Occupation and Population of India (An Old and Rare Book with Pinholed)

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About The Book

Based on the data collected during 1959-60 in connection with a major national project sponsored by the Anthropological Survey of India, this volume provides interesting picture of the occupational structure of India in the pre-Green Revolution days. The traditional callings, castewise and occupationwise changes in the rural India and some notable features of rural settlements have been elucidated with empirical facts. This work also helps us to examine how far these features have undergone qualitative changes in the last thirtyfive years during which period social, political and economic changes have encompassed this biggest democracy of the world.

About the Author Dr Kumar Suresh Singh of the Indian Administrative Service (Retd) was Director General of the Anthropological Survey of India for about a decade. He has organised a number of national level seminars and has authored scores of scientific publications: As Director General. he has been the architect of the monumental national project People of India the data of which have been accommodated in eleven national and thirtytwo State/Union Territory volumes providing updated reliable information on the human surface of India For the first time in India, he has used computers to analyse, handle and store such huge mass of social science data.

Dr. Biman Kumar Das Gupta has been associated with the Anthropological Survey of India for nearly four decades He has been involved in the study of social mobility movements, cultural dynamics social organisation of crafts and theme based ethnography He has also guided and monitored a number of research projects and has authored two score of scientific papers and monographs. Dr Das gupta who visited South Korea under Indo-Korean Cultural Exchange Programme. retired as Deputy Director in October 1992.

Dr Tilak Bagchi isAsstt Keeper attached to the Western Regional Centre of the Anthropological Survey of India. He has conducted field researches in eastern part of India and is the author of a number of scientific publications Smt Pratima Chowdhury is a Research Associate (Cultural) of the Anthropological Survey of India She is now attached to Basic Data Archives of the Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta. She is a co-author of the monograph 'Basketry in India' published by the Anthropological Survey of India.

Introduction In 1959-60 under a project. All India Material Culture Trait Survey, sponsored by the Anthropological Survey of India, data were collected on 41 items of culture traits from each district of India, to understand the nature of distribution of material culture traits in rural India. The project was guided by Prof Nirmal Kumar Bose, the then Director. Of these 41 items, the data on 16 items were analysed and published in the form of a report titled "Peasant Life in India- A Study of Unity in Diversity" Later three other items have been described through three separate monographs. Dr K.S.Singh, Director General.Anthropological Survey of India has desired that the data which were not attended earlier should be retrieved and reported upon. Therefore, the data on population and occupation have now been taken up and the nature and the degree of variations and similarities, in the occupational patterns in rural India, have been delineated in this report. The survey has been conducted on 430 villages in 311 districts of India. Hence the report is based on the available data of these villages only.

India represents a cultural mosaic where each caste group has a specific occupation that is sincerely followed as an economic pursuit and as a religious commitment. The pursuit of a traditional occupation, however derogatory the occupation might be, is a characteristic feature found among the Hindu castes of rural India. This is linked with the basic Hindu philosophy of rebirth, because, as Taya Zinkin (1962) puts it "a pariah will not mind doing the scavenger's job devotedly in this life because he believes that in that way he can be reborn as a Brahman". Faithful following of the traditional calling is also seen in some parts of West Bengal and Bihar where the Mahali who are expert in making big baskets will not make and sell small baskets because that will infringe upon the traditional calling of the Dom who have been traditionally assigned the job of making small baskets. Compartmentalisation of occupation is still very common in rural India and industrialisation and urbanisation have not been able to erode its structure and pattern. However, there have been certain changes in the urban sector where new economic opportunities and the new phases of industrialisation have cut across the traditional pattern of caste occupation affiliation. The tribal people where they have lived in isolation do not show any occupation specialisation but in places where they are in contact with non-tribal groups, they have remained economically dependent on these occupational castes.

Our intention, here, is to examine how far the above picture was maintained in rural India some thirty years ago. We have also looked into the regional specialisation of different occupations by various groups. We have tried to look into the range of occupations that have been offered to different groups in various parts of India. It is evident that for the last 70-80 years, in rural India, there have been some concerted efforts on the part of some low castes and tribal groups to mobilise themselves in an effort to occupy a more dignified position in the regional social order. This phenomenon is evident in all parts of India. It is also seen that agriculture as an occupation has mostly been considered clean and therefore, artisan groups if they pursue any type of derogatory occupation have taken up agriculture after shunning their traditional calling. We know from the works of Chowdhury (1976)and Sarkar (1978), how in ancient India also there was this type of shift of traditional calling, in an effort to achieve social mobility.

Occupation means to earn ones basic livelihood (Majumdar & Dutta Roy: 1984). it is an activity with which a particular caste or group makes relative use of the resources to eke out basic subsistence. In India specific caste names are associated with specific occupations. Thus when we speak of Dhanak of Maharashtra, we immediately know that they are basket makers or when we speak of Chitrakathi of western India we immediately know that they are traditional scroll painters and doll makers.

In Indian society occupation is based on a concept of hierarchy. Thus an occupation is categorised in terms of high,middle or low or as clean or unclean. The status of a group is determined by the category of the occupation pursued by it. Therefore, priesthood is regarded as a high and clean occupation whereas cutting the umbilical cord of a new born child is regarded as an unclean and low job. Similarly, the jobs of a blacksmith and a goldsmith are regarded as neither low nor high. Urbanisation has resulted in the opening of a variety of new occupations, thus facilitating mobility from one occupation to another.

**Contents and Sample Pages**