CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROBLEM AND IMPORTANCE OF STUDY

The topic which we have selected for our project study is of wide relevancein the Indian context now and ever. Though divisions based on economic status, colour, creed etc were found in many places all over the world, Caste System is unique to India. Though we dont wish to delve into the details of Caste system here, the point that we shouldnt miss is about the bondage or fetters that are lashed upon the people by birth, under this system.

The Scheduled Castes are placed at the lower rungs of social and economic ladder. They had been at this disadvantageous position for centuries. While framing our Constitution after independence,

B.R.Ambedkar, who himself was the member of the community, laid enough provisions for the upliftment and development of Scheduled Castes. They had been provided with reservation in jobs, educational institutions and even in promotions of jobs. Successive governments have implemented various schemes and programmes for their upliftment.

The most unfortunate thing is that there had been mixed responses regarding the success of these shemes.Though they have

succeeded in uplifting the members of the community, there is a strong

1

accusation that the benefits of these schemes are cornered by a particular section within the community, who are continuously availing these benefits.And there has emerged a creamy layer within the community.

The major question remains that why the majority members of this community still remain deprived of the benefits of development. Many of the Scheduled Castes still remain as illiterates, unknowing of the schemes for their upliftment.Their living standards are below what we call as a decent standard of living. Most of them dont have any assets like land, gold etc except a house to live.

The study regarding the educational attainment and living standards of Scheduled Castes has got relevance on two aspects- the obligation aspect or commitment aspect and the rights aspect. As with regard to the obligation side all the people of the country have got the obligation to ensure equality on all scales and no injustice is done to any community. We people have got the responsibility to ensure that no people are denied their basic human rights. Further as with regards to the rights aspect, we people have the right to inquire into the issues of welfare of Scheduled Castes as it is the taxpayers money that has been used to finance the developmental schemes for Scheduled Castes. The so called General category had to sacrifice many opportunities in the fields of education, employment etc for the benefit of Scheduled Castes. So they have the right to know about the improvements in living conditions of Scheduled Castes.

The scheme of reservation for scheduled castes in educational institutions ,jobs etc have attracted much controversy on the ground that it
2

just promotes inefficiency by neglecting merit. Though we are pretty sure about the faults of present reservation system, we cant just ignore the fact that majority among the scheduled castes are non recipients of the benefits of the welfare schemes for their amelioration. Through this study we try to show that there are many among the Scheduled Castes who need a big push inorder to bring up their living standards. We shouldnt expect them to play the same as others because the playing field is not yet leveled.

1.2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE.

Even though caste system is a unique feature of India, many studies and research have been done regarding the conditions of Scheduled Castes and the problems faced by them. In this section we are reviewing the existing literature on the Scheduled Caste. According to Dumont there is a definite relationship between caste and occupation, eventually contributed to the stability of caste system which is a major hazard in the way of social mobility.

K.C.Alexander opines that education can promote acquisition of new skills among Scheduled Caste.Saradhamani in her study found that Scheduled Caste people are forced to do low status jobs mainly because they are polluting caste.

Vijay Nayak and Shailaja Prasad in their article observed that consumption and expenditure distribution of Scheduled caste people is very low and there exist wide differences in levels of education and occupational status of Scheduled Caste households.

Isaac cited in his work and said about the education of Scheduled Caste that no new Ambedkars appeared in city among the young, but a mass of self-engrossed people who are quickly and easily satisfied with the small gains they can win for themselves.

Putwardhan had found a wide gulf between the educated and uneducated harijan and he also tried to find a relationship between the education and social mobility.

Vinay Kripal and Raj.K.Gupta cited in their article thet social problems in Scheduled Caste students are caused by inferiority complex , problems with English and their introverted nature etc.

Victor.S.Dsuza when dealing with the problems of Scheduled Caste people in Punjab came to the conclusion that the educational gap between the Scheduled Caste and the rest of the society is very wide and improvement is very slow.He also came to the conclusion that there exist educational inequalities among Scheduled Caste.

Krishnakumar opined that proper education to Scheduled Caste students can only uplift these people.Pimpley,Nayar,Dubeg,Valnikar,Chitins and Yadav in their studies on difference between educational level of Scheduled Caste both at the school and college level,found that at college level most of the students are aware of the scholarship facilities, reservation etc in the educational institutions.

Malik found that greater percentage of educated respondants is aware of more important facilities such as educational facilities like

provision of grants, while less educated people are comparatively less aware of the facilities.

Beteille,Sharma,Nijhawan.N.K observed that the occupational mobility directly influence the standard of living, education, social mobility and social status.

From the review of literature it is understood that most of the studies are concentrating on the social aspects of Scheduled Castes.Even the studies which are concentrating on the economic impacts are mostly general in nature.A few studies available on socio-economic status of the Scheduled Castes are done at micro level.Hence, we have selected the present study which is micro in nature.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The main objectives of the study are the following: To examine the income and standard of living of Scheduled Castes. To understand the educational status of Scheduled castes. To get an idea of the housing conditions of Scheduled Castes.

METHODOLOGY AND SOURCE OF DATA.

5

The present study is based on primary data as well as secondary data. Chembukkavu Division of Thrissur Corporation in Thrissur District.There are many total number of Scheduled Caste households in Chembukkavu division.Out of this 50 households are taken randomly. The sample households of this Chembukkavu division are visited and detailed information are collected through a well settled questionaire .

Besides this primary data, we have collected secondary data from the various secondary data sources.

CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS.

Scheduled Caste: Scheduled Caste means such castes, races or tribes part or group within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under Article 341 of the Indian Constitution to be Scheduled Caste for the purpose of the Constitution of India. Household: A house hold is a group of persons normally living together and taking food from a common kitchen. Here in the study a house hold was to consist of its normal members only. Standard of living: The financial health of a population, as measured by percapita income and consumption of goods and services by individuals or households. Educational attainment: the highest level of education completed in terms of the highest degree or the highest level of schooling completed.

PLAN OF STUDY.
The study is divided into six chapters. The first chapter dealswithintroduction including problem, objective and methodology. The second chapter deals with the profile of Scheduled Castes. It comprises a general view of the caste system, status of Scheduled Castes in India,their status and conditions in Kerala. The third chapter deals with status and living conditions of Scheduled Castes in Thrissur District. The fourth sample

chapter provides an outline of the general characteristics of

households. The fifth chapter mainly consist of the analysis of the primary data collected from the sample survey and presenting it in tables and charts. The sixth chapter highlights the findings and conclusion of the project.

CHAPTER II PROFILE OF SCHEDULED CASTES.

The Scheduled castes are not a homogeneous group but consists of morethan 400 major caste groups having varying numerical strength. Due to occupational differentiation , some castes are predominantly rural while others are exclusively urban based. Agricultural labourers, cobblers,weavers and artisans tend to concentrate in rural areas. The spatial distribution of the Scheduled caste population is such that they can be described as "dispersed minority. The Scheduled castes have been notified by the

President of India under articles 341 of the constitution of India.

Accordingly from 1951 Census

onwards information on

Scheduledcastes were collected and made available in Census reports. From 1961 Census onwards-special tables on Scheduled Castes were

published in Census reports. From 1981 Census onwards Primary Census abstract for Scheduled Castes were prepared separately from that of General Population.

CASTE SYSTEM: A GENERAL VIEW.

Surjit Sinha defined caste system as a hierarchy of endogamous groups organized in a characteristic hierarchy division of labour where in the

functions

of

caste

specialization

and

hierarchy

were

originally

linked.Moreover a fairly close correlation existed between caste hierarchy and the distribution of land holding and power. Caste may as a small and named group and of persons be defined by

characterized

endogamy,hereditary membership

specific style of life which

sometimes includes the persuit by tradition of a particular occupation and is usually associated with a more or less distinct ritual status in a hierarchical system.

The origin of the caste system are shrouded in a pre-historic past. A social organization based on differential access to resources, exchange of service, sharing of produce and a hierarchy of status among a host of corporate groups got gradually institutionalized.

The saga of the oppression of Scheduled castes in India is as long as the history of this subcontinent itself. Right from the Indus Valley Civilisation, we find the presence of this class in Indian society in one form or the other.Caste has been one of the primary unit of stratification in India.6 The institution of caste is regarded as a distinguishing of social organization of the Indian people feature

under Hinduism. Caste

system is based on the fundamental social principal of hierarchy. The caste system determines the hierarchical social status of various groups in the Indian society. The traditional Indian society remained

structurally stratified

into different unequal strata of caste / occupational

groups comprising the socially and economically privileged section of the higher castes or the Savarnas on the one side lid the Avarnas consisting of

the mostdisadvantaged group of the lowest castes, and the intermediate castes with relative deprivation or affluence on the other.

The

caste

system was

developed

to meet

the

requirement of the Hindu society in good faith and was based not on birth but on type of work, but gradually it gave way to division in the Hindu Society leading to castes and sub-castes based on birth. Thus

untouchability was the out come of degenerated caste system.

Untouchability

is

not

simply

reflection of caste factors of semi

phenomenon, but of underlying socio economic

feudal relation.Further the social oppression of the untouchables had religious sanction. Thus the untouchables have been the victims of brutal exploitation and have suffered the stigma of untouchability, social isolation, residential segregation,economicdeprivation, political cultural degradation.Theybecame hope illiterate, landless, subjugation and and with no

of progress. Lack of wealth, education and power made the the other point ie.

untouchables vulnerable to oppression. Coming to the economic condition;these

became worse and kept on worsening due

to the nature of tasks entrusted to Sudras, which apart from being menial were not remunerative enough to keep them going. This led them to take loans and loan sharks, ultimately, took not only them, but their families also in bondage. This made them slaves forever and hence they were left behind in the struggle of life.

STATUS OF SCHEDULED CASTES IN INDIA SINCE INDEPENDENCE.

10

Independent officially

India offered

to the untouchables

(now

called Scheduled castes) the promise to a life of dignity

through a number of protective measures written into the Constitution. The Constitution of independent India does not recognize the concept of caste. Untouchability has been prohibited and various castes have the right to function freely. The constitution forbids legal recognition of hierarchal ordering of, and patronization among caste groups. Two schedules of the constitution (under Article 341 and 342) have specifically listed the

needy caste groups for giving special considerations.

The constitution prohibits discrimination against any citizen on grounds of religion, race, class, place of birth or any other factor. The President enjoys the power to appoint a special officer to investigate matters related to safeguards provided for Scheduled castes and

Scheduled

tribes in the constitution

and accordingly commissioner

for the weaker sections of the Nation is appointed.

Substantial

funds

were the

allocated conditions

in the National Five of scheduled castes. which

Year Plans for ameliorating

Constitutional guarantees, planned development of the country aimed at a rapid economic growth,

agrarian reforms, adult franchise the

and elections at all levels had a profound impact on the life of untouchables. The five decades since lives

independence witnessed a and socio-economic status.

perceptible improvement

in their

However the benefits of the overall development and growths have not percolated down to the concerned groups as much as expected. This weaker
11

sections are still the victims of growing economic inequalities. They have not even been assured of the basic amenities of life such as food, shelter, education and medical care and they continue to be exploited

economically and are discriminated socially.

There is a growing sense of deprivation and consciousness of the rights among Scheduled Castes nowadays. This has been derived from the deeply felt grievances that have been lived with them for a long

time. The awakening lies in the fact that people no longer feel that they have to repress their aspirations as much as they did formerly.Thus protest movements among the Scheduled Castes have been launched by dalits channeled towards raising their social status.

By embracing other religions apart from Hinduism they put in all the efforts to regain their lost identity or status.Thus,the major problem to be solved for the Scheduled castes in India is to regain the fuller human self identity. The main motive or purpose behind the various efforts including the change of religion from Hinduism to other religion by the Scheduled castes has been to gain their lost identity or to establish a new one. The general feeling that the caste consciousness is vanishing in modem India may be there but there is a prevalence of caste system hegemony through physical discrimination, subordination, hostility and

prejudices against the dalits.

TABLE 2.1: Scheduled Castes Attending Educational Institutions.

12

Sl

Age

Total population 19,446,272 4,784,161 4,683,662 4,028,454 5,572,006 3,594,225 6,055,780 2,977,176 5,297,235 3,292,278 3,709,853 16,120,667 13,957,965 13,140,261 11,537,943 36,566,566 11,440,757

Scheduled Males Females Caste Persons 364,956 780,608 1,745,162 2,755,843 3,928,526 2,895,941 4,418,333 2,417,991 3,694,500 2,328,857 2,301,965 5,945,155 1,410,523 230,373 106,143 179,109 20,780 3,496 192,839 423,880 941,418 172,117 356,728 803,744

No. groups 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 0-4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-59 60+

1,476,686 1,279,157 2,146,544 1,781,982 1,553,111 1,342,830 2,492,958 1,925,375 1,342,972 1,075,019 2,143,187 1,551,313 1,315,908 1,012,949 1,356,875 945,090 3,802,279 2,142,876 1,006,378 404,145 151,656 51,743 86,118 11,983 2,119 78,717 54,400 92,991 8,797 1,377

Age not 430,439

13

stated 19 All ages 166,635,700 35,528,261 20,498,654 15,029,607

SOURCE: Census 2011

The Scheduled Caste population in India according to 2011 census is

166,635,700. Punjab emerged as the state with highest proportion of

population of Scheduled Castes with around 28.9% of total Scheduled Caste population.

THE STATUS OF SCHEDULED CASTES IN KERALA.

Kerala with its highest literacy in the country have shown that it can treat its Scheduled Caste population in a much better manner. Though we cant claim that the standard of living of Scheduled Castes in Kerala is matching to the average levels of standard of living, the figures are pretty rosy for Kerala.Successive governments in Kerala with their welfare oriented approach has done much for the upliftment of the Scheduled Castes. Now let us have glance at the difference in status of Scheduled Castes in India and Kerala as per 2001 Census.

TABLE2.2 : Comparison of the national and state level status of Scheduled

Castes Scheduled Castes Sl.No. ITEM 1 Population(in Lakhs) Kerala 3124 India 1666

14

% to total population

9.81

16.23

Decadal growth rate(%)

8.14

20.55

Chid

population

to

the

total 11.65

17.45

population 5 6 7 8 Sex Ratio Literacy rate general Female literacy rate Povert(as per 55th round) 1048 82.66 77.56 14.6 936 54.32 41.31 36.2

Percentage of population in slum 7.50 areas

17.40

SOURCE: Census 2001

According to 2001

Census, the population of Scheduled

Castes in Kerala is 3158143, consisting of 1539979 males and 1618051 females. The Scheduled Caste population of Kerala increased by 9.4% during 1991-2001 as against a 13.22 % increase during the decade

15

1981-91. The decadal increase of Scheduled Castes in the state (9.40) is less than the decadal increase of 9.42 % for the General population. scheduled castes constitute 9.91% ofthe population of the State in 2001 census. The absence of comparable data for Scheduled Castes for

the pre- independence period is a major handicap

to assess the socio-

economic progress achieved during the period after independence on a firm basis.

LITERACY RATE AND EDUCATIONAL LEVEL.

The Scheduled Castes have shown an encouraging trend in the level of literacy. More than three fourth population in the 7 years and above age group is literate. The overall literacy rate of SCs which was 79.7 per cent at 1991 census, has increased to 82.7 per cent at 2001. This is significantly higher than the national average of 54.7 per cent overall of SCs.Male literacy has increased from 85.2 per cent to 88.1 per cent while female literacy has gone up from 74.3 per cent to 77.6 per cent during

1991-2001.Among the numerically larger castes, Thandan have the highest female literacy (83.5 per cent) followed by Pulayan (81.1 per cent) and Vettuvan (79.2 per cent). Notably, all the individual larger castes have registered 69 - 83.5 per cent female literacy.

TABLE 2.3 :Level of education among major Scheduled Castes in Kerala.

16

Literat Name of SCs e withou t educati on level

Belo w prima ry

Educational levels attained

Prima ry

Midd Metric/Secondary le /Higher Secondary/Interm ediate etc

Technica l & Non technical diploma

Graduate & above

All SCs

1.5

21.7

26.3

28.4

18.5

1.5

2.1

Cheruman

2.2

24.9

29.4

29.6

12.7

0.5

0.8

1.4 Kanakkan 1.7 21.7 26.1 32.0 16.1 0.9

Thandan

1.1

19.4

24.7

31.4

19.1

2.1

2.2

Kuravan

1.5

23.4

29.2

32.0

12.1

0.9

0.9

Paraiyan

1.4

20.7

25.0

27.0

20.8

2.0

3.1

Pulayan

1.3

20.5

24.4

28.5

21.3

1.7

2.3

Vettuvan

1.3

24.7

30.6

23.6 17.2

0.9

1.7

17

Among the literates, 23.2 per cent are either without any educational level or have attained education level. The proportion below primary

of literates who have attained education up to

primary and middle levels constitute 26.3 per cent & 28.4 percent respectively.As many as 18.5 percent literates are educated up to matric/secondary/higher secondary etc. This implies that every fifth

SC literate has attained education up to secondary level. Graduates & above are 2.1 per cent while non- technical & technical diploma holders constitute 1.5 per cent only.

ECONOMIC STATUS
Kerala State is economically backward compared to many of the states in India. The significant progress accomplished by the state in many spheres of social life, serves as a model to many other societies But with regard to per capita income, Kerala's position is below the national level and that of many other Indian States. In terms of economic growth and industrial production the state is still backward. Judged by the per- capita income,it is poorer than the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal. The comparatively poor economic condition of the State is reflected more in the weaker sections of the population. The economic stability of a society is judged on the basis of standard of living of the weaker sections of the population. The position of the Scheduled Castes in Kerala requires particular mention here. As the Scheduled Castes

population are engaged in low paying occupations like agricultural labour

18

and unskilled work in large percentage of. cases, most of them do not get sufficient income for their subsistence. And many are below poverty line. As per the Census of families Below Poverty Line by the Kerala Government, it was found that among the total families below poverty line, 20% belonged to Scheduled castes in the State. The Census indicated a rural poverty percentage of 36.56 and urban poverty of 17.04% in the state.

OCCUPATIONAL STATUS.
The available sources of information from report of Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shows that from very early times SC's were associated with only, inferior work. Agricultural labourers, scavengers and the like are the majority among SC's.

There was no appreciable change in centuries.The data on

this pattern during the past

the occupational pattern of the population

surveyed by the Commission threw light on this aspect. In the plains they were agricultural serfs toiling from morning to night for earning a livelihood and among those who were attached to the land in the forest areas the chief occupations ofthe people were collecting honey; forest produces and hunting. The Scheduled Caste were considered as an inferior set of people in the society. Most of them are agricultural labourers.They are expected to watch the crops living on the bunds of fields. Some of them like Parayan, Kavara, and Bellara were basket makers. Chakkiliyans were leather workers. Castes like Kakkalan and Panan engaged themselves in tailoring and palmistry. Mannan, Vannan, Pathiyan and Velan were castes

19

engaged in cloth washing. Thandan and Paravan in some area were tree climbers. The Work Participation Rate (WPR) of the Scheduled Caste population is 40.4 per cent which is same as that of all SCs at the national level but has shown a marginal decline from 1991(41.2 per cent). The work participation rate of males (54.1 per cent) is twice that of females (27.3 per cent) at 2001. There has been an increase in male WPR from 51 per cent to 54.1 per cent whereas female WPR has declined by 4 per cent at 2001. Among the total workers, 73.7 per cent are main workers and this proportion is almost at par with all SCs aggregated at the national level (73 per cent). Among the major castes, Vettuvan holds the top position in category of Other Workers (81per cent) followed by Thandan,Pulayan and Paraiyan,whereas Cheruman have more than half (57.6 per cent) of the total workers work as Agricultutral Labourers followed by Kanakkan, Kuravan etc.

RELIGION.
Hinduism is the predominant religion of the Scheduled Castes (99.9per cent) in Kerala. Negligible number (390) of SCs are the of Sikhism and Buddhism. Same trend has been noticed among all the major SCs.

20

CHAPTER - III SCHEDULED CASTE POPULATION IN THRISSUR DISTRICT:A PROFILE

Thrissur is one among the fourteen Districts of Kerala located almost in the central portion of the state. The district is divided in five taluks, and further there are 225 villages spreading over 98 Panchayaths. There are ten town of which six are municipalities, one a township and other three are non-municipal towns. The total
21

geographical area of the district is 2994 sq. Km which form the 7.8 percent of the total area of the district. Scheduled Caste Population in Thrissur District As per the 2001 census Kerala has 28.87 lakhs of Scheduled Caste in which Thrissur District has registered a population of 3.341akhs. Of these 1.62 lakhs are males, and 1.72 lakhs are females. In this section we are presenting a brief, sketch of the Characteristics of the Scheduled Caste population in Thrissur District based on the Development surveying of Scheduled Cake households in Thrissur district, which covers the whole scheduled , caste colonies in the district.

TABLE3.1:Age wise distribution of Scheduled Caste population in Thrissur District.

Age Group Up to 5 6 11 12-18 19-30 31-50 51-65 65 and above

Scheduled Caste population of Thrissur District 23663 30736 37123 76155 67264 26779 11518

Percentage 8.67 11.26 13.60 27.88 24.61 9.80 4.22

22

Total

273238

. 100

Source. : Developmental survey for Scheduled Caste district planning Office, Thrissur 1992.

EDUCATIONAL STATUS
The table given below shows the classification of Scheduled Caste population according to their educational qualifications. It is observed that 64.90% of the total Scheduled Caste population has got an education upto 9th standard .It is significant to note that 20.25% of the Scheduled Caste population come under the category of the other remaining illiterates including children. Around 5.34% of the total population has passed the SSLC while 8.05% failed. Degree holders constitute a share of 1.03% whereas the share of Post Graduate Degree holders is only 0.10%.It is observed that professional Degree holders etc. come to 0.21% of the total Scheduled Caste population of the district. TABLE 3.2: Classification of Scheduled Caste according to their educational qualification.
Educational Qualification Up to 9th Std _ SSLC Failed SSLC passed Degree holders Post graduates No. of person 177326 21994 14601 2836 271 Percentage 64.90 8.05 5.34 1.03 0.10 .

23

Diploma holders Professionals Others Total

288 595 55327 273238

0.11 0_21 20.25 100.00

Source: Development Survey for Scheduled Caste-1992 District Planning Office Thrissur.

OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE
The table deals with the occupation structure of the Scheduled Caste population in Thrissur District. According to the data available, it is observed that a major share of the population is jobless. Of the total population, the manual labourers occupy a second place with 31.63%. It is significant to note that only 1.45% of the Scheduled Caste population has got government job while private employees comes to 1.19%. It is also observed that 1.20% of the Scheduled Caste population is still depending on their traditional Kulathozhil for their livelihood. TABLE 3.3: Occupational structure of the Scheduled Caste population in Thrissur District. Occupational Category Jobless Manual Labourers Private Employees No. of persons Percentage 120055 86443 3257 43.94 31.63 1.19

24

Government Employees 3951 Business Kulathozhil Others Total 281 3304 55947 273238

1.45 0.10 1.20 20.48 100

SOURCE: Developmental survey for Scheduled Caste 1992 District Planning Office Thrissur.

HOUSING CONDITION
The table shows the housing condition of the Scheduled Castes in Thrissur District. Among 5771 households, the majority of the houses ie, nearly 56% used tiles as their roofing material. 39.3% of the total households have thatched roof. The share of the concrete roofed households comes to 4.34%. It is significant to note that only 0.38% of the total Scheduled Caste households have used asbestos as their roofing material.

TABLE 3.4: Housing condition of Scheduled Castes in Thrissur District. Type of house No. of houses Percentage 4.34

Houses with concrete 2331 roof House roof with thatched 21139

39.30

25

House with tiled roof Asbestos Total no. of houses

30093 208 53771

55.97 0.38 100

Thrissur was known before as Thrisivaperoor and Trichur (anglicized version). It is the fourth largest city and the third largest urban aggolomeration in Kerala. It also happens to be the headquarters of

Thrissur district. It is also the cultural capital of Kerala. Well known for its cultural activities it is a city of many colures. Thrissur poor am is a very famous cultural activity that takes place in the city. Another major cultural activity is the pulikkali. Taking its geography the city is built on a 65 crew hillock called the thekkinkadu maid an, which seats the Vaddakumnathan temple. Thrissur was once the capital of Cochin kingdom. It is situated 300 kilometers northwest of their states capital Thiruvnanthapuram. The city is noted for its vibrant nature. It has a

cosmopolitan culture resulting from the influx of migrant laborers. As said it is one of the busiest cities we have in Kerala. As a proof to the above mentioned statement we have here the branches of global companies like pantaloon reliance etc. The town is managed by a corporation headed by a mayor. The current mayor is Mr. I.P Paul. We have here legacy o eminent personalities like John mathai economist, any Joseph mundassery sir. The city is without doubt the pride of Kerala.

26

Chembhukavu is the brain of Thrissur. It is addressed in this way owing to the presence of educational institutions and cultural organizations. Its also a very good residential area noted for the tight security. One reason for this is the tight police patrolling that take place. The prominent institutions here are: Cultural Institutions.

1. Town hall 2. Sahitya academy 3. Sangeetha nadaka academy 4. Regional theatre 5. Ezuthachan samajam 6. Mundassery hall

Educational Institutions

1. Holy family girls school 2. Model boys 3. Sacred hearts 4. GEC 5. MTI 6. J T S technical school

Religious Institutions 1. Sacred heart church 2. Orthodox Church

27

3. Sri karthyani temple

Other Institutions of Importance 1. Zoo 2. Muesuem 3. PWD office 4. IVGM hospital 5. Civil station

CHAPTER - IV GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS SAMPLE HOUSEHOLDS.

This chapter deals with some

OF

general

characteristics of Scheduled caste households based on the sample survey. These general characteristics of the households include age composition of

28

population, sex ratio, caste, family size, land resources, household assets etc of the Scheduled Caste households. POPULATION Here we enumerate the total population of the sample households selected for study.The totral population of 50 sample households is 203,of which males constitute 48.76% while the females constitute of a higher percentage of 51.23% of the total population. TABLE 4.1:Distribution of sample households on the basis of population. Population Male Female Total Source : Sample Survey. Figure 4.1-Distribution of sample households on the basis of population. Number of persons 99 104 203 Percentage 48.76% 51.23% 100%

105 104 Number of persons 103 102 101 100 99 98 97 96 1 male 2 female Series1

29

SEX RATIO It was found from investigation that in the sample households females outnumbere maleswith a sex ratio of around 1050 females to 1000 males. AGE COMPOSITION The table below shows the age wise distribution of Scheduled Castes in the sample households.From the table it is observed that major share of the population lies between the age group of 19-30.Almost 64 persons come under this age group out of which 31 are males and33 are females.It is also notable that males outnumber females in the two age categories namely3150 age group nad above 65 age group.In the above 65 age group there are 12 persons of which 7 are males and 5 are females.

TABLE 4.2:Age wise distribution of the population. Age wise distribution Upto 5 years 6-11 12-18 19-30 Number of members 9 17 29 64 Male 4 7 14 31 Female 5 10 15 33

30

31-50 51-65 Age above 65 Total

56 16 12 203

30 6 7 99

26 10 5 104

FIGURE : Age wise distribution of the population

70 Number of persons 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Number of members

ye ar 11 s -J u 18 n -D ec 19 -3 0 31 -5 0 Ag 51 e ab -65 ov e 65
Age wise distribution

Up to

31

SIZE OF DISTRIBUTION Under the size of the distribution,we examine the distribution of the size of the family among the households.The table classifies Scheduled Caste house holds on the basis of the number of family members.It is observed that there are only 2 families with single member.16 households have got 3 members which constitute 32% of the total households.There is only one household with more than 8 members. TABLE 4.3:Distribution of households according to type of distribution. No. of family members 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 More than 8 Total No. of households 2 3 16 12 8 5 2 1 1 50 Percentage 4% 6% 32% 24% 16% 10% 4% 2% 2% 100%

32

FIGURE : Distribution of households according to type of distribution.

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8More than 8 No. of family members No. of households

SIZE OF LAND HOLDINGS Among the sample households majority of the households ie, 33 households have land holdings of size 5 cents or less.Only 7 households have the ownership of land holdings of size between 11 and 15 cents.It is important to note that none of the 50 house cents. have land holdings of size more than 15

TABLE 4.4 :The size of landholdings of sample households. Size of land holdings in cents No. of possessing households

33

0-5 6-10 11-15 Above 15

33 10 7 NIL

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CHAPTER 5 STANDARD OF LIVING EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT SCHEDULED CASTES.

& OF

In this chapter we are presenting the data on standard of living and educational attainment of Scheduled Castes.We measure the standard of living from the data on income,expenditure pattern,housing conditions etc.

LEVEL OF INCOME Income is the money that is earned from doing work or received from investments.Income is one of the major factors which determine the economic status of the Scheduled Caste People.In this section we are discussing the level of income of the Scheduled Caste people on the basis of field investigation.

TABLE5.1: Distribution of households by total family income.

Monthly Income

No. of households

Aggregate Income

Average Income

Below1000

15
35

9,500

633.33

1000-2000 2000-3000 3000-4000 4000-5000 5000-6000 6000-7000 7000 & above

9 4 5 4 6 4 3

13,500 9,900 17,300 17,400 30,000 24,000 47,330

1,500 2,475 3,460 4,350 5,000 6,000 15,776.66

It is seen from the above table that majority of the households,that is 30% come under the income class of below1000.The average income of these households is 633.33.Around 18% of the

households come under the income class of 1000-2000.It is found that only 6% of the households have income above 7000.their average income is 15,776.66. From this discussion we come to the conclusion that the average income level of Scheduled Castes is not so satisfactory because the average income of households is only 4458.6. FIGURE 5.1:Distribution of Income among the sample households.
16 14 No.of households 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1 Income category 0-1000 1000-2000 2000-3000 3000-4000 4000-5000 5000-6000 6000-7000 7000 & above

36

EDUCATION Education is an important element in determining the socio-economic status of the people.

TABLE5.2: Distribution of sample population on the basis of level of education. Level of education Below 5 years Illiterate Upto SSLC SSLC Pre degree Degree Post Graduation Professional Others Total Male 4 (44.44%) 20 (46.5%) 48(48.9%) 13(46.4%) 6 (42.8%) 6 (75%) 2 (66.66%) NIL NIL 99 Female 5 (55.55%) 23(53.4%) 50(51.02%) 15(53.5%) 8(57.1%) 2(25%) 1(33.33%) NIL NIL 104 Total 9 43 98 28 14 8 3 NIL NIL 203

The table classifies the sample population on the basis of the level of the education.it is obvious from the table that 43 persons are

37

illiterate.This constitutes about 21.18% of the sample population. Of the total illiterates,20 are males and 23 are females.It is worth notable that the major share of the people have got an education upto 10th standard.There are 98 persons in this category of which 48 are males and 50 are females.Out of this total 203, only 3 people have got Post graduation.They constitute only 1.47% of the total population. It is also important to note that 28 persons among the 203 have passed the SSLC among which males and females got a share of 46.4% and 53.5% respectively. The number of degree holders is only 8.

FIGURE 5.2: Distribution of sample population on the basis of level of education.

Distribution of sample population on the basis of education
60 50 No. of people 40 30 20 10 0 Males Females

Be lo w

ye Ill ars Up iter to ate SS LC Pr SS e D LC eg r D ee eg re e PG

Level of Education

38

OCCUPATIONAL PATTERN The social as well as economic status of an individual has affected and even been determined by the nature of occupation from which he derives his livelihood. Table 5.3 : Occupational pattern of sample households.

Occupational category Males Government Employees 3 Business& self employed 3 Agricultural labour 5 Non - agricultural labour 48 Unemployed 10 Total 69 21 56 31 125 27 75 7 12 1 4 0 3 Females Total

It can be found from the table that majority of the people in the workforce of the sample households are employed in the non agricultutral unskilled labour. About 75 persons out of 125 work in this field.ie, about 60% of the workforce is employed in this field. Only 3 persons are government employees. The most significant thing to note is that almost 31 persons out of 125 are unemployed. This implies that 24% of the total labour
39

force are unemployed. As far as non agricultuaral unskilled labour is concerned there are more males in this field than females.

FIGURE 5.3: Occupational pattern of sample households.

Occupational pattern of sample households

50 40 30 20 10 0 Gove Busi Agric Non - Une rnme ness ultur agric mplo Males Females 3 0 3 1 5 7 48 27 10 21

CHARACTERISTICS OF HOUSING
Housing condition is one of the important indication of the economic status.Here we have classified the houses on the basis of wall,roof etc.

Type of Roof Roofing is one of the major component of any house construction .It is observed from the investigation that the majority house holds used tiles as roof materials for the construction of their houses

40

TABLE 5.4: Distribution of house holds according to type of roofing Type of Roof No of House holds %

Tiled

41

82%

Concreted

12%

Tile sheet

4%

Thatched

2%

FIGURE 5.4: Distribution of house holds according to type of roofing.

No of House holds 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Tiled Concreted Tile sheet Type of roof Thatched

No.of households

No of House holds

TYPE OF WALL
TABLE 5.5:Distribution of Houses according to type of wall

41

Type of wall material

No of Houses

Brick

33

66%

Stone

12

24%

Mud

10%

Coconut leaves

From the table we can find that majority of the sample house holds have brick walls.66% of sample house holds have brick walls. Only 10% of the sample house holds have mud walls. FIGURE 5.5 : Distribution of Houses according to type of wall
No of Households
35 No.of households 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Brick Stone Mud Coconut leaves No of Houses

Type of wall

42

TYPE OF FLOOR TABLE5.6: Distribution of sample households according to type of floor. Type of floor Cemented Mosaic Tiles Cowdung No. of households 36 7 3 4 Percentage 72% 14% 6% 8%

It is clear from the table that the majority households (72%) have cemented floors.Only 3 households (6%) have tiled floors.About 7 households have mosaic floors.

FIGURE 5.6: Distribution of households according to type of floors.

40 NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Series2

Ce m en te d

TYPE OF FLOOR

Co wd un g

os ai c

Ti le s

43

CHAPTER 6
IMPORTANT FINDINGS ANDCONCLUSIONS.
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY The major objectives of the present study are the following: To examine the educational status of the Scheduled Castes. To examine the income and standard of living of the Scheduled Castes. To discuss the housing conditions of Scheduled Castes. The present study is an exercise in investigating the housing conditions, education, occupation and income of the Scheduled Castes in Thrissur Corporation.

1)The majority of the house are having land holdings of size of 5 cents or less. 66% of the households belong to this category.None of the households have land holdings of area above 15 cents. 2) It is noted that most of the people in Thrissur District as well as in the sample households use tiles as the roofing material for their house. Concreted roofs are also prevalent but only less than tile roofs.Only a small share of households use thatched roof as the roofing material.

44

3)It is found from the anlysis of the data collected from the sample survey that majority of the households use brick as the wall material. About 66% of the households use brick as wall material. Only 24% of the households use stone as the wall material. 4) It is significant to note that 48.27% of the sample population has got school education upto 9th standard. Only 21.18% of the sample population still remain as illiterate. The level of higher education among the sample population of the Scheduled Castes is less than satisfactory. Only 1.47% of the sample population have done Post Graduation. Only 3.94% of the total population are graduates.

5) In the case of occupational pattern, it is found that non agricultural unskilled labour is followed by majority members. About 60% of the total work force of the sample households belong to that group. Around 24.8% of the total labour force of the sample population remain unemployed. 6) It is understood from investigation that out of the 50 sample households ie, a 30% of the households still remain under poverty line with a monthly income below Rs.1000. Only three households have got monthly income of more than Rs.7000 per month. 7) With regard to the type of floor, 72% of the sample households ie, 36 households have cemented floors. Only 6% of the sample households have tiled their floors.

From the analysis of data obtained from the sample survey it is found that the condition of Scheduled Castes in terms of education, standard of living, occupation etc have not yet reached upto a satisfactory level.
45

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1)Alexander K.C :Changing status of Economic and political weekly .volume III. 2)Beteille : Caste Class and Power Oxford University Press 3)Chitins Suma 1969. pulaya Harijans of Kerala.

: Case of Scheduled Caste in higher education

E.P.W. Vol.7, No.33-37 -1972. 4)Isaac Harold R : Indian Ex-Untouchables Bombay P.126,1965 5)Krishna Kumar : Educational Experience of SC and ST EPW SEP.No.3-10p.1969. 6)Louis Dumont: Homo Hierarchicus Vikas Publications. 7)Malik ,Suneila : Social integration of SC - Agrev Publications,1979 8) Makhan Jha : Scheduled Castes Today - M.D. Publications ,1997 9)Pimpley .P.N : The problem of attendance of Children SC in Harijana Dept. of Sociology, Punjab University, 1978. 10)Punalekar : School dropout of SC children Central Institue of Research and Training New Delhi,1975. 11) Putwarhan Sunanda : Change among Indian Harijans-Orient Longman P.179,1983. 12)Sharadhamani : An emphasis on slave caste pulayas of Kerala People Publishing. 13)Vijay Nayak & Shailaja Prasad: On living of SC & ST, EPW Vol.XIX No.30,P.1205.

46

APPENDIX I
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHEDULED CASTE

1 Adi Andhra 2. Adi Dravida 3 Adi Karnataka 4 Ajila 5 Arunthathiyar 6. Ayyanavar 7 Baira 8 Bakuda 9 Bandi 10 Bathada 11 Bellara 12 Bharather 13 Boyan 14 Chakkiliyan 15 Chamar, Muchi 16 Chandala 17 Cheruman 18 Domban 19 Gavara
47

20 Godagali 21 Godda 22 Gosangi 23 Hasla 24 Holeya 25 Kadaiyasn 26 Kakkalan 27 Kalladi 28 Kanakkan, Padnanna 29 Karimpalam 30 Kavara 31 Koosa 32 Kootan, Koodan 33 Kundumban 34 Kurauvan Sidhanar 35 Maila 36 Malayan 37 Mannan 38 Mavilan 39 Moger 40 Mundala 41 Nalakeyava 42 Nalkadaya 43 Nayadi 44 Padannan 45 Pallan 46 Palluvan
48

47 Pambada 48 Panan 49 Panchama 50 Paraiya, Parayan, Sambava 51 Paravan 52 Pathiyan 53 Perumannan 54 Pulayan Cheraman 55 Pulaya Vettuvan 56 Puthirai Vannan 57 Raneyar 58 Samagra 59 Samban 60 Semman 61 Thandan 62 Thotti 63 Vallon 64 Valluvar 65 Vannan 66 Velan 67 Vetan 68 Vettuvan

49

APPENDIX II
QUESTIONARE FOR SCHEDULED CASTE HOUSEHOLD SURVEY

I. GENERAL PARTICULARS
Name of Family Head Ward Number House Number Street Religion Caste No. of Family Members Living Conditions : : : : : : : :

II. FAMILY PARTICULARS

Name of Relation member to head Age Sex Marital Status Educational qualification Occupation Income

50

III. EDUCATION
1. No. of family members with following marks in secondary school examination : Above 90% 70% - 90% -

50%-70% Below 50% 2. No. of family members with following marks in Graduate examination
:

Above 90% 70% - 90% -

50%-70% Below 50% 3. No. of School dropouts in the family 4. No. family members who have used the opportunity of reservation of seats in educational institutions 5. Have you taken any loans for financing the education of your children : YES / NO : :

6. How many members have membership in libraries : 7. Are you subscribing to English Newspapers :

IV HOUSING FACILITIES
1. Is the house owned or rented 2. If rented, monthly rent : :

51

3. Build up area 4. No. of rooms 5. Type of roof 6. Type of wall 7. Type of floor 8. Source of lighting

: : : : :

Square feet

: Kerosene Lamp Electricity Others

9. Fuel used for cooking 10. Whether have own well

: : Yes No

v. House Hold Asset Items Yes No Purchase value(if yes) Period of use

Radio Television Refrigerator Washing machine Bicycle Motor bike Car Mobile Gold ornaments

52

Others

V1.Asset position

Land posses

Cultivate land :

V11. EXPENDITURE PARTCULARS

Items Food Items Clothing Education Medical News Paper Magazines Electricity Movies[Entertainment]

Average Monthly Expenditure

Do you make use of public distribution system for meeting your consumption requirements: Yes/No

Are you keen on purchasing branded items

: Yes/No

53