Village community – Meaning and Types

Sociology

Meaning

Villages are the building blocks of the social fabric of India. This is true because, more than half of India’s population lives in villages. Villages are well-knit, more or less self sufficient units that remain immune to outside changes. Their simple character, and rustic life style attracted has inspired the imagination of countless writers, artists, and even political reformers. Gandhiji was enamored of villages and centered his political campaigns around them.

Types of rural communities

There are broadly two types of rural communities. These are

1. Agricultural village communities …. In these communities, farming is the mainstay of people’s livelihood. Agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, and scavenging nearby forests provide rice, pulses, wheat, fish, meat, firewood and timber to the villagers. Mostly, the villagers consume these themselves. Small part is sold to others.

2. Industrial village communities.. In these village communities, apart from cultivation, people run small and cottage industries to augment their incomes. The per capita income of these villagers are generally higher than that of agriculture-dependent communities. Economists attach great value to these communities because of their contribution to the country’s GDP.