NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS CLASS – 12 | SOCIOLOGY PART A IMPORTANT QUESTIONS | CHAPTER-2 | THE DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE OF INDIAN SOCIETY | EDUGROWN |

In This Post we are  providing  CHAPTER 2 THE DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE OF INDIAN SOCIETY NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS for Class 12 SOCIOLOGY PART A which will be beneficial for students. These solutions are updated according to 2021-22 syllabus. These MCQS  can be really helpful in the preparation of Board exams and will provide you with a brief knowledge of the chapter

NCERT MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ON THE DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE OF INDIAN SOCIETY

1.Give the main features of population policy of India.
Answer:
India’s population has crossed the mark of 121 crores. It comes next to China. It has been said that if the Indian population will increase with this rate then it will cross China by the year 2020. Indian Government is very much worried about this aspect.

That is why it has made many population policies from time to time. Main features of all these policies are given below:
1. Reduction of Birth Rate. The death rate, from 1947 till today, has been reduced to a great extent. To stop the growth of population, it is necessary that the birth rate should also be reduced. So many direct and indirect methods are used while keeping in mind this thing. Indirect methods are reducing poverty, the spread of education among females and increasing literacy rate and direct method is family planning. Determination of age of marriage can also lead to the reduction of birth rate.

2. Wider scope. Scope of the subject of population policy is very wide. It includes methods of population control and other programmes like the health of mothers and infants, etc. This programme is developing within the programme of family planning.

3. Voluntary policy. The population policy adopted by the Indian government is a voluntary policy whose main aim is to control the population with the help of masses. People are told about the advantages of the small family under this programme and they are motivated to reduce the birth rate.

4. Different methods. The main aim of these policies is to reduce the birth rate and different methods are used in it. People are being informed about population control in family planning centres so that no problem should come to them while using these methods.

5. Propaganda. Family planning programme was started at a large scale. People are given related things either free of cost or at very less price. With this, this programme is propagated through Doordarshan, T.V., Radio, magazines, newspapers, books, etc. Doctors and nurses are being given special training so that they can inform the people about these programmes.

6. Organisation and Research. Money related to family planning programme is being given by the central government but this programme is implemented by state governments. People are being told about methods to reduce the birth rate and research related to this programme is still going on.

.
2.Explain the different characteristics of Rural Society.
Answer:
1. Agriculture main occupation: The main occupation of rural society is either agriculture or any of the related work because they are very closely related to nature. Because of their close relationship to nature, their views towards life are very much different. Yet, many other occupations, like carpenter, blacksmith, etc. are there in villages but they also make tools related to agriculture.

2. Simple Life. Life of rural people is very simple: People in ancient rural societies used to do a lot of hard work to fulfil their needs and they were very much away from leisures of life due to this hard work. People engaged their children in agricultural works because they were unaware of the merits of education. They have any mental conflicts and problems. They are always ready to help each other in their problems.

3. Scarcity of population and homogeneity: The population of villages is very less as compared to the urban areas. People live in small groups in villages. There are very fewer occupations in rural areas except for agriculture because of which people like to go to cities to earn money and that is the reason why the population in villages is very less. People have close relations with each other and their views are also the same due to the same occupation.

4. Importance of neighbourhood: The neighbourhood is of great importance in rural society. The main occupation of the people is agriculture in which they get enough time at hand. People meet, talk and co-operate with each other. People have very close relations with their neighbours. Neighbours generally are of the same caste because of which their status is also same. People generally respect their neighbours.

5. Control of family: A person is in complete control of the family in rural societies. Generally, patriarchal families are there in the villages and every type of decision of the family is taken by the head of the family. Division of labour in villages is being done on the basis of sex. Males either do farming or move out of the house to earn money and females take care of the house. The joint family system is there in villages and person adopts the traditional occupation of the family. Every member of the family works with others and that is why they have community feeling among them. Family is known as the primary group.

6. Common culture: People of a village are not the outsiders who come to live in the village but are the original inhabitants of that village and that’s why their culture is common. Their culture, rituals, traditions, customs etc. are also common. That’s why they live with each other in a peaceful atmosphere. They have unity among themselves.
3.What are the changes coming in Rural Society? Explain them.
Or
What are transformations that took place in the rural society in post-Independent India?
Answer:
1. Decreasing rural-urban differences: There were a number of differences in rural and urban societies during earlier times. But these differences between both societies are decreasing day by day. It is not so because rural people imitate the styles of urban people but it is so because the relations of rural and urban people are increasing due to the open market economy. They are selling their produce in the cities and are adopting new occupations. Their relations with outsiders are increasing and their way of living, eating, wearing, thinking, etc. are changing according to the urban people. Rural people are getting every type of urban facility due to developed means of transport. The lifestyle of urban areas is improving due to the mobility of occupation and rural-urban differences are decreasing.

2. Decreasing difference in the area: The most important change which came in rural society is that the difference between the village and the city is decreasing. Cities are moving towards villages and villages are coming closer to cities. Means of transport, roads, the spread of education and means of communication have brought villages closer to the urban areas. Now rural people are also moving very quickly towards cities. They work in cities and commute daily.

3. Changes in the structure of agriculture and the marketing of agriculture. With the advent of science and technology and with the opening up of agricultural institutions, the structure of agriculture has been completely changed. With the advent of new machines like tractors, thrashers, etc., increased facilities of irrigation, development of irrigation through rivers and drips, the advent of new seeds and with the development of markets, agriculture has reached the market level from subsistence level. Now, agriculture is not being done to fulfil the needs but is being done to earn the profit. Now, the exchange of things with money has taken place of exchange of things. Agricultural produce is 4 times a year. Production has been increased to a great extent. Now, India exports food grains instead of importing them.

4. Decreasing impact of religion: Religion had a great influence on the mindset of rural people in ancient times. Every activity of agriculture was according to religion and it is not seen today. In earlier times, many trees, animals, etc. were considered as sacred but now this influence has been reduced. Religious beliefs, customs of rural people have been completely changed.

5. Change in the rural social structure: Marx was of the view that social change comes with the change in economic structure. With the commercialisation and mechanisation of agriculture, not only people have become economically better but changes are also coming in old relations. Joint families are disintegrating, changes are coming in the division of labour, social values are deteriorating, mental tension is increasing, changes are coming in the status of women, etc. There are many aspects in which we can see many changes. Time of rituals at the time of birth, marriage, death, etc. is decreasing, Jajmani system no more prevails, the effect of social kinship is decreasing, the importance of the primary group is also decreasing.

6. Increasing impact of science: The land was considered as sacred in rural areas. Agriculture was done while keeping in mind the time of sowing. But now old beliefs are no more. Farmer is not a scientist but is using the new scientific methods and no more believes in age-old customs. Earlier, people were afraid of using chemical manures to their land but now they are using more and more fertilizers and machines so that the production could be increased.
4. What is meant by the Urban Community? What are its definitions? Explain them.
Answer:
Urban areas and people living in urban areas are rapidly increasing. More than 5,000 cities and towns are there in our country. Life of the people of urban areas has been greatly affected due to this increasing population. People of the middle class and higher class have been able to fulfil their needs but it has become very difficult for people of lower classes to fulfil their needs.

In simple words, the city is a formally spread community which is determined on the basis of living standard of the people living in any specific area and on the basis of urban characteristics. Word ‘city* is an English word that has the Latin language ‘civitas’ that means citizenship. In the same way, the English word ‘urban’ which has come out of a Latin word ‘urbs’ which also means city. To understand the exact meaning of the city, it is necessary for us to look at the definitions of this word given by different scholars. These are given below:

Definitions on the basis of population. According to the Census Bureau of America, the city is that place with a population of 25,000 or more. In the same way, Egypt has the limit of 11,000 and France has the limit of 2,000 for any place to be called a city. In India, a community of population more than 5,000 is known as an Urban area where the density of population is 400 or more and where 75% or more than 75% of people are engaged in non-agricultural occupations.

Definitions on the basis of occupations. The area is considered an Urban area where the main occupation of the people is not agriculture.

1. According to Willcox, “The cities included all districts in which the density of population per square mile is more than 1,000 and where there is practically no agriculture.”
2. According to Bergal, “City is an institution whose most of the citizens are engaged in other industries except agriculture.”
3. According to Anand Kumar, “Urban community is a complex community of secondary relation with more population, based primarily on occupational and environmental differences.”
4. According to Lewis Mumford, “City is that centre where more and more power of community and concentration of culture is there.”
5. According to Louis Wirth, “In the city, people with many social differences are living in an area with more concentration of population.”

So on the basis of these definitions, we can say that the urban communities are those which are large in size, where secondary relations are of great importance, where a number of occupations are there and where the features like division of labour, specialization and social mobility exist.

5.Explain the basic argument of the theory of the demographic transition. Why is the transition period associated with a ‘population explosion’?
Ans. Theory of demographic transition suggests that population growth in linked to overall levels of economic development and that every society follows a typical pattern of development related population growth.
There are three basic phases of population growth:
Stage I: Primitive Stage [Underdeveloped countries]
•Low population growth in a society that is underdeveloped and technologically backward.
•In such societies like Africa birth rate is high since people are unaware of the advantages of having small families, they are not educated.
•Death rate is also high since health and medical facilities are not available, therefore population is low.
Stage II: [Developing countries]. The birth rate and death rate rank very high, the net growth rate remains low.
Birth rate is high as in this society people live in a patriarchal society in which men decide how many children must be bom and male child is preferred. People are illiterate and ignorant.
Death rate is also high since health and medical facilities are not available.
Stage III: [Developed countries]. Birth rate in low because people are educated and aware and use contraceptives, birth control is popularised. Death rate is also low because of availability of health and medical facilities, therefore population is low.
Transitional Stage: The stage between backwardness and skilled people]: In this stage growth rate of population is very high whereas death rates are brought down due to better medical facilities, nutrition and better medical and technological advancement therefore this transition period is associated with a population explosion.

6. Why did Malthus believe that catastrophic events like famines and epidemics that cause mass deaths were inevitable?
Ans. English political economist Thomas Robert Malthus argued that human population tend to grow at a much faster rates than the rate which the means of human subsistence (land, agriculture) can grow.
He said population rises in geometric progression whereas agricultural production can only grow in Arithmetic progression.
Malthus believed that positive checks to population growth in the form of famines and diseases, was inevitable. These are nature’s way of dealing with the balance between food supply and increasing population.
According to him, these natural checks are extremely painful and difficult. Although it helps to achieve a balance between population and subsistence by increasing the death rate.

7.What is meant by ‘birth rate’ and ‘death rate*? Explain why the birth rate in relatively slow to fall while the death rate declines much faster.
Ans. Birth rate and death rate are fundamental concepts in Demography.
Birth rate: It refers to the total number of births in a particular area, which can be the entire country, a state or any territorial unit during a specific period.
•Crude birth rate in expressed through the following method : B/p x 1000
B = Number of births P = Entire population
•It is crude birth rate because it does not include the ratio of bearing age.
•Birth rate can be defined as the number of live births per thousand persons in a years.
•Birth rate gets significantly affected by Age of marriage, infertility, climatic conditions, social condition, religious beliefs and education.
Death rate: It is the number of deaths per thousands persons in a year in a particular area, which can be the entire country, a state or any other territorial unit.
Causes of slow birth rate:
Birth rate is relatively slow while the death rate can be brought down at much faster rate for the following reasons:
•Public health measures and medical advancement can control the death rate immediately. Everybody wants good health and wants to live a long life. Because of the love for life everybody adopts all medical and technological measures with high level of motivation.
Birth rate continues to be high because it is related to attitude, beliefs and values of people. Birth rate is related to religious beliefs and by and large it is socio-cultural phenomena which is significantly slow to change.

8. Which states in India have reached or are very near the ‘replacement levels’ of population growth? Which ones still have very high rates of population growth? In your opinion, what could be some of the reasons for these regional differences?
Ans. Replacement level refers to the rate of growth required for new generations to replace the older ones that are dying out.
Replacement level refers to giving birth to two children that replacement completes. States at the replacement level of population growth: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
States very near to the replacement levels of population growth: Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and West Bengal.
States having very high rates of population growth: U.P., Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.
Reasons of regional differences:
•Difference in Literacy Percentage in different states.
•Societal conditions vary in different states. Terrorism, war-like conditions and insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East.
•Socio-Economic conditions vary in different states.
(i) Number of BPL people is highest among states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
(ii) Socio-cultural formation: A belief that more children means more hands to earn or religious beliefs.

9.What is meant by ‘the age structure’ of the population? Why is it relevant for economic development and growth?
Ans. •India has a very young population. The average age of an Indian is less than that for most other countries. Majority of Indians are between the age group of 15 and 64 years.
•Age structure of the population refers to the proportions of persons in different age groups relative to the total population.
•Population under the age of 15 has decreased from 42% in 1971 to 31% in 2011. During this period the ratio of age group 15 to 64 was gone up from 53% to 63.7%.
•Age structure in a country changes with development poor medical facilities, prevalence of disease reduce the life expectancy.
•Age structure of population can be put in following age groups:
0-14 years. [Children]
15-59 years. [Working population]
60 + Years. [Old people]
This age structure of the Indian population can be understood by following table.

This table indicates that the share of the under 15 age group in the total population has come down from higher level of 42% in 1971 to 34% in 2001 and it is perfected to be reduced to 23% in 2026. It means birth rate in India is gradually decreasing.
Relevance for economic development and growth:
•Due to the advancement in medical sciences, public health measures and nutrition the life expectancy is at rise. This is due to economic development and growth.
•Need of family planning in being understood. Decrease in 0-14 years age group reveals that National population policy is implemented properly.
•Because of socio-cultural changes in Indian society and economic growth Age structure of population is moving towards positive young India.
•Dependency ratio is decreasing and increase in working population is causing positive growth in Indian economy.
•Economic development and improvement in quality of life improve life expectancy and changes the structures of the population.
•High infant mortality rate and material mortality rate due to poor economic growth hence an adverse effect of age structure on the population

10.What is meant by the ‘sex ratio’? What are some of the implications of a declining sex ratio? Do you feel that parents still prefer to have sons rather than daughters? What, in your opinion, could be some of the reasons for this preference?
Ans. Sex ratio refers to the number of females per thousand males in a given area at a specified period of time.
•This ratio is an important indicator of gender balance in population.
•Historically there were more females than males in most countries of the world. This phenomena occurred due to two reasons:
(i)Girl babies enjoy better immune system and resistant to diseases in comparison of male child.
(ii)Females live longer than males in most of the societies.
•The ratio between female babies and male babies is roughly 1050 female to 1000 male.
•In India sex ratio is declining significantly and continuously for more than a century. From 972 female per thousand males at the turn of 20th century the sex ratio declined to 933 at the turn of 21st century.
•The state level child sex ratio is alarming. As many as 6 states and union territories have a child sex ratio as low child sex ratio of 793. The highest child sex ratio of 986 is found in Sikkim.
Sex ratio seems to be declining in countries like India, China and South Korea.
In India, parents still prefer male child. This is basically due to social and cultural reasons. Being agricultural society the village population preferred male child to look after the land. The reason of preference of male child is definitely not linked with economic reasons. The states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh and Maharashtra are most prosperous states of India and should have highest child sex ratio, but things are just different.
The census of 2001 reveals that these are states with the lowest sex ratios i.e., 950 female babies per 1000 male babies. This data is a reliable evidence that selective abortion in these states is not due to poverty, ignorance or lack of resource. Predisposing factors for low child sex ratio in India:
•Religious or Cultural Beliefs: Belief that only son is entitled to perform funeral and related rituals of his parents. Only son is the waaris of family. In the absence of male child generation will not continue.
•Economic Reasons: The main occupation of Indian society is agriculture. Villagers have a thinking that landed property cannot be given to girls because after marriage they will go to another village, town or city. Neither girl child can get her share of load nor she can take care of the land.
•Lack of Awareness: People in Indian society having ignorant conservation attitude are still not ready to give equal status to daughter because they think that during old age they will be dependent on the son. Only he will share food, house, customs and responsibilities.
Implications of child sex ratio: Low child sex ratio, if continues, will have serious implications on our social network, particularly the Institution of marriage. It will also cause severe law and order problem related to women.