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“Indian society is full of various contradictions.” Give arguments For and Against this view.
Most of the societies in the world have unique features and characteristics. The societies in the South Asian countries are agrarian in nature. With plethora of languages spoken and religions practised in India, it becomes a unique case of unity in diversity. Every such society becomes difficult to tackle administratively. Indian society has had its own problem from time to time. Economically as well as socially, the Indian society has wide variations. There are various divides, including rural-urban divide, rich and poor divide and the class divide. This is why many people believe that the Indian society is full of contradictions.
Arguments For the View
(a) India has almost 250 million people living below the poverty line, which in absolute terms is the largest number of such people in any country. But at the same time, the number of the billionaires in the country is also on the rise. This is a great contradiction for any society.
(b) India is considered to be a tolerant society. Indian history is
replete with the instances that would vouch for this fact. But at the same time, we do experience the ghastly instances riots, blasts and communal clashes every now and then. This is a glaring example of social contradictions.
(c) While majority of the Indian population lives in the rural areas, constituting almost 60 per cent of the work force, the incomes in the rural areas have been the slowest to rise during the era of rapid economic growth. This contradiction has made the large rural majority suffer despite the high growth rate.
Arguments Against the View
(a) All the societies in the world, including the most developed ones, have had certain contradictions and the contradictions in Indian society are the extension of this global phenomenon. There is nothing unique in the Indian society.
(b) No society in the world is absolutely equitable. Even the most developed societies like the US have their own contradictions and divides. The erstwhile communist countries also could not achieve completely equitable societies. Disparities and contradictions are the law of nature and cannot be avoided in any modern society.
(c) The government has taken several steps to reduce the contradictions in Indian society. Several mega schemes to uplift the people of the backward classes and backward areas to bring them at par with the mainstream population are also being implemented.
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