-Anushree Ojha, Subject Matter Expert at Edmarz
Solution: As villages are small, they allow for more personalised ties; it is not uncommon for people of a village to recognise all or most of their neighbours by sight.
Villages have a more traditional social structure, with institutions such as caste, religion, and other forms of customary or traditional social customs being stronger.
As a result, unless there are exceptional circumstances, change in villages is slower than in towns.
In comparison to their colleagues in cities, rural residents have far fewer opportunities to express themselves. Because of the lack of anonymity and distance in the village, people who disagree are easily found and ‘taught a lesson’ by the dominating portions.
Because the dominant sections control the majority of work opportunities and resources of all types, the poor are forced to rely on the dominant sections because there are no other sources of employment or support.
It is extremely difficult to dislodge a strong power structure that already exists in a hamlet. Because the social order is sturdier and more resilient in rural places, change in the sense of power transfers is slow and late to emerge.
Change of any kind is slow to arrive since villages are dispersed and not as well connected to the outside world as cities and towns are.Other types of communication (road, rail) have also improved over time, so only a few settlements can truly claim to be “isolated” or “remote.”
Homelessness and the phenomenon of street people’ – individuals who live and subsist on the streets and sidewalks, beneath bridges and flyovers, abandoned buildings, and other empty spaces – are the result of a lack of affordable accommodation for the poor. It is also the major cause of slum development.
Slums are the natural breeding ground for ‘dadas’ and strongmen who impose their power on the people who reside there because there are no settled property rights like there are elsewhere.In cities all throughout the world, residential neighbourhoods are virtually invariably divided by class, as well as colour, ethnicity, religion, and other factors. Tensions between such identities both cause and result in these segregation patterns.
In India, for example, communal tensions between religious communities, most typically Hindus and Muslims, lead to the conversion of mixed-community neighbourhoods into single-community neighbourhoods.
This, in turn, provides communal violence a distinct spatial pattern whenever it erupts, furthering the ‘ghettoization’ process.’Gated communities,’ a worldwide phenomenon, can also be seen in Indian towns. This refers to the establishment of rich neighbourhoods with regulated entry and exit, separated from their surroundings by walls and gates. Parallel civic facilities, such as water and electricity supply, policing, and security, are also available in such communities.