The social
change of Bangladesh is evident in various fields of the country like the
social,
political, educational, religion and cultural etc. At the root of the changes
in these
fields
of the society, there are some specific factors. The factors are discussed
below.
1.
The Natural factor: The geophysical position of Bangladesh is a notable cause
of
social
change. Slow as well as sudden geographical change, the changes regarding the
climate,
global warming, etc. put impact on the life of the people of Bangladesh and
cause
a great change of the society. The natural calamities such as the river
erosion, tidal
surge,
flood, tornado, drought, heavy rain, etc. are as same as the daily phenomena in
this
country. These natural calamities spoil the balance of the environment, and
there
appears
the necessity of adopting new systems for adjusting with the environment.
Consequently,
the change of social relationship takes place among people. For example,
the
river erosion is one of the causes of the growth of slums in the urban areas.
The slum
problem
in the urban areas has given birth to multifarious problems. Because of taking
many
programmes by the government and non-government organizations in solving this
problem,
various changes have taken place in the urban society. In this way, global
warming
and natural disasters cause various new problems. Taking multi-purpose
programmes
to face all these problems, people accomplish the change of the society.
2.
The Organic factor: The organic factor is an important factor of social
change. The birth and
mortality
rate, the density of population, the nature of population and the standard of
lifestyle, etc. form the organic factor. The change of the organic state of the
people of the society such as the increase or decrease in population, the
change in migration or in the density of population play an important role in
the social change. Different strategies for the birth control are being implemented
to prevent the growth of population of our country. The decrease in birth and mortality
rate is contributing to the change of the structure of the society. Because of
the increase in population, diverse problems like tough competition have taken
place in the fields of unemployment, child labour and employment.
3.
The Cultural Factor: Culture initiates social change. If we look at any
society,
diversified
culture, difference in people’s values, difference in objectives and
ideologies,
etc.
will be noticed. As a result of this, organisations nurtured by various
cultures have
been
created, and those cause different kinds of changes in the society. For
example,
during
the British regime, the impact of foreign cultures on the social system of
Bengal
was
especially noticed. Besides, reading travel stories, traveling the foreign
countries,
meeting
people of other countries bring about the social changes. Hazrat Muhammad
(Sm.),
Goutam Buddha, Jesus Christ─these noble men presented before the people new
views,
new values, new ideologies that initiated diverse changes in the society at
that
Group
work: Identify the impacts and changes of the natural factors on
the life of the people of the regions prone to natural disaster.
Individual
work: Identify any one organic factor and write how it changes the
society.
Bangladesh
and Global Studies 203 time. A blend form of diverse cultures is also perceived
when we look at the cities of Bangladesh.
4.
The Education: A special factor of social change is education. Education
is the
making
of one kind of reform and a ceaseless process. The spread of education among
the
members of the society arouses the self-confidence, the power of judgement and
consideration.
Education liberates us from all kinds of blindness, ignorance, superstition,
etc.
For example, the expansion of female education in the society of Bangladesh has
created
awareness among the people which has motivated various social movements. So,
in the
establishment of women rights in Bangladesh, various social policies and laws
have
been formulated. The Dowry Act, the family laws, the women development policy,
etc.
are the outcome of social awareness. The female education has made women
eligible
for
outdoor work and made them tend to jobs. As a result women empowerment has
taken
place. In this way, the education of science and of commerce, etc. has created
many
things in social life, which have played an important role in the positive
change of
the
society.
5.
The Technology: Technology is the applied side of science. Through the
introduction and expansion of technology, the mindset of the people in a
socialsystem and social structure experience changes. For example, the invention
of radio has influenced the amusement system in social life, education system, politics
and many other kinds of social activities. Automobile today has expanded the domain
of social relationship. Because of the gradual development of technology, we
see two types of effects in our social system. One is direct and another is
indirect. Some of the social changes are the inevitable consequences of
technological change. They are, for example, the new organizations of
labourers, expansion of the range of social communication, attainment of
special skills for special jobs and the impact of urban life on rural life,
etc. The increasing problems of unemployment, the distance between the
labourers and owners, the rise in the intensity of competition, etc. are the
indirect effects of the change
of
technology. In agricultural sector, production has increased by manifold for
the use of
improved
type of seeds, irrigation, fertilizer, and the application of technological
knowledge.
Besides, application of various new technologies is now seen in
Piscesculture
in our country. Unthinkable changes in shrimp cultivation, integrated
Piscesculture,
breeding of cattle, cow fattening, etc. are the direct outcome of
technology.
The technology has brought about a big change in the economy of agrofarming.
Various
rural development organizations have been formed with a view to
enhancing
production in agriculture. Besides, changing rural agriculture, these
organizations
have also changed human relationships.
6.
The Communication: The more the communication medium of a country is
developed,
the more developed is the economy of that country. The communication is
one of
the main factors of social changes. The communication by land, water and air,
telephone,
fax, internet, e-mail, dish antenna, mobile phone, radio, television, different
kinds
of newspapers, etc. contribute to the social changes. Nowadays one can
communicate
with all the countries of the world sitting in one’s own room. It is possible
to
pick and read the necessary book using the world’s best library sitting in the
house.
Because
of this unthinkable development in communication, students of this country are
Individual
work: Prepare a table of the changes created due
to the
impact of the cultural factors.
Group
work: Identify the role of agricultural technologies in social
change.
communicating
with the developed universities of the world sitting in the house, and are
going
abroad for studies.
In the
case of social change, the impacts of natural, organic and cultural factors
accelerate
the flow of the change. Besides, the education, the technology and various
form
of new communicating media cast a great impact on the social change. The impact
of
these components is noticeable in the rural and urban life of Bangladesh.
Though
social change is caused by various components, sometimes special factors such
as the
industrialisation and urbanisation cast extensive impact on social change. The
far
reaching
effect of it is noticed in the whole social system such as in the social,
economic,
political,
family and religious life. In this circumstance, the impact of industrialisaion
and
urbanisaion on the society of Bangladesh is significant. Besides, due to the
effect of
urbanization,
in the changed circumstance the role of women has also undergone a
change.
7.
The Industrialisaion and urbanisaion: The industrialisation is
such a process by
which
the agriculture and handicraft based economy and social system is transformed
into a
mechanical industry based and production oriented economy and society.
Urbanisation
is the result of industrialisation. Due to a widespread industrialisation, the
process
of switching from rural life to urban mode of life is called urbanization.
Since
the
post liberation time of Bangladesh to the recent time, there has been a
flourish of
various
industries. Among these, garments, medicine, tea, sugar, cotton, paper,
tobacco,
biscuit,
cosmetics, soap industries are main. Due to the expansion of these industries,
many
skilled and unskilled labourers of villages are going to cities to be relieved
of
unemployment
and are having urban life. Because of industrialisaion, the higher class, the
middle class, and the lower class have emerged in our social life.
Industrialisation is at the root of the increase in employment of this country,
a high increasing rate of production, per capita and national income. Besides,
due to industrialisation, the process of localisation of industries has
started, and it has caused urbanisation. For example, Khalishpur of Khulna,
Barobkunda of
Chittagong,
Chatok of Sylhet, etc. are known as industrial cities today.
The
transportation and communication systems have developed because of the
industrialisation
and urbanisation. Although geographical distance has been reduced by
it, it
has widened social distance. Men and women are working together. The industrial
workers
spend most of their time with their colleagues. The impact of the daily life at
work
influences the whole stream of life of a person. The philosophy of life,
attitude,
mentality
and values, etc. of an individual have undergone change. Due to
accommodation
constraint in the industrial cities, low wages, etc. it is impossible to live
with
all the members of the family together. As a result, extended families are
broken,
and
nuclear families are created. Again, many problems including divorce in the
family
organisation,
problem in the appropriate socialisation of children and adolescents,
insecurity
of the elderly, criminal tendencies and other social problems have emerged.
The
growth of slums in the cities of our country is an outcome of
industrialisation.
Slums
have been grown in the places where garments industry, tannery industry, bangle
industry,
tobacco and bidi industry have been established, and it has given birth to many
social
problems like conflict, robbery, crime, adolescent crime in social life. These
problems
have also created chain of problems, which have embittered the city life.
Industrialisation
is, on one side, a blessing for the urban economy, and a curse too on the
other.
