Five function of a village
Answers
Answer:
1. Bases of social organization:
In India there are more than half a million villages. Eighty per cent of the Indian population lives in these villages. Hence, in every respect the future of India is very much linked with the development of villages.
2. Group of people:
Village community signifies a group of people in which the people do not take part in a particular interest. On the other hand, they share the basic conditions of a common life.
3. Definite locality:
Locality is the physical basis of village community. A group of people forms village community only when it begins to reside in a definite locality.
4. Small size:
Village communities are small in size. The census in India designates a place with 5000 inhabitants as a village community. 80% of the Indian villages have less than 1000 population each
6. Community sentiment:
Community sentiment is the very essence of village community. The ruralites exhibit a strong sense of belongingness and we-feeling. Often “my own village” is the natural expression of such community sentiment. Furthermore, the members have a sense of dependence on the community for both physical and psychological satisfaction.
7. Predominance of primary relations:
A village community is often regarded as a primary group. It is characterized by the predominance of personal and as such relatively durable relations. There is comparative simplicity and sincerity in human relationship. Kinship groups play crucial roles in the context of the village community.
8. Joint family system:
The joint family system still forms the basic structural unit in the village community. All the members live together under the same roof, take food cooked in the common hearth, hold property together, participate in common worship and are related to each other as some particular type of kindred. It is found that the number of joint families in villages is much more than that in towns and cities.
9. Marriage:
The villagers, for the most part, practice endogamy. There is either no or very little freedom on the part of both boys and girls in matters of mate selection.
10. Agricultural economy:
Agriculture is the biggest occupation in rural India. It is essentially a way of life for the ruralites as their whole mode of social life, daily routine, habits and attitudes revolve round agriculture. A small section of the rural population depend upon non-agricultural occupations such as carpentry, pottery, basket making etc for their livelihood but these occupations are also indirectly related to the major occupation that is agriculture.
11. Caste System:
Caste system is a unique feature of the Indian village community. It determines the role, status, occupation and marital relationships of the ruralites. The caste system exercises such a decisive influence on the villagers that it has rightly been described as the “alpha and omega” of village life.
12. Simple life:
It is interesting to observe that even in the materialistic age of today, the generally accepted ideal in the village is one of simple living and high thinking. The villagers are a simple and plain people. Their life is tranquil and peaceful.
13. Faith in religion:
Religion plays a paramount role in the life of the village. Religious influence is discernible in every important activity of village life like sowing, harvesting of crops, birth, marriage, illness, death etc. On all such occasions, the ruralites conduct religious ceremonies in the form of ‘Puja’, ‘Mela’ or ‘kirtan’. In this way, faith in religion is very strong in villages.