NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Sociology Indian Society Chapter 2: The Demographic Structure of the Indian Society

Chapter at a glance

Exercises

Answer

The theory of demographic transition says that population growth is linked to the overall levels of economic development, and every society follows a typical pattern of development-related population growth. There are three basic phases:

1. First stage – low growth in an underdeveloped, technologically backward society. Both the birth rate and the death rate are high, so the difference between them (the net growth rate) is low. People have many children, but many die early due to disease, famine and lack of medical care.
2. Second stage – transition from backward to advanced. The death rate falls sharply because of better medicine, public health, sanitation and food supply, but the birth rate remains high for some time. This produces very high rates of population growth.
3. Third stage – low growth in a developed society. Both birth and death rates are low, and the growth rate is low again.

Why the transition stage means a ‘population explosion’: Death rates can be brought down quickly through advanced methods of disease control, public health and better nutrition. But birth rates do not fall at the same speed, because they depend on social attitudes, beliefs and practices about family size (e.g. preference for many children, especially sons; children as old-age security and labour). It takes a generation or more for people to adjust to new conditions and change their fertility behaviour. So, during this lag, the gap between the high birth rate and low death rate is very wide, and the population grows explosively. India has been in this phase for much of the 20th century.

Demographic transition theory links population growth to economic development in three stages: high birth and death rates (low growth); falling death rate but high birth rate (rapid growth); and low birth and death rates (low growth). The middle stage is a population explosion because death rates fall quickly through medicine and public health, while birth rates fall slowly as they depend on social attitudes.

Answer

Thomas Robert Malthus, in his Essay on Population (1798), argued that:

1. Human populations tend to grow much faster than the means of subsistence (food, clothing and other agricultural products). Population grows in geometric progression (2, 4, 8, 16, 32…), whereas agricultural production can grow only in arithmetic progression (2, 4, 6, 8, 10…), because land is limited and productivity increases slowly.
2. Hence population will always outstrip food supply, and humanity is condemned to live in poverty forever.
3. Since population growth outstrips growth in subsistence, the only way to increase prosperity is to control population growth. Humanity has a limited ability to reduce its growth voluntarily through ‘preventive checks’ — postponing marriage, sexual abstinence or celibacy.
4. Because people would not adopt preventive checks enough, Malthus believed that ‘positive checks’ to population growth — famines, epidemics and diseases, wars — were inevitable. These are nature’s way of dealing with the imbalance between food supply and population, restoring the balance by mass deaths.

Criticism: Malthus’ predictions were proved false — European countries saw both population growth and rising living standards because of increases in agricultural production through technology. Liberal and Marxist scholars argued that poverty and starvation were caused by unequal distribution of economic resources, not population growth.

Malthus believed population grows geometrically while food supply grows only arithmetically, so population always outstrips subsistence. Since people would not use enough preventive checks (late marriage, abstinence), positive checks — famines, epidemics and wars — were inevitable as nature’s way of restoring the balance between population and food.

Answer

• Birth rate is the number of live births per 1000 population in a given area during a given time (usually a year).
• Death rate is the number of deaths per 1000 population in a given area during a given time.

Why the death rate falls faster: 1. Death rates depend largely on technological and medical factors — vaccines, antibiotics, control of epidemics (plague, smallpox, cholera, malaria), better sanitation, clean water and famine relief. 2. These can be introduced quickly by the state from outside, and everyone readily accepts them, as nobody wants to die.

Why the birth rate falls slowly: 1. Birth rate is a socio-cultural phenomenon: it depends on deeply rooted values, beliefs and practices about marriage, family size and children. 2. In agrarian societies, children are seen as an economic asset (labour), and as old-age security. 3. Son preference leads families to keep having children until sons are born. 4. Early marriage, low status of women, low female literacy, religious beliefs and lack of access to contraception keep fertility high. 5. When infant mortality was high, families had many children to ensure some survived; it takes time for people to realise that more children now survive. 6. Changing these attitudes requires education, economic development and changes in the position of women, which takes a generation or more.

Birth rate is live births per 1000 population per year; death rate is deaths per 1000 population per year. Death rates fall quickly because they depend on medical and public-health measures that are easily introduced and accepted, while birth rates fall slowly because they depend on socio-cultural values (children as assets, son preference, early marriage, low status of women) that change only over generations.

Answer

The replacement level is a total fertility rate (TFR) of about 2.1 children per woman, at which a population exactly replaces itself.

States at or below replacement level: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir — Kerala and Tamil Nadu were the first to achieve it.

States with high growth / high TFR: Bihar (highest), Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh. (These states account for a large share of India’s future population growth.)

Reasons for regional differences: 1. Female literacy and education – educated women marry later, have fewer children and use contraception (Kerala has very high female literacy). 2. Status and empowerment of women – women’s say in decisions about marriage and family size. 3. Health care – lower infant mortality in southern states reduces the need for many children; better access to family planning services. 4. Economic development and urbanisation – higher incomes and urban lifestyles reduce the economic value of children. 5. Age at marriage – early marriage in northern states lengthens the reproductive span. 6. Social and cultural factors – stronger son preference and patriarchal norms in some northern states. 7. Effective implementation of public policy and social reform movements in southern states.

Kerala and Tamil Nadu (followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal, West Bengal etc.) have reached replacement-level fertility (TFR ≈ 2.1), while Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan still have high growth. The differences arise from variations in female literacy and status, health care and infant mortality, economic development, age at marriage, son preference and the effectiveness of public policy.

Answer

The age structure of the population refers to the proportion of persons in different age groups relative to the total population. It is usually shown for three groups: children (0–14 years), working-age population (15–59 or 15–64 years) and the elderly (60+ years), and is depicted by an age pyramid.

The age structure changes with development and life expectancy. India has a young population: a large share is below 35 years, and the share of the 0–14 group is declining while the working-age group is growing.

Relevance for economic development: 1. Dependency ratio – the ratio of dependants (children below 15 and elderly above 64) to the working-age population (15–64). A falling dependency ratio means more workers relative to dependants — a source of economic growth and prosperity. 2. Demographic dividend – a large and growing working-age population can boost production, savings and investment, provided there is enough education, skill development and employment. Otherwise, it can turn into a demographic burden of unemployment and social unrest. 3. Planning needs – a young population requires more schools, jobs and health services for mothers and children; an ageing population (as in Kerala and developed countries) requires pensions and elderly care, and a rising dependency ratio can strain the economy. 4. Age structure also affects consumption patterns, labour supply and public spending.

Age structure is the proportion of people in different age groups (children, working age, elderly) in the total population. It matters because it determines the dependency ratio: a large working-age population can provide a demographic dividend if educated and employed, but becomes a burden if not; it also shapes needs for schools, jobs, health care and pensions.

Answer

Sex ratio is the number of females per 1000 males in a given area at a specified time. Naturally, women live longer than men, so the sex ratio is slightly in favour of females in most societies. In India it has been unfavourable to women: it fell from 972 in 1901 to 927 in 1991, then rose to 933 (2001) and 943 (2011). The child sex ratio (0–6 years) fell sharply from 976 (1961) to 927 (2001) and 919 (2011) — the most worrying trend. States like Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra have very low child sex ratios.

Implications of a declining sex ratio: 1. It reflects discrimination against girls: female foeticide (sex-selective abortion using ultrasound), female infanticide, neglect of girls’ health and nutrition, and maternal deaths. 2. Shortage of brides – men may remain unmarried; brides may be “bought” from other regions; trafficking of women increases. 3. Increase in violence and crimes against women, abduction and forced marriages. 4. It reinforces the low status of women and gender inequality. 5. Demographic imbalance can create social instability.

Do parents still prefer sons? Yes, son preference still exists in many parts of India, across classes — in fact, the child sex ratio is often worst in prosperous regions and families, as they can afford sex-determination tests. However, attitudes are slowly changing among educated urban families, and many parents value daughters equally.

Reasons for son preference: 1. Patriarchal and patrilineal family system — property and family name pass through sons. 2. Sons are seen as old-age support, while daughters leave after marriage (patrilocal residence). 3. Dowry makes daughters seem an economic burden. 4. Religious and ritual beliefs — only sons can perform last rites. 5. Concerns about the safety and “honour” of daughters. 6. Smaller family norms combined with son preference lead to sex selection.

Sex ratio is the number of females per 1000 males (India 943 in 2011; child sex ratio 919). A declining sex ratio reflects discrimination against girls and leads to shortage of brides, trafficking and violence against women. Son preference still persists, due to patriarchal and patrilineal norms, sons as old-age support, dowry, ritual beliefs (last rites) and small-family norms combined with sex-selection technology.

Topic checklist

• ☒ Theories of population — Malthus, demographic transition (Q 1, 2)
• ☒ Birth and death rates, regional variations (Q 3, 4)
• ☒ Age structure and demographic dividend (Q 5)
• ☒ Sex ratio and son preference (Q 6)

Total questions answered: 6 of 6