Social Evils – Essay

This article includes two Essays on Social Evils for School, College as well as competitive examination.

Essay – 1

Indian society is one of the oldest societies. It has got its own customs and traditions. Some of them are very old. They do not suit the present times. Times go on changing. We must also change our customs and traditions to keep pace with the times. Some of our customs are not only useless but are also obstacles in the way of social progress. It is, therefore, essential that they must be changed. The older must change giving place to the new; I will introduce the following social reforms, if ever I become the minister of social welfare.

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Our marriage customs must be reformed, Child-marriage and early marriage have no place in social life today. Boys and girls must be given some say in the selection of their partners. I will pass a law which make dowry hunting a legal offence. I will allow no business in the form of marriage, as this is a great social curse. This will be my first reform.

Now-a-days we do not get the necessities of life in pure condition. Milk, ghee, butter, oil, etc. all are sold adulterated. Not only food stuffs, but medicines, toilet goods and their articles also are mixed with inferior and cheaper substances. This amounts to the cheating of the people. This is a social crime. I will make all possible efforts to curb this nefarious trade. The people will be ensured the supply of pure and unadulterated goods.

In our society, drinking is becoming common. There is also drug addiction on a large scale. Then evil effects of such habits are too well known to need any discussion. Society must be saved from this social curse. I will educate the people against these evils as well as pass laws against them. When I become the minister for social welfare, this social reform will receive my urgent attention.

Man and woman are the two wheels of the social cart. Both of them must be equally strong. But in our society women are illiterate. They are kept in ‘purdah’. They are denied their due rights. Illiteracy is most wide-spread among women. I will pay special attention towards female education. This will remove many evils from society. Purdah will come to an end. Women will become equal partners with men in the work of the development of the country.

Untouchability is a curse. We treat a large section of our people, as if they were animals. I will do my utmost to eradicate this social evil. Public opinion shall be educated against it. The condition of the untouchables shall be improved.

Food prices have been raising for sometime past, one of the main causes of this is the hoarding of food grains. There is acute shortage of a number of essential commodities. To earn huge profits, businessmen hoard the necessities of life. This causes great hardship to the people. I will introduce legislation to check hoarding with the greatest zeal and effort. Hoarders, black marketers and profiteers would be severely dealt with.

These are but the most important of the social reforms which have been long overdue. Besides these, there are many other social evils like child labour, gambling, wastage of food etc., on the occasion of marriages and other social ceremonies etc. I will introduce reform in these spheres also.

Social reforms are urgently needed. There can be no two opinions about this. Others have also made efforts in this direction. But the results have not been very encouraging. I will give top priority to social reforms. Effective laws will be framed. Public opinion will be created in support of these reforms. Administration will be made strict. Then alone will success be achieved.

Note: This essay can also be used for the topics like:

• If I Were The minister of Social reform Or of Social Welfare of My State
• Some Social Evils and Their Reform

Essay -2

The social evils and superstitions that had crept in the society over the centuries made social reforms imperative for the development of the society and the masses. In the 19th century, the newly educated persons increasingly revolted against rigid social conventions and outdated customs. They could no longer tolerate irrational and de-humanising social practices. Moreover, the backward features of Indian society, such as the caste system or inequality of the sexes had religious sanctions in the past. Therefore, it was necessary to reform religious practices as well.

The condition of women was pathetic. The various religions practised in India as well as the personal laws based on them consigned women to a status inferior to that of men. Polygamy, Purdah system, sort, ban on widow remarriage, no education for female child, female infanticide, child marriages were some of the evils that had vice—like grip over the society. It thus became necessary to take the women out of this degraded position and help her to realise her true potential. The problems of female feoticide, sexual harassment at workplace, education are so diverse that they need sound financial backing, all these social evils centre around the petty and marginalized conditions of women in the society. We need to combat evils like the glorification of sati places as pilgrimages, dowry system, girl feoticide, decline in sex ratio, harassment of women etc. This can be achieved by educating the woman and making her financially independent.

Rajasthan has been in the news recently and for all the wrong reasons. First, it was tigers disappearing, then it was a guidebook that referred to sati-sites as tourist destinations, and then it was child marriages.

The legal age for marriage in India is 18 years for women and 21 years for men. Any marriage of a person younger than this is banned in India under the Child Marriage Prevention Act of 1929. But child marriages still take place in India; particularly around the Hindu holy day of Akshya Tritiya (also knows as Akha Teej). Yet, it is a religious tradition in many places in India and therefore, difficult to change. People feel that traditions are valuable and should not be changed, especially religious traditions, since changing these would amount to asking people not to practise their religion, a fundamental principle of democracy.

Dowry in India, the practice of endowing the groom by the bride’s family, is a tradition, which has changed its intentions from giving a gift to demanding for astronomical amounts which has bankrupted lots of families and made many girls either to commit suicide or being murdered. Bride-price, which is the endowment to the bride’s clan, which is widely practised in Papua New Guinea, too, has changed from the earlier intentions thereby making it a business.

Moral and ethical concerns of the society weigh a great deal with those in public life as their behaviour is keenly watched by the people. At concerned quarters, views are being expressed over the general decline of values in public life. There is a general feeling that all is not well with our socio-political system which is functioning under a great strain. In such a situation, the representatives of the people have to set high standards of behaviour in public life. Members of Parliament have not only to represent the society but have also to lead it. Therefore, they have to function as the role models and this naturally casts on them a heavy responsibility. Our freedom fighters and national leaders had set high ethical and moral standards in public life and they followed those principles scrupulously. This tendency, it is painfully observed, is now on a decline. There has been a wide and critical collapse of moral values in all walks of life and a perilous decline in the human dimension in global, political and trade relations and national economy. Development has culminated in widespread discontent, corruption, unemployment, violence, communal and racial discord and much human distress, destruction and disillusionment.

Barring this, the caste system, which had its roots in religion, is another curse in society. Though not so rigid in urban areas, it is still practised in rural areas with the same zeal. Caste determines man’s marriage, social circle and profession. The untouchables suffer from numerous disabilities and restrictions. His dresses, food, place of residence, all are degraded. Not only is it humiliating and inhuman and based on anti-democratic principle of inequality by birth, it is a cause of social disintegration. Thus, it has to be fought against.

Another problem that our society faces is the rapid criminalisation of the polity, that could be the result of the fact that criminals have understood the mechanics of the electoral process and have themselves become contenders for power. Earlier, politicians patronised criminals and provided them protection from the law-enforcement agencies in exchange for the use of their muscle power during elections. And now it is the opposite-with the criminals themselves taking over the reigns of power and patronising the« politicians and their parties. Of late, there is an increasing exposure of the criminals in the! Governing system of the country, to the extent that it alienates the common people for power. The criminalisation of politics is a reflection of, and a factor that aggravates the crisis of the political system. Only a qualitative change that transforms the system from its very roots can resolve this crisis in favour of the people.

In the rural economy, both unemployment and under employment exist side by side and the distinction between them is by no means sharp. In the rural areas, increasing population implies an increasing pressure on land. This pressure on land has resulted in an increase in the number of agriculturists, and this has largely contributed to the problem of unutilised labour or disguised unemployment in the agricultural sector. A large labour force accumulates around primary occupations. A general in elasticity of occupational structure prevents any large movement away from these in periods of slack demand. This leads to seasonal unemployment also. In short, the major feature of rural unemployment is the existence of unemployment in the form of disguised unemployment and seasonal unemployment rather than open unemployment that exists in the urban areas.

Idol worship, superstitions, Brahmanical or clergy superiority, all had to be fought against, for all the social practices finding sanction in religion. Yet a lot needs to be done to eradicate from the shreds a number of social evils still haunting our society.