Explain the factors responsible for different types of rural settlements.

Clustered or compact villages of a few hundred houses is usual in India, particularly in the plains. But, there exist areas with other forms relating to rural settlements. There are different factors that are responsible for possessing different kinds of rural settlements in India. These involve:

(A) Physical features – These include the attributes of the physical environment like altitude, nature of terrain, availability of water and climate. For example, in Rajasthan, there tend to be clustered rural settlements around the region of oasis as well as other areas of water accessibility. Since these areas are included in the only few areas where water is accessible, therefore, the settlement around the source of water tend to become clustered and is the major driving force habitations.

(B) Cultural and ethnic factors – These include regional, racial, cultural and traditional factors like social structure, religion and caste. For example, hamleted rural settlements are composed because of ethnic or social factors and, thus known for various identities and names such as nagla, panna, dhani, para etc. They are fragmented into a number of units physically separated from one another bearing one common name.

(C) Security factors – These include defences against robberies, invasions, animals, dacoits and thefts. For example, clustered rural settlement is typically found in central India as well as Nagaland for security reasons.