Global development lacks a clear definition, but it is often linked with human development and international efforts to reduce poverty, inequality and improve health, education, and job opportunities. The concept of globalization is not new to India. The Indian economy has grown immensely after its integration into the global market. It has highly impacted the economic condition of India and has helped India embark on its journey of economic liberalization.
As emerging economies grow, it may become necessary to rethink global economic governance structures through multilateral channels such as the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, etc. Financial, monetary, and trade policy reforms may be needed to ensure sustainable growth.
Social Issues in India refer to any undesirable unwanted social condition, often objectionable, opposed either by the whole society or by a section of society, and the continuance of which is harmful to society.
Major Social Issues
Poverty: It is one of the social issues prevailing in India and is defined as the inability to get hold of the minimum standard of living. Poverty is when people are unable to satisfy their basic needs. According to the Indian Planning Commission’s 2013 estimate, approximately 22% of the total population live under the poverty line.
Some reasons for poverty are a substantial increment in population, rising unemployment, inflation, and lack of education opportunities. Several poverty alleviation programs have been launched by the Indian government for the rural and urban poor which are
– Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna – Gramin
– Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI)
– Deendayal Antyodaya YojanaUnemployment
Unemployment: It is a major social and economic issue because every individual is dependent on their work for their livelihood. Many people in the country are unemployed because there is an unavailability of jobs in the labor market.
The government has taken various steps in the form of employment generation schemes which are:
– The Pradhan Mantri Rozgar Yojna is one major measure. The Scheme is designed to create sustainable self-employment opportunities for one million educated unemployed youth in the country. The focus is on educating the youth and providing training to make them employable.
Illiteracy: The inability to read and write. Such an individual might have to work as unskilled labor throughout his life due to a lack of skills creating a vacuum in society. India has a state like Kerala that brags 93.91% literacy, while a backward state like Bihar has a 68.8% literacy rate. Illiteracy needs to be tackled as one of the biggest social evils of the nation.
With the formulation of the National Policy on Education, India initiated a wide range of programs:
– Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
– Mid-Day Meal
– Mahila Samakhya
– Strengthening for providing quality education in Madrassas ( SPQEM)
Gender Violence: Women have always been victims of exploitation and violence within the Indian subcontinent. The rising cases of sexual abuse and rape across the country, criminal, domestic, and social violence have left a mark on the reputation of India. Criminal violence includes rape, murder, female feticide, and abduction. Domestic violence includes wife battering, dowry deaths, and sexual violence. Social violence comprises eve-teasing, inheritance laws in the favor of men, etc.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released those 33,356 cases of rape were reported all over India in 2018. Several rape cases are not even reported by the victim. The government along with the participation of volunteer organizations has taken a few steps for the safety of women.
Shelters for women suffering from abusive husbands or in-laws have been established.
Women helplines have been publicized by the police in various cities such as New Delhi.
There are some legal institutions promoted by the government that provide free legal assistance to women. But the most important change that is required to combat women’s harassment is a change in attitude. The youth need to be sensitized about the safety and respect of women.
Healthcare System: India is a hub for medical tourism. However, the Lack of Healthcare resources in rural India is a major concern of the day. Lack of accessibility to hospitals, lack of nutrition, and no access to toilets are some major reasons. Being one of the most populous countries, it is difficult to provide proper healthcare facilities to its entire population. However, efforts have been done by our government with the help of some schemes:
Ayushman Bharat Yojana: PMJAY was launched to provide free healthcare services to more than 40% population of the country.
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana: It aims to provide accident insurance cover to the people of India.
Universal Health Insurance Scheme (UHIS): This was implemented to help the families who live below the poverty line.
Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS): It provides free specialist consultations both at the hospital level and in dispensaries.
Inflation: Increasing prices of commodities over some time is described as inflation. Rising rates of food items and fuel have burned holes in the pockets of the people. With the increase in inflation, the cost-of-living increases which increases the economic divide in the country. As per data released by the National Statistical Office on February 14, India’s headline inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped to 6.01 percent in January 2022. There is an essential need to bring inflation under control and bring basic amenities at affordable prices for all.
The influence of legal modernism has been pervasive and long-lived Legal modernism is the lawyer’s Enlightenment project to perfect and render pure law’s claim to foundational authority.
It is difficult to identify a single theoretical development in this century that has not exhibited the effect of form, logic, or implicit beliefs of legal modernism. The logic of legal modernism can be found in the development of mainstream legal theory as well as in temporary movements in legal thought, such as critical legal studies, feminist legal theory, and law and literature. It would seem that legal studies have never quite overcome the influence of legal modernism, though many have tried to shake free from its influence.
Until recently, legal thinkers were not aware of the existence of legal modernism until the arrival of postmodernism appeared in the legal academy and challenged the visions, ideas, and practices of modern legal thinkers. In law, postmodernism signals a movement away from forms of legal modernism premised upon the belief in universal truths, core essences, or foundational theories. Postmodernists question the modernist aspiration to discover the objective truth about the world by challenging the modernist’s effort to endow law with qualities of “objectivity,” “neutrality,” “autonomy,” “internal integrity,” “consensus,” and the like.
It would also be a mistake to conclude that jurisprudential postmodernism is fundamentally different from jurisprudential modernism, or that postmodernists harbor some dark desire to be the new jurisprudential masters of the legal system. Postmodern legal criticism should be characterized not by its ability to transcend the style and aesthetic of traditional legal studies but rather by its ambivalent and inexorable link to the current situation in contemporary legal studies. Postmodernism’s critical dimension lies in its problematic relationship to the modernist tradition it attempts to identify and criticize.
(Author: Advocate Ishanee Sharma, Ishanee Sharma Law offices)
Views are personal.
