Social mobility for the agrarian classes through
engagement in the non-agrarian sector
A case study from Nochikadu, Cuddalore district.
Hanna Rebecca Baan Hofman Orteliusstraat 242-3, Amsterdam hr@live.nl 10769900 26-06-2017 Future Planet Studies University of Amsterdam Supervisor: Mr J.V. Rothuizen Second assessor: Dr N.P.C. Beerepoot Code of the course: 734301500Y
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Table of content
1. Introduction ... 4
2. Theoretical framework ... 6
Agrarian change ... 6
The agrarian classes ... 7
Social mobility ... 9
3. Methodology ... 10
Research question ... 11
Research design ... 11
Methods ... 11
Unit of Analysis & Research Area ... 12
Sampling ... 12
Data collection ... 15
Limitations... 17
4. How has the rural economy of Nochikadu changed under influence of the agrarian change? 19 Context ... 19
Social Landscape ... 20
Changing agrarian sector ... 20
Agrarian crisis ... 21
Changes in the non-agrarian sector ... 22
Rural Economy ... 22
5. What role does class difference play in the turn away from the agrarian sector by the population of Nochikadu? ... 23
Class and caste ... 24
Chances for non-agrarian employment ... 24
6.What is the effect of the turn toward non-agrarian sectors on social mobility on the household level? ... 29
Education ... 29
Non-agrarian activities ... 30
Opportunities for social mobility... 31
7. Conclusion ... 32
8. References ... 34
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1. Introduction
Neo-liberal economic reforms since the 1991s in India have initiated a higher annual growth rate in the total gross domestic product (GDP)(Chand, Raju and Pandey, 2007). However, when zooming in on growth per sector great disparities become apparent. Contrary to the non-agricultural sector the growth rate of the agrarian sector has witnessed a deceleration since the economic reforms (Ibid.). In addition, the growing sectors in urban economies created limited opportunities for rural labourers, leaving them out of the benefices of the economic reforms (Hu, 2016). This development is often referred to as the Indian agrarian crisis. A crisis which affects a vast amount of the Indian population as more than 70% of the workforce is (directly or indirectly) dependent on agriculture for its income (Walker, 2008).
Several studies have found that agricultural labourers try to move out of agriculture (Djurfeldt et al., 2008; Prabakara et al., 2011). Lerche (2013) states that the industrial restructuring through capitalist development in agriculture implies marginalisation of agrarian labouring classes. Labourers consequently seek employment outside of agriculture. They may alternate between being wage workers and being small-scale petty commodity producers, seasonally or throughout their lifetimes (Lerche, 2013).
However, the reasons why people move out of the agricultural sector seems diverse. Economic and policy differences per state largely influence the decision and lead to different and sometimes contradicting conclusions (Vijabaskar, 2010; Prabakara et al., 2011). Part of the structural transformation of the rural economy is the increased allocation of household labour to non-farm activities. This affects top, middle and bottom of the agrarian society differently (Djurfeldt et al., 2008). Lerche (2013) states that class and caste hierarchy is an important aspect to take into account regarding occupational mobility. Vijabaskar (2010) and Djurfeldt et al. (2008) take it a step further and conclude that the bottom of society primarily seizes new opportunities outside agriculture where incomes are in general higher and they enjoy increased opportunities for social mobility (Vijabaskar, 2010; Djurfeldt et al., 2008).
This research contributes to the existing knowledge regarding consequences of the agrarian crisis. Instead of focusing on those who work in the agrarian sector, this research concentrates on those who shifted towards the non-agrarian sector and whether social mobility is experienced by the agrarian classes. It will do so by studying the situation in the rural village, named Nochikadu in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is at the forefront of industrialisation through establishing special economic zones (SEZ’s) and several industrial parks (Vijayabaskar, 2016). One of such industrial parks, State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) Cuddalore, has been established since recent years within a few kilometres of Nochikadu and changed its rural economy (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). As the differences between agrarian classes is a vital element in this research the village is selected on the basis of containing both landowner and land labouring classes. In Nochikadu these classes are the vanniyar and dalit caste, respectively. The aim of this research and the specific local context lead to the following research question:
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How do dalit and vanniyar households in Nochikadu experience social mobility from shifting their labour to the non-agrarian sector?
The thesis is build up as follows. The next chapter, the theoretical framework explains the core subjects of this research: the agrarian change, the agrarian classes and social mobility. The theoretical framework is followed up by a chapter on the methodology which addresses all the methodological considerations behind the thesis and how this led to the fieldwork that has been carried out. The following chapter contains the results that were collected during the fieldwork. The results are presented in the same way the introduction and theoretical framework are build up. First, it will address how the agrarian change has influenced the rural economy in the area of study. Secondly, the factors that influence how and why the different agrarian classes turn to the non-agrarian sector. Thirdly, the results attend to the subject whether social mobility is experienced by the rural population of Nochikadu. As this chapter is build up in the same structure as the theoretical framework it can reflect on the similarities and differences between the fieldwork results and existing literature. The thesis finalises with a concluding chapter which presents the main insights derived from this research.
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2. Theoretical framework
To investigate the link between getting involved in the non-agrarian sector and social mobility for rural households, it is relevant to analyse the existing literature on this interrelation. The theories discussed in this chapter offer the framework of this thesis and form the outline for the rest of this thesis.
Agrarian change
As mentioned, India experiences an agrarian crisis as result of neoliberal reforms. The most earnest expression of this crisis is farmer suicides (Lerche, 2011). Other expressions of the crisis are the all-time low annual growth rates of the agricultural sector in the period from 1994-2004 and usurious moneylending on the countryside (Lerche, 2011; Walker, 2008). Since the 1990’s India initiated economic reforms in the neo-liberal thought that rural poverty reduction is achieved in the process of industrial accumulation and globalisation (Hu, 2016). India’s economy is liberalised by reducing costs, increasing ‘flexibility’ and strengthening control over labour (Miyamura, 2016; Vijayabaskar, 2016). This generates economic development while creating employment opportunities, national income growth, increased exports and improving labour productivity (Uduyakumar, 2004; Hu, 2016). However, these measurements have not benefitted everyone and every sector. Non-agrarian sectors have since experienced economic growth while the agrarian sector is lagging behind (Chand et al., 2007). As the rural population vitally relies on the agrarian sector, there seems a contradiction between the objective of the reforms and the results. The changes leading to economic growth are, instead of reducing poverty, increasing farmers hardship. One example is the financial liberalisation in 1994 which led to a decline in access to institutional credit for agriculture. A second is the deregulation and privatisation of the power sector which led to skyrocketing tariffs and consequently increasing production costs (Walker, 2008). As result of these reforms, small peasant producers involuntarily turned towards moneylenders and traders to obtain a loan. These loans are supplied at usurious rates and are much more inflexible in rolling over debts than for institutional lenders (Ibid.). In 2003 76% of the rural population held loans by moneylenders. As a result of the increased indebtedness, more peasants lost land or became entirely landless (Ibid.). The next step of market liberalisation, taken by the Indian government under pressure of the World Trade Organization (WTO), was the abolishment for trade protection of agriculture. In a period of five years, India’s agrarian sector experienced a drop of prices of 40%-60% for all its primary products (Ibid.). Peasant farmers were unable to sell their products for such low prices and many of those indebted farmers became insolvent. Beginning from 1998, indebted and desperate farmers from Punjab and Andhra Pradesh began to commit suicide. These suicide commitments spread quickly to other rural areas that predominantly cultivate cash crops and produce for export (Ibid.). This reflects the nationwide consequences of the economic reforms, the change it brought in the agricultural sector and the critical situation it caused for those who are economically dependent on agriculture. However, not only the agricultural sector has been influenced by the economic reforms, also other sectors have changed due to these reforms (Vijabaskar, 2010).
7 In general, the agrarian change signifies a national process of transforming the rural economy through industrialisation, urbanisation and modernization (Byres, 2009; Djurfeldt et al., 2008; Hu, 2016). Furthermore, this process also increases input prices, the decline in output prices and increase in usurious moneylending due to a shortage of institutional credit (Djurfeldt et al., 2008; Chand et al., 2007; Walker, 2008; Jha, 2006). These nationwide developments are proceeding in Tamil Nadu in a more extreme form. The state's economy is one of the fastest growing in India since the mid-1990’s and the work participation rate for male and female workers in rural and urban areas is one of the highest in the country. It is with nearly 50 special economic zones (SEZs) at the forefront of industrialisation in India. By contrast, the agricultural sector was not only stagnant during this period, like in many other states, but agricultural income actually declined over the period of 1993-2006 of the state domestic product from 24.8% to 13.3%. Furthermore, the average income for farmer households from cultivation was lower than the amount spent on cultivation. Tamil Nadu has the second highest indebtedness rate of rural households and is the only state with a negative growth of employment in agriculture since the second half of the 1990s (Vijabaskar, 2010). A survey on national scale reveals that 40% of the farmers would prefer to move out of agriculture if they had the choice. The process of industrialisation offers new opportunities for non-agrarian employment and the agrarian crisis gives the rural population enough reasons to exit the agrarian sector. Consequently, farmers are more willing to sell their lands to private capital for the establishment of the SEZs. In some parts of India, the appearance of SEZ’s resulted in high resistance from the rural population. However, such sentiments seem to be absent in Tamil Nadu (Vijabaskar, 2010). Agarwala (2016) relates the absence of resistance to a combination of three policies in which Tamil Nadu is unique. First, the state has let private investors negotiate with landowners for land acquisition. Through this policy resistance movements were not provoked by the perception that the state functioned as a broker for private investors (Agarwala, 2016). Second, Tamil Nadu’s industrial policy was also unique in addressing labour and compensation issues. Investors of SEZ’s had to show how they provided jobs, otherwise, their request could be declined (Ibid.). The SIPCOT promised a job in the SEZ for at least one family member in households that sold at least one acre of land. This promise increased willingness to sell land. However, the truly generated jobs fell short in the number of jobs promised (Vijabaskar, 2010). Third, the state offered a more generous compensation to landowners in comparison to other states (Agarwala, 2016; Vijabaskar, 2010). In addition, Vijabaskar (2010) argues that farmers are willing to sell their land due to the long ongoing anti-caste politics in Tamil Nadu. Through these politics, the rural areas are associated with oppression. Resulting in a broad-based eagerness to move away from agriculture and seek ways for social mobility (Ibid.).
The subject anti-caste politics, which also pushes the rural population toward non-agrarian sectors, will be discussed further in the next paragraph as it is closely connected with the agrarian classes. Subsequently, a paragraph will be devoted to the concept of social mobility which can be understood best with knowledge of the agrarian crisis and the agrarian classes.
The agrarian classes
The neoliberal reforms, leading to the agrarian change, have also transformed the traditional class-based structure of rural society. With the increased pressure on the agricultural sector different classes have different reasons to leave agriculture and have multiple ways of
8 diversifying household income (Vijayabaskar, 2010; Walker, 2008; Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). This process will be explained by first addressing how caste and class are related to each other. Second, by describing how the class based society is structured in Tamil Nadu and Cuddalore. Third, by addressing were these different classes turn to for income when diversifying and leaving agriculture.
In the agricultural sector, the Indian caste system influences greatly one’s position in rural society, creating socio-economic classes which are similar to the caste hierarchy, meaning that a higher position in the caste hierarchy is related to the possibility of land ownership which is out of reach for lower castes. The lower castes are in the subordinate position of being land labourers (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). The agrarian classes are made up of the landowning and land labouring class. Different studies carried out in Tamil Nadu concerning the rural population reveal that different castes can represent the landowning and land labouring class, depending on the specific region or village where the study is carried out (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015; Walker, 2008; Harris et al., 2010). What has been true for all studies, in absence of the higher castes, the caste next in the hierarchy takes its position (Harris et al., 2010). One exception being the dalits. The dalits, being the former ‘untouchables’ make up for the lowest agrarian class (Djurfeldt et al., 2008). In various regions in India, the ‘untouchables’ are called differently. Consequently, different names are used in literature which complicates the understanding of the subject (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015; Kaur, 2015). The political-legal term for the ‘untouchable’ castes is Scheduled Caste (SC) (Kaur, 2015). When dalits or SC is mentioned in this thesis it concerns the lowest group in caste-hierarchy i.e. the out-castes. Oppression of dalits is intrinsic in the traditional class structure in rural society and has different forms. First, the non-possession of land or any other form of physical capital. Second, deprivation of financial capital for entrepreneurship. Third, deprivation of human capability and thus only able to make a living through unskilled manual labour. Fourth, neglecting to organise social capital to participate in governance and influence the development direction. In short, the lowest classes are less entitled to resources to improve their economic situation and escape from poverty (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). In the context of neoliberal reforms and agrarian change the incentives for landing and labouring classes to enter the non-agrarian sector can be understood. These incentives are linked to each other and reinforce each other. First, the studies of Palanithurai & Ramesh (2015) and Prabakara et al. (2011) found that, of the labouring classes, dalit seek for non-agrarian employment for the following reasons. Push factors are: the oppressed position of their community in agriculture, the seasonal character of agricultural work and casual agricultural labour is viewed as low esteem job which one only turns to as last resort. Pull factors are: there are other job opportunities outside agriculture that did not exist 10 years ago, these jobs have higher incomes and development of transport facilities enables to commute between the village and nearby city. The studies reveal that dalits in Cuddalore find employment as construction workers, rod benders and manual labourers in laying telephone cables in cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. Also, some got employed in SIPCOT industrial companies as casual labourers (Ibid.). Finally, the locally available activities of masonry, carpentry, electrical and plumbing works are common non-agrarian activities for
labouring classes to turn to (Palanithurai & Rames, 2015; Prabakara et al, 2011). Second,
landowners are pushed out of agriculture since the 1990’s reforms and agriculture became less remunerative (Djurfeldt et al., 2008; Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). However, being in
9 possession of land is still associated with social status and thus the engagement in agriculture is eased instead of completely ended. While the landing classes get engaged in knowledge-based employment, find a salaried job for their sons in town, or start a business in town, the dalits who earlier used to work as labourers in their farms now lease the lands (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). The younger generation of the landing classes are less attached to agriculture and they relate social status rather to material possessions like a car, a bank account and ATM card than to possession of land. They prefer life outside agriculture and start selling off lands to the dalits, who for quite a few years have leased in lands from them. Dalits owning land are called the neo-landowning classes. One fifth of the dalits in the survey villages of Palanithurai & Rames (2015) in Tamil Nadu became a neo-landed class. Another reason why landing classes did not consider agriculture to be remunerative anymore is the move of dalit to the non-agrarian workforce because this led to a labour shortage. This has given the bottom agrarian classes in Tamil Nadu a bargain position for a higher salary (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015; Prabakara et al., 2011). Additionally, the state government has implemented an act guaranteeing a minimum wage for agrarian labouring classes. These developments improve the wages of women and dalit landless labourers, but landowners see their profits diminish further and leave agriculture. Dalit families becoming land owners, though the strong prevalence of caste hierarchy ‘is a significant social change in the Indian society’ (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015).
Caste conflicts between dominant, backward castes and the dalits are indirect consequences of the neoliberal reforms which change the rural economy and likewise destabilised caste structures of the rural society (Walker, 2008). When the dominant caste leaves agriculture, the lower castes compete against each other who can fill this power vacuum. In this struggle, the backward classes tend to push back the Scheduled Castes and others who occupy the lower rung in the social hierarchical ladder (Ibid.). However, the lower castes have gathered in the Dravidian movement seeking for equal opportunities for all. Though such anti-caste politics increased tension between castes, these efforts contributed to Tamil Nadu’s success of creating a relatively inclusive growth (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015; Vijabaskar, 2010).
Social mobility
Social mobility is linked to both industrialisation (Yaish & Andersen, 2011) and social stratification which is, in the case of India, linked to the caste system. (Kaur, 2015; Savarimuthu, 1977). These features have been addressed in the previous paragraphs. A third feature which has proved to be important in social mobility in Tamil Nadu is welfare policies (Vijabaskar, 2010). How these factors influence social mobility in Tamil Nadu will be addressed after a short definition of the concept.
The rural population who turn to the non-agrarian sector do so with expectations of social mobility (Djurfeldt et al., 2008; Palanithurai & Rames, 2015; Prabakara, et al, 2011). Social mobility refers to the process by which an individual or a group moves from one social status to another in the social hierarchy (Kaur, 2015). Djurfeldt et al. (2008) define social mobility in rural society as (1) mobility out of and into farming, (2) mobility inside the farming sector, operationally defined as mobility between size-classes of operated area, and finally, (3) as consequences through the change of real household income. Social mobility and, broader, living standards are also driven by political forces such as policy interventions by the union and state governments. The literature on social mobility among SC is more widely available
10 than for other agrarian classes. Considering that they always were from the lowest region of society this is no surprise. Deshpande & Suhas Palshikar (2008) studied in Pune how much caste matters in occupational mobility, which is an element of social mobility. They conclude that the extent of mobility is different for different castes and that the dalits benefit the most from upward mobility.
Market liberalisation contributes to social mobility because the market principles disregard social features and only demands a specific skill set from the workforce. In combination with social policy that improved education levels among SC, they have an opportunity to purchase a job other than agricultural land labourer (Djurfeldt et al., 2008; Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). Also, social policy is important in creating an opportunity for social mobility. Examples of the Tamil Nadu government are reservation of government jobs and education for lower castes. ‘The provision of reservation of seats in higher education over long periods of time for the backward castes and the dalits has enabled a certain degree of vertical mobility through investments in education, particularly for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and the most backward classes (MBC) (Vijabaskar, 2010).’ Though opportunities for social mobility are created, Palanithurai & Ramesh (2015) suggest in their study that dalit are not fully able to lay their hands on it. This is illustrated by the discovery that SC graduates have on average a weaker academic performance than other students and thus get significantly lower wages (19 percent lower in domestic jobs and 35 per cent lower in foreign jobs) (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015).
The agrarian change has led to changes in the rural economy and social structures in rural society. An important reason for the rural population to diversify their household income or to wholly engage in non-agrarian sectors is accompanied with the expectation of social mobility. Industrialisation and the welfare regime in Tamil Nadu have expanded the opportunity for social mobility. The next chapter, the methodology, will explain how the research was carried out to study whether the rural population really experiences social mobility.
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3. Methodology
Research question
This research searches the traditional agrarian population in Nochikadu and subsequently, their reasons to turn to non-agrarian sectors and the effects of this shift. The research main focus is provided by the central question:
How do dalit and vanniyar households in Nochikadu experience social mobility from shifting their labour to the non-agrarian sector?
In greater detail, the fieldwork is structured by the following sub-questions to be able to answer the central question:
1. How is the rural economy of Nochikadu structured and under influence of the agrarian change?
2. What are the pull and push factors at stake in the turn away from the agrarian sector of the population of Nochikadu?
3. What is the effect of the turn toward non-agrarian sectors on social mobility on the household level?
The first question has a contextualising character which provides a broad picture of the population in Nochikadu and the economic activity in and around the village. This question provides a basis for the other two sub-questions because it provides a context which contributes to one's understanding of the meaning of the pull and push factors discussed in the next question. Additionally, to discuss the experience of social mobility, in the third sub-question, one should be able to compare the old situation with the new situation.
Research design
This research has characteristics of both a case study and comparative study. It has the characteristic of a case study because the research focusses on the agrarian population of one village and studies in depth their motives to turn toward non-agrarian sectors and the effects of this shift concerning social mobility. However, the research has a comparative element because, within the agrarian population, the pattern of agrarian change towards social mobility of the vanniyar and dalit are compared with each other. A comparative case study, or multiple-case study, is according to Bryman (2012 especially useful in understanding causality and thus an effective research design to understand the link between social mobility and the shift of occupations to the non-agrarian sector.
Methods
Prior to fieldwork, a literature study was carried out to the development of the agrarian change, its influence on the rural population and the influence of non-agrarian occupations on one’s social mobility in Tamil Nadu, India. Based on this literature evaluation the introduction, the theoretical framework and research question were constructed. The next step in the research was to prepare for empirical research by selecting a suitable research strategy,
12 design, research area and means of data collection. The data collected during fieldwork expanded the knowledge derived from literature which led to an adjustment of the introduction, theoretical framework, and topic list for the interviews. In this way, the research has been carried out through an iterative process that enabled more specification in the research question (Bryman, 2012).
Unit of Analysis & Research Area
The unit of analysis in this case study is the rural population, which consists of different agrarian classes who increasingly rely on non-agrarian sectors for the household income. With regard to this specific characteristic, the research location was selected. Thus, Nochikadu is not the unit of analysis but selected through relevant sampling as research area, because of both landowning and land labouring classes, the vanniyar and dalit castes, live in the village and because it is located nearby SIPCOT and a power plant. With regard to the relevance of industrialisation to the agrarian change, as is advocated by several authors and Tamil Nadu state itself, Nochikadu is chosen as the research area. Making a representative case to exemplify the experience of social mobility by different agrarian classes in the context of the agrarian change. An exemplifying case study describes everyday situations and circumstances and not unusual or extreme ones (Bryman, 2012). According to Bryman (2012) a case study design has a low external validity, because findings cannot easily be generalised. Finding generalisable knowledge is beyond the scope of this research. This research contributes with in-depth knowledge of the agrarian population of Tamil Nadu to the existing knowledge on the subject. Nochikadu is located near the coast in Cuddalore district, a district in Tamil Nadu (map 1 and 2).
13 Map 1 (India, 2004)
14 Sampling
As a way to get introduced into the field, my first interview was conducted with the clerk of the panchayat (municipality board). Elections for panchayat president were running and the rest of the new board to be formed, so she was the only official available spokesperson during my time of research. For this research, it is important to get a differentiated pool of respondents of the rural population. Therefore, first, surveys were carried out through random sampling to discover what different types of farms, businesses and labour exist in the area. This gave insight into the influence of the agrarian change to a local economy. The surveys were carried out on household level which resulted in the advantage that the response rate of the sample was very high. The survey sample included 39 MBC households and 19 SC households making up 263 persons between 0 and 96 years old. Both the survey and interview sample size was determined by the limitation of time. The estimation of the total population size was, at first, based on the information provided by the panchayat clerk. However, in the final week, the previous panchayat president, stated in an interview that the total population of Nochikadu is 2600 instead of 1300 and mentioned a different distribution of the MBC and SC population size. Thus the representativeness of this sample debatable as the true population size is not ascertained. Though both stated that the percentage of MBC inhabitants is higher than SC inhabitants. Furthermore, though the exact population size is unknown, it is unlikely that it will amount more than 2600 inhabitants. After the research period, all neighbourhoods in Nochikadu are included in the survey. From this, it can be estimated that the number of households excluded from the sample cannot be more than 2300 persons. In fact, it is estimated that the excluded population is smaller than 2000 persons. Secondly, simultaneous conducting the survey, semi-structured and in-depth interviews were carried out through snowball sampling and on the basis of relevance. Through snowball sampling, with the help of the respondents of the survey, new respondents who have experiences or characteristics that are relevant to the research were found for the in-depth and semi-structured interviews (Bryman, 2012). The general information about the different jobs in the local economy that were derived from the survey helped to decide for the best sampling strategy to get a respondent pool for the interviews that is representative for the local workforce. Table 1 offers an overview of the sample for the survey on household level, how many inhabitants were thus incorporated in the survey, the taken sample of the distribution for the interviews and the total population size of Nochikadu, according to the panchayat president of 2007-2011. The interview sample has and overrepresentation of the MBC community. Because landowners, which are only members of the MBC community, were interviewed on top of the regular semi-structured interviews to enquire after information related to change in labour wages, the number of labourers employed and change in acres of land owned. Thus 13 of the 20 interviews with MBC members were primarily related to these topics which contributed to the knowledge of the rural economy/labour market in general. After the first week, analysis of the collected data resulted in the adjustment of the topic list for the semi-structured interviews. Consequently, questions regarding education were added. Also, the survey was slightly adjusted and for those households with income from own land new questions with regard to changing acres of land holdings over the past two decennia were added.
15 Table 1: Sample of data collection
# MBC SC Surveyed households 39 19 Interviews 20 9 Surveyed population 169 96 Source: Author, 2017 Data collection
The results, derived from the fieldwork, are built on both qualitative and quantitative data. Sub-question one is primarily answered by the quantitative results from the survey. This strategy is applied because it requires quantitative results to sketch the
rural economy of Nochikadu rather than in-depth personal explanations. The second and third sub-questions are built on the general information of the first sub-question. To answer these questions qualitative data consisting of in-depth explanations and providing insight into personal experiences are essential. To draft the survey and topic list of the semi-structured interviews the main concept, social mobility, had to be operationalised. Hereto, the definition of Djurfeldt et al. (2008) is used, which defines social mobility as mobility out of and into farming, mobility between classes inside the farming sector and as a result in a change of real household income.
Table 2: Operationalisation social mobility
Definition Operationalisation
In and out of farming or the freedom and not to follow parent in occupation SEN
Non-agrarian job
Another job than his/her parents Between classes inside the farming sector.
This is related to one’s position in rural society and class/caste oppression
Equal rights, rules and opportunities for both MBC and SC
The relation between the communities Changes in real household income Higher income
Income security Spending behaviour Accumulation of capital
Source: (Djurfeldt et al. 2008; Author, 2017)
The survey was carried out during the whole period of fieldwork in Nochikadu through random sampling. It provides information concerning the local labour market size and the different jobs that are performed by the rural population. The survey targets the household level instead of the individual because all working members of the household contribute to the household income. Thus, changes in income and social mobility, from relying on the agrarian sector or non-agrarian sector, are more relevant and visible on the household level than on individual level. This way of carrying out the survey on household level is an effective method because the household members are well informed about each others working status and contribution to the shared income. An advantage is that more respondents can be included in the survey because it is only necessary to speak with one member of the household to get the full details of all household members. The survey includes under aged household
16 Table 3: Classification survey data
Community Age Education Occupation MBC 18-30 uneducated Landowner
SC 30-60 1st till 8th Land labourer 60 > 9th till 12th Skilled industrial job
Higher education & bachelor
Unskilled industrial job Master Skilled other non-agrarian
(N.A.)
Unskilled other non-agrarian (N.A.)
Unemployment Houswife Study Other
members, but everybody under 18 years is excluded in the further analysis of the research. The reason behind this choice is that the research targets the working population as it searches the effect of occupation shift and under the age of 18 nobody is working. The general information that was gathered through the survey of every individual household member is sex, age, education level, current occupation, amount of days per month employed, working hours, (sources of) income, previous occupation, the occupation of the grandparents and community. The survey data is processed with the computer software IBM SPSS Statistics (Bryman, 2012). With SPSS the data is converted into cross-tabs to analyse the distribution of community, education, age and occupation. To analyse the data, some of the survey results had to be classified to be able to make a useful analysis. The classification is presented in table X and determined for the following reasons. First, the community is classified according to the political-legal terms that are equivalent to vanniyar and dalit caste division in Nochikadu. Second, the working population is from eighteen till sixty, but because younger generations differ from the older generations in education level three categories are created for age. Third, five categories for education are created. A division from 8th to 9th standard is
chosen because education level under 9th standard no respondent has skilled employment.
Furthermore, bachelor and other forms of higher education are one category because the differences between these types of education were not entirely clear, but were all related to skilled employment. Fourth, occupation has eigth categories because it would be impossible to analyse the data when the two categories other non-agrarian were more detailed. Unemployment and housewife are also categories because, especially housewives, make up for a large share of the workforce in Nochikadu. Study is chosen to be incorporated, because otherwise many respondents, higher than eighteen year, had to be excluded. The ‘other’ category includes retired and disabled people.
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The semi-structured interviews target to learn from those who work in the non-agrarian sector whether they experience social-economic mobility or not and to learn more about the reasons to get employed in non-agrarian sectors. In first instance, the aim was to find respondent that shifted from the agrarian sector to the non-agrarian sector. However, the survey results disclose that it is more common for the younger family members to get involved in the non-agrarian sector after studying than that someone shifts from the one sector to the other. Anticipating on this result, interviews were carried out both with people who shifted from the agrarian to the non-agrarian sector and with people who had only worked in the non-agrarian sector. The topic list of the semi-structured interview is attached in the appendix.
In-depth interviews were carried out with representatives of different groups to learn more about their position in the labour market, in society and the relationship with other groups in the labour market. Through these interviews, it is also possible for the respondents to raise a subject. The respondents are found through snowball sampling or approached on own initiative to elaborate about a certain topic, or a survey or semi-structured interview continued in an in-depth interview because some respondents could share more knowledge or because the subject was so urging to them.
Participant observations were carried out during the surveys and interviews. The greater part of the surveys and interviews took place in the homes or in front of the houses of the respondents. Participant observation is usefull to relate the home situation to the survey of interviews because social mobility is also indicated by the development of capital.
Limitations
The research is carried out with much care to collect scientific valid and reliable data and simultaneously respect the ethical considerations that are accompanied with social research (Bryman, 2012). However, it should be recognized that there are some limitations to the research. First, the role of the translator should be discussed. Without her translations, my research was impossible and she contributed to the validity of the data by sharing her knowledge of Indian and rural society. In example, by explaining the different positions people have towards caste, the sensitivity of the subject, what government schemes are operative in Nochikadu and how this contributes to its development. However, occasionally the English of the translator was insufficient to gain rich in-depth knowledge because the nuances could not be translated. Though interview questions were open formulated, the translation to Tamil led sometimes to a more steered formulation of the question, increasing the data-collection error (Bryman, 2012). Second, the research could have been more extensive but due to lack of time it was not possible to conduct more interviews. The amount of interviews is also limited because, due to personal circumstances, two key informants could not meet up during the timespan of the fieldwork. Third, the topic of agrarian classes is related to caste. This is a taboo subject, thus enquiring after is had to be done with great consideration. Though my translator talked freely about it to me and assisted with making relevant questions, it was only possible to attend the subject indirectly and this did not lead to response. That respondents were often in the company of family, neighbors or friends can be a factor that led to less openness. However, all other questions were answered without
18 hesitation though there were others nearby. Fourth, some statement of respondents contradicted the statement of others. In some cases this makes the accuracy of the statements questionable, in other cases this can be explained by the different situations of respondents resulting in different experiences rather than incorrect facts. It is the challenge of the researcher to be aware of this and interpret correctly the reliability of the data. Finally, the cultural difference and the interference of a translator in conversation could have led to misinterpreting reality and affected the validity of the research.
19
4. How has the rural economy of Nochikadu changed under influence
of the agrarian change?
This chapter revolves around the question how Nochikadu’s rural economy has changed. The first paragraph is devoted to setting the scene and contributes to better understanding of the results with regard to the local effects of the agrarian change for the inhabitants and their experience of social mobility. The next paragraphs describe the changes in the rural economy of Nochikadu with regard to the agrarian change. The final paragraph reflects on the differences and similarities between the situation in Nochikadu and what is described in the literature.
Context
Nochikadu is a rural village near the coast of Cuddalore district and 10 km south of Cuddalore town. Explaining my research on the first day to a few men in Nochikadu resulted in the comment that I should not ask about vanniyar and dalit but use the official political-legal term. That Nochikadu is inhabited by these two castes is common knowledge, but they are only addressed by their community status; most backward caste (MBC) and scheduled caste (SC), respectively. MBC is a political-legal term that relates to several castes in backwards position and one of these castes are the vanniyar. Similarly, the term SC relates to more ‘untouchable’ groups than the dalit. Because the vanniyar are the only MBC in Nochikadu and the dalit the only SC the political legal terms are used as equivalent of the two castes. Together with eleven other village’s, Nochikadu is under the authority of the same municipality board. This local government is called the panchayat. Every five years a new panchayat is elected. During the time of my field research, the elections for the new panchayat president were running. The panchayat consists of eleven members: one president, one vice-president, one clerk and eight board members. The members are part of three different communities, who live the twelve villages under the panchayats authority, backward caste (BC), MBC and SC. The state government has made a rule that every five years the panchayat president has to be a member of the SC community to enhance the development of this community. For the reign period of 2007 and in 2011 the government rule was operative and there were only SC candidates. During the current elections, members of all the three communities can run for president. According to the previous panchayat president, the inhabitants do not accept the SC presidents sincerely, but because it is a government rule the other communities tolerate an SC president. He said that only the opposite political parties make some problems by accusing the former president falsely of dysfunction and self-enrichment instead of spending the budget on development for all the people. The government rule orders that every five years the panchayat president has to come from the SC community sheds light on the relationship between the MBC and SC and the mindset among the rural population. Otherwise, it is possible for an SC member to get on the board, but not to be elected president, according to the panchayat president.
20 Social Landscape
As explained by the panchayat clerk and previous president, the inhabitants of Nochikadu can be divided into two castes, the vanniyar and dalit. During the fieldwork, they were only addressed by their official political legal-term. Accordingly, they are addressed in the result section of this thesis the same way. Though the panchayat clerk and panchayat president stated different actual numbers for the population size, they both confirmed that 39% families are part of the SC and 60% families of the MBC community in Nochikadu. Moreover, as literature confirms, the MBC, being higher in the caste hierarchy, are traditionally land owners and SC members are land labourers. This is supported by the survey data, which reveals that 17 members of the MBC community own land and none of the SC community members (table 4).
Changing agrarian sector
Over the past decades, the agrarian sector of Nochikadu has changed, influencing both landowners and labourers. Nochikadu is known for its vetiver and cashew cultivation. Accordingly, most agricultural labourers work on vetiver and/or cashew lands. The majority of landowners have replaced firewood and groundnut
cultivation for vetiver and cashew because the return on the harvest is higher. Only the economically less well-off landowners have not shifted to these crops and mostly cultivate groundnuts. A vetiver dealer explains that this is because vetiver cultivation requires a higher investment rate on machines. These machines are
rented for ₹750/hours including an employee who
controls the machine. Though more investments have to be made, vetiver is a cash crop. It generates the highest profit per acre in comparison to other crops that grow in this type of soil. A fifty-two-year-old man from the MBC community, who was one of the first in Nochikadu that shifted to cultivating vetiver is considered to be well informed about vetiver agriculture around Nochikadu in general. According to him, landowners make, in general, more profit in the vetiver and labour wages increased in Nochikadu in comparison to twenty years ago. Three respondents explain that landowners get labourers from other districts because they cannot attract enough land
Table 4: Workforce current and previous occupations in % SC MBC Agricultural labour 10.6 9.4 Non-agrarian occupation 13.2 12.6 Own land 0 10.6 Previously agricultural sector 3.7 3.1 Previously non-agricultural sector 0.6 6.9 Housewife 6.9 13.8 Unemployment 3.7 4.4 Total 39 61 N: 164, missing: 5 Source: Author, 2017
Box 1: Agrarian change
“In general, there was more agricultural labour 20 years ago than now because land has been sold to companies but also because wages outside agriculture are higher and the youth wants to get a job of their own interest.” - Fifty-two year old man. “How is that in comparison to 20 years ago or in comparison to when you were young?” “I studied 8th standard because I was not interested in education. Through generations this is increasing because people see that it is a way to improve your life, economic situation.”
21 labourers from Nochikadu and the surrounding villages, but this is only seasonal. Two respondents explained that there is actually a shrinking labour demand in the agricultural sector, because of the selling of land. The quote in box 1 illustrates this development.
Agrarian crisis
How the agrarian crisis, as described in theory, is experienced in Nochikadu became more
clear, during the fieldwork, on the 25th of April. This day there was a strike in whole Tamil
Nadu and almost every shop owner closed its shop as a sign of support to the farmers in India. The respondents support the strike because many farmers are affected. In conversations about the strike, with six people who work in agriculture or own land, they explained that for already 30 years agriculture is facing problems and over the years there have been strikes in the different districts of Tamil Nadu but now the districts unite to strike against the government. Enquiring after the reasons behind, an article from The Hindu (2017) explained that the central aim is to make the national government discuss farmers’ suicide, waiving of crop loans, increase in drought relief, adequate minimum support price for rice and sugarcane farmers, desilting of water bodies and the opposition to methane and hydrocarbon projects. It can be concluded that the strike is a reaction to the enduring agrarian crisis in India. Both landowners and land labourers in Nochikadu acknowledged the poor situation of farmers in Tamil Nadu, some mentioned the struggles that typify the agrarian crisis as their own reason to move away from agriculture, this is illustrated by the following quotes.
“There are problems with the water because the rain season is disappointing this year. And farmers are angry with the government because they get indebted so much with the banks, but the government does not help them. That is why the farmers strike, they want more support from the government. The government also does not take action for infrastructure. It does not work always and there is also no proper water facility provided by government for farmers which makes farming more difficult.” – twenty-seven year old man 27, MBC community.
“We sold 5 acres of land because wages have increased over the past 5 years and our income has decreased. The price of petroleum and kerosene for the machines are higher. Electricity prices have increase and water costs are higher because deeper bore well have to be made.”
-forty-five year old man, MBC community.
Even though wages have increased over the past twenty years in Nochikadu, agricultural labour is still the job with the lowest income in comparison to all other employment. However, contrary to the general trend of agriculture in Tamil Nadu there has been an improvement in yield for landowners and wage for the labourers. The shift towards vetiver and cashew cultivation is not only accompanied with higher wages, but also by more problems that are reasons to seek work other than being a land labourer. Former land labourers on vetiver lands had to stop working because of physical problems. It is physically intensive labour because a lot of dust and sand is released during harvesting, resulting in breathing problems. After stopping as a labourer on vetiver lands most women become housewife and men seek other unskilled labour such as auto rickshaw driver and construction work.
22 Changes in the non-agrarian sector
While labour scarcity and wages increase in agriculture, the non-agrarian sector in and nearby Cuddalore experiences a labour surplus and lower wages in comparison to other districts. This is reported by respondents working in the non-agrarian sector or who are searching for a non-agrarian job. Many prefer a job nearby, as is illustrated by the quote in box 2, Nochikadu because of travelling time, but it is difficult to find a job nearby. A woman from the SC community said in an interview that there is not much employment coming from the industrial area. Data reveals (see table 6) that 7.8% of the sample population is employed at an industrial company. This means that a very small part of the population has an industrial job in Cuddalore district
considering that data reveals that many work/seek a job in other districts where jobs are easier to get and the wages higher. Other non-agrarian occupations, were the workforce of Nochikadu is employed in, are diverse such as manufacturing, textiles and making jewellery, construction work, or starting an own shop. Though education levels are improving, most non-agrarian occupations are still low or unskilled (see table 6). Besides people seeking employment in nearby districts, it is also common to seek a higher income abroad. Several men revealed they intend to work abroad or they are going back and forth to make money in the construction sector in Singapore or industrial companies in China. The panchayat president declared that in the whole municipal area 800 acres of land were sold to industries of which landowners from Nochikadu sold 600 acres, which is by far the biggest share. The accuracy of this exact number can be questioned because his figure of the population size of Nochikadu is contradicting the figures of the panchayat clerk. Though, it is certain that the number of acres sold is noteworthy because several other interviews revealed that in the past a substantial amount of land was sold to companies. In addition, the survey discloses that 4 of the 17 landowners that took part in the survey sold land to industries. Together this made up for 43 acres of land being sold.
“MBC landowners sold vetiver land to companies so there is now less agricultural land in comparison to 10 years ago.” - thirty-seven year old woman, SC community.
Rural Economy
Reflecting on the sub-question: How has the rural economy of Nochikadu changed under influence of the agrarian change? on the basis of the previous results and literature leads to the following observations. The general development of the agrarian change in Nochikadu and the core reasons why the agrarian sector is shrinking is summarized by a part of the quote in box 1:
Box 2: Job preferences
“They can get educated and degrees, but they are not interested to work in places far away. They want jobs nearby which means they have a lower chance to get a job. They turn to the SIPCOT companies but they can’t find a job there. When they find a job nearby the wage is lower than for job opportunities further away.” – forty-five year
23
“In general there was more agricultural labour twenty years ago than now because land has been sold to companies but also because wages outside agriculture are higher and the youth wants to get a job of their own interest.”
An unbalanced income and physical problems due to agricultural labour can be added to the push factors to stop being a land labourer. These two quotes illustrate the commonly shared view in Nochikadu that agricultural labour is hard work, less well-paying, provides an unstable income and is considered a last resort for people who cannot find other means of livelihood.
“I just can’t stand agricultural jobs because it is seasonal work which means a very
unreliable income.” – thirty-three year old man, SC community. He works in a SIPCOT
company.
“Even though we work in vetiver we search for other jobs, but we are illiterate so we do not have a lot of chance to find another job.”- forty-five yearold man, SC community. This
situation applies on himself and his three family members.
These findings correspond for the majority of literature, except that theory does not mention physical problems as a push factor. It describes agricultural work as hard work, but physical problems are not explicitly mentioned. Second, the literature clearly states that farmers face diminishing returns. This is only partially true because, indeed, production costs have increased due to the privatisation of the energy sector resulting in increasing prices (Walker, 2008). Furthermore, wages have increased over the past twenty years but, this is actually related this increase to the increased profit derived from vetiver and cashew cultivation. None of the respondents mentions labour scarcity as a reason for the increased wages like in the research of Prabakara et al. (2011). Instead, as described by Viayabaskar (2010) the labour market develops through the voluntarily selling of land to companies which results in a shrinking employment rate in agriculture. The same author describes that the selling of land to SIPCOT companies is related to fewer employment opportunities than expected. Landowners in Nochikadu confirm that SIPCOT disappointed them by employing one member of the family for only six months. Walker (2008) relates the economic liberalisation to decreasing crop prices due to economic reforms. This development can be argued in the case of Nochikadu. Vetiver and cashew have relatively recent replaced crops with a lower output, so clearly there has been an increase in output prices. However, this is would be a false comparison with literature because it is due to a shift type of crop cultivation. A landowner describes a contradicting development for the price he receives for his cashews.
“Yearly the price for the cashew is increasing because of the development of transport facilities we can reach more markets in other districts instead of only in our own area and the demand increases.”
24
5. What role does class difference play in the turn away from the
agrarian sector by the population of Nochikadu?
The previous chapter elaborated on the features of the agrarian change in Nochikadu. The neoliberal reforms, leading to the agrarian change, have also transformed the traditional class-based structure of rural society. The literature describes that with the increased pressure on the agricultural sector different classes have different reasons to leave agriculture and have multiple ways of diversifying household income (Vijayabaskar, 2010; Walker, 2008; Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). This chapter presents the role of class difference by those who turned towards the non-agrarian sector in Nochikadu.
Class and caste
Nochikadu is inhabited by the vanniyar caste, or MBC, and dalit, the SC. These two castes are in the agrarian sector clearly divided into the landowning class and land labouring class. This division is more rigorous for SC than MBC because there is no member of the SC landowner but seventeen households of the MBC community are part of the landowning class and fifteen of the labouring class. Though, verifying repeatedly whether the SC members were motivated to purchase an occupation outside agriculture because this enabled them to escape this class structure no respondent confirmed this.
Chances for non-agrarian employment
The agrarian change in Nochikadu is related to a shrinking agrarian workforce, land selling, increase of production costs and wages, but also in yield per acre. First, survey data, which is presented in table 4, shows that the rural economy of Nochikadu experiences structural transformation as people have increasingly shifted from agrarian jobs towards non-agrarian jobs. What is not displayed in table 4 is that the shift towards non-agrarian sectors is to a great extent an inter-generational shift. Nearly everybody in the survey stated that the grandparents or the great-grandparents of the household worked in agriculture, being it as labourer or
landowner. Data reveals, that 6 SC and 5 MBC community members of the workforce have
shifted their labour from agriculture to a non-agrarian job or business. In 14 households, the younger family members have a non-agrarian job and the parents work in agriculture, meaning that more households rely less on agriculture for their income since the younger generation entered the workforce. This development could increase even more in the future because the data reveals that the younger generation attends to higher education than their parents did. There no significant difference between MBC and SC observed in the data.
25 Table 5: Distribution of education level for community status in % (count)
Education U neduc at e d 1 s t -8 th s tan dar d 9 th -12 th s tan da rd H igher ed uc at ion & B ac hel or M as ter Tot a l Community MBC 29.3 19 28.4 17.2 6 100 (116) SC 33.3 22.2 15.9 22.2 6.3 100 (63) Total 30.7 20.1 24 19 6.1 100 (179) N: 180, missing: 1 Source: Author, 2017 There are slight differences visible in table 5 for education level between these communities. A woman from the SC community stated in an interview that members of the SC community are less interested in getting educated than the MBC. In addition, a man from the MBC community said that his community members are educated to a greater extent in comparison to the SC. The survey data, presented in table 5, shows that there is indeed a slightly higher percentage of SC members who are uneducated or only finished primary school and in the category who attended higher secondary the MBC community has a higher score. However, for higher education the SC community scores better and for the category master, there is no difference between the communities. The seemingly contradicting survey and interview results can be explained by the fact that many of the older generation of the SC community are uneducated. This gives them the image of being less interested in education while the SC younger generation is actually educated to a high degree. Two female respondents from the SC, who are in higher education, explain they got this opportunity through the government education promotion scheme. In addition, survey data reveals that youth from both poor and richer family attend to higher education, while for the older generations the poorer families are relatively less well educated. Families that sold land to companies were guaranteed that one family member would get a job in the company. This appears to be an advantage for the landowning class to get industrial employment. However, families that sold their land were disappointed because the family member got employment on a contract basis and was fired after 6 months. So, the advantage of the landowning class in getting industrial employment was only temporal. Two respondents stated that infrastructural development is important in creating opportunities to get employment at companies. This is further explained by this quote from the previous panchayat president:
“People seek work in companies because this secures them of daily wages. A shift has occurred ten years before due to the development of transport facilities that has been promoted by the previous minister. Ten years ago, this area was lacking transport facilities and people were only employed in agriculture. Through the development of infrastructure, for example, the bridge over the Uppanar river people have better access to Cuddalore and nearby companies and more people get employed in companies outside Nochikadu.”
26 Table 6: Distribution occupation for education in % (count)
Occupation A gr ic ul tur e S k ille d N. A . Un s k ille d N. A . U nem pl oy e d Ho u s e wif e S tudy Oth e r T ot al Education Uneducated 41.9 0 11 5.5 27.3 3.6 10.9 100 (55) 1st – 8th standard 48.6 0 22.9 0 20 0 8.6 100 (35) 9th – 12th standard 20.9 2.3 18.6 9.3 30.2 4.7 14 100 (43) Higher education & Bachelor 11.8 26.5 11.8 14.7 2.9 32.4 0 100 (34) Master 0 36.4 9.1 18.2 9.1 27.3 0 100 (11) Total 29.8 7.8 14.1 7.9 20.8 10.1 8.4 100 (178) N: 180, missing: 2 Source: Author, 2017
The panchayat clerk stated that both community groups benefit equally from industry and there is no difference in the effect on the basis of gender. The survey data reveals that both SC and MBC members are employed in industrial companies. There is no difference between communities, who gets skilled or unskilled labour and whether the conditions of employment are daily wages, contract labour or permanent. All respondents, employed in an industrial company, indicated that the chances to get a job depend on education level. Table 6 shows
that only people who completed 9th standard or higher found skilled employment in the
non-agrarian sector. For the clarity of the table the categories skilled industrial jobs and other skilled jobs are aggregated in one category, skilled N.A. But data of only the respondents in the category skilled industrial employment, reveals that all have completed higher education, bachelors or masters.
“Community status is irrelevant to those companies only your educational background is important.”
Says a twenty-two-year-old man from the MBC community, he works since nine months in a chemical company. His daily task is managing the machine operating system that mixes chemicals. Though this man and many others stated that the only condition for employment in industrial companies is education level, the survey indicated that there is another condition to get employment in these companies. Namely, only men have jobs in these companies, even
27 Table 7: Distribution occupation for community in % (count)
Occupation Lan dow ner Lan d La bo ur er S k ille d in d u s tr ia l Un s k ille d indus tr ial S k ill ed ot her N .A . Un s k ill ed ot h er N. A . U nem pl oy e d Ho u s e wif e S tudy Oth e r Tot a l Community MBC 14.7 15.5 2.6 1.7 3.4 11.2 6.9 21.6 8.6 13.8 100 (116) SC 0 28.6 6.3 7.9 4.8 11.1 9.5 19 12.7 0 100 (63) Total 9.5 20.1 3.9 3.9 3.9 11.2 7.8 20.7 10.1 8.9 100 (179) N: 180, missing: 1 Source: Author, 2017 though among the survey respondents there is a woman with a suitable educational background and in search for a job. The man from the MBC community confirmed this survey data.
“In this chemical company are only men employed because of the health risks. Only in the canteen and reception of the company work woman.”
The data show that one woman is employed in a nearby industrial company, but as cleaning lady. From the research data, it has become clear that the chances to get employed in a
company are principally determined by education, but also gender.Women do not get
employment for jobs that are accompanied with health risks. There is no qualitative data available explaining why there are no women employed in the companies for skilled jobs that have no high health risk. Thus, the only thing that can be concluded from this research is that data did not reveal any woman having a skilled job at an industrial company though there are qualified women in Nochikadu. Further research should be done to find a meaningful explanation behind these results.
As has been advocated in literature, stated by many respondents and shown in table 6, determines education level employment chances. From table 5 can be concluded that relatively more SC community members attend to higher education. Accordingly, table 7 reveals that the percentage of skilled industrial occupations and skilled other non-agrarian occupations is higher for the SC community than for the MBC community. However, these categories are small in comparison to the other categories. The category of ‘landowner’ and ‘other’ are bigger and here the percentages for the SC community are 0%. So these figures can be misrepresenting and rather be interpreted as more MBC households relying their income on their land than that the SC community has really higher chances in purchasing industrial jobs and other skilled non-agrarian jobs.
To answer the sub-question what the role of class difference is in the turn towards the non-agrarian sector, this paragraph will first reflect upon the traditional class structure in
28 Nochikadu and the existing literature of the agrarian classes and, secondly, it will reflect upon the reasons of respondents to enter non-agrarian sectors and the theory. First, the literature describes that traditional class structure in rural society puts the dalit in a position of oppression in four different ways. First, the non-possession of land or any other form of physical capital. Second, deprivation of financial capital for entrepreneurship. Third, deprivation of human capability and thus only able to make a living through unskilled manual labour. Fourth, neglecting to organise social capital to participate in governance and influence the development direction. In short, the lowest classes are less entitled to resources to improve their economic situation and escape from poverty (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). From the results can be concluded that this structure is eroding, but that some forms of oppression have not changed. In Nochikadu the discrimination is still a daily reality. Though none of the respondents expressed discontent about the non-possession of land for the whole SC community. Neo-landing classes attending as result of the agrarian change has not occurred in Nochikadu (Palanithurai & Ramesh, 2015). There was no sign of the second and third facet of the traditional class structure in Nochikadu. Survey data reveals that three SC members have started an own enterprise. Table 7 shows how the SC community is represented in all types of occupation in the local economy, with the only exception being a landowner. The fourth element of the class structure is true in Nochikadu because the government rule forces to break through this form oppression. The SC community participates in the panchayat but, without the government rule, they would be oppressed for such political engagement. Second, in the turn towards non-agrarian sectors the respondents mention some pull and push factors that are corresponding with the theory: the seasonal character of agricultural work, the low esteem of the job, other (better) job opportunities outside agriculture that did not exist 10 years ago and the development of transport facilities increases their opportunity to attend to non-agrarian jobs (Prabakara, et al., 2011). The oppressed position of the SC community in agriculture is not mentioned as push-factor, instead, physical problems as a result of agricultural labour are frequently mentioned by the respondents. From the respondents, who do not possess any land, the data does not show any difference between the vanniyar and dalit to move towards non-agrarian sectors. However, there is a difference with the landowning class, who had the opportunity to sell land and spent the profit on non-agrarian activities. For the younger generation, the literature states that their interest in agriculture and esteem of owning land is lower from the previous generation (Djurfeldt et al., 2008). From the interview data, two different results come forward. The first, that children of landowners are not interested in agriculture and the second, that they prefer to first work abroad and return to buy more land and be land owners like their parents. The following quotes illustrate the two opinions.
“I am also interested in agriculture but later. As a child, I was interested in engineering and I have the job because it earns good money. Abroad you can earn more so that’s why I am going to Qatar. I will return after a few years and spend the money on taking care of my parents and invest in buying own land and spent the rest of his life in agriculture in Nochikadu by selling and growing own food. It is traditionally the occupation of the people in Nochikadu and I like it” – twenty-seven year old man who completed his master engineering. “Do you think your children will take over the family business?” “ No they are not interested in agriculture, they want to work abroad.” - fifty-two year old man.
