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Caste, Class and Economic Opportunity in Kerala: An Empirical Analysis

Author(s): P. Sivanandan
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 14, No. 7/8, Annual Number: Class and Caste in
India (Feb., 1979), pp. 475-480
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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Caste, Class and Econotnic Opportunity in Kerala


An Empirical Analysis
P Sivanandan

An attempt is made in this paper to examine the interplay of caste and class forces in Kerala.

The presenit level of economic attainments among the major social groups is comlpared with the corresponding level three or four decades earlier in order to see if the contemporary caste-class relation is
any different from that of the past.
The author examines, in this context, some aspects of the distribution of land-holdings and of educational and employment opportuzities among the major social groups.
THE structure of the labour market

and the distribution of assets in Kerala


retain a very significant level of caste-

class association, despite a certain degree of interpenetration. The exclusive


traditional privilege of proprietorship

and administrative and supervisory


powers enjoyed by a group of superior
and influential castes in the past are
being shared also by a large number

of other castes, belonging in particular


to the intermediate section of the
Hindu, Christian and Muslim communities. Along with this upward occupational mobility, a certain extent of

downward occupational filtration has


taken, place and it has naturally enlarged
numerical strength of the labouring

the largest share of landed property in


this region of Kerala. We do not, however, have comparable data relating to
this period for the regions comprising
present-day Kerala as a whole.

Table 1 shows that Brabmin households held on average 15.6 acres of


wet land per owner and 12.89 acres
of dry land per owner whereas households belonging to other castes held
land ranging roughly between 1 and 3
acres. However, Nair households, in
spite of a small average per owner, had
a fairly large share in the total land
(38 per cent in respect of wet land and
30 per cent in respect of dry land).
Moreover, both the Brahmin and the

Nair communities reported ownership


on a much bigger scale than did the
other castes, especially of wet land.1
In the case of Nair households the low
average of holding is explained by a
process of partition among the joint
family members, particularly during the
20s and 30s.2 In contrast, among the
other castes not only is the proportion
of households reporting ownership low
but so also is the average size of the
holding per owner.

Thus the land ownership pattern during the 30s shows that there was a very
high level of inequality in the distribution *of land and in the proportion
of land owners among the various com-

class. This process of economic re-

organisation among the various castes

contains a unique feature namely


class formation within a caste framework. Nevertheless, the upward occu-

TABLE 1: LAND-HOLDING PATTERN BY CASTE IN TRAVANCORE, 1931

Wet Land Dry Land Average Area Per

Community

pational mobility and class reorganisation among the lowest castes which

traditionally constituted the dependent

class of agrarian labour, are extremely


minimal when compared to the experi-

ence of other caste/communal groups.


In this paper an attempt is made to
examine the interplay of caste and class

forces in the distribution of income


earning opportunities. In our analysis

we try to compare the present level of


economic attainments among the major

Owner

Propor- Propor- Propor- Proportion of tion of tion of tion of

(Acres)

Owners Area Owners Area Wet Land Dry Land

Brahmin 1.08 8.75 0.62 3.05 15.60 12.89


Nair 43.90 38.70 27.09 30.18 1.71 2.95
Syrian Christian 18.91 26.08 19.71 29.03 2.69 3.90
Muslim 5.70 5.02 6.04 6.13 1.72 2.69
Ezhava 11.81 6.77 16.33 12.13 1.11 1.95
OtherHindu 11.47 10.88 16.32 9.12 1.85 1.48
Other Christian 5.42 2 95 9.21 7.93 1.07 2.28
Depressed Hindu 1.60 0.85 4.52 2.43 1.03 1.43
All Communities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 2.20 2.57
Source: Census of India, Vol XXVIII, Travancore, Part I, Report Appendix IV, p 472
and 475.

social groups with their corresponding

levels three or four decades earlier in


order to see if the contemporary casteclass relation is any different fromthat

of the past. We shall in this context


examine some aspects of the distribution

of land-holdings, educational and employment opporttImities.

LAND-HOT nINoS

The pattern of land-holding seems to


be an important factor around which

caste-class relations develop. Available

dlata for the Travancore region show


that during the nineteen thirties the
dominant castes, particularly the traditional caste Hindu sections, controlled

TABLE 2: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION oF HOUSEHOLDS IN EACH CASTE/COMMUNITY


ACCORDING TO LAND OWNED, KERALA 1968

Community No Land Below 0.5 to 2.0 2 to 5 Above 5


Land

Size

0.5 Acres Acres Acres


Acre

Brahmin 28.4 28.2 17.9 26.6 13.0


Nair 16.2 33.4 33.4 12.4 4.7
Syrian Catholic 27.7 22.7 23.9 17.8 6.8
Jacobites 13.4 26.5 36.5 18.4 5.4
Ezhava 33.4 39.0 21.2 5.1 1 .4
Muslim 32.6 35.5 23.1 6.9 1.9
Scheduled Caste 53.2 40.0 5.9 0.7 0.1
Scheduled Tribe 57.7 20.4 11.0 6.7 3.1
SC Converts to Christianity 51.6 37.9 9.8 0.5 0.2
ST converts to Christianity 92.1 - 2.6 2.6 2.6

All communities 32.8 34.8 21.9 7.7 2.8

Souirce: Report on Soc.o-Economic Survey on Caste/Communities in Kerala, 1968,


Bureau of Economic and Statistics, Trivandrum, 1969.
475

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TABLE 3: PERCENTAGE DISTRBUTION OF TOTAL LAND OWNED BY COMMUNrrnEs,

it is important to note that the agrarian

KERALA 1968

pronounced has continued to retain a


pronounced concentration of land

Propor- Proportion of Households Owning

Community tion of

House- No Less 0.5-2.0 More


holds Land Than 0.5 Acres Than 2
Acres

among a small proportion of house-

holds. The data available for 1971-72

Acres

show that 68 per cent of the rural

Brahmin 1.50 1.36 1.21 1.12 3.29


Ambalavasi 0.20 0.20 0.11 0.29 0.36
Nair 14.89 7.74 14.30 20.67 21.85
Christians 20.84 18.74 12.41 25.98 34.76

each, while 1.2 per cent of the house-

(all denominations)

Muslim 17.87 18.70 18.23 17.42 13.62


Ezhava 22.30 23.86 24.97 19.63 12.34
Other Hindu

(except SC and ST) 10.65 10.29 16.18 11.31 11.59


Scheduled Castes 8.65 14.76 9.94 2.11 0.67
Scheduled Tribes 1.37 2.55 0.84 0.63 1.29

SC and ST converts to Christia-

nity 1.73 1.80 1.81 0.82 0.23


All communities 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

holds operating over 10 acres accounted

for 15.1 per cent of the total operated

area.3 In general there has been a significant increase in the proportion of

households cultivating small bits of land.

There has also been a reducLion in the


proportion of landlesshouseholds.4 The

process has considerably tilted the traditional caste-class association: a certain


extent of interpenetration has taken

Source: 1968 Survey Report, op cit

TABLE 4: LITERACY RATES AND EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE AMONG SELECTED


COMMUNITIES, DURING 1931

Proportion of Literate in Proportion Percentage


of Pupils of Children
under Ins- (6-12 Age
truction in Group) AtTotal Po- tending

_____ _ _ ___________ pulation Schools

Travancore Cochin Malabar Travancore Cochin


1931

households operate less than 1 acre

1931

1931

1931

1931

Brahmin 50.9 68.0 57.0 16.0 82.0


Nair 35.5 55.7 37.4 14.5 67.5
Christian 35.7 40.1 40.5 13.4 68.0
Ezhava 21.3 26.2 NA 10.5 46.0
Muslim 14.4 13.7 7.5 3.5 29.0
Pulaya 3.3 5.3 1.9 6.9 23.0

Source: Census of lIndia, 1931, Vol XXVII, Travancore, Vol XXI, Cochin, and Vol X1V,
Madras.

TABLE 5 : PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF PERSONS (OF ALL AGES) ACCORDING TO


GENERAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, 1968.
General Education Tech-

Caste/Communlty

Llterates

nical

Litera- Prima- SSLC Gra- Educates below ry and and duate and tion
Primary below Under- PostSSLC graduate graduate

Brahmin 85.0 21.2 37.2 22.2 4.4 4.5


Nair 72.3 30.4 37.6 9.2 1.1 2.3
Ezhava 67.2 32.7 30.2 4.0 0.3 0.9
Jacobite Christian 80.3 32.1 36.8 9.4 2.0 2.5

Syrian Catholics 79.3 34.2 36.0 7.5 0.6 1.2

SC converts to

Christianity 65.5 36.5 26.2 2.6 0.2 1.2


Muslims 55.3 33.1 20.3 1.7 0.2 1.2
Scheduled Castes 47.1 28.5 17.0 1.5 0.1 0.3
Scheduled Tribes 36.1 22.7 12.8 0.6 nil nil
All communities 66.2 32.0 28.7 5.0 0.5 1.3

Source: 1968 Survey Report, op cit


TABLE 6: CASTE AND OCCUPATION (PROPORTION OF WORKERS IN EACH CATEGORY
OF OCCUPATION)

(i) Malabar-1921 Census

Nambudiri Nair Thiyya Mopla Chel uma


Occupation Brahmin Muslim
(1) Rentiers 41.2 5.9 - 1.8 (2) Cultivators 9.0 50.4 20.9 33.4 0.5
(3) Agriculturallabourers - 17.2 44.4 23.8 91.2
(4) Toddy drawing and selling - 7.0 - -(5) Trade and commerce - - - 23.7
(6) Public administration, learned and artistic professions 35.4 18.5 9.3 11.6
(7) Others 14.4 8.0 18.4 5.7 8.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

place, particularly in the lowest land


size and landless categories.

To see the extent of this interpenetration, we may look at the pattern of


land distribution among the various
communities for an understanding of the

prevailing caste composition in each


land size class and the class composi-

tion of each community. The latest in-

formation we have in this regard is


from a survey conducted during 1968.

Though the data do not provide the


share of land among the different communities, they give the proportions of

households in eachl land size class.


Roughly two-thirds of Muslim and
Ezhava households were either landless
or owned less than half an acre, while
the great majority of the Harijan house-

holds were similarly placed with respect


to ownership of land (Table 2). On
the other hand the proportion of house-

holds owning above 5 acres among the


upper castes was significantly higher

than that among the lower castes. It


needs to be noted, however, that roughly half of the Nair households and over

56 per cent of the Brabmin households


also were either landless or owned less
than half an acre each. These data thus

show the extent to which downward


mobility has taken place among the
upper caste groups.

The class structure of the communi-

ties is vividly brought out by the dis-

tribution of total land owned by each


community in each land size class.
Table 3 shows that among the landless and among those with small land
holdings, the lower castes continue to

predominate while in the larger size

holdings, the upper castes and the intermediate castes constitute the domi-

nant category. Therefore, the landless


munities. Land was thus concentrated had either no land or very little.
in the hands of upper caste families. Before we study the changes that

labour and small peasant classes conti-

Those belonging to the lower castes have occurred during recent decades,

castes, while the landlord and cultiva-

nue to be composed mainly of lower

476

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ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY Annual Number February 1979


(ii) Cochin-1931 and 1941 Census
Occupation

Malayala Nair Christian Muslim Ezhava Pulaya

Brahmin

1931 1941 1931 1941 1931 1941 1931 1941 1931 1941 1931 1941
(1) Rentiers 66.7 44.9 5.9 6.4 - 0.9 - 0.8 - -1.3 - (2) Cultivators 22.4 33.9 51.6 45.0 25.3 33.6 18.9 16.2 2.7 23.0 1.1 3.1
(3) Field labour - - 10.7 10.4 15.6 10.1 23.3 14.7 19.1 20.6 87.6 86.1
(4) Industry, trade and transport 3.1 0.9 12.8 15.7 42.7 35.0 40.4 46.5 68.3 41.4 4.9 3.2
(5) Public administration, liberal arts and Professions 3.9 16.7 12.2 7.3 3.4 4.1 2.4 3.5 1.1 2.3 - 0.2
(6) Others 3.9 3.6 6.8 15.2 13.0 16.4 15.3 18.3 8.8 11.4 6.4 fii 7.4
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0j100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
(iii) Travancore- 1921 and 1931 Census

Brahmin Nair Ezhava Pulaya

Caste and (Priesthood) (Agriculture) (Toddy dra- (Agricultural


traditional wing) Labour)
Occupa- occupation

tion 1921 1931 1921 1931 1921 1931 1921 1931

(1) Traditional occupation 11.5 16.1 71.4 68.9 5.6 3.8 72.3 83.3
(2) Farming 32.8 26.9 1.9 0.4 20.2 31.5 3.3 2.9

(3) Trade, inciustry and trans-

port 21.3 29.5 7.2 8.2 16.3 13.4 0.7 1.6

(4) Public administration and

liberal arts 30.8 26.8 8.2 10.5 1.5 2.3 - 0.1


(5) Wage labour 3.6 0.7 11.3 12.0 56.4 49.0 23.7 12.1
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Census of India, Vol XIII, Madras, Part I, Vol XXI 1931, and Vol XIX 1941,
Cochin, and Vol XXV 1921 and Vol XXVIII 1931, Iravancore.

tor classes are largely constituted by

class factors continue to influence its

persons from the traditional privileged

evolution. By looking at the educatio-

classes, notwithstanding a certain ex-

nal advancement during the period 1931

tent of downward mobility among upper

to 1968, among the various communi-

castes such as Brahmins and Nairs.

ties, it is possible to assess the under-

lying pattern of change.

Table 4 gives data on the literacy

EDUCATION

Education and cultural advancementi


were considered to be the sole privileges

of certain communities which enjoyed


superior positions in the traditional so-

cial hierarchy. However, with the advent of colonial administration and as a

result of social reform movements and


political freedom struggles, there has
been a considerable breakthrough in the
spread of education among the masses.

With large scale public and private investments, educational and training
opportunities have improved throughou. the state. In this context, a certain

degree of relaxation of caste barriers in


social relations has provided the new

generation (belonging to all social


groups) an opportunity to learn and
improve their skills. The role of the
national government is particularly sig-

nificant since it has adopted numerous


special assistance programmes for the
upliftment of the backward castes/
classes.

rates among the different communities


in 1931. These data show that literacy

levels were ge-nerally very low among


the low castes. By 1968, the literacy

levels of all communities had gone up


significantly (Table 5), thanks to the
growing social and political awareness

of the people. Nevertheless, the differ-

ences have persisted. For instance,


among the superior caste Hindus, who
have a long heritage in learning, land-

ownership and political power, illiteracy


is a rarity. Similarly the Christians,

-iaving a long record of involvement in


commercial activities and agricultural
pursuits, have utilised all opportunities
for educational and professional advancement. The intermediate caste
'1indus and Muslims who constitute a
large proportion of the peasant, artisan

ansd trading classes, have also begun to

acquire modern education.5 It is remarkable, in this context, that in addition to the government's efforts to set
up educational and training institutions

Nevertheless, the pattern of educatio-

all over the state, these communities,

nal attainment and skill formation

particularly Nairs, Christians, Ezhavas

among the various social groups in Ke-

and Muslims also themselves manage a

rala seems to suggest that caste and

large number of similar institutions.

However, the rest of the communities

which occupy the lowest position in


the social hierarchy and form a significant section of the class of landless
peasants and wage labour, have only
very recently been introduced to literacy and modern education. Considering the long tradition of their social
disability and economic backwardness,
tlle government has, however, adopted
a policy of protective assistance which
includes pecuniary support and preferential treatment. Nevertheless, it is
still a hard task for this poor and poverty stricken class to ward off illiteracy and attain educational levels similar to those of others in the society.
It may be seen that although the literacy rates have improved considerably
among people of the lower castes, most
of them do not go beyond the school
stage (Table 5). Among those who
acquire higher general and technical
education, the upper castes and the
Christians continue to be preponderant.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Upward occupational mobility among


the higher castes was widespread. Those
at the lower end of the social hierarchy
on the other hand suffered severe occupational limitations in the past.
We have community-wise occupational
distribution for the last four or five
decades. These data show that traditional communal status and the pattern
of employment were closely related.
The occupational classification in the
three regions of Kerala, viz, Malabar,
Cochin and Travancore, available from
the census of 1921, 1931 and 1941
shows very clearly the close relationship
between profession and caste status
which existed despite diversification of
,job opportunities in all sectors (Table 6).
The Brahmins and the Nairs were
not only rentiers and cultivators but
also the main participants in public administration and the learned professions.
The Christians, the Muslims' and the
Ezhavas, however, had a mixed occu477

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Annual Number February 19179 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WtEKLY


TABLE 7: ACTIVITY STATUS-PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF PERSONS IN SELECTED CASTES/COMMUNITIES, 1968

Community

Student Daily Weekly Salaried Employ-Self Unpaid Unemp- Othetg


Wages yer emplo- Family loyed
yed Enter-

Wages

prises

CBrahmin 36.3 1.5 0.1 12.3 2.8 5.1 1.7 3.7 36.5

(A)

Ambalavasi

31.9

5.0

0.3

11.7

2.2

5.6

1.3

3.2

38.8

tNair 32.3 7.2 1.1 6.8 2.2 8.2 2.0 3.5 56.7
[Syrian Catholics 32.8 8.6 0.7 3.7 1.4 8.6 3.7 2.5 37.9
(B) . Jacobites 35.4 6.7 0.8 4.7 1.5 9.5 2.0 2.7 36.7
Marthomites 39.9 5.1 0.9 5.1 1.7 9.8 1.4 3.7 32.3

LCatholics 26.7 13.2 1.4 4.5 0.8 9.3 2.8 3.1 38.2

(C)

(D)

Ezhava 28.6 16.9 2.2 3.1 1.0 6.6 2.3 2.8 36.6
{ Kammala 27.8 15.6 1.2 2.6 0.2 6.6 1.4 2.8 41.9

Muslim

22.2

12.2

0.7

2.0

1.4

8.5

2.6

2.2

48.2

(Scheduled Castes 22.4 33.4 2.2 1.7 0.1 3.6 1.6 2.3 32.6
jScheduled Tribes 15.1 36.3 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.4 3.5 2.0 36.8

(E) . SCconvertsto Christianity 30.2 30.3 1.2 1.9 0.1 3.8 0.9 2.1 29.5

S T converts to Christianity 15.3 58.9 - - - 0.3 0.6 0.6 24.4


All communities 27.9 14.6 1.4 3.6 1.2 7.4 2.4 2.7 38.8

Source: Report on the Sample Survey on Socio-Economic Conditions of Castes/Communities in Kerala, 1968, Bureau of
Economics and Statistics, Trivandrumn.

TABLE 8: PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF EARNERS IN MAJOR CATEGORIES OF


EMPLOYMENT, 1968

(I) (t1) ~(III) (IV) (V) (VI) (VII)


Techni- Servi- Agricul- Uncal, Trade ces, tural Skilled
Profes- and Trans- and Labour
sional Sale Farming Craft Port Allied
and Ad- and Labour
minis-

Community

Commu-

tra.ive

nications

fiBrahmin 46.2 15.5 22.4 4.5 7.5 2.7 1.2

(A) i Ambalavasi 29.0 10.7 17.0 3.3 22.5 16.9 0.6

LNair 14.0 6.8 35.2 9.1 11.8 20.4 2.7

(according to socio-economic similarity)


into five groups, namely (A) the Hindu

Upper Castes (Brahmin, Ambalavasi and


Nair), (B) the Christian sections (Syrian
Catholics, Jacobites, Marthomites and
Latin Catholics), (C) the Hindu Inter-

mediate Castes (Ezhava and Kammala),


(D) Muslims, and (E) Scheduled
Castes, Scheduled Tribes and their converts to Christianity.

It is characteristic among the upper


caste Hindus (A) and the Chris-tian

f Christian (total) 10.4 8.6 29.7 14.3 6.4 26.2 4.4

sections (B) to have a larger proportion


of student population and a lower pro-

| (iii) Syrian

portion of wage earners when compared


to other communities. The workers

(i) Marthomites 17.5 7.5 42.2 6.8 4.6 19.5 1.9


(B) i (ii) Jacobites 13.6 10.2 37.0 5.3 5.8 25.2 2.9

. Catholics 8.4 8.2 37.6 6.9 6.7 28.0 4.2


(iv) Latin Ca-

, tholics 7.0 9.0 8.3 40.6 7.8 21.6 5.7

t Ezhava 5.3 6.7 14.1 21.2 7.2 40.4 5.1


(C) . Kammala 3.4 1.6 3. 3 72.3 3.6 12.2 3.6
LOther Hindu 4.4 4.2 8.0 29.5 9.2 39.8 4.9

(D) Muslim 4.1 17.5 20.8 10.2 8.3 33.6 5.5

F Scheduled Castes 1.6 1.3 8.1 10.9 6.4 66.3 5.4

IScheduledTribes 0.7 0.5 11.2 2.6 2.3 81.4 1.3

(E) . SC and ST converts to Christi-

anity 2.2 1.1 3.1 7.0 3.0 80.0 4.6


All communities 6.9 8.1 19.8 16.0 8.1 36.7 4.4

Source: 1968 Survey Report, op cit.

pational pattern. They were engaged


in cultivation and industrial, trading and
commercial activities. To some extent
they worked also as wage labourers.
On the other hand, the Pulaya or Cheruma community was restricted almost
wholly to agricultural labour as the

cipation as cultivators (except in the case

main occupation.

cription of employment pattern among

The industrial classification for 1961


and 1971 shows that the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, who
formed only a tenth of the state's population, remain the major constituent in
the labour force for agricultural operations and Rllied activities. Their parti-

of Tribals), owners of production processes, or industries or as persons


engaged in business or commerce, is

extremely low when compared to the


other communities.6

The 1968 survey gives a detailed desthe various social groups in terms of
(a) Activity Status (Table 7), (b) distribution of gainfully employed persons

in *various occupations (Table 8) and


(c) caste composition of workers in each
occupation (Table 9). In these Tables
the selected communities are classified

among them are mostly distributed in

the salaried, employer and self-employed


classes. The intermediate caste Hindus
(C) and Muslims (D), while having a
lower proportion of student population
- compared only to (A) and (B)
groups, - have a larger propiortion of

workers in the wage labour and selfemployed categories. However, the


proportions of salaried and employer
seeLions among them are higher than
those among other communities below
them in the social hierarchy, namely
(E). The lowest proportion of non-

working population (student + 'others')


is amo-ng the Scheduled Castes and the

Scheduled Tribes (E). The main activIty of these communities is daily wage
employment. There are only a few
among them in the salaried and employer classes. Though about four per
cent of workers among the Scheduled
Castes have reported as self-employed,
the occupations concerned are by and
large related to traditional crafts supplementary to agricultural production.
The broad classification of communi-

478

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ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY Annual Number February 1979


TABLE 9 : COMMUNITY-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF EARNERS IN EACH CATEGORY OF
EMPLOYMENT, KERALA 1968.

and service occupations. The employment pattern among the Ambalavasis,


who were originally temple servants and

() (11) (III) (IV) (V) (VI) (VII)

Techni-Trade Farm- Crafts Service, Agri- Unskil- Proporcal, and ing Trans- cultural led tion of
Profes- Sale port and Labour Total

Community sional and Allied Earners


and Com- Labour
Admi- municanistra- tion

tive

rBrahmin 7.5 2.2 1.3 0.3 1.1 0.1 0.3 1.1

associates of the Brahmin aristocracy, is


closely similar to that of the Brabmins.
The next most advantageous position in
acquiring remunera;tive occupations is
held by the Nairs who onco formed the
militia and the tenantry of the land.
Most of the Christians, who were tenant

(A). Ambalavasi 0.8 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.1 - 0.2

farmers, peasants or traders during the


'pre-capitalist system have benefited

rChristians (total) 25.1 18.1 25.6 15.3 13.6 12.2 16.6 17.1

tendencies in agriculture since the close

LNair 26.5 11.0 23.2 7.4 19.2 7.3 7.8 13.2

1 (i) Marthomites 3.2 1.2 2.7 0.5 0.7 0.7 0.5 1.3
J(ii) Jacobites 6.1 3.9 5.8 1.0 2.2 2.7 2.0 3.1

(B). (iii) Syrian

Catholics 8.8 7.4 13.9 3.2 6.0 5.6 6.8 7.3

(iv) Latin Ca-

( tholics 3.8 4.2 1.6 9.6 3.6 2.2 5.6 3.8


(C)t

rEzhava 17.9 19.3 16.6 31.0 21.0 26.1 26.4 23.5

LKammala 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.6 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.3

(D) Muslim 10.0 36.5 17.7 11.0 17.4 15.4 20.6 16.8
r Scheduled Caste 2.7 1. 9 4.7 7.8 9.1 20.7 12.9 11.4
I Scheduled Tribe 0.2 0.1 1.0 0.3 0.5 4.1 0.5 1.8

(E)> SC and ST con-

verts to Chrisia-

lnity 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.9 0.8 4.5 2.1 2.1


Others 8.4 10.2 9.3 24.3 16.6 9.4 12.5 12.6
All communities 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: 1968 Survey Report, op cit.

TABLE 10: PERCENTAGE OF EARNERS ACCORDING TO MONTHLY INCOME, 1968


Monthly Income (Rs)

Community

Below 50 50-100 100-200 More Than


200

rBrahmin

11.2

20.1

30.1

38.6

(A)i Ambalavasi 25.3 27.2 26.8 20.7


LNair 31.8 29.8 25.5 12.9
r Mathomites 29.0 30.9 27.6 12.5

(B). Jacobites 22.0 32.4 29.1 16.5


Syrian Catholics 28.4 32.3 25.2 14.1
LLatin Catholic 49.3 28.4 17.5 4.8
(C)g Ezhava 49.2 30.7 14.9 5.2
LKammala 31.0 38.0 26.1 4.9
(D) Muslim 39.3 39.9 15.6 5.4

r Scheduled Caste 62.2 32.4 4.7 0.7


(E)4 ScheduledTribe 66.1 28.1 4.7 1.1
I SC and ST converts to Chris-

Ltianity

62.1

31.7

5.4

0.8

All communities 43.6 32.7 16.7 7.0

considerably from the onset of capitalist


of the 19th century.7 They have pioieered the process of land reclamation

and developing plantations, by investing


their savings from trade and other acti-

vities. The spread of education which


was much faster among them, also made
them competent to hold administrative,

technical and professional occupations.


These communities have, therefore,
achieved a higher level of economic
advancement mainly because of their
concentration in professional, commercial and farming activities. On the other

hand, the interimediate caste Hindus (C)


who have experienced social disability
and have traditionally constituted a
major section of the peasantry and
artisan class, continue to retain a considerable proportion of their earners in
the same occupations as in the past.
The Muslims (D), as a community,
though traditionally Tnot averse to any

particular occupation, are primarily agriculturists, traders and commercial


people. Their representation in other
occupations is nearly equal to the state
average. On the other hand, the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
their converts to Christianity, who have
endured in the past the most severe

forms of social and economic disabilities have poor representation in the


more remunerative occupatiorls.

A community-wise distribution of
earning persons in each major category
of employment would, however, provide

Sutlrce: 1968 Survey Report, op cit.


ties into various classes of activity status
throws further light on the nature of

Christian communities have comparatively larger proportions of earners in

a little more insight into the caste-class

their participation in specific occupations. In Table 8 the employment


opportunities are grouped into seven
broad categories, namely (I)
technical, professional and administrative, (II) trade and sale, (III) farming, (IV) crafts, (V) service, transport
and communication, (VI) agricultural
and allied labour, and (VII) unskilled
labour. This classification brings but
the fact that the upper caste Hindu and

the first three categories of occupations.

Table 9 shows that better and more re-

However, each of these communities

munerative employment Is largely asso-

has certain predetermined advantages


which give themn a relative superiority
over other communities. For instance,
the Brahmins who claim antiquity in
landlordism, learning and intellectual
pursuits have the largest proportion of
earners in technical, professional and
administrative careers. They are also

very much involved in farming, business

composition in various occupations.

ciated with traditionally high caste


s;tatus and occupational freedom. It is
also significant to find that the appro-

priation of various salaried jobs under


the government and quasi-government

sectors has been largely disproportionate among the different communities

despite well-defined legislative regulations for safeguarding the interests of


479

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Annual Number February 1979 ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL WEEKLY


all social groups, particularly that of the
weaker sections (Harijans and Other
Backward Communities). The latest
available information (1968),8 in this
regard, shows! that the forward communities hold the maximum number of
jobs. More than two-thirds of the
'gazetted', -over one-half of the 'non-

gazetted' and nearly half of the 'last


grade' jobs are held by members of this
group alone, which constitutes only a
third of the state's population. The representation of the other Backward
Communities in salaried jobs has not
been quite close to the 'norm' (i e,
their proportion in the total population)
and the disparity is most significant in
the case of appointments in the 'gazetted' category. The Ezhava and other
Hindu communities in this group have
managed to obtain a fairly good number
of jobs in the 'non-gazetted' and last
grade' services. The Christian sections
have a satisfactory representation in all
categories of jobs. The muslim community, which forms' almost one-fifth of
the population, is poorly represented in
all categories of jobs. The representation of Harijans and their converts to
Christianity is' the lowest in all categories of salaried jobs except, perhap,
in the last grade jobs of certain departments.
INCOME D?sTiBUrIoN

Finally, the earning pattern -of the


various communities will provide
information on their respective levels of
economic attainments. Table 10 con-

firms that inc.ome levels are closely


associated with caste hierarchy. The
lowest among the castes are also the
poorest earning groups and vice versa..
This is, however, the natural culmination persistent disparity in the distribution of land-holding education and
employment opportunities.9
In short, caste-class identity is an
inherent feature ir.. socio-economic relations in Kerala, although it has now a
certain level of interpenetration on
account of the influence of social movemenits, political forces and administrative reforms. However, the intervention
of these factors in the reorganisation

process does not radically alter the


caste-class association.

Notes
1 The proportions of households re-.
porting ownership of wet and dry
lands among the various communities are respectively: Brabmins

42.3 and 59.8; Nair 51.2 and


78.4; Syrian Christians 26.3 and
67.6; Muslims 20.4 and 53.5;
Ezhavas 13.2 and 45.9; other

Hindu 13.4 and 20.9; and

the averages for all communities


20.8 and 51.4 (Sources: Census

cf India 1931 cited in Table 1).


2 TC' Varghese, "Agrarian Change
and Economic Consequences:
Land Tenures in Kerala 18501960", p 103.

3 Tables on Land-holdings, State,


Kerala Vol I, No 215, National
Sample Survey.
4 The propertied class has always
heen resorting to judicial and political means to retain their land

possessions. The liquidation of the


first Communist Ministry which had
introduced the first Agrarian Relations Bill (1957), the land sales
and transfers during the sixties
(see "Land Reforms Survey in
Kerala, 1966-67", Bureau of Economics and Statistics, Trivandrum
1968), the slow process of disposal of land disputes, etc, are all
part of the attempt to safeguard
the interests of the landlord class.

The landlords have been using


communal organisations and political pressures to obviate the possibility of losing land rights. The
resistance to radical land reform
was so high among the landlords,
the capitalists, the dominant communal organisations, and their political supporters that the subsequent
land legislations during 1960, 1964
and 1969 were diluted considerably in respect of provisions affecting their interests.
5 PR Gopinathan Nair, "Education
and Economic Chance in Kerala",
Centre for Development Studies,
Trivandrum, 1978.

6 The Census of India. Kerala Vol


II Part V A and Part II B (i)
1961 and 1971 Series I India
Paper 1 of 1975; p 107 to 120.

7 T C Varghese, op cit p 107 to


120.

8 Government of Kerala, "Backward


Classes Reservation Commission
Report", 1970, Vol II, pp 449-457.

9 P Sivanandan, "Econ.omic Backwardness of Harijans in Kerala" in

Social Scient.'st, Vol 4, May 1976,

Trivandrum.

Political Persecution in West Asia and Africa


ACCORDING to Amnesty International
Report, 1978 in many countries of
West Asia and North Africa political
prisoners frequently had no access to
fair trial and, of.en, received no trial
at all. For example, Palestinians were
convicted or detained without trial by
Israel for their critical attitude toward
Israel's presence in the Occupied Territories rather than for violent activities.
In Egypt a number of people who distributed leaflets criticising President Anwar Sadat's November 1977 visit to Israel were detained. However, by far the
greatest number of human rights violations in the area related to issues not at
the center of world attention. Some
examples: In Iraq, alleged Communist
Party members were executed as were
suspected Kurdish dissidents, many of
whose relatives were also imprisoned.
Hundreds of people were arrested in
Tunisia for trade union activities. In
Morocco people of Saharan origin remained in detention on account of
their ethnic origin. In Syria, alleged
sympathisers of the Iraqi Baathist
Party, Marxists and mnembers of the
Muslim Brotherhood were imprisoned.
In Iran, people in leftwing and religious opposition alike were imprisoned,
while in Algeria former President Ahmed Ben Bella spent his 13th year
under house arrest.

The white minority governments

of southern Africa continued to imprison suspected suporters of various


black nationaiist movements. In Rhodesia/Zimbabwe detention without trial
remained the most common form of
imprisonment. Although 700 of 950
known detainees were released in early
1978, new detention orders continued
to be issued ard more than a thousand
convicted political prisoners remained
imprisoned. In South Africa, detention
without trial and banishment remained common in political cases.
Elsewhere in Africa. government
action against real or alleged conspiracies led to the imprisonment, often
without trial, of suspected rivals of
those in authority. In some cases - in
Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia and
Zaire - persons thus detained were
executed after trial or summarily kill-

ed. In Ethiopia, thousands of people


suspected of opposition to the authorities were kil!ed il a programme of
"revolutionary terror". In Uganda,
where the practice of murder by seciirity forces had, at times, reached
"massacre proportions". members of
the Lango and Acholi tribes were killed
because of their tribal origin; political
imprisonment for similar reasons
occurred in a number of other African
states.

480

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