People living in any civilized society have the potential to progress to higher levels of social, cultural, and moral development. Furthermore, the role and importance of family in a civilized society is of utmost importance. Family is considered as a fundamental component of any social set up. It plays an important role in any socio-economic situation but unfortunately the control of family and school is waning day by day. It is the institution of family that performs multifaceted functions and helps in the socialization of individuals. Many social scientists are of the opinion that weak or dysfunctional families give rise to conflict and instability in the society. People living in such societies become withdrawn and socially isolated. They lack empathy and are more vulnerable towards many social ills like drug addiction and alcoholism. Nowadays, we are witnessing considerable structural changes in our families; as there has been an alarming increase in the crime rate. Over the years, our younger generation is dangerously inclining towards carrying unlawful and immoral activities. Our women folk are under tremendous pressure; the pressure is such that in certain case they won’t hesitate ending their lives. In the recent times the rate of suicide has shown an abnormal increase in our society. Moral degradation and disregard for life has never been as huge as it is these days. There are many instances in our society where girls are badly treated, even abandoned, for not conceiving a male child. Similarly, there are a number of other cases never reported in media. When such is the condition of our society we need to seriously think over it. Our younger generation is falling prey to the curse of drugs and alcohol. What makes the situation even worse is the ineffectiveness of law enforcing agencies to arrest this trend. It is high time that our educational institutions start building a strong moral character among the students by imparting necessary moral education. Parents have a key role to play in shaping up the character of their wards as they are the rock solid foundations of love, support, and guidance. Civil society organizations can also play an important role by creating awareness of different social issues among the people, especially younger generation. It needs a collective enterprise on part of government, people and religious institutions if the situation has to be saved from further deterioration.
