1 Chapter - I 1.1 Introduction: One of the most prominent features of the advanced societies of the present age is the high rate of mobility. Change is inevitable and no human society is immobile. But the rate of change varies from society to society and from time to time. Social mobility is a process which involves socio-cultural change due to which there is structural change in the established social, political, economic and cultural institutions of a system or a society. Due to these changes the attitudes, opinions, customs, ways of acting are also broken and people are becoming rational, secular, modern in thought, in external behavior and are becoming individualistic. They have starting accepting new forms of socializing and manner of behaving. In this process individuals move from one social position to another within a social space often leading to progressive development of society with respect of time. In the Encyclopedia of sociology “Social mobility has been defined as movement through “social space” from one status category (the origin) to another status category (the destination)”. According to Sorokin (1927), social mobility in its broadest sense is the shifting of people in social space. In other words social mobility is the transition of people from one social position to another. Lipset and Zetterberg (1966:563) point that “social mobility of an individual or group is determined by the shift and ranking of occupation, consumption, social power and social class. People’s beliefs, values, norms customs and some of their emotional expressions are different according to their occupational class”. The rate of mobility may differ in different dimensions. There is a possibility of having a higher rate of mobility in one dimension and lower in another. Therefore to get a more qualified and accurate conclusions about social mobility they have suggested a conventional operational method of ascertaining mobility by comparing father’s and offspring’s occupational position
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1
Chapter - I
1.1 Introduction:
One of the most prominent features of the advanced societies of the present age is
the high rate of mobility. Change is inevitable and no human society is immobile.
But the rate of change varies from society to society and from time to time. Social
mobility is a process which involves socio-cultural change due to which there is
structural change in the established social, political, economic and cultural
institutions of a system or a society. Due to these changes the attitudes, opinions,
customs, ways of acting are also broken and people are becoming rational,
secular, modern in thought, in external behavior and are becoming individualistic.
They have starting accepting new forms of socializing and manner of behaving. In
this process individuals move from one social position to another within a social
space often leading to progressive development of society with respect of time.
In the Encyclopedia of sociology “Social mobility has been defined as movement
through “social space” from one status category (the origin) to another status
category (the destination)”.
According to Sorokin (1927), social mobility in its broadest sense is the shifting of
people in social space. In other words social mobility is the transition of people
from one social position to another.
Lipset and Zetterberg (1966:563) point that “social mobility of an individual or
group is determined by the shift and ranking of occupation, consumption, social
power and social class. People’s beliefs, values, norms customs and some of their
emotional expressions are different according to their occupational class”. The rate
of mobility may differ in different dimensions. There is a possibility of having a
higher rate of mobility in one dimension and lower in another. Therefore to get a
more qualified and accurate conclusions about social mobility they have suggested
a conventional operational method of ascertaining mobility by comparing father’s
and offspring’s occupational position
2
According to Lipset S.M. and R. Bendix (1967:8) “Social mobility is the study of
the relationship between starting point of a person’s career and the point the
person has reached at the time of analysis. It is the relationships between social
inheritance and the means of mobility. The degree to which, given backgrounds
determine the level of education, acquisition of skills, intelligence and motivation to
seek higher positions. A person who moves up in social hierarchy will tend to
change his/her friends, move to a new neighborhood, perhaps change his/her
religious affiliation and may also change his/her political attitudes. They have also
given following two reasons for existing mobility in every society such as:
1) Changes in demands for performance. 2) Changes in supplies of talent.
Raj Mohini Sethi (1976) states that social mobility brings structural changes in the
attitudes and beliefs of the people. This leads to rationality, universality and secular
ideology which means equality, freedom and independence for everyone.
Sanjay K. J. (1994:6) says that “Social mobilization implies the process in which
major clusters of old, social, economic and psychological commitments are eroded
and broken and people become available for new patterns of socialization and
behavior.
K.L. Sharma (1997:157) stated that “Social mobility refers to the change in the
status of individuals(s) or group(s) in relation to a given system of social
stratification. This change manifests itself in two forms, either as a threat to the
contiguous system and ultimately its displacement by the emergence of a new
criterion of status evaluation (vertical mobility or structural change) or through
changes within the parameters of the system (horizontal mobility or positional
change).
According to Anjali Kurane (1999:12,41) “Social mobility is a long range social
and cultural change often regarded as leading to progressive development of
society with respect to time. Further she says that “Social mobility is the movement
of a person or group from one social position to another with regards to education,
occupation, status, income and power within a social space. It is a change in social
object or values attitudes, beliefs anything that has been created or modified by
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human activity. It is a change in one’s education, occupation, income, economic
change in conditions, prestige, status power and wealth. It changes a person’s
overall position.”
The present study focuses on Social Mobility of Urban Women of Mali community
belonging to the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in Pune. The category of other
Backward Castes comprises the non-untouchable lower and intermediate castes
who were traditionally engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts and
functional services. K.L. Sharma (1997), points that the OBCs continue to be
peasant castes and in education, professions and white-collar jobs they lag behind
the upper castes.
In this study social mobility of urban women of Mali community is measured on the
basis of the factors such as premarital and marital status, education, occupation,
the extent of social participation, the extent of social distance between the Mali
women and the upper castes, change in attitudes and beliefs towards institution of
marriage, family, rites and rituals in religion, level of political participation and
utilization of mass media.
For the present research the operational definition for social mobility means a
positional change in the education, occupation, income and status of the individual.
It means not only a change in material position, but it is also concerned with the
participation in decision making and change in the inner state of mind and thought
in each and every aspect of life.
1.2 Factors of Social Mobility:
There are multiple factors contributing to social mobility such as:
1) Status – Every society provides a different status or position to each individual
or a group. Ralph Linton (1958) the eminent anthropologist says that status is the
position occupied by an individual in the total social network with respect to every
other individual with whom he shares a relationship in the network. Therefore a
person’s total status is the sum of his total collection of rights and duties in that
society. Factors such as family, the social groups, the norms and values existing
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in the society determine the status of an individual. These factors are objective and
they are already there before the individual is born. The Anthropologists and Socio-
Psychologists believe that in a modern society the objective factors are becoming
less important and they believe that in achievement oriented society, the process
of socialization and the formation of attitudes in the individual determine the status.
With regard to women status is the combination of positions a woman occupies, as
a daughter, mother, wife, as a worker etc, the power attached to these positions
and the rights and duties she is expected to exercise.
A women’s status has been normally determined by factors such as rituals, age,
marital status, family conditions, etc, but in modern times factors such as
education, job, employment, income, status of husband etc. have affected her
status. Indra Deva and Shrirama (1986) say that status of women depends on
the basic structure of the society itself. Anjali Kurane (1999), K.L Sharma (1997)
state that social mobility is the change in the status of an individual.
2) Education - Education is very important for all round development of an
individual. S.C. Dubey (1976), Bhai (1986), Aruna Goel (2004) state that
education enables the members of a society to perform gainful social roles,
develops basic skills, abilities, and performance. It also promotes mobility on the
thought level in the society conducive to and in support of national development
goals, both long-term and immediate; it determines the aspirations, and vertical
and horizontal mobility. B.S.Cohn (1961) Oomen T.K (1964), Anjali Kurane
(1999) says that education is one of the factors for initiating social change leading
to social mobility. Sunanda Patwardhan (1968) states that mobility in present day
India is determined not only by ascription but also by the level of education one
acquires and higher education is an effective means to upward mobility.
3) Occupation – Occupation is an important indicator to study social mobility.
Occupational mobility acts not only as an indicator of social change but also as a
transmitting agent of new attitudes and behavior. Lipset and Zetterberg (1956)
say that factors such as the growth of service industries, white collar occupation,
rise in the proportion of urban occupations with decline of agricultural work, and
5
bureaucracy all provide impetus for greater social mobility. Further they say that
social mobility of an individual or group is determined by the shift and ranking of
occupation.
S.M. Lipset and R. Bendix (1967) say “Social mobility is the study of the
relationship between starting point of a person’s career and the point the person
has reached at the time of analysis. B.S.Cohn (1961) revealed that occupational
opportunities and governmental programs are also responsible to promote mobility
among the scheduled castes. Anjali Kurane (1999) maintains that it is a change
in one’s occupation, income, economic change in conditions, prestige, status,
power and wealth. Latheef, N. and Hazira Ahmad (1964), Sunanda Patwardhan
(1968) indicate that mobility in present day India is determined by industrial and
occupational changes taking place coupled with increase in social mobility. Soran
Singh (1976) observes that external forces such as industrialization, urban contact
and internal forces like hard work, faithful observance of duty are responsible for
mobility in the traditional occupational structure.
4) Change in attitudes and beliefs – To bring a change in society a change has
to occur in the attitudinal level of the individuals of the society leading to behavioral
changes and progressive action. This in turn may lead to further structural change
and social mobility. Lipset and Zetterberg (1966) maintain that occupational
mobility changes people’s beliefs, values, norms, customs and some of their
emotional expressions are different according to their occupational class.
According to Raj Mohini Sethi (1976), Sanjay K. J. (1994), Anjali Kurane (1999)
social mobility brings structural changes in the attitudes and beliefs of the people
were old traditional obligations are broken and people become rational and modern
in thought and behavior. Sunanda Patwardhan (1968) points that mobility in
Modern day India is determined not only by the level of education, type of change
in occupation but also by effectiveness of personal qualities. K.L.Sharma (2007)
maintains that urbanization leads to breakdown of traditional beliefs and influences
people in changing their attitudes, beliefs and world view and leads to individualism
and formalism.
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Earlier the attitudes towards the institutions of marriage, family and rites and rituals
in religion were traditional. Everett Jana Matson (1981), states that the aim of a
woman was that of a perfect dedicated wife and a good mother. Dube (1990),
points that marriage binds women to men and patriarchy. Tarabai Paranjpe
(1960), reports that, a woman’s own desire and aspirations were immaterial, she
was the serving and sacrificing partner, family duties and child bearing was the
most important duty and function of a woman. Altekar (1956) reports that in early
history apart from the periods of menstruation and child-birth women were not
regarded as impure by religion. Her presence and co-operation were necessary in
religious rites and ceremonies. But later on during the age of Brahamanas early
marriage, prohibition of Upanayana with no access to education the position of
women was reduced to the status of ‘Sudras’.
However, today due to the increasing education and employment among women
and also due to urbanization, industrialization the attitudes towards the institutions
of marriage, family and rites and rituals in religion are undergoing a sea-change.
K.L.Sharma (2007) reports that education; employment and socio-cultural
development have weakened the sacred culture of Hindu marriage. He further
states that despite several changes in Indian society the Hindu family continues to
be joint, partly structural and mainly functionally and has not disintegrated into
individual families like the western countries. Altekar (1956), states that women
have understood that their progress depends on the extent of their education and
gaining economic rights and not by following traditional religious ideas and rituals.
5) Extent of social participation – In the traditional past society the women were
confined to domestic affairs and had no social life as such. She was not allowed to
mix in the society. In today’s society due to increasing education and employment
of women the traditional concept of womanhood is undergoing a change. Women
are asserting their freedom and are trying for their emancipation from the home.
Women are stepping out of the traditional restrictions and are beginning to have
their own social life, due to their jobs they are mixing freely with their male
colleagues and are members of different organizations. Sanjay K.J. (1994)
maintains that due to social mobility people accept new patterns of socialization
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and behavior. Anjali Kurane (1999) says that social mobility is a long range socio-
cultural change which leads to a change in the person’s overall position.
6) Extent of social distance – Caste system which is deeply rooted in traditional
Indian society is characterized by non-recognition of personal qualities, rigid caste
hierarchy, caste endogamy and restrictions regarding eating, drinking and social
interaction. Marriot, McKim (1959) maintains that the relative ranking of different
castes in a locality depends on the kinds of interactions they have with other
castes, particularly in the taking and giving of food and water and in their
participation in ritual services.
But in the present age due to the changing attitudes and liberal outlook the
traditional caste hierarchy has weakened. S.M. Lipset and R. Bendix (1967)
report that in the process of social mobility people tend to change his/her friends
and move to a new neighborhood. Suneila Malik (1979) points that; social mobility
brings a change in interpersonal relations. Bogardus (1967) maintains that social
mobility can be seen by the visit of low caste people to the high castes, by practice
of inter dining, by attending ceremonies of the high castes, entry into the kitchen
and inter caste marriages.
7) Level of political participation – The extent of political participation and social
mobility are co-related. According to S.M. Lipset and R. Bendix (1967) a person
who moves up in social hierarchy will tend to change his/her political attitudes.
Previously women had no political status but after independence though there is
an increase in women voters and women representatives, it is seen that the
proposal of 33% reservation for women in legislative bodies is still pending in the
parliament. Jha. K.N (1985) says that a higher degree of political socialization and
political participation suggests a higher degree of modernization. Sunanda
Patwardhan (1968) points that mobility in Modern day India is determined by the
extent and effectiveness of political participation. Hate. C.A (1969), Seema
Salgoankar (2006) point out that equality of sexes has not been achieved in the
political field and there are hardly any women in the bodies which take political
decisions. According to them women still have to fight against traditions for political
rights.
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8) Utilization of mass media – Exposure to and utilization of media of mass
communication is directly related to mobility process. Since the level of literacy in
low in India, the various social problems prevalent are closely associated with
traditional attitudes, beliefs and ignorance among people. Binod C. Agrawal
(2004) writes that media utilization in several ways reflects the end use. People
who utilize more mass media are expected to be more mobile because these
media of mass communication convey new ideas and beliefs to the people and
thus help in achieving mobility. Mass media such as radio and T.V. would prove a
powerful medium in terms of their reach, impact and effectiveness. Agarwal’s
(1977) study showed that women who viewed T.V. gained more than men in areas
like family planning, health and nutrition. Jha. K.N (1985) maintains that a higher
degree of exposure to channels of communication such as newspapers, T.V.
programs, frequency of seeing films are the facts that serve as the indices of
modernization. Sanjay K.J. (1994) states that people who are exposed to mass
media develop a mobile personality that encourages rationality.
According to Sorokin (1927) the factors of social mobility are divided into
A) Primary or general factors B) secondary or local factors.
A) The primary factors are:
1) Demographic factors - Demographic factors mean all forces of differential birth
rate, mortality rate and sterility. In regard to demographic factors, his analysis of
statistics and historical materials led him to the conclusion that the rate of
reproduction of the higher strata is often less than that of the lower one’s. Thus
vacant top positions have to be filled up from people below.
2) Dissimilarity of parents and children - In regard to dissimilarity of parents and
children, it is seen that talented parents beget talented children due to heredity, but
this rule is not universal, there are exceptions. Sometimes children of quiet
average parents are talented and prominent. A common result of this dissimilarity
is the difference between the social position of individuals and their inner and
acquired qualities necessary for a successful performance of the functions, of the
position leading to social mobility.
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3) Change of environment, especially of anthropo-social environmental -
Regarding change of environment, it is being now termed as factors of
technological change or structural factors in which he concludes that social change
facilitates social mobility. The social environment is always changing, any invention
be it in the methods of production, in the means of transportation-in brief change in
any field of social life may be favorable for some and not favorable for others.
4) Defective social distribution of individuals within social layers - With regard
to defective social distribution of individuals within social layers it is seen that
sometimes a mediocre man is placed above a man of ability and an incapable
person giving orders to a more capable one. In brief, one of the permanent defects
of any society is a lag in the distribution of its members according to its qualities.
The secondary factors are: 1) pattern of stratification 2) educational opportunities
3) Urbanization and 4) psychological motivations.
According to Lipset and Zetterberg (1956) the factors responsible for social
mobility are
1) Industrialization – The growth of service industries, white collar occupation and
bureaucracy all provide impetus for greater social mobility. They state that “The
overall pattern of social mobility appears to be much the same in industrial
societies of various western countries”
The argument that industrialization increases upward social mobility in all industrial
countries has come under severe attack as industrialism has an “inner logic” that,
when introduced into countries overshadow the distinctive cultural and social
characteristics of industrial nations.
2) Urbanization - Factors such as rise in the proportion of urban occupations, with
decline of agricultural work, migration from rural to urban areas as the latter offers
better facilities for education and more and better avenues for employment.
10
According to Lipset and Bendix (1967) the factors responsible for social mobility
are:
1) Achievement motivation – Achievement motivation is also important factor to
achieve social mobility, they say that if there is room for achievement one should
have the motivation to move up and also the necessary resources such as ability
and “know-how” for reaching the goals. The authors also point out that
achievement motivation of children of the same social class is also related to early
home socialization. They point out that working class parents whose reference
group is middle class are likely to socialize their children in middle class values.
2) Intelligence – They point that intelligence is also a factor in upward mobility, but
the authors mention that the evidence from the study of IQ distributions does not
allow any definite conclusions about the effect of intelligence on social mobility
because of the difficulties of separating in the IQ measure, native intelligence from
the effects of differential class socialization. But still they report that that the kind of
ability that goes into scoring well in an IQ test is a greater asset to upward mobility
as it has been widely shown that the IQ test does not measure intelligence alone
but a good deal of acquired knowledge and skill and special abilities distinct from
intelligence. The high IQ’s of some working class youngsters could be considered
indicators that they have acquired certain skills conducive to advancement.
3) Social class - is also a great determinant of social mobility. Here the authors
say that interclass variation in IQ is greater than interclass variation. They point out
that social class is a greater determinant than IQ of motivation to go to college.
And if working class boys manage to get into college, their educational
achievement does not differ from students from other class backgrounds.
4)Parent’s influence –The authors point that given the same high IQ’s, the
working class boys whose parents have more education are more likely to land up
in college than those who do not. Thus apart from IQ, parent’s influence is an
important factor in securing the additional means of advancement that college
education represents
11
5) Size of family - It is seen that better educated and upwardly mobile children of
the lower classes tend to be from small families.
In the last they conclude that with regards to the above subjective factors of social
mobility it is important to bear in mind that usually a number of these factors
operate simultaneously and their effects on a given individual may either cancel
out or reinforce each other. Thus individuals in the same class, given the same
opportunities, still vary considerably in mobility achievement.
According to Joseph H.Fitcher (1971) the conditions that help or hinder the
access to objects that give high status may also be called the factors of social
mobility.
He states that the person who is striving for upward mobility must have access to
objects that give high status. For any individual who has the ability and desire for
upward mobility the following conditioning factors must be considered-
1) The presence or absence of individual competition - as a value in the culture
significantly affects mobility. A competitive society encourages upward mobility.
2) The availability of opportunities - to prepare oneself for the competitive
process is a secondary factor.
3) The pattern of equality and inequality - in a society has much to do with the
chances of social mobility.
According to S.M.Dubey (1975) the factors responsible for social mobility are
1)System of Transportation- The innovative changes taking place in the system
of transportation and communication have shortened the distance of time and
place, resulting in high degree of horizontal mobility in the form of immigration and
shift from one place to another.
2) Growth of population- is another factor producing regional and territorial
mobility.
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According to M.N. Sriniwas (1977) the factors responsible for social mobility are:
1)Sanskritization – Srinivas defines Sanskritization as the process by which a low
caste or tribe or other group takes over the customs, rituals, beliefs, ideology and
style of life of a high and, in particular, a ‘twice-born caste’. Thus the lower caste
people imitate the life ways of the upper castes with a view to improve their status
within the framework of caste. However it did not lead to a structural change.
Although the change is only positional yet it has significant structural
consequences, especially in relation to the orientation of the lower castes towards
the traditional upper castes.
2) Westernization – Westernization refers to changes brought due to contact with
western culture, particularly with the British. According to Srinivas various castes
adopted cultural styles of the British. Besides cultural imitation, many people have
absorbed western science, technology, education, ideology and values.
Westernization created new status cleavages and distinctions and did not do away
with the existing ones.
For the present investigation social mobility of Urban Mali women in Pune
belonging to the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) is analyzed on the basis of
the factors such as premarital and marital status, education, occupation, the
extent of social participation, the extent of social distance between the Mali
women and the upper castes, change in attitudes and beliefs towards
institution of marriage, family, rites and rituals in religion, level of political
participation and utilization of mass media.
1.3 Social Mobility in India:
In India, Social Mobility was almost impossible within a caste system before the
British came to India.
The establishment of British rule opened several new avenues of mobility such as
1) Single political power 2) Certain forms of administration like military, railways,
post etc 3) Land could be sold to anyone, even low castes who had money.4) Role
of missionaries.5) Land ceiling resulting in new economic opportunities.6) Building
13
of railways, road, canals, and introduction of plantation crops like cotton, tea etc
providing employment to thousands. The new opportunities – educational,
economical and political were open to all irrespective of caste. Thus the low castes
tried to acquire symbols of high status through possession of political power,
education and new economic opportunities.
With the gradual transfer of power from British to Indians, the 20th century
witnessed a great increase in quantum of mobility in caste system and
Sanskritization played an important role by enabling low castes to pass for high
castes.
Sunanda Patwardhan, says (1968; 185-208) “Mobility in present day India is
determined not only by ascription , but also by level of education, type of change in
occupation, the accumulation of wealth, the acquisition of land, by extent and
effectiveness of political participation and personal qualities”. Latheef, N. and
Hazira Ahmad (1964: 236-44) Current research seems to indicate a cause and
effect relationship between industrial, agricultural, occupational and communication
changes that are now taking place in India and an associated increase in social
mobility. Rowe (1968) Silverberg (1969) Sriniwas (1987) observed that studies
on social mobility in India have highlighted positional change in the form of
Sanskritization and Westernization.
Omvedt (1981) states that class rather than caste was basis of social mobility
implying change from agriculture to entrepreneurship and the form of migration
from rural to urban area. The emergence of new business class is not only
because of economic forces, but social, political and cultural processes,
particularly the social and political history of the region and of the dominant land
owning castes have also played an important role.
Thus, the state in India brought about economic and political changes having
consequences for social mobility eliminating some old persisting tensions and of
the emergence of a new system of social stratification.
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1.4 Social Mobility among Women in India:
As the present study deals with social mobility of women it becomes necessary to
understand the mobility process of women from ancient times till today. The
position and status of women has undergone changes from the Vedic to modern
times. During the Vedic period, women enjoyed equal freedom with men in all
matters, social and religious. During the post-Vedic phase women lived a secluded
life and hardly stirred out of the domestic premises. Because of the practice of
child marriage, sati, dowry, ‘purdah’, illiteracy, infanticide, women remained
neglected and confined behind the four walls simply as housewives performing
traditional roles up to the British period. They were exploited and suppressed by
the male dominated patriarchal society.
During the British rule social reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Vidyasagar,
Maharshi Karve Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, and many others made efforts to
improve and create awareness about the socio-economic condition of women. The
second half of the nineteenth century witnessed several reforms regarding the
position of women in Indian society.
After independence, a number of legislations have been passed to improve the
status of women. But these legislations have not proved effective in many cases.
K.L.Sharma (2007:239) states that “identity of woman is generally defined by her
role within the family. She is identified as a daughter, daughter-in-law, mother,
mother-in-law, wife, etc., and not as a person. She has no independent
connections, friends and relatives outside her family. Her only friends, relatives and
connections are those of the men folk of the family, becoming her kith and kin and
friends by implication and not by voluntary choice.
Though women are in the process of acquiring a status, position and role which is
different from the earlier conceptions still women are stationed at the receiving end
as seen in the following:
Marriage: Child marriage is prevalent even today among the rural, illiterate and
poor people. According to Seth Mira (2001) A study sponsored by the Department
of Women And Child Development discovered in 1990 that a large percentage of
15
adolescent girls were married, in states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar
and Andhra Pradesh, 50 percent girls were married in the age group of 15-19
years and in states like Kerala, Goa, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland where
woman’s status in general is higher less than 15 percent girls were married in the
age group of 15-19 years.
Education : The Census reports indicate that there is a continuous rise in the
percentage of literate women over a period of 50 years from 8.86 in 1951 to 54.16
in 2001, but gender disparity can be noticed in regard to male-female literacy rates
in all the periods. The 2001 census shows that male literacy rate was 75.85%
whereas for women it was 54.16%.
Occupation : According to Census of India (1981, 2001) in India though there
has been a slight increase in the female work participation rates from 19.7% in
1981 to 25.7% in 2001, it is still much lower than the male work participation rate in
both urban and rural areas. M.S.Gore (1968), Shashi Jain (1988) report that even
working women do not enjoy independent status, are made to carry the burden of
household work, their income is controlled by their husbands and in-laws.
According to R.P.Mohanty and D.N.Biswal (2007) the representation of women
employees in central, state and local bodies has been increasing steadily over the
years. But still the share of women employees remain as low as 7% in central
government, 18% in state governments and about 26% in local bodies. Also in the
public sector though there is an increasing trend in the representation of women,
the progress is not at all satisfactory.
Health: Life expectancy at birth is an important indicator of women’s health.
According to Seth Mira (2001) the Census Operations show that women had
lesser life expectancy than men up to 1971-81. It is now only that women have a
slight edge over men. But it is seen that the maternal mortality rates of India are
very high compared to the developing countries of the West and East Asia.
Crime: It is seen that crime against women has gone up in recent years. Seth
Mira (2001), reports that the annual reports of the National Crime Bureau confirm
the rise in the incidence of rape of young girls in the age group of 10 to 16 years
16
have gone up by 28 per cent between the years 1991 and 1995. Rapes, homicide
for dowry and dowry deaths, molestation, sexual harassment, importation of girls
have become a frequent feature despite the legal provisions.
Sex Ratio: The status of women can also be gauged by the sex ratio of our
population which continues to be adverse for women continuously declining from
972 in 1901 to 927 in 1991. However, it increased to 933 in 2001. The current sex
ratio for Maharashtra is 922 women for every 1000 men. A report in Times of
India (8-2-2008) on analysis of CSR (Child Sex Ratio) based on 2001 census data
conducted by the population research centre of Pune’s Gokhale Institute of Politics
and Economics reveals that Pune district has the tenth worst sex ratio of 902 girls
for 1000 boys.
Political Participation: The status of women can also be seen by their extent of
political participation. Seema Salgoankar (2006) points that, the 73rd and 74th
amendments have enforced 33% reservation for women in local government only
which led to a large number of women leaders coming to power at the grassroots
level. She further reports that though there has been an upward trend in
participation of female voters, the political participation of women in India is very
low, political parties are cautious of agreeing on 33% reservation for women in
legislative bodies and remain underrepresented in Parliament.
Thus it is seen that though there is improvement in the position of women in the
education, employment, health and political fields from the previous periods,
gender inequality is a global phenomenon and it differs from place to place,
country to country depending upon socio-economic indicators. Women hardly have
any choice to adopt an independent path for their up liftment.
Though one can see successful women in all fields in recent years their
percentage is negligible, and they remain the suppressed and the oppressed lot.
K.L.Sharma (2007), points that patriarchy is very strong in India which is still under
the influence of feudalistic lifestyles and values despite several efforts for the
upliftment of women.
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This present study concentrates on social mobility among Urban Mali women
belonging to Other Backward Castes (OBCs). Though women in India belonging to
all castes and classes are backward, the OBC women are still backward due to the
general backwardness of OBC group. By and large the OBCs are traditional,
orthodox and have feudalistic values, so the women have to face different kinds of
social problems. K.L.Sharma, (2007) reports that though some upper OBCs have
made progress in economic and political fields, they are still lagging behind in
social and educational fields. With this kind of background it becomes very difficult
for the women to achieve mobility. But it is increasingly felt that the progress of the
nation is integrally linked with the empowerment of women. It is in this context the
study of mobility of women becomes significant to have an integrated socio-
economic and political development of the country.
1.5 Historical Background of Mali Community:
The word Mali is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Mala’, meaning garland.
According to Risley (1981) the Mali traces their descent from a garland maker of
Raja Kans at Mathura. He states that according to a legend, Krishna once asked
the garland maker to make a garland for himself and on being told to fasten it with
a string, the gardener took off his Brahmanical cord and tied it, on this Krishna
rebuked him and announced that in future he would be ranked among the ‘Sudras’.
Schrader, Crooke (1974) state that, ‘flowers have scarcely a place in the Veda.
Hence the caste cannot be a very ancient one’. According to Ibbetson (1916)
Mali’s are not included among regular cultivators in the village but were a lower
group and seldom occupy a dominant position in any tract of the country. The
cultivation of vegetables is looked upon as degrading by the agricultural classes
because they use night soil as a fertilizer. Further he says that if this would have
been true it seems certain that Brahmins would not take water from their hands as
they do and this privilege has been given to the Mali’s because they grow flowers
required for offerings to the God and sometimes officiate as village priests and
temple servants. But Russel and Hiralal (1975) report that most Mali in the central
Provinces objects to using night soil as a manure. It seems that the gardening
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castes are not considered as landholders which in India are a status of a member
in the village community.
Mali’s are widely distributed in Maharashtra except the Konkan region and in
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa. According to K.S.Singh (1998) In Maharastra the Mali live in Pune,
Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Prabhani and Nanded. Mali caste constitutes the third
largest cultivator caste of Maharashtra peasant castes after Maratha and Kunbi
caste. Mali’s are 7% of the total population of Maharashtra. Their language is
Marathi and speaks all the dialects of this language like Ahirani, Khandeshi etc.
based on region. In the bordering areas they also speak Gujarati, Kannad, Telugu
and Hindi. Their language, customs, traditions, beliefs, religion, culture and social
status and geographical distribution is same to Kunbi- Maratha castes. Karve and
Dandekar (1951) point that they are below medium in stature, having a round
head with a medium nose and short face.
They are the specialist cultivators involved in the cultivation of flowers, vegetables,