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Unit 2: Major Segments of Indian Society

Causes of Rural Poverty Notes
On the basis of an empirical study in seven districts in Rajasthan in 1996 sponsored by the World
Bank, the following causes of poverty in rural areas were identified:
1. Inadequate and ineffective implementation of anti-poverty programmes.
2. Low percentage of population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits.
3. Non-availability of irrigational facilities and erratic rainfall in several districts.
4. Low agricultural productivity resulting from dependence on traditional methods of cultivation
and inadequate modern skills.
5. Non-availability of electricity for agricultural as well as industrial use in most of the villages.
6. Poor quality of livestock.
7. Imperfect and exploited credit market. Lack of link roads, communication facilities and markets
(i.e., infrastructure).
8. Low level of education. The general literacy level in the rural areas in the country is low
(42.85%) while for females it is very low (24.85%).
9. Absence of dynamic community leadership.
10. Failure to seek women’s cooperation in developmental activities and associating them with
planned programmes.
11. Intercaste conflicts and rivalries.
12. Spending a large percentage of annual earnings on social ceremonies like marriage, death
feast, etc., and people being unwilling to discard expensive customs.
These causes may be grouped together in four categories and explained through a model.
Some Effective Strategies for Alleviating Rural Poverty
For reducing poverty in the rural areas, following strategies may be suggested:
1. Strengthening credit disbursing agencies.
2. Providing cheap power supply for agricultural and industrial use.
3. Activating cooperative societies for selling products of household industries.
4. Making allocations in poverty alleviation programmes (PAPs) flexible and sanctioning special
allocations to districts/blocks/villages showing good results.
5. Integrating varied PAPs in one or two schemes and making availability of benefits easier.
6. Developing human resources by focusing on education, health and skill programmes.
7. Introducing double distributive system for the destitutes and the extremely poor.
8. Creating social awareness to arrest increasing debt growth among the poor.
9. Improving animal husbandry and developing dairy and poultry farming.
10. Activating panchayats to focus on adult education programme, road construction and
maintaining tree plantations.
11. Activating NGOs in role-play like digging of tanks, tree plantations, training of youth,
imparting skills to women, creating social awareness among the people, and so forth.

Bonded Labour
A man keeping another man in perpetual bondage for his selfish and personal designs is a kind of
man’s cruelty to man which is not confined to a particular country or a particular region but is
found as a global phe-nomenon for thousands of years, right from the Biblical days to the present
era. The nomenclature changed from period to period and place to place: slave, serf, and bonded
labour. In India, this type of exploitation of man remained prevalent in the name of begar and ryot
for years. The term ‘bonded labour’ or bandhua mazdoor is of recent origin. Despite the abolition of
the zamindari system, land reforms, Bhoodan movement, enactment of legislation (Bonded Labour
Abolition Act, 1976), establishment of Panchayati Raj, interest shown by Social Action Groups and

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