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In this archive story we are seeing the Inequality in India on firsthand in Mumbai, India.
Read the background story of this archive photo by the photographer. |
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Social inequality in India occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It is the differentiation preference of access of social goods in the society brought about by power, religion, kinship, prestige, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and class. |
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Inequality in India
Social inequality usually implies the lack of equality of outcome, but may alternatively be conceptualized in terms of the lack of equality of access to opportunity. The social rights include labour market, the source of income, health care and freedom of speech, education, political representation and participation. Social inequality is linked to economic inequality, usually described on the basis of the unequal distribution of income or wealth, is a frequently studied type of social inequality.
What is inequality in India?
While India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it is also one of the most unequal countries. Inequality has been rising sharply for the last three decades. The richest have cornered a huge part of the wealth created through crony capitalism and inheritance. |
Economic inequality in India
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income, which means the amount of money people are paid and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth, which means the amount of wealth people own. Besides economic inequality between countries or states, there are important types of economic inequality between different groups of people. Research has generally linked economic inequality to political and social instability, including revolution, democratic breakdown and civil conflict. Research suggests that greater inequality hinders economic growth and macroeconomic stability and that land and human capital inequality reduce growth more than inequality of income.
Inequality is at the center stage of economic policy debate across the globe, as government tax and spending policies have significant effects on income distribution. In advanced economies, taxes and transfers decrease income inequality by 1/3, with most of this being achieved with public social spending such as pensions and family benefits.
Social inequality in India
The term 'Social inequality' occurs when resources in a given society are distributed unevenly, typically through norms of allocation, that engender specific patterns along lines of socially defined categories of persons. It is the differentiation preference of access of social goods in the society brought about by power, religion, kinship, prestige, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and Class. Social inequality usually implies the lack of equality of outcome, but may alternatively be conceptualized in terms of the lack of equality of access to opportunity. The social rights include labour market, the source of income, health care and freedom of speech, education, political representation and participation.
"Social inequality is linked to economic inequality, usually described on the basis of the unequal distribution of income or wealth, is a frequently studied type of social inequality"
Social and natural resources
Although the disciplines of economics and sociology generally use different theoretical approaches to examine and explain economic inequality, both fields are actively involved in researching this inequality. However, social and natural resources other than purely economic resources are also unevenly distributed in most societies and may contribute to social status. Norms of allocation can also affect the distribution of rights and privileges, social power, access to public goods such as education or the judicial system, adequate housing, transportation, credit and financial services such as banking and other social goods and services.
Social inequality is found in almost every society. As the Photographer learned in India, social inequality is shaped by a range of structural factors, such as geographical location or citizenship status and are often underpinned by cultural discourses and identities defining, for instance, whether the poor are 'Deserving' or 'Undeserving'. In simple societies, those that have few social roles and statuses occupied by its members, social inequality may be very low. In tribal societies, for instance, a tribal head or chieftain may hold some privileges, use some tools or wear marks of office to which others do not have access, but the daily life of the chieftain is very much like the daily life of any other tribal member.
Between the poorest and the most wealthy
Anthropologists identify such highly egalitarian cultures as 'Kinship-oriented', which appear to value social harmony more than wealth or status. These cultures are contrasted with materially oriented cultures in which status and wealth are prized and competition and conflict are common. Kinship-oriented cultures may actively work to prevent social hierarchies from developing because they believe that could lead to conflict and instability.
In today's world, most of our population lives in more complex than simple societies. As social complexity increases, inequality tends to increase along with a widening gap between the poorest and the most wealthy members of society. Certain types of social classes and nationalities are finding themselves in a tough spot with where they fit into the social system and because of this they are experiencing social inequality.
Inequality is more than economics and sociology
Although the disciplines of economics and sociology generally use different theoretical approaches to examine and explain economic inequality, both fields are actively involved in researching this inequality. However, social and natural resources other than purely economic resources are also unevenly distributed in most societies and may contribute to social status. Norms of allocation can also affect the distribution of rights and privileges, social power, access to public goods such as education or the judicial system, adequate housing, transportation, credit and financial services such as banking and other social goods and services.
Although merit matters to some degree in many societies, research shows that the distribution of resources in societies often follows hierarchical social categorizations of persons to a degree too significant to warrant calling these societies meritocratic, since even exceptional intelligence, talent or other forms of merit may not be compensatory for the social disadvantages people face.
In many cases, social inequality is linked to racial and ethnic inequality, gender inequality and other forms of social status and these forms can be related to corruption. The most common metric for comparing social inequality in different nations in a system, which measures the concentration of wealth and income in a nation from '0', which is evenly distributed wealth and income to '1', which one person has all wealth and income. Two nations may have identical this system but dramatically different economic a so-called 'Output' and or quality of life, so this system must be contextualized for meaningful comparisons to be made the Kristian Bertel | Photography also learned.
"In India, one of the most distinctive forms of social inequity come within the spheres of gender and caste, where, people coming from the marginalized sections of these social categories, are directly impacted in terms of their opportunities, access to essential utilities and their potential as a whole"
Inequality in numbers
If we want to see on inequality in numbers one can ask if India the world's most unequal country. According to a report, India is the second-most unequal country globally, with millionaires controlling 54 percent of its wealth. India's economy continues to grow and it is rising faster than most nations. But a rise in the national economy is not indicative of income equality in the country and the growing income inequality in India has negatively impacted poor citizens' access to education and healthcare. Rising income inequality makes it difficult for the poor to climb up the economic ladder and increases their risk of being victims to poverty.
People living at the bottom 10 percent are characterized by low wages such as long working hours, lack of basic services such as first aid, drinking water and sanitation the Photographer learned while traveling around in the country. The richest 10 percent of Indians own 80.7 percent of the wealth and this trend is going in the upward direction every year, which means the rich are getting richer at a much faster rate than the poor.
See this video about inequality in India made by The Better India.
"- Being a photographer in these poverty situations, I think the photographer must be very careful not to exploit the people in his photographs, by treating them with respect and not taking advantage of their vulnerability. People in poverty are people just like anyone else and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect", the Photographer says.
"- Moreover, there is always the risk of creating a stereotype of the Indian poor in the minds of many viewers, as it is easy to fall into the trap of portraying all Indian poor people in a similar light and not taking into account the individual stories and struggles of those featured in the photographs. The ambivalence of being a photographer taking poverty photos in India is a real and present feeling. Although it is important to be able to set the wheels of social change in motion with photography, the need to do it ethically and with respect for the people in the photos should never be overlooked", the Photographer says again.
Read also: Dadabhai Naoroji Rd portraiture
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India is a land full of stories. On every street, on every corner and in the many places in India, life is rushing by you as a photographer with millions of stories to be told. In the archive story above, you hopefully had a readable insight in the story that was behind the photo of an Indian man in Mumbai. On this website of Kristian Bertel | Photography you can find numerous travel pictures from the photographer. Stories and moments that tell the travel stories of how the photographer captured the specific scene that you see in the picture. The photographer's images have a story behind them, images that all are taken from around India throughout his photo journeys. The archive stories delve into Kristian's personal archive to reveal never-before-seen, including portraits and landscapes beautifully produced snapshots from various travel assignments. The archive is so-far organized into photo stories, this one included, each brought to life by narrative text and full-color photos. Together, these fascinating stories tell a story about the life in India. India, the motherland to many people around the world, a land of unforgetable travel moments. The archive takes viewers on a spectacular visual journey through some of the most stunning photographs to be found in the photographer's archive collection. The photographer culled the images to reflect the many variations on the universal theme of beauty and everyday life in India. By adding these back stories the photographer's work might immensely enhanced the understanding of the photographs.
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