SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF

MALENDI VILLAGE
SOCIOLOGY FIELD STUDY AND GROUP PROJECT
REPORT

GROUP 16
Akshat Karulkar 2019IPM016
Saurabh Kudligi 2019IPM090
Saksham Mahajan 2019IPM097
Samriddhi Chaudhary 2019IPM102
L Sangeetha 2019IPM112
Upmanyu Rohit 2019IPM123

pg. 1
 INTEGRATED PROGRAM IN MANAGEMENT 2019

DECLARATION
We, hereby declare that this project entitled ‘SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A
VILLAGE’ is
the outcome of our own study undertaken under the guidance of Prof. Surbhi Dayal, Area of
Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Management, Indore. It has not
previously
formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma, or certificate of this Institute or of any
other institute or university. We have duly acknowledged all the sources used by us in the
preparation of this project report.
.
Akshat Karulkar 2019IPM016
Saurabh Kudligi 2019IPM090
Saksham Mahajan 2019IPM097
Samriddhi Chaudhary 2019IPM102
L Sangeetha 2019IPM112
Upmanyu Rohit 2019IPM123

6 October 2019

pg. 2
 EPIGRAPH

“I would say that if the village perishes India will perish too. India will be no more India. Her own
mission in the world will get lost. The revival of the village is possible only when it is no more
exploited. Industrialization on a mass scale will necessarily lead to passive or active exploitation of
the villagers as the problems of competition and marketing come in. Therefore, we have to
concentrate on the village being self-contained, manufacturing mainly for use.”

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

(Speaking on the revival of villages)

“Village communities all over India present certain common features. The structural bonds
of a village are quite distinct from the bonds of kin, caste and class. This bond plays a
significant role in the socialization of children and in social control. The different castes
and communities living in the village are knit together in an economic, social and cultural
configuration based on mutual obligations, common customs and a common past
(1956:327).”

Sachchidananda (as mentioned in ‘Nature and Structure of Rural Habitations’ by S. K.

Chandhoke)

pg. 3
pg. 4
 ABSTRACT
This study was conducted as a part of a field project in Malendi village of Indore district. This study
involved the study of a village, the lifestyle of its people and their problems through the employment
of the sociological perspective.

The process involved researching on pre-existing literature, preparing a questionnaire that is

contextually relevant, visiting the village, interacting with the villagers, asking of the questions, and
the compilation and analysis of the data collected.

We understand that the sociological conditions of a village is vastly different from that of the cities.
We also understand that caste discrimination, Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan,, access to electricity and
water are some of the most pressing problems facing the villagers and hence, we have attempted to
focus on the same. Malendi is primarily an agricultural village growing soybean for most of the
season.

pg. 5
 INTRODUCTION
Mahatma Gandhi had repeatedly emphasized in his teachings, that the village is the most
basic unit of an economy and forms the backbone of the country.
India as a country has always been associated with villages, because these small microcosms
feed our country, provide manpower for our country and present the most accurate picture of
our country.
For any major sociological change that has to be bought out in our country, it has to bought
out in our villages for the change to be majorly seen.
While it is true that more and more of the agrarian population is migrating to cities, a
majority of our population still lives in these villages. Further, the migrants retain their roots
to their village and contribute towards the building of the village economy.
To quote Beteille, “The village was not merely a place where people lived; it had a design in which
were reflected the basic values of Indian civilization” (Beteille, 1980, p. 108). Since village societies
for them spine of the Indian society, we decided to study the social relationships existing in the “real”
India.

Hence, in order to do so, the team of surveyors visited Malendi village in order to collect
primary information and conduct analysis. The driving ideals of the team were to not go into
the village with any pre-conceived notions, to collect bias free data, not to make any
assumptions about the villagers, to understand and empathize with the problems of the
inhabitants and most importantly to gauge the social situation in an Indian village via
one-on-one interaction with the inhabitants,

pg. 6
 Objectives
The aim of the 2019 visit to Malendi village was to collect information about the village
residents to satisfy the following objectives:

● Enquiring about the kinship and other social relations of the villagers.

● Identifying the difference and dynamic of the different relations between the
different members of the family.

● Studying the different cultures thriving in the village.

● To understand the political dynamism and awareness of the residents.

● To understand the social functioning of the village and villagers

● Enquiring about the economic condition of the different families in the village
● This includes asking them about the assets they own.
● The loans they may have taken.
● The properties they own.

● To enquire about the major employment opportunities for the villagers or

understand the business opportunities available for the villagers.

● To identify the different religious groups present in the village and understand
the different practices of the respective groups.

● To enquire about the marriage system and the different rituals associated with
it.

● To understand the customs associated with each stage of the life cycle of an
individual
● The birth
● Puberty
● Final rites

● To educate the villagers of the different government schemes available for

them and to find out if they are using the welfare programmes available for
them.

pg. 7
 ● To identify the social hierarchy and the different strata of the village.

● To identify the roles expected to be performed by the members of the different

genders and age groups.

● To understand the major problems faced by the villagers.

● To identify the medical and educational Facilities available for the villagers.

● To try and identify the social evils prevalent in the village.

● To understand how to collect and organize data from the villagers and

● Analysing our own communication skills and think critically about the
practices of the village.

pg. 8
 REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE
Marriage
In looking at marriage in Malendi, we referred to (Desai, Sonalde and Andrist, Lester
(2010)), who analyse marriage age and decision making across India based on the economic
status of women (wage availability or the need for dowry, etc), their role in the family and the
effect of gender scripts like separation and purdah. They concluded that gender performance
played a larger role in determining the age of marriage – in societies where girls and boys are
not segregated there is a larger positive effect on the age of marriage than by others. 
Marriage in rural areas often has strong influences of family and caste, and the arranged
marriage is still the most common means of marriage. Therefore, marriage needs to be
surveyed taking into account family situation and looking at the amount of choice people
have over their partners.
Aside from the role of gender on age, we also inquired about inter-caste marriages, or
marrying out of the village. In some communities there are records of excommunication for
such acts and we attempted to confirm the existence / nonexistence of such acts in the
village’s near past.

State Govt Schemes

There are several government schemes which are applicable to this village – MP
Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana 2019 for unemployed youth, or the Kisan Anudan Yojana
for subsidising farm tools or the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana for opening accounts for girl
child. 
However, awareness or delivery of the schemes may be lacking. While interviewing the
villagers we tried to enquired about the effects of specific schemes and their implementation

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

The flagship scheme of the central government aims to provide sanitation across the country
and end open defecation. Mhow is supposed to be an open defecation free zone(ODF),
however the structure of the scheme is vulnerable to caste-based discrimination. SC and ST
households are less likely to have access to toilets (Census 2011). Since Malendi is
dominated by Kurmi caste, there was a risk that other castes, or ST members were not being

pg. 9
distributed funds necessary to build toilets and realise this scheme, and we tried to enquire
about the same.

Also, the effect of sanitation on women in particular was a concern which we tried to study.
Females are often disproportionately impacted by lack of sanitary conditions or access to
toilets and any lack here could cause harm.

Caste and Religious Makeup

Malendi has several members from Scheduled Tribes (16.7%) and Scheduled Castes (3.2%),
though the majority are
Kurmis. We examined the prevalence of endogamous marriage within the village and the
overall openness of people, especially since there are a number of people from the Bhil
community present. 
We also sought to look at the effect of caste on receiving government aid or support from the
panchayat to implement schemes, which could be a concern in a village with a dominant
caste.
The religious makeup seems to be nearly entirely Hindu, with no large signs of divergence.
This was confirmed by our inquiries within the village. We couldn’t locate people of other
religions. There seems to be a fair amount of harmony in this aspect, and organised religious
activities do not seem common outside of festivals.

Education
Malendi’s literacy rate is lower than average for Madhya Pradesh (65.08% vs 69.32%). We
attempted to examine how accessible education is, especially considering the work of
Leclerq, Francois on the effects of the Education Guarantee Scheme in Madhya Pradesh and
the preference for private schools over government.
The only school in the village is up to the 8 class – this necessitates travel to other villages
th

for education, which could have put barriers on education and access to higher education,
especially for girls.
Also, the effect of education on improving job prospects was questionable, since most people
reported working as farm labourers. There may have existed a need to convince them of the
virtue of education for education’s sake if there was irregular attendance based on this reason.

pg. 10
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Field
As the field of study, survey team went to the village Malendi, which is around 31 kms from
the district headquarters Indore, and around 4 kms from a small town and army cantonment
called Mhow. Malendi is surrounded by Rau Tehsil towards North, Indore Tehsil towards
North, Maheshwar Tehsil towards South, and Nalchha Tehsil towards west. It has a
population of around 1400-1500 people and around 280-300 houses.
Unit of Analysis
People
Government Schemes
Effect of Modi government
Views on Education
Family
Methodological Approach for data collection
For data collection, we used both quantitative and qualitative methods.
First quantitatively, we used the primary method, i.e., we had a fixed set of questions which
could have predefined answers.
Qualitatively, we asked more open-ended questions, like, their views on various issues like
education, government schemes, etc.
So, we found out the answers to all the questions through a one-on-one primary interaction
and interviews with all the villagers.

pg. 11
 Procedure
Before the Trip
Planning for questionnaire
For the type of questions, we were supposed to formulate, we all had a rigorous discussion on
a vast multitude of topics. After we had a productive discussion in class, we shortlisted some
of the important issues we had to focus on.
Ultimately, we decided upon some key issues on the basis of our discussion.
Questionnaire
Our questionnaire, as mentioned before, consisted of both close and open-ended questions,
ranging from a wide variety of topics, including:
1. Family- Total number of family members, what they did, if and when any marriage
took place, and genral questions of how they lived together.
2. House- Proper cemented house, or made of clay, if their house had pardah, or darwaza
3. Caste- What their caste, their subcaste, and where they fit in society.
4. Job- What kind of job they did, if they had a regular job; if not, then how often did
they got jobs.
5. Basic amenities- If their house had a proper water supply, if yes, then how they got
water (through bore well, or pipe) electricity supply, TV, fridge, or any mobile
phones.
6. Toilet- If they had a toilet installed in their houses, and if yes, then if they used
regularly.
7. Sanitary pads- If the women of the village had proper access to clean sanitary pads. If
not, then if any alternative means were there
8. Ration card- What kind of ration cards they had, green or yellow.
9. Types of festivals- what kind of festivals they celebrated, where did they celebrated, if
they celebrated it as a whole community, or individually.
10. Education- Upto what class did they study, if they pursued any form of primary or
higher education.
11. Medical services: What kind of medical services were available in their village, if

pg. 12
there were any doctors, any proper medical equipment, provision of medicines,
emergency services, and if vaccinations were provided for the village folk.
12. Government schemes: If they were aware of various government schemes like
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, and if the government actually provided monetary aid for
various schemes like making toilets, etc.

These were the quantitative questions, whose answers were precise, short and predetermined.
Next, we asked a more qualitative sets of questions, in which we asked about their viewpoints
and thoughts regarding various issues. Here, we got more descriptive and detailed answers.
We asked them about various issues including:

13. Thoughts on education: We asked them if they really believed that education could
make a difference in their lives; if education was actually necessary, if they believed
in educating their children, and if yes, then why.
14. Political Party: We asked them about their political preferences; which political
party they supported, what their reason for supporting a political party was, if the BJP
government actually did any development in the village. Also, if they voted on the
basis of what their family voted or individual choice.
15. Social stigmas: If they had any prevailing sets of beliefs regarding untouchability,
various kinds of social evils etc.
16. Divide between rich and poor: If all of them were given equal importance and the
money from various schemes was equally distributed to each and every one of them,
or if it was divided unequally.
While designing the the type of questions we wanted to ask, we were mindful of some
very important points:
1. We tried to cover all attributes of their way of life, i.e., we tried to do a subjective
analysis of not only their way of life and their culture, but also of their mind set
and beliefs.
2. We were aware that some of the issues were a bit sensitive. So we tried to include
the personal questions after some basic questions, in order to get ourselves

pg. 13
acquainted with them and inspire some trust.

During the trip

Conducting the field study
Planning:
As soon as we got our allotted areas, we divided our group of 6 into 3 groups of two each,
due to shortage of time. In our group, we had 4 boys and 2 girls. Also, one of our girls
couldn’t speak the native language, fluently. So in order to fairly divide the group, we split
into two groups of two boys and one group of two girls. Since we only had boys in two
subgroups, first, we talked to the male members of one household while the girls talked to
female members of another household. Then, we talked to the male members of the other
household while the girls talked to the female members of the first household. This was done
so that the girls could talk to the women regarding more private and intimate matters.
Conversation
Firstly, we pleasantly greeted the people we were about to interview. We told them about why
we were there. We told them about our college, about what we were doing, and what we
would get to learn from this. All of them, save one old man, responded positively to us. They
greeted us back and started talking pleasantly to us. After that, we asked their name and asked
them about how they were, how their lives were going on, in order to instil some confidence
in them. Then, we started asking some of the quantitative basic questions regarding their lives
like jobs, caste, if they got basic amenities, if they were educated etc. Then slowly, as we
started building a good rapport with them, we moved on to more personal, qualitative set of
questions. We asked them about their views, their stances on various issues like education,
and various sensitive topics like discrimination. We noticed that while talking about these
kinds of issues, they were not too comfortable. So, we didn’t press or perturb them. But
except two people, all of them cooperated with us and so we got to know about many
deep-rooted stigmas which were still prevalent in the village. Then, the girls separately asked
about the _______________.
Data Collection
We collected the data in two ways:
1. We recorded our conversation with the villagers on our phones. But, we asked for
their permission first. Also, we assured them that this recording was only for our
report purpose and that we wouldn’t share it with anybody.
2. While one of us in a group of 2 recorded the conversation, as an extra angle, the other
person manually wrote down all the important points.,
So, in this way, we could collect most of the important attributes and points of the meaningful

pg. 14
conversations we had with the people.
After the trip
After the field trip, we regrouped and shared all the information we had which each other. We
got to know a lot of new aspects of their way of life, their culture, belief, and ideas. After
systematically, dividing and organizing the information, we started working on our project.

DATA COLLECTION AND INTERPREATATION

● Malendi Village has around 1600 people distributed over some 290 households.
● Malendi Village has the Pin code 476485.
● It is located in Mhow Tehsil of Indore district in Madhya Pradesh. It is situated 42km
away from district headquarter Mhow. Mhow is the sub-district headquarter of
Malendi village. Malendi village is also a gram panchayat.
● The total geographical area of village is 1092.18 hectares. Malendi has a total
population of 1,453 peoples. There are about 281 houses in Malendi village. Mhow
goon is nearest town to Malendi.
● Average sex ratio of the village is 897 whereas the avg. sex ratio of Madhya Pradesh
(MP) is 931.
● For all major works and purposes people travel to either Mhow, Rau or Indore.

The 2011 reports on Malendi suggest a population of 1453 divided as

TOTAL POPULATION MALES FEMALES

1,453 766 687

INFRASTRUCTURE

● Housing-
1. The village consists of mainly cemented houses (Pucca houses) though
mud-brick and tin shed houses(kaccha) do exist. However, those who do

pg. 15
 not yet have proper houses are mostly in the process to get one under the
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
2. Most of the cemented houses are recently new- most being under 10 years
old.
3. However, there are people without houses or kaccha houses.
4. Widespread corruption exists under PMAY.
i. Powerful people (including people from lower castes) have got
secondary houses (kutiyas).
ii. Whereas people with kaccha houses are still waiting for their
house, and have still not been allotted houses.
● Electricity-
1. Most houses stated that they get 24 hours electricity.
2. However, there are fairly frequent electricity cuts of time periods < 30
minutes. The reason for the same is due to infrastructure deficiencies
in the villages and not a lack of electricity supply. Infrastructure
deficiencies here refers to breaking of wires, transformer bursting etc
etc.
3. They also reported that frequent load shedding occurs during summer.
● Water-
1. Section of village reviewed consisted of village interviewed reported that tap
water came for only half an hour in the morning.
2. There existed one hand pump at the end of lane that was accessible to
everyone.
3. Lane also had a borewell that richer households (HH) claimed that was
accessible to everyone. Borewell was located near rich HHs.
i. However, rest of the lane stated that during the night, rich HHs
secretly turned on the bore and hogged the water supply, leading to
the water shortage for the rest of the lane HHs.
ii. Further, 2019 Monsoon has witnessed above average to excessive
rainfall and hence no water deficiencies were found during time of
survey.
iii. Summers usually witness water deficiencies.
● Roads-
1. The roads are mostly well made except a few inner corners of the village
where the roads aren’t cemented and are uneven.
2. Inner village roads have been built recently (<5 years). Villagers credited 3
major sources.
i. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
ii. Village Sarpanch who is a member of Bhartiya Janata Party.
3. Some HHs claimed that cemented roads were only built in lanes that had HHs
supported the BJP and voted for the Sarpanch in the elections.
i. Lane surveyed had majorly BJP supporters and a concrete road.

pg. 16
 ii. Statement could not be verified due to paucity of time.

● Sewage System-
1. A rudimentary Sewage system is used by the village which consists of
mainly uncovered drains which could be a health hazard.
2. Section of lane reviewed collected trash in buckets and dumped their trash
in an uncovered drain 100 feet away from their lane.
3. Trash collection truck is supposed to regularly collect trash, but it never
comes.
4. No concept of Waste Segregation.
● Toilet-
1. The Madhya Pradesh government has declared the state as Open
Defecation Free (ODF) however surveyors found this claim to be false.
2. All villagers surveyed had toilets in their homes.
3. Richer HHs had been built around 8-9 years ago without any financial
support from the government.
4. Relatively poorer HHs had their toilets built around 3-5 years ago with
government financial support for building their toilets.
5. However, widespread reports of corruption existed in this too.
6. While all respodents initially claimed that the village is ODF, upon further
prodding, they admitted that there are people families who defecate in the
open. Surveyors could not personally verify this information, but
cross-verified by asking several families.
● School System-
1. A primary school and Anganwardi are present on the borders of the
village. They both play a crucial role in improving the quality of
life of the villagers.
2. Anganwadi regularly provides proper shots and nutrition to
children and also provides creche services.
3. In order to attain high school education, children have to take a bus
and travel for almost an hour or more each way.
● Healthcare
1. Government health care centres are absent and the nearest
private hospital is kilometres away.
2. Village has a rudimentary health centre which they go to
for mild illnesses.
3. It is regularly staffed by 2 doctors. One of the doctors was
referred to as really passionate and regularly tried to help
the villagers out. He was regularly referred to as the
“Bengali Daktar” (Bengali Doctor).
4. People commonly rely on ‘Veds’ who prescribe them
simple herbs or homemade remedies for ailments.

pg. 17
 5. Further in case of serious ailments and emergencies,
villagers called for the 108 ambulance.

Society and Social Class

● Division of Population-
Village population can primarily be divided on two metrics-
i. Caste – Upper, Middle and lower castes.
o Upper caste- Brahmins and Kshatriyas (classified as General Category
by the government).
o Middle/ Lower middle castes - Kushwahas, Patels, Kurmis etc.
(majorly classified as Other backward classes (OBC) by government).
o Lower castes- Chamars/Untouchables.
Note- Division of castes have been limited to ones that either directly interacted with
the surveyors or were mentioned in their responses by the respondents.

ii. Economic status- Upper, Middle and lower classes.

6. Combining Caste Status and economic class, a metric of
social status can be formed. Social Status refers to the
social standing of a person in his/her community i.e. the
respect that he/ she commands among the rest of the
villagers. Social status, also called status, the relative rank
that an individual hold, with attendant rights, duties, and
lifestyle, in a social hierarchy based upon honor or
prestige. (Brittanica.com)
● The Upper castes are usually more educated, have more wealth and hold important
positions in the village community.
i. There is strong co-relation between Caste Status and Social status
among the upper castes. Even if they’re not that rich, they have a sense
of pride and social standing.
ii. However, that being said, there is a strong relation between caste and
economic status. Upper caste people are also much more likely to be
economically well-off.

● The majority of villagers can be put under the middle class and they form most of the
actual community.
i. Among the middle class there is a strong correlation between their
economic status and social status.
ii. Further, there is a relatively weaker co-relation between caste and
social status.

pg. 18
 iii. Hence among them economic well being is the deciding factor for
social status. Economically well-off middle caste people command
more respect than poorer counterparts.
iv. However, that being said, how much ever wealth that they might
acquire, they still have a social status lower than that of their
upper-class counterparts.

● Lastly, the lower castes who were mostly poor and discriminated against are
Untouchables.
i. There is strong co-relation between social status and caste among the
lower castes.
ii. Further there is also a strong co-relation between caste and economic
wealth.
iii. It is due to their caste that they cannot improve their social status.
iv. Further, due to their caste, they are not able to gain suitable educational
qualifications or jobs which can help their economic status.
v. Hence, they are stuck in a vicious cycle where their caste determines
both their economic wealth and social status. This leads to generations
of them being stuck in economic and social squalor.
● Inter-Caste Marriages- Class and caste differences are taken seriously and even
today not many inter caste marriages take place in Malendi.
i. Almost all respondents refused to even acknowledge the presence of
inter-caste marriages in their village.
ii. A respondent from a rich household (HH) admitted that couples who
marry outside their caste are usually socially excluded and are
implicitly forced/ pressured to leave the village.
iii. The only other respondent was from a poor HH. Respondent took a
more practical stand. He admitted that while they discourage such
marriages, in case it does happen, the acceptance of the couple among
the families depends on the financial standing and social standing of
the other class.

pg. 19
 ● UNTOUCHABILITY

● RELIGION
i. Malendi is a Hindu village where hardly any other religions are present.
ii. Muslims are barred from living within the village and the few Muslims who do
come to the village to work must return at dusk.

● WOMEN AND THEIR POSITION

i. Girls like Boys are all sent to school up till class 8. However, while most of the
boys take up their studies till tenth standard many girls aren’t given that
opportunity.
ii. Women who wish to study further or look for work outside the village are not only
discouraged by the family but are even mocked by village elders.
iii. A 24-year-old woman who had married into the village and had a M.A. degree
stated in her interview that its difficult for the women in Malendi to dream of
anything outside the village. She also stated that even in the upper caste families
they only regard women’s education as a status symbol to show off their ‘higher
cultural background’ and that they won’t actually allow girls to work outside the
village. She felt that it was largely due to lack of transportation to travel large
distances outside the village and also because there was a general consensus that
its unsafe for women to go out.

pg. 20
 iv. However apart from this, the women where are given a lot of freedom these days
to roam around the village in groups or to meet up with friends etc.
v. In most of the respondent families, the official head of family as stated by them
was a lady. The lady was usually the mother of the oldest male in the family and
was usually a widower.
● PURDAH AND PROPRIETY
i. The village doesn’t have a strict Purdah system. Interviews with elderly women
revealed that the norms were much stricter 2-3 decades before. They had to
always cover their entire face from all elders and all men apart from her husband.
ii. These days women only cover their heads in front of their elder in laws and are
given much more freedom after their marriage.
iii. Purdah is not observed among the younger generations of the family.
iv. Females generally had the freedom to dress as they wished and the surveyors
witnessed younger females dressed in western tops and jeans.
v. Joking and casual kinship were almost non-existent between relations of opposite
gender. Elders were also more formal than what is observed in urban societies.

● LAW AND ORDER

i. Malendi uses a Gram Panchayat system for its governance and most problems are
resolved through the elected panchayat. Most common problems are usually Land
disputes, loans and debts, aids for cattle rearing, etc. Acts that go against social norms
are also heard by the panchayat.
ii. The villagers have a strong resistance to approach the police who they regard as
‘outsiders’, for their grievances and have a mindset that all problems of the village
should be resolved in the village itself.
iii. Eve teasing is common place and cases of domestic abuse also exist. However these
are hardly considered crimes and not viewed with the same gravity as in Urban
societies.
iv. Women usually form groups to help out each other and to resolve cases of domestic
violence as the families convince the women to keep mum about such acts and to not
lodge complaints with the police. Despite the awareness in the community regarding
the laws against domestic violence and the help that they could receive from
authorities most cases aren’t even reported. Women are told to dress more
conservatively and men and women have stricter rules of propriety.
v. Surveyors personally witnessed a case of domestic violence where a man was beating
up his wife in broad daylight with spectators all around. Spectators did not interfere
saying it was a family matter to be sorted out by the family.

pg. 21
vi. However, police do make regular rounds to ensure proper law and order and come on
the call of villagers.
vii. A particular instance of the positive influence of the police was seen in the case of
Alcoholism.
viii. The police pro-actively took action to cut down on the number of alcohol shops in the village
and cases of public drinking. This has led to a serious decrease in the number of cases of
alcoholism in the village.
● OCCUPATIONS
i. Malendi is primarily an agricultural village and the main occupations are mainly
farming and rearing animals. Most families own land and/or rear animals for their
primary source of income.
ii. Major crop for the villagers in soybean. Further during the off season depending
on farmer to farmer, various crops are grown like potatoes, onions, etc etc.
iii. Pesticides and fertilizers are widely used in farming. However, knowledge about
organic farming is increasing and there were a few farmers who were growing
organic crops naturally.
iv. Farmers with land holdings of greater than 15 bighas did not do any additional
work for sustenance. Whereas, small farmers with land holdings less than 5 bighas
did additional work as help in other farms, and as manual labour.
v. There also exist some small groups of ironsmiths who work with metals to make
tools.
vi. These days many youngsters also work as gardeners or manual labourers at
institutes or colleges nearby and supplement the family income.

● INCOME

pg. 22
 i. Due to the agricultural nature of their jobs, families have a seasonal and
unpredictable income that is heavily influenced by seasonal output and market
prices for their crops.
ii. Their range of income ranged from 30 thousand per season and 90 thousand in the
two or so seasons for the middle and upper range of families for agricultural
produce. The lower income families raked in around 15 per season.
iii. The cattle also brought in around 2000 to 6000 rupees per animal per month
depending upon the amount of milk they sold after consumption.
iv. People working as gardeners or helpers outside the village got around 10 to 12
thousand per month

ACTIVITY UNDERTAKEN MONEY EARNED (RUPESE)

SMALL FIELDS 15,000 per season

MEDIUM FIELDS 25,000-30,000 per season

CATTLE REARING Goats- 2,000-4,000 per month

Cow- 6,000- 8,000 per month

GARDENERS OR SIMILAR 10,000-12,000

TASKS

● ASSETS AND APPLIANCES

i. Assets are heavily dependent on the family and its economic status. Most mid
range families didn’t have any major assets apart from the houses, land or animals
they owned and their personal savings as money. A lot of them however own light
gold jewellery.
ii. Most families with Pucca houses also owns a bike for easy transportation.
iii. Almost every family member owns a mobile phone. However, touch phones are
rarer with most of them using button phones.
iv. T.V. connections are fairly normal.
v. Some families also owned tractors but it is fairly uncommon.
vi. One major problem that has occurred is in case of land holdings. Upon death of
the family head, land is equally divided among all the male sons. This leads to a
serious problem of division of land which leads to a decrease in productivity.
vii. One respondent had his family land of over 20 bighas split 5 ways among his sons
which has led to a serious decrease in land output.
RITUALS AND SOCIAL NORMS

● Birth

pg. 23
 i. Godbharai:
` This is the baby shower organised for the mother in the seventh or ninth month where
the mother is given various gifts like clothes, toys for the baby, etc by family and friends. The
village women usually celebrate Godbharai at the anganwardi centre of the village.
● Death
i. Death of anyone in the village requires the family to firstly burn the body with
a ‘mukhagni’ from any male member of the family. Women are usually not
allowed to go with the procession to the graveyards.
ii. Following that there is a Puja organized where food offerings are made to
Gods and people are invited to seat. Then there is ‘Shraadhh’ for 13 days after
the death of the person where only simple, saltless food is cooked in the
household.
iii. Apart from this, every year families offer food and water to their ancestors for
a week in the month of October.

● Marriages
i. Girls usually get married around the age of 20 while the males generally marry
around 23 or so. Bride is usually younger than the groom
ii. Both inter-village and intra-village marriages are common.
iii. Older generation of families generally married within their village due to the
ease of finding a bride and verifying the credentials of the bride/bridegroom.
iv. However, nowadays mostly inter-village marriages happen as it is tough to
find a bride within their own village. One respondent hailed from Uttar
Pradesh and had settled here after marriage.
v. The villagers in Malendi usually opt for community marriages as this is
efficient and also saves money. It costs around 20,000 in total and the boys
family and the girls family each pay 10,00.
vi. Another benefit of the community marriage system is that it has helped bring
down the custom of dowry and taken the pressure of the bride’s family to pay
hefty sums of money for marriage ceremonies.
vii. Rituals of a marriage like hiring a horse, band etc is collectively borne by the
village/ the horse owner does not charge money and hence collective spirit of
the village is brought out here.
viii. Respondents were hesitant to talk about dowry but it was established that
dowry was now accepted in kind instead of cash.
● EDUCATION
i. Most of the elders in the village have very poor education, specially the
females. However, the situation is better for the youth in the village as most
have access to basic literacy and schooling up till class eighth under the Right
to Education Act which gives free and compulsory education till class 8.

pg. 24
 ii. Education and literacy are two completely different concepts as there were
adults who were 5th pass, 8th pass, 10th pass etc but still could not read or write.
iii. Education is again co-related to wealth levels. Higher level income households
had 12th pass and even college graduates whereas lower ones did not have
members who had studied beyond 10th standard.
iv. Almost all the children from the village attend school and many give the tenth
standard exams.
v. However, they are sceptical of education and feel that higher education is not
useful as it wouldn’t get them better jobs. They believe that if they are to work
in the fields even after schooling higher education would be a waste of time
and resources.
vi. This is even harsher on the girls who usually work in the household or in the
fields and hardly venture out of the village to work.

● Government schemes and their effectivity

i. There is a general awareness of the government schemes in the populace of
the village due to the Sarpanch and elections where parties pitch for parties.
ii. One of the most beneficial one is the Anganwadi, which not only provides a
place for the village children, it also spreads awareness about health and
hygiene in women. A result of this was that all the women in the village use
sanitary napkins instead of cloth for their periods.
iii. Anganwadi has led to the administration of polio shots to everyone in the
village and a huge reduction in cases of malnutrition among children/

pg. 25
 iv. Many have benefited from these schemes and the effect was visible in the
village in the form of housing facilities and the presence of toilets in every
house for which money (12,000 rupees) was allotted to every house.
v. While the people have benefitted from these schemes, there were allegations
of people unfairly getting benefits from such schemes.
vi. For example, The PM Gramin Awas Yojna and PM Indira Awas Yojna for
those who do not have concrete houses promises them housing. There were
cases where people misused the scheme and used it to get a second floor built
on top of their houses even when they already had a concrete house.
● Political Affiliations
i. Reasons for supporting BJP –
1. Did more developmental work
2. Charisma of Modi as leader
3. Discontentment with the INC
4. Sarpanch was from BJP and did not do work for lanes of houses that
did not vote for the BJP.
ii. Reasons for supporting INC-
1. Has done more work for farmers.
2. Loan Waiver Scheme for farmers.
3. Loyalty Support- Have always been supporting congress.

iii. Some outliers supported parties like Bahujan Samaj Party etc. One old man
with Alzheimers disease still supported the Janata Party. Total Support for
them would be < 2 percent of total population.

pg. 26
 WOMEN AND THE ANGANWARDI
● Position of women in society

i.The women in Malendi have a paradoxical and complex position in society.

They are almost never given equal rights as their male counterparts and are
disadvantaged when it comes to opportunities.
ii. . Their identities are almost always defined by a male relation. The father
before marriage and by husband after marriage. 
iii. . Yet the elderly women are respected and are more or less on equal footing
with elderly men. This is a complex social phenomenon where women who
are usually considered the weaker sex in the village are suddenly seen as
knowledgeable and respected. This might stem from the commonly found
norm of respecting elders.
iv. . All households are under the domain of the elderly women. They are trusted
to manage the household finances. 
v. . While women are heard at the panchayats and women form groups so that
their voices are heard, they are not frequently invested into positions of
power. 
● Economic Indpendence

Women from the lower and middle classes are expected to work in the
fields like the men. They also have the additional work of managing
the household chores. Yet they are not always considered as equal
shareholders in the household incomes as the farm lands usually

pg. 27
belong to the men. However, the few women who work as labour in
other fields are entitled to their wages. 
Women from the upper castes usually do not work as that is a status
symbol for the upper class. It is a way of proclaiming to the populace
that they do not lack money and thus do not need the women of the
household to work and supplement the income.  

● EDUCATION FOR WOMEN 

Most women did not have the opportunity to study as they wished.
However with the introduction of Right to Education act, all girls are
given free schooling uptill class 8 and most do attend school. Many of
the m idle class families are also sending their daughters to complete
their education till class 12 which looks promising, but in many cases
might be so that they can marry into wealthy families which value
education. 
However, even the wealthy families look at female education as a
decorative which shows off their ‘elite status’.  
In the yesteryears women here did not dream of much, but they
weren’t the sole ones. Even most men did not aspire for much apart
from the things they saw in the village. However, with the advent of
the internet and television, the exposure to Urban lifestyles has slowly
changed that. Women and men have the same scale for aspirations
though it is a little easier for the men to accomplish those aspirations. 
On a more positive note, the opening of the Anganwardi has slowly
started changing this mindset. People are slowly recognizing the
importance of education to open door for a better life and in the next
decade, this might change for the better.
● HEALTH AND SANITIZATION  
There has been an increasing awareness in women about the need for
sanitization and we noticed that a positive state of things. 

pg. 28
All the girls use sanitary napkins and are well educated about
menstrual health by the anganwardi. 

● GENERAL WELL BEING and FUTURE

Taking all things in consideration, women have come a long, long
way from where they used to be just a decade or two back. They have
much more freedom in their daily lives. Their position in society,
education and economic independence are all rising steadily. 
And while they still are subject to domestic violence, women are
learning to gather into groups to stop such evils and to help each
other. They are slowly being seen and heard and looking at the rapid
poace of social change brought in by media, by the next decade we
might see a more comprehensive equality between the two sexes.

THE ANGANWARDI AND IT’S

ROLE 
Started by the government in 1975, the Anganwardis were ideated as
rural child care centers, where women could leave their children as
they went to work. The Anganwardis would take care of not only
keeping the children, but would also look after their learning and
nutrition. However, after the immense success of the scheme,
Anganwardis started branching out to other domains and started to
look after all aspects of women, children and their wellbeing.  
Malendi is a perfect example of the role Anganwardis play in the lives
of not just the children but the women. Women regard the
Anganwardi centre located at the edge of the village, as a place where
they can find solutions to their problems.  

pg. 29
 1. Childcare: Anganwardis relieve the women from Childcare duties so that
they can go out and work. Thus, it indirectly helps then in becoming
financially empowered. 
2. Healthcare: Anganwardis educate women on all spheres of health, be it
menstrual, sexual, pre-natal, etc. It helps women regulate nutrition
specially during pregnancy using government supplied iron pills or
medicines. They teach the girls about ailments like anemia and infections
in simple terms. They even give some sanitary napkins to women in need
as reported by a few female interviewees. 
3. Source of information: Women get to know about various things like
immunization programs, self help schemes, etc.  
4. Act as a common area: The women treat Anganwardi not as an official
unit but rather as an informal place to gather and solve their problems.
This was proved by many women who stated that they celebrate
‘Godbharais’ or baby showers at anganwardis, meet up and have
discussions about general topics.  

pg. 30
pg. 31