OCCUPATION PATTERN IN FULGURI VILLAGE OF MIRZA, ASSAM é|ignou THE PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY A project report submitted for the partial fulfillment of Masters in Anthropology (MAAN) first year Examination under Indira Gandhi National Open University Submitted by SUMIDAS Enrollment No-187573126 Course Title- Masters in Anthropology (MAAN) Course Code- MANI-001 Study Centre- Cotton College, Guwahati Study Centre Code-04187 Scanned with CamScannerCERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that the Project Work Titled Occupation Pattern In Fulguri Village Of Mirza, Assam, submitted to Indira Gandhi National Open University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master’s Degree in Anthropology (MAAN) is an original work carried out by Ms. Sumi Das bearing Enrollment No: - 187573126. The content of this Project Work are a genuine work done by the student and has not been submitted whether to this University or to any other University/Institute for the fulfillment of the requirement of any course of study. pas : Roum Aor : Signature of the Student Signature of the Mentor Name: Sumi Das Name: Mr. Pritam Das Enrollment No: - 187573126 Designation: UGC National Fellow Place: Guwahati, Assam Institution: Gauhati University Date: 03/06/2020 Date: 03/06/2020 Scanned with CamScannerACKNOWLEDGEMENT T would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my project supervisor Mr. Pritam Das , UGC National Fellow, Gauhati University and Dr Jonali Devi, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Cotton University, who gave me this opportunity to do this academic project on the topic “Occupation Pattern in Fulguri Village of Mirza” which helped me lot in understanding new things for which I am really thankful to them. Secondly, I would express my gratitude to my parents and family who helped me a lot in providing me with valuable information for my research work of the village. I would also thank to the friendly villagers of Fulguri who managed time to support me in this project. > : Sumi flav. Date: 02/06/2020 Sumi Das Scanned with CamScannerCONTENTS Page No. 1) Introduction 12 1.1 Types Of Occupation Pattern 2) Review of Literature 34 3) Aims and Objectives 5 4) Study Area and People 67 4.1 Geographical Location And Demographics 4.2. A Brief Description About Fulguri Village 5) Materials and Methods 8 5.1 Observation Method 5.2 Interview Method 5.3 Schedule Survey Method 5.4 Case Study Method 5.5 Photographs 6) Occupation Pattern In Fulguri Village 942 7) Discussion 13-14 8) Conclusion 15 References 16 Plates 18 Scanned with CamScannerLIST OF TABLES Page No ‘Table-1 Classification of different community in Fulguri village, Mirza, Assam) 7 ‘Table-2: Population distribution of villagers into different age group and : classification of their occupations. ‘Table3: Distribution of occupation patterns of the villagers 9 Table: 4:- Distribution of Income level per annum from different occupation 7 sectors. ‘Table-5 Comparative distribution of Literacy rate in percentage of the if Villagers for the year 2001 and 2011 LIST OF FIGURES Page No Fig (1)-Map of Fulguri Village. 6 Fig (2)=Distribution of sampk villagers of Fulguri into different working i groups. Fig (3)Income per month of villagers from each sector of occupation. nn Fig (4)-Comparative study of literacy rate of the year 2001 and 2011 12 Fig (5)=: Agricultural land Saali rice cultivation 18 Fig (6):-: Fishing during the monsoon season 18 Fig (7): Women engaged in weaving Ganusa 18, Scanned with CamScanner1, INTRODUCTION In Chamber's 21" Century Dictionary the word “Occupation” refers to a person's job or profession. In social anthropological term, the meaning of occupation refers to as “the activities of members of a society to earn their livelihood” (Desai 1971).The term “Pattern” has been defined as a regular way of acting or doing a predictable route or movement or as the regular form or order in which a series of actions of qualities occurs (Bendiven et.al, 2006). Pattern relating to human occupations are a regular and predictable way of organizing activities. Occupation pattern thus simply be defined as the phenomenon of actions, activities and occupation organized in definite pattern. Any form of occupation is the basis of livelihood, Occupation pattern influences the socio-economic life of a society. Occupation pattern may be studied from a individual point of view or more broadly from the point of view of community. The occupation of an individual refers to the trade, profession or means of arranging a source of income while in a singular family whereas the occupation structure of a society or a community involves other factors like nature and variety of resources. seasonality and other government policies. Anthropological study of an occupation relates to the division and availability of labour in a specific society. The present study focuses on observing what type of occupation pattern pre vails in Fulguri village, Mirza, Assam and how traditional ascribed occupations are changing in the communal village of Fulguri, Mirza, Assam, 1.1: Types of Occupation Pattern: This study includes the identification as well as classification of varied sectors in occupation which are classified into three main types viz; 1) Primary occupation 2) Secondary occupation and 3) Tertiary occupation. a) Primary occupation: These are the occupations which are directly related with nature Man just collects and uses the things available from nature. Such occupations are called Primary occupation For example; Agriculture, Lumbering, fishery, animal husbandry, mining etc. Primary occupations are those in which a lot of manpower is required and it varies depending upon the availability of resources. b) Secondary occupation: Occupations that involve manufacturing of finished products from raw materials are called secondary occupations. For example; obtaining cloth from cotton, sugar manufactured from sugarcane etc. Items manufactured in these occupations have better utility and greater value. Machinery is generally used in large scale and mass Scanned with CamScannerproduction helps in high returns 3) Tei wry occupation: Occupations which are supportive to primary and secondary occupations like services, banking, and transportation are tertiary occupations. These occupations do not manufacture or produce any item. These occupations provide services and one has to pay the cost in form of salaries. Apart from these, certain services need special skills (www.nes.2ov. in Scanned with CamScanner2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ‘The popular tradition of contemporary Anthropology centers around the study of transformation of traditional society. Such changes can also be observed in terms of occupation change and mobility (Hauser et. al., 1975) While re viewing literatures related to present study, different interrelated strands were observed. For this, a number of journals, articles and books are studied and reviewed for understanding the occupation structures, factors which can cause change in occupation pattern and studied data were collected to verify and identify the occupation structure in Fulguri, Mirza, Assam. The following are some of the reviewed thoughts from different author In the study by Lahkar & Dutta, (2013) at rural Barpeta District of Assam, a study was made on occupation pattern amongst Kaibarta community. The Kaibaria community is basically a fishing community. However, findings of the study shows that in most cases, the Kaibarta Community of Assam are gradually shifting away from fishing occupation to other ‘occupation like agriculture, service, daily wage labour and others. The study was based on a particular community ie., Kaibartas in rural area, Goswami (2014) conducted a study on occupation structure among the Scheduke Caste communities of Brahmaputra Valley of Assam. It highlights the Occupation structure and their spatial distribution among the Schedule Caste communities. It was observed that the communities residing near river banks were specially engaged in non—agrarian occupation such as fishing and their occupation pattern was based on demographics and availibility of resources. Goswami (2013) conducted a study on the role of female workers in agricultural sector of Assam in Darrang district. The study was done to find out the contribution of women agricultural workers to family income in the farm households of Assam. Deka (2017) in her study conducted at Kakopothar & Margherita of Tinsukia District of Assam studied the socio-economic status of Tribal farmers and her study reveals that with improve in literacy and modernization the status of the tribal community has lifted which enabled the new generation to change their traditional occupation of farming to new diverse sectors. Gogoi (2015) conducted an anthropological study among the Missing community of Chitadher chak village Majuli, Assam about their primary occupation of arts and crafts in ancient Majuli and how it has sustained them for so many years. The study also reflects 2 Scanned with CamScannerhandicrafts and traditional tools used since primitive times for Farming and fishing. The study showed that availability of certain indigenous resources has helped communities to sustain their occupation. ‘The reviewed study helped in understanding different aspects of occupation practiced in different region and what factors and changes have incurred. Scanned with CamScanner3, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ‘The primary aim of the research is to study the occupational pattern and its distribution amongst the population in Fulguri village, Mirza, Assam. The following are the objectives of the study:- > To study the primary, secondary and tertiary forms of occupational pattern in Fulguri village of Mirza, Assam. > To study the importance of farming and allied activities as a favorite choice of occupation and the anthropological significance in the study of the society. Scanned with CamScanner4, STUDY AREA AND PEOPLE 4.1 Geographical Location and demographics: Fig (1):-Map of Fulguri Village. Scanned with CamScanner‘This project has been conducted at Fulguri village, Mirza, Assam located at about 40 km from Dispur, capital of Assam, The Chandubi Lake located at foothills of Garo hills is situated at 26 kms from Fulguri village .Also; the Shri Shri Chaturbhuj Satra is situated at this village. Fulguri is a Village with a total population of 785(approx.) where 402 are male and 383 are femal. There are about 158 (approx.) households in the Village according to 2011 Census of India. tn this study, considering a sample size of 68 men and 32 women, the primary data was collected by visiting the households. Primary data was collected in form of, interviewing and surveying. Following these, data were organized into different sectors which are classified so as to understand the occupation pattern in the region. 4.2 A Brief Description about Fulguri Village ‘The name of the village was known to be named by Shree Shree Shankardev .Thus the name of the village Fulguri is de ‘roots’. Fulguri village boundaries are shared at North by Dhupguri -d from two words Ful meaning “flower” and Guri meaning lage south is the Belagaon East is Borpotima and Dhala village and at West is Nalgaonvillage.Historically it is known from interviewing the villagers that, the then King of Dhala Gaon Lt. Pavan Singh build the “Shree Shree Chaturbhuj Satra” in 1938 to signify Vaishnavite traditions in the village. Most of the people in the village follow the Hindu Vaishnavite traditions, The literacy of the village stands at 85 percent (census of India 2011). Over 90 percent villagers derive income from agricultural lands. Saali rice is mainly cultivated in the months between August and September each year. Other crops include mustard, seasonal vegetables etc. Alllied farming activities are poultry, dairy and weaving and Fishery. ‘The households in Fulguri primarily divided into following community: ‘Communities No of Households Koch Rajbonshi 120 Kalitas 10 Baishyas 08 Sut 20 Table- 1 Classification of different community in Fulguri village, Mirza, Assam. Scanned with CamScanner5. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the study, both primary and secondary methods were applied. Pr ary data were collected with the help of following field work techniques:- 1) Observation Method: This method is used to study various aspects of the study topic at research sites. This method is used at various time period of the field work in studying the occupational work at field by the community of Fulguri village. Structured observation was made to collect the fiekl data, During this the outgoing records was recorded. (Rao et al, 2017) 2) Interview Method: terviewing is a also a form of questioning characterized by the fact that it employs verbal questioning as its principal technique of data collection. Households were visited and a definite set of questions were asked to understand the livelihood of peoples and their choices of occupation, (Rao et al, 2017) 3) Survey Schedule Method: In this anthropological method, the information is gathered through written or oral questioning. Written questionnaires in this topic for occupation pattern were gathered from a sample size of 68 men and 32 women.(Rao et al, 2017) 4) Case Study Method: In this method of study, an studied and extrapolation and hypothesis were considered to identify the occupation pattern widual case in the region was and its associated changes in patterns.(Rao et al, 2017) 5) Photography: For the study, few still photographs are collected to keep a record of the field work...(Rao, et al,2017) Scanned with CamScanner6. OCCUPATION PATTERN IN FULGURI VILLAGE Inthe analysis, a sample size of 20 households with a sample population of 68 men and 32 women distributed in different age group as mentioned in table-2 were selected. The data were obtained from fieki survey using survey schedules and interviewis. As mentioned earlier the primary objective of this study is to find out the occupation pattern in Fulguri village, Mirza, Assam. The table-2 shows the distribution of the sample population into different age groups and to find out how many of them are engaged in regular or part time occupation. Villagers of Different | Main Workers | Marginal Workers | Non-Workers nee Mak Femak | Male | Female_| Mak | Female Below 18 vis 0 0 0 0 3 3 18-60 Yis 20 19 3 1 3 2 ‘Above 60 Yrs 8 3 2 0 0 0 Total a8 2r 10 1 10, 10 Table-2: Population distribution of villagers into different age group and classification of their occupations. (@Percentage is calculated from total sample population of 100 villagers in 20 households) From Table-2,.t is found that out of the number of family members who are occupied between the age group of 18-60 is 75 percent which is the highest and non —workers are 7 percent Below 18 years no of workers is nil and non-workers are 13 percent and above 60yrs no of workers are 13 percent. Clearly 80 percent of the sample population is workers and 20 percent ‘are non- workers. Table-3 shows the distribution of these workers into different occupation types, viz; Primary, Secondary and Tertiary choices. Ttems No of Villagers Make Female Primary Occupation 2 30 12 Secondary Occupation 30 2 Tertiary Occupation 8 6 ‘Non Workers 20 10 10 Total 100 68 2 Table 3: Distribution of occupation patterns of the villagers. (Percentage is calculated from total sample population of 100 villagers in 20 households) Scanned with CamScannerBelow! 8yrs a l8-55yr5 Above 55 ys =Total Fig (2):-Distribution of sample villagers of Fulguri into different working groups. From Table-3 it is evident that out of 100 villagers of sample population 42 percent are occupied in Primary sector 30 percent choice is Secondary occupation and 8 percent are involved in Tertiary occupation Also the number of non-workers constitutes 20 percent in sample population of Fulguri Village, Mirza, Assam. The primary idea for this classification is to find the working group from sample population which is primarily engaged in work or employed for certain period of time. : Tncome Per Month Occupation Types (Approx. Value in Rupees) Primary ‘Agroulure ZOO Pouliry 2000 Fishery TO000 Dairy 1500 Secondary Business TO00O Tertiary Healhcare And Hospitals BOOT Banking T5000 “Transportation BOOT ‘Table: 4:- Distribution of Average Income level per month from different occupation sectors. (Percentage is calculated from total sample population of 100 villagers in 20 households) Table-4 shows the average income per annum from each occupation choices for each 10 Scanned with CamScannerhousehold from Primary, Secondary and Tertiary occupations in Fulguri Villages from the sample population -The data of income were collected from field surveys and interviewing. ‘Though primary occupation provides higher yield but it is labor intensive .To fulfill the cost of living and high expenditure, some of the villagers choose to do past time secondary occupation The data for average income were based on the written schedules being filled by villagers. In case of Primary Sector, the income may vary due to the consumption of the outputs by villagers themselves. Also, Income from Primary occupations depends upon seasonal factors like monsoon, earthquakes, and flood. These factors can affect the yield from primary sectors. Income Per Month(Approx. Value In Rupees) 25000 = PRIMARY 20000 15000 Agriculture 10000 Poultry 5000 Fishery ° Dairy = SECONDARY s = Business € TERTIARY Healthcare and Hospitals, Banking Transportation Fig (3)-Income per month of villagers from each sector of occupation. (Percentage is calculated from total sample population of 100 villagers in 20 households) Literacy Rate In Percentage 2001 2011 Male 75.89 81.3 Female 58.95 69.47 Average 61.73 75.55 Table-5: Comparative distribution of Literacy rate in percentage of the Villagers for the year 2001 and 2011 i Scanned with CamScannerYear 2001 Year 2011, Male mFemale Fig (4):-Comparative study of literacy rate of the year 2001 and 2011 Table-5 shows the education level of the villagers of Fulguri villagers between the year 2001 to 2011. The literacy rate of the villagers have increased from 67.73 percent to 75.55 percent from 2001 to 2011, according to census of Assam 2001 and 2011.The education infrastructure of village includes one government school only. There is no higher education institution which could promote skill development for employment in tertiary _ sectors. 12 Scanned with CamScanner7, DISCUSSIONS Changes in occupation pattern are very much associated with economic development. The rate of economic development and the level of per capita income increases as more and more work force shifts from primary sector to secondary and tertiary sector. The increase in productivity in agriculture transfers the surplus of work force from agriculture to other sectors. In the study, it is clear that the annual income per household sometimes. is inadequate to fulfill the needs of a family. But still agricukure is primary choice of occupation of sample population which suggest the backwardness in economy and lack of infrastructure. The shift in occupation pattern is associated with factors like education, health and participation of women in work force .But in Fulguri village, though literacy have improved over the years but kick of higher education or skill have limited their scope for choosing tertiary sectors. Rising unemployment and increase in population have also affected the growth of tertiary sectors of occupation. With limited income from each household, it is hard to provide all the need in a family and thus, family members have to do part time jobs as well. These part time jobs are like day labour, weaving, gi ing tuitions etc. ‘The work force of Fulguri village from the sample population was found to be 80 percent out of which maximum work force are related to agriculture and allied sectors ie. 42 can be divided into (1) Main workers (2) Cultivators (3) Agricultural laborers (5) Household industrial workers. The basis of this classification is percent, The work force in the village the reference period for which the villagers are engaged in different works. Those workers who are engaged in major part of the reference period are termed as Main workers. Those who have not worked for major part of reference period are Marginal and those who are not, engaged in any work are non-workers. a) Main Workers: - A person is considered as a main workers or full-time worker, if he/she had worked a minimum of 183 days or more. Among the total sample population, 45 percent are main workers. 1b) Cultivators: - A person is considered as cultivator, if he/she is engaged in cultivation of and owned or taken on lease from government ot from private persons with payment of money. The percentage share of cultivators from the sample population in Fulguri village is found to be 30percent. ©) Agricultural laborers:-A person who works on another person's land for wages, they 13 Scanned with CamScannerare called as Agricultural labourers, Agricultural laborers have no right or contract on land on which he/she works. The percent share of agriculture laborers in the village is estimated to be 20 percent. d) Household industrial workers: These are the industrial workers who works for industries as semi-skilled or skilled workers. They are involved as machine operators, electrician, welders, fitter, and plumber’s .ete. The percentage of household industrial workers from Fulguri village from the sample population is 15 percent. Previous studies suggest that occupation pattern is an interaction between the individuals and his/her environment, especially family system. The present study investigates from the sample population the socio-economic status, education, industrial infrastructures, reasons for villagers in Fulguri to choose primary sectors of occupation. The present study can clearly make an assertion that men in the Fulguri village have diversified their occupation in order to support family financially. From the study, it was found that the villagers with vast resources of land are more inclined to choose agriculture as primary occupation. The poor villagers choose various seasonal occupations during non-agricultural season. Agriculture being labour intensive sector, the rich owners of kind chooses to provide wages for farming to those who does not have agricultural land.Thus,30 percent of sample population are engaged as cultivators. From the study, it is also observed that gradual decline in work participation rate in agriculture have positive impact on work force engaged in secondary sectors like businesses, carpentry, shop-keepers, daily commute transport pilots ete. 14 Scanned with CamScannerCONCLUSION In this study, the occupation pattern of Fulguri village, Mirza is investigated. Through this study it was found that Agriculture and allied activities is the main choice of occupation in Fulguri village. However, due to high expenditure and search for extra income. the villagers are also engaged in other activities. From the study it was observed that primary level of education have improved .But due to lack of educational infrastructure and high skill knowledge among the villagers they are not employed in tertiary sector. Few of the government schemes like PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna), Kisan Credit Card Schemes have motivated the villagers to engage in Agriculture as their primary occupation. Women in Fulguri village take active participation in rice farming. Their primary activities are sowing of seeds, cattle rearing, poultry and weaving Weaving of “Gamusa” (a rectangular piece of cloth woven from cotton which is a mark of important Assamese culture specially given as token of respect) is carried out in almost all households by women. This are then sold in market for festival like “Bihu” and Assamese weddings. Women are also engaged in Self Help Group which prepares pickles, Gamusa, Mekhela Sador (a kind of cottowsilk saree hand woven and worn by women in traditional Assamese ‘weddings and functions)...ete which provides extra source of income in the families. Choice of occupation of the villagers not inclined to secondary occupation due to lack of industria infrastructure in the village. For those who are engaged in Secondary occupation are engaged as technicians, fitter, electrician in industries which are at distant industrial locations like Changsari, Goalpara, and Chaygaon. This study shows that the shift in occupation pattern from Primary sector are due to decline in share of lind holdings of families and search of some extra income. This study limits its study to a small sample of population in Fulguri village of Mirza, Assam, Also the study did not take into account the environmental factors or governmental aspects for shift in occupation pattern and as such needs further study. Is Scanned with CamScannerREFERENCES Basant, Rakesh and B.L . Kumar. 1989. Rural Non-A gricultural Activities in India: A Review of Available Evidence. Joumal of Social and Economic Development, Vok17, No-(1-2), p> 13-71. Bendixen Jorgen Hans, Krosmark Ulla, and Magnus Eva, 2006. Occupation Pattern: A. Renewed Definition of The Concept. The Journal of Occupation Science. Vol13, Issue-1,p- 3-10. Hauser et. al. 1975. The Decomposition of Effects in Path Analysis, The Journal of American Sociological Review, Vol-40.No- l,p-37-47. Bhuyan B & Sharma Anand . 2016. Livelihood Pattern among the Tea garden labourers, Some Observations. International Journal of Advanced Research Blu , F.D, and W.E. Hendricks 1979. Occupation Segregation by Sex: Trend and Prospects, Journal of Human Resources. Vok14, p-197-210. DesaiL.P. 1971. Understanding Occupation Change in India. Economic & Political Weekly, Vok 6, No-22, p-1094-1098 Deka S. 2017. A Case study on the Socio-economic status of Tribal farmers of Tinsukia District, Assam. Gogoi K. 2015. An Anthropological Field Report on Arts and Crafts among Missing Community of Chitadher Chak Village, Majuli, Assam, Rao et. al. 2017. Anthropology and Methods of Research. IGNOU, Vol-4. Gowami M. 2014. Occupation structure of Schedule Caste communities of Brahmaputra valley, Assam. The joumal of Global Institute for Research & Education. GoswamiC, 2013, Agricultural Workers in Assam: A Case study in Darrang District of Assam, International Joumal of Scientific &Research Publications. Vo3. Mahanta K.C. 2008. North-East India: The Horizon of Anthropology. Karna N.M, 2004. Agrarian Structere and Peasant Mobilisation, p-18-30. 16 Scanned with CamScannerKhadaria N. 1990, Traditional Crafts and Occupation Structure of the Assamese Rural Society in the 19th Century. Social Scientist, Vol18, No. 11/12 pp.36-63. Lahkar B, & Dutta L. 2013. Some Investigations of Educational & Occupational scenario of Schedule Caste population of Assam. IOSR Joumal of Humanities and Science. Vol9, Issue- 5, p-113-117, Sarma C. 2013.Caste and Occupation: A Case of Kaibartas of Assam Vol-Il. Guwahati Census of India. 2011. Basic Datasheet (retrieved from www.censusindia.gov.in accessed on 12.12, 2019). ‘www.mapof india.com (accessed onl: Scanned with CamScannerPLATES Figure 6: Fishing during the monsoon season Figure 7: Women engaged in weaving Gamusa Scanned with CamScanner