Violence in India: a Psychological Perspective

Intraspecific violence is now established as a biological phenomenon intrinsic to living nature. Ethologists maintain that culturally moulded programs of aggression which can be released by certain environmental triggers exist in the nervous system among higher animals. Evidence also suggests that there co-exists a biological capacity for morality and empathy. A child by the age of two is endowed with the capacity to refrain from hurting another person purely by identifying himself with the other. This moral faculty is strengthened by parental training, appropriate role models and a nurturing society. In India today, the weakening of cultural values due to rapid social change and the inability of elders and leadership to present a clear set of values which tliey themselves live by has induced a sense of alienation, powerlessness and meaninglessness among the youth. This makes them extremely susceptible to programs of aggression, all the while weakening their empathic and moral inclinations. The paper attempts an in-depth psychological examinations of these issues and also other factors responsible for violence in India. Psychologically rooted strategies to tackle the problem of violence in India are also discussed.