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NCERT Class 12 Sociology Chapter 2 The Demographic Structure of the Indian Society
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The Demographic Structure of the Indian Society
Chapter: 2
PART – I: INDIAN SOCIETY
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS ANSWERS
1. Explain the basic argument of the theory of 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.
Basic argument of demographic transition theory:
(i) Stage-I (High Birth rates and High Death rates): The first stage of the demographic transition model describes a period of high birth and death rates, resulting in slow population growth. This stage is characteristic of pre-industrial societies.
Factors like early marriage, illiteracy, and lack of family planning knowledge contribute to high birth rates.
Lack of healthcare, sanitation, clean water, and proper diet, along with diseases, famine, and war, lead to high death rates.
(ii) Stage-II (High Birth rates and Declining Death rates): Continued high birth rates, declining death rates: In this stage, there is a decline in the death rate. As the birth rate is still high, the result is population growth as there are more births than deaths.
(iii) Stage-III (Declining Birth rates and Low Death rates): Death rates are low and birth rates diminish, as a result of improved economic conditions, an expansion in women’s status and education, increase in social awareness.
(iv) Stage-IV (Low Birth rates and Low Death rates): The Demographic Transition Model is characterised by low birth and death rates, resulting in a stable population. Countries in this stage tend to have stronger economies, better healthcare, and higher levels of education.
2. Why did Malthus believe that catastrophic events like famines and epidemics that cause mass deaths were inevitable?
Ans: Malthus believed therefore that ‘positive checks’ to population growth in the form of famines and diseases were inevitable because they were nature’s way of dealing with the imbalance between food supply and increasing population. He argued that human populations tend to grow at a much faster rate than the rate at which the means of human subsistence (specially food, but also clothing and other agriculture-based products) can grow. Therefore humanity is condemned to live in poverty forever because the growth of agricultural production will always be overtaken by population growth. While population rises in geometric progression (i.e., like 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc.), agricultural production can only grow in arithmetic progression (i.e., like 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.).
3. What is meant by ‘birth rate’ and ‘death rate’? Explain why the birth rate is relatively slow to fall while the death rate declines much faster.
Ans: Birth rates: Birth rate refers to the number of live births in a year per thousand people.
Death rates: Death rate refers to the number of people dying in a year per thousand people.
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:
(i) 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.
(ii) 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.
4. 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: States at the replacement levels of population growth in India are:
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Goa.
The states still have very high rates of population growth are:
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Reasons for Regional Differences in Population Growth:
(i) Socio-economic factors: Socio-economic factors include cultural characteristics, types of economic activities, technology used (including the type of farming), and social organisation. Demographic factors include changes resulting from natural increase and migration.
(ii) Healthcare Access and Quality: Access to quality healthcare services, including maternal and child health services, affects fertility rates. States with better healthcare infrastructure and services typically see lower maternal mortality rates and higher contraceptive usage, contributing to lower fertility rates.
(iii) Cultural Norms and Practices: Cultural practices refer to the behaviours, activities, and customs that are shared and passed down within a particular culture or society.
(iv) Economic Opportunities: Economic sociology is particularly attentive to the relationships between economic activity, the rest of society, and changes in the institutions that contextualise and condition economic activity.
(v) Government Policies and Interventions: Effective implementation of family planning programs, awareness campaigns, and access to contraceptives can impact fertility rates. States with proactive government policies and successful family planning initiatives tend to have lower population growth rates.
(vi) Urbanization and Migration: Migration is the demographic process that links rural to urban areas, generating or spurring the growth of cities. The resultant urbanisation is linked to a variety of policy issues, spanning demographic, economic, and environmental concerns.
5. What is meant by the ‘age structure’ of the population? Why is it relevant for economic development and growth?
Ans: The age structure of a population refers to the proportionate numbers of people in different age categories in a given population for a defined time. It is a natural characteristic of a population in a country or a region. The age structure is closely related to the birth rate, death rate and migration of a population.
Age structure of the indian population 1961-2026:
Relevance for economic development and growth:
(i) 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.
(ii) Need of family planning in being understood. Decrease in 0-14 years age group reveals that National population policy is implemented properly.
(iii) Because of socio-cultural changes in Indian society and economic growth Age structure of population is moving towards positive young India.
(iv) Dependency ratio is decreasing and increase in working population is causing positive growth in Indian economy.
(v) Economic development and improvement in quality of life improve life expectancy and changes the structures of the population.
(vi) High infant mortality rate and material mortality rate due to poor economic growth hence an adverse effect of age structure on the population.
6. 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: The sex ratio is an important indicator of gender balance in the population. As mentioned in the section on concepts earlier, historically, the sex ratio has been slightly in favour of females, that is, the number of females per 1000 males has generally been somewhat higher than 1000.
However, India has had a declining sex-ratio for more than a century. From 972 females per 1000 males at the turn of the twentieth century, the sex ratio has declined to 933 at the turn of the twenty-first century. The trends of the last four decades have been particularly worrying-from 941 in 1961 the sex ratio had fallen to an all-time low of 927 in 1991 before posting a modest increase in 2001. According to Census of India 2011 sex ratio has increased and now it is 943 females per 1000 males.
The Declining Sex Ratio in India 1901-2011:
Predisposing factors for low child sex ratio in India:
(i) Religious or Cultural Beliefs: Belief that only the son is entitled to perform funeral and related rituals of his parents. Only son is the waris of the family. In the absence of male child the Hansli will not continue.
(ii) 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.
(iii) 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.
(iv) 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.
