaks out from below and contaminates ground
water. People who live near the decomposing garbage and raw sewage get victims to several
diseases such as dysentery, malaria, plague, jaundice, diarrhoea, and typhoid.
Health problem due to urbanization: Factors affecting health in slums are Economic
conditions, Social conditions, Living environment, Access and use of public health care
services, Hidden/Unlisted slums and Rapid mobility. Environmental problems can cause
many other problems such as Poor air quality that can produce asthma and allergies or
contribute to physical inactivity, an impure water supply can cause the spread of infectious
diseases through the water supply or through food such as waterborne and food borne
diseases, climates changes can cause deaths from severe heat or cold , noise can cause sleep
disturbances, and hence poor performance at work and in school, Lead poisoning leading to
developmental and behaviour problems, Second-hand smoke and exposure to carcinogens
can cause cancer. In general, poor environmental quality contributes to 25% -33% of global
ill health. Physical, mental, and social health is affected by living conditions. There are
numerous examples that impact on human living such as lead exposure, noise, asbestos,
mould growth, crowding, respiratory disease, and spread of infectious diseases, accidents,
and mental illness. Health impacts of inadequate housing conditions are an intricate issue
involving variety of exposures (physical, chemical, biological, building, and social factors)
and various health outcomes such as asthma and allergies, respiratory diseases,
cardiovascular effects, injuries, poisoning, mental illnesses. Issues of overcrowding, lack of
resources, poverty, unemployment, and lack of education and social services can lead to
numerous many social problems for example crime, violence, drug use, high school drop-out
rates, and mental health problems.
Urban Crimes: In developed cities of India, people get connected with different types of
individuals who do not have similarity with one another. The problem of crimes increases
with the increase in urbanisation. In fact the increasing trend in urban crimes tends to upset
peace and tranquillity of the cities and make them insecure to live in mainly for the women.
The problem of urban crime is becoming more complicated in current situation because
criminals often get shelter from politicians, bureaucrats and leaders of the urban society. Dutt
and Venugopal (1983) stated that violent urban crimes such as rape, murder, kidnapping,
dacoity, robbery are more prominent in the northern-central parts of the nation. Even the
economic crimes such as theft, cheating, breach of trust are concentrated in the north- central
region. Poverty related crimes are prevalent in the cities of Patna, Darbhanga, Gaya and
Munger. This may be due to poverty existing in this area.
Problem of Urban Pollution: Rising urbanisation in present situation led to develop
industries and transport systems out of proportion. These developments are mainly
responsible for contamination of environment, particularly the urban surroundings. Urban
pollution is mainly the collection of impurities created by cities which would certainly shock
city dwellers. It includes Air, water, ground the entire environment. Air pollution has
dangerous consequences which emerge due to urbanization. Cities are the source of several
dangerous gases, particularly vehicles like passenger cars, Lorries, buses which generate
carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxides (Nox),
benzene, ozone in addition to fine particles released by diesel motors which create a serious
threat to human health. Heating installations use fossil fuels which also contaminate the air of
urban centres. However, in numerous urban agglomerations, the main source of the
worsening of air quality is from industrial facilities which emit veritable poisons into the air,
which is then inhaled by riverside dwellers. Water is also source of pollution in urban areas.
Since earlier times, cities are attracting millions of rural residents to their recognizable
shores. Each of these individuals has required water to live, and consume for other basic
needs. Cities under continuous development must increase their water resources and their
water treatment capacities. In many countries, this has created nearly insoluble problems and
millions of human beings are not assured daily access to potable water. As regards
wastewater, the lack of effective collection and treatment facilities means that wastewater is
often quite simply dumped back into Nature, often into the ocean, which creates severe and
long lasting pollution problems.
Remedy to fix issues of urbanization in India
India has rapidly increasing population. According to the estimates of New McKinsey Global
Institute research, cities of India could produce 70 percent of net new jobs by 2030, may
generate around 70 percent of Indian GDP, and drive a near fourfold increase in per capita
incomes across the country. If India upgrades its urban operating model, it has the capacity to
reap a demographic dividend from the increase of around 250 million expected in the next
decade in the working-age inhabitants.
India's current Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi also came forward to resolve the issues
related to urbanization. To manage city system and fulfil the great demands of inhabitants
due to the rapid urbanization, specialists have stated that government must focus on two
critical factors which is solid waste management and waste water treatment. But the Gujarat
government on its part has taken up 50 towns in the state and took initiatives like 'Clean city,
Green city' in partnership to execute solid waste management and waste water treatment. In
order to decrease discrimination, Mr. Modi stated that there is a need to concentrate on
comprehensive growth and must recognize the most backward areas in cities and towns and
provide basic amenities in place. There is an urgent need to develop social mechanisms
which will assist to reduce inequality and make sure the basics like health, sanitation,
education to reach those who have been underprivileged of the same. Mr. Modi has realized
that most of the urban actions are technical but the employees who do these jobs are often
clerical level therefore there must be focus on opening universities on urban planning, urban
infrastructure, urban development for the assistance of young people to learn how to meet the
demands of urbanization. To lessen urban crime, Mr Modi stresses that police staff in urban
areas need a specific training to maintain demands of the law and order situation.
Possible remedy for the urbanization issues and problems at global level:
The most effectual way to resolve issues of urbanization is to make the economy of village
and small scale fully viable. Economies must be revitalized if government undertakes huge
rural development program. It is suggested that surplus manpower must be absorbed in
village in order to migrate to urban areas. It is needed to control traffic congestion in urban
region and people must be encouraged to use public transport. India must improve the traffic
control system to avoid accidents. It is necessary to implement resilient clean-up campaign.
Government must make polices to construct low cast multi-storeyed flats in order to
accommodate the slum dwellers. Government should provide funds to encourage
entrepreneurship and also find solution for pollution in the nation. Reports of WHO stated
that the health cities proposal aimed to develop the physical, mental, environmental, and
social welfare of people who live and work in urban centres. People from different
backgrounds, including community members to government representatives, from cities were
organized and encouraged to come together and work together in order to deal with the
problems that emerge in urban environments. This association of people shared strategies,
success stories, and resources to tackle the concerns of the local society. WHO reports
indicated that, "A healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving the physical
and social environments and expanding the community resources that enable people to
mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and in developing to their
maximum potential."
To summarize, Urbanization is the substantial expansion of urban areas due to rural migration
and it is strongly related to modernization, industrialization, and the sociological process of
rationalization. Urbanization commonly occurred in developing countries because
government has keenness to accomplish a developed city status. As a result, almost all area in
the city has been developed and in the worst case scenario, even the green areas are also
turned into industrial or business area. It illustrates that speedy urbanization has many
unconstructive implications especially towards social and environmental aspects. While the
process of urbanization occurs at global scale, it is more visible in developing countries. This
growth has led to concerns about the sustainability of these urban centres. Explosive growth
in the world population and migration of people to in urban centres is causing major concern
about the quality of life in these urban centres and the life-supporting capacity of the planet
ecologically and communally.
The government should not be keen to develop a city without considering the impacts
towards the social and environmental aspect. Instead, the government should modify the
urban development process in order to accomplish a developed city and make efforts to
lessen the possibility of problems that might arise. In order to triumph over urbanization
issues and problems, Khosh-Chashm (1995) recommended that the society should work
together closely with the authorities to assist in modernizing life in urban area. The
changeover from a rural to urban wealth is very rapid in historical terms for most economic
systems. The task to fulfil all the demands for jobs, shelter, water, roads, transport and other
urban infrastructure is overwhelming. Presently, India already has numerous mega cities.
Many researchers believe that urbanization is good for the financial growth of country but
careful planning is required to develop cities and offer basic amenities for healthy living.
 Population and Associated Issues
Human population are also theme to usual process of birth and death. World is facing major
challenge of rapid increase in human population since last many decades, (UNFPA, 2011). In
various parts of globe, there is unparalleled rapid demographic change and the most
noticeable example of this change is the vast expansion of human. It is expected that in near
future, it will increase rapidly and give birth to numerous issues in the least developed
regions. It is recommended that there is a desperate need to take urgent steps to control
population otherwise serious problems can arise such as environment damage and restricted
availability of food resources. Constant growth of population is major issue and therefore it is
significant to understand how policy makers can manage population growth for the benefit of
society. The influence of population on the financial system is apparently straightforward. It
is about having enough resources to meet the needs of the growing number of people. Since
the same resources are shared by all members of the society, everybody is affected by
development and many are underprivileged of their access to the same resources. The merits
and drawbacks of controlling population growth can be recognized with reference to the very
tangible reality of basic education development. It has been shown in studies that population
issues are vital component of policy discussion on social and economic development. They
encompass a broad sense of concern that range from questions of design of appropriate
intervention to lessen fertility, improve the health of mother and children, encourage better
birth spacing, and reduce population growth (Sanderson, 1993).
Concept of population: Population is described as the number of people in an area based on
specific categories such as ethnicity, age, income, sex, and social economic status. Population
is continually changing due to birth and death rate and relocation among families to explore
good sources of income. Population is calculated by counting the actual number of people in
a given area and measuring birth to death ratios. Population Growth can be defined as the
change in population over time and can be quantified as the change in number of individuals
in a population as "per unit time".
Centripetal and Centrifugal forces foresees how successful the country's financial system is
going to be; many people travel in or out of the country to find suitable jobs. In every unit
area, population density is the measurement of the amount of people in a given square mile.
In metropolis region, the population is more dense because of limitation of land area and in
rural and suburban areas, people own more land and is generally used for agriculture and
income.
Statistical reports indicated that China and India are nations with the huge population in the
world. Due to massive land and lack of contraception, the population is mounting at a rapid
rate within these countries. Developed countries such as the United States subcontract in
China and India because the labour cost is low-priced. Labour laws in these countries are not
synchronized which allow these countries to take shortcuts which means more products to
export.
Due to the industrial revolution, the population has been growing at great pace during the
past. Developed countries are visualizing increasing trends based on the monetary
development. In these areas, the more people are able to provide for the family, the larger the
family gets. Nations where industrial development is slow, population is growing but most
people struggle to survive due to deficit in medical facilities and shortage of water and food.
The industrial revolution generated income for people and these people get funds for shelter
and food. Thomas Malthus was sensible philosopher who expected population to grow in
time as long as there's food and shelter. However, due to fast growth of the population, many
serious issues emerged like diseases and scarcity of resources.
World Population Growth: Source: U.S. Census Bureau: International data base June
2011 

Population explosion in developing countries such as India is a matter of concern because it

disrupts the development of the country and its society. The developing countries already
face challenge of limited resources due to fast growth of population as the resources available
per person are reduced further which results in increased poverty, malnutrition, and other
large population-related problems. The factual meaning of population is "the whole number
of people or inhabitants in a country or region" and the literal meaning of population outburst
is "a pyramiding of numbers of a biological population". As the number of people in a
pyramid increases, the issues associated with it becomes severe and worsen the situation of
country. The main factors that greatly impact the population change are the birth rate, death
rate and migration. The birth rate is the ratio between births and individuals in a specified
population and time (Miller, 253).
Population growth from the past to present is in increasing trend, and it will continue at even
a rapid rate in the next few decades. The main problem arise from fast population growth is
the lack of resources and land. When population explode, the more waste would be produced.
Academicians and researchers stressed that country must develop ways to lessen future
problems through educating developing countries and provide contraception to areas that
have larger population growth. Other ways to tackle issues of population expansion is to
create sustainability laws, monitor natural resources, and replenish what was taken out of the
earth. Many experts advocated that it is imperative to educate the general public about major
issues due to overpopulation and pollution which can help prevent future disasters. Increase
wakefulness of contraception and to become more environmentally friendly will make human
life secure in near future.
India and Population: India is considered to be one of the most populous countries at global
scale. Population in this country is growing speedily due to globalisation and establishment of
many factories which consecutively create jobs for many unskilled workers. India has the
second largest population in the world and will soon exceed China. The majority of the
population growth takes place in poverty suffering areas due to lack of contraception and
medical centres. The fertility rate which is the amount of children per woman that would be
birthed in her lifetime is at 6 children per woman; while, in developed countries like U.S. the
fertility rate is at 2 children per woman. The carrying capacity of India is very restricted due
to exaggerate utilization of natural resources. The shortage of clean water and over harvesting
of crops proves damaging to the environment. Sustainability is a colossal issue in India and
people of India are not well educated to utilize resources in appropriate way. Such lack of
knowledge about replenishing resources is leaving people out of options on the next step to
take.
In India, most of the population lives in crowded slums because land is limited and pollution
is increasing day by day. Though, India's financial system is improved due to new business
ventures. Many persons moved from rural areas to cities for better opportunities. The
probability of children going to school in the city is more common than in rural areas. But job
opportunities are still limited and with lack of education and skills, many people are
unemployed. With population growth astounding at an alarming rate, waste is also
accumulating in areas where children and old people are exposed of toxic waste. Many parts
of India are not capable of providing proper sanitary practices such as a bathroom and toilet.
Many rivers and lakes are contaminated with organic and man-made waste. Many people
bath, drink, and eat fish from the same source. It has adverse impact on health on populace of
India such as people are contracting salmonella and other gastrointestinal illnesses due to
unhygienic conditions. The poor are left to live amongst waste that has accumulated from the
explosion of the population and the wealth of the economy. The worst condition due to
increase in population is that many poor people collect utility items through wastelands to
build shelter. Unfortunately, poverty exists throughout the world but is a growing problem in
thickly populated nations such as India and China. Government involvement is to reduce
poverty in rural India. Many programs funded by the government organized that help the
poor which significantly changed many lives. It has been observed that people are given
education, welfare, and proper sanitation.
Population growth in India from2001- 2011 (Source: Census 2011: Provisional
Population Total – INDIA)

Reports indicated that in 1 January 2015, the population of India was estimated to be 1 286
956 392 people. This is an increase of 1.34 % (16 979 590 people) compared to population of
1 269 976 802 the year before. In 2014 the natural increase was positive, as the number of
births exceeded the number of deaths by 17 131 987. Due to external migration, the
population declined by 152 397.The sex ratio of the total population was 1.068 (1 068 males
per 1 000 females) which is higher than global sex ratio. During 2015 India population is
estimated to be increased by 17 206 607 people and reach 1 304 162 999 in the beginning of
2016. The natural increase is expected to be positive, as the number of births will exceed the
number of deaths by 17 361 042. If external migration will remain on the previous year level,
the population will be declined by 154 435 due to the migration reasons. It means that
amount of people who leaves India to settle permanently in another country (emigrants) will
prevail over the amount of people who moves into the country
(http://countrymeters.info/en/India).
Reasons for current increase in the world population
Due to economic and political challenges in India, country faces problems of the population
explosion. According to reports, India's population hit 1 billion in May 2000, increasing the
urgency for the country to moderate its population growth. Some of the reasons for this
population explosion are poverty, better medical facilities, and immigration from the
neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Nepal. The population density of India in 1996
was about 287 persons per square kilometer.
Fertility, mortality and migration are principal determinants of population expansion. The
birth rate is the ratio between births and individuals in a specified population and time
(Miller, 253). The death rate is the ratio between the number of deaths and individuals in a
specified population and time (Miller, 253). Migration is the number of people moving in
(immigration) or out (emigration) of a country, place or locality. The population change is
calculated by the formula:
Population change = (Births + Immigration) – (Deaths + Emigration)
The increase in birth rates due to medical improvements increases population in world and
the decrease in death rates. To account for the differences in population size, demographers
often use the concept of crude birth and death rate. The crude birth rate is the number of
births divided by the size of the population and multiplied by 1000. Death rate: though
poverty has increased and the development of the country continues to be troubled, the
enhancements in medical facilities have been incredible. This improvement might be
considered constructive, but it led to increase in population. The crude death rate in India in
1981 was roughly 12.5, and that decreased to approximately 8.7 in 1999. Also, the infant
mortality rate in India decreased from 129 in 1981 to approximately 72 in 1999
(Mapsindia.com, Internet). Such statistical figures indicate that due to the improvements in
the medical field, human life is secured and they live longer. Additionally, abortion is not
permitted by several religions in India. In fact, in Islam, one of the leading religions of India,
children are considered to be gifts of God, therefore there is no family planning which
ultimately results in increase in population.
Poverty is major cause of population increase in developing countries. According to ABC
News, India currently faces approximately "33 births a minute, 2,000 an hour, 48,000 a day,
which calculates to nearly 12 million a year". Unfortunately, the resources do not increase in
same manner as the population increases. Instead the resources keep decreasing, leading to
making survival for a human being more and more competitive even for the basic necessities
of life like food, clothing and shelter. India currently is griped under serious problem of
population explosion and poverty. According to Geography.com, "More than 300 million
Indians earn less than US $1 everyday and about 130 million people are jobless." Poor or
illiterate people give birth to more children because they think that more children mean more
earning hands. Also, due to poverty, the infant mortality rate among such families is higher
due to the lack of facilities like food and medical resources. Therefore, they produce more
children assuming that not all of them would be able to survive. This results in exploding
population at alarming rate in India. Due to the increase in population, the problems of scarce
resources, jobs, and poverty increases.
Another cause of population explosion in India is religious beliefs, Traditions and Cultural
Norms. India's culture is very strong and prevails since historic time. Due to the increased
population, the educational facilities are very limited. As a result, most people still firmly
follow ancient values. Report of ABC News revealed that renowned Indian author, Shobha
De stated, "God said 'Go forth and produce' and we just went ahead and did exactly that." In
India, people have belief that they must have son in family instead of a daughter.
Consequently, a lot of families have more children than they actually want or can afford. This
leads to increased poverty, lack of resources, and ultimately increases number of people in
country. Indian people also believe that cultural norms are for a girl to get married at an early
age. In most of the rural areas and in some urban areas as well, families choose to get their
girls married at the age of 14 or 15. Although child marriage is unlawful in India, the culture
and the society surrounding the girls in India does not allow them to resist such decisions
taken by their family.
Migration: Immigration to better developed countries due to several reasons like better job
opportunities, war, and natural causes like hurricanes, earthquakes, and so forth. In developed
countries, major cause of population growth is immigration. However, in countries like India,
immigration has little role in the population growth. Although people from neighbouring
countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, travel to India; at the same time Indians
migrate to other countries like the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. During the 1971 war between
India and Pakistan over Bangladesh, the immigration rate increased enormously.
Trends in Fertility
Enlarged fertility rates and migration can have significant effects on the general structure of
populations. In the United States, the amalgamation has led to the Hispanic ethnic group
becoming the largest ethnic minority in the country. The speedy growth of the Hispanic
population since last many decades has in effect invigorated the aging U.S. population by
adding children and working-age adults, at the same time making it more ethnically diverse.
The size of the Latino population doubled between 1980 and 2000, and Latinos also
accounted for 40% of the country's population growth. That rapid growth has continued since
2000, accounting for almost half the increase of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau,
2006).
Effects of the rapid population growth in India: There is unfavourable impact of
population explosion in India.
Providing employment to growing population: Job creation is major issue for countries in
which population is increasing at faster rate. The main reason is that in developing economies
majority of the population is uneducated. The burden of school age population has already
revealed signs of becoming unbearable. The proportion of children in schools is increasing
fast and, huge numbers are still not covered. The total number or illiterate persons increases
every year. This is only a sign of the wastage of human resources for want of appropriate
development opportunities.
Problem of utilisation of manpower: Another issue is how to use manpower. Better
educated manpower seeks for occupations of greater status, which are opened up by the new
development efforts. Because of its capital intensive nature, the ability, of the new economy
for employment generation becomes limited. Concurrently, it renders many of the old
occupations out of day and redundant. As a result, under-employment and unemployment,
including unemployment of educated persons, increases. There is therefore surplus of even
developed human capital.
Over-strained infrastructure: Due to population explosion, numerous facilities such as
housing, transportation, health care, and education become insufficient. The worst symptoms
of overcrowding in every aspect of living conditions are manifested in the urban areas. In
countries such as India, a situation of "over urbanisation" exist which puts intolerable strain
on urban services. Overloaded houses, slums and unhygienic localities, traffic jamming and
crowded hospitals have become common aspects in the developing countries.
Pressure on land and other renewable natural resources: Population overcrowding put
more pressure on land and natural resources. Common properties such as forest and water are
over-exploited. This results in deforestation and desertification with permanent damage to the
renewable resources.
Increased cost of production: Human inventiveness and technological progression makes it
achievable to increase production of goods and services. But, due to increase in population,
the cost of production of the basic necessities of life, such as food, increases.
Inequitable distribution of income: Population growth in uneven manner can lead to
unbalanced distribution of salary. Both at the international and national levels, income
inequality increased. The increase in gross national product (GNP) is significantly reduced in
per capita terms on account of the rapidly growing population. With rapidly growing
population, the major problem of a developing country tends to be focused more on economic
growth as such.
Air Pollution: The technical growth of India has lead not only to medical advancements, but
also to an increase in the number of factories. This results in air and water pollution. More
energy needs to be produced to power these factories. When fossil fuels are burnt, gases
released in the atmosphere. Many cities in India have crossed the limits of suspended
particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and other pollutants due to vehicular and industrial
emanation. Reports of the World Bank Organization have shown that Delhi is one of the
world's most contaminated cities. As the population increases in future, more forests are
cleared. The reasons for deforestation are to make houses for increased number of people to
live in, and to use wood as a fuel in the industries. As a result, the trees that facilitate in
reducing the air pollution through the process of photosynthesis are not able to do so.
Increased air pollution causes many air (polluted) borne diseases. Some of the diseases
caused by air pollution are "respiratory diseases, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer of the lung" (World Health Organization,
Internet). Due to the tropical climate of India, air pollution also causes smog which may
result in headaches, dizziness, breathing difficulties, or even mass illness due to carbon
monoxide. The root of all the problems is population increase.
Water Pollution: Water pollution also poses threat to environment through the increasing
population. Water is considered the core of life. Nearly 10 percent of the world's population
faces constant freshwater shortage. This figure may rise if the population growth is
uncontrolled. Due to increase in population, numerous factories are set up. These factories
lead to various kinds of pollution, including water pollution. Also, India being an agrarian
country, the water pollution also comes from pesticides used for agriculture. Some of the
major types of pollutants are petroleum products required for automobiles, cooking, and other
such human activities, pesticides and herbicides used for agriculture by the Indian farmers,
heavy metals from industries, automobiles' exhausts and mines, hazardous wastes, excessive
organic matter like fertilizers and other organic matter used by farmers, sediments caused by
soil erosion produced by strip mines, agriculture and roads and thermal pollution caused by
deforestation. One of the typical examples of water pollution in India is the river Ganga. This
river is considered sacred. People take holy bath in it for spiritual renewal and drink water
from it. But people do not realize that along with washing off their sins in the river, they are
also washing off their body wastes, leading to polluting the holy water of the river. Also,
cremated and partly cremated bodies are dumped into the river. Although, dumping these
bodies is a spiritual act in India among the Hindus, but it contaminate the water. Therefore,
when population increases, the number of people dying is also increasing, and it lead to the
pollution in the river Ganga. Additionally, the nearby factories and human colonies dump
sewage directly into the river. At present the river is so contaminated that some experts
believe such water should not even be exposed in nature without being treated. It can be said
that when population size is increasing, it results in increased pollution, which in turn is
leading to a more hostile environment for human beings themselves.
Available measures to Control Population
To control population, preventive actions are being taken at global scale. In India,
government has initiated numerous programs to curb the population and has been spending
huge money on controlling the birth rate. Some of the programs have been triumphant, and
the rate of increase has also reduced, but has still to reach the sustainable rate. It has been
highlighted in reports that the key factors that affect the population increase of India are the
fast increasing birth rate and decreasing death rates. Effective population control measures
are necessary in present scenario. It is well established that birth rate is mainly responsible for
rapid population growth. Therefore measures which can reduce the birth rate should be
adopted.
Figure:

Social Measure: Population outburst is considered to be a social problem and it is intensely

rooted in the civilization. It is therefore necessary to make efforts to eliminate the social
iniquities in the country. Minimum age of Marriage: As fertility depends on the age of
marriage therefore the minimum age of marriage should be raised. In India minimum age for
marriage is 21 years for men and 18 years for women fixed by law. This law should be
strongly implemented and people should also be made aware of this through promotion.
Another aspect in controlling population is to raising the Status of Women. There is still
favouritism to the women. They are restricted to house. They are still confined to rearing and
bearing of children. So women should be given opportunities to develop socially and
economically. Free education should be given to them.
Other preventive measure of population is to spread education. The spread of education
changes the views of people. The educated men take mature decisions and prefer to delay
marriage and adopt small family custom. Educated women are health mindful and avoid
frequent pregnancies and thus help in lowering birth rate.
Adoption is also effective way to curb population. Some parents do not have any child,
despite expensive medical treatment. It is recommended that they should adopt orphan
children. It will be helpful to orphan children and children to couples.
As preventive measure of population, there is a need to change in Social Outlook. Social
outlook of the people should undergo a change. It must be taught that marriage should no
longer be considered a social compulsory.
Social Security is necessary for people. It is responsibility of government to include more and
more people under-social security schemes. So that they do not depend upon others in the
event of old age, sickness, unemployment with these facilities they will have no desire for
more children.
Economic Measures
There has to be numerous economic measures taken as a preventive measure for population
explosion. Government must devise policies for more employment opportunities. It is
necessary is to raise the employment opportunities in rural as well as urban areas. Generally
in rural areas there is disguised joblessness. Another economic measure for population
control is the development of Agriculture and Industry. If agriculture and industry are
correctly developed, huge number of people will get employment. When their income is
increased they would enhance their standard of living and accept small family norms. Good
standard of living is a deterrent to large family norm. In order to maintain their enhanced
standard of living, people prefer to have a small family.
Urbanisation process can reduce population increase. It is reported that people in urban areas
have low birth rate than those living in rural areas. Urbanisation should be encouraged.
Other Measures: Other actions to decrease population are many. First is late Marriage as
this will reduce the period of reproduction among the females and bring down the birth rate.
Another measure is self-control. Many practitioners advocated that self-control is one of the
dominant methods to control the population. It is an idyllic and healthy approach and people
should be provided to follow. It helps in reducing birth rate. The govt. can give different
types of incentives to the people to adopt birth control measures. Financial incentives and
other facilities like leave and promotion can be extended to the working class which adopts
small family norms. Employment to Woman is effective method to check the population.
Women should be given incentive to give services in different fields.
There is a need to follow strict birth control measures such as China has adopted the strategy
to decrease the birth rate. But it is not possible to reduce technological advancements to
decrease the death rate in India. In order to reduce the birth rate, several government-funded
agencies like the Family Planning Association of India spend excessive funds to promote on
family planning as a basic human right and the norm of a two-child family on a voluntary
basis. It is done to achieve a balance between the population size and resources, to get ready
young people for responsible attitudes in human sexuality, and to provide education and
services to all. The family planning methods provided by the family planning program are
vasectomy, tubectomy, IUD, conventional contraceptives (that is condoms, diaphragms,
jelly/cream tubes, foam tables) and oral pills. Additionally, induced abortion is available, free
of charge, in institutions recognized by the government to control population increase.
However, the success of the family planning program in India depends on many factors such
as literacy, religion and the region where the people live.
Problems with implementing measures to control population
As it is well documented in literature that India is a country of diverse culture and people
come from different family background therefore it is difficult to change the perception of
people toward such norms like family planning. The success of family planning mainly
depends on women and their status. Thus, it is crucial for the women to get proper education
so that they can decide on the number of children they want and be aware of the available
birth control measures. In India, it is important for the women to have equal rights to take
decision about the number of children to be produced. Women also need to get educated
about the impacts of having so many children on their health and the impacts on their
children. Additionally, the older women need to be educated so that they can teach the correct
family planning to their own daughters. Nevertheless, in India, society does not give more
importance on women education because of the financial conditions in some families and the
religious and social norms. In such a case, educating women about family planning becomes
an even more difficult task. These factors lead to population increase and government face
problem in implementing population control strategies. Another factor that create problem in
controlling population is that most of the population in India live in the rural areas. However,
family planning is not extensively advertised in rural areas. Also, in rural areas, social and
religious norms are more firmly followed. It has been observed that family planning is
considered as an offence in most of the tribal and rural communities.
To summarize, Population escalation is a major issue around the world which has adverse
impact on numerous environmental and human health problems. Population growth continue
to increase in the world at a fast pace. As the population enlarges, many experts are
concerned about its dangerous results. The growth rate of population is a function of
migration, birth rate and death rate in a country. The change in population caused by net
migration as a proportion of total population of the country is almost insignificant and,
therefore, can be easily ignored. That leaves us with birth rate and death rate. The difference
between the birth rate and the death rate measures the growth rate of population. Over
populated regions need more resources. Population explosion causes deforestation for food
production, urban overcrowding and the spread of horrible diseases. The effectual way to
stop population growth is to implement family planning policies but the exact way to achieve
that has created a great deal of disagreement. Several feasible solutions have been proposed
by the government to curb population.
 Poverty and Developmental Issues
One of the sarcasm of technical developing world is the poverty which remains prevalent and
uncontrolled. Poverty is old age observable fact suffered by countries at global scale. It is a
very indistinct concept with varied implications and facades. Bhalla Surjit stated "there is a
rich history of formal definitions of poverty, going back to the mid nineteenth century. It is an
attempt to capture the bottom-half of the population, the have-nots, and the poor (2000:1).
Traditionally, poverty is defined in terms of one dimensional approach of income and food
intake capabilities. Dandekar and Rath determined the minimum acceptable income level in
terms of 'nutritional deficiency' (1971). The concept of poverty thus goes beyond income and
basic services. People who are under empowered, who are unable to participate in making the
decisions, who are deprived of elementary education, health care, nutrition, water and
sanitation, employment and wages and who pass many different inabilities and adversities
like inequality of asset, unequal distribution, ignorance, corruption, lack of political power,
lack of political will, natural calamities, inadequate governance, lack of opportunities of
development, inappropriate public policies and programmes, lack of access to entitlements
and many hurdles in the wellbeing of human beings are included in the group of poor.
Poverty is a matter of heated debate among academicians and policy-makers. The modern
multidimensional approach is characterised with a bigger view and considers poverty as a
withdrawal of essential productive assets and opportunities to which every human being
should be entitled. According to this approach, defining poverty in terms of consumption
expenditure misses the point. Assets and its distribution are major factor. The World Health
Organization has described poverty as the greatest cause of suffering on earth. The traditional
definition of poverty concerns the inability of a person to realize certain minimum basic level
of consumption. The ability to consume, in a market economy, depends on the nominal
expenditure and the commodity prices. The level of expenditure depends on the purchasing
power, which, to a large extent depends on the income earned. Incomes are earned if jobs are
held and, hence, the relationship between employment and the incidence of poverty.
According to The World Bank (1990:26) poverty is "the inability to attain a minimal standard
of living". The World Bank website on 'Poverty Reduction and Equity' defines poverty in
comprehensive manner, saying, "Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is
being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not
knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a
time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is
powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom."
Principles of Amartya Sen offer useful alternative to understand poverty. Capability approach
to understanding poverty goes beyond income and stresses the whole range of means,
available to achieve human capabilities such as literacy, longevity and access to income.
From this viewpoint, poverty is seen as the failure of some basic capabilities to function- a
person lacking the opportunity to achieve some minimally accepted level of these
functionings (Sen Amartya and Dreze Jean, 1999). Allan Cochrane stated that " A crucial
aspect of poverty is the way in which it reduces ability of people to participate in the normal
lives of their communities with stress being placed on the deprivation which results from the
lack rather than low income itself." In bulk of theoretical literature, it is demonstrated that
"Individuals, families and groups in population can be said to be in poverty when they lack
the resources to obtain the types of diet, participate in the activities and how the living
conditions and amenities which are customary or approved in the societies to which they
belong" (Peter Townsend, 1979) .There resources are below those commanded by the
average individual or family that they in effect excluded from the normal living patterns,
custom and activities. According to Galbraith John Kenneth (1970), poverty may itself be a
source of poverty. This is because, it denies the nation from investment, revenues for
education or purchasing power for customer product, which in turn, is an inventive to effort.
Therefore, poverty continues itself.
Components of rural and urban poverty: Poverty has multivariate nature for which a single
variant approach is insufficient. The components that constitutes vector of poverty are in
terms of satisfaction and deprivation. There are nine components of poverty that include
occupation and employment, income and asset, food, shelter, health, education, demographic
features, values, interests and activities, power and politics.
Vector components of poverty (Source: Shiv Prakash Gupta, 1987 ) 

Poverty: International Concerns

Poverty is not limited to national boundaries. It is a worldwide concern for policy makers and
researchers. It is very difficult to measure and assess the world poverty. "For the purposes of
measuring poverty in the world as a whole, the World Bank's "$1 a day" measures have
aimed to apply a common standard, anchored to what "poverty" means in the world's poorest
countries" (Chen, Shaohua and Ravallion Martin:2008:2). Today, all over world, billions of
people go hungry. Everyday millions of people experience extreme forms of deprivation that
inflict suffering and reduce or terminate their future prospects of having a good life and being
productive. Early generations of human beings claim that global poverty was inevitable
because there were not enough resources nor technology to transform resources to meet the
needs of all people internationally. But presently, world has resources and advanced
technology to offer basic services like primary education, health services, finance services.
Main cause of increasing poverty at global level is that world is organized in such a way that
billions of people do not have access to these advanced technology and resources. Tough
leaders and powerful people promised that they will reduce the poverty but it still persists
among populace (Hulme, 2010). In the least developed countries such as Africa, both the
income and non-income aspect poverty is prevalent due to problem stretching from corrupt
governance and mishandling, poor economic growth, unemployment and underemployment,
lack of access to social services, low level of investment, high degree of indebtness.
South Asia also has huge population in poverty group. While the incidence of poverty as
defined by head-count ratio has shown some decline in all South Asian countries over the
years, large proportion of the population in all the countries still live in poverty. In spite of a
reasonable growth in current period, per capita GNP (with Purchasing Power Parity or PPP)
of all countries and for the region as a whole remains low and in a small fraction of that of
middle-income countries (Poverty and Vulnerability in South Asia, The World Bank, June
2002).
Poverty in India
India is a developing country and it is apparent that poverty is widespread and is a matter of
serious concern for policy analysts and academic scholars because of its scope and intensity.
The prime objective of a country's policy and planning is to increase the standard of living
and improve the productive capabilities of its people. As population of India is exploding
year by year, this challenge is particularly intimidating for nation. When reviewing the past
record of poverty, it is said that from 1951 to 1974, India's first quarter-century of
independence, the percentage of its population living in poverty rose from 47 to 56 percent.
During the next quarter-century, that rate fell suddenly, and reached to 26 percent by 1999–
2000. Between 1974 and 1999-2000, the poverty rate dropped by 53%, exceeding the
millennium development goal of a 50% reduction over a 25-year period. The number of poor
people rose gradually from 171 million in 1951 to a 321 million in 1974, before falling to 260
million in 1999-2000. (Fox James W.:2002)
Many surveys and Economic reports after 1970s demonstrated that there is continuous
decline in rural poverty from 55 percent in the early 70s to less than 35 percent by the late
80s.Various program conducted by government such as Green revolution, poverty reduction
programmes, political will and better policy framing along with many other factors assisted in
deceasing poverty. Jayaraman and Lanjouw (1999: 1-30) stated that, despite decline in
poverty rate there is considerable movement in and out of poverty. Some of this movement
can be accredited to the year-to-year fluctuations in harvest quality, and can also be
associated with momentary factors such as illness. Reports indicated that India still is a
country with huge people living in poverty line and it has a third rank of the world's poor.
World Bank report of 2015 estimates, 42% of India's population falls below the international
poverty line of $1.25 a day; having reduced from 60% in 1980. According to the principle
used by the Planning Commission of India, 27.5% of the population was living below the
poverty line in 2004–2015, reduced down from 51.3% in 1977–1978, and 36% in 1993-1994.
The planning commission report estimated BPL population to 27.5% in 2004. The URP-
consumption distribution data of the NSS 61st Round signified that a poverty ratio was 28.3
percent in the rural areas, 25.7 percent in the urban areas and 27.5 percent for the country as a
whole in 2004-05 (Government of India Press Information Bureau (2007:2): Poverty
Estimates for 2004-05 New Delhi). Poverty in rural India has dropped considerably in current
period.
According to Fan Shenggen, Hazell Peter, Thorat Sukhadeo ( 2000:1038 ), "the percentage of
the rural population living below the poverty line fluctuated between 50 and 65% prior to the
mid-1960s, but then declined steadily to about one-third of the rural population by the early
1990s." The occurrence of poverty hit rural as well as urban areas. But nature, extent and
conditions of poverty in rural and urban areas are dissimilar in many ways. The urban and
rural poor have differential access to physical, financial assets and many other services as
well as infrastructural and human capabilities. Rahman, M. A. (1981:3) described the rural
poverty as that section of the rural population whose basic minimum needs for life and
existence with human dignity are unfulfilled. Such condition of poverty is considered by low
income, generally related with various forms of subjugation under social structure through
which overriding social groups dictate their terms.
At the regional level, the marginality of central and eastern India is explained largely by
adverse agrarian relations. Poverty has persisted in these areas though there are good
endowment of natural resources and a relatively strong focus of Indian development planning
on "backward areas". It was estimated in previous reports that more than seventy per cent of
India's poor population reside in six states that include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa Uttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. In
four of these states, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and Assam there is
high levels of poverty (Mehta and Shah 2003).
The Planning Commission of India occasionally estimates poverty lines and poverty ratios for
each year for which Large Sample Surveys on Household Consumer Expenditure have been
conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation. According to the survey conducted in 2011-2012, the
percentage of persons below the Poverty Line in India for the year 2011-12 has been
estimated as 25.7% in rural areas, 13.7% in urban areas and 21.9% for the country as a whole.
The corresponding ratios for the rural and urban areas were 41.8% and 25.7% and 37.2% for
the country as a whole in 2004-05. It was 50.1% in rural areas, 31.8% in urban areas and
45.3% for the country as a whole in 1993-94. In the year of 2011-12, India had 270 million
persons below the Tendulkar Poverty Line as compared to 407 million in 2004-05, that is a
reduction of 137 million persons over the seven year period.
It is clear from various surveys and poverty reports that Most of the rural population in India
and in other developing countries is living in deprived way because they do not own assets
like land, they work as agricultural labourers, get insufficient and insecure employment and
less salary. Degrees of inaccessibility, development stage of the region, low level of social
capital are major correlative aspects that causes rural poverty. Though small farmers having
some access to land, but they are dependent on unpredictable natural conditions, markets and
chances of income generation. Poverty in rural India also has dimensions of caste, ethnicity
and gender. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of India's rural areas are the poorest
people that constitute about 40 to 50 percent of its population.
When assessing the urban poverty in India, it is also a major worry for policy makers and
researchers as number of poor is increasing due to fast urbanization. The Urban Poverty
Report 2009 has shown that India has entered the Eleventh Plan period with an impressive
record of economic growth. However, the incidence of decline of urban poverty has not
augmented with GDP growth. In fact, urban poverty will become a major challenge for
politicians in India as the urban population is growing which leads to urban poverty. The
poverty rates as estimated in, "the MRP-consumption distribution data of the 61st Round are
21.8 percent in the rural areas, 21.7 percent in the urban areas and 21.8 percent for the
country as a whole" (Poverty Estimates For 2004-05 2007:2).
There have numerous efforts been made by government to alleviate poverty. Poverty is inter-
related to other problems of underdevelopment. In rural and urban societies, the nature of
poverty can be very different. In urban areas, people often have access to health and
education but more the problems faced by people due to poverty like overcrowding,
unsanitary conditions, pollution, insecure houses. When appraising the factors lead to rural
poverty, it is found that there is often less access to education, health and many other services
but people usually live in healthier and safer environments. Since the mitigation of poverty is
major aim of development work, it is necessary to understand the way to measure poverty.
Development means that there has been some improvement and improvements must be
measurable. Government expenditure in India is divided into non-development and
development spending, and the latter is further subdivided into spending on social and
economic services. Social services include health, labour, social welfare and other
community services, while economic services include such sectors as agriculture, industry,
trade and transportation.
Effects of government spending on rural poverty

The most common ways to assess poverty is to set a monthly average on which a family can
survive. This is called the poverty line. If a family has an average income below this amount,
the household and its members are said to be living in poverty. The poverty line is an amount
that changes according to the size of the household, its age and composition. Other effective
way to measure poverty is by measuring the poverty gap. The poverty gap shows how far a
household falls below the poverty line, so in other words it shows the depth of, or degree of
poverty. In some regions, many people may be below the poverty line but they may be just a
little bit below it. In other provinces fewer people could be below the poverty line but they
could be far below it. These two types of poverty distribution in population clearly need a
different reaction.
Groups that are affected by poverty: There are many groups that are greatly impacted by
poverty.
Women: Reports have shown that Women makes a greater percentage of poor people as
compared to men. The main cause for this is that women have generally found less access to
education and employment. Many women have always performed unpaid work as mothers,
housewives. Many women are employed in less salary job such as domestic and farm labour.
Even within poor household women usually earn less than men and property and possessions
are often in the name of a man. The UN has found that although women perform nearly two
thirds of the world's work, they receive only one tenth of the world's income and they own
only one hundredth of the world's property.
Children: Another group that is most affected by poverty is children. Currently, some of the
poorest households in South Africa are those headed by children where parents are either ill
or have died from AIDS or other causes. Even in families where parents are still present,
children are very badly affected by malnutrition and it has its most severe effect on children
between the ages of six months and two years. Malnutrition also means that the children can
more easily catch diseases and either die young or have poor physical and mental
development as a result. Poverty restricts the access to children to get educational
opportunities, especially in early childhood development. Many poor children also leave
school before completing elementary education. Socio-economic circumstance conditions in
childhood which result in low qualifications in adulthood help transmit poverty across
generations. A main cause of child poverty is a lack of opportunities among parents with low
skills and low qualifications. Such parents are less likely to work, and if they do work they
are more likely to have low earnings.
Youth: Young people have to suffer a lot due to poverty because they may be deprived of
education facility which in turn limits employment opportunities. In India, with high
unemployment rate, many young people do not get work which degrades their standard of
living and they are not being able to access numerous facilities. Urban youth are also very
susceptible to getting involved in crime, gangs and drug or alcohol abuse.
The elderly: Older people do not have employment and have to be taken care of by the rest of
society. In India, most poor older people survive on the monthly pensions paid by the state.
Because of high unemployment, many families share the pensions meant for the elderly and it
ends up being inadequate for their needs. Older people also often look after grandchildren
and continue to perform unpaid domestic work for their families. This especially applies to
older women.
Poverty and environmental issues: In global society, poverty is prevalent. There is a
general agreement among academicians that poverty is a major cause of environmental
degradation. Various international reports asserted that poverty leads to environmental
degradation. In theoretical literature, it was clearly shown that, poverty is main reason of
environmental problems and it is necessary to improve the conditions of poor populace and
central condition of any effective programmes addressing the environment. According to
Jalal (1993), the Asian Development Bank's chief of the environment department, "It is
generally accepted that environmental degradation, rapid population growth and stagnant
production are closely linked with the fast spread of acute poverty in many countries of
Asia." In urban areas, it is awesomely the consumption patterns of non-poor groups
(especially high income groups) and the production and distribution systems that serve them,
leads to environmental degradation. The urban poor contribute very little to environmental
degradation because they use so few resources and produce so few wastes. Since the 1970s it
has been agreed at global level that poverty and environmental degradation are inseparably
linked. The World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission)
stated that Poverty is a major cause and effect of global environmental problems. It is
therefore futile to attempt to deal with environmental problems without a broader perspective
that encompasses the factors underlying world poverty and international inequality (1987).
Poverty and Population Explosion: Poverty remains major issues where population
increases at rapid rate. Poverty in India is common with the nation estimated to have a third
of the world's poor. Population growth rate is one of major ground of poverty in India. This
has adverse effect level of illiteracy, poor health care facilities and lack of access to financial
resources. High population growth affects the per capita income and makes per capita income
even lower. It is predictable that population in India will reach 1.5 billion by 2026. But
India's economy is not growing at the same rate. This leads of unemployment and people may
become poor. Report of a 2015 World Bank estimate that 42% of India falls below the
international poverty line. There are 421 million poor living in north India states of Bihar,
Chattisgarh, Jharkand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
This number is higher than the 410 million poor living in the 26 poorest African nations.
Population and poverty are closely related to each other and leads to malnutrition,
unemployment, homelessness and several others problems.
Social Inequality: One of the engrained sources of poverty around the globe is social
inequality which originates from cultural ideas about the relative worth of different genders,
races, ethnic groups, and social classes. Recognized inequality works by placing individuals
in dissimilar social categories at birth, often based on religious, ethnic, or 'racial'
characteristics. Poverty and social inequality have direct and indirect impacts on the social,
mental and physical health of an individual. It can be said that poverty and inequality are
closely related. Wilkinson (1997) supposed that income inequality leads to psychosoecial
stress, which results in deteriorating health and higher mortality over time. However, the
association between income inequality and life expectancy is gradually disappearing and is
no longer generally accepted. Those who live in deprived societies, where there is under-
investment in the social and physical infrastructure, experience poor health, resulting in
higher mortality for those of lower socio-economic class. The effects of income inequality
also tumble over into society, causing stress, frustration and family disruption, which then
increase the rates of crime, murder and violence (Wilkinson, 1996).
Poverty, inequality and growth interrelate with one another. Inequality can indirectly
influence poverty as inequality affects growth and growth in turn influences poverty.
Interrelationship between Poverty, inequality and growth

Wodon (1999) stated that Changes in income distribution have even huge effects on measures
of the depth and severity of poverty. Initial cross-country studies conducted by Birdsall et al.
(1995) have demonstrated that greater initial income inequality disrupts future growth even
after controlling for initial levels of GDP and human capital. It is established that Poverty and
inequality are inherently linked. Poverty reduction especially for the poorest can be greatly
enhanced through distributional policies. Facts confirm that distribution is vital to reduce
poverty. Distribution objectives, particularly for assets, should be an integral part of the
poverty reduction programme.
Poverty and Space Technology development: Poverty has adverse impact on technical
development in space arena. India is a world innovator in space science. But the reach within
the local Indian community is superseded and immobile. Incorporation of the extensive
advancements of this area with the school going children is not up to the mark. Awareness
must be created in the student community. Space science is restricted to organizations like the
ISRO and so, establishing oneself in this field is very infertile.
Poverty and employment issue: It is a major issue in country like India. In the presence of
inadequate subsidies and low levels of wealth, joblessness will be correlated with high
degrees of poverty. However, employment alone may not assure a non-poor status. In India,
majority of people do not get high salary to buy the minimum consumption products. It is
vital for policy maker to comprehend that whether poverty is a result of a lack of employment
opportunities, or due to low wages. If all employed persons get sufficient wages to live above
the poverty line but not all persons are employed, the mandatory approach is one of
employment generating policies. If people are employed but have low productivity and earn
low incomes, then the policy prescription is one of increasing the productivity of labour. In
India, the actual poverty calculation is done as the consumption of the entire household is
obtained and divided by the household size. This gives the per capita consumption in the
household. If this is below the given poverty line, then the entire household is termed as poor.
Poverty is a household characteristic. Employment characteristics are surveyed for each and
every member of the NSS household. There is no employment status of the household. There
is vast literature on employment issues. Gangopadhyay and Wadhwa (1999) studied the
relationship between employment and poverty in India. They found that the poor cannot
afford to be unemployed. It indicates that most of the poor people are already employed. This
is factual in both the rural and the urban sectors. Conversely, much of the unemployment is in
the non-poor households.
Gender Bias and poverty: Since poverty is a household attribute, and the NSS does not give
the individual consumption of household members, it is difficult to assess the gender bias in
the occurrence of poverty. It has been shown in Indian literature, the head of the household
has always been taken as a mere reference point. If the head is someone with income earning
responsibility, or holds decision-making powers within the household, then the gender of the
head can be used as a factor of gender bias. Gender bias can operate in two different ways.
First, women may be discriminated against in the work. Discriminating employers may
favour males to female candidates. If we see the other aspect, women may not be recruited in
high salary jobs, not because the employer discriminates against them, but because they are
not found appropriate for such jobs. This could happen if the job requires skills, and women
are not competent than males. This gets reflected in lower incomes among females. If women
are less skilled than males, then the responsibility for this kind of perception lies within the
household, where the parents train, or educate, the boy child more than the girl child. While
less schooling means less of human capital. This is another reason why females may earn less
income.
Poverty and health issues: The issue of poverty and health within the nation has remained
predominant since Indian independence. The poverty dominant factor that leads to health
related problems in both urban and rural populace. The rapid increase of the population,
especially the slum inhabitants primarily suffers from Tuberculosis, Malaria and some water
borne diseases. The major cause of these diseases is unhygienic environment. In slums area,
there is lack of water, sanitation facility that leads to the growth of deadly diseases among the
dwellers. The government has provided numerous medical facility centres for the poor
people. The government should implement some new schemes for the slum dwellers. Some
cleanliness awareness programme should be launched to generate wakefulness among poor
for basic health knowledge. Some of the diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera transmit due to
unhygienic atmosphere. In rural India, the major cause of health associated problems are
poverty and lack of education. Most of the villagers still consider in Tantra- Mantra to cure a
disease. As a result, the mortality rates have increased in some of the remote villages. Poverty
also creates poor health because it forces people to live in unhygienic environments that make
them sick. The government has already setup number of Primary Health Centres in almost
every villages in India. But health workers do not sincerely serve the rural patients. In most
places, the health workers remain absent from their duties for several days. Most of the
Indian villages do not have proper communication and transportation with the nearby towns
or cities. This problem is largely affecting the rural people who can not go to nearby towns to
get better treatment. The communication and lack of transport facilities are observed in the
north eastern part of India. There are still some distant villages in Arunachal Pradesh and
Nagaland which do not have any road, connected with nearby towns. Due to these problems,
more causalities occur without getting any modern treatment. There are many disadvantages
for which the government policies are still ineffective, especially related with health issues.
To summarize, Poverty has been major issue to people because it causes the serious setback
and hinder national development. It is prevalent at global scale and threatens some economic
especially those in the Least Developing countries. Hence, the scale of poverty though
varying in different parts of the world is known to be noticeable in the LDCs. Poverty is
multidimensional Deficiency in income, illiteracy, malnutrition, mortality, morbidity, access
to water and sanitation, susceptibility to economic shocks. Income deprivation is linked in
many cases to other forms of deprivation, but do not always move together with others.
Theoretical studies and economic survey have shown that poverty has adverse impact on
health of people. Inequality, population explosion, are some major issues which leads to
poverty. Raanan Weitz (1986) stated that "While humanity shares one planet, it is a planet on
which there are two worlds, the rich and the world of the poor". These poor world countries
are called the Third World. They are characterized by low monetary growth, low per capita
income, low standards of living, and low level of technology, high illiteracy rate, and political
instability. Allan Cochrane avowed that: A crucial aspect of poverty is the way in which it
reduces ability of people to participate in the normal lives of their communities with stress
being placed on the deprivation which results from the lack rather than low income itself".
Poverty can influence policy interfere in any society and it is central to strategy debates
concerning development on safety issue.
Political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc. -
their forms and effect on the society
Political Philosophy is a broad foreword to the major intellectuals and themes in political
philosophy. It discovers the philosophical beliefs which have formed and continue to inform
political judgements of people. Dudley Knowles introduces the ideas of major political
thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Marx and Mill and dominant modern philosophers such as
Berlin, Rawls and Nozick. Basically, Political philosophy is concerned with the concepts and
arguments involved in political opinion.
Communism
Communism is considered as vital framework in political philosophy. It is a socio-economic
scaffold that assists in supporting the establishment of a classless, stateless society based on
common ownership of the means of production. It boosts the formation of a democratic state
in order to overcome the class structures and alienation of labour that characterize capitalistic
societies and their inheritance of imperialism and nationalism. According to the principle of
communism, main process of resolving problems of classless and other favouritism in society
for the working class is to replace the prosperous ruling class, through radical action, in order
to establish a diplomatic, free society, without classes or government. Communism, basically,
is the idea of a free society with no division or estrangement, where humankind is free from
oppression and insufficiency, and where there is no need for governments or countries and no
class divisions. It imagines a world in which each person gives according to their abilities,
and receives according to their needs. It is usually deliberated as a division of extensive
Socialist movement. The main forms of Communism, such as Leninism, Trotskyism and
Luxemburgism, are based on Marxism, but non-Marxist versions of Communism (such as
Christian Communism and Anarchist Communism).
In the era of late 19th Century, major philosophical terms like socialism and communism
were often used simultaneously. Communism was considered as an economic-political
philosophy which was evolved by famous philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
during this period. Marx and Engels wrote and published "The Communist Manifesto" in
1848. They had a wish to stop thinking a capitalism feeling that it was the social class system
which led to the mistreatment of labours. The workers that were treated badly had developed
class awareness and it resulted in a fundamental process of class conflict. In this conflict, the
public may rise up against the bourgeoisie and establish a communist society. Marx and
Engels supposed of the proletariat as the individuals with labour power, and the bourgeoisie
as those who own the means of production in a capitalist society. The state would pass
through a phase, often thought of as socialism, and ultimately developed a pure communist
society. In a communist society, all private ownership would be obliterated, and the ways of
production would belong to the whole community. In the communist movement, a popular
motto was that everyone contributes according to their competence and received according to
their requirements. Therefore, the needs of a society would be put above and beyond the
specific needs of an individual. Though, there are numerous arguments for Marxist theory
such as communism would not emerge from Capitalism in a fully developed state, but would
pass through a first phase (Socialism) in which most productive property was owned in
common, but there were some class differences. This would finally develop into a "higher
phase" that was termed as Communism in which class differences were abolished, and a state
was no longer needed and would wither away. It was argued by many philosophers that
radical activity by the working classes was required to bring about these changes.
History of Communism: It was documented in historical records that initially, Communist
philosophy was the history of Socialism. In its modern version, Communism evolved of the
Socialist movements of 19th Century Europe and the critics of Capitalism during the
Industrial Rebellion. Main critics were the German philosopher Karl Marx and his associate
Friedrich Engels (1820 - 1895), and their pioneering "Communist Manifesto" of 1848, the
defining document of the movement, presented a novel explanation of Communism and
promoted the phrase communism. The practice of the terms "communism" and "socialism"
changed after the Russian Revolution of 1917, when the admittedly Marxist Bolshevik Party
in Russia changed their name to the Communist Party and formed a single party regime that
was dedicated to the implementation of socialist policies under Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 -
1924). Lenin created the Third International (or Communist International or Comintern) in
1919 and set the twenty-one conditions (including democratic centralism) for any European
socialist parties willing to join. With awareness of the Russian Civil War, the Union of Soviet
Socialist was established in 1922.
Other communism movement related to Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) which was
lasted until 1928, when Joseph Stalin (1878 - 1953) party leader under the banner of
"socialism in one country" and proceeded down the way of isolationism and Totalitarianism
with the first of many Five Year Plans. Remarkably Leon Trotsky (1879 - 1940) Marxist
critics of the Soviet Union, referred to the Soviet system as a "degenerated" or "deformed"
workers' state, argued that it fell far short of Marx's communist model, and claimed that the
working class was politically expelled. Post World War II, the Warsaw Pact saw Albania,
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Romania joined the Soviet
Union in an economic and military coalition under firm Soviet Control. However, relations
were very tough, and the Soviet Union was forced into military interventions to supress
popular rebellions in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968), and Albania withdrew
from the Pact in 1968 due to philosophical dissimilarities.
In the decade of 1070s, although never officially unified as a single political entity, almost
one-third of the world's populace lived in Communist states, including the People's Republic
of China, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe, as well Cuba,
North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Angola, and Mozambique. However, the Warsaw
Pact countries had all abandoned Communist rule by 1990, and in 1991 the Soviet Union
itself dissolved, leaving China, Cuba and some isolated states in Asia and Africa as the
remaining bastions of Communism. In most cases significantly dampened down and changed
from its original philosophy.
Types of Communism: Marxism is the main theoretical-practical structure on which dogmas
of Socialism and Communism are based.Marxism: Marxism is a perspective that involves a
number of differing "sub-perspectives" that is, whilst there tends to be a general agreement
about the need to construct a critique of Capitalist society, there are major differences
between theorists working within this viewpoint. Main Marxist ideas can be explained in the
following terms:
 1. Marxism stresses the notion that social life is based upon "conflicts of interest". Most
significant and basic conflict is that between the Bourgeoisie, those who own and
control the means of production in society and the Proletariat, those who simply sell
their labour power in the market place of Capitalism.
2. Dissimilar of the Functionalist version of Structuralist sociology, the idea of social
class is more than an evocative category, social class is used to clarify how and why
societies change. Class conflict signifies a process whereby change comes about
through the opposition of social classes as they follow what they see to be their
(different and opposed) collective interests in society.
3. Marxism is a political philosophy whose main concern is to expose the political and
economic contradictions in-built in Capitalism such as the fact that while people co-
operate to produce goods, a Capitalist class appropriates these goods for its private
profit and to point the way towards the establishment of a future Communist society.
Marxism-Leninism is the Communist philosophical field that emerged as the conventional
tendency amongst Communist parties in the 1920's as it was accepted as the conceptual
foundation of the Communist International during the era of Joseph Stalin (1878 - 1953),
with whom it is mainly associated. The term "Marxism-Leninism" is mostly used by those
who consider that Lenin's legacy was effectively carried forward by Stalin, although it is
arguable to what extent it actually follows the principles of either Marx or Lenin.
Philosophy of Leninism was built upon and extended the ideas of Marxism, and served as the
theoretical foundation for the ideology of Soviet Communism after the Russian Revolution of
1917 and the establishment of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 - 1924) argued
in his leaflet "What is to be Done?" of 1902 that the proletariat can only realise a successful
radical consciousness through the efforts of a "vanguard party" composed of full-time
professional revolutionaries and through a form of controlled organization generally called
"democratic centralism" (whereby decisions are made with internal democracy but then all
party members must externally support and actively promote that decision). It maintains that
Capitalism can only be conquered by innovatory ways and any attempts to improve
Capitalism from within are destined to fail. The objective of a Leninist party is to coordinate
the overthrow of the existing government by force and grab power on behalf of the
proletariat, and then implement a autocracy of the proletariat, a kind of direct equality in
which workers hold political power through local councils known as soviets.
Stalinism is a more judgemental phrase for Joseph Stalin's vision of Communism. Supporters
of this ideology argue that it includes widespread use of publicity to establish a personality
cult around an absolute ruler, as well as extensive use of a secret police to maintain social
proposal and silence political opposition, all of which are trappings of Totalitarianism.
Trotskyism is the philosophical model of Marxism that was supported by Leon Trotsky (1879
- 1940), who considered himself a conformist Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, and squabbled
for the establishment of a frontline party. His politics differed sharply from the Marxism-
Leninism of Joseph Stalin, with respect to declare the need for an international proletarian
revolution and firm support for a true dictatorship of the proletariat based on direct
autonomous ideologies. Most dominant characteristics of Trotskyism is the theory of
permanent uprising to explain how socialist revolutions could happen in societies that had not
yet attained advanced Capitalism. Marx explained it as a prerequisite for socialist revolution.
Luxemburgism is a particular innovative theoretical model under the category of
Communism, which is based on the texts of Rosa Luxemburg (1870 - 1919). Her politics
deviated from those of Lenin and Trotsky mainly in her discrepancy with their concept of
"democratic centralism", which she visualized as unsatisfactorily democratic. Luxemburgism
looks like Anarchism in its averting of an authoritarian society by relying on the people
themselves as opposed to their leaders. However, it also sees the significance of a
revolutionary party and the centrality of the working class in the radical struggle. It resembles
Trotskyism in its resistance to the Totalitarianism of Stalin and to the crusader politics of
modern social classlessness, but differs in arguing that Lenin and Trotsky also made
inequitable mistakes.
Thoughts of Maoism are different of Communism derived from the teachings of the Chinese
leader Mao Zedong (or Mao Tse-tung) (1893 - 1976), and practised in the People's Republic
of China after the Chinese Revolution of 1949. Maoism evolved from the Marxism-Leninism
of Stalin, but introduced new ideas such as Social-Imperialism (Mao accused the Soviet
Union of dominating and exploiting the smaller countries in its scope to the point of
organising their economies around Soviet, not domestic, needs), the Mass Line (a method of
leadership that seeks to learn from the masses and immerse the political headship in the
concerns and conditions of the masses - "from the masses, to the masses"), people's war and
new democracy.
Left Communism is a range of Communist perspectives held by the Communist Left, which
asserts to be more truly Marxist and proletarian than the views of Leninism and its
successors. Left Communists advocated the Russian Revolution, but did not agree to the
methods of the Bolsheviks. The Russian, Dutch-German and the Italian traditions of Left
Communism all share an opposition to nationalism, all kinds of national liberation
movements, frontism parliamentary systems.
Council Communism is a far-reaching left movement that emanated in Germany and the
Netherlands in the decade of 1920s, and continues today as a theoretic and activist position
within both left-wing Marxism and Libertarian Socialism. It visualized workers' councils,
arising in factories and municipalities, as the natural form of working class organization and
governmental power. This philosophical viewpoint opposes the notion of a "revolutionary
party" on the basis that a revolution led by a party unavoidably produces a party despotism.
Anarchist Communism promotes the complete elimination of the state and Capitalism in
favour of a horizontal network of voluntary associations, workers' councils and/or commons
through which everyone is free to satisfy their needs. The movement was led by the Russians
Mikhail Bakunin (1814 - 1876) and Peter Kropotkin (1842 - 1921).
Euro communism was flourished in the decades of1970's and 1980's within various Western
European Communist parties to develop a philosophy and practice of social change that was
more applicable in a Western European egalitarianism and less allied to the party line of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Religious Communism is a type of Communism that focus centred on religious attitudes,
such as Christian, Taoist, Jain, Hindu or Buddhist. It usually denotes to a number of classless
and utopian religious societies practicing the voluntary dissolution of private property, so that
society's benefits are distributed according to a person's needs, and every person performs
labour according to their abilities.
Benefit of communism: Communism philosophy upkeeps extensive universal social welfare,
such as enhancements in public health and education. Its theoretical dogmas are beneficial to
build equality and strong social communities. Communist ideology promotes universal
education with a focus on developing the proletariat with knowledge, class realisation, and
historical understanding. Communism also supports the liberation of women and to end their
exploitation. Communist philosophy emphasizes the development of a "New Man"a class-
conscious, knowledgeable, daring, democratic person dedicated to work and social
consistency in contrast to the antithetic "bourgeois individualist" related with cultural
backwardness and social atomisation.
Criticisms of Communism: There are numerous criticisms of Communism.
Many philosophers have argued that Communism offers an idea of unattainable perfect
future, and keeps its subjects in thrall to it by devaluing the past and the present. It asserts to
represent a universal truth which explains everything and can cure every ill and any apparent
deviations or under-performance are explained away by casuistry and emotional appeals.
Philosophy of communism is incomplete. Marx and Engels never devoted much work to
show how exactly a Communist economy would function in practice, leaving Socialism a
"negative ideology". The supposition that human nature is totally determined by the
environment; Some Communists, such as Trotsky, believed that all the social, political and
intellectual life processes in general are conditioned by the socio-economic base and the
mode of production of material life, which rather devalues humanity and the importance of
the lives and rights of human beings.
Many Anarchists and Libertarian Socialists throwaway the need for a transitory state phase
and often disapprove Marxism and Communism for being too authoritarian. Some Anarcho-
Primitivists reject left wing politics in general, seeing it as unethical and claiming that
civilization is unreformable.
Some opponents have argued that Marx's concept of freedom is really just a defence of
dictatorship and oppression, and not an expansion of liberties as he claimed.
Some critics have construed many of Marx's pronouncements on Jews as being anti-Semitic,
claiming that he saw Jews as the embodiment of Capitalism and the creators of all its evils.
Others, however, hotly dispute this interpretation.
Many Socialist reformists take issue with the Marxist requirement for a fierce proletarian
revolution and argued that Capitalism can be reformed by steady democratic changes. Some
theorists criticized communism philosophy on the ground that the concept of Historical
Materialism which underlies much of Marxist theory is faulty, or that such a method can be
twisted into trying to force the course of history in a particular direction, or that in practice it
leads to Nihilism. In short, Historical Materialism is the notion that for human beings to
survive, they need to produce and reproduce the material requirements of life, and this
production is carried out through a division of labour based on very definite production
relations between people. These relations form the financial base of society, and are
themselves determined by the mode of production which is in force such as tribal society,
ancient society, feudalism, capitalism, socialism and societies, and their cultural and
institutional superstructures, naturally move from stage to stage as the foremost class is
displaced by a new developing class in a social and political turmoil.
Other critics disapproved the ideology of Marxist class and argued that class is not the most
important inequality in history, and that thorough analysis of many historical periods fails to
find support for class or social development as used by Marxists. Some critics have argued
that the growing spread of liberal democracy around the world, and the apparent lack of
major revolutionary movements developing in them, suggest that Capitalism or social
democracy is likely to be the effective form of human government instead of Marxism, which
claims to be an "end of history" philosophy. According to Pope Pius XI, "Communism is
intrinsically evil, and no one who would save Christian civilization may collaborate with it in
any undertaking whatsoever" (Encyclical letter Divini Redemptoris, 58).
Effect of communism on society: The main objective of Communism is to develop society
without rulers, a society where the people oversee themselves. But until this is accomplished,
a superior government has absolute power. The people do not have any private belongings
and all assets belong to the government.
Therefore it has some disastrous effect on society. It can be illustrated from one of
communism's effects was in 1933. Cruel ruler, Hitler was a communist dictator. Under his
instructions, the holocaust began. Reports indicated that approximately, six million Jewish
people died. Communists consider their goal, their party, and the state more vital than the
rights and autonomy of individual. In communist nations, there are usually huge gaps
between official claims of freedom and conditions in which they actually exist.
To summarize, Communism is an economic system where the government owns most of the
factors of production and decides the allocation of resources and what products and services
will be provided. The most significant theorists who evolved the ideologies of communism
were Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. They wanted to end the exploitation of the masses by
the few. The capitalist system at that time required workers to work under harsh and
dangerous conditions for little pay. According to economic scholars, communism is concept,
in that ownership of land, capital and industry cannot be owned or controlled by the
individual. However, under Communism the control of these things is not by a local
community but by the State Government. Under this system, the government has total control
of everything produced and control what is made, and who will receive the goods and
services produced. The end goal of communism was to eradicate class distinctions among
people, where everyone shared equally in the proceeds of society, when government would
no longer be needed. In basic form, Communism is an ideology and a political and economic
system to manage economies and countries. The core dogmas of communism are that all
capital or means of production are owned and operated by the society or the government
rather than by individuals as their private property. It is documented in theories that
Communism is one of the most far-reaching political concepts but became popular
throughout the world. It provided answer to the problems of capitalist and to establish a
classless stateless society on a rational basis, where there is no exploitation and all live in
peace, comfort and harmony getting full opportunity to develop their personality.
Capitalism
Capitalism is a type of social system that follows the belief of individual rights. From
political perspective, capitalism is the system of laissez-faire (freedom). Lawfully, it is a
system of objective laws that is rule of law in contrast to rule of man. In financial terms,
when such freedom is applied to the domain of production its result is the free-market.
Earlier, this notion was not clearly explained. Several economists and theorists assumed that
capitalism has existed for most of human history. In the Oxford English Dictionary, the
phrase Capitalism was first used by novelist William Makepeace Thackeray, in 1854 in his
novel 'The Newcomes', where he described capitalism as "having ownership of capital and
not as a system of production". During 19th century, capitalism was described by numerous
theorists as "an economic system characterized by private or corporation ownership of capital
goods, by investments that are determined by private decision rather than by state control,
and by prices, production and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly in free
market" Capitalism is commonly elucidated as an economic system where private actors are
permitted to own and control the use of property according to their own interests, and where
the invisible hand of the pricing mechanism coordinates supply and demand in markets in a
way that is automatically in the best interests of civilisation. In this system, Government is
responsible for peace, justice, and tolerable taxes.
Basically, Capitalism is a private ownership based on the ways of production and distribution
of goods categorised by a free competitive market and incentive by profit. It can be said that
it is an economics system based on survival of the fittest.
Historical review of Capitalism: In theoretical review, it has been described by numerous
theorists that there are three periods of Capitalism such as early, middle and late periods,
while others academicians consider capitalism to be a social characteristic that cannot be
confined by historical period, but rather by the recognition of unending elements of the
human condition. Earlier, capitalism was originated in the fourteenth century emergency, a
conflict that developed between the land-owning aristocracy (the lords) and the agricultural
producers (the serfs). Feudalism subdued the development of capitalism in numerous ways.
The serfs were forced to produce sufficient food for the lords as a result of this the lords had
no interest in the advancement of technology, but rather expanded their power and wealth
through military means. There was no competitive pressure for them to revolutionize because
they were not producing to sell on the market. The changeover from feudalism to capitalism
was mainly driven by the mechanic of war and not by the politics of prosperity and
production methods. Conversely, in current period, modern capitalism ascended in the early
middle ages, between the 16th and 18th century, when mercantilism was established.
Mercantilism is described as a distribution of goods that are bought at a certain price and sold
at a higher price in order to generate profits. It provided the basic principles of capitalism in
that it was the "large-scale realization of a profit by acquiring goods for lower prices than to
the sell them". During the period of 18th century, mercantilism weakened when a group of
economic theorists led by Adam Smith challenged mercantilist principles. They supposed that
a state could only escalate its wealth at the expense of another state's wealth while the amount
of the world's wealth remained constant. After the decline in mercantilism, Industrial
capitalism emerged in the mid-18th century due to the huge accretion of capital under the
period of merchant capitalism and its investment in machinery. Industrial capitalism marked
development of manufacturing factory system and led to the global supremacy of capitalist
mode of production. In the 19th century, capitalism allowed great increase in efficiency. It
generated great social changes, which remained in place during the twentieth century where it
was established as the world's most predominant financial model after the failure of the
USSR. In the twenty-first century, capitalism had become an extensively universal economic
system at global scale.
It is commonly visualized that capitalism broadly corresponds to that developed by the
classical economists and by Marx. In this view, capitalism is an economic system in which
control of production and the allocation of real and financial resources are based on private
ownership of the means of production. It is a theory expounded through observation of the
economic system prevailing in Great Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries. Capitalism is an indirect system of governance based on a multifarious and
continually evolving political bargain in which private actors are endowed by a political
authority to own and control the use of property for private gain under definite laws and
regulations. Workforces are free to work for incomes, capital is free to earn a return, and both
labour and capital are allowed to enter and exit from various business. Capitalism depends
upon the pricing mechanism to balance supply and demand in market. It relies on the profit
motivation to assign opportunities and resources among contending suppliers and it relies
upon a political authority to establish the rules and regulations so that they include all
applicable societal costs and benefits. Government and its representatives are responsible to
deliver physical security for persons and property as well as the laws and regulations.
Capitalist development is built from investment in advanced technologies that enable to
enhance productivity, where various initiatives are selected through a Darwinian process that
favours productive uses of those resources, and from the periodic modernization of the legal
and regulatory framework as specified by altering market conditions and societal urgencies.
To develop capitalism, government must have to perform many roles such as administrative
role, in which providing and maintaining the institutions that support capitalism. Capitalism
contrasts with previous economic systems characterized by forced labour, self-sufficiency,
barter, and/or reciprocal relationships based upon family, tribe, or locally known
relationships. It is also dissimilar with modern systems where governments have acted
directly through ownership and/or central planning to control of the use of resources.
Government's approach of intervention in a capitalist system is mainly indirectly. It creates,
legitimates, administers and intermittently updates the various market frameworks that
elucidate the conditions in which the economic actors may obtain and employ capital and
labour to produce, distribute, and sell goods and services. Consequently, economic players
receive the right to use their power in competition with others, subject to predominant laws
and regulations.
The market structures can have quite dissimilar policy priorities, from protecting the status
quo to the advancement of growth and development, from protecting consumers to protecting
producers, and from protecting labour to protecting capital. Governments identify the
responsibilities of the various participants in these transactions such as for the safety and
serviceability of the products, as well as the conditions under which they are produced and
distributed. Therefore, this indirect system of governance certainly exemplifies a strategy,
though this strategy is often largely implicit rather than overt and created progressively over
time instead of huge plan. While positive capitalism depends upon the granting of power to
private companies to enter, compete in, and exit from markets, it also depends upon the
state's power to confine the private actors so that they do not abuse these powers. To be
authentic as well as productive, private economic actors must be bound by the rule of law,
and this rule of law must be backed by the coercive powers of the state. The powers of the
state are engaged to confine the private players from breaking the rules and, if need be, to
settle clashes. Efficacious capitalism is reliant upon a state control of forced powers.
Capitalist systems typically rely on the state to make direct provision of certain public goods,
such as highways, schools and law enforcement, as well as to refrain from the temptation to
own, operate, or directly control the economic actors. If the state does become a direct
economic player, it becomes a player as well as a referee. This puts state agents in roles that
conflict for example, as a regulator and as player that need not be subject to the discipline of
the markets.
Capitalism as a three level system: Capitalism has three level systems. On the first level,
the markets, firms compete to secure their labour and capital as well as to serve their
customers. In second level, there is basic institutional foundations, including physical and
social infrastructure; physical infrastructure includes, among other things, transportation and
communications, and social infrastructure includes the educational, public health, and legal
systems. Additionally, the second level consists of the agents of the state who enforce the
rules and regulations, including specialized regulators who oversee behaviour in certain
industries, such as those that deal with food and drugs or transportation, and those who
protect societal resources such as the physical environment or safety in the workplace. The
third level comprises of a political authority typically one with specialized functions such as
executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In turn, a set of political institutions connect the
political authority to the political markets and ultimately to civil society, to which such an
authority is finally responsible.
level of capitalism

Capitalism is planned to uphold the industrious use of public resources in order fulfil
consumer needs in the short period and to enhance living style of people through time. As a
result, its supervisory frameworks give priority to promoting productivity instead of
equalizing competitive resources on a given day or during a given season. Same time, it is
established that capitalism is controlled after the fact, and not in real time the way organized
sports are. The regulators do not stop the play to assess a foul, nor halt the competition to
scrutinise a controversial event via "instant replay." The economy moves on and disputes are
settled after the fact, in court if need be.
Figure: Capitalistic system: Level1 and 2 (Source: Bruce R. Scott)
Types of capitalism: There are many alternatives of capitalism that differ according to
country and region. They vary in their institutional character and by their economic policies.
The common features among all the dissimilar forms of capitalism is that they are based on
the production of merchandises and services for profit, predominately market-based
allocation of resources, and they are structured upon the accretion of capital. The major types
of capitalism are mentioned below.
Mercantilism: Mercantilism is a nationalist system of initial capitalism that was practiced in
the later phase of 16th century. It is characterized by the interweaving of national business
interests to state-interest and imperialism, and subsequently, the state apparatus is utilized to
improve national business interests abroad. Mercantilism was determined by the conviction
that the prosperity of a nation is increased through a positive balance of trade with other
nations. It relates to the phase of capitalist development and sometimes called the Primitive
accumulation of capital. Mercantilist arguments for protectionist policies and their central
concept of profit upon alienation, obtained in circulation, often tied to unstable transitory and
immature character of capitalist economy of their age (Makoto Ito, 1988). Mercantilist
capitalism involves more cooperation and coordination between government and economic
entities including large cooperation and sometimes whole sectors of economy (Mattern,
2006).
Free-market economy: Free-market economy is described as a capitalist economic system
where prices for goods and services are set freely by the forces of supply and demand and are
allowed to reach their point of equilibrium without interference by government plan. It
characteristically involves in support for highly competitive markets, private ownership of
productive enterprises. Laissez-faire is a more extensive form of free-market economy where
the role of the state is limited to protecting property rights.
Social market and Nordic model: A social-market economy is a supposedly free-market
system where government involvement in price formation is kept to a minimum but the state
provides substantial services in the area of social security, unemployment benefits and
recognition of labour rights through national collective bargaining arrangements. The social
market economy forms an essential part of free and open society, which is also characterised
by solidarity. It has proven itself as an economic system that allows for prosperity and full
employment whilst also providing welfare and promoting a strong social system. This model
is conspicuous in Western and Northern European countries, and Japan, although in slightly
different configurations. The huge majority of enterprises are privately owned in this
economic model.
Rhine capitalism: It is described as the modern model of capitalism and adaptation of the
social market model that exists in continental Western Europe today. State capitalism: State
capitalism includes state ownership of the means of production within a state, and the
organization of state enterprises as commercial, profit-seeking businesses. The argument
between proponents of private versus state capitalism is focused on issues of managerial
efficacy, productive efficiency, and fair distribution of wealth.
Aldo Musacchio, leading expert stated that state capitalism is a system in which
governments, whether democratic or autocratic, exercise an extensive influence on the
economy, through either direct ownership or various subsidies. Musacchio also said that there
is a significant difference between today's state capitalism and its predecessors. In his views,
earlier, governments appointed bureaucrats to run companies but in present situation, the
world's largest state-owned enterprises are now traded on the public markets and kept in good
health by large institutional investors.
Corporate capitalism: Corporate capitalism refers to a free or mixed-market economy
categorised by the supremacy of hierarchical, bureaucratic corporations.
Mixed economy: Mixed economy is a mainly market-based economy consisting of both
private and public ownership of the means of production and economic interventionism
through macroeconomic policies intended to correct market failures, reduce unemployment
and keep inflation low. The degree of involvement in markets differs among different
countries. Some mixed economies, such as France under dirigisme, also featured a degree of
indirect economic planning over a largely capitalist-based economy. Contemporary capitalist
economies are described as "mixed economies".
Characteristics of Capitalism: Capitalism, generally referred to a free enterprise economy,
is considered as an economic system distinguished by some traits, whose development is
condition by still other elements. The main characteristics of capitalism are mentioned below.
1. Private Ownership: Private individuals are the owners of the means of production,
which is, land, labour, capital, entrepreneurship (as opposed to state ownership and
communist ownership). These owners decide what to produce, in what quantities, how
it is going to be produced, and the rewards of labour. It is demand and supply that
determines the price of the finished good (s).
2. Decentralized Decision Making: In a capitalist economy, the process of decision
making takes the structure of devious decentralization. Individuals, make the decision
with their self-interest. However, the government controls these decisions by
manipulating its respective environment that is, affecting prices, taxes, subsides.
3. Freedom of Choice: Capitalism also referred to as a market economy, which
highlights on the freedom of the individual, both as a consumer and as an owner of
the factors of production. Principally, an individual can work wherever he or she
wants, while entrepreneurs are also free to set up enterprises of their own choice.
Within a market economy, decisions or choices are mainly determined by material
encouragements.
It is found in vast literature that Capitalism is an economic system in which each individual in
his capacity as a consumer, producer and resource owner is engaged in economic activity
with a great degree of economic freedom. The factors of production are privately owned and
managed by individuals. The main purpose of the capitalist system is the profit motive. The
entrepreneurs initiate production with a view to maximize profits. Income is received in
financial form through the sale of services of the factors of production and from profits of
private enterprise. Capitalist economy is not planned, controlled or regulated by the
government. In this system, economic decisions and activities are guided by price mechanism
which operates automatically without any direction and control by the central authorities. In
capitalist economy, competition is the most important element. It means the existence of
large number of buyers and sellers in the market who are motivated by their self-interest but
cannot influence market decisions by their individual actions.
Benefits of Capitalism: Capitalist economic system has many benefits.
This is an economic growth through open competitive market that provides individuals with
far better opportunities of raising their own income. Capitalism results in a decentralized
economic system which is major advantages of capitalism where individuals are exposed to
various options which can lead to competition hence leading to firms producing only the best,
and a capitalist economy is believed to encourage innovations in technology and industry.
The advantages of capitalism entail;
Consumer choice where Individuals choose what to consume, and this choice leads to more
competition and better products and services. Efficiency of economics in which Goods and
services produced based on demand creates incentives to cut costs and avoid waste.
Economic growth and expansion. Capitalistic economy increases the gross national product
and leads to improved living standards.
General Drawbacks of Capitalism: Besides numerous advantages, capitalistic economy has
several disadvantages.
1. Inequality: There tends to be a rise in disparity as benefits of capitalism are not fairly
distributed. As wealth tends to redound to a small percentage of the population, the
demand for luxury goods is often limited to a small percentage of the workforce, one
of the main capitalism disadvantages.
2. Irrational Behaviour: People tend to get caught up in hypothetical suds but disregard
economic fundamentals, leading to illogical behaviour.
3. Monopoly Behaviour: Other major drawback of capitalism is that companies gain
monopoly over power in a free market allows and exploit customers by charging
higher prices. They often pay lower salaries to labours.
4. Immobility: Main issue of capitalism is that a free market is supposed to be able to
easily move factors of from an unprofitable sector to a new profitable industry.
However, this is much more difficult practically.
Other drawbacks are that there is extravagant competition which does not confer any
corresponding social benefit.
Effect of capitalism on society: Capitalism has some good consequences on habitants. High
Standard of Living: Capitalism is the artefact of industrialization. Industrialization has
amplified production.
Economic Progress: Capitalism encourages society to utilize the natural resources more and
more. The people exert themselves maximum for earning money. This had led to many
inventions in the field of industry, agriculture and business which have contributed to
economic growth.
Exchange of Culture: Capitalism intends to encourage all people to partake in activities that
appear beneficial to them. Capitalism facilitates international trade and exchange of know-
how. People of different countries have come close to each other. The development of the
means of transport and communication has facilitated contacts among the peoples of the
world thus leading to exchange of ideas and culture.
Progress of Civilization: Capitalism is tool to explore new machines and increasing the
production of material goods. Man is today more civilized than his ancestors.
Decreasing of Racial Differences: Capitalism has also led to diminish the differences based
on race, doctrine, caste and nationality. Major effect of capitalism includes, profit for owners
of production/business, industrial vs agricultural economies, market competition, increased
supply of "things"/goods and focus on personal responsibility.
To summarize, the capitalist system is reflection of the aspirations of human nature. Actually,
capitalism can be described as a system that identifies and protects private property, free
enterprise, freedom of choice for the human person, the authority of consumers over the
objectives of production through free markets of the products chosen or ordered by the
consumers, guide the programs of production. Capitalism makes economy money oriented.
Businesses look at the economy with a materialistic point of view. Huge business companies
take over smaller companies. Employment rights are compensated with the aim of higher
productivity and some believe that because of fierce competition in capitalist economies it
can give rise to unfair competition.
There are different views about capitalism. Some experts believe in its strengths, while others
criticise about the unfair distribution of wealth it may lead to. The opposition of capitalism is
Marxian Economics, named after Karl Marx. He believes that capitalism brings about class
segregation i.e. there are two classes the capitalist class and the working class. Under
capitalism, economic personal property, such as commodities or the means of production may
be withheld from others by its owners. This is done so as to yield higher profit margins.
Reviewing major facts about capitalism, it is found that in Capitalism economy, individuals
own and control land, capital, and production of industry. Individuals are free to purchase and
own their own homes, cars, furniture, and other goods People have liberty to live where they
want and what type of job field they want to pursue.
Socialism: Socialism is political philosophy considered by public ownership and centralized
planning of all major industries which include manufacturing, services, and energy, banks
and insurance companies, agribusiness, transportation, the media, and medical facilities. In
capitalism, these huge enterprises control the economy but are privately owned and operated
to create wealth for their owners by extracting it from working people who are paid only a
small fraction of what their labour produces. Socialism turns this around so that the class that
produces the wealth can jointly decide how it will be used for the benefit of all. Real
socialism is characterized as democratic. It is economic as well as political democracy. Many
capitalist countries claim of their democratic institutions, but this is a deception because all
the political power is in control of officers who hold the wealth. Socialism prioritizes human
needs and eliminates the profit motive that drives war, ecological destruction, and inequalities
based on gender, race, nationality and sexuality. Simply, socialism is social ownership of
means of production, impartiality of income and opportunities for all members. Under social
and political system, Socialism depends altogether upon the history of mankind for a record
of its growth in the past, and bases its future upon knowledge of that history in so far as it can
be accurately traced up to the present time. The basis of the whole theory is that since ancient
period of their existence, human beings have been channelled by the power they possessed
over the forces of nature to supply the wants arising as individual members of any society.
Thus, Socialism depends upon political economy in its broadest sense. It is dependent upon
the manner in which wealth is produced and distributed by those who form part of society at
a given time.
Socialism initiated in the late 18th-century from an knowledgeable and working class
political movement that disapproved the effects of industrialization and private ownership on
civilisation
Theoretical framework of socialism: Vast literature is available to describe nature of
socialism as a political philosophy. Theorist D. Dickinson stated that "Socialism is an
economic organisation of society in which the material means of production are owned by the
whole community and operated by organs representative of and responsible to the community
according to a general economic plan, all members of the community being entitled to benefit
from the results of such socialized planned production on the basis of equal rights."
According to Loucks, "Socialism refers to that movement which aims to vest in society as a
whole, rather than in individuals, the ownership and management of all nature-made and
man-made producers goods used in large-scale production, to the end that an increased
national income may be more equally distributed without materially destroying the
individuals economic motivation or his freedom of occupation."
Other experts like Pigou explained the term socialism as "A socialised industry is one in
which the material instruments of production are owned by a public authority or voluntary
association, and operated not with a view to profit by sale to other people, but for the direct
service of those whom the authority or association represents. A socialised system is one the
main part of whose resources are engaged in socialised industries," Paul M. Sweezy asserted
that "In its primary meaning is a complete social system which differs from capitalism not
only in the absence of private ownership of the means of production but also in its basic
structure and mode of functioning." Schaffle also elaborated principles of socialism and
stated that, "The alfa and omega of socialism is the transformation of private competing
capital into a united collective capital." G.D.H. Cole perceived that "Socialism means four
closely connected things of a human fellowship which denies and expels distinction of class,
a social system in which no one is so much richer or poorer than his neighbours as to be
unable to mix with them on equal term, the common ownership and use of all the vital
instruments of production and an obligation on all citizens to serve one another according to
their capacities in promoting the common wellbeing."
Similar to capitalism, socialism must be worldwide so that global resources can be shared. To
attain the objectives of socialism, it is necessary to any country being able to determine its
own intention.
Features of Socialism: The main features of this system are described as under.
1. Public Ownership: First prominent characteristic is socialist economy which is
determined by public ownership of the means of production and distribution. There is
shared ownership whereby all mines, farms, factories, financial institutions,
distributing agencies, means of transport and communications, are owned, controlled,
and regulated by government departments and state corporations. A small private
sector also exists as small business units which are carried on in the villages by local
artistes for local consumption.
2. Central Planning: Second feature of socialism is centrally planned which functions
under the direction of a central planning authority. It develops various objectives and
targets to be realized during the plan period. Central economic planning means the
making of major economic decisions what and how much is to be produced, how,
when and where it is to be produced, and to whom it is to be allocated by the mindful
decision of a determinate authority, on the basis of a comprehensive survey of the
economic system as a whole. The central planning authority organises and operates
the financial resources by deliberate direction and control of the economy in order to
accomplish certain objectives and targets laid down in the plan during a specified
period of time.
3. Definite Objectives: Another characteristic of socialism is that a socialist economy
operates within definite socio-economic objectives. These objectives may concern
aggregate demand, full employment, and satisfaction of communal demand, allocation
of factors of production, distribution of the national income, the amount of capital
accumulation, economic development and so forth.
4. Freedom of Consumption: In socialism system, consumer's dominance infers that
production in state owned industries is generally governed by the likings of
consumers, and the available merchandises are distributed to the customers at fixed
prices through the state-run department stores. Consumer's dominion under socialism
is limited to the choice of socially beneficial commodities.
5. Equality of Income Distribution: In a socialist system, there is great impartiality of
income distribution in comparison a free market economy. The removal of private
ownership in the means of production, private capital accumulation, and profit motive
under socialism avert the accrual of large wealth in the hands of a few wealthy
persons. The unearned incomes in the form of rent, interest and profit go to the state
which utilises them in providing free education, public health facilities, and social
security to the masses.
6. Planning and the Pricing Process: Other feature of socialism is that the pricing process
under socialism does not operate spontaneously but works under the control and
regulation of the central planning authority. There are administered prices which are
fixed by the central planning authority. There are also the market prices at which
consumer goods are sold. There are also the accountings prices on the basis of which
the managers decide about the production of consumer goods and investment goods,
and also about the choice of production methods. Theoretical studies have
documented that socialism aims at establishing a classless society, free from
 exploitation. It presupposes public ownership of means of production (Laybourn,
1988). Majority of socialists recognise their philosophy of socialism as Marxists in
acknowledgement of Karl Marx, who revealed the economic laws of capitalism. Marx
and his co-worker Frederick Engels evolved the foundation of Marxist economics, the
philosophical thought of dialectical materialism, and the method of social analysis
known as historical materialism. Leninism signifies the concepts of a disciplined,
radical party and the principled, intransigent vision of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, key
leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Lenin's contribution on imperialism, the
nature of the state, and the rights of national minorities are vital components of the
socialist practice. Another form of socialism, Socialist feminism was developed in the
decades of late 1960s and early 1970s by originators of the Freedom Socialist Party
and Radical Women. It is a Marxist, Leninist, and Trotskyist tendency. These
philosophers recognised that the most oppressed sector of the current working class is
composed of women, particularly women of colour, whose life experience of
exploitation gives them the strength and determination to carry through a revolution
against all forms of oppression. Socialist feminists identified the activist leadership of
working-class women, people of colour, and queers, and others multiply plagued by
capitalism. Socialist feminists orient to common, rank-and-file women and men
instead of the predominantly white male aristocrats of labour who make up the union
bureaucracy.
Types of Socialism: There are many types of socialism. Democratic Socialism promotes the
principles of Socialism as an economic principle which signifies that the means of production
should be in the hands of ordinary working people and equality as a governing principle. It
attempts to bring about Socialism through nonviolent democratic means as opposed to violent
insurgence, and represents the improver practice of Socialism. Democratic Socialism infers a
philosophy that is more left-wing and supportive of a fully socialist system, established either
by progressively reforming Capitalism from within, or by some form of revolutionary
transformation.
Marxian socialism: In theoretical framework of Marxism, socialism denotes to a particular
historical phase of financial development and its corresponding set of social relations that
ultimately overtake capitalism in the plan of historical materialism. From this perspective,
socialism is described as a mode of production where the principle for production is use-
value, where production for use is coordinated through conscious economic planning and the
law of value no longer directs economic activity. The Marxian idea of socialism was against
other early forms of socialism, most remarkably early forms of market socialism based on
classical economics including Mutualism and Ricardian socialism, which is dissimilar to the
Marxian conception, retained commodity exchange and markets for labour and the means of
production. The Marxian conception also contradicted Utopian socialism.
Another type of socialism is revolutionary Socialism which supports the need for essential
social change through revolution or revolution instead of gradual reform as a strategy to
attain a socialist society. Trotskyism is the continuance of the Marxist and Leninist. When the
Stalinist bureaucracy rose to power in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s, Trotsky rallied an
international Left Opposition against the unfaithfulness of the revolution's goals. Trotskyism
means Permanent Revolution, internationalism, and the strategy of the united front against
fascism. . Luxemburgism is another Revolutionary Socialist custom, based on the works of
Rosa Luxemburg (1970 - 1919). It is analogous to Trotskyism in its opposition to the
Totalitarianism of Stalin, while simultaneously avoiding the reformist politics of modern
Social Egalitarianism.
Utopian Socialism describes the first streams of modern socialist thought in the first quarter
of the 19th Century. Usually, it was used by later socialist thinkers to define early socialist, or
quasi-socialist, intellectuals who created hypothetical visions of perfect egalitarian and
communalist societies without actually concerning themselves with the manner in which
these societies could be created or sustained. They disallowed all political and especially all
revolutionary action, and wished to achieve their ends by nonviolent means and small
experiments, which was observed by famous socialist, Karl Marx as necessarily doomed to
failure.
The objective of Libertarian Socialism is to develop a society without political, economic or
social hierarchies, in which every person would have free, equal access to tools of
information and production. This would be accomplished through the eradication of
authoritarian institutions and private property, so that direct control of the means of
production and resources is gained by the working class and society as a whole. Most
Libertarian Socialists supports abolishing the state altogether, in much the same way as
Utopian Socialists and Anarchism.
Market Socialism is a type of an economic system in which there is a market economy
directed and guided by socialist developers, and where prices would be set through trial and
error rather than relying on a free price tool.
Eco-Socialism is philosophies combine aspects of Marxism, Socialism, Green politics,
ecology and the anti-globalization movement. They promote the non-violent dismantling of
Capitalism and the State, focusing on collective ownership of the means of production, in
order to alleviate the social barring, poverty and environmental deprivation brought about by
the capitalist system, globalization and colonialism.
Christian socialism: It is a form of religious socialism which is based on the traditions of
Jesus of Nazareth. Many Christian socialists consider capitalism to be idolatrous and rooted
in greed, which some Christian denominations consider a worldly evil. Christian socialists
recognise the cause of unfairness to be associated with the greed that they associate with
capitalism.
Guild Socialism: This type of socialism was basically an English movement that fascinated a
modest during the first two decades of the 20th century. An association of craftsmen
motivated by the medieval guild, determined their own working conditions and activities.
Theorists, Samuel G. Hobson and G.D.H. Cole supported the public ownership of industries
and their organization into guilds, each of which would be under the autonomous control of
its trade union. The role of the state was less clear. Some guild socialists envisioned it as a
coordinator of the guilds' activities, while other theorists held that its functions should be
restricted to protection or policing. In general, however, the guild socialists were less inclined
to invest power in the state than were their Fabian compatriots.
Fabian socialism: In this form of socialism, the Society adopted the name Fabian as a
representation of a plan formulated to infiltrate civic and social units and to find means to
spread contemporary social ideas, concentrating on concrete objectives rather than on
principles (Fabianism In The Political Life of Britain, p. 4). The Fabians did not constitute
themselves as a political party as such but developed the technique of "socialistic 'permeation'
of existing political institutions" (Fabian Society," Columbia Encyclopedia, 2nd Ed.).
According to theorists, The Fabians were more realistic as compared to the Marxian
socialists. They understood that it is much easier to overthrow sons, daughters and wives of
the prominent and well-to-do than it is to impress the labouring classes. They also
understood, that socialist movement's spring from the middle and upper classes and not from
the proletariat (Sidney Webb, 1989). A major belief of Fabianism is to collect a Brain Trust
as an elite class to plan and direct all of society. Shaw designated briefly that "The Fabian
Society succeeded because it addressed itself to its own class in order that it might set about
doing the necessary brain work of planning socialist organization for all classes, meanwhile
accepting, instead of trying to supersede, the existing political organizations which it intended
to permeate with the Socialist conception of human society" (Intelligent Woman's Guide to
Socialism and Capitalism, p. 186).
Merits of Socialism: Socialism has many benefits for society. Prof. Schumpeter was
supported of this thought and gave four arguments to promote socialism that include greater
economic efficiency, welfare due to less inequality, absence of monopolistic practices and
absence of business fluctuations.
1. Greater Economic Efficiency: It has been established through theoretical studies that
Economic competence under socialism system is better as compared to capitalism
system. The means of production are controlled and regulated by the central planning
authority towards chosen ends. The central planning authority makes comprehensive
survey of resources and utilises them in the most efficient manner. Increased
productivity is secured by avoiding the wastes of competition and by undertaking
expensive research and production processes in a coordinated manner. Economic
efficiency is also realized by utilising resources in producing socially useful goods
and services which satisfy the basic wants of the people such as cheap food, cloth, and
housing.
2. Greater Welfare due to Less Inequality of Income: In a socialist economy, it is
observed that there is less disparity of income as compared with a capitalist economy
because of the absence of private ownership of the means of production, private
capital accumulation, and private profit. All inhabitants work for the wellbeing of the
state and each is compensated his payment according to his capability, education and
training. All rents, interests and profits from various sources go to the state which
spends them for public welfare in providing free education, cheap and congenial
housing, free public health amenities, and social security to the people.
3. Absence of Monopolistic Practices: Main benefit of socialism is that it is free from
monopolistic practices which are to be found in a capitalist society. Since under
socialism, all means of production are owned by the state, both competition and
monopoly are eradicated. The misuse by the monopolistic is absent. Instead of private
monopoly, there is the state monopoly of the productive system but this is operated
for the welfare of the people. In the state-owned factories, socially useful
commodities are produced which are of high quality and are also reasonably priced.
 4. Absence of Business Fluctuations: A socialist system is free from business variations.
There is economic constancy because production and consumption of goods and
services are controlled by the central planning authority according to the objectives,
targets and priorities of the plan. Thus there is neither overproduction nor joblessness.
Demerits of Socialism: A socialist economy has several drawbacks:
1. Loss of Consumers' Dominance: Researchers have observed that there is loss of
consumer's dominion in a socialist approach. Consumers do not have the liberty to
buy whatever commodities they want. They can consume only those commodities
which are available in department stores. Often the quantities which they can buy are
fixed by the state.
2. No Freedom of Occupation: It is also found that people do not have liberty of
occupation in such a society. Every person is provided job by the state. But he cannot
leave or change it. Even the place of work is allotted by the state. All occupational
movements are sanctioned by the state.
3. Malallocation of Resources: In socialist, there is random allocation of resources. The
central planning authority often commits mistakes in resource allocation because the
entire work is done on trial and error basis.
4. Bureaucratic: A socialist economy is considered as rigid economy. It is operated like a
machine. Therefore, it does not provide the necessary initiative to the people to work
hard. People work due to the fear of higher authorities and not for any personal gain
or self-interest.
In current circumstances, socialism has become the most popular, economic philosophy.
During the decades succeeding the Second World War, the worldwide progression of
socialism has been quite theatrical and unparalleled. Socialism is a standard of expediency
which accommodates politicians of all hues. It incorporates all types of political system,
detectorships, democracies, republics and monarchies. It holds such dissimilar systems as an
Islamic socialism practiced by Libya and Algeria, democratic socialism of Norway or
Sweden, the Baathist Socialism of Syria and Iraq, the 'Ujamaa' socialism of Tanzania. It is
observed that various nations around the world have adopted socialist philosophy in the light
of their peculiar conditions. Sometimes even within a country, different political parties
interpreted the socialist philosophies to fit into their own political viewpoint. Socialist ideas
have considerably influenced the formulation of the means and objectives of Indian economic
policies. This has happened in different ways such as through the impact of external, socialist
ideologies on the economic and political notions held by Blite groups influencing policy-
making in India.
To summarize, Socialism is a thought that individuals should not have ownership of land,
capital, or industry, but rather the whole community jointly owns and controls property,
goods, and production. Preferably, in this system all share correspondingly in work and the
results of their labour. After thorough appraisal of principles of socialism, it is established
that Socialism is a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth
are subject to control by the workforces, either directly through popular collectives or
indirectly exercised on behalf of the people by the state, and in which Classlessness is an
important objective.
 Natural Resources in India & World
Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the
Indian subcontinent)
Natural resources are highly valued because human beings are dependent on them to fulfil
their fundamental needs that changes with time. While natural resources are distributed in all
through the world, specific resources often require particular conditions and so not all natural
resources are spread equally. Consequently, nations trade their natural resources to make
certain that their needs can be fulfilled.
Definition of Natural Resources
In simple term, natural resources are material and constituent formed within environment or
any matter or energy that are resulting from environment, used by living things that humans
use for food, fuel, clothing, and shelter. These comprise of water, soil, minerals, vegetation,
animals, air, and sunlight. People require resources to survive and succeed. Everything which
happens naturally on earth are natural resources that is minerals, land, water, soil, wind that
can be used in many ways by human being. It can be explained by several environmentalist
scholars that a natural resources is any kind of substance in its natural form which is needed
by humans.
Classification Of Natural Resources
The general classifications of natural resources are minerals for example as gold and tin and
energy resources such as coal and oil. The air, forests and oceans can also be categorised as
natural resources. Theoretical studies have documented that Land and water are the natural
resources, which include Biological resources, such as flower, trees, birds, wild animals, fish
etc., Mineral resources, such as metals, oil, coal, building stones and sand, and other
resources, like air, sunshine and climate (UNEP, 1987). Natural Resources are used to make
food fuel and raw materials for the production of finished goods (Adriaanse, 1993). Natural
resources change in value over time, depending on what a society most needs or considers
most valuable.
Resource distribution is defined as the geographic occurrence or spatial arrangement of
resources on earth. In other words, where resources are located. Any one place may be rich in
the resources for people desire and poor in other. The availability of natural resources is
based on two functions that include the physical characteristics of the resources themselves
and human economic and technological conditions. The physical processes that govern the
formation, distribution, and occurrence of natural resources are determined by physical laws
over which people have no direct control. We take what nature gives us. To be considered a
resource, however, a given substance must be understood to be a resource. This is cultural,
not purely a physical circumstance.
Types of natural resources
The various types of natural resources are often categorizes as renewable and non-
renewable resources.
Renewable resources
Renewable can be described by scientists as a resource that can be replenished or reformed
either naturally or by systemic recycling of used resources. Renewable is resource or source
of energy that is replaced naturally or controlled carefully and can therefore be used without
the risk of finishing it all (Oxford dictionary). Another way to define is a resource that is able
to be renewed and be capable of being begun or done again. Renewable resources are usually
living resources such as plants and animals and they also include air and water. These
resources are termed as 'renewable' because they can usually reproduce or restock
themselves. Renewable resources are significant aspect of sustainability. Renewable
resources are valuable because they provide green energy. Renewable natural resources
include those resources beneficial to human economies that demonstrate growth,
maintenance, and recovery from exploitation over an economic planning horizon. The natural
environment, with soil, water, forests, plants and animals are all renewable resource. In the
case of air and water, they are renewable elements because they exist as part of a cycle which
allows them to be reused. Renewable resources can only exist as long as they are not being
used at a greater rate than they can replenish themselves (David Waugh, 2002).
Non-renewable resources
Non-renewable resources cannot be re-produced or re-grown and are, therefore, they are
available in limited supply. Scholars affirmed that Non-renewable resource is a natural
resource that does not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in
meaningful human timeframes. Non-renewable resources are resources for which there is a
limited supply. The supply comes from the Earth itself and, as it typically takes millions of
years to develop, is finite. Non-renewable resources can generally be separated into two main
categories; it includes Fossil fuels, nuclear fuels. Coal is considered a non-renewable resource
because even though it is continually being formed, it is incapable to refill its stock at a rate
which is sustainable (David Waugh, 2002). A non-renewable resource cannot maintain the
demands for current human needs while still preserving the ecosystem for future generations.
Types of natural resources: (Source: David Waugh, 2002)
How are natural resources distributed throughout the world?
Distribution of resources is varied. Since the formation of earth, it has experienced numerous
physical processes which have resulted in great variations between different areas. Since
natural resources often need specific conditions in which to form, they are not distributed
evenly across the world. For instance, Coal is usually found in areas which were originally
swampland during the greatest coal-forming era in history, the Carboniferous Period. It has
been observed that as the distribution of natural resources is varied, it is not unusual for some
nations to have one type of natural resource in plentiful quantity and for other countries to
have many different types but with only a small supply. This indicates that the nations which
are rich in some kind of natural resources do not necessarily use them all themselves. As an
alternative, countries often export the natural resources that they have plenty of and import
those which they require.
It has been observed that generally populace tend to settle and cluster in places that have the
resources they need to survive and prosper. The geographic factors that most influence where
humans settle are water, soil, vegetation, climate, and landscape. Because South America,
Africa, and Australia have fewer of these geographic benefits, there is less population as
compared to North America, Europe, and Asia.
Due to uneven resource distribution, human beings migrate to other regions where plenty of
resources are available. Majority of people often migrate to a place that has the resources they
need or want and migrate away from a place that lacks the resources they need. Lively
examples in historical migrations are The Trail of Tears, Westward Movement, and the Gold
Rush related to the desire for land and mineral resources. Economic activities in a region
relate to the resources in that region. Economic activities that are directly associated with
resources include farming, fishing, ranching, timber processing, oil and gas production,
mining, and tourism. Many business scholars have affirmed that nations may not have the
resources that are important to them, but business movement enables them to acquire those
resources from places that have. For example, Japan has very limited natural resources but it
is one of the wealthiest in Asia. Sony, Nintendo, Canon, Toyota, Honda, Sharp, Sanyo,
Nissan are prosperous Japanese corporations that make products that are highly-desired in
other countries. As a result of trade, Japan has enough wealth to buy the resources it needs.
Distribution of Key Natural Resources in the World
It has been seen that most of the countries in the world are having natural resources. Some
have less amount while other countries are rich in particular natural resource. Economists
stated that natural resources add wealth to nations.
When it is evaluated for resource distribution around the world, Australia has many natural
resources. These resources include mineral resources, such as copper, gold and diamonds,
energy resources, such as coal, oil, and uranium, and land resources that are used for farming
and logging. These resources are financially important to Australia. Many people consider
that the monetary system of Australia is resource dependent, which means that if these
resources were to be depleted, Australia's economy would suffer. Australia has more coal
than is needed and so exports it to countries like Japan which are lacking in it. Australia does
not, however, produce enough oil to meet the demands of consumption and it is forced to
import it. Some countries, especially developing nations, have the availability of natural
resources but they do not use them fully. Sometimes countries do not have a great demand for
the resource or simply lack the technology to develop or extract it. Rich transnational
corporations (TNCs) often pay a fee to do the mining or extraction of the natural resources
and then export them to developed countries.
Mineral resources: Australia is major producer of minerals at global scale. The most
important mineral resources in Australia are bauxite, gold and iron ore. Other mineral
deposits in Australia include copper, lead, zinc, diamonds and mineral sands. A majority of
Australia's minerals are excavated in Western Australia and Queensland. The minerals mined
in Australia are exported, or shipped abroad.
Energy resources: Australia has huge deposits of coal. Coal is generally found in the eastern
part of the country in the Sydney and Bowen basins. Majority of Australian coal is exported
to nations like Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Western Europe. The rest of the coal mines in
Australia are burned for electricity within Australia.
Natural gas is also plentiful in Australia. Natural gas is used to heat homes and power certain
types of vehicles. Natural gas reserves in Australia are mostly found in Western Australia and
central Australia. Since most of these reserves are far away from metropolitan centres, gas
pipelines have been built to transport natural gas to cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.
Some of this natural gas is exported from where it is collected. Natural gas collected in
Western Australia is exported directly to Japan in liquid form.
Australia is also rich in uranium and supply at global level. Uranium is used to produce
nuclear power. Nuclear power and uranium mining are both highly contentious, as people are
concerned for their environmental impact, because uranium can produce toxic energy.
Lastly, Australia has many land resources. Australian soil is used to grow food in the form of
crops and to produce food for raising livestock, such as cattle. Australian forests are used as a
source of wood for building and making paper.
When discussing about natural resources in Africa, It is revealed in reports that Africa is rich
in natural resources including diamonds, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite,
silver, petroleum and cocoa beans, but also woods and tropical fruits. Russia is excessively
capable of natural resources, but industrial development was hindered until the twentieth
century by their Siberian inaccessibility. Russia now produces 20 per cent of the world's
natural gas, and oil is also a valuable commodity. Russia is self-sufficient in all major
industrial raw materials, and contains reserves of less essential, but significant natural
resources, including diamonds and gold.
Industrialized nations have benefit over poor countries because if they do not have the
quantity or type of natural resources which they require, they can afford to import them.
Developed countries need to import natural resources because they depend on them for the
development of their economy. Their use of natural resources is considered as a well-planned
and constructive industry. It has been recommended that developed nations use more of the
natural resources of world as compared to other developing nations. Reports have signified
that while developed countries account for 25 percent of the world's population, they use 75
percent of the world's natural resources.
Geographical Distribution of Oil and Natural Gas Deposits: It was documented in reports that
about 70 % of global conventional oil and natural gas reserves are concentrated inside a so
called Strategic Ellipseî stretching from Middle East to the North of West Siberia. Main
consuming regions in 2004 were North America, Austral-Asia, and Europe, for natural gas
North America, CIS and Europe.
Development of primary energy consumption worldwide and projections of IEA until
2030 (Sources: BP and IEA, 2015)
When appraising the distribution of natural gas, it is found in reports that about 41 % of
global reserves are in the Middle East, about 32 % in the CIS countries and about 8 % in
Africa.
Regarding iron core resource in the world, USA is rich in this resource. Ore is mined in the
red mountains and Birmingham Valley. Northern New Jersey, the states of Utah, Nevada and
California also are rich in iron core. In Canada, there are three main areas where iron core is
mined that include Ontario, Quebec and new found land. In Europe, Germany, France,
Sweden and UK are large producer of Iron ore. Ukraine has the sixth position in the world in
producing iron ore and it produced 4.32 per cent of the world production in 2006. Krivoi Rog
of Ukraine possesses best iron ore having 68.5 per cent metallic percentage. It contributes 75
per cent production of Ukraine. The estimated reserves of the region are more than 200
million tons. Other regions of Ukraine are Zaporozhe, Zdanow, Lipetsk and Kerch Peninsula.
South Africa is also major iron ore producing country of the African continent and ranks 8th
in the world iron ore production. In South Africa Transvaal is the main iron ore-producing
centre. Transvaal is having high-grade ore with 60 to 65 per cent iron content. The total
reserves have been estimated at 10 billion tons in South Africa. The average annual
production of South Africa is 4 million metric tons.
Distribution of key natural resources in South Asia: When appraising the regions of South
Asia, it has been found that these provinces have enormous natural resource and ecological
and biological diversity. Many researchers have recognized that The Southeast Asian states
today are rich in natural resources and are major world producers of rubber, tin, copra, palm
oil, petroleum and timber (Chia 1999). However population growth and economic
development are intimidating the region's rich heritage through the expansion and
intensification of agriculture, the unrestrained growth of industrialization, the destruction of
natural homes and urban extension. Southeast Asia has lavish source of hydrocarbon
resources natural gas and petroleum.
Natural resources (Source: http://www.newsecuritybeat.org)
Traditional government accounting systems do not consider the significance of these natural
resources. The South Asia's nation governments have recognised several areas for growth that
include nature-based tourism, mining, ecosystem, biodiversity and agriculture which will
concurrently help diversity the economic and decrease poverty. In order to fulfil all
development goals, the governments need to optimize use of natural resources. The main
concentration of South Asia is to understand the value of natural resources that leads to better
decisions for development. Valuing the environment and incorporating natural resources into
national accounts, it can support better to nation's economy.
Distribution of Natural Resources in India
India is gifted with various types of natural Resources such as fertile soil, forests, minerals
and water. These resources are unevenly distributed. The Indian continent covers a multitude
of biotic and abiotic resource. As India has rapid population growth therefore there is
overconsumption of resources, such as uncontrolled logging or overfishing and many
valuable natural resources are rapidly being exhausted. India has huge watered fertile lands.
In the sedimentary soil of the Northern Great Plains of the Sutlej-Ganga plains and
Brahmaputra Valley wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, jute, cotton, rapeseed, mustard, sesame,
linseed, are grown in plentiful. India's land area includes regions with high rainfall to dry
deserts, Coast line to Alpine regions.
India also has a variety of natural vegetation since the country has a varied relief and climate.
These forests are narrowed to the plateaus and hilly mountainous areas. India has a great
variety of wildlife. There are many national parks and hundreds of wild life sanctuaries.
Around 21 percent of the total geographical area include Forests. Because India's whether
conditions are changing frequently and differences in altitude, different types of Forest are
present in India including Tropical, Swamps, Mangrove and Alpine. Variety of forest
vegetation is large. Forests are the main source of Fire woods, Paper, Spices, Drugs, Herbs,
Gums and more. Forests has great contribution to nation's GDP.
India has more marine and inland water resources. Reports signify that India has an 8129 km
long coastline. Inland fishery is performed in Rivers, Reservoirs and Lakes. Reports of EIA
estimate for 2009 indicated that in Indian rivers more than 400 species of fish are found and
many species are economically important.
Table: Marine fishery resources of India ( Source: K. Rama Mohana Rao, 2000)

India had about 125 Million metric tonne of proven oil reserves as on April 2010 or 5.62
billion barrels. Most of India's crude oil reserves are located in the western coast (Mumbai
High) and in the north-eastern parts of the country, although considerable undeveloped
reserves are also found in the offshore Bay of Bengal and in the state of Rajasthan.
Statistical data have revealed that India has 1,437 billion cubic metres (50.7×1012 cu ft) of
confirmed natural gas reserves as of April 2010. An enormous mass of India's natural gas
production comes from the western offshore regions, particularly the Mumbai High complex.
The onshore fields in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat states are also main producers of
natural gas. Reports of EIA revealed that India produced 996 billion cubic feet of natural gas
in 2004. India imports small amounts of natural gas.
Mineral Resource in India are also in large amount such as iron, coal, mineral oil, manganese,
bauxite, chromite, copper, tungsten, gypsum, limestone, mica. When evaluating the Livestock
Resource, it is found that Hills, mountains and less fertile lands are put under pasture.
Scientific methods are followed in rearing cattle. India maintains rich domestic animal
diversity. India has large number of animals like goat, sheep, poultry, cattle, and buffalo.
Indian livestock has imperative role in improving the socio-economic status of the rural
masses. In the area of Horticulture, India has various agro-climatic conditions which
facilitates cultivation of a large number of horticulture crops such as vegetables, fruits,
flower, medicinal and aromatic plant, mushroom, etc. and plantation corps like tea, coffee
and rubber.
Non-renewable resources are also plentiful in different parts of India: Coal is the mainly used
energy in India and occupies the leading position. In India, coal is obtained mostly from
Andra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and
Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir. Natural gas in India is available in Tripura State, Krishna
Godavari field and gas associates in petroleum products. Petroleum product has become a
vital source of energy in India. In India, Petroleum products can be obtained from Digbol,
Assam, around the Gulf of Khambat in Gujarat, off shore in Arabian Sea, spread out from
Mumbai up to 100miles.
India has fourth rank in producing iron ore in the world. On an average, India produces about
7 per cent of the world production. It has about 2.6 per cent iron ore reserves of the world.
Main states that produce iron ore are Chhattisgarh (Arindogi, Raoghat and Bailadia (Bastar),
Dhalli, Rajbara (Durg), Odisha ( Keonjbar, Mayurbhanj and Diringburi districts), Karnataka (
Babudan hill, Hospet, Chitradurg, Tumkur, Sandur and Bellary districts). Jharkhand
( Noamundi, Notaburu, Pansiraburu, Budaburu, Guo, Barajamada, Meghahataburu in
Singhblim district ), Andhra Pradesh (Anantpur, Kurmool, Adilabed, Karimnegct), Goa
( Bicholim, Sirigao, Mapusa, Netarlim ), Maharashtra (Pipalagoon, Asola, Lohara in
Chandrapura district).
Recently, in has been observed that The Indian mining industry is passing through a perilous
phase, witnessing negative growth.
Indian Natural Resources (Source: www.mapsofindia.com/india-natural-resources)

Distribution of Natural Resources in China

China has a cosmic territory, with plentiful natural resources and diverse types of land
resources. China's land resources are large in absolute terms but small on a per-capita basis.
There are more mountains than plains, with sophisticated land and forests constituting small
proportions. Numerous land resources are haphazardly distributed among different regions.
The cultivated land is mostly in plains and basins in the monsoon regions of east China, while
forests are mostly found in the remote mountainous areas in the northeast and the southwest.
Grasslands are chiefly distributed on inland plateaus and in mountains. The Agricultural
Census in 1996 have shown that China has 130.04 million hectares of cultivated land and
35.35 million hectares of land suitable for agricultural uses. The cultivated land is mainly
distributed in the Northeast China, North China and Middle-Lower Yangtze plains, the Pearl
River Delta and the Sichuan Basin. It is established in research studies that China's total
forest area was 175 million hectares, and its forest coverage rate was 18.21 percent. The total
standing stock volume of China was 13.62 billion cubic meters (The sixth national
enumeration of forest resources, 1999-2003). The stock volume of its forests stood at 12.46
billion cubic meters.
Natural forests are concentrated focused in the northeast and the southwest, but uncommon in
the densely populated and economically developed eastern plains and the vast north-western
district. When considering regional distribution, China's forests are found mainly in the
Northeast China Forest Zone, the Southwest China Forest Zone and the Southeast China
Forest Zone. Grassland in China is extensive. China has 400 million hectares of grassland. It
is found in statistical report that China is one of the countries with the largest area of
grassland in the world. Natural grassland is mainly distributed in areas west and north of the
Greater Hinggan Mountains, the Yinshan Mountain and the eastern foot of the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau, while artificial grassland is concentrated in southeast China where it lies amid
cultivated land and forests.
Mineral Resource in China are plenteous. A total of 171 kinds of minerals have so far been
discovered, of which 158 have proven reserves. These include 10 kinds of energy mineral
resources such as petroleum, natural gas, coal and uranium; 54 kinds of metallic mineral
resources such as iron, manganese, copper, aluminium, lead and zinc; 91 kinds of non-
metallic mineral resources such as graphite, phosphorus, sulphur and sylvine; and three kinds
of water and gas mineral resources such as underground water and mineral water. Presently,
the supply of over 92 percent of China's primary energy, 80 percent of its industrial raw
materials and more than 70 percent of its agricultural means of production come from mineral
resources.
Energy Mineral Resources in China are also in huge quantity but the structure of these types
of resources is not perfect, with coal making up a large proportion while petroleum and
natural gas constituting comparatively small proportions. Coal resources has huge reserves
and complete varieties but uneven distribution among different grades, with small reserves of
high-quality coking coal and anthracite coal; wide distribution but a great difference in
wealth for different deposit locations, with large reserves in western and northern regions and
small reserves in eastern and southern regions; a small number of surface coalmines, most of
which are lignite mines; and great varieties of associated minerals existing in coal seams.
There are large oil reserves in China and it ranks as one of the 10 countries in the world with
more than 15 billion tons of exploitable oil reserves; low proven rate, with verified onshore
reserves accounting for only one fifth of the total and the proven rate for offshore reserves
being even lower; and concentrated distribution, with 73 percent of the total oil resources
distributed in 14 basins each covering an area of 100,000 square km and more than 50
percent of the nation's total natural gas resources distributed in central and western regions.
China is lavish in metallic mineral resources. It has proven reserves, more or less, of all kinds
of metallic mineral resources that have so far been discovered at international level. Among
these resources, the proven reserves of tungsten, tin, antimony, rare earth, tantalum and
titanium rank first in the world; those of vanadium, molybdenum, niobium, beryllium and
lithium rank second; those of zinc rank fourth; and those of iron, lead, gold and silver rank
fifth.
China's metallic minerals such as tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony and rare earth have
large reserves, and are of superior quality and competitive in world markets. However, many
important metallic minerals such as iron, manganese, aluminium and copper are of poor
quality, with ores lean and difficult to smelt. Most of the metallic mineral deposits are small
or medium-sized, whereas large and super-large deposits account for a small proportion.
China has full range of non-metallic mineral resources and it is one of the few countries in
the world that have a relatively non-metallic mineral resources. Currently, there are more
than 5,000 non-metallic mineral ore production bases with proven reserves in China.
Regarding water and Gas Mineral Resources, there are proven natural underground water
resources in China amount to 870 billion cubic meters per year, of which 290 billion cubic
meters are exploitable. The natural underground salty water resources in China stand at 20
billion cubic meters per year. Though, China's underground water resources are not equally
distributed, with the southern region rich, and northern and western regions poor.
Underground water aquifer types vary from region to region. North China has a widespread
distribution of underground water resources through pore aquifers, while its south-western
region has wide distribution of Karst water resources. Marine resources in China are in huge
quantity and scattered in the offshore waters which are sedimentation basins, with a total area
of nearly 700,000 square km, estimated to contain about 24 billion tons of oil reserves and 14
trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
Distribution of Natural Resources in Bangladesh
India's neighbouring country, Bangladesh has lavishly natural gas as natural resource and
ranked 7th position in the Asia. Among the natural resources of Bangladesh are its arable
land, timber, coal and natural gas. The most lucrative of these resources is the fertile
sedimentary soil in the delta region largely moulded by the country's physical geography.
Bangladesh also receives heavy rainfall throughout the year.
To summarize, Natural resources such as different materials, water, energy and fertile land,
are the basis for humans on Earth. Besides resources such as water, air, sunlight, forest area
or agricultural land, which exist as separate entities, other resources like metals, ores and
primary energy resources have to be extracted from the soil to make them usable. Their value
is mainly determined by the relative shortage of the resource in combination with its
exploitability for industrial use.
 Role of Women and Women's Organization
Role of Women
Historical data signified that women have many role in civilisation since ancient time and
these roles are changing over the period. In a society, status of people can be assessed by
importance of women in that culture. Many factors that rationalise the magnitude of India's
ancient culture is the respectable place granted to women. Several research studies have
demonstrated that women have raised their position and made a place in different sectors
which has led to liberation and to live better life. In ancient culture, women had to suffer
from unequal condition, and but as the time passed, females had enhanced their status to get
equality to the men (Christina S. Handayani, Ardhian Novianto, 2004). Earlier, women were
only allowed for doing domestic activity and their contribution in public was very restricted.
It entails that the political sector was only for male communities and the women were
concern to the private sector. This notion is the basic understanding of classic feminist theory
which wants that women get the equal condition comparing to men (Ann Brooks, 2009). The
status of women in India has been subjected to many great changes over the past decades.
From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to
the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been
exciting. In contemporary India, women have joined high offices. However, women in India
generally are still exposed to numerous social issues. According to a global study conducted
by Thomson Reuters, India is the "fourth most unsafe country" in the world for women.
According to Christina S. Handayani and Ardhian Novianto (2004), females only work in
western countries and their role in Asian countries in public-private is not limited like in
western countries. It is established in studies that Women are important in our society. Every
woman has her own job or duty in this modern society in which men are still dominant. A
woman has to take care of her own personal life and if she is a mother, she has to take care
also about her children's life too. Married women have lots of worries and they carry out a
more stressful life than married men.
Many studies have indicated that physiologically women are not equal to men and both are
also dissimilar psychologically. But there is not much difference between women and men in
the normal activities like eating, drinking, working, sleeping, resting and speaking. But
women have physical and physiological differences based on their functions like child-
bearing and child-rearing. It is well established in theoretical studies that women and men
react differently when they groom their children. Both women and men do what they have
learnt during their childhood as far as their reactions to various situations in their life.
Women in India
The status of women in India has undergone drastic changes over a Past few millennia. In
ancient time, the Indian women were completely devoted to their families. In the Medieval
period, known as 'Dark Age', the status of women was declined considerably. They were not
allowed to go out, and move with others. They were asked to stay at home and take care of
their children. In India, early marriage of a girl was practiced. After Independence women
came forward in all the sectors and there is remarkable changes in the status of women in the
field of education, Art and Culture. A historical viewpoint to the complexities, India
continues to face from time to time since Independence. But the status of women in
contemporary India is a sort of inconsistency.
Role of Women in Prehistoric Time
Indus valley civilization: During the period of Indus valley civilization, status of women were
fairly good. They were given equal honour along as men in the culture. The adoration of
mother goddess demonstrates that they were respected in the form of mother. During Rig
Vedic period, woman had superior status and they got more liberty and equality with men.
The position of wife was a privileged one in the household and women had enhanced status
to that of a man in performing religious rites. In education sphere, both boys and girls were
having equal opportunities. After observing Upanayana Samskar, girls were permitted to
spend their life in Gurukul. In intellectual and spiritual life they occupied a position as man.
Education of girls were considered as an important qualification for marriage.
In Uttar Vedic Period: In this period, freedom of marriage continued and remarriage of
widows continued to be allowed. Though dowry system continued but not in the form of
today's society. The marriage ceremony was the same as in the previous period. As in the
previous period the picture of an ideal family life continued.
The Age of the Upanishads
Age of Sutras and Epics: The Grihya-sutras give comprehensive rules concerning the proper
seasons for marriage, qualifications of bride and bridegroom. The bride is at a mature age,
over 15 or 16. The elaborate rites indicate that marriage was a holy bond and not a contract.
The women held a respectable status in the household. She was permissible to sing, dance
and enjoy life. Sati was not generally predominant. Widow Remarriage was permissible
under certain circumstances. On the whole the Dharma-sutras take a more humane attitude
than the Smritis of a later age. The Apastamba enforces several penalties on a husband who
unfairly forsakes his wife. On the other hand, a wife who forsakes her husband has to only
perform self-punishment. In case a matured girl was not married at a proper time by her
father, she could choose her husband after three years of waiting. The appealing feature of
this period is the presence of women teachers, many of whom possessed highest spiritual
knowledge. The famous dialogue between Yajnavalkya and his wife Maitreyi and Gargi
Vachaknavi indicated how enlightened the women of that age were. According to the
Sarvanukramanika, there were as many as 20 women among the authors of the Rig Veda.
These stories stand in contrast to the later age when the study of Vedic literature was
prohibited to women under the most severe penalty.
In The Age 600 BC to 320 AD
In this period, marriage between the same caste was preferred although inter caste marriages
were widespread. Of the eight forms of marriage prescribed by the Dharma-sutras, the Arhsa
form of marriage was most popular. The bridegroom was selected by the girl's father.
According to Nearchus the Indians "marry without giving or taking dowries but the girls, as
soon as they are marriageable, are brought forward by their fathers and exposed in public, to
be selected by a person who outclasses in some form of physical exercise". This designated a
modified form of Svayamvara. While girls continued to be married around 16, there was a
propensity to marry them before they attained puberty. It was perhaps due to the anxiety to
maintain their body purity. Lowering of the marriage age affected their education and culture
unfavourably. After Extreme emphasis was now laid on the physical chastity of women
which dejected widow remarriage, divorce and encouragement of sati.
It was also found that females during this period were active in such public economic
activities as wage-labour in state-owned textile factories as well as serving as temple dancers,
courtesans, and court attendants. There is less information on lower class women other than
some comments on labouring women and the need to give works as spinners to such
underprivileged women as widows and "defective girls."
In the beginning of this period, there were well educated women holding an honourable
position in society and household. There were lifetime students of sacred texts or those who
followed their study till marriage. Buddhist and Jain nuns relinquished the world for the sake
of spiritual salvation. Jain texts refer to Jayanti who performed discussions with Mahavira
himself and later on became a nun.
In spite of the advancement, there were increasing infirmities. Earlier the girls went through
the Upanayana ceremony but now it was only a formality. Manu laid down that marriage was
equal to Upanayana while Yajnavalkya took the step of prohibiting Upanayana ceremony for
girls. The wife who performed Vedic sacrifices was denied the right to do so. Narada is
however, more thoughtful towards women. Greek writers have indicated that sati existed, was
in trend in Punjab, possibly confined to the fighter class only. Women courtesans were not
looked down by spiritual leaders or kings. Some of them were highly accomplished and in the
point of culture, standing resembled the Hetairai of Athens. A famous courtesan Amrapali
who lived during the sovereignty of Bimbisara (300 to 273 BC) was a beauty whom Buddha
visited.
Chandragupta Maurya, the originator of the dynasty, was apparently assisted by Kautilya, a
Brahman prime minister, who composed the Arthasastra, a handbook of state craft which is
often compared to Machiavelli's The Prince. This collection documents that women had
property rights to the Stridhan, which was the gift made to a woman at the time of her
marriage by her parents and subsequently increased by her husband. Stridhan was generally
in the form of jewellery, which many cultural groups was a suitable way of carrying extra
wealth, but could include certain rights to immovable property. There were eight forms of
marriage. They ranged from the most significant, involving the gift of a virgin daughter
(Kanyadan) by her father to another male, to marriage by kidnapping while the woman is
incapacitated through sleep or intoxication. Marriage was both a secular and sacred
institution. Widows had a right of remarry. Although, when they did so, they lost rights to
any property inbred from their deceased husbands. In this period, women were allowed to
participate in public economic activities as wage-labour in state-owned factories as well as
serving as temple dancers, courtesans.
Period of 320 to 750 A D
The Gupta Empire was observed as the classical age of Indian culture because of its
legendary and artistic happenings. Some information on roles for leading women comes from
the Kama Sutra, a manual about the many ways to acquire pleasure, a legitimate goal for
Hindu men in the householder, or second stage, of their lives. Women were allowed to be
educated, to give and to receive sexual pleasure, and to be faithful wives. There was an
increasing tendency to lower the marriageable age of girls with girls being married before or
after puberty. Marriage within the same caste was preferred but forbidden within certain
degrees of relationship. Girls of high families had ample opportunities for acquiring ability in
higher learning. In Vatsyayana's Kamasutra, instances of princess are mentioned whose
intellect was sharpened by knowledge of the Sasatras. The literary evidence of the Gupta age
demonstrates that girls of high class also those living in hermitages read works on ancient
history & legend. Girls living in royal courts were trained in singing & dancing too.
In the Gupta period, Sati was inscribed by some but strongly criticised by others. It was
thought that the custom was not extensively prevalent during this period. Probably due to the
foreign invasions and its significances for women, the custom of sati, though confined to the
warrior class earlier began to gain pervasive acceptance, be perceived as a great sacrifice. The
tendency to regard women as feebler and not of strong moral fibre got stronger during this
period although women as mother, sister continued to be highly esteemed. Remarriage of
widows though coming into disfavour was not forbidden. The only direction in which the
position of women improved was in the arena of proprietary rights. During this period,
society began to discourage widow remarriages, there began to arise a class of childless
widows who needed money to maintain themselves. Due to a lowering of the age of
marriage, girls were not literate as earlier. This degraded the status of women. Brides being
too young and they did not have any choice in marriage decisions. Love marriages were a
thing of the past. During this period, marriage became a binding union, but it was one sided
in favour of the husband. Since women were not as educated as before they did not know
how to lead life in right way. The most striking modifications may be the increased
recognition in Katyayana of the women's right to property and a noteworthy rule in Atri that
allowed women ill-treated by robbers to recuperate her social status. Some women enjoyed
political power e.g. Prabhavati-gupta, daughter of Chandra-gupta II who ruled the Vakataka
kingdom on behalf of her son, in the 4th century a.d. Available Exisitng literature designated
that married women in higher families did not usually appear in public without coverings.
Women in Early medieval Period
In this period as in previous time, women were generally considered mentally sub-standard.
Their responsibility was to obey their husband blindly. Women continued to be deprived of
the right to study the Vedas. Furthermore, the eligible age for girls to marriage was lowered,
thus depriving their opportunities to get higher education. However, from some of the
dramatic works of the period, it was found the court ladies and even the queen's maids
capable of composing excellent Sanskrit and prakrit verses. Daughters of high administrators,
courtesans and concubines were also supposed to be highly skilled in the various arts,
including poetry.
If a girl's guardian cannot find her a match before she becomes of marriageable age, then she
can choose her partner. While love marriages were known they were honoured after approval
of the girl's custodians. Sometimes, girls with the approval of their parents opted for a
Svayamvara ceremony. Remarriage was allowed under certain condition when the husband
had deserted or died, or adopted the life of a recluse, or was impotent or had become an out
caste.
In general, women were mistrusted. They were kept in privacy and their life was governed by
the male relation, father, brother, husband, son. However, within the home they were given
privileged. If a husband abandoned even a guilty-wife, she was to be given maintenance.
With the evolution of property rights in land, the property right of women also increased. In
order to preserve the property of a family, women were given the right to inherit the property
of their male relations. With some reservation, a widow was permitted to the entire estate of
her husband if he died sonless. Daughters also had the right to succeed to the properties of a
widow. Thus, the growth of feudal society supported the concept of private property. The
practice of sati was made mandatory by few authors, but predestined by others. Purdah was
not dominant during this period. Generally, their culture was high
Women in medieval India
Medieval Indian history continued for 500 years. It is principally dominated by Muslim
rulers. Muslim appeared in India as a warrior class. Their rule in India is divided into two
Eras; The Era of Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Era. The only women who has power and
gained the thrown of Delhi was Razia Sultan. She was not only a wise monarch but also a
women of determined courage. She proved herself as the role of model for politically
empowered women in India. In Mughal Period, India saw the rise of some renowned Muslim
women. Qutluq Nigar Khanm Babar's mother gave wise advice to her son Babar, during his
difficult campaign for the recovery of his father's heritage. Another example was Gulbadan
Begum, women of excellent poetic talent who wrote Humayun-namah. Nur Jahan and Jahan
Ara took an active part in the state affairs. Nurjahan was the greatest Muslim queen of India.
She had good persona and military courage. Mumtaj Mahal a princess of an exceptional
beauty along with excellent intellectual talents and aesthetic tastes. In India, there was also
heroic women. Chandbibi, who appeared on the battlements of the fort of Ahmednagar
dressed in male outfit and put heart in the protectors of that town against the influences of
Akbar himself; Tara Bai, the Maharata heroine who was the life and soul of Maharata
resistance during the last determined attack of Aurangazeb; Mangammal, whose benevolent
rule is still a green memory in the South, and Ahalya Bai Holkar, to whose administrative
mastermind Sir John Malcolm has paid magnificent honour. The Moghul princesses had vital
role in the court life of Agra and Delhi. Jehanara, the partisan of Dara Shikoh, Roshanara, the
partisan of Aurangazeb, Zebunnissa, the daughter of Aurangazeb, whose poems have come
down to us and others represented the culture of the court. Jija Bai, the mother of Shivaji, was
more representative of Indian womanhood than the bejewelled princesses who wrote poetry,
played within the walls of their palaces or administered states. In the medieval period, there
were drastic changes in the social life of women. Dependence of women on their husbands or
other male relatives was a protuberant feature of this period. During this period women were
deprived of opportunities of any education, having lost the access to Streedhana or dowry,
they virtually became the subjugated class with dreadful results for themselves and the
nation. Indian women were politically, socially and economically indolent except for those
engaged in farming and weaving. Political demotion includes the barring of women from all
important decision- making processes. With the initiation of Muslims in India, the social
movement of Indian women was limited. They were banned to attend public functions and
were not free to partake as men's equals in religious functions like yajnas, obviously
indicating a deprivation of her role as she was kept in isolation. Another social malevolent
that existed in society during this period was child marriage. These pre-pubescent marriages
harmfully affected the health of the girls. These child brides were deprived of all intellectual,
physical and spiritual development. It virtually stabbed the delicate mind of Indian girl child.
Her self-image was wavering into shreds by the patriarchal family which repudiated her basic
freedom. Indian womanhood was cruelly locked. Likewise, most of the women thought that
they have to serve at home. Thus they were influenced by circumstances to accept their
subordination and secondary position. Men being providers, women became dependent on
them economically, for their survival except for the labour classes, where both men and
women contributed in existence farming and other occupations.
Other social evils in this period were female infanticide, sati, child marriages, Purdah system
or zenana. The seclusion of women developed during the middle ages, due to the political
instability of Northern India, particularly due to various assaults. Muslims who came to India
were mainly soldiers and they did not give much importance to Hindu principles like chastity
and Pativrata dharma so the seclusion of women was fortified mainly by the Rajputs and the
other high castes like Brahmins. Polygamy was the first reason which contributed to the
demotion of women. Muslim rulers in India had big aim. Thus women came to be regarded as
tools of sensual satisfaction. Even among the Hindus, there was no limit for wives a man
could take. Marriage in Islam is a contract. But a Muslim man can have as many as four
wives. Thus even religion encouraged, there was the hopeless subservience of women. Islam
also made husband the head of the family and insisted that a wife should follow all his
commands and should serve him with greatest loyalty, whether he deserved for it or not.
Purdah gained acceptance with the advent of the Muslims. The purdah system existed among
Kshatriyas in the period of Dharma Sastras. But the Hindu women veiled only their face or
sometimes only covered their heads with sarees or "dupattas." But for Muslims it meant
complete covering. Dowry system was also prevalent during this period. It actually meant
"Stridhana" which included gifts, ornaments, property, and cash presented to her by her father
or her relatives. But in the medieval period, the term had special importance. It meant money
or "Dakshina" which was actually presented to the bride groom along with the bride. In Vedic
times, it guaranteed security for her. But during the middle-ages, women was not free to use
it as it was owned by her husband and his kith and kin. During the middle Ages, the term
"Stridhana" acquired huge magnitudes. The Hindus and Muslims favoured this custom of
dowry. It could be paid in cash or kind along with the bride. During the Vedic ages, it was
given to bride for her security when a crisis occurs. She was free to make use of this "Dhana".
But the middle Ages observed a sudden change. The Stridhana received by the groom
belonged completely to the in-laws. The bride did not have free access to this wealth, which
lawfully belonged to her. Dowry system existed even among the Muslims, especially among
the Shias. With time, dowry became a vital part of the marriage ceremony. This in a way
contributed to female infanticide, as it became a heavy burden on the poor. The birth of girls
became a frightening to the majority of the population. Another negative effect of the dowry
system was that there was degradation of the Indian woman. She began to be regarded as
transportable and removable property by her husband. Many law intellectuals and upholders
of religion in the medieval age stated that it literally induced physical as well as intellectual
impairment on women in medieval India.
In the medieval period, widow's condition were more miserable. Inflexibility of caste system
deprived of them the right to freedom and social movement. Inhuman treatment was given to
the widow. She was forced to lead a life away from sophisticated pleasures. A widow was
also isolated from society as well as family. Another pre-requisite for a widow was shaving
the head. She was thus shamed mercilessly by modern society. The condition of the Muslim
widow was somewhat better owing to the fact that she could marry after a certain gap of time
following her husband's death.
According to Jauha, there was the practice of voluntary immolation by wives and daughters
of overpowered warriors, in order to avoid capture and resulting molestation by the opponent.
The practice was followed by the wives of defeated Rajput rulers, who are known to place a
high premium on honour. The medieval society of the time stimulated "Sati" which referred
as self-immolation of the widow. It was thought that by burning herself on the fire of her
husband, she proves her devotion. Even the child widows were not safe from this grisly ritual.
According to Saroj Gulati "because of the continuous wars, there were chances of too many
widows young and old, and main issue was how to accommodate them without getting shame
to the family or creating problems for society." In this period, Sati was considered as the best
course though it was the nastiest crime committed on Indian women as it was inhumane.
Another heinous torture of women was prostitution which became a recognised institution.
The Devadasi system which was predominant among the Hindus and the courtesans who
ornamented the court of Muslim rulers, dishonoured the status of women in civilisation.
Under the Devadasi system, women were the brides of gods. But they were supposed to
amuse kings, priests and even members of the high classes. Actually, they were abused by the
existing male-dominated society.
Women in the Bhakti Movement
Bhakti movements which succeeded during the medieval age gave rise to a new course of
man and women who cared slightly for gender prejudice. The liberal current, which to some
extent extended the prospect of women, was the Bhakti movements, the medieval saints'
movements. Female poet-saints also played a significant role in the bhakti movement at large.
However, many of these women had to fight for acceptance within male dominated
movement. Only through demonstrations of their absolute devotion to the Divine, their
outstanding poetry, and persistent insistence of their spiritual equality with their
contemporaries were these women unwillingly acknowledged and accepted within their
ranks. Their struggle shows to the strength of patriarchal values within both society and
within religious and social movements attempting to pave the way for more egalitarian access
to the Divine.
The imagery of bhakti poetry is chastised in the everyday, familiar language of ordinary
people. Women bhaktas wrote of the obstacles of home, family tensions, the absent husband,
meaningless household chores, and restrictions of married life, including their status as
married women. In many cases, they excluded traditional women's roles and societal norms
by leaving husbands and homes altogether, choosing to become wandering bhaktas; in some
instances they formed communities with other poet-saints. Their new focus was sheer
devotion and worship of their Divine Husbands.
While it is attractive to realise women's participation within the bhakti movement as a
rebellion against the patriarchal norms of the time, there is less evidence to support this
perspective. Women bhaktas were simply individuals attempting to lead lives of devotion.
Staying largely within the patriarchal philosophy that upheld the chaste and dutiful wife as
ideal, these women transferred the object of their devotion and their duties as the "lovers" or
"wives" to their Divine Lover or Husband. However, that their poetry became an important
aspect of the bhakti movement.
Additionally, it would seem that with the movement's northward advancement (15th through
17th centuries), its radical edge as it related to women's inclusion was toughened. Women
took part in the movement's earlier development (6th to 13th centuries). It is mainly male
bhaktas and saints that are today perceived as the spokespersons for the movement in its later
manifestations. The poetry of women bhaktas from this latter time period is normally not
revealing of a rejection of societal customs in terms of leaving family and homes in chase of
divine love. Instead, some of the later poet-saints stayed within the limits of the household
while expounding on their souls' journeys, their perpetual love for the Divine, as well as their
never-ending search for fact.
Women in Modern India
Modern India denotes to the era form 1700 A.D. to 1947 A.D. In the back ground of the
intellectual disturbance of the 18th and 19th century, there observed a worldwide demand for
establishing of independent and democratic nationalist societies which consistently
emphasized the fairness of women with men. Women in modern India have been influenced
by the programs of modification and upliftment which brought about a fundamental change
in their status. With the numerous reform movements and a steady change in the opinion of
women in society, there, a radical change in the position of women in modern India was seen.
Before the British rule in India, the life of women was rather domineering, and they were
subject to a continual process of subjugation and social domination. The women's youth was
spent in the preparation of marriage and her whole life was dependent on the male members
of her family. Though a few women became educated, got fame and commanded armies but
most were deprived of men's opportunities to gain knowledge, property and social position.
Status of women in India during the British period: If comparing with past records of
women status with contemporary life, it can be said that there are important change in the
position of women. Numerous studies of the English literature by a section of the Indians
which helped them to integrate the western democratic and liberal ideology, an philosophy
successively utilized by them to start social and religious reform movements in India. During
the British rule, several changes were made in the economic and social structures of Indian
society, and some considerable progress was accomplished in removal of inequalities
between men and women, in education, employment, social rights. Earlier to this period, the
status of women was in gloomy state.
In the British period, women were given opportunities for education. After the Bhakti
Movement, the Christian Missionaries took interest in the education of the girls. The Hunter
Commission too highlighted on the need for female education in 1882. The Calcutta, Bombay
and Madras institutions did not permit the admission of girls till 1875. It was only after 1882
that girls were permitted to go for higher education. Since then, there has been a constant
progress in the extent of education among females. Though the number of girls studying at
various levels was low, yet there has been a marked increase in the number of female
students at every level from 1941 onwards. At the end of the Nineteenth Century, women in
India suffered from infirmities like, child-marriage, practice of polygamy, sale of girls for
marriage purposes, severe restrictions on widows, non-access to education and restricting
oneself to domestic and child-bearing functions. The Indian National Conference started in
1885 by Justice Ranade contained these disabilities.
Renowned social reformer, Raja Ram Mohun Roy, who contributed immensely in getting the
Sati system abolished, raised voices against the child-marriage and fought for the right of
legacy for women. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar propelled a movement for the right of widows
to re-marry and also begged for educating women. Maharaja S. Rao, ruler of Baroda State
worked for deterrence of child-marriages, Polygamy and getting the rights of education to
women, and the right of re-marriage to widows. Other eminent personality like Swami
Vivekananda, Annie Besant, and Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Dayanand Saraswati also had
interest in the social and political rights of women. Gandhiji thought that, women should
labour under no legal disability. He said that equal treatment should be given to both boy and
girl.
Indian woman are well-known in various fields of life as politicians, orators, lawyers,
doctors, administrators and diplomats. They are not only trusted with work of responsibility
but also they do in their duties honestly and sincerely. In modern time women are actively
participating in every field of life. Women exercise their right to vote, contest for Parliament
and Assembly, seek appointment in public office and compete in other spheres of life with
men. This demonstrates that women in India has got more liberty and equality as compared to
earlier period. They have learned more liberty to contribute in the affairs of the country. They
have been given impartiality with men in making their future and sharing responsibilities for
themselves, their family and their country.
It is a truth that women are intelligent, devoted and efficient in work. In various fields, they
are now competing successfully with men. There are many women working in the Central
Secretariat. They are striving very hard to gain highest efficiency and perfection in the
administrative work. Their honesty of character is probably better than men. Generally it was
found that women are less vulnerable to corruption in form of bribery and favouritism. As a
matter of fact, they are progressively monopolising the jobs of receptionists and air-hostesses.
Another job in which Indian women are doing so well is that of teachers. Women's
contributions in politics and social services have also been significant. Lively example of
Indira Gandhi who excelled so brilliantly and ecstatically in the expanse of India's politics.
She ruled this country for more than a decade and took India winning out of Pakistan-war
which resulted in the historic creation of a new country, Bangladesh. In the field of social
service, Indian women have also done outstanding works. They have not only served the
cause of the suffering humanity but have also brought highest successes for the country, for
example, Mother Teressa who sacrificed whole life for welfare of society. She brought the
Nobel Prize for India by her selfless services to the poor, destitute and suffering people of our
country in particular and the deprived and handicapped people of the world in general.
It is well understood that the progress of a nation depends upon the care and skill with which
mothers give their children. The first and primary duty of Indian women should, therefore, be
to bring forth noble generations of patriots, warriors, scholars and statesmen. Since child's
education begins even in the womb and the impressions are formed in the mind of a child
while in mothers arms in which women play vital role (Tripathi, 1999).
There is no refuting of the fact that the role of women in India is significant and they
contribute in success of nation. Though they have to struggle against many handicaps and
social evils in the male subjugated society. The Hindu Code Bill has given the daughter and
the son equal share of the property. The Marriage Act no longer regards woman as the
property of man. Marriage is now considered to be a personal matter and if a partner is
disappointed she or he has the right of divorce. In order to prove themselves equal to the self-
esteem and status given to them in the Indian Constitution they have to shake off the
restraints of slavery and fallacies. They should help the government and the society in
eliminating the sins of dowry.
Women's organization in India
Women's Organisations emerged in India as a result of the spread of education and the
establishment of the notion of the new woman. There was an improved level of
communication among women which made them aware of the different problems that they
faced and their rights and accountabilities in society. This awareness led to the upsurge of
women's organisations that fought for and signified women's causes.
Pre-Independence:
An exclusive feature of the Indian women's crusade is the fact that early efforts at women's
liberation were set in motion by men. Social reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy,
Maharishi Karve and Swami Dayanand Saraswati challenged the conventional subservience
of women, stimulated widow remarriage and supported female education and impartiality in
matters of religion, among other issues. Mahila mandals organised by Hindu reformist
organisations such as the Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj encouraged women to go out of the
boundaries of their homes and interact with other members of society. Pandita Ramabai, who
was considered as one of the innovators of the feminist movement, with the help of Justice
Ranade established the Arya Mahila Samaj in 1882. She envisioned creating a support
network for newly educated women through weekly lectures and lessons at homes, where
women could learn and gain confidence through interactions.
Women's auxiliaries of general reform associations also served as a ground for women to
deliberate social issues, express opinions and share experiences. The Bharata Mahila Parishad
of the National Social Conference was the most protruding among such opportunities.
Though the National Social Conference was formed at the third meeting of the Indian
National Congress in 1887, the Mahila Parishad was launched only in 1905.
These initiatives greatly influenced the social status of women. Early attempts at encouraging
women to converse outside their families and local committees thus, stemmed from the
broader social reform movement and efforts to upgrade the conditions of women.
But a major inadequacy of the movement at this juncture was that it was essentially exclusive
in character. The reforms were planned for restricted upper caste women and did not take up
the cause of the huge masses of poor and working class women. Also, male‐guided
organisations still perceived the household as the woman's first priority and did not make
efforts to employ education as an instrument to improve their contribution in society.
In the beginning of nineteenth century, there was concerted efforts towards education of
women. Schools and educational institutions promoting female public education mushroomed
across the country.
The pre‐Independence period saw women's issues related to the nationalist agenda at various
junctures. In this period, major enhancement of women was in terms of political participation
of women, calling for a redefinition of conventional gender roles. Women began openly
demonstrating their opposition to foreign control by supporting civil disobedience actions and
other forms of protest against the British. Opportunities to organise and participate in
agitations gave women the much‐needed confidence and a chance to develop their leadership
skills. Cutting across communal and religious barriers, women associated themselves with
larger problems of society and opposed sectarian issues such as communal electorates.
Political awareness among women grew, owing to a general understanding that women's
issues could not be separated from the political environment of the country. During this
period, the initial women's organisations formed within the historical background of the
social reform movement and the nationalist movement were as follows.
1. The Women's India Association (WIA).
2. National Council of Women in India (NCWI).
3. The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) in 1917, 1925 and 1927 correspondingly.
Each of these organisations emphasised the importance of education in women's progress.
The WIA, created by Margaret Cousins in Madras, worked widely for the social and
educational emancipation of women. Associated with the Theosophical Society, it
encouraged non‐sectarian religious activity and did creditable work in promoting literacy,
setting up shelters for widows and providing relief for disaster victims.
Women in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata through networks developed during World War I
work, allied their associations together and created the NCWI in 1925. A national branch of
the International Council of Women, its most prominent member was Mehribai Tata, who
aggressively campaigned against inert charity and advised men to support female education.
The most important of the women's organisations of the time was the All India Women's
Conference. Though its initial efforts were directed towards improving female education, its
scope later extended to include a host of women's issues such as women's franchise,
inheritance rights.
Period of Post-Independence: The Constitution of India enlisted in 1950 which permitted
equal rights to men and women. Rights such as the right to vote, right to education, right to
entry into public service and political offices brought in satisfaction among women's groups.
In this period, there was limited activity in the area of women's rights. Many women's
organizations such as National Federation of Indian Women (1954) the Samajwadi Mahila
Sabha (1559) were formed to work for supporting the cause of Indian women. Since the
country was facing a social, political crisis after the British rule, many demands of the
women activists were not supported by the Government. But during this period from 1945,
the Indian women got an opportunity to participate in confrontational politics.
In post-independent India, the women's crusade was divided, as the common opponent,
foreign rule, was no longer there. Some of the women leaders formally joined the Indian
National Congress and took powerful position as Ministers, Governors and Ambassadors.
Free India's Constitution gave universal adult franchise and by the mid-fifties India had fairly
liberal laws concerning women. Most of the demands of the women's movement had been
met and there seemed few issues left to organize around. Women's organizations now
observed that there was an issue of implementation and consequently there was a pause in the
women's movement.
Women displeased with the status quo joined struggles for the rural poor and industrial
working class such as the Tebhaga movement in Bengal, the Telangana movement in Andhra
Pradesh or the Naxalite movement. Shahada, which acquired its name from the area in which
it occurred, in Dhulia district in Maharashtra, was a tribal landless labourers' movement
against landlords. Women actively participated and led demonstrations, developed and yelled
militant slogans and mobilized the masses. As women's belligerency developed, gender based
issues were raised.
For the meantime in Ahmedabad the first attempt at a women's trade union was made with
the establishment of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) at the initiative of Ela
Bhat in 1972. Major objective was to improve the condition of poor women who worked in
the unorganized sector by providing training, technical aids and collective bargaining. Based
on Gandhian ideals, SEWA has been a remarkable success.
The Nav Nirman movement, initially a student's movement in Gujarat against rising prices,
black marketing and dishonesty launched in 1974 was soon joined by huge number of middle
class women. Their method of protest reached from mass hunger strike, mock funerals and
prabhat pheris.
The 1970s and 1980s observed the development of numerous women's groups that took up
issues such as dowry deaths, bride burning, rape, and sati and focused on violence against
women. They stressed the sexual coercion of women in a way previous reform or feminist
groups had never done. They questioned the patriarchal assumptions underlying women's role
in the family and society based on the biological sex differences implying a "natural"
separation of human activities by gender differentials, the public political sphere being the
male domain and the private familial sphere as that of the female which eventually translates
into a supremacy of male over female. Some of the earliest self-governing women's groups
were the Progressive Organization of Women (POW, Hyderabad), the Forum Against Rape
(now redefined as Forum Against Oppression of Women), Stree Sangharsh and Samata
(Delhi). Among the first campaigns that women's groups took up was the struggle against
rape in 1980.
The modified law was passed in 1983 after heated debate with women's groups. Since then,
women's groups have lobbied again to have the law further changed to make it more severe
and have also fought for an implementation machinery to be set up without which the law is
less effective than it was intended to be. The POW in Hyderabad planned new and fresh
remonstrations against dowry. In the late 1970s, Delhi became the focus of the movement
against dowry and the violence imposed on women in the marital home. Groups which took
up the campaign included 'Stree Sangharsh' and 'Mahila Dakshita Samiti'. Later, a joint front
called the 'Dahej Virodhi Chetna Mandal' (organization for creating consciousness against
dowry) was made under which a large number of organizations worked.
In 1975, the Lal Nishar Party structured a joint women's conference which was well attended
by women in Pune in Maharashtra. Similarly the communist party in India in 1975 organized
a National Seminar which was attended by women in Maharashtra. The famous women's
organisations which were established during this time are the Stree Mukhti Sangkatana, the
Stree Sangharsh and Mahila Dakshata in Delhi. Vimochana in Chennai, Baijja in
Maharashtra, Pennurumai in Chennai. The Feminist Network in English and Manushi in
Hindi were some of the first women's newsletters and magazines to appear. The issues that
they raise are rape, wife-battering, divorce, maintenance and child custody along with
legislative reforms. This progressive outlook is indeed a by-product of the changing
economic, social and political climate in the country. Therefore, the women's movement in
India after Independence struggle not only struggled for liberation but also averred the need
for creating a non-class socialist society where women can be completely free from
apprehension and violence. The reverberations of changes, recurrent and sporadic at the
beginning, began to be heard rather loudly from the middle of the 20th century.
Some women organizations such as the Banga Mahila Samaj, and the Ladies Theosophical
Society functioned at local levels to promote contemporary ideas for women. These
organizations deal with issues like women's education, abolition of social evils like purdah
and Child marriage, Hindu law reform, moral and material progress of women, equality of
rights and opportunities. It can be believed that, the Indian women's movement worked for
two goals.
1. Uplift of women.
2. Equal rights for both men and women.
All the major political parties, the Congress, BJP, CPI, CPI (M) have their women's wings.
The new women's groups declare themselves to be feminist. They are dispersed with no
central organization but they have built informal networks among themselves. Their political
commitment is more leftist than liberal.
Currently there are many women organizations of India:
i. All India Federation of Women Lawyers
ii. All India Women's Conference
iii. Appan Samachar
iv. Association of Theologically Trained Women of India
v. Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh
vi. Bharatiya Mahila Bank
vii. Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs
viii. Durga Vahini
ix. Friends of Women's World Banking
x. Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan
National alliance of women: The National Alliance of Women (NAWO) is a national web of
women. It is affiliation or membership is open to all liberal minded women's groups and
institutions, non-governmental organizations, women workers, women's unions, individuals
and others who share the principles, objectives and values of NAWO, as defined in the
NAWO vision. Major objective of this organization are:
 1. Strengthening and building new initiatives, networks, forums etc., for protecting
women's rights
2. Monitoring the Government of India's commitments, implementing the Platform for
Action with special focus on the eight point agenda discussed at the Conference of
Commitment, CEDAW, the Human Rights and other United Nations Convention.
3. Advocacy, lobbying and campaigning on women related issues.
4. Information Dissemination and Documentation.
5. Solidarity and linkages with other regional and global forums.
Another women organization in India is Swadhina (Self-esteemed Women) which was
formed in 1986. It is principally a civil society organization focused on Empowerment of
women and Child Development based on Sustainable Development and Right Lively hood.
At Swadhina, it is believed that positive social change has a direct effect on the lives of
women and that change is possible only through an equal and spontaneous participation of
Women. Organization members are active in five states across the country in remote tribal
districts of Singbhums in Jharkhand, Purulia and West Midnapur in West Bengal, Kanya
Kumari in Tamil Nadu, Mayurbhanj in Orissa and East Champaran in Bihar.
Major projects of this organization are as follows:
1. Women's Empowerment Through:
o Promoting Grass-Root level Women's Organization

o Fostering Functional Literacy, Education & Social Awareness generation

o Augmenting Participation of Women in Local Governance

o Encouraging Women's Income Generation & economic capacity building

o Strengthening Women's Participation in Agriculture & Food Security support
o Upholding Non-Violence & Social Empowerment
o Improving Family Health & Nutrition

2. Child Development Through:

o Supporting Child Education
o Promoting Sports & Games

o Advancing Environment & Eco-logical awareness

All India Democratic Women's Association is also dominant woman organization which is an
independent left oriented women's organisation committed to achieving democracy, equality
and women's emancipation. AIDWA members are from all strata in society, regardless of
class, caste and community. It has an organizational presence in 22 states in India.
AIDWA was created in 1981 as a national level mass organisation of women. AIDWA
believes the liberation of women in India requires fundamental systemic change. It upholds
secular values and challenges and resists cultural practices demeaning to women.
To summarize, women from earlier time has significant role in shaping of civilization.
Historical data indicated that though the struggle for women's rights is long and hard, but
currently, status of women is enhanced and society recognized their importance. It was
observed that after Independence, the Indian women gained considerable importance within
their country in social and political spheres. The women's movement has a long way to go in
its struggle for bringing about new values, a new ethics and a new democratic affiliation. The
objectives were to get equality based on gender, job opportunities, improving the existing
laws which gave women only partial justice, and creating a society which did not dominate
women intellectually, physically and emotionally. Even though the efforts made by women
activists and concerned organization were slow in getting a real break-through, despite the
conservative outlook of their counterparts, they thrived in creating a focussed awareness
among middle-class and upper middle-class women at large. Currently, Indian woman is
working throughout the country at high post and virtually in all professions at different
positions. She is not only visible as the top politician as seen above in politics. Even as
managers in industrial firms, director of nationwide operating banks, top bureaucrats, active
members of micro-credit groups or as independent fashion designers. Government is going to
help women in every sphere of life in society. Numerous programs are implement to
empower women in India (Tripathi, 1999).
 World History and World wars
A world war is a war that involve some of the most influential and populated countries of the
world. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in
multiple zones.
The term world war is typically applied to the two conflicts that happened during the 20th
century:
1. World War I, or First World War (1914-1918)
2. World War II, or Second World War (1939-1945)
It is also sometimes applied to other wars such as the War of the Spanish Succession, the
Seven Years' War, the Cold War and Cold War II, a hypothetical World War III and even the
Napoleonic Wars, if the United States is counted as a belligerent, as it was in the War of 1812
with Great Britain.
The world wars:
World War I
World War-1 was the first mass global war of the industrialized age, a demo of the
remarkable strength, resilience and massacre power of modern states. It was often called as
"The Great War".
The war was also fought at a high point of nationalism and faith in the existing social
hierarchy, beliefs that the war itself helped destroy, and that the modern world finds very
hard to understand.
This war began on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary confirmed war on Serbia. This
apparently small conflict between two countries spread rapidly. Soon, Germany, Russia,
Great Britain, and France were all drawn into the war, largely because they were involved in
treaties that obligated them to protect certain other nations. Western and eastern fronts rapidly
opened along the borders of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
The Western and Eastern Fronts: The first month of battle consisted of brave outbreaks and
rapid troop movements on both fronts. In the west, Germany attacked first Belgium and then
France. In the east, Russia attacked both Germany and Austria-Hungary. In the south,
Austria-Hungary attacked Serbia. Following the Battle of the Marne (September 5-9, 1914),
the western front became entrenched in central France and remained that way for the rest of
the war. The fronts in the east also slowly locked into place.
The Ottoman Empire: In the end of 1914, the Ottoman Empire was brought into the fight as
well, after Germany deceived Russia into thinking that Turkey had attacked it. As a result,
much of 1915 was subjugated by Allied actions against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean.
First, Britain and France launched an unsuccessful attack on the Dardanelles. This campaign
was followed by the British attack of the Gallipoli Peninsula. Britain also launched a separate
campaign against the Turks in Mesopotamia. Although the British had some successes in
Mesopotamia, the Gallipoli campaign and the attacks on the Dardanelles resulted in British
defeats.
Trench Warfare: The middle part of the war which was between 1916 and 1917, dominated
by continuous ditch fighting in both the east and the west. Soldiers fought from dug-in
positions, striking at each other with machine guns, heavy artillery, and chemical weapons.
Though soldiers died by the millions in brutal conditions, neither side had any substantive
success or gained any benefit.
The United States' Entrance and Russia's Exit: Regardless of the stalemate on both fronts in
Europe, two important developments in the war happened in 1917. In early April, the United
States, infuriated by attacks upon its ships in the Atlantic, declared war on Germany. Then, in
November, the Bolshevik Revolution prompted Russia to draw out of the war.
Attacks in World War 1 (Source: Dennis Cove, 2002):

Prime causes of World War 1:

1. Mutual Defence Alliances
2. Imperialism
3. Militarism
4. Nationalism
 5. Immediate Cause- Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Among the harmful technological developments that were used for the first time (or in some
cases used for the first time in a major conflict) during the Great War were the machine gun,
poisonous gas, flamethrowers, tanks and aircraft. Artillery increased dramatically in size,
range and killing power compared to its 19th-century counterparts. In the war at sea,
submarines could attack hidden from under the waves, using torpedoes to send combat the
merchant ships to the bottom. The End of the War and Armistice: Although both sides
launched renewed assaults in 1918 in an all-or-nothing effort to win the war, both efforts
were futile. The fighting between exhausted, disheartened troops continued to plod along
until the Germans lost a number of individual battles and very gradually began to fall back. A
lethal outbreak of influenza, meanwhile, took heavy tolls on soldiers of both sides.
Ultimately, the governments of both Germany and Austria-Hungary began to lose control as
both countries experienced multiple rebellions from within their military structures.
Chart: Depiction of loss of life suffered in the combat of World War 1 (Source: Marshall
Cavendish Corporation, 2004)

After the announcement of ending World War I, it had been observed that there were
considerable effects echoed in the world for decades such as changing politics, economics
and public attitude. Many countries began to implement more liberal forms of government,
and a hostile Germany was forced to pay for a large deal of war reparations.
As a consequence of World War I, socialistic ideas experienced successful as they spread not
only in Germany and the Austrian realm but also made improvements in Britain (1923) and
France (1924). However, the most popular type of government to gain power after World
War I was the republic. Before the war, Europe contained 19 monarchies and 3 republics, yet
only a few years afterward, had 13 monarchies, 14 republics and 2 regencies. Evidently,
revolution was in the air and people began to more ardently express their desires for a better
way of life (Dennis Cove, 2002).
Effects of a harsh Peace: Another political outcome of World War I centres merely on the
treatment of Germany in the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. The Germans were enforced to
sign an embarrassing treaty accepting responsibility for causing the war, as well as dispense
large amount of money in order to compensate for war costs. Additionally, the size of the
German state was reduced, while that of Italy and France was engorged. The Weimar
government set up in Germany in 1918 was not preferred by most of the citizens and
maintained little power to control the German state. Rising hostilities toward the rest of
Europe grew, and many German soldiers rejected to give up fighting, even though Germany's
military was ordered to be considerably reduced. Given such orders, numerous German ex-
soldiers joined the Freikorps, an establishment of mercenaries available for street-fighting.
The open aggression and rumbling feelings of retaliation showed by Germany foreshadowed
the beginning of World War II.
Economic Change: There were many economic changes after World War 1. Technology
advancement were experienced after the war, as the production of automobiles, airplanes,
radios and even certain chemicals, rise steeply. The advantages of mass production and the
use of technology to perform former human labour tasks, along with the enactment of the
eight hour work day, demonstrated to motivate the economy, especially in the United States.
Even much of Europe experienced major losses of physical property and landscape as well as
finances. By 1914, Europe had won the respect of the world as a reliable money-lender, yet
just four years later was greatly in debt to her allies for their generous financial contributions
toward the war effort, owing them as much as $10 billion. In an effort to pay back their allies,
the governments of many European countries began to quickly print more and more money,
only to subject their countries to a period of inflation. Members of the middle class who had
been living reasonably comfortably on investments began to experience unsteady financial
period. Germany was hit the hardest in terms of struggling with war reparations, and inflation
significantly lowered the value of the German mark. In a period of no more than three months
in 1923, the German mark jumped from 4.6 million marks to the dollar to 4.2 trillion marks to
the dollar (Dennis Cove, 2002).
Disillusionment: In psychological terms, World War I had effects related to those of a
revolution. A growing sense of cynicism of political leaders and government officials
transfused the minds of people who had observed the fear and destruction due to the war.
Many citizens were annoyed that peacemakers had not conveyed their principles passionately
enough, and people were shocked to experience that why warfare happened. It had been
observed that a feeling of disillusionment spread across the world as people intensely decided
that their governments had not taken action in favour of citizens. The loss of close relatives
on the battlefield was highly upsetting, for in some parts of Western Europe, one of four
young men had lost his life in battle. Overall, the war killed 10 to 13 million people, with
nearly a third of them inhabitants. The future certainly did not look optimistic for the families
of those killed in the war.
Consequences of World War 1: The outcome of World War I saw extreme political,
cultural, and social revolution across Europe, Asia, Africa, and even in areas outside those
that were directly involved. Four territories malformed due to the war, old countries were
abolished, new ones were formed, boundaries were redrawn, international organizations were
established, and many new and old ideologies took a firm hold in people's minds. World War
I also had the effect of bringing political change to Germany and the United Kingdom by
bringing near-universal suffrage to these two European powers, turning them into mass
electoral democracies for the first time in history (Dennis Cove, 2002).
World War II
It was the most destructive war observed by the world. This had impacted at global scale. The
conflagration was not confined to Europe alone, but surrounded the entire world. It occurred
in the period from 1939 to 1945. The Second World War was debatably the most significant
period of the 20th century (Dennis Cove, 2002). The war in Europe started in earnest on
September 1, 1939 with the attack of Poland by Nazi Germany, and concluded on September
2, 1945, with the official surrender of the last Axis nation, Japan. Nonetheless, in Asia the
war began earlier with Japanese interventions in China, and in Europe, the war ended earlier
with the unconditional surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945. The battle spilled over into
Africa, included a trickle of incidents in the Americas, and a series of major naval battles. It
brought about major hikes in technology and laid the foundation that permitted post-war
social changes including the end of European colonialism, the civil rights movement in the
United States, and the modern women's rights movement, as well as the programs for
exploring outer space.
The main fighters were the Axis nations (Nazi Germany, Facist Italy, Imperial Japan and
their smaller allies) and the Allied nations, led by Britain (and its Commonwealth nations),
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America. The Allies were
the victors. Two world power, the USA and USSR, arisen from World War II to instigate a
Cold War with each other that would define much of the rest of the century.
It involved most of the world's major countries divided into two opposite forces: the Allies
and the Axis. Engagements were fought in the Pacific, in the jungles of South-East Asia, in
the plains of Russia and in the deserts of Africa, in addition to Europe. In total, more than 100
million military personnel were mobilized during the war.
Causes of war: Major causes of World War II were as follows:
1. German Invasion of Poland
2. German Invasion of Soviet Union
3. The Holocaust
4. Japanese Imperialism
5. Attack on Pearl Harbour
6. Normandy Landings in Europe
7. Dropping of Atomic Bombs on Japan
The instant cause for the occurrence of war was Germany's assault of Poland. Hitler had
established one of his key aims as leader of the Nazi party to be supremacy of Europe, which
he clearly sought by force. In early 1939, Britain and France cautioned Germany that an
attack of Poland would cause them to declare war, so when, in September 1939, Hitler
occupied Poland, war broke out in Europe. There were other tensions brewing under the
surface which many historians believe contributed to the outbreak of war, but the invasion of
Poland is certainly a crucial trigger-cause of the battle.
Another long-term causes definitely helped to create a situation in which Hitler could rise to
power as he did. These include disappointment with the Treaty of Versailles. Germany
having surrendered in 1918 and were forced to sign a treaty which included Germany taking
the blame for World War One, reducing regions, agreeing to disarm and significantly
diminish the military, and agreeing to pay roughly 6.6 billion pounds in reparations. The
German people felt this was excessively harsh, and developed a deep-set resentment of the
Allied victors of WW1 for dealing them this intense punishment. As the economic depression
of the 1920s affected most of Western Europe, the League of Nation agreed to reduce some
of the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles, but this did little to quell the resentment of the
German people. When the Nazis resumed power, some of the terms of the treaty were
outright disobeyed, whereas others were easy to plan using loopholes. Hitler was able to
systematically increase the military in Nazi Germany during the 1930s due to the treaty being
insufficient in its rules regarding military growth. Nonetheless, a harsher set of terms in the
initial treaty may have led to an even stronger bitterness in the German people. As such,
though the treaty was not sufficient to prevent further outburst of war, it is hard to understand
how a balance could have been struck.
Consequences of World War II:
Major upshots of this war were:
1. The End of the European Age.
2. The rise of the US to superpower status.
3. The expansion of the Soviet Union and its rise to superpower status.
4. The emergence of the Cold War.
5. The beginning of the nuclear age.
6. The rise of nationalism and independence movements in Asia and Africa.
7. A renewed effort to secure lasting peace through international organizations.
World War II is the most vicious war in all of history. There were massive casualties of
human lives. It was estimated that casualties in World War II may have approximately 50
million service personnel and civilians. Nations suffering the highest losses, military and
civilian, in descending order, are:
USSR: 42,000,000
Germany: 9,000,000
China: 4,000,000
Japan: 3,000,000
Germany was totally beaten, and the Nazi regime brought down. Its leaders were tried for
crimes against humanity at Nuremberg, the former site of Nazi propaganda triumphs. Hitler
escaped trial and execution by committing suicide in his Berlin bunker at the end of the war.
German cities were in wrecks from a massive bombing campaign. Germany was divided into
4 zones of occupation by the victorious powers, pending a more permanent political
settlement.
Japan also was in wrecked from excessive bombing. Prominent military leaders were tried
and convicted of war crimes, but the emperor was allowed to maintain his position. Japan
was temporarily placed under U.S. military rule.
England was devastated by the war, having experienced extensive bombing during the 1940
blitz by the Germans. The economy depended for recovery upon assistance from the United
States. England quickly phased out most of its remaining imperial holdings in the years
immediately following the war.
France had not experienced the huge human losses sustained in the First World War, but
would have to recover from the effects of Nazi occupation. Retribution was taken upon
collaborators. Like England, France would be forced to dismantle its colonial empire in the
years following the war. This was a particularly disturbing and drawn out process for the
French, in Algeria and in Vietnam where they fought prolonged and bitter wars in an attempt
to maintain their colonial control.
England and France no longer held a status of power comparable either to the United States
or the Soviet Union.
The Russian people had suffered immensely during the war, and western Russia was
shattered by the land fighting which was primarily on Russian territory. But, in the process of
defeating the Germans, the Russians had built a large and powerful army, which occupied
most of Eastern Europe at the end of the war. The great resources and population of Russia
guaranteed that the Soviet Union would be, along with the United States, one of two super-
powers.
The economy of United States was greatly motivated by the war, even more so than in World
War I. The depression was brought definitively to an end, and new industrial complexes were
built all over the United States. Spared the physical destruction of war, the U.S. economy
dominated the world economy. After 4 years of military build-up, the U.S. had also become
the primary military power. The United States emerged as world leader.
The eastern conquerors claimed payment of war reparations from the overpowered nations,
and in the Paris Peace Treaty, the Soviet Union's enemies-Hungary, Finland and Romania
were required to pay $300,000,000 each to the Soviet Union. Italy was required to pay
$360,000,000, shared chiefly between Greece, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. The much
larger reparations from occupied Germany to Russia were to be paid not by goods or money
but by the transfer of capital goods, such as dismantled manufacturing plants.
Social Impacts of WW II: The Second World War caused a series of rapid and extensive
social changes in Newfoundland and Labrador. The establishment of foreign bases provided
the Commission of Government with an unexpected amount of wealth, which it used to
develop social services. Improvements were made in health care, education, transportation,
communication, and other fields. The presence of thousands of visiting Canadian and
American troops also changed values and attitudes previously engrained in Newfoundland
and Labrador society. Standards of living enhanced, styles of dress transformed, new
friendships both romantic and platonic were forged, and the introduction of American radio
and other forms of entertainment did much to integrate Newfoundland and Labrador into
North American culture and distance it from Great Britain's. Eventually, the social changes of
the 1940s helped shape the country's constitutional future, which cumulated in Confederation.
Following the war, the American and Canadian Armed Forces turned many of their facilities
and structures over to the Commission of Government for civilian use. As a result, the
country inherited various modern hospitals, airports, communication systems, paved roads,
sewers, recreational centres, and other assets it would not have otherwise been able to afford.
Many of these amenities are still in use today, including the airports at Stephenville and
Torbay (today the St. John's International Airport). Perhaps of more profound and sweeping
significance, however, was the war exposure of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to North
American culture.
Cold War
The Soviet-American battle is termed as the "Cold War" hung heavy over global matters for
more than forty long years; configuring the world with wide-ranging military build-ups, an
constant nuclear arms competition, concentrated surveillance, and persistent technological
imitations. This threatening quarrel can be further expounded as the causes and consequences
drawn upon the world by the two giants namely, the United States of America and the Soviet
Union.
The Cold War was a consequence of the emergence of the US and the USSR as two giants
which were opponent to each other, it was also entrenched in the understanding that the
destruction caused by the use of atom bombs is very expensive for any country to bear. When
two opposing powers are in possession of nuclear weapons, capable of causing death and
destruction intolerable to each other, a full-fledged war is improbable. In spite of
provocations, neither side would want to risk war since no political gains would justify the
destruction of their societies. The Cold War started in Europe after World War II. The Soviet
Union gained control of Eastern Europe. It controlled half of Germany and half of Germany's
capital, Berlin. The United States, Britain, and France controlled western Germany and West
Berlin. In June 1948, the Soviet Union jammed roads and railroads that led to West Berlin.
The United States, Great Britain, and France flew in supplies. This was called the Berlin
Airlift. When the World War II ended, Korea split into North and South Korea. North Korea
became communist. South Korea followed the ideology of capitalist. North Korean army
occupied South Korea. The United Nations sent soldiers to help South Korea. China sent
soldiers to help North Korea. The war ended in 1953. Neither side won. Korea is still divided.
The United States and the Soviet Union were in a nuclear arms competition. In 1959, Cuba
became a communist country and the Soviets clandestinely put missiles there. President
Kennedy was worried that the Soviet Union would attack the United States. Therefore, he
sent warships to surround Cuba. He hoped a blockade would force the Soviet Union to
remove its missiles. This conflict was called the Cuban Missile Crisis. For six days, nuclear
war seemed possible. Then the Soviet Union removed the missiles.
The Cold War subjugated the second half of the 20th century, resulting in the downfall of
communism. The Cold War was a period of tension and unfriendliness between the United
States of America and the Soviet Union from the period of mid-40s to the late 80s. It began
with the end of the Second World War. Free society named it as World War III, but instead,
used an unusual name pertaining to no direct military conflict between the two nations,
fearing nuclear acceleration assured mutual devastation. However, both the nations indulged
in indirect conflicts and proxy wars by supporting associated nations in places like Korea and
Vietnam. Cuban missile crisis in 1962 was the closest the world ever came to a nuclear war;
when an American U2 spy plane took photographs of Soviet intermediate ballistic missiles
capable of carrying nuclear payloads, sending a total of 42 medium range missiles and 24
intermediate range missiles to Cuba. The US, then threatened to invade Cuba over the issue
forcing the Soviets to remove the missiles on America's assurance of not invading Cuba.
In the occurrence of a nuclear war, both sides would be so seriously harmed that it would be
impossible to declare one side or the other as the conqueror. Even if one of them tries to
attack and incapacitate the nuclear weapons of its rival, the other would still be left with
enough nuclear weapons to cause unacceptable destruction. This is called the logic of
'deterrence': both sides have the capacity to react against an attack and to cause so much
annihilation that neither can afford to initiate war. Therefore, the Cold War in spite of being
an intense form of competition between super powers remained a 'cold' and not hot or gunfire
war. The deterrence relationship averts war but not the competitiveness between giant
powers. The two superpowers and the countries in the rival blocs led by the superpowers
were anticipated to behave as balanced and responsible players. Because they understood the
dangers in fighting wars that might involve the two world power.
Causes of cold war: Major causes of cold war was as under:
1. The Soviet Union wanted to spread its philosophy of communism worldwide, which
alarmed the Americans who followed democracy.
2. The acquisition of atomic weapons by America caused fear in the Soviets.
3. Both countries feared an attack from each other adhering to mutual mass destruction.
4. The Soviet Union's action of taking control over Eastern Europe was a major factor
for US suspicions.
5. The US President had a personal dislike of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
6. America was annoyed by the Soviet Union's actions in the part of Germany it had
occupied.
7. The Soviets feared that America would use Western Europe as a base to attack it.
Effects of cold war:
The Cold War had considerable impact on civilisation, both today and in the past. In Russia,
military spending was cut intensely and rapidly. The effects of this were very large,
visualizing as the military-industrial sector had previously employed one of every five Soviet
adults and its dismantling left hundreds of millions throughout the former Soviet Union
jobless.
These effects can be analysed as follows:
1. Both the United States of America and the Soviet Union built up huge collections of
atomic weapons and airborne missiles.
2. The military blocs, NATO and the Warsaw Pact were formed.
3. Cold war led to damaging conflicts like the Vietnam War and the Korean War.
4. The Soviet Union collapsed due to economic flaws.
5. The Berlin Wall was destroyed and the two German nations were unified.
6. The Warsaw Pact collapsed.
7. The Baltic States and some former Soviet Republics achieved independence.
8. America became the single giant power of the world.
9. Communism collapsed worldwide.
After Russia embarked on capitalist economic improvements in the 1990s, it suffered a
financial catastrophe and a recession more severe than the United States and Germany had
experienced during the Great Depression. The living standard of Russian have deteriorated
overall in the post-Cold War years, although the economy has resumed growth since 1999.
The inheritance of the Cold War continues to influence world activities. After the closure of
the Soviet Union, the post-Cold War world is broadly considered as unipolar, with the United
States the sole remaining world power. The Cold War demarcated the political role of the
United States in the post-World War II world. By 1989 the United States held military
alliances with 50 countries, and had 1.5 million troops posted abroad in 117 countries. The
Cold War also institutionalized a global promise to huge, permanent peacetime military-
industrial complexes and large-scale military funding of science.
The US has invested heavily on military during the Cold War years which was estimated to
be $8 trillion, while nearly 100,000 Americans lost their lives in the Korean War and
Vietnam War. Although the loss of life among Soviet soldiers is difficult to estimate, as a
share of their gross national product the financial cost for the Soviet Union was far higher
than that of the United States.
In addition to the causalities of uniformed soldiers, millions of people died in the proxy wars
of superpowers at global scale, especially in Southeast Asia. Most of the proxy wars and
subsidies for local conflicts ended along with the Cold War. The incidence of interstate wars,
ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, as well as refugee and displaced persons crises were dropped
suddenly in the post-Cold War years.
The inheritance of Cold War battle, however, is not always easily removed, as many of the
economic and social tensions that were subjugated to create Cold War competition in parts of
the Third World remain acute. The collapse of state control in a number of areas formerly
ruled by Communist governments has generated new civil and ethnic clashes, particularly in
the former Yugoslavia. In Eastern Europe, the end of the Cold War has accompanied in a
period of economic development and there was an increment in the number of liberal
democracies, while in other parts of the world, such as Afghanistan, independence was
accompanied by state let-down.
After the Cold War, there were many facilities developed such as the availability of new
technologies for nuclear power and energy, and the use of radiation for improving medical
treatment and health. Environmental remediation, industrial production, research science, and
technology development have all aided from the carefully managed application of radiation
and other nuclear processes.
It was observed that despite the end of the Cold War, military development and expenditure
were continued, particularly in the deployment of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and
defensive systems.
In the end of cold war, there was no formalized treaty. The former superpowers have
sustained to maintain and even improve or modify existing nuclear weapons and delivery
systems. Moreover, other nations not previously acknowledged as nuclear-weapons states
have developed and tested nuclear-explosive devices. Due to continued delivery of military
weapons, there was huge risk of nuclear and radiological terrorism by possible sub-national
organizations or individuals.
The international non-proliferation government emanated from the Cold War still provides
disincentives and protections against national or sub-national access to nuclear materials and
facilities. Formal and informal measures and processes have effectually slowed national
incentives and the speed of international nuclear-weapons creation.
It can be summarized that cold war grew out of post-World War II tensions between the two
nations, the United States and the Soviet Union that continued for much of the second half of
the 20th century. It had many consequences such as mutual suspicions, intensified tensions
and a series of international incidents that brought the world's superpowers to the edge of
calamity.
 World History Colonization and De-colonization
In all parts of the world, Historians had great interest in the colonial past, decolonization, and
post-colonial theory which offers significant challenges for history didactics and the teaching
of history. It has been observed that there are massive transnational migration movements and
the increase in the number of culturally and religiously diverse states which have stemmed
from the processes of decolonization and globalization. It means that the history of
colonialism and decolonization as well as post-colonial perspectives have become important
elements of historical dialogue and perception.
Colonization: Colonialism is a political-economic fact whereby different nations discovered,
conquered, settled, and exploited large zones of the world. The term is originated from the
Latin word colere, which means to "to inhabit" (Rockman, 2003). Past reports indicated that
colonialism has been practiced throughout history and all over the world. Generally,
colonialism happens when people from one terrain establish or acquire, maintain, and
develop colonies in another region. In colonialism, the metropole or colonizing power claims
dominance over the colony.
Colonialism is a procedure of temporally extended domination by people over other people
and as such part of the historical cosmos of forms of intergroup domination, subjugation,
oppression, and exploitation (Horvath 1972). From a world-systems viewpoint, much of the
history of the capitalist world-economy is a history of colonialism, consisting of repeated and
more or less successful attempts by the core to create a periphery, to control it politically in
order to exploit it economically ( Sanderson 2005: 186f). Both the capitalist and pre-capitalist
world-systems have had colonial empires (Chase-Dunn/Hall 1997). Colonialism brings a
totally new existence to the colonies. Cultural which are unfamiliar to one another are
brought together and forced to interact and coexist. The subjugation of lands and forceful
coexistence of peoples of different backgrounds (as a result of the conquest) with different
beliefs and philosophies has brought about many changes, both negative and positive,
especially in the colonies.
Records have shown that the age of modern colonialism started around 1500, following the
European discoveries of a sea route around Africa's southern coast (1488) and of America
(1492). With these events, sea power shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and to
the developing nation-states of Portugal, Spain, the Dutch Republic, France, and England.
Often, colonization is determined by a desire for economic development. In the period of
sixteenth century, European colonization of Africa had significant role in development of
European economy. European colonization strengthened because Europeans had just
developed galleons or ships that could navigate more easily all the way to Africa. There was
easy access to foreign lands which encouraged European aristocracies and merchants to
discover new terrains in an effort to obtain raw materials and develop new markets.
Obtaining raw materials from overseas lands led to the Industrial Revolution, and the practice
of bondage. This created a new source of labour power for Europeans. This type of
colonialism promoted European economies but at the same time, it had harmful consequences
for African economies. Colonized terrains were forced to depend on colonizers for trade.
Local institutions and political structures were dismantled and substituted with ones imposed
by colonial influences.
These nations extended and colonized throughout the world through discovery, conquest, and
settlement, spreading European institutions and culture. Today, Colonialism has been
recognized with rule over peoples of different race occupying lands separated by salt water
from the imperial centre. Especially, it indicates direct political control by European states or
states established by Europeans, as the United States or Australia, over peoples of other races,
particularly over Asians and Africans. It has been documented that the most remarkable
colonial powers were Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and
Denmark, whose shared empires covered at various times the whole of North, Central and
South America, Africa, Australia, much of Indonesia, the countries lying in the Levant, much
of the Indian subcontinent as well as most of the countries lying in between. In short, most of
the world. Germany as a colonial power is often considered a minor aspect of Europe's
imperialist development.
Other features of the "colonial situation" are, domination of an alien minority, asserting racial
and cultural superiority, over a materially inferior native majority, contact between a
machine-oriented civilization with Christian origins, a powerful economy, and a rapid rhythm
of life and a non-Christian civilization that lacks machines and is marked by a backward
economy and a slow rhythm of life, and the imposition of the first civilization upon the
second.
Advantages of Colonialism
Religion: Colonialism has assisted to spread religion especially the Christian religion. The
European missionaries brought Christian religion to their colonies and communicated the
people of the colonies the religion very well. In the process of learning the religion the
colonial masters also made the people attain new skills. This brought about a development in
the people as they were being liberated from the illiteracy which had kept them in the dark
for many years. The initiation of the Christian religion brought many modifications to the
colonies. For example, in Southern Nigeria, Christianity helped stop the killing of twins as
the religion addressed equality and encouraged education for all people.
Modernization and technological advancement: Colonialism had contributed in
modernization of underdeveloped regions. Progressive technological equipment and
amenities necessary for improvements in medical and healthcare services, building of
railroads and other developments in transportation, modern education, all have helped in the
development of the colonies. These developments have improved the status of the colonies
internationally. The improvements in education have provided opportunities for competition
in different disciplines like literature, mathematics, art and science. This is apparent in Africa
with people like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiongo and other communities.
Discovery of natural resources: Colonisations helps in exploring natural resources which was
due to the provision of new technology known to the colonies by their colonial leaders. The
use of new technology made investigation of natural resources easier and more efficient. This
resulted in the development and progress of the colonies. It also increases job opportunities
for the people, even though they were not well paying jobs, and this added to the experience
of the people as they acquired knowledge and learned new skills which is beneficial to them.
This meant cheap labour for the colonial masters.
Expansion of land: Colonialism also brought about the enlargement of land for their colonies.
For example, before colonialism, there was no terrain known as Nigeria. There were only
towns and villages, which were more or less restricted to their areas, living on their own.
With the initiation of colonization, colonial masters expanded the land for all ethnic groups,
towns and villages. Members of any ethnic group can now move to and live in any part of the
country and call the place home. Language: The implementation of the language of the
colonial masters by the colonies have promoted unity to an extent in most multilingual and
multicultural nations. It is apparent in Nigeria which has well over five hundred languages.
Since no language is considered superior to the other, it would be difficult for any of the
native languages to be made the lingua franca. The adoption of English language has made
things easier for Nigerians as the language is foreign and does not belong to any particular
ethnic group or people in the country (Schaefer, 2008).
Disadvantages of Colonialism
Unfamiliar system of government: The colonial masters brought new and unfamiliar systems
of government which the inhabitants were not familiar with. These systems of government
gave less importance to, and had less regard for the systems of government of the colonies.
The methods of ruling which were introduced to the colonies were completely different from
what the natives were used to.
Loss and destruction of culture and land: Colonialism contributed vastly to the loss and
destruction of cultural norms and values of inhabitants. First of all the native languages of the
colonies were made lower to the languages of the colonial masters. The mode of dressing of
the people changed. Natives of the colonies started to dress and speak like the colonial
masters as they were made to believe that their colonial masters were superior human beings.
The Impact of Colonialism
There is great impacts of colonialism in the political, economic, and social spheres.
The Political Impact of Colonialism: In the political area, colonialism affects the pre-
colonial leaders, although domination took different forms. One impact of colonialism was
the political control of regions having no central government or, where centralization already
existed, the foreign take-over or domination of pre-colonial central government (Bockstette,
Chanda, and Putterman 2002). The extent of political control was different from colony to
colony, and often within colony from region to region (Bergesen and Schoenberg 1980).
Many writers differentiate between an allegedly British style of indirect rule and an allegedly
French style of direct administration. According to Herbst, British faithfulness to indirect rule
is overstated and "the notion of a single-minded colonial approach to ruling Africa is
therefore unsupported by the evidence" (2000: 82). Coleman draws these styles as polar
extremes of a continuum instead of as contradiction and puts them in standpoint. "In practice
these forms have not been applied consistently either over time or to the different traditional
authority systems within single territories" (1960: 265). Where there was the most effective
indirect rule, the political incorporation was more problematic and the tension between old
and new elites were more obvious. In contrast, where direct rule was most effective, the
political integration has been easier and less clogged by old elites. Lange (2004) analysed the
variation in British colonialism and debated that direct rule provided an administrative
structure based on formal rules and had a centralized legal-administrative structure with a
formal chain of command that interrelated the diverse state actors throughout the colony to
the central colonial administration in the metropole. Indirect rule encouraged local tyranny by
allowing traditional rulers to be "rent-seekers extraordinaire." Consequently, "the colonial
state in indirectly ruled colonies lacked the competences to implement policy outside of the
capital city and often had no option for following policy other than compulsion" (Lange
2004).
In places where colonialists had to manage with high mortality rates, they established less
and created extractive institutions (Acemoglu et al. 2001, 2002). In contrast to settler
colonies, these extractive institutions concentrate power and are prone to expropriation of
property. Grier stated that Institutions as educational facilities and infrastructure are more
established where colonization lasted longer (1999). She also highlights constitutional
differences within the British Empire. La Porta et al. (2008) are less concerned with
constitutional differences between the areas ruled by one colonial power, but rather between
different colonial powers. According to this investigation, the legal systems established in
British colonies are based on common law, which allows less state interference than the
French legal system established in other colonies. In between the two are the German,
Scandinavian, and Socialist legal systems.
The Economic Impact of Colonialism: The main urgings for economic impact of
colonialism are the 'drain of wealth,' expropriation (mainly of land), the control over
production and trade, the exploitation of natural resources, and the improvement of
infrastructure. Tomlinson summarizes about India that By the last quarter of the nineteenth
century India was the largest purchaser of British exports, a major employer of British civil
servants at high salaries, the provider of half of the Empire's military might, all paid for from
local revenues, and a significant recipient of British capital (Tomlinson 1993, Pp: 13).
Colonialism led to a considerable outflow of financial resources. It is best recognised in the
case of British India, where a controversy between Indian historians and protectors of British
colonialism still has not been settled. The so called "Home Charges," the official transfers of
funds by the colonial government to Britain between 1858 and 1947, consisted mainly of debt
service, pensions, India Office expenses in Britain, purchases of military items and railway
equipment.
The Social Impact of Colonialism: With the development of colonialism in India, new
middle class also arose which consisted of people who get a modern education and would
become interested in public services. Another significant group which emerged was a group
of trained professionals such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists. This group became
very important in society and was able to develop because of the British influence on
education in the country following the defeat of the British East India Company. This class
was more liberal in its viewpoint because it drew its position and strength from professional
competence rather than hereditary privilege (History Tuition 2014).
It is established from reviewing the colonialism process that colonialism is the strategy of one
nation who use its powers over other terrains, buy extending and occupying the other
territories through colonization, which is the process of controlling and inhabiting other
territories. In the 18th and 19th centuries, during the industrial revolution, European countries
became powerful and wealthier through industrialization as the other countries outside of
Europe became weaker since they failed to industrialize. Colonialism greatly impact on the
cultural, political, religious, economic and social aspects in the colony (Schaefer, 2008).
After World War II, colonial systems were pull to bits in a process called decolonization.
Decolonization
Decolonisation is the downfall of colonialism, where a nation establishes and maintains its
supremacy over dependent terrains. Decolonization is described as the collapse of
colonialism, or the claim of a previously colonized people for independence and self-
determination. In part, decolonization was the consequence of independence movements in
colonized territories. It was also the result of an intended economic decision made by colonial
authorities. The cost of maintaining colonial empires had begun to surpass their value for the
European powers. The Oxford English Dictionary explains decolonization as "the withdrawal
from its colonies of a colonial power; the acquisition of political or economic independence
by such colonies." Etemad (2000) affirmed that decolonization led to emigration of colony-
born Europeans thereby reducing the amount of human capital in the newly independent
nation.
Other experts define decolonization as a polity's movement from a status of political
dependence or subordination to a status of formal autonomy or sovereignty. In modern
practice, it is generally supposed that the regal or metropolitan centre is physically separated
from the dependency and that the two societies are culturally distinct. The term,
Decolonization refers specifically to the fragmentation of western overseas empires and their
replacement by sovereign states in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. It can be assumed
politically (attaining independence, autonomous home rule, union with the metropole or
another state), or culturally (removal of pernicious colonial effects). The term refers
predominantly to the dismantlement, in the years after World War II, of the colonial empires
established earlier to World War I all over the world.
The United Nations Special Committee on decolonization has specified that in the process of
decolonization there is no alternative to the colonizer allowing a process of self-determination
but in practice decolonization may involve either peaceful rebellion or national liberation
wars by pro-independence groups. It may be internal or involve the interference of foreign
supremacies acting individually or through international bodies such as the United Nations.
Many examples of decolonization can be found in the literatures of Thucydides, but there
have been several particularly active periods of decolonization in modern times. These
include the breakup of the Spanish Empire in the 19th century; of the German, Austro-
Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires following World War I; of the British, French,
Dutch, Japanese, Portuguese, Belgian and Italian colonial empires following World War II;
and of the Soviet Union (successor to the Russian Empire) following the Cold War. It is
shown in studies that decolonization refers to the ability to view and discuss non-European
cultures from an impartial, non-western viewpoint.
There are many ways by which decolonization can occur. Most commonly, the dependency
becomes a new independent state, a political entity recognized in the international field as
independent of other states and as possessing final jurisdiction over a defined territory and
population. Less often, decolonization may occur through the dependency's full incorporation
into an existing polity, such that it is no longer separate and subordinate.
In historical records, it is not clearly mentioned that when decolonization has occurred.
Puerto Rico's relation to the United States can be defined as one of colonial dependency or as
free association. In the 1960s, Portugal claimed to have no colonies, only foreign territories
formally combined into a unitary Portuguese state (Nogueira 1963). And where political
relations are not challenged, the absence of overt conflict makes it problematic to know when
independence has been achieved. There were three major elements that played massive role
in this decolonization process. First was the colonized peoples' hunger for independence,
secondly was the Second World War itself which established that colonial powers were no
longer indestructible, and thirdly was the new focus on anti-colonialism in United Nations.
The first upsurge of decolonization started with the liberation of Britain's thirteen continental
colonies as the United States of America. The French Revolution touched off a slave uprising
that led finally to the independence of the French colony of Saint Domingue as Haiti.
Portuguese Brazil and Spanish Central and South America became self-governing after the
Napoleonic Wars, which had cut Latin America off from the Iberian peninsula.
While the first period of decolonization was restricted to the Americas. In twentieth-century,
decolonization was global. It encompassed the freedom of most of the Indian subcontinent,
Southeast Asia and Australasia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. Between the
world wars, some of Britain's settler colonies and a number of insecurely held protectorates
became fully independent. After World War II, the major Asian colonies such as India,
Indonesia, Indochina, and the Philippines gained independence. This change rapidly speeded
during the 1960s, which saw the decolonization of approximately all of Africa. In the decade
of the 1980s, nearly all Western colonies had become self-governing or had been fully
integrated into sovereign states. One important difference between the two periods of
decolonization has to do with who sought independence. Early American decolonization were
creole revolutions, as the offspring of European settlers sought political independence from
their mother country. The American Revolution and the Spanish Wars for Independence were
political instead of social revolutions. Slave revolt in Haiti provided the sole exception, to the
revulsion of creole nationalists as well as loyalists elsewhere.
On the contrary, twentieth-century decolonization was deep-rooted in aboriginal rather than
creole movements for independence, as decolonization came to mean autonomy from racially
foreign rule. After World War II, settler subgroups opposed decolonization, since national
independence spelled an end to their privileged political, economic, and social position. Only
in South Africa did a racialist minority government survived decolonization.
The first and second influences of decolonization also varied importantly terms of violence
involved. Early decolonization in the America was gained through military battle between
settler and imperial forces. Wars for independence fumed in Britain's thirteen continental
colonies, in Spanish Central and South America, and in Haiti. Only in Portuguese Brazil was
independence attained without a battle because Brazil was richer and more populated than
Portugal.
During the twentieth century, prolonged wars for independence were fought in Indochina,
Indonesia, Algeria, and Angola. But these were the exceptions to the rule. Most colonies
became independent without organized violence between the imperial state and colonial
nationalists. In much of Africa, imperial powers practically abandoned colonies at the first
sign of antagonism to the colonial regime. In the middle of 1960s, decolonization had become
a rather routine activity for many imperial powers, often attained through institutionalized
expressions of popular will.
Decolonization has greatly affected on the economies of the newly formed states. It was
observed that newly independent African states had to improve an economic system.
Furthermore, even though the previous colonies were now formally independent, they were
still rather dependent on the West for support in developing economic and political structures.
Therefore, western companies still had a significant amount of control over the new states.
Newly independent states borrowed money from the Western countries in order to fund their
own development which created a new system of debt. For decades, this debt has been
politically not possible for many countries to pay off and still exists. The consequences of
decolonization for more general notions of international supremacy or mistreatment are
strongly contested. Dependency and world systems thinkers visualized decolonization as
producing modification in the mere form, but not the content, of core-periphery relations
(Chase-Dunn and Rubinson 1979). The main debate is that contact between more and less
developed economies tends generally to strengthen the differential between them, even in the
absence of explicit political controls. Dependency on overseas capital has been contended to
slow long-term economic development (Bornschier et al. 1978) and more generally to shape
the political and economic structure of the dependent society (Cardoso and Faletto 1979).
Regardless of these apprehensions, it is established that decolonization involves a
fundamental change in the structures regulating international exchange, especially in the post-
World War II period. Contemporary states are equipped with broadly accepted rights to
control economic activity within their boundaries, including rights to nationalize foreign-
owned industries and renegotiate contracts with multinational corporations (Lipson 1985).
Third World nations mobilize around these rights (Krasner 1985), and the negative impact of
economic dependency seems to fall when the bordering state is strong (Delacroix and Ragin
1981).
To summarize, the process of colonialism typically involved the relocation of populace to a
new terrain, where the arrivals lived as permanent settlers while maintaining political fidelity
to their country of origin. Colonialism is a practice of authority, which involves the
suppression of one people to another. Decolonization is the opposing of colonialism. In this
process, one nation establishes itself self-governing and separate from the state it had
emerged from.
 World History: Industrial revolution from 18th century
In history, it is documented that the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th
centuries was radical because it changed the industrious capability of England, Europe and
United States. These revolutionary changes were in seen in development of new machines,
smoke-belching factories, increased productivity and an augmented standard of living. The
Industrial Revolution was an era during which principally agrarian, rural societies in Europe
and America became industrialised and metropolitan. Earlier to the Industrial Revolution,
manufacturing was done in homes. People used hand tools or basic machines.
Industrialization was observed as a period of shifting to powered, special-purpose machinery,
factories and mass production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of
the steam engine, played vital roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw advanced
systems of transportation, communication and banking. Though industrialization brought
advancement of technology and variety of manufactured goods and enhanced standard of
living for particular group of people but it also caused in unemployment and living conditions
for the poor and working classes.
With industrial revolution, English, European, and American society transformed to a deep
level. Like the Improvement or the French Revolution, no one was left unaffected. Everyone
was affected in one way or another peasant and noble, parent and child, artisan and captain of
industry. The Industrial Revolution created modern Western society. Harold Perkin has
witnessed that "the Industrial Revolution was no mere sequence of changes in industrial
techniques and production, but a social revolution with social causes as well as profound
social effects" (The Origins of Modern English Society, 1780-1880 (1969). Many
intellectuals explained that The Industrial Revolution was the changeover to new
manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to between 1820 and 1840. This
evolution included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical
manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the
increasing use of steam power, and the development of machine tools. It also comprised the
change from wood and other bio-fuels to coal. Textiles were the foremost industry of the
Industrial Revolution as it offers huge employment, value of output and capital invested. It
was observed that the textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods
(Landes 1969).
Historical evidences signified that the Industrial Revolution results a major defining moment
in history; as every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Particularly, average
income and population began to reveal unparalleled sustained growth. Several economists
stated that the major impact of the Industrial Revolution was enhancement of living standard
for the general population. Although other group of scholars have said that it did not begin to
profoundly improve until the late 19th and 20th centuries (Feinstein, 1998).
It has been documented in studies that the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain, and
spread to Western Europe and North America within a few decades (Landes 1969). The exact
start and end of the Industrial Revolution is still disputed among historians, as is the speed of
economic and social changes (Berg, 1998). GDP per capita was generally stable before the
Industrial Revolution and the advent of the modern capitalist economy, while the Industrial
Revolution began a period of per-capita economic development in capitalist economies
(Lucas, 2003). Economic historians agreed that the beginning of the Industrial Revolution is
significant event in the history of humankind since the domestication of animals, plants and
fire.
The First Industrial Revolution progressed into the Second Industrial Revolution in the
transition years between 1840 and 1870, when technological and economic development
sustained with the increasing acceptance of steam transport (steam-powered railways, boats
and ships), the large-scale manufacture of machine tools and the increasing use of machinery
in steam-powered factories. Many modern historian observed that the industrial revolution
was basically a technological revolution, and progress in understanding it can be made by
focussing on the sources of invention.
Causes:
There were heated debate among historians, intellectuals and scholars to understand the
causes of industrial revolution as it is very complicated issue. It is established that some
historians visualized the Revolution as a consequence of social and institutional changes
brought by the end of feudalism in Britain after the English Civil War in the 17th century. As
national border controls became more effective and it also prevent in transmission of various
deadly disease. The percentage of children who lived past infancy rose significantly and it
resulted in creating huge workforce. The Enclosure movement and the British Agricultural
Revolution made food production more effective and less labour-intensive, forcing the excess
population who could no longer find employment in agriculture into cottage industry. The
colonial expansion of the 17th century with the associated development of international trade,
creation of financial markets and accumulation of capital are also mentioned as factors, as is
the scientific revolution of the 17th century.
Primary cause of industrial revolution is the population's increase. Since the XVIII century,
epidemics of plague were vanishing and the development of agriculture allowed the growth
of food production and then there was a decline in catastrophic mortality (hunger, wars and
epidemics). In addition, population's increase augmented demand for goods and services. It
promoted technical innovations that increased production and profits. Several technological
invention also led to the industrial revolution and major enabling technology was the
invention and development of the steam engine. These inventions began in England in the
textile sector, at the beginning they were very simple inventions, they were built of wood and
made by artisans and people without scientific preparation, but after that, this technological
development in the industry made possible the emergence of factory. It is a place where a
high production is achieved through the division of labour because each worker takes charge
of only in a portion of the process.
Another cause for the industrial revolution was the expansion of foreign trade. The foreign
trade led to get inexpensive and plentiful raw materials and achieved broad market for
industrial products. So, people generated revenues through reducing of production costs and
expanding of their market, take advantage of that opportunity was unquestionably the best
option. Although primarily the countries of northern Europe had organized a global trade for
their benefit and their privileged status was delaying the industrialization of the rest of the
world, the discovery of the optimization of profits through the purchase of raw materials in
other markets led to countries realized that it was essential to establish stable relations with
markets elsewhere in the world.
Other important ground for the industrial revolution is the need to develop effective means of
transportation. The increase of population and agricultural production and also the
development of trade had created big markets in which it was needed to bring the products
from one place to another. Therefore, it was imperative to develop and improve means of
transport. Moreover, improving the means of transport was not an easy task because it was a
slow and tortuous process. However the growing need for efficient and effective means of
transport, it led to the invention of railways and steamboats. All these aspects incontestably
reinforced the development of the industrial revolution
The existence of a big domestic market should also be deliberated an important cause of the
Industrial Revolution especially in Britain. In other nations, such as France, markets were
divided up by local regions, which often imposed tolls and tariffs on goods traded amongst
them.
Causes for industrial revolution happened in Europe:
Many historians wanted to explore the reason for eruption of the Industrial Revolution in the
beginning of 18th century of Europe only and not rest of the world in the 18th century,
particularly China, India, and the Middle East, or at other times like in Classical Antiquity or
the middle Ages. Several factors have been proposed, including ecology, government, and
culture. Benjamin Elman debated that China was in a high level symmetry trap in which the
non-industrial methods were well-organized enough to avert use of industrial methods with
high costs of capital. Kenneth Pomeranz, in the Great Divergence, claimed that Europe and
China were remarkably similar in 1700, and that the crucial transformations which produced
the Industrial Revolution in Europe were sources of coal near manufacturing centres, and raw
materials such as food and wood from the New World, which permitted Europe to expand
economically in a way that China could not rise. However, most historians challenge the
statement that Europe and China were approximately equal because modern estimates of per
capita income on Western Europe in the late 18th century are of roughly 1,500 dollars in
purchasing power parity (and Britain had a per capita income of nearly 2,000 dollars )
whereas China, by comparison, had only 450 dollars.
Other historians such as David Landes and Max Weber gave different causes for industrial
revolution in China and Europe. The religion and beliefs of Europe were mainly products of
Judaeo-Christianity, and Greek thought. On the contrary, Chinese society was founded on
men like Confucius, Mencius, Han Feizi (Legalism), Lao Tzu (Taoism), and Buddha
(Buddhism). The major difference between these belief systems was that those from Europe
focused on the individual, while Chinese philosophies focused on relationships between
people. The family unit was more important than the individual for the large majority of
Chinese history, and this may have important role for the occurrence of the Industrial
Revolution in China. There was the additional difference as to whether people looked
backwards to a supposedly magnificent past for answers to their questions or looked
optimistically to the future. Additionally, Western European peoples had experienced the
Resurgence and Improvement; other parts of the world had not had a similar knowledgeable
breakout, a condition that holds factual even into the 21st century.
With reference to India, the Marxist historian Rajani Palme Dutt had stated that "The capital
to finance the Industrial Revolution in India instead went into financing the Industrial
Revolution in England." In contrast to China, India was split up into many rival kingdoms,
such as the Marathas, Sikhs and the Mughals. Additionally, the economy was highly
dependent on two sectors that include agriculture of subsistence and cotton, and technical
innovation was non-existent. Huge wealth were stored away in palace treasuries, and as such,
were easily moved to Britain.
Causes for occurrence in Britain:
Historians stated that the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain was due to
abundant natural or financial resources that Britain received from its many foreign colonies
or that profits from the British slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean assisted fuel
industrial investment. It has been designated that bondage provided only 5% of the British
national income during the years of the Industrial Revolution. A major cause for the
Industrial Revolution was the huge spurt of population growth in England. Alongside the fast
growth in population, medical systems had also enhanced, thus there was a reduction in the
number of epidemics that spread resulting in less of a death toll through lack of medical
knowledge.
Otherwise, the greater liberalisation of trade from a large merchant base may have permitted
Britain to produce and use emerging scientific and technological developments more
efficiently as compared to countries with stronger kingdoms, particularly China and Russia.
Britain arose from the Napoleonic wars as the only European nation not ravaged by financial
plunder and economic downfall, and possessing the only merchant fleet of any useful size.
Britain's wide-ranging exporting cottage industries also safeguarded markets which were
already available for many early forms of manufactured goods. The struggle resulted in most
British warfare being conducted overseas, reducing the disturbing effects of territorial
conquest that affected much of Europe.
Industrial revolution happened in Britain because of a dense population for its small
geographical size. Enclosure of common land and the related Agricultural Revolution made a
supply of this labour readily available. There was also a local coincidence of natural
resources in the North of England, the English Midlands, South Wales and the Scottish
Lowlands. Local supplies of coal, iron, lead, copper, tin, limestone and water power, resulted
in excellent conditions for the development and development of industry. Also, the damp,
mild weather conditions of the North West of England provided perfect conditions for the
spinning of cotton, providing a natural starting point for the birth of the textiles industry.
Another ground for industrial revolution in Britain was the stable political situation from
around 1688, and British society's greater receptivity to change was major factors to favour
the Industrial Revolution.
Innovations in the period of industrial revolution:
In the beginning, the Industrial Revolution was closely related to a small number of
innovations, made in the second half of the 18th century: Textiles: The progression of the
textile industry was major development in Britain's industrialization. Cotton spinning started
by using Richard Arkwright's water frame. This was patented in 1769 and so came out of
patent in 1783. The end of the patent was rapidly followed by the creation of many cotton
mills. Similar technology was afterward applied to spinning worsted yarn for various textiles
and flax for linen.
Inventions in the Textile Industry:
  1733 - Flying shuttle invented by John Kay - an improvement to looms that enabled
weavers to weave faster.
 1742 - Cotton mills were first opened in England.
 1764 - Spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves - the first machine to improve
upon the spinning wheel.
 1764 - Water frame invented by Richard Arkwright - the first powered textile
machine.
 1769 - Arkwright patented the water frame.
 1770 - Hargreaves patented the Spinning Jenny.
 1773 - The first all-cotton textiles were produced in factories.
 1779 - Crompton invented the spinning mule that allowed for greater control over the
weaving process.
 1785 - Cartwright patented the power loom. It was improved upon by William
Horrocks, known for his invention of the variable speed batton in 1813.
 1787 - Cotton goods production had increased 10 fold since 1770.
 1789 - Samuel Slater brought textile machinery design to the US.
 1790 - Arkwright built the first steam powered textile factory in Nottingham,
England.
 1792 - Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin - a machine that automated the separation
of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fibre.
 1804 - Joseph Marie Jacquard invented the Jacquard Loom that weaved complex
designs. Jacquard invented a way of automatically controlling the warp and weft
threads on a silk loom by recording patterns of holes in a string of cards.
 1813 - William Horrocks invented the variable speed batton (for an improved power
loom).
 1856 - William Perkin invented the first synthetic dye (Bellis).
Steam power: The enhanced steam engine developed by James Watt which was mainly used
for pumping out mines, but from the 1780s, it was applied to power machines. This permitted
rapid development of efficient semi-automated factories on an earlier unimaginable scale in
places where waterpower was not available.
Iron founding: In the Iron industry, coke was finally applied to all stages of iron smelting,
replacing charcoal. This had been attained much earlier for lead and copper as well as for
producing pig iron in a blast furnace, but the second stage in the production of bar iron
depended on the use of potting and stamping. These signify three major sectors in which
innovations were recognized and which allowed the economic launch by which the Industrial
Revolution is usually demarcated. Later inventions such as the power loom and Richard
Trevithick's high pressure steam engine were also become important in the development of
industrialisation in Britain.
Transfer of knowledge:
There were various means to transfer knowledge of new innovation. Employees who were
trained in the technique might move to another employer or might be stolen. A common
method was for someone to make a study tour, gathering information where he could. During
the Industrial Revolution and for the century before, all European countries and America
involved in study-touring; some nations, like Sweden and France, even trained civil servants
or technicians to assume it as a matter of state policy. In other countries, particularly Britain
and America, this practice was done by individual manufacturers anxious to improve their
own methods. Study tours were common then, as now, as was the keeping of travel records.
Records made by industrialists and technicians of the period are an unparalleled source of
information about their methods.
Another way to the transmit innovation was by the network of informal philosophical
societies, like the Lunar Society of Birmingham, in which members met to discuss 'natural
philosophy' and often its application to manufacturing. The Lunar Society succeeded from
1765 to 1809, and it has been said of them, "They were, if you like, the revolutionary
committee of that most far reaching of all the eighteenth century revolutions, the Industrial
Revolution".
There were publications that explains technology. Encyclopaedias such as Harris's Lexicon
technicum (1704) and Dr Abraham Rees's Cyclopaedia (1802-1819) encompass much of
value. Cyclopaedia contains huge information about the science and technology of the first
half of the Industrial Revolution, very well illustrated by fine engravings. Foreign printed
sources such as the Descriptions des Arts et Metiers and Diderot's Encyclopedie explained
foreign methods with fine engraved plates. Periodical publications about manufacturing and
technology began to appear in the last decade of the 18th century, and many frequently
included notice of the latest patents. Foreign periodicals, such as the Annales des Mines,
published accounts of travels made by French engineers who observed British methods on
study tours.
Technological developments in Britain:
In Britain, there were huge technical progression in every field due to industrial revolution.
Textile manufacture: In the beginning of 18th century, British textile manufacture was based
on wool which was processed by individual artisans. They performed spinning and weaving
task at their own premises. This system is called a cottage industry. Flax and cotton were also
used for fine materials, but the processing was problematic because of the pre-processing
needed, and thus small quantity of goods in these materials were produced. Use of the
spinning wheel and hand loom limited the manufacture capacity of the industry, but
incremental advances increased efficiency to the extent that manufactured cotton goods
became the dominant British export by the early decades of the 19th century. India was
displaced as the leading supplier of cotton merchandises.
Metallurgy:
In the period of industrial revolution, the major change in the metal industries was the
replacement of organic fuels based on wood with fossil fuel based on coal. Much of this
occurred before the Industrial Revolution, based on innovations by Sir Clement Clerke and
others from 1678, using coal reverberator furnaces known as cupolas. These were operated
by the flames, which contained carbon monoxide, playing on the ore and reducing the oxide
to metal. This has the benefit that impurities (such as sulphur) in the coal do not migrate into
the metal. This technology was useful to lead from 1678 and to copper from 1687. It was also
applied to iron foundry work in the 1690s, but in this case the reverberatory furnace was
known as an air furnace. The foundry cupola is a different invention.
Other innovation was done by Abraham Darby, who made great strides using coke to fuel his
blast furnaces at Coalbrookdale in 1709. Nevertheless, the coke pig iron he made was used
mostly for the production of cast iron goods such as pots and kettles. He had the advantage
over his competitors in that his pots, cast by his patented process, were thinner and cheaper
than theirs. Coke pig iron was hardly used to produce bar iron in forges until the mid 1750s,
when his son Abraham Darby II built Horsehay and Ketley furnaces (not far from
Coalbrookdale). By then, coke pig iron was inexpensive than charcoal pig iron.
Till that time, British iron industrialists had used considerable amounts of imported iron to
supplement native supplies. This came principally from Sweden from the mid 17th century
and later also from Russia from the end of the 1720s. However, from 1785, imports reduced
because of the new iron making technology, and Britain became an exporter of bar iron as
well as manufactured wrought iron consumer goods. Since iron was becoming cheaper and
more abundant, it also became a major structural material following the building of the
innovative Iron Bridge in 1778 by Abraham Darby III. Upgrading was made in the
production of steel, which was luxurious commodity and used only where iron would not do,
such as for the cutting edge of tools and for springs. Benjamin Huntsman developed his
crucible steel technique in the 1740s. The raw material for this was blister steel, made by the
cementation process.
The supply of cheaper iron and steel aided the development of boilers and steam engines, and
eventually railways. Developments in machine tools permitted better working of iron and
steel and further enhanced the industrial progression of Britain.
Mining:
Coal mining in Britain, especially in South Wales began early. Before the steam engine, pits
were often narrow bell pits following a seam of coal along the surface which were abandoned
as the coal was extracted. Shaft mining was done in some areas, but the limiting factor was
the problem of removing water. It could be done by carrying buckets of water up the shaft or
to a sough (a tunnel driven into a hill to drain a mine). In either case, the water had to be
discharged into a stream or ditch at a level where it could flow away by gravity. The
introduction of the steam engine greatly enabled the removal of water and allowed shafts to
be made deeper, enabling more coal to be extracted. These were developments that had begun
before the Industrial Revolution, but the acceptance of James Watt's more efficient steam
engine from the 1770s reduced the fuel costs of engines, making mines more lucrative.
Steam power:
In the beginning of industrial revolution, there was development of the stationary steam
engine however, for most of the period of the Industrial Revolution, the majority of industries
still depend on wind and water power as well as horse and man-power for driving small
machines. The industrial use of steam power began with Thomas Savery in 1698. He created
and patented in London the first engine, which he called the "Miner's Friend" since he
intended it to pump water from mines. The first successful machine was the atmospheric
engine, a low performance steam engine developed by Thomas Newcomen in 1712.
Newcomen actually conceived his machine quite independently of Savery. His engines used a
piston and cylinder, and it operated with steam just above atmospheric pressure which was
used to produce a partial vacuum in the cylinder when condensed by jets of cold water. The
vacuum sucked a piston into the cylinder which moved under pressure from the atmosphere.
The engine produced a succession of power strokes which could work a pump but could not
drive a rotating wheel. They were effectively put to use for pumping out mines in Britain,
with the engine on the surface working a pump at the bottom of the mine by a long
connecting rod. These were large machines, requiring a lot of capital to build, but produced
about 5 hp. They were incompetent, but when located where coal was inexpensive at pit
heads, they were usefully employed in pumping water from mines. Despite using a lot of fuel,
Newcomen engines continued to be used in the coalfields until the early period of the
nineteenth century because they were trustworthy and easy to maintain.
Around 1800, the most common pattern of steam engine was the beam engine, which was
built within a stone or brick engine-house, but during that time various patterns of portable
(readily removable engines, but not on wheels) engines were invented such as the table
engine. Richard Trevithick, a Cornish blacksmith, began to use high pressure steam with
improved boilers in 1799. This permitted engines to be compact enough to be used on mobile
road and rail locomotives and steam boats. In the beginning of 19th century after the
expiration of Watt's patent, the steam engine had many enhancements by a host of inventors
and engineers.
Chemicals:
During the Industrial Revolution, huge number of chemicals were produced. The first of
these was the production of sulphuric acid by the lead chamber process developed by the
Englishman John Roebuck (James Watt's first partner) in 1746. He was able to greatly
increase the scale of the manufacture by substituting the relatively expensive glass vessels
formerly used with larger, less expensive chambers made of riveted sheets of lead.
The production of an alkali on a large scale became an important goal as well, and Nicolas
Leblanc succeeded in 1791 to introduce a method for the production of sodium carbonate.
These two chemicals were very important because they enabled the introduction of a host of
other inventions, replacing many small-scale operations with more lucrative and controllable
processes. Sodium carbonate had many uses in the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries.
Early uses for sulphuric acid included pickling (removing rust) iron and steel, and for
bleaching cloth.
Scottish chemist Charles Tennant developed the chemical component bleaching powder
(calcium hypochlorite) in about 1800, based on the discoveries of French chemist Claude
Louis Berthollet which revolutionised the bleaching processes in the textile industry by
radically reducing the time required (from months to days) for the traditional process then in
use, which required repeated exposure to the sun in bleach fields after soaking the textiles
with alkali or sour milk.
In 1824 Joseph Aspdin, patented a chemical process for making portland cement which was
an important development in the building trades. This process involves sintering a mixture of
clay and limestone to about 1400 BC, then grinding it into a fine powder which is then mixed
with water, sand and gravel to produce concrete. It was used several years later by the famous
English engineer, Marc Isambard Brunel, who used it in the Thames Tunnel. Cement was
used on a large scale in the construction of the London sewerage system by next generation.
Machine tools:
In the era of the Industrial Revolution, several machine tools were developed. They have their
origins in the tools developed in the 18th century by makers of clocks and watches and
scientific instrument makers to assist them to batch-produce small mechanisms. The
mechanical parts of early textile machines were sometimes called 'clockwork' because of the
metal spindles and gears they integrated. The manufacture of textile machines drew
craftsmen from these trades and is the basis of the modern engineering manufacturing.
Machines were built by various craftsmen such as carpenters made wooden framings, and
smiths and turners made metal parts. Machine tools changed manufacturing process in
Birmingham, England, in 1830. The invention of a new machine by William Joseph Gillott,
William Mitchell and James Stephen Perry permitted mass manufacture of vigorous,
inexpensive steel pen nibs. The process had been laborious and expensive. Due to difficulty
in manipulating metal and the lack of machine tools, the use of metal was kept to a minimum.
Wood framing had the drawback of changing dimensions with temperature and humidity, and
the various joints tended to rack (work loose) over time. As the Industrial Revolution
advanced, machines with metal frames became more common, but they required machine
tools to make them economically. Before the initiation of machine tools, metal was worked
manually using the basic hand tools of hammers, files, scrapers, saws and chisels. Besides
workshop lathes used by craftsmen, the first big machine tool was the cylinder boring
machine used for boring the large-diameter cylinders on early steam engines. The planing
machine, the slotting machine and the shaping machine were developed in the early period of
the 19th century. Although the milling machine was developed at this time, it was not
developed as an important workshop tool until during the Second Industrial Revolution.
Gas lighting:
In the later period of industrial revolution, another major industry was gas lighting. Though
others made a similar invention elsewhere, the large scale introduction of this was the work
of William Murdoch, an employee of Boulton and Watt, the Birmingham steam engine
pioneers. The process consisted of the large scale gasification of coal in furnaces, the
purification of the gas (removal of sulphur, ammonium, and heavy hydrocarbons), and its
storage and distribution. The first gas-lighting utilities were established in London between
1812 to 1820. They soon became one of the major customers of coal in the UK. Gas-lighting
had immense impact on social and industrial organisation because it permitted factories and
stores to remain open longer than with tallow candles or oil.
Transport in Britain:
In the start of the Industrial Revolution, inland transport was by navigable rivers and roads,
with coastal vessels employed to move heavy goods by sea. Railways or wagon ways were
used for carrying coal to rivers for further shipment, but canals had not yet been built.
Animals supplied all of the motive power on land, with sails providing the motive power on
the sea. The Industrial Revolution enhanced transport infrastructure of Britain with a turnpike
road network, a canal, and waterway network, and a railway network. Raw materials and
finished products could be transported more rapidly and inexpensively than earlier period.
Coastal sail:
Coastal sail were improved during industrial revolution period. Sailing vessels had been used
for moving goods round the British coast since long time. The trade transporting coal to
London from Newcastle had begun in mediaeval times. The major international seaports such
as London, Bristol, and Liverpool, were the means by which raw materials such as cotton
might be imported and finished goods exported. Transporting goods onwards within Britain
by sea was common during the whole of the Industrial Revolution and become down with the
development of the railways at the end of the period.
Navigable rivers:
In the period of the Industrial Revolution, all the major rivers of the United Kingdom were
navigable. Some were anciently navigable, particularly the Severn, Thames, and Trent. Some
were enhanced, or had navigation extended upstream. River, The Severn mainly used for the
transportation of goods to the Midlands which had been imported into Bristol from abroad,
and for the export of goods from centres of production in Shropshire and the Black Country.
Canals:
Another development in Britain during industrial revolution era was construction of canals.
Canals began to be built in the late eighteenth century to connect the major manufacturing
centres in the Midlands and north with seaports and with London, at that time itself the
largest manufacturing centre in the country. Canals were the first technology to allow bulk
materials to be easily transported across nation. By the 1820s, a national network was in
existence. Canal construction served as a model for the organisation and methods later used
to build the railways.
Roads:
The original British road system was poorly maintained well by thousands of local
communities, but from the 1720s, turnpike trusts were established to charge tolls and
maintain some roads. Increasing numbers of main roads were turnpiked from the 1750s to the
extent that almost every main road in England and Wales was the responsibility of some
turnpike trust. New planned roads were constructed by John Metcalf, Thomas Telford and
John Macadam. The major turnpikes radiated from London and were the means by which the
Royal Mail was able to reach the rest of the country. Heavy goods transport on these roads
was by means of slow broad wheeled carts dragged by teams of horses. Lighter goods were
transported by smaller carts or by teams of pack horses.
Railways:
Wagon ways to transport coal in the mining areas had begun in the 17th century and were
often related with canal or river systems for the further movement of coal. These were all
horse drawn or relied on gravity, with a stationary steam engine to drag the wagons back to
the top of the incline. The first applications of the steam locomotive were on wagon or plate
ways. Horse-drawn public railways did not begin until the beginning of the 19th century.
Steam-hauled public railways began with the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 and
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830. The building of major railways which
connected big cities and towns began in the 1830s but started at the end of the first Industrial
Revolution.
Social effects of industrial revolution:
With reference to social structure, the Industrial Revolution perceived the success of a middle
class of industrialists and businessmen over a landed class of dignity and gentry. Normal
working people found greater opportunities for employment in the new mills and factories,
but these were often under strict working conditions with long hours of labour dominated by
a pace set by machines. Nevertheless, harsh working conditions were widespread long before
the industrial revolution took place as well. Pre-industrial society was very static and often
cruel. Child labour, dirty living conditions and long working hours were as predominant
before the Industrial Revolution.
Factories and urbanization:
Industrialisation resulted in emergence of many factories. Debatably, the first was John
Lombe's water-powered silk mill at Derby was operational by 1721. However, the rise of the
factory came somewhat later when cotton spinning was automatic. The factory system was
mainly responsible for the development of the modern city, as workers travelled into the
cities in search for getting employment in the factories. For much of the 19th century,
production was done in small mills, which were typically powered by water and built to serve
local needs. Later each mill had its own steam engine and a tall chimney to give an efficient
draft through its boiler. The changeover to industrialisation was not solely smooth. It was
observed that a group of English workers known as Luddites formed to protest against
industrialisation and sometimes damaged factories. One of the earliest campaigners of factory
conditions was Robert Owen.
Child labour:
Due to the Industrial Revolution, there was increase in population. Industrial workers were
better paid than those in agriculture. With more money, women took nutritious diet and had
healthier babies, who were themselves better fed. Death rates weakened, and the distribution
of age in the population became more youthful. In the age of industrial revolution, there was
limited opportunity for education, and children were expected to work. Employers could pay
a child less than an adult even though their productivity was comparable. There was no need
for strength to operate an industrial machine, and since the industrial system was completely
new and experienced adult labourers were not available. This increased recruitment of child
labour for manufacturing in the early phases of the industrial revolution. Child labour had
existed before the Industrial Revolution, but with the increase in population and education it
became more noticeable. Before the passing of laws protecting children, many were forced to
work in awful conditions for much lower pay than their elders.
Politicians and the government took major initiative to curb the practice of child labour by
law, but factory owners resisted. They rationalized that they were helping the poor by giving
their children money to buy food to avoid starvation, and others simply welcomed the cheap
labour. In 1833 and 1844, the first general laws against child labour, the Factory Acts, were
passed in England. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work, children were not
allowed to work at night, and the work day of youth under the age of 18 was limited to twelve
hours. Factory inspectors administered the implementation of the law. About ten years later,
the employment of children and women in mining was prohibited. These laws reduced the
number of child labourers. However, child labour remained in Europe up to the 20th century.
Housing:
In the period of the Industrial Revolution, life style of people varied from the magnificence of
the homes of the owners to the foulness of the lives of the workers. Poor people lived in very
small houses in overcrowded streets. These homes would share toilet facilities, have open
sewers and would be at risk of damp. Disease was transmitted through a contaminated water
supply. Conditions did improve during the 19th century as public health acts were introduced
covering things such as sewage, hygiene and making some boundaries upon the construction
of homes. The Industrial Revolution created a better living for middle class of professionals
such as lawyers and doctors. The conditions for the poor improved over the course of the
19th century because of government and local plans which led to cities becoming cleaner
places, still life had not been improved for the poor before industrialisation. However, after
the revolution, huge numbers of the working class died due to disease spreading through the
cramped living conditions. Chest diseases from the mines, cholera from polluted water and
typhoid were also extremely common, as was smallpox. Accidents in factories with child and
female workers were common.
Luddites:
The speedy industrialisation of the English economy disrupted job opportunities to craft
workers. The textile industry in particular industrialised primary, and many weavers found
themselves abruptly jobless since they could no longer compete with machines which only
required relatively limited (and unskilled) labour to produce more cloth than a single weaver.
Many such unemployed labours, weavers and others, turned their hostility towards the
machines that had taken their jobs and began destroying factories and machinery. These
assailants became known as Luddites, supposedly followers of Ned Ludd, a folklore figure.
The first attacks of the Luddite movement began in 1811. The Luddites rapidly gained
popularity, and the British government had to take strict measures to shield industry.
Organisation of labour:
The Industrial Revolution focused labour into mills, factories and mines, therefore facilitating
the organisation of combinations or trade unions to help advance the interests of working
people. The power of a union could demand better terms by extracting all labour and causing
a consequent termination of production. Employers had to decide between giving in to the
union demands at a cost to themselves or suffer the cost of the lost production. Capable
workers were difficult to replace, and these were the first groups to effectively advance their
conditions through this kind of negotiation.
The main method the unions used to effect change was strike action. Strikes were throbbing
events for both sides, the unions and the management. In England, the Combination Act
prohibited workers to form any kind of trade union from 1799 until its repeal in 1824. Even
after this, unions were still severely controlled. In the 1830s and 1840s, the Chartist
movement was the first large scale organised working class political movement which
electioneered for political impartiality and social justice. Its Charter of reforms received over
three million signatures but was overruled by Parliament without consideration. Unions
gradually overcame the legal restrictions on the right to strike. In 1842, a General Strike
involving cotton workers and colliers was organised through the Chartist movement which
stopped production across Great Britain. Ultimately, effective political organisation for
working people was attained through the trades unions who, after the extensions of the
franchise in 1867 and 1885, began to support socialist political parties that later merged to
became the British Labour Party.
Other effects:
The application of steam power to the industrial processes of printing supported enormous
expansion of newspaper and popular book publishing, which strengthened rising literacy and
demands for mass political participation. During the Industrial Revolution, the life
expectancy of children increased dramatically.
Industrial revolution in United States:
The Industrial Revolution in America had impacted greatly in every aspect of society.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in 1750. At the beginning of the 19th
century, America was generally an agrarian (agricultural) society. About six out of seven
workers were involved in some type of farming. In 1820, the United States shifted from an
agricultural society to one based on wage labour, which was called the American Industrial
Revolution. As the number of states increased from 16 to 34 in 1860, the percentage of
farmers reduced to half of the workforce.
The main influences for industrialization were the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of
1812. The Embargo Act was passed by Congress to cease the export of American goods and
restrict the importation of certain British products. This generated a greater need for America
to produce goods nationally. Also, when America and Great Britain went to war with each
other in 1812, the lack of sufficient transportation and communication caused great
difficulties for both sides. Industrialization in the United States initiated by borrowing
technology from English inventors and innovators. The first textile factory to use a water-
powered spinning machine was started by Samuel Slater, a British immigrant, in 1790. Soon,
American technology surpassed the British machines they had copied. Besides an incursion
of British technology, several other key features led to the manufacturing boom after 1860.
The use of huge deposits of coal in states such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia created a
source of fuel for factories. Inventions in railroad technology and communication contributed
in creating jobs and allowed goods to be sold to the greater market. The increase in factories
led to a higher demand for workers. Competition between businesses to cut costs and win
customers led to a drop in prices overall. The money supply could not keep up with the
production, which ultimately caused high interest and less credit availability.
There was need for better transportation for the United States. Therefore, Miles of roads and
new canals were built to connect the vast open areas of America. The steamboat was an
important means of transportation in the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Nonetheless,
the railroad rapidly dominated the steamboat in the transportation revolution.
Historical reports signified that in 1830, the U.S. only had an estimated 100 miles of track.
The railroads expanded rapidly after that. By 1860, 27,000 miles of track were built, and by
1900, 193,000 miles of track were completed. Importantly, these new tracks connected the
eastern and western United States, made selling goods more affordable, and allowed a
network of national supply distribution.
As in Britain, the United States initially used water power to run its factories, as a result that
industrialisation was essentially limited to New England and the rest of the Northeastern
United States, where fast-moving rivers were located. However, the raw materials (cotton)
came from the Southern United States. It was not until after the American Civil War in the
1860s that steam-powered manufacturing overtook water-powered manufacturing, allowing
the industry to fully spread across the nation. The Steel Industry: It was observed that there
were rapid growth of the railroad industry which required huge quantity of steel tracks, the
steel industry also profited during the Industrial Revolution. Andrew Carnegie was involved
in the development and streamlining of the American steel industry. A Scottish immigrant
who moved to the U.S. in 1848, his first job was bobbin boy in a textile factory. He finally
became one of the wealthiest men of the 19th century.
In United States, The Industrial Revolution was period of growth and transformation. There
were numerous changes that were occurred during this time that had remarkable impacts on
culture, manufacturing, trade, agriculture, etc. One major change was that people earned
more as compared to earlier period. There was a supply and demand now and people were
generally earning more money because there were more jobs, although there were people
who earned little money and were poor. People started shifted to the cities because that is
where the centre of manufacturing was. Cities were prosperous and the populations increased.
Many times living conditions were very poor because of congestion.
Continental Europe:
The Industrial Revolution on Continental Europe emerged late than in Great Britain. In many
industries, this involved the application of technology developed in Britain in new places.
Often the technology was bought from Britain or British engineers and entrepreneurs
travelled overseas to explore new opportunities. By 1809 part of the Ruhr Valley in
Westphalia were being called Miniature England because of its similarities to the industrial
areas of England. The German, Russian and Belgian governments did all they could to
sponsor the new industries by the provisions of state funding. In some cases (such as iron),
the different availability of resources locally meant that only some aspects of the British
technology were implemented.
Industrial revolution in Japan:
Through the Sino-Japanese and the Russo-Japanese Wars, Japan moved its industrial
structure from light industry to heavy and chemical industries. Although Europe had played
vital role as the "factory of the world," up until then, the region became a battleground when
World War I broke out in 1914 and their supply of commodities declined. In the meantime,
Japan got amount of orders that prompted the industrial revolution of the country to progress
at a rapid rate. Japan became a net creditor during the war, and recognized itself as a nation
based on trade. In 1871 a group of Japanese politicians known as the Iwakura Mission visited
Europe and the USA to learn western policies of business. The result was a thoughtful state
led industrialisation policy to stop Japan from falling behind. The Bank of Japan, founded in
1877, used taxes to fund model steel and textile factories. Education was extended and
Japanese students were sent to study in the west.
Second Industrial Revolution:
The ravenous demand of the railways for more durable rail led to the development of the
means to inexpensively mass-produce steel. Steel is often named as the first of several new
areas for industrial mass-production, which are said to symbolize a "Second Industrial
Revolution", beginning around 1850. This second Industrial Revolution slowly grew to
include the chemical industries, petroleum refining and distribution, electrical industries, and,
in the twentieth century, the automotive industries, and was noticeable by a changeover of
technological leadership from Britain to the United States and Germany.
Creation of hydroelectric power generation in the Alps supported the rapid industrialisation
of coal-deprived northern Italy, beginning in the 1890s. The increasing availability of
economical petroleum products also reduced the importance of coal and further broadened
the prospective for industrialisation.
The far Americans:
The American Revolution (1775-83) is also called the American Revolutionary War and the
U.S. War of Independence. The struggle arose from increasing tensions between residents of
Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which characterised
the British crown. Battles between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and
Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed struggle, and after that, the insurgents were
conducting a full-scale war for their independence. France entered the American Revolution
on the side of the colonists in 1778, turning civil war into an international skirmish. After that
the Americans had effectively won their independence, though fighting would not formally
end until 1783.
The history of French revolution:
A turning point event in modern world history, the French Revolution began in 1789 and
terminated in the late 1790s with the rise of Napolean Bonaparte. During this period, French
citizens destroyed and reshaped their country's political scene, displacing century's old
institutions such as absolute kingdom and the outdated system. Like the American Revolution
before it, the French Revolution was influenced by Illumination ideals, particularly the
concepts of popular dominance and unchallengeable rights. Although it failed to realise all of
its goals and at times deteriorated into a disordered massacre, the crusade played a critical
role to redesign modern nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the
people.
It can be established from above review that the revolution of industry and the economy in
Britain between the 1780s and the 1850s is termed as the 'industrial revolution'. The industrial
development in Britain is intensely associated with new machinery and technologies. These
enabled country to produce goods on a huge scale compared to handicraft and handloom
industries. This had sweeping effects in Britain. Afterwards, similar changes happened in
European countries and in the USA. These were to have a major influence on the society and
financial system of those countries and also on the rest of the world. Industrialization led to
greater affluence for some, but in the early stages it was related with poor living and working
conditions of millions of people, including women and children. This flashed off
remonstrations, which forced the government to endorse laws for regulating conditions of
work. But the Industrial Revolution and the huge wealth it created was irresistible.
Advantages and drawbacks of Industrial Revolution:
Many historians and intellectuals have observed that the Industrial revolution was period of
speedy growth and modification all over America and Europe. Numerous innovations in
machinery, methods, and techniques of producing goods created new world. There were
progressions in architecture, agriculture, transportation, and communication. It provided huge
jobs for people, enhancing the lifestyle of people.
Major benefits of industrial revolution were as under:
1. With the impact of industrialization, classes in the wellbeing of people increased.
Nations started to recognize national pride and identities. It increased prosperity.
2. Factories that produce superior products have increased in numbers rapidly. The
production rate increased because of the invention in machinery. As a result of the
mass production of goods, the price of products reduced resulting to enhanced quality
living.
3. Comfortable, strong and cheaper houses were built every day. Cheaper and
fashionable houses were growing.
4. The means of transportation reformed extremely. It became cheaper, faster and very
comfortable. Easier travel opened up new areas to many people.
5. The increase in production was related to the hike in trade. It offered new jobs and it
increased the employment rate.
6. Cities developed and offered a lot of work and opportunity.
Disadvantages of Industrial Revolution:
1. Industrialization in contemporary cities fascinates immigrants. It promises a good life
but not all were lucky. It causes congested cities and slum areas developed which
created other issues.
2. Industrialization create pollution. Factories, automobiles and aircrafts produces
unconceivable air pollution to some progressive cities in the world. Chemicals and
wastes that were not properly disposed causes water and land pollution. Such polluted
environment degrade the life of humans around the globe.
3. Another negative consequence of industrialization is that it brought a negative
influence on culture, values and morality of mankind. Technology drives the change
in philosophies, beliefs and faith.
In Britain, industrial revolution had many disadvantages as there were poor living conditions,
poor working conditions, and class tensions. A large dissimilarity developed between the
industrialized west and the rest of the world. Britain led in exploiting its foreign colonies for
resources and markets. As a result, other European countries, the United States, Russia, and
Japan followed Britain's lead, grabbing colonies for their economic resources. Imperialism
was born out of the cycle of industrialization, the development of new markets around the
worked, and the need for resources to supply the factories of Europe.
To summarise, the Industrial Revolution was a major change of technological,
socioeconomic, and cultural conditions that happened in the late 18th century and early 19th
century in some Western countries. It initiated in Britain and then blowout throughout the
world, a process that continued as industrialisation. The start of the Industrial Revolution
marked a major defining moment in human social history, similar to the invention of farming
or the rise of the first city-states, almost every facet of daily life and human society is,
ultimately, in some way influenced. Major grounds for industrial development was explosion
of population, extension of foreign trade and the need to develop efficient means of
transportation.
 Indian culture: the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and
Architecture from ancient to modern times
Culture is a principal mechanism to explore, integrate and assert the national identity of India
which truly and certainly pluralistic. Culture pervades every sphere of human activity,
determines and governs life and pattern of Indian civilisation. The word ‘Culture’ is
emanated from the Latin term ‘cult or cultus’ which means tilling, or cultivating or refining
and worship. Overall, it means cultivating and refining a thing to such an extent that its end
product evokes our admiration and respect. This is nearly the same as 'Sanskriti' of the
Sanskrit language. Basically, Culture denotes to a human-made environment which includes
all the material and nonmaterial products of group life that are communicated from one
generation to the subsequent.
The culture of India is about how people maintain their lifestyle. It was evident that India's
languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs changed from place to
place within the country. The Indian culture, often labelled as an incorporation of several
cultures, spans across the Indian subcontinent and has been influenced by ancient history
where many rulers dominated and altered its art, and architecture. Many features of India's
diverse cultures, such as Indian religions, Indian philosophy and Indian cuisine, have had a
weighty impact across the world. Significant aspects of Indian culture is the caste system.
The caste system in India is significant part of ancient Hindu custom and dates back to 1200
BCE. The phrase caste was first used by Portuguese travellers who entered to India in the
16th century. In Hinduism there exists four castes arranged in a hierarchy. The highest Varna
is of the Brahman. Members of this class are priests and the educated people of the society.
The Varna after them in hierarchy is Kshatria. The members of this class are the rulers and
aristocrats of the society. After them are the Vaisia. Members of this class are the landlords
and businessmen of the society. After them in hierarchy are the Sudra. Members of this class
are the peasants and working class of the society who work in non-polluting jobs (R.K.
Pruthi, 2004).
The untouchablity feature in the caste system is one of the harshest aspects of the caste
system. It is seen by many as one of the strongest racist phenomenon in the world. In Indian

society people who worked in ignominious, polluting and unclean occupations were seen as
polluting peoples and were therefore considered as untouchables. The untouchables had
almost no rights in the society. In different parts of India they were treated in different ways.
In some regions the attitude towards the untouchables was harsh and strict. In other regions it
was less strict.
Since earlier time, India had many religions that include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and
Sikhism, collectively known as Indian religions.
Ancient India:
The History of India originates with the Indus Valley Civilization and the coming of the
Aryans. These two periods are generally defined as the pre-Vedic and Vedic periods. The
Indus River Civilization dates back to 2300 – 1750 BC and had two main cities; Harappa in
western Punjab and Mohenjo-Daro on the lower Indus in Sindh. Currently, the two important
provinces of Pakistan. Both cities were urban grain growing civilizations and were believed
to have run by Aryans who came from some other place. The statues found at the locations
include both human and animal forms with intricacies and premium details. Some seals were
found engraved with figures and motifs also. All these things were made with limestone,
bronze, stone and terracotta (Pal, 1988). When discussing architecture, The Harappa and
Mohanjo Daro sites display the great architecture patters of the time. The Houses were made
of baked bricks, the drains and bathrooms were also laid down by bricks. There was a proper
drainage system from the houses to the central drain. The houses were double storey with the
ground floor made of bricks and the upper storey of wood. There was a public bath site found
that could have been used for religious motives. Thus the cities were scientifically laid down.
It was found in literature that there were cultural relationships of Indus valley civilization
with other communities like the similar items are found in Mesopotamia (Mcintosh, 2008).
In previous literature, it is documented that India's past is the Rig Veda. It is difficult to date
this work with any accuracy on the basis of tradition and vague astronomical information
contained in the choruses. It is expected that Rig Veda was composed between 1,500 B.C.
and 1,000 B.C. In Rig Veda, there are references of dancing and other musical instruments as
part of religious practice. The hymns of Rig Veda were chanted as a religious singing, it was
more like a recitation than singing (Gupta, 1999). It was noted that The Vedas are the most
primitive fabricated literary record of Indo-Aryan civilization. It entails mostly mantras or
prayers and summons in praise of various Aryan gods. The word Veda means insight, facts or
revelation, and it is valued and regarded as the language of the gods in human speech. The
core message of the Vedas is to control the social, legal, domestic and religious traditions of
the Hindus which are exactly followed to the present day. All the customs of Hindus
conducted upon birth, marriage, death etc. are based upon Vedic principles and they are being
followed from time immemorial (Khanna, 2007).
The Rig Veda is an assemblage of inspired songs or hymns and is a main source of
information on the Rig Vedic civilization. It is the oldest book in any Indo-European
language and contains the earliest form of all Sanskrit mantras that date back to 1500 B.C. -
1000 B.C. Some scholars date the Rig Veda as early as 12000 BC - 4000 B.C. (Vipul Singh,
2012).
Brahmanism was found in 900 B.C. In the meantime a group of solitary persons or loners and
wanderers of the forest developed the concept of Supreme Reality in terms of “Brahma, the
infinite divine power which means that by stripping off everything external a man can find its
true being, the self, the soul. This originated the ideas of Hinduism, which later was the
reason and motivation of many religious movements in the area. This later period is portrayed
in the epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. There are folklores about the basis of dance
in Hinduism, like the great Lord Siva gave the first indication of the dance who was a
cosmic-dancer and among his many great names is Nataraja meaning the Lord of Dancers
and Actors. Another holy dance is that of Krishna and Radha, the Eternal Lovers ((Bahadur,
1979). In this period, the class system divided the society and the people of lower castes were
repressed and cruelly treated by the upper classes. There were no mixing of the lower and
upper classes people, no social contacts, no marriages and lower classes were considered and
treated like slaves.
In 500 B.C or 6th Century B.C, two major religions emerged such as Jainism and Buddhism.
They transmitted the messages of Truth, Non-violence and Renunciation/Denial. They
advocated for religion as a personal matter of an individual and exhibited reflection on the
daily conduct of life (Sen, 1988). Their message was for ethical values and they believed in
love, freedom and equality for all human beings. But people were divided into class system
the oppression of the priests, became prone to their teachings and large number of people
among the middle class and kings changed to Buddhism and Jainism was mostly followed by
the richer merchant class (Sen, 1988). The lessons of Buddha were against the development
of art as it leads to desire and avoid the man from reaching the final goal, so the monks were
prohibited to paint the pictures on the walls of the monasteries or to indulge in the art of
sculpture. So we find no traces of sculpture art in this period (Swarup, 1968). With respect to
development of Architecture, from Indus Valley Civilization till the period of Maurya, there
were no traces of architectural leftover and have to depend upon the literature and make
assumption. The Vedic literature showed about houses, halls and fire-altars. In Ramayana and
Mahabharata, there is description of assembly halls, balconies, gateways and double storey
buildings (Swarup, 1968)
In the period of 327-26 B. C, Alexander attacked the Punjab state of the region and linked
India with Iranian Civilization (Gordon and Walsh, 2009). In the fifth century, large sections
of India were amalgamated under the regime of Maurya vansh. The 6th Century B.C. was a
period of great uproar in India. The kingdom of Magadha, one of the 16 great Janapadas had
become dominant over other kingdoms of the Ganges Valley. In this period, there was
emergence of various heterodox cliques in India. In this period, Buddhism and Jainism arose
as popular protestant movements to pose a serious challenge to Brahmanic convention.
During the period of 324 – 200 B.C or 273 – 236 B.C, Asoka Maurya’s period was
dominated by Buddhism but he also showed tolerance to other religions (Sen, 1988).This
period was followed by the Mauryas of whom the most famous was Ashoka the Great. The
borders of his empire extended from Kashmir and Peshawar in the North and Northwest to
Mysore in the South and Orissa in the East but his reputation rests not so much on military
conquests as on his celebrated rejection of war. Asoka tried to give harmony of culture by
making stupas (Buddhist relic shrines) and pillars inscribed with his addresses and lectures.
The pillars of Asoka’s period were regarded as marvellous piece of work in the Indian art
history as they embodied bold designing, technical skills and expressive symbolism. During
this era, there were renewal of Sanskrit language and the great epics. Under, Pushyamitra and
his successors, the Buddhists were permitted to embellish their stupas and eventually the
ritualistic worship was accepted in Budhism also (Sen, 1988). This paved the way for art to
flourish as the Buddhists opinions and ideas, myths and legends were presented in visual
forms. The pillars and stupas of that time portrayed the reincarnation stories of Buddha and
were illustrated as scenes on them. The use of stone in architecture began in Maurya’s rule
(Schmidt, 1995). He established monuments, pillars and stupas engraved with the teachings
of the Master (Buddha). In the supremacy of Asoka, the dance continued as a sacrificial
practice (Schmidt, 1995).
The greatest monument of this period, executed in the supremacy of Chandragupta Maurya,
was the old palace at the site of Kumhrar. Excavations at the site of Kumhrar nearby have
unearthed the remains of the palace. The palace is thought to have been an aggregated of
buildings, the most important of which was an immense pillared hall supported on a high
substratum of timbers. The pillars were set in regular rows, thus dividing the hall into a
number of smaller square bays. The number of columns is 80, each about 20 high.
During the reign of Ashoka, stonework was highly diversified order and comprised lofty free-
standing pillars, railings of stupas, lion thrones and other colossal figures. The use of stone
had reached great perfection during this time that even small fragments of stone art was given
a high lustrous polish resembling fine enamel. This period noticeable the beginning of the
Buddhist school of architecture, Ashoka was responsible for the construction of several
stupas, which were large halls, capped with domes and bore symbols of Buddha.
Maurya Empire (Source: Vipul Singh, 2012)

For the next four hundred years (after the great Mauryas), India remained politically
separated and weak. It was recurrently invaded and plundered by outsiders. In Gupta
Dynasty, there was some stability. The art of the time was reflected as “classic” in Indian
history as it touches the limits of elegance and sophistication. Different gods of Hindu were
portrayed in sculpture with sensuous details. The animal figures were also made but
vegetative patterns found no place in the art (Prakash, 2005). It was the period of peace and
prosperity and observed an unparalleled pinnacle of art, literature and the sciences. This
period also witnessed as the beginning of Hindu temple architecture. The Gupta regime saw
the development and rise of pivotal period in the form of temple as a Hindu sense of “House
of god”. The Vishnu temple in Jabbalpur district, Siva temple at Bhumara in Negod, Parvati
temple at Nachna in Ajaigah, temple of Siva at Deogarh in the Jahnsi district and nine rock-
cut asylums in Gupta tradition at Udayagiri in Bhopal are the examples of fine architecture of
the time (Prakash, 2005). In Gupta administration, dancing became basic elements in upper
class culture and dancing at courts was a common feature. The history shown that some of
the rulers of Gupta regime were musicians themselves (Prakash, 2005).
After the Guptas, there was only a brief glow, in the time of Harshavardhana of Kannauj. A
Chinese traveler, Huen-tsang visited India from (629 - 645 A.D.) during the supremacy of
Harshavardhana. He made changes that had taken place in the lives of the Indian people since
the days of the Guptas.
Muslim era:
Mahmud invaded the region in 1000 A.D. from Ghazni and demolished the worship style and
wealth of the area and as a result the Hindu domain disappeared from most of the Punjab. A
century passed and another Muslim warrior Sultan Muhammad came from Ghur a
neighbouring area of Ghazni with his slave governor, Qutbuddin Aibak. Mughal Empire
lasted from 1526 to 1858. The Muslims who supported for one God and the equality of all
men, their simplicity and disapproval of caste system, polytheism, worship and ritualism
became popular in the masses and most of the Hindus embraced Islam for the true faith,
sincerity and purity of life which symbolized from the life of the Muslims. But at the same
time, there were Muslim writers and poets (Muslim Sufi order) who along with their Islamic
traditions brought assimilation with Hinduism and the rulers offered Hindus the jobs in
bureaucracy and in Army too, without compromising in the supremacy of Islam. Hindu
music, art and dance were given space at the courts and Hindu motifs got blended with
Islamic art (Richard, 1995). In that period, the teachings of Islam and Quran forbade making
of sculptures so human and animal statues and drawings are not found in this period (Sharma,
1999).
The Muslim architecture of the time was dominated by carving and paintings of text from the
Holy Book “Quran” and Arabic and Persian floral and geometric motifs are found on the sites
of Muslim architectures. The Mosque and the Grave were major important buildings of the
time. Agra Fort and Moti Masjid near Delhi, Taj Mahal at Agra by Shahjahan and Badshahi
Mosque at Lahore built by Aurengzaib (1674), are the fine examples of Muslim architecture
(Sharma, 1999). The paintings in the regime of The emperors Khilji and Tughhluq included
the calligraphy (transcribing the text from the Holy Quran) and also the garden scenes but no
animated picture could be found in this time.
The Mughal had good perception in art. The style of painting in their rule is known as
“miniature” which was primarily done on the delicate palm tree leaves till the introduction of
paper in the country in 1400, which then became the most popular material for paintings. The
supremacy of Jehangir was also considered as the Golden age of Mughal painting, the
portraits of emperors, members of royal families, holy men, saints, soldiers and dancing girls
were depicted by the artists in the paintings (Sharma, 1999). In the period of Muslim rule,
there were decline of dancing art particularly in the North, only Kathak dance was the only
survival in North with all its emotions and with the passage of time and the influence of the
ruling elites became more and more secular (Sharma, 1999). Well-known Persian, Hazrat
Amir Khusrau was a poet, a musician and a soldier during that time. In Akbar’s court, there
were total thirty eight masters of music as stated in Ain i Akbari and Dhrupad was the most
favoured melody sung mostly by Swami Hari Dass at Akbar’s court. The later emperors,
Jahangir and Shahjahan displayed the same desire for music. Tansen played Rabab a musical
instrument of that time and Amir Khusrau use to play sitar. Tabla and Shehnai were other
popular musical instruments in later years of Mughal rule (Sharma, 1999). Sufism is a
spiritual system that has had an incredible impact on world literature and has affected many
cultures. The impact of Sufism on Islamic culture can also be observed in the design of many
buildings and the architecture in general, the patterns of poetry and music, and the visual
effect of colours and calligraphy (Bayat and Jamnia, 1994). Art in the Muslim period
prospered due to their decent taste and aesthetic sense. The artists, writers, poets, thinkers,
scholars from all over Asia came to their courts. It was a period of Indo-Islamic culmination
of appearance and magnificence in arts (music, painting, crafts and architecture) and culture
(Richard, 1995). Historical reports indicated that All the Mughal rulers stimulated the artists
and musicians and thus the people of different religions gather together and also the sufis
saints of the time paved a way in bringing people together.
In the period of 1700 – 1900, The European came to India from the route of the sea. These
were the Portuguese traders, then subsequently came the British, the French and the Dutch.
All these invaders brought with them the elements of western cultures into the art and ways
of living of the people of the country. The Portuguese initiated the revival of glitzy art and the
French introduced their tastes in the decorations of palaces and houses. The British brought
with them the Britain style of architecture and also influenced their modes in paintings and
sculptures to such an extent that the Indian mind became alien to their own inheritance. In
Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi, there is a clear picture of the British impact on Indian
architecture. Apart from these architectural leftovers, the colonial state also left behind a
uniform system of government, a system of education based on Western ideas, science and
philosophies. Modern literature in Indian languages were all profoundly influenced by the
spread of English education and through it India’s intimate contact with the ideas and
institutions of the West.
The salient aspects of Art Forms in India:
It is documented that India have a rich and ancient history. Since ancient times there has been
an amalgamation of indigenous and foreign influences that have shaped the course of the arts
of India, and subsequently, the rest of Asia. Arts is defined as paintings, architecture,
literature, music, dance, languages and cinema. In early India, most of the arts were derived
Vedic influences.
Ancient Indian art: It is analysed that each era is exclusive in its idiosyncratic culture. In the
same way Indian art forms have constantly evolved over thousands of years. In ancient India,
various art forms like paintings, architecture and sculpture evolved. The history of art in
ancient India begins with prehistoric rock paintings as theoretical literature indicated.
After the birth of current Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, arts thrived with the
support of emperors. In the era of Islam, new form of Indian architecture and art were visible.
Finally, the British brought their own Gothic and Roman influences and attached it with the
Indian style. They have a culture infusion in their art. The use of symbolic forms in India is
ancient since the period of the Harappan seals. The fire altars of the Vedic period, with their
astronomical and mathematical significance also play an important role in the development of
the later temples. It was followed by a period in the history of Indian art that is important for
rock-cut caves and temple architecture. The Buddhists introduced the rock-cut caves, Hindus
and Jains started them at Badami, Aihole, Ellora, Salsette, Elephanta, Aurangabad and
Mahabalipuram. The rock-cut art has constantly progressed, since the first rock cut caves, to
suit different purposes, social and religious contexts, and regional differences. Together with
the art forms like architecture, paintings and sculpture, there have been evolving, changing,
altering, folk and tribal art traditions in India. These art forms are expression of people
belonging to different cultural and social groups of India. It is the communication of people
whose life is adjusted to the rhythms of nature and its laws of recurring change and whose
life is tangled with natural energy. In India tradition, Gods and legends are transformed into
modern forms and familiar images. Fairs, festivals and local deities also has significant role
in the development of these arts forms. It is an art where life and creativity are inseparable.
The tribal arts of India have a unique sensitivity, as the tribal people possess an intense
awareness very different from the settled and urbanized people. Their minds are flexible and
intense with myth, legends, and snippets from epic, multitudinous gods born. Their art is an
expression of their life and holds their fervour and mystery.
Architecture:
The greatest achievements of Indian civilization is unquestionably its architecture which was
the outcome of socio-economic and geographical condition. Indian architecture is that vast
drapery of production of the Indian subcontinent that includes a multitude of expressions over
space and time, renovated by the forces of history considered exclusive to the sub-continent,
sometimes abolishing, but most of the time absorbing. The earliest production in the Indus
Valley Civilization was characterised by well-planned cities and houses where religion did
not seem to play an active role. The Buddhist period is mainly represented by three important
building types- the Chaitya Hall (place of worship), the Vihara (monastery) and the Stupa
(hemispherical mound for worship/ memory) – exemplified by the awesome caves of Ajanta
and Ellora and the monumental Sanchi Stupa.
In early period, Hindu temple architecture have been traced to the remains at Aihole and
Pattadakal in present day Karnataka, and have Vedic altars and late Vedic temples as
described by Panini as models. Later, as more differentiation took place, the Dravidian/
Southern style and or the Indo-Aryan/ Northern/ Nagara style of temple architecture emerged
as prevailing modes, epitomized in productions such as the magnificent Brihadeeswara
Temple, Thanjavur, and the Sun Temple, Konark. The older terminologies of Dravidian and
Indo-Aryan are not used in recent practice because of their racial and uncertain origins.
Buddhist elements and themes have influenced temple architecture to great extent.
Previously, temples were rock-cut, later structural temples evolved. The Kailasanatha temple
at Ellora is best illustration of the former, excavated from top to bottom out of a massive rock
face. The pyramid formed an essential architectonic feature in any temple composition-
stepped in the Dravidian style, stepped and slightly curved in the Northern style. The
structural system was essentially trabeated and with stone being the basic raw material for the
Indian craftsman, construction could be done with minimal or no mortar. Decoration was
necessary to Indian architecture and is seen in the innumerable details of figured sculpture as
well as in the architectural elements. The notion of fractals has been used to observe the form
of the Hindu temple, both in terms of its planning and external appearance. The garba-griha
or the womb chamber forms the central focus housing the deity of the temple and is provided
with a circumambulation passage around. However, there are also many subsidiary shrines
within temple complexes, more particularly in the South Indian (the Dravidian style) temple.
As the Hindu temple is not meant for congregational worship, the garba-griha is small in
scale when compared to the whole temple complex. However, it is articulated externally by
the vimana or the sikhara. Pillared halls or mandapas are found preceding the garba-griha.
The three-dimensional experience of a South Indian temple multifaceted and is considered
particularly rich and meaningful. Among them, such as the Ranganathaswamy temple at
Srirangam, the concentric enclosures or prakaras along with the series of gopurams or
entrance gateways reducing in scale as they move towards the garbha-griha set up a rhythm
of solids and voids as well as providing a ritual and visual axis. The principles of temple
architecture were organised in treatises and canons such as Manasara, Mayamatam, and
Vaastu Shastra. These offered an ordering framework yet permitted a certain autonomy for
contextual articulation. Presently, most of the ancient Hindu architecture flourishes in
temples of south India and South-east Asia as the subsequent forces of Islam renovated the
cultural landscape of India more dominantly in the north.
Rich literature have shown that the Jaina temples can be seen in the Dilwara Temples in
Mt.Abu. Early beginnings of Hindu temple architecture have been traced to the remains at
Aihole and Pattadakal in present day Karnataka, and have Vedic altars and late Vedic temples
as described by Paṇini as models. Later, as more differentiation took place, the Dravidian/
Southern style and or the Indo-Aryan/ Northern/ Nagara style of temple architecture emerged
as dominant modes, epitomised in productions such as the magnificent Brihadeeswara
Temple, Thanjavur, and the Sun Temple, Konark.
With the arrival of Islam emperors, the arch and dome began to be used and the mosque or
masjid too began to form part of the landscape, adding to a new experience in form and
space. The most famous Islamic building type in India is the tomb or the mausoleum which
evolved from the basic cube and hemisphere vocabulary of the early phase into a more
elaborate form during the Mughal era where multiple chambers are present and tombs were
set in a garden known as the char-bagh. Popular architectural buildings are the Gol Gumbaz,
Bijapur and the Taj Mahal, Agra, the latter renowned for its attractiveness in white marble, its
minarets and its setting. With colonisation, a new episode began. Though the Dutch,
Portuguese and the French made substantial raids, it was the English who had a lasting
impact. The architecture of the colonial period varied from the beginning attempts at creating
authority through classical prototypes to the later approach of producing a supposedly more
responsive image through what is now termed Indo-Saracenic architecture, a mixture of
Hindu, Islamic and Western elements.
After independence and initiation of Modern Architecture into India, the quest was more
towards progress as a paradigm fuelled by Nehruvian visions. The planning of Chandigarh is
good example. Later on as modernism exhausted itself in the West and new directions were
sought for, in India too there was a search for a more expressive architecture rooted in the
Indian situation. Apart from this, process of globalisation and economic development in the
decade of the 90s, has produced an inspiring collection of modern Information Technology
campuses and skyscrapers, and as economic reform accelerates, metropolitan areas are
gaining innovative horizons.
Literature:
Indian literature is generally recognized, but not wholly established, as the oldest in the
world. India has 22 officially recognized languages, and large form of literature has been
produced in these languages over the years. Sanskrit literature has a special place in Indian
civilization. It extended from about 1400 BC to AD maha 1200 and reached its height in the
period from the 1st to the 7th centuries AD. The two major one of the oldest literatures
Ramayana and Mahabharatha, and Abhigyanashakuntalam, Meghadutam by Kalidasa, are the
best examples. The Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Dharmasutras are all written in Sanskrit.
In Indian literature, oral and written forms are both important. Hindu literary traditions
govern a large part of Indian culture. The Vedas are the earliest known literature in India
(Pande, 1990). The Vedas were written in Sanskrit and were handed down orally from one
generation to the other. There are four Vedas, namely, the- Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama
Veda and Atharva Veda. Each Veda consists of the Brahmanas, the Upanishads and the
Aranyakas. The Rig Veda, Sama Veda and the Yajur Veda are collectively known as Traji. In
later years the Atharava Veda was incorporated in this group. The Rig Veda is the original of
the Vedas. It is a collection of 1028 hymns in Vedic Sanskrit. Many of these are beautiful
explanations of nature. The prayers are largely for seeking worldly prosperity. It is supposed
that these recitations are the natural outpouring of Vedic rishis experiencing a mentally
transcendental stage. Some of the famous rishis during that period were Vasistha, Gautama,
Gritasamada, Vamadeva, Vishvamitra and Atri. The prominent gods of the Rig Veda are
Indra, Agni, Varun, Rudra, Aditya, Vayu, Aditi and the Ashwini twins. Some of the
prominent goddesses are Usha - the goddess of dawn, Vak - the goddess of speech and
Prithvi - the goddess of earth.
Yajur entails sacrifice or worship. This Veda is related with resources and mantras of
different sacrifices. It gives directions for the performance of the yajnas. It has both poetic
and prose versions. Being a treatise on rituals, it is the most popular of the four Vedas. There
are two major categories of Yajur Veda, namely Shukla and Krishna Yajur Veda i.e.
Vajasaneyi Samhita and Taitriya Samhita. This text replicates on the social and religious
condition of India at that time.
Sama means tune or songs. This Veda comprises of 6,000 ragas and raginis or musical notes.
Out of total 1875 verses only 75 are original and others are from the Rig Veda. The Sama
Veda suggests the tunes for the recitation of the hymns of the Rig Veda. It may be called the
book of Chants (Saman). This book is an evidence of the development of Indian music during
this period.
The Atharva Veda is also recognized as the Brahma Veda. It contains treatment for ninety-
nine diseases. The source of this Veda is traced to two rishis called Atharvah and Angiras.
The Atharva Veda has great value as it signifies the religious ideas at an ancient time of
civilisation. It has two categories, the Paippalada and the Saunaka. This book gives detailed
information about the family, social and political life of later Vedic period.
In brief, Vedas provide education (siksha), grammar (vyakarana), ritual (kalpa), etymology
(nirukta), metrics (chhanda) and astronomy (Jyotisha).
After creation of the four Vedas, other works known as the Brahmanas were developed.
These books gave a thorough explanation of Vedic rituals and instructions and deal with the
science of sacrifice. The latter portions of the Brahmanas were called the Aranyakas while
the final parts of the Aranyakas are metaphysical books named Upanishads which belong to
the later stage of the Brahmana literature. Each of the four Vedas have their own Brahmana
books. Rig Veda had Kaushitaki and Aitreya. Taitteriya belongs to Krishna Yajur Veda and
Shatpath belongs to Shukla Yajur Veda. Tandav, Panchvish and Jaimaniya belongs to
Atharva Veda. It is through them that we get a detailed information of the social, political and
religious life of the people. The Arayankas deal with soul, birth and death and life beyond it.
These were studied and taught by men in Vanprastha i.e. Munis and the inhabitants living
inside the forests.
After that Upnishads were produced as literature. The word Upanishad is derived from upa
(nearby), and nishad (to sit-down), that is, “sitting down near”. The Upanishads mark the
conclusion of Indian thought and are the final parts of the Vedas. Historical texts represented
that there are more than 200 known Upanishads, one of which, the Muktika, gives a list of
108 Upanishads. This number corresponds to the holy number of beads on a mala or Hindu
rosary. The Upanishads form an important part of Indian literary inheritance. They deal with
questions like the origin of the universe, life and death, the material and spiritual world,
nature of knowledge and many other questions. The ancient Upanishads are the
Brihadaranyaka which belongs to the Sukla Yajur Veda and Chand yogya which belongs to
the Sama Veda. Some of the other important Upanishads are the Aitareya, Kena, Katha
Upanishad.
Besides the Vedas which are a sacred form of knowledge, there are other works such as the
Hindu extravaganzas such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, treatises such as Vaastu Shastra in
architecture and town planning, and Arthashastra in political science. Two great literatures
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are popular among Hindu society of India. The
Ramayana of Valmiki is the original Ramayana. The Ramayana showed a picture of a perfect
society. The other epic, the Mahabharata, was written by Ved Vyas. The Mahabharata and the
Ramayana have several versions in different Indian languages. The Mahabharata contains the
famous Bhagavad Gita which contains the spirit of divine wisdom and is truly a universal
gospel.
In the Bhagvad Gita, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a fighter and prince and
elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies with examples and analogies. This
makes Gita a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and a parochial, self-contained guide to life.
The rationalistic age of India is characterised by the rise of two major reform movements
such as Vedanta and Buddhism. Vedanta is orthodox and accepts the Vedic Word, but no
longer in a literal sense. The interpretation of Scripture by the Vedantic theologians is
extremely bold and independent. Buddhism is heterodox, and rejects the authority of the
Vedas altogether. Buddha first preached the People's Gospel in B.C. 522, when Bimbisara
was King of Magadha. The battle between the old-established faith and the Buddhist rebels
raged for two hundred years, and, when the Greek battalions of King Alexander attacked the
Punjab (b.c. 327), the sun of Brahminism was setting, and the new star was shining in the
East. At that time, Nanda sat on the throne of Magadha. His empire was conquered by the
dissident Chandragupta, who was the first to tie the North of India from Magadha to the
Punjab under one Imperial Government. By birth a Shudra, the Emperor was not expected to
be antagonistic to a religion which swept away all social distinctions, and put Brahmin and
Pariah on the same level. Buddhism ruled supreme in the land of its birth until the fifth
century after Christ, when Brahminic influence once more became powerful.
Devotional Hindu drama, poetry and songs span the subcontinent. Among the popular are the
works of Kalidasa (writer of the famed Sanskrit play Shakuntala) and Tulsidas (who wrote an
epic Hindi poem based on the Ramayana, called Raamcharitmaanas). Tamil literature has
been in existence for more than 2500 years. Tolkaappiyam has been attributed as its oldest
work, whereas the exact origins of Thirukkural is unknown. The golden age of Tamil
literature was during the Sangam period, roughly 1800 years ago. The classic works of this
period are Cilappatikaram, Manimekalai, and Sivakasinthamani. Tamil literature is identified
for its secular traditions, although its authors had strong religious beliefs. Thirukkural is
considered to be the greatest of Tamil works.
Kannada literature is perhaps the third oldest in Indian literature next to Sanskrit literature
and Tamil literature. The earliest reported work in Kannada literature dates back to the fifth
century. The first available literary in Kannada is Kavirajamarga, written in the eighth
century by Amoghavarsha Nrpatunga. Hindi literature started as religious and philosophical
poetry in medieval periods in dialects like Avadhi and Brij. The most famous personalities
during this era were Kabir, Tulsidas and Meerabai. The Scriptures of modern Hinduism are
the Puranas which were first committed to writing about the sixth century of era. The Hindus
has inclination towards stories about the Gods. The ancient myths were handed down from
father to son, and poets largely added to the stock from the stores of their leanings.
Antiquaries and divines took great pains to preserve this ocean of folklore. They set to work
in the same fashion as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The two brothers went about the country,
and collected ancient folklores among the German peasantry. Generations of Brahmins must
have been busy compiling and arranging, curtailing and enlarging the Puranas which were
modified time after time until they came out in that encyclopedic form in which we possess
them now. The Puranas have interesting information on almost every topic. There are lengthy
accounts of the lives of gods and patriarchs, stories of the creation, sacred as well as profane
history. Psalms and prophecies stand peacefully by the side of geological teaching, anatomy
is taught together with music, and theories about the movement of the stars are oddly
intermixed with lessons on grammar. But long-winded as the Puranas, they are grand old
books, comparable to a fine old man who is excellent company when he affectionately strolls
over the various events and experiences of his chequered life.
The era of Indian modern literature began in the late nineteenth century. With the
establishment of vernacular schools and the importation of the printing press, a great impetus
was given to popular prose, with Bengali writers perhaps taking the lead. In modern times
Swami Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and many others used the text
to help motivate the Indian independence movement. During this period, the Khadi dialect
became more noticeable and different types of literature was produced in Sanskrit. Bankim
Chandra Chattopadhyaya, Rabindranath Tagore, Premchand etc rank among the world's best
literary personalities. Some of the prominent modern writers in Indian languages include
Premchand, Ageyeya in Hindi; Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Sunil Gangopadhyay in Bengali;
Amrita Pritam in Punjabi; Ali Sardar Jafri, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Josh Malihabadi in Urdu;
Shiv Shankar Pillai, M.T.Vasudevan Nair, Malayattor Ramakrishnan in Malayalam;
Subramaniya Bharati in Tamil; Gobind Triumbak Deshpande in Marathi; and Tara Shankar
Joshi in Gujarati.
The most famous Bengali writer is Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who received the
Nobel Prize in 1913 for Literature. Tagore's own translation of 'Gitanjali' into English
brought him international fame. His 'Gora' is considered to be a very outstanding novel in
Indian literature. In the last century, several Indian writers have distinguished themselves not
only in traditional Indian languages but also in English. VS Naipaul, a diaspora Indian
novelist born in Trinidad, also won the Nobel in 2001. Other eminent writers who are either
Indian or of Indian origin and derive much inspiration from Indian themes are R. K. Narayan,
Vikram Seth, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Raja Rao, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Chandra,
Mukul Kesavan, Nayantara Sehgal, Anita Desai, Ashok Banker , Shashi Deshpande, Jhumpa
Lahiri, and Bharati Mukherjee. In Indian culture, Indian dance, music and theatre traditions
span back more than 2,000 years, (Kluwer Law International, 2010). The major classical
dance traditions, Bharata Natyam, Kathak, Odissi, Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam and
Kathakali draw on themes from mythology and literature and have rigid presentation rules.
Regarding attire of India, Indian clothing is diligently identified with the colourful silk saris
worn by Indian women. The traditional outfit for men is the dhoti, an unstitched piece of
cloth that is tied around the waist and legs. Men also wear a Kurta, a loose shirt that is worn
about knee-length. For special occasions, men wear a Sherwani, which is a long coat that is
buttoned up to the collar and down to the knees.
It is appraised that the ancient culture of the Indian sub-continent is vast and diverse. There
are people in India who are still living in the Stone Age and also others who are equally
competent and look up to the West. Indians live simultaneously with their beggars, their own
satellites and Indian cosmonauts. India is a secular state with tribal philosophies and there are
many religions like mixed with Hindu, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and Sikh faiths. There is
no single faith of religion, and no dominant religious community.
To summarize, the art of India is principled in nature with strong traces of different cultures
and civilizations in it. It is apparent from the history that the cultural representatives in the
region were the invaders, warriors that brought the cultural transmission through hard power
but along with them there were numerous soft power promoters as artists, suifs, poets,
musicians, and story tellers. The role of these cultural diplomats was important in
contributing to the better sociocultural understanding and building relationship between
people of different faiths, sects and regions.
History of Indian literature evolved as a wholesome domain through the Hindu literature like
Ramayana and Mahabharata, treatises such as Vaastu Shastra in architecture and town
planning and Arthashastra by Kautilya, making political science and involvement in politics
household in ancient India. Prehistoric devotional Hindu play, poetry and songs sweep the
subcontinent, with almost distinct imagery noticed in the gradual evolvement of literature in
India. Certainly, if thoroughly investigated, it can be observed that history of literature in
India can be divided into three periods, comprising of the ancient, the medieval and modern
or contemporary.
In architecture, as in all other visual arts, there is a search for identity. In Indian architecture,
government buildings of India, which are actually intended to display the nation's identity,
are a complete distortion. Due to dominance of many rulers like the British, the Mughals and
the diverse native Indian architecture, the perceived notion of Indian identity is in a complete
confusion. During Indus Valley Civilization, there were well planned cities. Buddhist and
Jaina Architecture represented three important building types- the Chaitya Hall (place of
worship), the Vihara (monastery) and the Stupa. Many temples were built for devotees. With
the beginning of Islam, the former Indian architecture was slightly modified to allow the
traditions of the new religion, but it remained strongly Indian at its heart and character.
Arches and domes began to be used and the mosque or masjid too began to form part of the
landscape, adding to a new experience in form and space.