SOCIAL ISSUES HAUNTING

INDIA
SPECIAL MENTION - ORISSA
 Part 1
Social issues in Orissa
 What Are Social Issues ?

• A social issue is a problem that influences many citizens within a society. It is a

common problem in present-day society and one that many people strive to
solve.
• It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control.
Social issues are the source of a conflicting opinion on the grounds of what is
perceived as morally correct or incorrect personal life or interpersonal social life
decisions.
• Social issues are distinguished from economic issues; however, some issues
(such as immigration) have both social and economic aspects. There are also
issues that do not fall into either category, such as warfare.
 Major Social Issues In India

1. Poverty
2. Unemployment
3. Illiteracy
4. Caste System
5. Communalism
6. Corruption
7. Terrorism
8. Violence Against Women
 Social Composition Of Orissa
• Odia is the official language of Odisha and is spoken by
• The majority (almost 94%) of people in Odisha are 82.7% of the population according to the 
Hindu and there is also a rich cultural heritage in 2011 census of India.[] It is also one of the 
the state. For example, Odisha is home to several classical languages of India. English is the official
Hindu figures. Sant Bhima Bhoi was a leader of language of correspondence between state and the union
the Mahima sect. Sarala Das, a Hindu Khandayat, of India.
was the translator of the epic Mahabharata into
Odia. Chaitanya Das was a Buddhistic- Language
Vaishnava and writer of the Nirguna
Mahatmya. Jayadeva was the author of the Gita 1%
1%
9%
2%
Govinda. 2%
2%
2%

• The Odisha Temple Authorisation Act of 1948

empowered the government of Odisha to open
temples for all Hindus, including Dalits.
81%

Odia Kui Santali Urdu

Telugu Hindi Bengali Others
Major Social Problems In Orissa
1) Lack of pride in Odia Language and being
Odia
2) High Cost and Low Quality of Education
3) Sanitation and Health
4) Biased Media and Civil Society Organisations
5) Environment and Poverty
Lack Of Pride In Odia Language
• Although Odisha was created as a separate state in 1936 on language basis
and after eight decades, Odia is yet to be used as a state language in its
official transaction.
• There seems to be a reluctance on the part of the people to speak in Odia
outside the state.
• There is no pride in the language spoken by the masses and the gulf
between class and mass is difficult to bridge.
• It is not surprising that the struggle to start an Odia University in the state
is mired with controversy.
High Cost and Low Quality of Education
In basic education, issues that were in years earlier are still continuing today.
While schools and school buildings are increased in numbers, nutritional
supports through the school channels are linked to children, gross enrollment
has increased and drop-outs rate have decreased, yet accesses to education
remains a biggest challenge due to new conditions are posed before the
public. Education planners usually set norms of setting up schools to cater the
needs of education. Now a new trend has emerged where more and more
private schools in the name of quality of education are hugely set up in rural
and urban areas. Government schools are suffering due to want of good
quality teachers to teach in the schools. At one end the government school
teachers are physically and mentally spend time in streets for getting their
dues and payments. On the other hands the parents and guardians are
protesting fee hikes by the private schools.
 Sanitation and Health
• India spends 6 % of its GDP annually to meet the health burdens due to lack of basic
sanitation and hygiene to its population.
• In 2001, total population of the state was 3.68 crore and this has increased to 4.19 crore
in 2011. In the fields of the basic sanitation, toilet coverage is one of the minimum
parameters set out by the government to be achieved 100% by 2015. But the toilet
coverage in our households is really very pathetic one if one studies the trends since
2001 census. Currently little less than one crore households (98.55 lakhs) have not
covered with toilets. Over 80% of households those are covered with toilets are not using
them.
• Absolute lack of proper hospitals in most parts of state. Except 2–3 major government
funded Medical colleges, I don't see any change in stance of BJD towards holistic
development of healthcare infrastructure in Odisha.
 Biased Media and Civil Society Organisations
• Towards mid 1990s when the new economic
• Given that the media is controlled by big policies are adopted and open market economy
business, for profit and with clear political came to India, new conditions were set before the
affiliation and aspiration, it is difficult to NGOs and civil society groups to undertake their
activities where NGOs failed to give pace to the
expect that the news they publish will be changing times and requirements. Many forms of
unbiased. civil society members surfaced under the guise of
NGOs and claimed partnership in sustainable
• Often national media has to highlight the development before the government. In the
issues of significance for the state. We have process, NGOs failed to participate in PPP mode
few news magazines like Samadrusti with projects, tendering and consultancy areas due to
grass-root reporters, who fail to receive lack of string institutional research base. More
patronage from the readers, because of lack of and more NGOs are blacklisted by the
government and NGO movement has lost its
responsibility and ownership for a cause. ground completely.
 Environment and Poverty
• To reduce poverty is one of the vital sustainable goals •Environment degradation has gone to a pick in the State and
for the governments to achieve. Currently, the debate debate still continues whether we should go for industry or
over poverty is now centered on its methodology to sustain our environment. People’s protests are increasing in
measure poverty properly and estimate and identify the the state. Yet we do not have any clear cut direction to
real poor households in order to target them in where to go and what to do. State’s biodiversity lose is
government schemes. The most unfortunate part in this rampant which has brought newer challenges on livelihood
system of people. Coastal livelihood and biodiversity and
process is that in these two areas of poverty debate it is
now looking like a never ending process due to political climate change are serious issues required to be understood
and economic condition so of the country today and vital and rare species on earth like mangroves needs to
be preserved. Agriculture sector still carries the burden of
• Poverty debate is now moved from hunger to poverty as more than 70 % are still depending upon
deprivation areas. This is for the reason that inclusive agriculture for survival and growth. Soil erosion, land
growth and development is adopted by the Government degradation, desertification, soils acidity are issues besides
so that everybody can get access to market and take part majority of farming community are landless farmers, use of
on the government programmes and be inclusive and pesticides and fertilizers are increasing day by day in spite
developed. of we propagate organic framing.
 Conclusion
The collapse of public education system, both at school and university level, results not
only creation of socio-economically inappropriate manpower, but also ever-corroding
foundation over which it is not easy to create a healthy society. The very increasing
dependence on the private health system for perceptible high-quality service is adding
further misery to the large segment of the population belonging to middle class and those
below. Disempowered community, unrealistic aspiration of the population, job-less growth,
ever-increasing unemployed educated youth and visible social friction, in spite of a stable
government, are the symptoms of a systemic failure of the development strategies followed
by the state. The missing link is the distorted political connect between the mass and the
ruling class which cannot drive the development agenda in a virtuous cycle of sustainable
human development and good governance system. At present, it is a vicious cycle of poor
governance and unsustainable development. Environmental insecurity out of a de-stabilised
natural resource-based livelihood system (reflected in degradation of land, forests and
water, in many cases causing irreversible damage to the ecosystem) is leading to social
friction.
 Part 2
Cultural Diversity
Of Odisha
 Music
• Odissi music is the traditional classical music of the state of
Odisha. Born as a seva in the Jagannatha temple of Puri, it was
developed by great composers such as Jayadeva, Upendra
Bhanja, Dinakrusna Dasa, Banamali Dasa Kabisurjya Baladeba
Ratha, Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka and others. Odissi music has
a history of over 2000 years, several native shastras or treatises,
unique ragas and talas and a distinctive style of rendition.
• Being a part of the rich culture of Odisha, its music is also as
much charming and colourful. Odissi music is more two
thousand five hundred years old and comprises several
categories. Of these, the five broad ones are Tribal Music, 
Folk music, Light Music, Light-Classical Music and Classical
Music. Anyone who is trying to understand the culture of
Odisha must take into account its music, which essentially
forms a part of its legacy.
Desaraja Maudamani Adiguru Singhari Shyamasundar Kar,
scion of Jagannatha temple tradition of Odissi music
 Dance
• Odissi dance and music are classical forms. Odissi has a tradition of 2,000 years, and
finds mention in the Nyashastra of Bharatamuni, possibly written circa 200 BCE.
However, the dance form nearly became extinct during the British period, only to be
revived after India's independence by a few proponents, such as Guru Deba Prasad Das,
Guru Pankaj Charan Das, Guru Raghunath Dutta and Kelucharan Mohapatra. Odissi
classical dance is about the divine love of Krishna and his consort Radha, mostly drawn
from compositions by the notable Odia poet Jayadeva, who lived in the 12th century CE.
• Chhau dance (or Chau dance) is a form of tribal (martial) dance attributed to origins in 
Mayurbhanj princely state of Odisha and seen in the Indian states of West Bengal, 
Jharkhand and Odisha. There are three subtypes of the dance, based on the original
places where the subtypes were developed. Seraikella Chau was developed in Seraikella,
the administrative head of the Seraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand, Purulia

Chhau
Chau in Purulia district of West Bengal and Mayurbhanj Chau in Mayurbhanj district of 
Odisha.
• Mahari Dance is one of the important dance forms of Odisha. Mahari dance originated in
the temples of Odisha. History of Odisha provides evidence of the Devadasi cult in
Odisha. Devadasis were dancing girls who were dedicated to the temples of Odisha. The
Devadasis in Odisha were known as Maharis and the dance performed by them came to
Dance
be known as Mahari Dance.
 Clothing
• The western-style dress has gained greater acceptance in cities and towns
among men, although the people prefer to wear traditional dresses like Dhoti, 
Kurtha and Gamucha during festivals or other religious occasions. Women
normally prefer to wear the Sari Sambalpuri Sari, or the Shalwar kameez;
western attire is becoming popular among younger women in cities and towns.
• The Saree of Odisha is much in demand throughout the entire world. The
different colours and varieties of sarees in Odisha make them very popular
among the women of the state. The handloom sarees available in Odisha can
be of four major types; these are Sambalpui Ikat, Sambalpuri
Bandha, Sambalpuri Bomkai and Sambalpuri Saptaper. Odisha sarees are also
available in other colours like cream, maroon, brown and rust. The tie-and-
dye technique used by the weavers of Odisha to create motifs on these sarees
is unique to this region. This technique also gives the sarees of Odisha an
identity of their own.
Ethnic female and male cloth draping
style in Odisha.
 Arts Culture of Odisha
• Pattachitra (Cloth Painting) • Rock Paintings
• Literally, 'Patta' translates to cloth and •
'Chitra' means picture. The themes and
motifs are mythological, typically revolving
around the Jagannath and Vaishnava sect.
Lord Jagannath and Radha-Krishna
paintings are a rage among buyers.
Pattachitra showing Ganesha and Shiva.
Since it is a traditional art-form, the
Chitrakara's (painter) very home is his own
studio where his family members act as
helping hands. The final painting is
rendered in the form of a design on a canvas
with decorative borders. Sometimes, palm-
leaves are also used to form the canvas.
Rock art in Odisha dates back to the
prehistoric period according to the
earliest reports found at Viramkhol in
Jharsuguda district. With the reign of
Ashoka the great, Buddhist sculptural
art gradually changed the degree of
Odisha's artistic flair. Even today, the
caves of Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and
Udaygiri have not faltered to
showcase the wonderful legacy of
sculptural brilliance that some of our
finest carvers left behind.
Kartik Lende
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