Question

List the features of rural community.

Answer 1

Hint: Humans live in two forms of settlements- urban and rural settlements. The settlement pattern of cities is termed as urban while that of villages is termed as rural.

Complete answer:
Rural area is not a densely populated area. It has a small population with less modernized culture. There is homogeneity with respect to customs, culture, dress, occupation.

The features of rural community are:
> Small size: The size of population is generally small because most people leave villages and shift to urban settlements. Since there is slow modernization, hence there is lack of facilities which makes people migrate to urban settlements.

> Homogeneity: Since it’s a small bunch of people living together with almost the same lifestyle, there is homogeneity with respect to customs, culture, dress, occupation.

> Contact with nature: Since rural settlements lack the concretization, there is more of nature in the surroundings. People are more closely associated with nature and have feelings of attachment with trees and plants.

> Occupation: Most of the village population consists of farmers. Hence the primary form of occupation is agriculture. Nevertheless people may engage in other occupations like pottery, fishing, dairy farming, etc. but agriculture is dominant in the majority. In a country like India which has an agro-based economy, most of the people residing in villages are farmers.

> Socialization: since it’s a closed group of people, they mingle with each other. There may be groups within the villages that would mostly be based on caste or class. A clear social stratification is observed.

> Lifestyle and stress: life in rural areas is relatively slow. There is less competition and hence less stress. Unlike urban cities, where there is constant ‘rat race’ in most fields.

> Education: Although development is pacing up in villages and schools are present in most villages due to government reforms, yet a lack of inclination towards education is seen here. This void is mainly due to lack of modern facilities and slow pace of development in rural areas.

Note: Rural settlements are relatively less modernized than urban settlements. However, that has its own set of advantages. Thus, one should not look down to rural areas.