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Community:
Man cannot live in isolation. He cannot live alone. He keeps contact with h is fellow being s for h is survival. It is not possible for h im to keep contact with all th e people or to belong as a member of all th e g roups existing in th e world He establish es contact with a few people wh o live in close proximity or presence to h im in a particular area or locality. It is quite natural for people living in a particular locality for a long er period of time to develop a sort of likeness or similarity among th emselves. Th ey develop common ideas, common customs, common feeling s, common traditions etc. Th ey also develop a sense of belong ing tog eth er or a sense of we-feeling. Th is kind of common social living in a specific locality g ives rise to th e community. Th e examples of community include a villag e, a tribe, a city or town. For example in a villag e community, all th e villag ers lend each oth er h and in th e event of need in ag riculture and in oth er occupations. Th ey take part in all important occasions wh ich occur in a neig h bour’s h ome. Th ey are present wh en marriag es, death s, birth s take place in any family. Th ey celebrate th e festivals tog eth er, worsh ip common deities and jointly face all calamities. In th is way th e sense of belong ing ness in g enerated among th e villag ers wh ich creates villag e community.
Th e word community h as been derived from two words of Latin namely ‘com’ and munis. In Eng lish ‘com’ means tog eth er and ‘munis’ means to serve. Th us, community means to serve tog eth er. It means, th e community is an org anisation of h uman being s framed for th e purpose of serving tog eth er. Community is a people living with in a g eog raph ical area in common inter-dependence. It exists with in th e society. It is bound by th e territorial units. It is a specific g roup wh ile society is abstract. “Community living is natural to man. He is born in it and g rows in th e community ways. It is h is small world. Men, we h ave seen beg an with g roup life. Over th e time, th ey occupied a h abitat and wh ile in permanent occupation of it; th ey developed likeness, common h abits, folkways and mores, interdependence and acquired a name. Th ey developed among st th emselves a sense of tog eth erness and an attach ment to th eir h abitat. A community th us h as a h abitat, strong community sense, and a manner of acting in an ag reed and org anized manner. Th ere are various definitions of community. Osborne and Neumeyer write, “Community is a g roup of people living in a contig uous g eog raph ic area, h aving common centres of interests and activities, and functioning tog eth er in th e ch ief concerns of life.”I According to King sley Davis, “Community is th e smallest territorial g roup th at can embrace all aspects of social life.” As Suth erland points out, “It is a local area over wh ich people are using th e same lang uag e, conforming to same mores, feeling more or less th e same sentiments and acting upon th e same attitudes.” Maclver defines community as “an area of social living , marked by some deg ree of social coh erence. For Bog ardus it is a social g roups with some deg ree of “we feeling ” and “living in a g iven area. Mannh eim describes community as “any circle of people wh o live tog eth er and belong tog eth er in such a way th at th ey do not sh are th is or th at particular interest only but a wh ole set of interest.
Basic Elements of Community:
According to Maclver and Pag e, th ere are two main bases or essential elements on th e basis of wh ich community is formed. (i) Locality: Locality implies a particular or territorial area unless a g roup of people live in a particular locality; th ey cannot establish relations and g enerate th e we-feeling among th emselves. Living tog eth er facilities people to develop social contacts, g ive protection, safety and security. Locality continues to be a basic factor of
(vi) Spontaneity: Every community g rows itself spontaneously. A community is not deliberately or purposively created. A kind of natural force acts beh ind th e orig in and development of communities. Various factors like customs, conventions, and relig ious beliefs bind th e individuals tog eth er. (vii) Common Life: Some sociolog ists like Elwood says th at th e life of th e people in a community is near about th e same. Th ere is no epoch al difference between th e way of life of th e individuals. Th eir eating pattern, dressing style, lang uag e etc. are found to be similar. Due to th eir inh abitation on a particular g eog raph ical area, th ey develop a kind of emotional and cultural uniformity. Community is never formed with a particular aim. But th ey are th e outcome of social uniformity among th e individuals. (viii) Common Inter ests: In community, all th e members h ave common and collective interests. People live in community and work tog eth er to fulfill th ese interests. Th us, Newmeyer says, community is a g roup of people living in a delimited g eog raph ic area, h aving common interests and activities and functioning tog eth er in th eir concern of life.
Distinction between Community and Society:
T he constituent elements and behaviour patter ns of both community and society ar e distinctive. We may descr ibe the distinction between community and society as follows:
- Society is a web social relationsh ips. But community consists of a g roup of individuals. It is a specific g roup.
- Society is abstract. Community is concrete.
- A definite g eog raph ical area is not necessary for society. But a definite g eog raph ical area is essential for a community. It is bound by th e territorial units.
- Th ere can be more th an one community in a society. Most societies consist of more th an one community, varying in size, ph ysical appearance, org anization and specialized functions. But th ere cannot be more th an one society in a community.
- Society is an intang ible artifact. But community is a natural entity.
- In th e society, th e g roup is merely means to an end.
But in th e community, th e g roup h as a life of its own, superior to th at of its temporary members. Th e g roup is an end in itself.
- Community sentiment or a sense of unity is not essential in a society. But community sentiment is indispensable for a community.
- In a society th e common objectives are extensive and coordinated. But in a community, th e common objectives are comparatively less extensive and coordinated.
- In a society, th e common interests and common objectives are not necessary. But in a community, a common ag reement of interests and objectives necessary.
- In th e society, members h ave doctrine, public opinion, contractual solidarity and individual will. But in th e community, members h ave faith , customs, natural solidarity and a common will. A community may be big or small. A big community, such as a nation, contains with in it a number of small communities and g roups with more close, numerous common qualities. Small communities like villag e or neig h borh ood are th e examples of th e primitive world. Both th e types of communities, big or small, are essential to th e full development of life.
