Unity and Diversity: Patterns of Urbanisation

Introduction
Urbanisation: Definition
Urbanisation in India: A Historical Perspective
Pattern of Urbanisation in Contemporary India
Problems Concerning the Current Process of Urbanisation
Impact of Urbanisation in Rural Areas
Summary

Introduction

In the article on urbanization patterns, we will see how urban lifestyle is also a characteristic lifestyle in India. This unit begins with the meaning of the term urbanization. It gives a brief overview of the historical process of urbanization. In describing the model of contemporary urbanization, we delved into its fundamental demographic, spatial, economic and socio-cultural characteristics. This section also briefly discusses emerging issues of urbanization in cities. Finally, we looked at the impact of urbanization on rural areas.

Urbanisation: Definition

Sociologists define urbanization as the movement of people from villages to cities where economic activities are concentrated in non-agricultural occupations such as trade, manufacturing, and management. Broadly speaking, to explain the process of urbanization, we can address the following three aspects:
i) demographic and spatial aspects,
ii) economic aspects and
iii) socio-cultural aspects.

The demographic and spatial aspects of urbanization relate to the migration of people from rural to urban areas, population densities in urban areas, and the change in land use patterns from agricultural to non-agricultural activities. The economic aspects of urbanization are linked to the shift from agricultural to non-agricultural activities. Because cities have been the center of various economic opportunities, they attract people from rural areas. This attraction attracts a significant portion of the rural population to urban areas.

Rural poverty, agricultural backwardness, and destruction of housing improvement and small industries are also pushing villagers into urban areas. These pull and push factors of migration play an important role in the process of urbanization. The socio-cultural aspects of urbanization illustrate the emerging heterogeneity in urban areas. The city was usually the meeting point of races and cultures.

Urbanisation in India: A Historical Perspective

Archaeological finds from various parts of the Indian subcontinent seem to suggest that urban growth in India is as old as the history of its civilization. Considering the early growth of cities and the development of urban areas in undivided India, their beginnings can be traced back to about 5500 years ago. Around 2500 BC. the cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa (in Pakistan since 1947) were founded in the Indus River valley. Archaeologists and historians have pointed out that around 2000 BC. urbanization in the Harappan culture showed signs of strong development in brick technology, geometry, agriculture and irrigation practices.

Another major phase of urbanization is believed to have begun around 600 BC. in India culminating in the formation of the first historic cities. During the ancient and medieval periods of Indian history, kings established several capital regions which developed into cities. For example, Pataliputra (now Patna) and Vaishali developed as cities during the rule of Magadh around BCE. 300. Kanauj was the capital of Harshavardhana in Uttar Pradesh in 700 CE. Mohammad Tughlaq is known to have moved his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (Devagiri) in the southern region in 1300 AD.

The establishment of the East India Company and the onset of British colonial control over India from the 17th century led to the growth of the urban centers of Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. These cities (except Delhi) developed along the sea coast in the respective regions where the British had established a provincial administrative system.

Classification of Traditional Towns

In ancient India, there were different types of cities. The Vastusastra (Treatise on Classical Indian Architecture) distinguished different types of cities based on their functional characteristics such as trade, commerce, manufacturing, administration and military marches. However, traditional towns can be broadly classified according to their functional characteristics:

i) Trade and Manufacturing Towns: Places called Nagar, Pattana, Dronamukha, Kheta, Nigama, etc. belonged to this category. A nagar was an ordinary fortified city with internal trade as an important activity. Pattana was a large trading port on the banks of a river or a sea. What made Pattana special was that it was a merchant caste (Vaisya) town and was full of jewelry, of riches, silks, perfumes and other articles. Dronamukha, Kheta, etc. were also small shopping malls. Again, Nigama was a market town of artisans and also served as a resting place for "merchants and caravans".
ii) Political or military city: Rajdhani was a clearly planned political city. It was the royal capital. Durga was a fortified city with an armory and well stocked with provisions. Similarly, senamukha and shaniya were also the fortified cities with different positions and importance.
iii) Educational or pilgrim cities and temples: Matha and Vihara were the cities based on educational and religious activities. A classic example of this was Nalanda. Again, there were temple towns like Dwaraka, Tirupati, Puri etc. and pilgrimage places like Hardwar, Gaya etc.

Some Features of Urbanisation in Ancient and Medieval India

The process of urbanization in different periods of Indian history had distinct spatial, economic, religious, socio-cultural and political characteristics. These functions are described here under three broad headings.

1) Political, demographic and spatial factors
The early processes of urbanization were closely linked to the rise and fall of the political regimes in favor and to the cultural history of India. In fact, the cities of these periods came into being mainly because of political considerations. “The composition of these towns was built around the ruler and his relatives and servants, whose main interests centered on the agricultural activities in their vicinity and the surplus they could derive from it” (Sabarwal 1977: 2). Fortification in the form of defensive walls and ditches was an important physical feature of traditional cities. The urban planning of the ancient cities took into account not only the defense needs, but also the settlement of different castes in distinct neighborhoods and the localization of various activities related to manufacturing, trade, commerce, religion, leisure, administration and justice.
2) Economic
Despite the rise and fall of political powers and changing religious prejudices, the social and economic institutions of traditional cities have shown some stability. The formation of guilds was an important feature of traditional towns. Merchants and craftsmen were organized into guilds called shreni. In these cities there were guilds based on the profession of one caste called Shreni and also guilds based on different castes and different professions called Puga. Rao (1974) points out that in traditional towns corporations played an important role in banking, commerce, industry and, to a lesser extent, in the judicial system.
3) The religious and socio-cultural
Authorities of the traditional urban centers supported certain religions or sects. This was reflected in the social organization and culture of cities. For example, Pataliputra reflected Hindu Brahmanic civilization under the rule of Chandra Gupta Maurya, while Buddhism was nurtured under the rule of Ashokan. Similarly, Islamic civilization materialized through Muslim rule in the imperial capitals of Agra, Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad and other places. Traditional cities were heterogeneous in terms of the diversity of religious, sectarian and caste groups. Some specialized castes such as florists, masons and tailors could only be found in large cities. Each ethnic or religious group was governed by its own customary law. Even castes and professional guilds had their own laws which were ratified by the political authority (Rao 1974).

New Features of Urbanisation in Early Colonial Period

With the arrival of European colonial traders in India, the urbanization process entered a new phase. Cities arose in coastal areas as ports and trading centers. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, European trading posts were initially established for trading purposes. As British power grew in the 19th century, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras also became the political centres. Indeed, in this period with the introduction and development of advanced technological knowledge, we find the emergence of new economic and political institutions, new means of communication such as telegraphs, railways, advanced roads and waterways. The process of urbanization has become more fluid, broadening the structure of economic opportunities and broadening people's social horizons. Although the process of urbanization progressed modestly in the 19th century, the country suffered from the gradual destruction of crafts and small industry in rural areas. In this situation, the new structure of economic opportunities has attracted a significant part of the population to urban areas.

Many artisans found themselves unemployed. As a result, artisans and rural laborers who had been displaced were also pushed to urban areas to find employment. In the late nineteenth century, however, there was a large-scale migration of rural labor force, particularly from Bihar and the eastern United Provinces to the jute mills of Calcutta and other industrial destinations. To take advantage of the new economic opportunities, many people have migrated temporarily or permanently to urban areas.

With the spread of education, the institutional arrangements of urban centers also changed. Educated people joined the bureaucracy and also took jobs such as teacher, journalist, lawyer and so on. They led to a new worldview. Urban centers have gradually transformed into centers of new social and political ideas, diverse economic activities and heterogeneous population groups.

The new process of urbanization offered various economic opportunities and opportunities for professional and social mobility that could only be used by the upper caste and class. The new process of urbanization initiated with the arrival of the British accelerated at the beginning of the 20th century. The process of this urbanization presents some peculiarities. In the next section, we will describe the pattern of urbanization in the 20th century.

Pattern of Urbanisation in Contemporary India

India went through a phase of rapid urbanization in the 20th century. Modern urban centers perform multiple functions related to economy, administration, politics, culture, etc. Here, it is very difficult to assign cities to a single activity. In general, people classify urban areas according to certain important socio-economic and political characteristics. For example, it is mentioned that there are historical cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow etc., industrial cities like Ghaziabad, Modinagar, Kanpur, Jamshedpur, Bhilai etc., religious cities like Mathura, Hardwar, Madurai, Allahabad etc. Cities known for making films like Mumbai and Chennai have a special appeal for a villager or small town dweller. In sociology, we discuss the pattern of urbanization in terms of demographic, spatial, economic and socio-cultural aspects. But before going into these aspects, let's also briefly explain how a city is defined in the Indian context.

Definition of a Town or City

In India, demographic and economic indices are important to define specific areas such as city or country. The parameters of defining an urban area in India have undergone several changes and adjustments over the years. The following definition of town as adopted in the 1901 census was used until 1961. a) Any municipality, canton and all civil lines (not included in a municipality), and b) Any other continuous set of houses which has been permanently inhabited for not less than 5,000 persons, which the provincial census superintendent may decide to treat as a city.

The main criterion for describing an area or settlement as urban was its administrative set-up and size, not its economic characteristics. Because of this definition, many towns were actually seen as just overgrown villages.

In 1961, the "urban area" was redefined to include economic characteristics in addition to other administrative and demographic characteristics. The definition adopted in the 1961 census was also used in 1971 and 1981. And it remained the same in 1991 and 2001. According to this definition, a metropolitan area is:
a) a place which is either a metropolitan community or an area metropolitan area, either under the jurisdiction of a municipal commission, a notified area commission or a cantonal council, or
b) any place which meets the following criteria:

at least 5,000 people, z at least 75 percent of the workforce is off-farm,
a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile, and
a location must have certain features and amenities distinctive urban features, such as: B. newly discovered industrial areas, large housing estates, places of tourist importance and public facilities. In addition to well-defined towns and/or cities, outgrowths of towns and townships have also been treated as urban agglomerations.

In the 1961 census, the concept of "group of towns" was adopted to give a broad picture in terms of urban sprawl. This was refined with the concept of urban agglomeration in 1971 to provide better feedback on urban continuity, the process and trends of urbanization and other related issues. This concept remained in effect without change or modification until the 2001 census. An urban agglomeration forms a continuous urban sprawl and generally consists of a city and its adjacent urban outgrowths, or two or more physically contiguous cities with adjacent and well-organized growths, if any, of such a city. (2001 Census Report)

Problems Concerning the Current Process of Urbanisation

The current urbanization process has faced many problems in different parts of India. The most important of these is the development of slums in urban areas. The slum population forms a significant part of the urban population in all types of cities in India. Even a planned city like Chandigarh has not escaped the slums. The population percentages of slums in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai are 32.25 and 24 respectively. Slums are characterized by poor housing, overcrowding and lack of electricity, ventilation, sanitation, roads and drinking water systems. Slums have been breeding grounds for disease, environmental pollution, demoralization and many social tensions. Crimes, such as juvenile delinquency and gambling, have also increased in numbers in slum areas. The signs of poverty are more visible in these places.

Lack of housing has been another major problem in the urbanization process in India. This problem is acute in cities with more than one million inhabitants. In regards to housing, there have been problems with planned urban land use.

The lack of adequate housing is very pronounced, especially for the lowest income group and the urban poor. In view of the seriousness of this problem, the government passed the Urban Land Ceiling Act, Rent Control Act, etc. The National Urbanization Council has also recommended that at least 15 percent of all new developments should be earmarked for use by the economically weaker sections of the urban population. Lack of planned and proper traffic and transportation system is another major problem in most urban centers of India.

While various new modes of transportation and advanced technology have been utilized in our metropolitan cities to facilitate the movement of people, they are still insufficient to handle the growing population. Similarly, the extent of medical facilities, sanitation, drinking water and energy supplies remained inadequate in most of India's urban centres.

After examining the degree of availability of services such as housing, transport and traffic, medical care, sanitation, electricity, etc. in urban areas and the growth of urban population, it can be said that there has been a trend of over-urbanization in India. The process of urbanization in India has also been accompanied by suburbanization. The development of modern means of transport and the growing demand for living space have led to an increase in suburbanization. In metropolises like Calcutta, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi and in all major cities of India, suburbs are growing faster.

India's urban development policy has been formulated to ensure that urban centers play a positive role in national and regional development, to promote the rural-urban continuum and to equalize regional disparities. The five year plans of the Government of India include various programs related to housing construction, slum clearance, slum improvement, land acquisition and development.

The sixth plan placed special emphasis on the development of the National Capital Region (NCR) to deconcentrate economic activity from central Delhi to the regional cities (Rao 1983). The concept of NCR aims to bring better regional parities to the process of economic development and social change in a large area around Delhi. It is formulated to meet the capital's growth and expansion needs. The plan envisages an integrated development of around 30,000 m2. km in the Union Territory of Delhi and parts of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. A statutory body was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985 and a draft regional plan for the development of the NCR has since been prepared (Government of India 1987:597).

The resource base of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) includes budget allocation through plan execution and institutional borrowing in the form of lines of credit, upper sector loans from from financial institutions and borrowing from the market in the form of taxable and tax-exempt loans for a supplementary budget. funds. The ninth scheme provision for the NCRPB was Rs. 200 crore and during the ninth scheme the board considered internal and external budgets of Rs. 3120 crore to be raised from the capital market. The NCRPB has facilitated the development of infrastructure in various towns in the region, including roads, bridges, water supply, sanitation, etc.

Impact of Urbanisation in Rural Areas

In India, urbanization along with westernization and modernization has promoted the process of rapid social change in both rural and urban areas. One of the main results of urbanization is the migration from the countryside to the city. Migration has become a continuous process that has important consequences for the social, economic and cultural life of villagers.

Rao (1974) distinguishes three different situations of urban impact on the countryside. In villages from which large numbers of people migrate to distant cities, urban occupation becomes a symbol of greater social prestige. Villages close to cities receive an influx of immigrant workers and face housing, marketing and social order problems. Eventually, as metropolitan areas grow, some villages become rural pockets within urban areas. Thus, the villagers participate directly in the economic, political, social and cultural life of the city.

Srinivas pointed out that urbanization in South India has a caste component and it was the Brahmins who first left the villages for the cities, taking advantage of Western education and modern occupations. While retaining their ancestral lands, they continued to sit at the top of the rural socio-economic hierarchy. Again, they almost had a monopoly on all non-manual positions in urban areas. However, the anti-Brahmin movement and the economic depression of the 1930s led to the migration of Brahmins from the south and from rural areas to metropolitan areas (Srinivas 1974: 468).

Money from cities flowed to rural areas as a result of migration. Emigrants regularly send money back to their home villages. This money makes it easier for relatives to repay loans, build houses and raise children. India's urban centers have become hubs of national and international connections. Currently, many cultural traits are spreading from cities to rural areas. For example, clothing models such as pants, shirts, ties, skirts, jeans, etc. spread from cities to rural areas. Furthermore, new thoughts and ideologies are also spreading from cities to rural areas through increased communication through radio, television, newspapers, computers, internet and telephone. Town planning, which is gradually developing in cities, is spreading to rural areas depending on the proximity of cities. The process of urbanization is not an isolated phenomenon. At present, along with the whole range of professional diversification, literacy, education, mass communication, etc., the continuity between rural and urban areas has increased. Urban jobs and other comforts of life have become status symbols in rural areas. Many modern agricultural development techniques and institutional frameworks for rural development also emerge from urban centers. The large-scale commercialization of agriculture has also been facilitated by the urbanization process. Similarly, agricultural requirements for machinery have led to the growth of manufacturing units in urban areas.

Summary

In this article, we have defined urbanization and taken a historical perspective to understand its patterns in India. We then examined the spatial, demographic, economic and socio-cultural aspects of urbanization in contemporary India. We have also highlighted some of the problems created by the current urbanization process in India. Finally, we discussed the impact of urbanization on rural lifestyles.

After looking at various facets of urbanization patterns in India, we can conclude that it was characterized by regional and inter-state disparities, large-scale rural-urban migration, inadequate infrastructure, growth of slums and other issues. related.