Essay on Important Rural Problems – The rural communities are not free from problems. Though they are simple and less complex, they have their own social, economic, educational, medical and other problems.
1. Economic Problems:
Comparatively, the rural people are poorer. Increase in population, disintegration of joint families, subdivision and fragmentation of land holding, heavy load on land, traditional methods of cultivation, unemployment and other factors have been responsible for poverty in the rural areas especially in India. In India, more than 40% of the people are living below the line of poverty.
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2. Lack of Educational Facilities:
Sizeable numbers of people are uneducated and ignorant in the rural areas. In India, many villages do not have schools, and some of the existing schools do not have teachers, and some others are not in working conditions. Lack of education has contributed to the development of traditionalism, and superstitious beliefs among the ruralites. The ruralites also fail to get the jobs for their inability to get themselves qualified through the formal education.
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3. Traditionalism:
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The ruralites are traditional and custom-bound. They are illiterate, ignorant and superstitious. They do not easily accept the change. They are skeptical regarding the developmental programmes of the government.
4. Lack of Adequate Civic Amenities:
In comparison with the cities, the villages are lacking in civic amenities. The necessary civic amenities such as—medical facilities, electricity, transport facilities, communication facilities, such as radio, television, newspaper, post and telegraph, telephone, etc., are not available to the satisfaction of the people. Sometimes it becomes difficult for the rural people to get the daily required necessities of life.
5. Defective Rural Administration:
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The ruralites are unorganised and politically not awakened. Their failure to understand the democratic methods of administration has contributed to the inefficient functioning of the rural administrative bodies. In India the rural administrative bodies such as the panchayats have been widely criticised as inefficient, defective, corrupt, selfish and full of communal and caste feelings. Inefficient rural administration can hardly serve the cause of the people
6. Social Problems:
Due to ignorance, illiteracy and poverty, the rural people have become the victims of some evil habits and practices. Many of them are habituated to smoking, gambling, drinking liquors and prostitution.
The evils of animosity, hatred, jealousy, fraud, cheating, etc., are also widespread among the ruralites. Many of them simply idle away much of their time in talking over useless topics.
Their suspicious outlook makes them to doubt and discourage even the good intentions of the rural developmental programmes. This is especially true in the case of the Indian villages.