Chapter 1

1

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 don’t wish to delve into

the details of Caste system here, the point that we shouldn’t 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

2

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 don’t 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 taxpayer’s 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

3

just promotes inefficiency by neglecting merit. Though we are pretty sure

about the faults of present reservation system, we can’t 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 shouldn’t 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.

4

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.

5

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.

6

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.

7

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

chapter provides an outline of the general characteristics of sample

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.

8

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

9

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 be defined

as a small and named group of persons characterized by

endogamy,hereditary membership and 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 feature

of social organization of the Indian people 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

10

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 a reflection of caste

phenomenon, but of underlying socio economic factors of semi

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 subjugation and

cultural degradation.Theybecame illiterate, landless, and with no

hope of progress. Lack of wealth, education and power made the

untouchables vulnerable to oppression. Coming to the other point ie.

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.

11

Independent India offered to the untouchables (now

officially 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 allocated in the National Five

Year Plans for ameliorating the conditions of scheduled castes.

Constitutional guarantees, planned development of the country which

aimed at a rapid economic growth, agrarian reforms, adult franchise

and elections at all levels had a profound impact on the life of the

untouchables. The five decades since independence witnessed a

perceptible improvement in their lives and socio-economic status.

However the benefits of the overall development and growths have not

percolated down to the concerned groups as much as expected. This weaker

12

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.

13

Sl

No.

Age

groups

Total

population

Scheduled

Caste Persons

Males Females

1 0-4 19,446,272 364,956 192,839 172,117

2 5 4,784,161 780,608 423,880 356,728

3 6 4,683,662 1,745,162 941,418 803,744

4 7 4,028,454 2,755,843 1,476,686 1,279,157

5 8 5,572,006 3,928,526 2,146,544 1,781,982

6 9 3,594,225 2,895,941 1,553,111 1,342,830

7 10 6,055,780 4,418,333 2,492,958 1,925,375

8 11 2,977,176 2,417,991 1,342,972 1,075,019

9 12 5,297,235 3,694,500 2,143,187 1,551,313

10 13 3,292,278 2,328,857 1,315,908 1,012,949

11 14 3,709,853 2,301,965 1,356,875 945,090

12 15-19 16,120,667 5,945,155 3,802,279 2,142,876

13 20-24 13,957,965 1,410,523 1,006,378 404,145

14 25-29 13,140,261 230,373 151,656 78,717

15 30-34 11,537,943 106,143 51,743 54,400

16 35-59 36,566,566 179,109 86,118 92,991

17 60+ 11,440,757 20,780 11,983 8,797

18 Age not 430,439 3,496 2,119 1,377

14

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 can’t 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 Kerala India

1 Population(in Lakhs) 3124 1666

15

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

2 % to total population 9.81 16.23

3 Decadal growth rate(%) 8.14 20.55

4 Chid population to the total

population

11.65 17.45

5 Sex Ratio 1048 936

6 Literacy rate general 82.66 54.32

7 Female literacy rate 77.56 41.31

8 Povert(as per 55th round) 14.6 36.2

9 Percentage of population in slum

areas

7.50 17.40

16

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.

17

Educational levels attained

Name of SCs

Literat

e

withou

t

educati

on

level

Belo

w

prima

ry

Prima

ry

Midd

le

Metric/Secondary

/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

Kanakkan

1.7

21.7

26.1

32.0

16.1

0.9

1.4

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

18

Among the literates, 23.2 per cent are either without

any educational level or have attained education below primary

level. The proportion 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

19

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 this pattern during the past

centuries.The data on 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

20

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.

21

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

22

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 Scheduled Caste population

of Thrissur District

Percentage

Up to 5 23663 8.67

6 — 11 30736 11.26

12-18 37123 13.60

19-30 76155 27.88

31-50 67264 24.61

51-65 26779 9.80

65 and above 11518 4.22

23

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 No. of person Percentage

Up to 9th

Std 177326 64.90 .

_ SSLC Failed 21994 8.05

SSLC passed 14601 5.34

Degree holders 2836 1.03

Post graduates 271 0.10

24

Diploma holders 288 0.11

Professionals 595 0_21

Others 55327 20.25

Total 273238 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 No. of persons Percentage

Jobless 120055 43.94

Manual Labourers 86443 31.63

Private Employees 3257 1.19

25

Government Employees 3951 1.45

Business 281 0.10

Kulathozhil 3304 1.20

Others 55947 20.48

Total 273238 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

Houses with concrete

roof

2331 4.34

House with thatched

roof

21139 39.30

26

House with tiled roof 30093 55.97

Asbestos 208 0.38

Total no. of houses 53771 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 state’s 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.

27

Chembhukavu is the brain of Thrissur. It is addressed in this way owing to

the presence of educational institutions and cultural organizations. It’s 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

28

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 OF

SAMPLE HOUSEHOLDS.

This chapter deals with some general

characteristics of Scheduled caste households based on the sample survey.

These general characteristics of the households include age composition of

29

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 Number of persons Percentage

Male 99 48.76%

Female 104 51.23%

Total 203 100%

Source : Sample Survey.

Figure 4.1-Distribution of sample households on the basis of population.

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

1 2

male female

Number of persons

Series1

30

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 namely31-

50 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 Number of members Male Female

Upto 5 years 9 4 5

6-11 17 7 10

12-18 29 14 15

19-30 64 31 33

31

31-50 56 30 26

51-65 16 6 10

Age above 65 12 7 5

Total 203 99 104

FIGURE : Age wise distribution of the population

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Upto 5 years

11-Jun

18-Dec

19-30

31-50

51-65

Age above 65

Age wise distribution

Number of persons

Number of

members

32

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 No. of households Percentage

1 2 4%

2 3 6%

3 16 32%

4 12 24%

5 8 16%

6 5 10%

7 2 4%

8 1 2%

More than 8 1 2%

Total 50 100%

33

FIGURE : Distribution of households according to type of distribution.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

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 have land holdings of size more than 15

cents.

TABLE 4.4 :The size of landholdings of sample households.

Size of land holdings in cents No. of possessing households

34

0-5 33

6-10 10

11-15 7

Above 15 NIL

35

CHAPTER 5

STANDARD OF LIVING &

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF

SCHEDULED CASTES.

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 9,500 633.33

36

1000-2000 9 13,500 1,500

2000-3000 4 9,900 2,475

3000-4000 5 17,300 3,460

4000-5000 4 17,400 4,350

5000-6000 6 30,000 5,000

6000-7000 4 24,000 6,000

7000 & above 3 47,330 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.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1

Income category

No.of households

0-1000

1000-2000

2000-3000

3000-4000

4000-5000

5000-6000

6000-7000

7000 & above

37

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

Male Female Total

Below 5 years

4 (44.44%) 5 (55.55%) 9

Illiterate

20 (46.5%) 23(53.4%) 43

Upto SSLC

48(48.9%) 50(51.02%) 98

SSLC

13(46.4%) 15(53.5%) 28

Pre degree

6 (42.8%) 8(57.1%) 14

Degree

6 (75%) 2(25%) 8

Post Graduation

2 (66.66%) 1(33.33%) 3

Professional

NIL NIL NIL

Others

NIL NIL NIL

Total

99 104 203

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

38

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

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Below 5 years

Illiterate

Upto SSLC

SSLC

Pre Degree

Degree

PG

Level of Education

No. of people

Males

Females

39

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 Females Total

Government

Employees

3 0 3

Business& self

employed

3 1 4

Agricultural labour

5 7 12

Non - agricultural

labour

48 27 75

Unemployed

10 21 31

Total

69

56

125

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

40

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.

0

10

20

30

40

50

Occupational pattern of sample

households

Males 3 3 5 48 10

Females 0 1 7 27 21

Gove

rnme

Busi

ness

Agric

ultur

Non -

agric

Une

mplo

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

41

TABLE 5.4: Distribution of house holds according to type of roofing

Type of Roof

No of House holds %

Tiled

41 82%

Concreted

6 12%

Tile sheet

2 4%

Thatched

1 2%

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

No of House holds

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Tiled Concreted Tile sheet Thatched

Type of roof

No.of households

No of House holds

TYPE OF WALL

TABLE 5.5:Distribution of Houses according to type of wall

42

Type of wall material

No of Houses %

Brick

33 66%

Stone

12 24%

Mud

5 10%

Coconut leaves

0 0

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

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Brick Stone Mud Coconut

leaves

Type of wall

No.of households

No of Houses

43

TYPE OF FLOOR

TABLE5.6: Distribution of sample households according to type of floor.

Type of floor

No. of households Percentage

Cemented

36 72%

Mosaic

7 14%

Tiles

3 6%

Cowdung

4 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.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Cemented

Mosaic

Tiles

Cowdung

TYPE OF FLOOR

NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS

Series2

44

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.

45

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.

46

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1)Alexander K.C :“Changing status of pulaya Harijans of Kerala”.

Economic and political weekly .volume III.

2)Beteille : “Caste Class and Power” Oxford University Press – 1969.

3)Chitins Suma : “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.

47

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

48

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

49

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

50

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

member

Relation

to head

Age Sex Marital

Status

Educational

qualification

Occupation Income

51

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 :

52

3. Build up area : Square feet

4. No. of rooms :

5. Type of roof :

6. Type of wall :

7. Type of floor :

8. Source of lighting : 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

53

Others

V1.Asset position

Land posses :

Cultivate land :

V11. EXPENDITURE PARTCULARS

Items Average Monthly Expenditure

Food Items

Clothing

Education

Medical

News Paper

Magazines

Electricity

Movies[Entertainment]

Do you make use of public distribution system

for meeting your consumption requirements: Yes/No

Are you keen on purchasing branded items : Yes/No