India has the most diverse religion and has a very rich culture.

There are many beliefs and

rituals that people are following from a very long period of time. There are many rituals in
India that have transformed into social evils. These social evils have made the progress of
India go down. People are not judged on the basis of their quality but on the basis of caste,
creed or gender. India is developing at a very fast rate but these social evils have hindered
the growth of this nation.

Gender Inequality

In India men are considered far superior than women in every field. From a very long
period of time women are thought to be the ones who have to work at home and take
care of the family. Men are supposed to protect and earn the livelihood for the family.
Though this mentality has changed in the past few years but still it is practiced in
many parts of the countries. Women are still not allowed to go out of the house
alone. There are many religions in India which force women to cover their faces and
their heads while going out. They are still treated to be lower than men. Gender
discrimination has given rise to many other types of discrimination and other evils too
like harassment and wage discrimination. Women are not paid equal salaries for the
same work as the men does. It is still not considered important to educate the girl
child in many parts of the country.
. Dowry

Dowry system is the most deep seated problem in the Indian society. Due to dowry
system in Indian society many other social evils have taken birth. Girl children are
neglected, sex- selective abortion is also the main result of dowry system. Parents
dont spend money to teach their girl child as they think they have to pay this money
in the future when their daughter will get married. Though many people have
opposed this system but yet it has spread its roots deep down in the Indian society.
Even in the Rig Veda it is mentioned that the brides family have to offer the dowry to
the boys family.
Untouchability is the practice of ostracizing a group by segregating them from the mainstream
by social custom or legal mandate. The excluded group could be one that did not accept the
norms of the excluding group and historically included foreigners, nomadic tribes, law-breakers
and criminals and those suffering from a contagious disease. It could also be a group, that did
not accept change of customs enforced by a certain group. This exclusion was a method of
punishing law-breakers and also protected traditional societies against contagion from strangers
and the infected. A member of the excluded group is known as an Untouchable.
The term is commonly associated with treatment of the Dalit communities, who are considered
"polluting" among the people of South Asia, but the term has been used for other groups as well,
such as the Burakumin of Japan, Cagots in Europe, or the Al-Akhdam in Yemen. Untouchability
has been made illegal in post-independence India, and Dalits substantially empowered, although
some prejudice against them continues.[1]

8. Cast discrimination

Cast division is one of the social evils that is only found in India unlike the gender
division. Every society in India is divided into many groups according to the family
they are born in. members of the same cast have to do the same occupation, marry
in the same caste and many of the lower caste were not allowed to eat with people
who belongs to the upper classes. People of the lower caste are termed as
untouchables and were not allowed to even touch the people from higher caste.
Though there are many rules and laws made in India to eradicate the caste system
but they are not very successful. With urbanization and modernization the caste
system has changed a lot in some years in India. Caste hierarchy is all broken down
and now it does not matter to people who they are walking beside and who they are
eating with. Still in rural areas it is prevalent and measures are to be taken to
completely eliminate this issue from the Indian society.
7. Female infanticide

Female infanticide is the most shameful social evil prevalent in India. Girl child is
considered to be a burden on the family and hence people get sex selective
abortions done. There are thousands of cases registered in India about female
infanticide. Infanticide means to kill the child intentionally. Though female infanticide
is not legal in India but still in many rural parts of the country it is practiced. This
social evil is the most gruesome one. Mothers are forced by the family to abort their
girl child. It is the most brutal crime. Over 1000 boys there are only 914 girls in India.
Either the child is killed in the womb or is killed after the birth by giving her poisonous

substance or burying her alive. Female infanticide has existed in India since 1789.
During those years female infanticide was practiced more in the Kutch region in
India.
6. Child labor and child exploitation

This is the worst social evil in India. Children are exploited and are made to work in
dangerous places like cracker factories. They are not treated properly. At the age
where they are supposed to play and go to school they are made to work in factories
and in shops. Since their parents are not rich enough to fulfil the basic needs of the
family or they dont want to work so they force their child to work in small shops and
factories. Like other social evils there are rules and laws made to stop the child
exploitation but nothing has been ever properly implemented in India and hence you
can still see teenagers and children working in the shops and factories.
4. Sati

The practice of sati was considered to be religious in the history of India. Wives used
to burn themselves alive on the corpse of their husband. Sati means the burning of
the Hindu widow in India. Hough this practice used to be voluntarily done but in
many cases the women were forced o burn on the pyre of their husband. Sati was a
Hindu Goddess who burnt herself alive for his husbands respect. Though sati is
considered to be Hindu tradition but it is also practiced in many other communities in
India. This practiced is considered to be an illegal practice in India and has reduced
to a very great extent in India. There are still very few cases still registered in India
where a women burnt herself on his dead husbands corpse.
3. Drug abuse

Drug abuse is also a very major problem in India that not only affects many of the
people addicted to it but also their near and dear ones. There are more than 7.5
million drug users in India. This number is increasing at an alarming rate. Drug
addicts are mainly found in the urban areas. People who are more influenced by the
drugs are street workers and transportation workers. There are many social
awareness programs started in India to reduce the number of drug users in India but
all in vain. Due to the modern lifestyle people are getting more used to drugs and
alcohols.
2. Domestic violence

Domestic violence Is an endemic predominantly against woman.. Around 70 percent

women of india are victims to domestic violence. In almost every house woman are
tortured for dowry by her in-laws. In every city of India girls are harassed and
tortured in every street they walk. In every 29 minutes a case of cruelty is filed.
Today girls are afraid of coming out from their houses, they are afraid of walking
alone in the streets There are several acts and laws are passed bt no serious action
is taken against this dispute.
1. Poverty

It is the state where one lacks a certain amount of material or money. It refers to the
absolute deprivation of basic human needs which commonly includes food, water,
shelter, money etc. poverty is a very common problem in India. Most of the Indian
population is deprived of the basic needs of life. Poverty has given rise to many other
evils in India. Unemployment and the increasing population is the main cause of
poverty in India. People commit many kinds of rimes like robbery and murders
because they are not able to get the basic amenities of life. There are many

measured taken by the Indian government to reduce poverty in India. Awareness

programs are starts. Subsidies are provided to poor people. Many other measures
are also taken.