After reading this essay you will learn about:- 1. Concept of Violence, Meaning and Operational Definition 2. Relationship and Differences between Aggression and Violence 3. Kinds of Violence 4. Areas of Violence 5. Victims of Violence 6. Victimisers of Violence 7. Causes of Violence 8. Management and Control of Violence.
List of Essays on Violence in India
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Concept of Violence, Meaning and Operational Definition
- Essay on the Relationship and Differences between Aggression and Violence
- Essay on the Kinds of Violence
- Essay on the Areas of Violence
- Essay on the Victims of Violence
- Essay on the Victimisers of Violence
- Essay on the Causes of Violence
- Essay on the Management and Control of Violence
1. Essay on the Concept of Violence, Meaning and Operational Definition:
Violence literally means outrage or injury. It is marked by great physical force. Violence is an unlawful exercise of force. When a person becomes furious and proceeds to hurt the victim physically it is called violence. Violence of the aggressor may lead to physical injury in the victim.
In the present society violence has been a day to day and commonly used term. In the most modern civilized society as well as uncivilized ones violence has become a day to day affair. During the last few decades, violence has so much increased in each and every society that social scientists, sociologists and social activists have been greatly purterbed.
The peace and prosperity of most of the nations of the world have been disturbed in a greater or lesser degree due to the presence of violence in the society. As one turns the pages of various news papers, magazines or switches on the television news of violence flow. Therefore psychologists and sociologists recently have turned their active attention to the study and control of violence in a society.
The term violence has been described by Gelles (1979) as an act of striking a person with the intent of causing harm or injury but not actually causing it.
Megaree (1982) has described violence as “the overtly threatened or overtly accomplished application of force which results in the injury or destruction of persons or their reputation.” Strauss (1980) has defined violent act as “an act where there is the high potential of causing injury.”
Domenach (1981) has explained the concept of violence “as an act of a person which encroaches upon the freedom of another.” Here he has tried to explain the concept of violence in a more generalized manner.
According to Kempe (1982) violence is physically striking an individual and causing injury. Among the above definitions advanced by different writers to explain the concept of violence the definitions advanced by Gelles, Megargee and Strauss emphasize the overt aggression leading to physically striking the victim and causing him injury.
The injury due to violence may be physical, social and psychological. It strict sense the outcomes of violent behaviour may also lead to mental injury like insult, distress and depression. A salesman makes delay in supplying you the materials you want.
You become restless when you find that he is obliging another person who came after you, but making you wait. Thus there is argument between you and the salesman, he provokes you and you at once give two slaps on his face.
This is a case of violence which did not cause him much physical injury but hurt him mentally. Violence is an aggression of enhanced degree. It is more physical which has also repercussions on the mental level of the person. In short violence may cause physical injury and emotional set back by creating traumatic conditions. In violence usually the victim suffers from physical and mental injury.
On the basis of the above explanations of the concept of violence, violence can be operationally defined as an overt or covert force which moves towards making physical and or psychological injury to a person of the out group or enemy at the moment who is called the victim.
The examples of such types of violence occurring day to day are murder, rape, child abuse, sexual harassment, molestation, sexual abuse, pervert sexual acts, eve teasing, physical injury, kidnap, abduction, child murder, family quarrel leading to physical injury, assault, abuse dowry torture and any type of illegal, unconstitutional, antisocial activity which causes injury to the mind and body of another person, preferably the victim.
The violence of a father against his son, a teacher against his taught or the vice-versa (at the time of taking recourse to malpractice in examination), a husband against his wife, a lover against his beloved (when one subsequently rejects the other) are all examples of day to day violence.
In Orissa recently a case of violence was much talked by the media and the public when an ex lover of a lady student of a very reputed college at Cuttack threw acid on the face and body of the girl.
Physical and mental torture and violence on women for more dowry by the in laws including the husband has become a common affair in many states in India. In-spite of the dowry prohibition law greedy people are not at all concerned and it has no impact on them. The dream to become rich over night with the wife’s money has become very common today.
2. Essay on the Relationship and Differences between Aggression and Violence:
Aggression in its very simple form refers to anger and every one of us is aware that anger of some sort leads to violence. Hence aggression is the root of violence which is often created by a frustrating situations standing on the way of fulfilling ones immediate or delayed goal.
While aggression may include mild and subdued anger, irritation, annoyance, speaking’s at high volume, violence by and large indicates physical assault and injury to the body. Thus while aggression is a generalized term referring to both mild and severe hostility, violence in highly assaultive and specific in nature.
Aggression, violence and crime are closely interrelated and an aggressive person usually commits more violence and crime that a non-aggressive person. A person aggressive by nature is easily pro vacated to commit violence or crime as the case may demand. Thus violence and crime have their origin in aggressiveness which is mainly caused by interference of goal oriented behaviour.
Aggression, violence and crime are so closely interlinked and interconnected overlapping each other all the while that it is very difficult to differentiate one from the other. While aggression can be both explicit and implicit, suppressed and repressed, overt and covert, internal or external violence is always covert and external.
Violence is seen and observed from the exterior and expressed through action while aggression can be both; overt and covert. Aggression sometimes may be mild like teasing, name calling, criticizing or taunting where as violence is always violent and severe in nature. Aggression, violence and crime can be compared with father, and two sons of a family. If aggression is to be the father violence and crime are its two sons.
From this example the close relationship between aggression, violence and crime can be clear. Violence and aggression, both are said to be conduct disorders. A person who is suffering from extreme aggression also is expected to show severe violence in all his day to day activities. A violent person is considered as a social outcast.
He is not only disliked by his family members but also by everyone in the society. On the other hand aggression has some utility and when it is used for self preservation and self protection people appreciate the aggressive act. But to my knowledge violent behaviour is never appreciated.
In-spite of the sable differences aggression and violence are very much related like the coils of a rope and the sides of a coin. The suppressed and repressed aggressive and hostile tendencies sometimes all of a sudden come out in the form of violence like a volcanic eruption.
It is sometimes observed that a person known to be very meek and mild throughout his life may suddenly kill a person or assault him at the spur of the moment. One such case came to light recently at Rayagada, Orissa. The husband killed his wife because of her alleged extramarital relationship.
This fellow his neighbours said was known to be a non-aggressive and peace loving man. In this case the suppressed aggression came up being provoked by the faithlessness of his wife leading to violence.
Freud’s writings have very powerfully and convincingly explained the occurrence of such sudden violence and crime. According to him the unconscious motivation mostly lie behind such action and guide violence, murder and crime.
Therefore excessive suppression of aggressive urges lead to violence at the appropriate time. If the aggressive urges are released or displaced during childhood, they are not repressed or suppressed. Consequently violent activities are reduced.
3. Essay on the Kinds of Violence:
Violence may be classified mainly into five types:
1. Individual Violence
2. Collective Violence
3. Communal Violence
4. Religious Violence
5. Political Violence
1. Individual Violence:
Violence made by persons in their individual capacity is called individual violence. Violence shown by the father or mother towards their children at home through beating, kicking, name calling, unhealthy comparisons, keeping the child hungry for days, locking him inside the room ate of this category. Here the individual himself is responsible for such violence.
Similarly violence committed by teachers in the class towards their students is common cases of individual violence. When a student disobeys the teacher or does not complete the home work or cannot answer a question correctly following the old practice, he awarded is physical punishment and or mental torture by humiliating him before other students of the class.
In a recent incident of violence a lady teacher ordered each of the 24 students of the class to give 5 slaps to a girl student of standard V as she did not complete her home work. Thus she got 120 slaps on her face continuously from her class mates which amounted to both physical violence and insult at the mental level. A slap from a classmate is more damaging psychologically than a slap from the teacher.
Similarly violence imposed by persons on their domestic servants is cases of individual violence. For individual violence, the person concerned is solely responsible and it is caused by pathological characteristics of the person who imposes the violence. Domestic violence like violence against wife by the husband comes under this category.
2. Collective Violence:
Collective violence can be other-wised called “Mob violence”. The concept of mob violence in a crowd emphasized by Freud and Lebon explains the point of collective violence. Freud held that collective violence or violence committed collectively together in a crowd situation may lead to excited forms of violence.
Collective interactions, particularly encounters between two groups already divided into two opposite groups i.e., ‘In group and out-group’ through antagonism and hatred lead to violent behaviour.
Stone throwing at each other, breaking glasses of cars, windows and doors, throwing chairs and tables here and there, setting fire on the house, bus, truck or cars, shouting antisocial slogans, kicking, pushing and allied physical assaults are examples of mob or collective violence.
These people involved in the collective violence otherwise appear to be very sane, normal, emotionally sound and unaggressive. But when interact along with others, they behave differently being guided by group spirit. There may be brave men and cruel men in this group but individually they never take the risk of becoming violent and indulge in actions that nobody would appreciate or encourage.
In a group the non-aggressive members become suggestible, excited and destructive being guided by the behaviour of others, and shoulder to shoulder contact.
It is held by Sheriff that normal human beings can be suggestible, destructive and excited when they face a crises and a highly fluid situation. In such a situation new properties of behaviour emerge. Thus collective violence is emergent and not a regressive phenomenon says Sheriff, noted social psychologist.
When the collective violence is made for some national cause or cause of the society quite a group of people of the society praise and glorify such actions. Suppose a driver of a truck made an accident and killed 04 innocent-school going children.
Immediately thousands agitated people of the nearby village gather together and show violent reactions like beating the driver, setting fire on the vehicles present there including the truck, road blocking, attacking the police personnel present to maintain law and order etc. These actions of the mob are usually not condemned by the general public and sometimes the intelligential.
According to Sheriff, writers who are sympathetic to a movement that carries out extreme forms of collective action like violence and mob behaviour view them as spontaneous and popular outbreaks of oppressed, suppressed, down trodden and victimized people.
But writers who consider this type of collective violence as illegal do not show any sympathy to the persons involved. They rather regard them as outcome of planned conspiracy on the part of the small even tiny minority of unbalanced agitators and neurotics.
Briton sums up the views of the writers in the following way. “The school of circumstances regards revolutions a wild and natural growth, its seeds sown among tyranny, corruption, its development wholly determined by forces outside itself or outside human planning.”
But these extreme views are rejected by Briton as non-sense. He advocates that revolutions do grow from seed sown by men who want social change and the final fruits represent a collaboration between men and nature.
Collective or Mob violence occurs all of a sudden. It is unplanned and uncontrolled, guided by some immediate motivation. Commenting on the threat, from French revolution Lebon said, “The facts revolution teach us … that a people freed from social constraints, the foundations of civilization and abandoned to its instinctive impulses speedily relapses into its ancestral savagery”.
Collective violence now a day is being practiced by trade unions as an instrument to control the management and achieve their end. Though collective violence has some favourable points from the emotional stand point, it is more used to blackmail the person or group against whom it is used and hence not acceptable from legal and social point of view.
In any case any act of violence in any form is not acceptable. Violence is the product of a mentally ill person say psychologists.
Though occasional aggressive behaviour is acceptable violence is at any rate not acceptable. It is a social and psychological evil and it is seen on many occasions normal people usually repeat for their violent behaviour shown collectively in a mob situation.
3. Communal Violence:
Violence caused by communal riots is called communal violence. Riots between minority groups like Hindus and Muslims, Christians and Hindus, Hindus and Sikhs, Negroes and Whites due to very trivial problems lead to communal violence. After Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1983 communal riot between Hindus & Sikhs killed a large number of people. The communal violence in 1947 is also worth mentioning.
The cause of communal violence may be inter community or inter-religion marriage, petty quarrels, touching the sentiment of a Community through taunts, and unfair criticisms, making noise or playing a song in a loud speaker in front of a Masjid, quarrel over money and land etc.
Sometimes the communal violence takes severe shapes. That is why precautionary measures are taken by the police immediately to maintain the law and order of the locality so that it does not spread else where. Examples of communal violence’s are found in plenty in India and elsewhere.
Communal violence spreads very rapidly as it is transmitted from person to person in a few seconds. Communal violence’s spread are on trivial issues on the face of it. In Sialkot (Pakistan) some angry Muslims set vehicles and Mayor’s office on fire after a funeral procession to bury 30 victims of a suicide bomb was started.
But it has some underlying deep rooted causes. Studies of psychologists and sociologists reveal that deeply rooted prejudice, discrimination and suppressed anguish, hatred against each other are the major psychosocial causes of communal violence.
Such prejudices are being transmitted from generation to generation and they thus become fixed stereo-types with fixed mental picture, never to change, rather very difficult to change.
Good relationship, and friendship, frequent contact, social relationship by marriage, attendance of ceremonies, change in parental attitude towards the other community, education, broad mindedness, continuous discussion on different issues by both the communities may reduce communicable feeling, riots and hence communal violence.
4. Religious Violence:
Violence caused on religious reasons is called religious violence. Here a number of people are engaged in the violence.
Entry of people of certain castes and communities to Hindu temples, criticizing or taunting the Gods or Goddess of one community by another, attack of terrorists on religious places and persons inside it, insulting religious discussions, mythology and criticizing mythological literatures may cause religious violence. Demolition of Babri Masjid may be called a religious violence.
Criticism of a particular religion by another community also causes violence. For example when Hindus criticize the religious Gurus of Muslims and Christians or the vice-versa communal violence is expected to occur as it affects the emotional sentiments attached to the “DHARMA GURUS”.
Religious violence can be avoided by learning to respect each and every religion. Though there are different religions in the world which guide people in the society, one should remember that the only religion is HUMANITY and love and respect for humanity is the most important ‘DHARMA’ or religion for man.
5. Political Violence:
Criminalization of politics has been a popular matter for discussion to-day. Just before and after elections at various levels, starting from the Panchayat level to the level of Parliament occurrence of violence have been a very common issue. Rigging of votes at different centres by the powerful politicians, use of money and muscle power in elections lead to violence.
Instances are common where if a person or a group persons propagate against a political party during election or do not put their vote, they are murdered or assaulted, their houses are put on fire, or their daughters and wives are raped or their children are abducted. These people remain under complete threat twenty four hours.
In one incident which occurred recently some political miscreants murdered the entire family of four when they came to know that this family has not casted its vote for their party. Pooling and presiding officers also become subject to political violence at the time of election. Such incidents of political violence are seen in plenty before, at the time of and offer elections.
4. Essay on the Areas of Violence:
1. Domestic Violence:
Day by day domestic violence in every society is on the rising end. Because of domestic violence and atrocities against women the rate of divorce and separation is increasing in an alarming manner. Of course the degree of domestic violence varies from culture to culture and it also varies because of social class difference.
Domestic violence disrupts the peace and happiness of the family, makes the children feel in-secured and uncared for. Domestic violence mainly refers to the violence in the family i.e. between husband and wife. But it may extend to violence between father and children, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, also between brothers and less often between brothers and sisters.
The acts of violence by one family member against another or many family members are called domestic violence. Many causes of domestic violence are found to be similar across different cultures. We often read in the news papers how a son has killed his old father because he did not give Rs. 50,000/- to him for starting his business or because the father did not give his son a share from his property.
Similarly instances are not rare in the society where one brother killed or brutally wounded another brother because of conflict regarding separation of property after father’s death.
The rift first starts will quarrel and then terminates in violence physical, assault and then murder. Sometimes the family violence is pre-planned or motivated, other times it shows itself all of a sudden at the spur of the moment because of impulse control disorder.
In another case of domestic violence which occurred recently a woman killed all her three children by throwing them to the well one after another and then committing suicide because of violent quarrel with her husband the previous night because of poverty.
Examples of domestic violence are plenty available in the present day society. Every day thousands of cases are registered at the police station on domestic violence and more such cases remain unregistered in the fear of loss of social reputation and family prestige.
Many cases of family violence related to extramarital relations, marriage, dowry and interpersonal relationship, poverty occur daily. This will be discussed in detail under violence against women.
Many other causes of domestic violence are high levels of emotional distress, poverty, use of alcohol and other drugs, marital discord, unhappy family life, property issues, etc. Across many culture and around the world most domestic violence’s appear to be male made. Male members of the family usually make attacks on females and children.
Yet it is also true that cultural factors to play a role. In Russia where more than 16,000 women are murdered by their spouses each year violence of husbands against their wife is endorsed by certain cultural values.
The old saying “Beat the wife for better cabbage soup” explains the point. Similarly in Japan cultural values view violence as an appropriate form of discipline and punishment. Divorce, parent absence, one parent family also lead to a lot of family violence.
2. Violence by Soldiers:
Pearl S. Buck, the famous novelist in her book ‘Dragon Seed’ wrote how during the Japanese invasion of China in 1930s a 15 year boy was brutally raped by Japanese soldiers when they failed to find any women in the family’s house. After this heinous act by the soldiers the youth had a horrible experience. He left home to join the rebels in the nearby hills.
Thus it is evident that during revolutions and wars violent incidents occur where innocent children and women become the victim of circumstances without any fault. Women everywhere in the world are brutally raped and murdered by the enemy side whenever there is a war or a revolution.
The enemies try to take revenge upon the out-groups by humiliating and physically, mentally assaulting their wives and children. Instances are not rare when during various wars between different nations women staying in the refugee camps are raped and murdered by soldiers.
Thus various frightening incidences place adolescents at great danger. Events in Kosovo recently and in several other African nationals serve as examples.
3. Violence in Schools, Colleges by Youth:
Armed assaults in High Schools and Colleges have been quite common today. Take the case of murders of students by fellow students at the Columbine School in Littleton, Colorado U.S.A. in 1999 April. In this incident two student gunmen killed a dozen of class mates and a teacher and wounded 23 other students after which both of them committed suicide.
At once most of the nearby schools in California were closed for several days. Students, teachers and parents were panicked and subsequently many children did not attend school apprehending similar attacks of violence. I was at that time in U.S.A. and on the very day, I went to California for a 10 days visit.
I have heard from the people there how they were horrified as well as worried for this nasty inhuman incident. I was told that this incident was reinforced by a simple quarrel between two groups of students.
Some experts attribute such incidents to the proliferations of violence depicted on the television and films. Even it is found that in many school small children of lower class take recourse to various means of violence just out of fun or to settle some old scores.
Vindictiveness is in these cases is the root of violence in schools and colleges. The murder of a student of Venkateswar public school at Bhubaneswar a year back by his rival fellow students in broad day light which rocked the state is another during example of violence in schools and colleges.
Experts continue to worry that exposure to violence on television and movies may encourage children to perform violent acts. After the Littleton School incident and many such violence in schools in U.S.A. President Bill Clinton (1999) wanted to find out why violence has been rampant in schools.
Some of the causes of such violence are lack of proper parenting since both the husband and wife work in U.S.A. leaving the baby three months onward with the baby slater. The child feels frustrated and in-secured and neglected because of continuous absence of parents, particularly the mother.
Besides, too much of independence from early childhood, want of discipline and moral training, too much emphasis on materialistic benefits and less on human values like co-operation, sympathy, restraint, broken homes, child abuse, divorce and separation, single parenting (children of unwed mothers), troubled childhood are the major causes of aggravating violence from the early childhood. Parental care and counselling are essential to avoid and reduce violence among young persons.
4. Work Place Violence:
Frustration does play a role in aggression. When individuals feel that their interests have been blocked and that such blocking is unfair, frustration can be a powerful cause of aggression. In justice in work place is recently found to be an important cause of aggression leading to work place violence.
Daily we hear and read about incidents of violent out bursts in organisations and work places in which employees attack or even kill their employers with whom they work.
Instances are not rare where the lower class people or the subordinates are found killing or murdering their seniors, employers or boss. Recently a driver at Sambalpur was alleged to have been murdered his old land lady.
In Orissa some cases of violence have been reported relating to murder injury and physical assault of land ladies by domestic helpers. Violence in work place may be due to continuous frustration and tug of war between the senior and junior workers.
Suppressed aggression may be a vital cause of work place violence. Jealousy between coworkers, frustrated love affairs and extramarital relationship between coworkers may also lead to work place violence.
5. Violence against Children:
It is said in Hindu mythology that a child is like God and to serve a child is to serve God. Children are the future of every country. They are the hopes and aspirations of their family, society and nation.
In-spite of this children are abused by their parents either out of ignorance or out of frustration, by the society by utilizing them for domestic work or labourers in various jobs, the reason being child are paid less but more work is done by them as they can’t revolt or resent.
In developed countries like U.S.A., U.K., Canada and Germany even Japan, compulsory primary education is provided to the children i.e., all children of the age of 5 and above go to school. But the problem is very acute in India where still lots of children because of poverty and ignorance of parents do not get primary education in-spite of the sincere efforts of government and non-government organisations.
Poverty and lack of awareness being the basic reasons children go to work outside instead of attending schools. But unfortunately they are tortured by their employers and show violent behaviour towards them. Since children cannot revolt they have to suffer silently. Parents also tolerate this as they need money for existence.
Thus millions of children from poverty Stricken families are compelled to join as labourers in quite a number of hazardous jobs like Carpet industry, Glass industry, Bidi industry, construction work etc.
A survey report in 1995 shows that Asia has the highest percentage (13%) of child labourers next to Africa (26.3%). Further Asia has the highest percent of child labourers in the age group of 10-14 years in the world. In India about 15 percent of the children are child labourers.
According to a survey by UNICEF there are more than lakh child labourers in the age group of 5-15 yrs. in Mirzapur carpet industry, 50,000 in Firozabad glass industry, 50,000 in Zari industry in Lucknow, 10,000 in Aligarh lock industry, and 30,000 in brass industries in Moradabad and 79 percent of the working children are in the rural areas.
In 1986, Child Labour Act was enacted by the Indian Parliament prohibiting the employment of children in certain hazardous jobs. Recently, children below the age of 14 years are not allowed by law to work as domestic servants. But in-spite of all these laws regulation and legal prohibitions children are employed.
Once I went to a tribal village when I was Director, Elementary Education Orissa. I visited a primary school there but found only two students. Though initially quite a number of students were enrolled, subsequently they became drop outs to work for their living.
When I enquired from some parents about the reason, they said that first they have to survive and without their children working they cannot maintain their family. Though sending or not sending the child to school is a matter of attitude and ignorance poverty is also a primary factor.
Working children and even children staying with their parents are subjected to violence. It is observed that middle class parents with higher aspirations beat their children to study well and to be disciplined. Lower class parents being more authoritarian also show physical violence against their children.
In U.S.A. violence against children is strictly prohibited by law. If any parent is found beating his child or abusing him physically, police takes action against him as per law. But in India violence against children by parents go unnoticed.
Work place violence in case of children also go unnoticed. However recently, in Bhabanipatna Dist. of Orissa a work place violence of severe nature was brought to the notice of public by some media persons and social activists.
A 8 year old boy who was working as a domestic servant in a house at Khariar was alleged to be severely tortured physically. Govt. recently rescued the child labour and the case has been handed over to the crime branch. In India violence against children both at home and outside is quite rampant and it has negative effect on their personality.
Besides, children are sexually abused by sexual perverts. Girl children are raped, murdered and sometimes the victim goes scot free because of want of evidences. Willful physical and mental injury, mal treatment and negligence shown towards the child come under child abuse. Child abuse may be physical, emotional and sexual.
The reasons behind violence against children are mainly socio cultural, and psychological. Under socio cultural explanation external forces within the society cause child abuse.
Under the psychological explanation of violence against children come mental illness, antisocial personality, perversion, personality defects and intra individual abnormalities and aggressiveness of the abuser. Due to anger, discontentment, irritability and unfulfilled emotional desires, parents are found abusing their children physically and mentally.
These parents suffer from personality mal-adjustment. When the expectations of the parents become greater than the ability of their child, the child cannot fulfill his parents expectations and hence the parents usually the father shows anger and violence towards his own child.
Parents in the first place should give up violence against children if they want their children to have normal personality development. Orissa Government has recently prohibited physical punishment to children at school which is good news.
It should be extended to home also. Children should be sent to school at any cost. So it is said “children are our country’s foundation. They all have a right to education. Let us make their future joyful and bright. All children must know how to read and write.”
6. Violence against Minority Groups and Communities:
Incidents of violence against minority groups are observed throughout the world. Violence of whites against the blacks, Hindus against Christians and Muslims or the vice-versa where Hindus are the minority groups are seen everywhere.
Prejudice and discrimination against the minority groups are the main reasons of violence against them. Parents and society teach the child from the very early stage to discriminate against the minority groups.
Once a white girl went to her Mama and said “Mama Mama a lady wants to meet you.” Mama immediately went and saw through the hole in the door that an African-American lady is standing at the door. Without opening the door she came back and retorted. “She is not a lady, my child she is a woman”.
She made her wait for about 15 minutes and then went back to open the door. In this way children learn to show their prejudice and discrimination to the out group, to people who do not belong to their world and do not fit to their aspiration of a human being.
Some years back a Christian Missionary of Australia name Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death by miscreants in the midnight when they were asleep in a van. It was a case of collective violence of a very heinous nature.
The reason of the violence was conversion of Hindus to Christianity. This incident which occurred in the Keonjhar district in Orissa shacked the whole world. Sometimes it is seen that the houses of minority people are put to fire as a sign of violence.
Violence in any form shown against any-body in the world should be condemned by the society and quick legal actions should be taken against the culprits. Indian Govt. has established a minority commission to look in to the violence against the minority groups and their problems.
7. Violence Against S.C./S.T. and Backward Classes:
The S.C./S.T. and Backward class people are socially and economically disadvantaged. They have been oppressed and suppressed for several decades. After independence Government made reservations for them in education and jobs.
They are also provided with free education, stipends and other facilities for their upliftment. Government want that through these rehabilitation measures they can be able to come to the main stream and contribute to the nation in addition to improvement in their own socio-economic conditions.
But still S.C./S.T. and backward class people are looked down by the higher class in the society. Reservation for S.T. and S.C. candidates for long-long years has acted against the interest of the general category a candidate that is what they feel and express.
The reason of frustration of general category is that even if they are more meritorious that their S.C./S.T. counter parts, they don’t get jobs or promotions on merit basis. Because of these grievances when the suggestions of Mandal Commission on the reservation for S.C./S.T. was implemented by Government at the centre agitation and violence throughout India were organised by agitated, unruly general caste youths.
Whatever may be one’s grievance violence is not the right way to express ones grievance and achieve one’s goal. Things can be solved through peaceful discussion, negotiations and through non-violence. Mahatma Gandhi achieved the independence of India through non-violence, what else can be the best example?
8. Violence Against Aged, Old and Senior Citizens:
With the improvement of medical science the number of geriatrics (old people) has been increasing everywhere around the globe. But instead of looking after their problems and taking care of them they are found humiliated in the society.
“Old people are no more in need, so why should we spend our energy on them”, this attitude persists in many families in the society. They are considered as a burden and a liability for young members of the society.
Joint family system is gradually disintegrating in the Indian societies where it existed some decades back. Influence of western countries have important role in the disintegration of joint family system. The idealism of the Indian culture to take the responsibility of the parents in their old age has now become a dream.
When parents become old and incapable, they are subjected to physical and mental violence by their own flesh and blood. In U.S. and other developed countries parents are kept in nursing homes and Old Age homes. Can they provide the love and affection and care expected from one’s own children?
Even the public becomes intolerant to old people. Once I was walking on the road when I saw an old person was walking ahead of me very slowly with the help of a stick. The old gentleman could not walk fast due to his old age.
In the mean time came three youths in a motor cycle and started abusing the poor old senior citizen as he could not walk fast and obstructed their way. That day I was really ashamed about the young citizens of independent India, I was ashamed when 1 was reminded what we have produced during these 54 years of independence.
While in western countries senior citizens are given immerse prestige providing them with social security, pension, reserving seats for them in airports, railway stations, buses, trains and providing concessions for them everywhere, in our country they are considered as a burden not only by our society, but also by their own children.
Eroson of human values, lack of moral training and disrespect to seniors lies at the root of violence against senior citizens.
9. Violence Spread by Terrorists:
Today terrorism has become a national and international problem. It is a problem which has the capacity of destabilizing national and international politics. Terrorism stands on the way of development of any nation as most of time and resources of government are wasted in combating terrorism. Political terrorism started long back during French revolution in 1793.
The main characteristics of terrorism are violence of the highest order. Terrorism is a violent behaviour planned to generate fear in the community through rape, murder, physical injury and mass killing, attacking religions and public places, murdering and abducting important personalities for some political purposes.
Terrorism according to me is the worst form of violence. It is intended to shock, stun or intimidate a target group wider than the immediate victim. In other words, a great political leader may be killed by terrorists to terrorize the people of that country and get its work done.
Terrorism may be expressed either by an individual or a group. But generally terrorist groups and organisations create violence collectively and take the responsibility openly.
They throw either human or car bombs, hand grenades and other explosives on shopping centres, on religious places like temples, Mosques and Churches, railway stations, bus stops etc. where large number of people are present. They kidnap inland people or foreigners to get released their people from jail.
They hijack planes and threaten to kill hundreds of people present in the plane in a most cruel manner. Thus, the terrorists make the life of people hail. They become headaches even for Super powers like U.S.A., what to speak of India, Russia and other countries.
Till today the horrible memory of destructing the world trade centre in U.S.A. and killing thousands of innocent civilians of different countries present there has not been wiped out.
The violence of terrorists lead to war, destroy the peace and happiness of people, kill innocent people including children and women. Because of the attack of a few terrorists America invaded Afghanistan and in the war thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed.
Terrorism is of course different from mob violence as mob violence is unplanned and uncontrolled, it occurs spontaneously at the spur of the moment. Terrorism is planned much ahead and it has a definite goal. Its basic purpose is to achieve ones goal by demoralizing the government and by spreading fear psychosis in the country.
While collective violence gets the support of a large section of local population, terrorism usually does not get such support. Let us take the case of Jammu and Kashmir Assam, Bihar, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh where terrorists daily kill hundreds of people through violence and the most pathetic fact is that their selection of victim is random and indiscriminate.
By terroristic attacks they try to disintegrate the back bone of the country, make people psychologically isolated and terrorism ultimately leads to cold war or real war between two countries. India and Pakistan, U.S.A. and Afghanistan serve the best examples in this regard.
Through National Security Act, and TADA government tried to control and prevent violence made by terrorists. TADA was in force in 22 out of 25 states in 1995, but it was told that TADA has not achieved anything to fight against terrorism. Then POTA was introduced in place of TADA and that too has been very recently repealed or withdrawn by the present government.
5. Essay on the Victims of Violence:
By and large following are usually the victims of violence:
(1) Helpless, powerless and depressed persons who have a poor self image, who are submessive and less assertive and suffer from self devaluation and identity crisis.
(2) Persons who live in stressful family situations and work place, who interact with socially mal-adjusted persons inside and outside the family, who model and observe pathological, disorganised and conduct disorder persons.
(3) Persons who lack social maturity, good and positive interpersonal relationship, social skill to earn friendship and positive socio-culture values leading to various behavioural problems.
(4) Persons who are economically and financially weak which leads to a low status in the society.
(5) Persons who are timid, coward and does not have the courage to retaliate.
6. Essay on the Victimisers of Violence:
(1) Persons with unhappy uncared for childhood, who lack good parenting, who observe and imitate violent mal-adjusted models during childhood.
(2) Persons who are taught by the socialization process to counter aggression with aggressive behaviour.
(3) Persons having inferiority complex, disturbed childhood relations and low self esteem and suffering from conduct disorders.
(4) Persons who lack emotional intelligence are very irritative, aggressive and impulsive by nature.
(5) Persons who are obsessed by the idea of hostility, aggression and violence and develop compulsions to put it to practice.
(6) Persons who are mentally ill, have personality disorders and a psychopathic personality.
(7) Persons who have dictatorial mentality are dominant and have possessive and suspicious nature.
(8) Persons facing stressful situations in family and marital life.
(9) Persons who use alcohol and other intoxicating drugs.
(10) Persons who are victims of childhood violence and abuse.
(11) Persons who are frustrated severely during childhood and do not know how to tolerate frustration.
(12) Children of single parent, unwed mother and ‘divorced and separated parents who are neglected and did not get any love or support during childhood.
7. Essay on the Causes of Violence:
The causes of violence can be classified into:
(a) Socio-cultural
(b) Biological
(c) Environmental
(d) Economic
(e) Familial
(f) Personal motivation
(g) Situational and
(h) Miscellaneous causes.
Most of these causes of violence have been described under violence against women. Though violence against women is instigated by some special causes, by and large the causes of violence are same to a great extent and so there may be overlapping. The causes of violence and crime are same as the causes of aggressiveness, only the approach is different.
1. Socio Cultural:
Socio cultural research on violence since many decades has indicated that violence and crime are caused by the aggressive characteristics of a ‘person and aggression originates due to socio cultural factors. Social learning theory emphasizes the significant role of observation and modeling of aggressive behaviour of parents, teachers and near relations, whom the child loves, respects and obeys.
The negative emotions of the models are imitated and put to practice. When society and culture reinforces violence, the individual expresses it against somebody without any guilty feeling. Some cultures are dominated by violence since “it is in their blood’ (as the saying goes).
While some other cultures are much more peaceful and do not appreciate, encourage or reinforce violence behaviour. If the society and culture does not encourage violence, rather punishes, violence will not be seen in a society.
Prejudice which is a product of the society and for the society is a major cause of violence. Discrimination against women, weaker sections of the society and minorities are the product of one’s prejudice. Hence prejudice is also an important cause of violence.
It is found that lower middle class families encourage violence because of their authoritarian personality and rigidity. Lower class people undergo through more frustrations which lead to violence. If the socio cultural environment is made free from all biases and stereotypes then the growth of violence in the society can be checked. Social sterotypes which lead to discrimination and violence are the products of society.
2. Environmental and Situational:
The social environment and various situational factors if are full of stress, and anxiety frequent violence’s are observed. While trying to control one’s anxiety and stress, violence may occur. Social factors like social class, family size, unemployment, job dissatisfaction, social isolation etc. are major contributors to violence.
3. Economical:
Poverty, unemployment constant need for more money produce stress and anxiety and make the individual prone to loose temper, quarrel and ultimately engage in violence. Constant struggle for finance makes the person psychologically venerable to violence.
4. Familial and Personal Causes:
This has been discussed in detail earlier under violence against women. When parents use violence against their children as they know that the child will not hit back, they are not usually arrested unless some sympathetic neighbour informs the police as done in U.S.A.
Violence takes place usually when it is rewarded, when there is no fear of being booked by law and when the victim is supposed to be psychologically weak and unassertive, when he is incapable of protecting himself.
A large number of persons who show violence towards their wives and children at home and towards others in social gatherings, work place, shops and public places are irritable, dominating, fickle minded and impulsive, rigid and intolerant in their emotional activities, have low self image and self esteem. Feeling of insecurity and low social characteristics are found in them.
5. Biological:
Recent studies show that patients suffering from impulse control disorder and showing overtly violent behaviour may have a possible organic involvement. Experiments have shown that specific brain regions such as the limbic system are associated with impulsive and violent activities and that others were associated with inhibition of such behaviour.
Certain hormones particularly testosterone has been associated with violent and aggressive behaviour. Those persons who cannot control their impulse because of impulse control disorder show violent behaviour and commit more crime.
6. Psychiatric and Psychopathological Causes:
Whether violence is an exaggerated form of aggression, a normal response to provocation or it is a pathological condition has been the matter of bebate for a long time. The psychopathological and psychiatric approach focuses on the victimizer who creates violence and it argues that the victimizer’s personality characteristics are the chief determinants of violent and aggressive behaviour.
The influence of external environment exercise tremendous influence on the aggressor to cause violence. Frustration-Aggression theory, the perversion theory, the self attitude theory, motive attribution theory, all contributes to the socio-psychological causes of violence. Violence shown in television and films are responsible for teen violence.
8. Essay on the Management and Control of Violence:
By controlling aggression, reducing discrimination and prejudice, by providing education, by controlling the disturbed childhood and irritating home environment, by changing the social stereotypes and attitude of the society to women, children, minority and poor people who are socially and educationally disadvantaged, by bringing substantial changes in the tolerant and careless attitude towards the victimizers, by checking violence at the personal, social and group level instead of being callous to it.
Violence can be managed and prevented to some extent though it is impossible to totally cui-b violence from the society because of the multiple and complex variables which influence violence interactedly.
In addition to the factors indicated for under “The management and control of aggression” else-where in the text some additional factors may be indicated for the management and control of violence.
1. Reduction of violence through propagation by Mass Media.
2. Ban of violent scenes in T.V. Serials and Movies.
3. More stringent legislative measures to reduce violence effectively.
4. Education for all the weaker sections of the society and socially disadvantage ones.
5. Quick judicial decisions since justice delayed is justice denied.
6. Exemplary punishment for violence against women, children, minority groups and weaker sections of the society.
7. Protection, support, shelter and legal advice to the victims free of cost. Short-term accommodation for victimized women.
8. More legal cells for victimized women, children and socially disadvantaged classes.
9. Rehabilitation schemes for victims of rape, molestation, physical assault, attempted murder and abduction.
10. Assistance in employment.
11. Immediate financial support.
12. Establishment of large number of courts to dispose off the cases against violence for providing quick justice.
13. Establishment of Women Police Stations.
14. Stringent action against the police officers who show negligence to control violence.
15. Strengthening and increasing voluntary organisations which could take up steps for the prevention of violence.
16. Assertive training to the victims and weaker sections of the society to combat violence and aggression.
17. Psychological counselling to the persons who commit crime and violence.