View of STRATEGIES FOR INNOVATIVE SOCIAL AND HAPPY CHANGES

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Vol. 05,Special Issue 02, (IC-IRSHEM-2020) February 2020, Available Online: www.ajeee.co.in/index.php/AJEEE

STRATEGIES FOR INNOVATIVE SOCIAL AND HAPPY CHANGES Vandana Jain, Research Scholar,

Ph.D. (Education), Shri Khushal Das University, Pilibangan, Hanumangarh, (Raj.) Abstract:- The term „society‟ refers not to a thing or a group of people but to the system of intricate human relationships that grows out of action. Today, we live in a dynamic and ultra-modern, high-tech global community. However, the current life style, conduct and practices of human beings have escalated the problems in the society at every level i.e.

social, cultural, economical, political, environmental, physical as well as psychological level.

In the last few decades, man-made irrational and unsustainable activities and interventions have made even their own existence in danger. Even the most sophisticated and civilized society of the world today i.e. Modern American Society has been reported suffering with remarkable level of psychological inequality and difficulties. The third most powerful country of the world i.e. China is undergoing a major political crisis from the ongoing corona virus outbreak. India, the most diverse and democratic country, despite being in its boom time, is confronted with various major issues like demographic changes; ethnic, cultural and political differences; climate change; health and education; digital divide;

increasing crime rate; corruption etc. The Indian society may go to a serious devastating situation if the people don‟t connect themselves emotionally to what needs to bring innovative social and happy changes. Therefore, this paper describes the basic components of a society, social needs, and challenges & issues in the growth of society. Furthermore, this paper explores some of the strategies that are expected to foster innovative social and happy changes.

1. INTRODUCTION

Today we live in a networked global economy. Globalization has provided a new global age where we share economic interests with everyone on the globe, helping overcome many many of the ideological conflicts that have disrupted human progress in the past. But whether this human progress has led to its peaceful and happy existence? Is the world a global community without any boundary or conflicts? Then what are the reasons that the most powerful countries of the world are confronted with major political, economic and ideological issues?

Even after conquering the mysteries of science and theology, the big and powerful countries of the world are undergoing crisis in one form or the other, then what to say of small countries. Acc. To a survey, Americans in midlife have psychological difficulties (David G. Blanchflower, 2017). China suffers a major political crisis due to the outbreak of coronavirus (aljazeera.com) that can further weaken German economic growth due to its dependence on China, according to the most recent calculations published by the German Institute of Economic Research (euractiv.com). Singapore is one of the world leaders in personal GDP, but its people have a very low level of happiness and optimism for the future (Sim, 2015).

India, in spite of being at a tipping point, both in terms of economic growth and in the human development, faces many societal challenges that need to be addressed and to be a model of happy society in real sense. So, here arises the need of innovative strategies to solve major social ills, predicting uncertain future and removing barriers, so that people can more freely pursue opportunities to learn and grow, can have true relationships, be happy with the community and workplace, and also have a healthy lifestyle with adequate financial resources.

2. WHAT IS A HAPPY SOCIETY?

A happy society is one with the greatest happiness in inner lives, families, relationships, financial situation, work, community, health, leisure, freedom to all, and healthy environment as well. A happy society puts people‟s overall happiness first, rather than focusing just on economic growth, digitization and modernization. A society can be called happy where the people work together to make the things better, think about well-being of others, and help them to lead more fulfilling lives themselves, and where the people are open-minded.

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They are given rights, justice and equal opportunities by the nation they live in.

above all, there must be a balanced development between the nature and the man. A happy society is that where the whole world is seen as a family without bearing grudges against one another.

2.1 Components of Society

To promote happy and innovative changes in a society, it becomes essential to understand the five basic components of a society i.e. population, culture, material products, social organization, and social institutions, because these can either deteriorate or promote social change. Population can immensely affect social change positively as well as negatively. The growing population will be resulting in more ideas, more problems, more solutions, more norms, more laws, and many more.

Culture incorporates values, beliefs, norms, knowledge, language and symbols. A conservative society with its beliefs and values can never go in favour of new technology and would like the things to continue traditionally. Rather, knowledgeable people will always be experimenting for dynamic changes in the society. Material products i.e. limited amount, can also bring positive as well as negative changes in society as the people will try to find other alternatives in case of exhaustible existing products, or they will exhaust the products without thinking and caring about the future.

Social organization is a network of relationship between and among individuals and social groups that can play an affirmative or pessimistic role in social development. Social institution is a system that ascribes education, family, economy, government and religion.

All these factors have a big influence on the society, pushing it towards development or pulling it backward.

3. SOCIAL BARRIERS, CHALLENGES AND ISSUES

Undoubtedly, India is exponentially growing, but economic growth does not lead to social welfare. Rather, the growth of modern economic system has generated more numerous, complex and urgent social challenges. There is a disconnection between economic growth and social welfare.

In terms of scientific and technological advancement today, India can boast of the successful testing of nuclear-capable Agni-IV missile and the launch of the PSLV-C37 rocket, but still the basic needs of hygiene, healthcare, culture, education and environment remain a distant dream for the country. India has a long way to go to become a superpower in true sense and achieve social and economic development in all the sections of the society. Firstly, India needs to deal with social challenges and issues on priority.

3.1 Gender Discrimination

India is the fourth most dangerous place in the world for women to live in (Thomas Reuters, 2011). Crime against women such as rape, kidnapping and abduction, acid throwing, domestic violence, dowry killings, honour killings, and the forced prostitution of young girls has risen at alarming rate in recent years, irrespective of the class, caste, creed or religion.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2017, the gender based attacks against women is on the rise (unwomen.org). And the main reason behind it is the inequality of India‟s heavily patriarchal society that prefers having sons over daughters.

Table:- 1 Crime Against Women: 1995 to 2016 according to NCRB

Crime Heads 1995 2000 2016 Growth: 1995

to 2016 (%)

Rape 13,754 16,496 38,947 5.4%

Dowry Death 4,648 6,995 7,621 1.9%

Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty

31,545 43,964 84,747 4.8%

Cruelty by husbands and

relatives 28,579 45,778 1,10,378 6.6%

Total Cases of Crime

against women 78,526 1,13,297 3,38,954 7.4%

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Total Cognizable Crime 16,95,696 17,71,084 29,75,711 3.0%

% of crime against women

to total cognizable crime 4.6% 6.6% 11.4%

3.2 Corruption

It is the most widely spread endemic in India in private as well as public sector from top to bottom in one form or the other. Earlier bribes were paid to get wrong things done, but now it is paid to get right things done at right time. Social corruption i.e. less weighing of products, adulteration in edible items, and bribery of various kinds, and political corruption i.e. dirty politics for power, position and monetary benefits at the cost of nation, its laws and its people, are damaging the society stunting the nation‟s development. And the worst part is that corrupt politicians and industrialists use the media to mislead and befool the public.

3.3 Wide gap between have-nots, haves and have-mores

According to Zanny Minton Beddos, Economics Editor for the Economist magazine

“Growing inequality is one of the biggest social, political and economic challenges that India faces today” (mbarendezvous.com). Globalization has widened this gap in which the poor end up being trapped in the vicious circle of poverty. They remain deprived of the government policies and processes of capital augmentation, industrialization, employment generation, skill development, urbanization, health and education, safety and well being of their children, etc.

3.4 Health, Hygiene and Education

National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) released a data from a survey conducted in 2012, that showed the dreadful state of sanitation in the country (livemint.com). it is really so disheartening that on one hand India plans to run bullet train, and on the other hand some of its states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh have the poorest levels of sanitation and the highest levels of child malnutrition (Dean Spears, 2014). It is all due to the mass illiteracy that has weakened the social infrastructure and slowed down the pace of economic development. The literacy level in India is quite depressing.

3.5 Ethnic, Religious and Cultural Conflicts

India is a diverse country having multifarious ethnic and religious groups, thereby witnessing more ethnic or religious conflicts. Recent Assam and Punjab conflict, Hindu- Muslim conflict have stood out as examples. When one talks about reaching the moon, it seems quite strange to watch any nation burning in such petty flames that are fanned by so-called developers and innovators of the society just for their selfish gains in the name of promoting their race and religion.

There is another explosive trend which has a major impact on the developing economy. Increasing cultural conflicts are getting ever stronger while globalization and digitization tend to flatten the world. The countries, where traditional values or religions oppose equalization, globalization and digitization, are blamed for cultural contamination.

Cultural conflicts often fan geopolitical conflicts that have brought regional wars, terrorism, and religious animosity (Friedman, 2005).

5. ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION

Environmental issues like air pollution, water pollution, garbage and pollution of the natural environment are all challenges for India. These issues give rise to health problems and long term livelihood impact for India. Their main causes are over-population growth, economic development and overuse of natural resources. Major environmental calamities in India are global warming, land degradation, deforestation, soil erosion, habitat destruction, and loss of biodiversity (S. Tyagi, N. Garg and R. Paudel, 2014).

5.1 Recommendations to Disrupt Barriers

We already have a wide variety of new and smart technologies for a smart future but the smart technological tools will not work to disrupt barriers in the way of developing a real India. They will not be sufficient to remove the problem at the root level and to bring the

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desired changes that may benefit every section of society. Some of the recommendations are as follows:-

 Social Innovation and Shared Vision: Social innovation refers to new strategies, concepts, ideas and organizations that strive to meet the social needs of all kinds, and to strengthen the civil society. A new approach is necessary to solve problems where social and technological progress co-evolves to generate social and public value. So, if the new technologies and social innovation go hand in hand, then there can be brought changes in the society. But social change does not simply happen. It is the result of joint effort, creativity and a shared vision. Social innovation is not one sector‟s monopoly. It can appear in any sector whether it is public sector or it is private sector or any other. So, for the proliferation of social innovation, cross- pollination is required, and further “bees and trees” are required. The “bees” are

“small organizations, individuals and groups” that can have new ideas and caliber to bring a change in the society, but not having the means and the power for the implementation of their vision. The “trees” are “big organizations” that have resilience and the power to make things happen but not enthusiastic and sometimes self-indulgence does not let them think for social welfare. So, the combination of two can be helpful in bringing smart changes in the society (NESTA, 2007).

 Policies in Practice: Policies are designed with the best intentions, but most often they fail to transform into large-scale social impact. So, it is must that ideas and actions are coordinated, synchronized and widely distributed to address social challenges and issues in a systematic way.

 Right Talent at Right Place or Harnessing Youth’s Energy: People are most productive when they are placed at right place matching their interests and talents.

So the youth‟s energy and talent can be harnessed well by providing them suitable and deserving opportunities, so that the youth don‟t remain unemployed and get distracted and get indulged in anti-social activities. The growth of a country in all the spheres like social, political and economic spheres depend on educated and rational youth. There are some evils in the society like female foeticide and infanticide, dowry, and religious intolerance, etc. that are practiced by the illiterate elderly people. Here, the rational youth can play a major role in curbing such evils.

The youth can persuade older generations to change their irrational ways.

 Educated Government and Social Justice: The government must always be a facilitator rather than a ruler. In every sector of the society, some basic qualifications are needed before entry in any sector. But in our country politicians become powerful administrators after winning elections. Of course, they need basic knowledge and education to perform their works. A minister having no capability to read and understand files may be unable to take proper decisions on regular basis and do social justice. In the digital age, governments are not the institutions to rule and take control of the country and its citizens. Rather, it is the duty of government to facilitate the citizens with a safe environment where the accountability, transparency, rule of law, and social justice prevail. And it can be carried out by a disciplined, educated, trusted and connected government (Lenovo, 2015).

 Back to Spirituality: Today‟s digital age has made us less human when we think life is a rat race to be won - a zero-sum mentality - and when we are isolated and individual rather than interconnected, and largely competitive rather than primarily collaborative. Today, the man has become insensitive towards environment and the living creatures. No doubt, technological advancement is needed for man‟s survival, but it must not be at the cost of environment and other creatures on earth.

Spiritualism can only awaken the lost feelings in man that he respects his mother nature and other creatures, understanding the fact that he does not have any right to disturb the natural environment with his thoughtless and entertaining activities.

6. CONCLUSION

The vision of digital India is grand. However, the goal is still far away due to serious social challenges that act as roadblocks in the path of progress. Today it is crucial to focus persistent attention towards the each and every pillar of the society, so that the vision of making a happy and constructive society does not end up in failure.

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