MGNREGA- MAHATMA

GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL

EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE
ACT, 2005
 MGNREGA
• Powerful instrument for inclusive growth in rural India
• Impact- on social protection, livelihood, security and democratic
governance
• Mandate:
to provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a
financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to
do unskilled manual work
 MGNREGA: OBJECTIVES
• Ensuring social protection for the most vulnerable people living in rural India
through providing employment opportunities
• Ensuring livelihood security for the poor through creation of durable assets,
improved water security, soil conservation and higher land productivity
• Strengthening droughts- proofing and floor-management in rural India
• Aiding in the empowerment of the marginalized communities, especially
women scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, through the process of a
right based legislation
• Strengthening decentralized, participatory planning through convergence of
various anti poverty and livelihood initiatives
• Deepening Democracy at the grass roots by strengthening the Panchayat Raj
institution
• Effective greater transparency and accountability in governance
 MGNREGA: FEATURES
• The design of the Act- bottom-up, people centered, demand driven,
self-selecting and right-based
• Under this Act the work will be provided according to the demand of
the wage seekers
• It provides a legal guarantee of wage employment
• It has legal provision for allowances and compensation, in case of
failure to provide work on demand and delays in payment of work
undertaken
 MGNREGA
• It defines double goals of non-urban growth and career
• AIM:
a. growth of non-urban areas while selecting works for the marginal
wage earners;
b. seeks to develop the conditions of water preservation, afforestation,
communication, over flow-control and security such as growth and fix
of banking, etc.
 MGNREGA
• Local people are employed and engaged in the programme for area
development as well
• PREPARATION OF CONCRETE DATA-BASE: emphasized on the fact that local
people are prioritized and non domiciled contractor’s workers are not legally
benefitted
• THE ACT:
a. Local needs are always to be taken care of
b. The exercise of the right to career should not be extended for an unlimited
period of time
c. ensures that within 15 days the performance of work should be started
 MGNREGA: PROBLEMS FACED
• Taking time to be set in the rural set up
• Damaged authorities
• Lack of funding to act as a resource
• Inadequate execution
• Random dangerous impact on hardship
 MGNREGA: CRITICISMS
• AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL:
➢ Lack of dependable data
➢ Employees appointed- frequently not paid in full; compelled to pay bribes; not
learning any new abilities that could enhance their long term leads and
breaks the pattern of hardships
➢ Fake workers and job cards by damaged authorities resulting in leak in the
system
➢ Planning- inadequate and hasty to cater to such a mammoth and sensitive
task
➢ Undeserving candidates availing all the advantages
➢ Workers from the rural areas- cause damage to the work(unskilled and the
facilities for in-job training is inadequate)
 MGNREGA: CONCLUSION
• Initiative in this respect was long due and at least a little worth can
hardly be denied
• We may surely accept the sustenance of the programme and a positive
prospect for the same
 JAJMANI SYSTEM: CASTE BASED
OCCUPATIONS AND EXCHANGE OF
SERVICES
 JAJMANI SYSTEM
 A system of economic, social and ritual ties among different caste groups in a village
 Prevailed in India for a long time
 As Prof. Yogendra Singh has said, “ The Jajmani System is a system governed by
relationships based on reciprocity in the intercaste relations in village.”
 The word ‘Jajmani’ is derived from a Sanskrit word ‘jajman’ (a person who arranges
a ‘jajna’ and hires the service of a Brahmin to actually perform the ‘jajna’)
 Gradually, this term came to be applied to everyone
 A traditional specialized occupation of villagers based on caste led to the exchange
of services in the rural society
 The whole relationship is based on economic exchange
 All specialist workers (porter, carpenter, jeweler, washer men, etc.) render their
services for specific families with whom they have hereditary link
 Serving caste- offer services to land owning upper and intermediate castes; paid
both in cash in kind
 The people who rendered services to the Jajman- collectively known as
‘Praja’/’Kamins’
 JAJMANI SYSTEM
 The Patrons: land owning dominant caste (Rajput, Bhumihar, Jat in the
north and Kamma, Lingayat and Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and Patel in
Gujrat)
 Supply of services: Brahmin, Barber, Carpenter, Blacksmith, Water
Carrier, Leather Workers, etc.
 The Jajmani relations require rituals matters and social support as well as
economic exchanges on economic occasions like birth, marriage and
death
 The serving caste: received gifts in addition to customary payment
 JAJMANI SYSTEM
 The lower castes also need services from others for their livelihood
 They make their own arrangements either through direct exchange of
labour or paying through cash or kind
 Orenstein: the family of village officilas or village service men maintain
‘Jajmani’ relation with the whole village rather than with a particular
families
 Example a watch man family is entitled to get contribution during
harvest seasons from every landowner’s family in the village
 Thus, ‘Jajmani’ System involves interdependence, reciprocity and
cooperation between caste and families in villages
 FEATURES OF JAJMANI SYSTEM
 Standardised and well organized arrangement for different types of
economic services under ‘Jajmani’ System
 The realtion is not like that of the employer – employee relation or
master – servant relation
 ‘Jajman’ and ‘Kamin’: North Indian villages
 FEATURES OF JAJMANI SYSTEM
 The relationship :
a. between ‘Jajman’ and ‘Prajan’ is permanent
b. assurance of services and remuneration
c. the relation is hereditary and secured
d. not only an economic exchange but has a social dimension also
 The right:
a. treated as any other right to property
b. passed from father to son; equally proportioned among brothers when
they separate; family with a single daughter, a husband succeeds to her
father’s right
 An arrangement for payment:
a. Earlier- measured portion of grains or other agricultural yields
b. Currency introduced- payment by cash
c. Sufficient for their subsistence
 FEATURES OF JAJMANI SYSTEM
 Jajmani System implies traditional occupational obligations between
caste:
a. Interdependence of castes- servicing caste (‘Kamins’) and the
recipients of the services (‘Jajmans’)
b. Fulfillment of economic needs
 Jajmani System establishes closer family links:
a. Found between families rather then between jatis
b. E.g. a farmers family- wooden agricultural tools from a particular
carpenter family; in return, the carpenter gets a share of the farmers
crop at harvest
 Jajmani relationships are durable:
a. Link is inherited on both the sides
b. E.g. carpenter serves the same farmer family, that his father and
grandfather served
 FEATURES OF JAJMANI SYSTEM
 Jajmani relationships are exclusive:
a. The farmer family is supposed to carry on transactions with a particular
carpenter family only
b. Reciprocally, these carpenters are supposed to make tools for their
own ‘YAJMAN’ families only.
c. However, they are free to make some tools for sale in the market
 Jajmani relationship are multiple:
a. Not restricted to economic exchange alone
b. Mandelbaum: “a family of cultivators expects help on its ceremonial
occasions from most of the associated families. The is also an
expectation of mutual personal support in family emergencies or
fractional quarrels. Sometimes the specialist families are pressurized to
support the jati of their patrons when the whole jati is embattled.”
 FEATURES OF JAJMANI SYSTEM
 Jajmani System adds to the village solidarity:
a. M.N. Srinivas- Jajmani System which is based on the interdependence of castes is
one of the main factors that add to the village solidarity
b. Indian village is based on caste system
c. Different castes are brought together and welded into a unity by the system
d. Contributes to the vertical solidarity of the caste system
e. Refers to the unity existing among different caste groups in a village
f. Vertical Solidarity= Village Solidarity
 Coersion and consensus in Jajmani relations:
a. Criticised:- the jajmani relations are “exploitative”
b. Jajmani relationships- “the means by which the rich and powerful exploit the poor
and coerce the workers into sustaining the power of those who have the upper
hand and upper rank.”
c. Each jati system tries to maximise gain and exercise as much power as it can in the
matter of jajmani transactions
d. M.S.A. Rao criticized the jajmani transactions “as brutally exploitative is too
sweeping and obfuscating a generalization.”
 FEATURES OF JAJMANI SYSTEM
 MERITS:
a. Unique economic barter system in rural India
b. It determines social, economic, religious, ritualistic and political
structure of a society
c. This gives birth to a permanent social relationship which gives a sense
of security, exchange and unity through generations
d. Stabalizes the fabric of social division in a simple but strict manner
based on economic ‘give’ and ‘take’
e. This is an example of true spirit of ‘community’ feeling and organisation.
(it may lead to rigidity and social stagnation as also limited
occupational choices)
 DECLINE OF JAJMANI SYSTEM
 Not seen in the village economy
 Declined after the introduction of the British rule in India
 In most of the villages, it has completely disappeared
 Still it persists in some way in some parts of North India
 “We may further note that jajmani relationship is now increasingly being
supplanted mainly because more money is used in village economy
and also because modern transport makes market transactions more
feasible”
 It could not be sustained in a free democratic set up which demands
freedom of choice, however, we may hardly deny the contribution of
this system to sustain a self sufficient rural economy
 TRADITIONAL MARKETS
What is a Market?
• When we talk about a market we generally visualize a crowded place with a
lot of consumers and a few shops. People are buying various goods like
groceries, clothing, electronics, etc.
•The shops are also selling a variety of products and services as well. So in a
traditional sense, a market is where buyers and seller meet to exchange goods
and services.

MARKETS: A SOCIAL INSTITUTION

Social aspect of market
* Interchange and interaction among people.
* It is a place where there is exchange of information and building of
relationship.
Sociologists view on markets
1. Markets are social institutions that are constructed in culturally specific ways.
2. For example, markets are often controlled or organised by particular social
groups or classes, and have specific connections to other institutions, social
processes and structures.

TRADITIONAL MARKETS
In most agrarian societies the weekly or periodic market is a common feature,
they are called traditional markets.
TRADITIONAL MARKETS: The market which is performed from many
generation to generations
Structure of the market: villagers from many villages congregate at a weekly
haat in one village. The day is fixed every week. These markets also caused
‘haat’ happen either on a weekly or a bi-weekly pattern.
Shops : these shops are not permanent in nature.
• They sell whatever the people of that area need for daily use in a culturally
specific context. Articles like utensils, clothes, grain, spices, jewellery, and
fodder.
• Traditional markets witness the sell of various products ranging from forests
products, vegetable to handicrafts, etc.

The buyer and seller interdependence :

a. Barter was a common feature of tribal and rural haats as people were
interdependent on one another for various goods in these undeveloped
economies. In tribal areas the weekly haat was a very old and an important
institution.
b. Barter System : the initial versions of rural traditional markets were based on
the barter system where people
engaged in exchange of goods and services. Money as a medium of exchange
was absent.
c. There is a shift to the money economy now as non-tribals (money lenders and
contractors) moved to these areas and started exploiting their resources.
d. Tribals at haats sell forest produce and in exchange procure articles that they
need for use and which are sold in the haat or can be exchanged.
e. Few buyers buy on credit. e.g.-hundi – the credit note.
f. This market also provides employment to many unemployed individuals who
assist as loaders and do other kinds of jobs for sellers. Some of them also work
as middlemen.
g. Sell of Commodities: the markets serve as a place of exchange. Here buyers
and sellers come in contact, interact and exchange goods and services.
Platform for cultural intermingling: social interaction between tribal and non-
tribal traders are very different from Hindus of the same community. They show
hierarchy and social distance rather than social equality.
Specialized traditional markets: in rural India some traditional markets are
specialized in nature, for e.g. – cattle markets, spice markets etc.
Place for arranging marriages:
• acts as a platform on exchanging information on prospective mates, to be able
to arrange for
marriage unions. .
• social interaction : many people visited such markets to interact, form social
networks, gossip, fix marriage and catch-up with their kins from other village.
Link between local, regional and national economy; they attract visitors, tourists
and traders from across the country. Traditional markets can be weekly, bi-
monthly, monthly or even annually.

TRADITIONAL MARKETS
Sociological aspect :

• sociologists view markets as social institutions that are constructed in specific

cultural ways.

• for example, the markets are organized and controlled by a specific group of
individuals. they are also in control of the
social processes and structures here.

• every economy is socially embedded

• Villagers, traders, sellers, astrologers, moneylenders and entertainers

congregate in the weekly market.

They are a source of entertainment:

• often people do not come with the intention of buying but visit just to
socialize. Their buying decisions are often influenced by those of others.
• the arrangement of sellers in the weekly haat follows a caste and class
structure indicating the hierarchical inter-group relations of a region.
• upper caste sellers sit in the centre and lower caste sellers sit in the periphery
or the outskirts.
• These markets also served as places where various types of entertainment
happened. Artisans and artists showcased their talent and sold their products and
services.

TRADITIONAL MARKETS
Market
1. weekly market
2. caste based markets and trading networks

Weekly markets / Periodic markets

1. periodic markets are a central feature of social and economic organisation.
2. weekly markets bring together people from surrounding villages, who come
to sell their agricultural or other produce and to buy manufactured goods and
other items that are not available in their villages.
3. they attract traders from outside the local area, as well as moneylenders,
entertainers, astrologers, and a host of other specialists offering their services
and wares.
4. in rural India there are also specialised markets that take place at less frequent
intervals, for instance, cattle markets.
5. these periodic markets link different regional and local economies together,
and link them to the wider national economy and to towns and metropolitan
centres.
6. the weekly market is the major institution for the exchange of goods as well
as for social intercourse. For many, the primary reason to come to the market is
social – to meet kin, to arrange marriages, exchange gossip, and so on.

Adam Smith: the market economy is made up of a series of individual

exchanges or transactions, which automatically create a functioning and ordered
system.
RULES OF MARRIAGE:
EXOGAMY AND
ENDOGAMY
(CLAN, GOTRA,
PRAVARA, VILLAGE
AND SAPINDA)
 RULES OF MARRIAGE

• No absolute freedom for the members of a society to select

• their life-partners
• Selection is not ABSOLUTE but RELATIVE
• Rules regarding “who should marry whom” always govern such a
selection
RULES THAT GOVERN MARITAL CHOICE

ENDOGAMY EXOGAMY
 ENDOGAMY
• Rule of marriage in which the life-partners are to be selected within the group
• Lewis' definition: 'The rule that requires a person to marry within a specific group of which he
is a member.'
• Thus, caste endogamy, class endogamy, sub-caste endogamy, race endogamy, tribal endogamy,
etc.
• Prohibits marriage outside group
• Even today inter-caste marriages are not encouraged
• E.g. Barendra and Rahri Brahmins
• Linguistic Group (Endogamous); American societies- Whitesand Negroes
 CAUSES OF ENDOGAMY
• The policy of separation
• Virtual geographic separation of people
• The desire to keep wealth within the group
• Religious/Racial and Cultural differences between peoples
• Sense of superiority and inferiority
 MERITS OF ENDOGAMY
• Contributes to group unity and solidarity
• Keeps women happier within the group
• Helps to preserve property within the group
• Safeguards the purity of the group
• Helps to keep under secret the strength and weakness and also professional secrets of the
group
 DEMERITS OF ENDOGAMY
• It strikes at national unity: diving the society into small endogamous groups or units
• Limiting the choices of life-partners: gives scope for evil practices such as dowry system, high
bride price, etc.
• Develops hatred and contempt for the other groups
• “close-in-breeding” may affect the biological potentialities of the offsprings

Endogamy is condemned. Modern civilised people are in favour of

Exogamy.
 EXOGAMY
• Rule of marriage in which an individual has to marry outside his own group
• Prohibits marrying within the group
• Rule of Exogamy: blood relatives shall neither have marital connection nor sexual contacts
• Marriage of cousins is allowed among Muslims
• Not allowed to marry within the lineage or descent group
 FORMS OF EXOGAMY
• CLAN EXOGAMY:
• a. Clan is a unilineal descent group,
the members of which may claim
either patrilineal or matrilineal
descent from founder, but do not
know the genealogicalities with the
ancestor/ ancestress
• b. Body of persons claiming common
descent(common ancestor- may be
human, animal, plant, etc)
• c. Gotra group represents a clan-
clan is a larger group
• GOTRA EXOGAMY:
• a. The Hindu practice of
marrying outside one's own
'gotra'
• b. Gotra- an organised
group(unilateral kin group) whose
members believe that they are
descendants of a common
• ancestral figure (marriage cannot
take place between the members
of the same gotra)
• c. In Hindu society, Gotra means
Clan
• d. E.g. Kashapya Gotra
 FORMS OF EXOGAMY
• PRAVARA EXOGAMY:
• a. Those who belong to the same 'pravara'
(uttering the name of a common saint at
religious functions) cannot marry among
themselves
• b. The higher castes named certain famous
ancestors when performing sacrifices
(marriage between the members of the
same pravara is forbidden )
• VILLAGE EXOGAMY:
• a. Many Indian tribes (Nagas, Garo and
Mundals) have the practice of marrying
outside their village
• SAPINDA/PINDA EXOGAMY:
a. Those who belong to the same 'pinda' or
'sapinda' cannot
marry within themselves
b. Sapinda- having a distant correlation
with a common ancestor and possess legal
and religious rights to offer 'pinda'
or 'the ball of rice' to the same ancestors
 CAUSES OF EXOGAMY
• Desire to show that they are distinct from others
• Some felt it was cheap if they marry within the known circle
• Female infanticide compelled a few tribals to go out of their tribe to find mates for
themselves
• The belief that “close-in-breeding” would affect the biological quality of the offsprings
• Bringing spouses from outside implies extension of a particular social group which results in
strength and security
• Widening the area of cooperative social contact
 MERITS AND DEMERITS OF
EXOGAMY
• MERITS:
• a. Progressive and more scientific
• b. Has brought people of various
castes, races, religious groups and
tribals together
• c. can effectively reduce social
distancing among people and lead to
social solidarity and communal unity
• DEMERITS:
• a. Does not maintain purity of blood
and separation of groups
• b. Leaked out business skills and
other secrets of a family
• c. Wealth can be transmitted
outside the group
• d. Women feel unhappy because of
no prior understanding with the
members of that group
ENDOGAMY AND EXOGAMY ARE
MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE AND MAY
CO-EXIST IN
SOCIETIES