the social structure of a tanjore village · serve the village temple. kumbapettai is a fairly...

The Social Structure of a Tanjore Village Kathleen Gough

TW O types o f v i l lage s t ructure appear to be present in T a n ­

jo re dis t r ic t . T h e most prevalent is the mirasi v i l lage , where the l a n d is owned in smal l amounts by a n u m b e r of separate pa t r i l i nea l jo in t - f ami l i e s . T h i s type appa­ren t ly dates in its essential features f r o m the pe r iod o f the T a m i l C h o l a kings, whose power decl ined w i t h the M u s l i m invasions of the early four t een th century, and ended w i t h the invas ion f r o m Vi j ayanaga r i n 1534. T h e other type, the in am vi l lage , dates f r o m the M a h r a t t a conquest (1674-1799) when the a l ien M a h r a t t a kings made grants of whole villages to i n d i v i d u a l famil ies o f T a m i l Brahmans and i m m i g r a n t M a h r a t t a s a n d t o r e l i ­gious ins t i tu t ions . Here , I a t t emp t to ou t l ine the social o rganiza t ion of a mirasi v i l lage in the nor thwest of the d is t r ic t , a n d to ind ica te w h a t seem, after four months of observa­t i o n , to be the most i m p o r t a n t trends of change.

T a n j o r e vi l lage people d iv ide the many castes of H i n d u s in to three sub-divisions: — B r a h m a n , non -Brah ­m a n a n d A d i D r a v i d a ( " o r i g i n a l Drav id ians " , sometimes cal led H a r i -jans, most of w h o m were once serfs of the s o i l ) . T h e s t ructure of a mirasi v i l lage varies accord ing to whe ther it is a " B r a h m a n " or a " n o n - B r a h m a n v i l l a g e " . In the " B r a h m a n vi l lage ", the l a n d is owned by the several families of a B r a h m a n street {agraharam). Some of this l a n d is leased in smal l amounts on an annua l tenure to landless families of one or more non-Brahrnan streets, usually of the " l o w e r " n o n - B r a h m a n castes of Ahambadiyas , Padayacchis, K o n a r , M u p p a n a r o r V a n n i y a r . O t h e r l a n d , re ta ined by the landlords ( w h o are called mirasdars), is c u l t i ­va t ed d i rec t ly by labourers f r o m an A d i D r a v i d a street s i tuated a t some distance f r o m the rest of the v i l lage . I n the " n o n - B r a h m a n v i l l a g e " , the l a n d is o w n e d by jo in t - fami l ies of a street of non-Brahmans , usually of one of the " h igher " n o n - B r a h m a n castes of V e l l a l a r or K a l l a r . Some l a n d m a y be t hen leased to other , " l o w e r cas t e" n o n - B r a h m a m , o r more f requent ly cu l t i va t ed d i rec t ly w i t h the a i d o f A d i D r a v i d a servants' I n these villages there is usual ly only a single B r a h m a n f ami ly , o f priests w h o

serve the v i l lage temple . K u m b a p e t t a i is a f a i r l y typ ica l

" B r a h m a n vi l lage ". One-and-a-h a l f miles square, w i t h a popu la ­t i o n of about 1200, it lies on a bus route eight miles f r o m a t o w n . Beh ind each house in the streets is a smal l garden of coconuts and vegetables, w h i l e r o u n d the whole v i l lage , fo r about h a l f a m i l e , stretch its double-crop paddy fields, watered by the in t r i ca te system of i r r i g a t i o n channels f r o m the K a v e r i a n d its t r ibutar ies .

j u s t of f the m a i n road , i n the northeast of the v i l lage , lies the B r a h m a n street of for ty-six houses, ten of w h i c h are now empty , thei r owners h a v i n g moved to the towns. T h e t i l ed- roofed houses ad jo in , a n d the t w o l o n g rows face each other across the n a r r o w road. Beh ind the houses, on each side of the street, the gardens lead d o w n to i r r i ga t i on channels bo rde r ing the paddy fields. T w o temples s tand near the agraharam: tha t to Siva, in the northeast, a n d tha t to V i s h n u , in the west. Nearby are a b a t h i n g tank , a shrine to G a n a p a t h i near w h i c h the Brahmans recite dai ly jabams after p e r f o r m i n g the i r ablut ions, a n d a second shrine b u i l t over the t o m b of a B r a h m a n sanyasi of the v i l lage . T h e B r a h ­mans, w i t h the i r gardens, temples, ba th ing poo l a n d caste-shrines, thus occupy the nor thwest corner of the vi l lage. A single non -Brah ­m a n house of K u t t h a d i s , a caste whose men fo rmer ly pe r fo rmed religious puppe t plays a n d whose w o m e n are danc ing girls,, stands alone on the nor thwest boundary of the vi l lage .

Southwards , across garden a n d paddy l a n d , l ie twen ty houses, in t w o streets, of the n o n - B r a h m a n K o n a r caste. T h e K o n a r are cow­herds by t r a d i t i o n . T h e i r houses are smaller t h a n the B r a h m a n houses, tha tched , a n d set s l ight ly apar t in the i r gardens. T o d a y , the income (de r ived f r o m a l l sour­ces) of B r a h m a n families l i v i n g ent i re ly in the vi l lage, varies f r o m about Rs 80 to about Rs 900 a m o n t h . T h e average K o n a r house­h o l d , by contrast, appears to earn one kalam of paddy per adu l t per m o n t h , plus Rs 20 to Rs 60 in cash' thus b r i n g i n g the value of the t o t a l income to between Rs 50 a n d Rs 100 per m o n t h . A d i D r a v i d a

families, by contrast again, appear to demand ra ther more paddy a n d less cash; the average income of an A d i D r a v i d a household may be estimated very rough ly at a value of between Rs 40 and Rs 80 per m o n t h . M o s t K o n a r families keep one or t w o cows, and in add i t i on m i l k the cows a n d do garden w o r k for Brahmans. T h e i r service was fo rmer ly hered i ta ry : the same f a m i ­lies served Brahman families fo r generations a n d could not change the i r allegiance w i t h o u t consent f r o m their o r ig ina l masters. T o d a y , i n d i v i d u a l K o n a r men , l ike A d i Dravidas, sometimes become " at­tached " for a pe r iod to a p a r t i ­cular B r a h m a n l a n d l o r d t h r o u g h indebtedness; they bo r row money f r o m the l a n d l o r d and must t hen w o r k on ly for h i m u n t i l the debt is repaid . In the o l d type of ser­vice, i n w h i c h families o f K o n a r and A d i Dravidas worked by here­d i t a ry r igh t for B r a h m a n families, the servants were called adirnai (serfs). T h i s w o r d is now seldom heard, A few people, bo th K o n a r a n d A d i D r a v i d a , d o however s t i l l w o r k f r o m choice for thei r t r a d i ­t iona l masters, w h o dist inguish be­tween heredi tary servants a n d h i r e d labourers, and feel greater respons­i b i l i t y for the former , g i v i n g them gifts at marriages and sending f o o d d u r i n g sickness. He red i t a ry ser­vants are pa id at least p a r t l y in paddy, w h i c h they prefer. A n o rd ina ry h i r ed labourer may be p a i d dai ly in the same way, or m o n t h l y in cash: he is ca l led a pannaiyal ( w o r k m a n ) .

K o n a r are also tenants to B r a h ­m a n landlords, usually to the m e n w h o m they serve. T h e tenure is cal led kuthakau An a n n u a l ren t in paddy is f ixed accord ing to the f e r t i l i t y o f the soil, a n d p a i d in t w o instalments, after the t w o harvests i n February a n d October . I n a bumper year, the t enan t may re ta in one - th i rd or even ha l f the c rop after his rent is p a i d ; in a b a d year ( l i ke the present one) he m a y lose a l l or r e t a in just enough fo r the next year's seed and c u l t i v a t i o n expenses. T h e l a n d l o r d may theo­re t ica l ly d e m a n d the whole rent in paddy or its equivalent in cash at the con t ro l l ed pr ice, whatever t he harvest, a n d a very few do so. M o s t k n o w the i r tenants' c i r c u m ­stances and give small concessions

This is the seventh of a series of village studies published in the earlier issues of The Economic Weekly.

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in a b a d harvest. A lways , h o w ­ever, the power of ev ic t ion puts the tenant at his landlord 's mercy. A few fields in K u m b a p e t t a i are g iven on varam tenure. T h e tenant takes a fixed f rac t ion of the c rop , usually one-f i f th , a n d surrenders the rest to the owner . T h o u g h unprof i t ab le , the tenure is a more cer ta in one for the tenant in a b a d year, a n d w i t h the recent succession of poor harvests some tenants have come to prefer i t .

Also in the K o n a r streets l ive the v i l lage servant castes: one fami ly each of barbers, washermen, car­penters and blacksmiths, and three of potters. These a l l i n t e rmar ry a n d in te rd ine only i n the i r o w n castes, and so have l inks w i t h o ther vil lages. Former ly , a l l landlords a n d tenants pa id them twice annua l ly in paddy : today, they are of ten p a i d in cash after each j o b o f w o r k .

These non -Brahman streets are t r a d i t i o n a l i n the v i l lage , bu t t w o other streets of non-Brahmans have g r o w n up in the past f if ty years. T h e y l ive on the eastern boundary of the v i l lage , on a t ract of garden l a n d once granted as inam to a M a h r a t t a servant of the Rajas. T h e M a h r a t t a f ami ly lost its wea l t h d u r i n g Br i t i sh rule and sold the l a n d f i f ty years ago to r i s ing non-Brahman families f rom other v i l ­lages. These now include six houses of Nadar , a " low " non-B r a h m a n caste of toddy- tappers ; five houses of K a l l a r paddy mer­chants ; a poor B r a h m a n f ami ly w h o have set up a " h o t e l " ; a n d single houses of Mahra t t a s , Padayaeehis a n d K o n a r f rom ne ighbour ing v i l ­lages w h o serve Brahmans or ou t ­side landlords for a m o n t h l y wage i n cash. B o t h K a l l a r a n d N a d a r lease some l a n d f r o m the B r a h ­mans, but families of b o t h also now o w n a few acres of the i r o w n , and lease other l and f r o m M u s l i m traders of the nearby t o w n w h o have recently bought l and f r o m e m i g r a t i n g B r a h m a n households. T h e Nadars before p r o h i b i t i o n tap­ped toddy, and s t i l l w o r k as coolies, for a wea l thy t rader of the i r o w n caste some six miles a w a y ; wh i l e the K a l l a r depend m a i n l y for the i r l i v i n g on trans­p o r t i n g the landlords ' paddy to a r i c e - m i l l , three miles away, whence the rice is passed on to the d is t r ic t supply office. These t w o streets of newcomers, on ly pa r t l y in tegra ted in the vi l lage economy, w i l l be .seen to be i m p o r t a n t w h e n we consider trends of change in K u m b a p e t t a i .

F i n a l l y , h a l f a m i l e south across paddy f ie lds , lies a large A d i D r a ­v i d a , street of about e ighty houses. These are the Pallas, a caste of adimai (serfs) w h o were fo rmer ly " o w n e d " by the landlords . T o d a y , they too lease kuthakai lands a n d w o r k in the paddy fields for a da i ly wage, in some cases for the i r t r a d i t i o n a l masters. U n l i k e the K o n a r , they were t r a d i t i o n a l l y p r o h i b i t e d f r o m en te r ing the B r a h ­m a n street, and none do so today. Conversely, Brahmans may not enter the A d i D r a v i d a street; to do so w o u l d , i t is believed, b r i n g mis­fo r tune on its inhabi tants , Also in the south is a small street of Para-yas, the " lowest " A d i D r a v i d a caste whose t r a d i t i o n a l w o r k is to remove a n d sell the carcases of dead animals a n d to w a t c h over the c remat ion grounds a t n igh t . Parayas, l ike Pallas, w o r k for day wages in the fields, t hough , un l i ke Pallas, they are not " a t tached " to pa r t i cu l a r families of Brahmans.

H a v i n g o u t l i n e d the caste groups, we may see where lie the most fundamen ta l unities a n d cleavages w i t h i n the vi l lage struct ive. M o s t s t r i k ing in a T a n j o r e vi l lage is the u n i t y of the i n d i v i d u a l caste g r o u p : this was usually, u n t i l recently, the u n i t y of a single street. T h e m e m ­bers of a caste w i t h i n one vi l lage are first u n i t e d by s imi l a r i ty of occupa t ion , of r ights in the l a n d , o f income, a n d of r i t u a l beliefs a n d practices. Fo rmer ly , a l l the B r a h ­mans were mirasdars, a l l the K o n a r kuthakai tenants, and a l l the A d i Dravidas , landless labourers. T h e non-Brahmans are set off f r o m the Brahmans by numerous differences of custom, chief of w h i c h are t h a t Brahmans, un l ike most n o n - B r a h ­mans, eschew meat , fish a n d eggs, a n d do not pe r fo rm an ima l sacri­fices in temples. We have already men t ioned the Brahman ica l t em­ples; these, n o w off icial ly open to a l l castes, are s t i l l almost exc lu­sively used by Brahmans , t h o u g h non-Brahmans ( b u t no t A d i D r a -vidas) occsionally enter the outer cour t at a festival of the Sanskritic deities. T h e K o n a r have thei r o w n vi l lage goddess (grama devata) housed in a shrine between the K o n a r streets. H e r name means " K o n a r mothe r o f the v i l l a g e " ; she is outside the B r a h m a n i c a l pan theon of deities; a n d she is p r o p i t i a t e d dai ly by a n o n - B r a h m a n priest a n d annual ly , w i t h sacrifices, at a festival pecul iar to K o n a r . T h e Pallas, s imi la r ly , have a shrine to the goddess K a l i a m m a n w h i c h stands at the end of the i r street.

O n l y they m a y worsh ip her, a n d she has a separate priest a n d annua l festival .

O t h e r r i t u a l symbols a n d i n s t i t u ­t ions emphasize the u n i t y of the caste. Brahmans possess a single c remat ion g r o u n d ; K o n a r n o w share theirs w i t h the o ther i n c o m i n g non -B r a h m a n castes; and b o t h Pallas a n d Parayas have the i r separate b u r i a l grounds. B a t h i n g pools, again, are d i s t r ibu ted between the three ma jo r groups of castes. Bir ths , marriages, deaths, a n d p r o p i ­t iat ions of ancestral spirits, asso­ciated as they are w i t h the i n t i ­macy of f a m i l y l i fe , are intra-caste events. T h i s is of course in har­m o n y w i t h caste endogamy a n d w i t h the fact t ha t ( w i t h the excep­t i on of the servant castes w h o m a r r y between villages) each caste street f o rmed u n t i l recently a g r o u p o f i n t e r m a r r y i n g k i n . I n the B r a h ­m a n street, caste u n i t y is even more apparent t h a n a m o n g non -Brah ­mans. Houses ad jo in , a n d there are even holes in the d i v i d i n g wal ls t h r o u g h w h i c h w o m e n m a y pass messages to each other.

Caste un i ty , a n d the a u t h o r i t a r i a n role of the landlords , appears again i n v i l lage admin i s t r a t ion . T h e v i l ­lage forms a local revenue u n i t under a v i l lage headman appo in ted by government . T h e headman must collect the revenue f r o m mirasdars, a n d has the r i g h t to t ry smal l c i v i l cases w i t h i n the v i l lage . He is assisted by a clerk, a n d com­mands the services of t w o revenue collectors a n d a peon. T h e o r e t i ­cal ly , these officials may be of any caste; ac tual ly , of course, the head­m a n a n d clerk are Brahmans a n d the three servants, non-Brahmans . In a d d i t i o n , the vi l lage forms a panchayat under an elected pancha-yat board w i t h a president a n d seven members. T h e b o a r d c o n t r o l a h i n d derived f r o m a smal l por­t i o n of the vi l lage revenue; the i r chief w o r k is to m a i n t a i n roads a n d wells. As m i g h t be expected,, a l l are Brahmans, since Brahmans o w n the l a n d o f the vi l lage. T h e re la t ive ly m o d e r n ins t i tu t ions o f v i l lage headman a n d panchayat board have, in fact, been we lded i n to a m u c h older f o r m of a d m i ­n is t ra t ion w h i c h is s t i l l of great impor tance . W i t h the except ion of the Brahmans, each caste street annua l ly elects t w o headman (nattanmakkar or talaivar) w h o are responsible for m a i n t a i n i n g order in the street. A n y offence such as thef t , adul tery , assault, cr encroachment on another 's l a n d , demands the a t t en t ion of the head-

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m e n , w h o h a u l the c u l p r i t before an assembly of men of the street. Pallas h o l d their meetings before the K a l i a m m a n shr ine; K o n a r , i n the ya rd of the vi l lage goddess temple . I f the offence is sl ight , the headmen m a y pronounce jus­tice, themselves admin i s te r ing a fine or a pub l i c w h i p p i n g . In a more serious dispute, the B r a h m a n l and­lords of the culpr i t s must be cal led to ra t i fy the headmen's conclusions a n d themselves execute j u d g m e n t . In pa r t i cu la r , any dispute affect ing the r epu ta t ion or the general peace of the vi l lage requires B r a h m a n in t e rven t ion . In a recent case, a Palla stole a brass vessel f r o m the n o n - B r a h m a n street of a neighbour­i n g vi l lage . H a v i n g caught h i m , the owner sent h i m . bound and escorted by two Pallas of the offended vi l lage, back to his o w n l a n d l o r d for justice. T h e B r a h m a n l a n d l o r d of ou r Palla cal led a meet ing of the thief's caste fellows in the ya rd of the vi l lage goddess temple . There he e l ic i ted the facts of the case, exacted a fine of Rs 10, adminis tered a w h i p p i n g , a n d obl iged the cu lp r i t to d r i n k a pot o f c o w d u n g m i x e d w i t h water , " to humble h i m " , as he said. T h e who le caste g roup re t i red , satisfied that justice h a d been done. T h e Brahmans themselves have no headmen, a n d rely less on a rb i t r a ­tors to settle the i r pr iva te disputes. T h i s i s in keeping w i t h their posi­t i o n o f a u t h o r i t y in the v i l lage a n d w i t h the fact t ha t i n general, B r a h -mans a d m i t no superiors a n d pay less f o r m a l respect to the i r elders w i t h i n the caste. I t i s d i f f icul t to say h o w B r a h m a n disputes are settled. A few go now to the urban courts ; many d rag on tor months , kept in check by the need t o m a i n t a i n B r a h m a n u n i t y and au thor i ty before the lower castes, u n t i l a t last the r i t u a l obligat ions of k inship force the opponents to co-operate.

In a T a n j o r e v i l lage , the u n i t y of the. caste street overrides the i n d i v i d u a l i t y o f the dwe l l i ng -g roup , thus contrast ing w i t h the s i tuat ion in a M a l a b a r v i l lage . T h e r e , as Dr M i l l e r has described, the l a n d of a whole vil lage may be owned by a single l a n d l o r d f ami ly , of ten o f the N a m b u d i r i B r a h m a n sub-caste. A m o n g the Naya r l a n d ­holders of the v i l lage , each large m a t r i l i n e a l d w e l l i n g g roup stands supreme in its ancestral garden, shut in by walls or hedges a n d w i t h its o w n c remat ion g r o u n d , ancestor shrine, snake-grove, a n d of ten, goddess temple . I n T a n j o r e ,

despite the ownersh ip o f l a n d by p a t r i l i n e a l jo in t - fami l i es , the d w e l l ­ing-group has no such i n d i v i d u a l s t rength. K i n s h i p ties, instead of be ing strongly un i l i nea l , as in M a l a b a r , r ami fy wide ly i n b o t h pa te rna l a n d ma te rna l l ines; the j o i n t f a m i l y divides every genera­t i o n ; and the local g r o u p of agna­t ic k i n [koottam—comparable to the Naya r m a t r i l i n e a l taravad) — lacks corporate u n i t y a n d is b o u n d on ly by the observance of death p o l l u t i o n . Houses and ancestral l a n d are readi ly bough t a n d sold. T h e his tory o f l and r ights i n T a n ­jo re villages is relevant to this con­trast. Fo r u n t i l 1865, the l a n d in mirasi villages was no t o w n e d by pa t r i l i nea l jo in t - fami l ies a t a l l , b u t he ld in c o m m o n by the whole caste g roup of mirasdars of the v i l ­lage, w h o per iodica l ly appor t ioned shares by m u t u a l consent for the maintenance of the i r separate f a m i ­lies. I n K u m b a p e t t a i , this i n s t i t u ­t i on persists in the " c o m m o n lands " and " c o m m o n money " of the Brahmans. T h e i r c remat ion g r o u n d , cer ta in threshing grounds, a stretch of garden l a n d , and the fishing r ights in the i r b a t h i n g p o o l a l l f a l l under this category, the income der ived f r o m these c o m m o n possessions be ing devoted to the temple funds. I n short , the H i n d u j o i n t - f a m i l y organiza t ion appears to be at its weakest in T a n j o r e , a n d a t its strongest, in M a l a b a r , the reverse being t rue of the u n i t y of the local caste g roup . T h e t w o areas p robab ly represent the ex­tremes of v a r i a t i o n w i t h i n a basic­a l ly c o m m o n South I n d i a n pa t t e rn .

As in a l l I n d i a n villages, h o w ­ever, a u n i t y of the who le v i l lage overrides the separateness of each caste. T h e basis of this u n i t y is the economic interdependence of landlords , tenants, labourers a n d vi l lage servants, and its perpetua­t i o n , in my v i ew, depends on the maintenance of these economic arrangements. I n everyday l i f e , this u n i t y of the vi l lage is h i d d e n beneath the separate economic, social and r i t u a l activit ies of each caste and each d w e l l i n g - g r o u p ; i t is sometimes t empora r i l y rent by quarrels between ind iv idua l s or be­tween kin-groups. Per iodical ly , however, some event, ceremonial or haphazard , occurs a t w h i c h the u n i t y of the vi l lage is af f i rmed. Such events always relate to the welfare of the v i l lage as a whole ra ther t h a n of any single p a r t of i t . Conce rn for the welfare of the v i l lage is expressed in the i n s t i t u ­t i o n of the grama devata or v i l lage

dei ty . T h i s de i ty is always pr i -rnar i ly a possession of the n o n -Brahmans o f the v i l l a g e : i n K u m b a p e t t a i , the goddess is herself a K o n a r w o m a n w h o d i ed o f sma l l -pox , a n d the temple priest is a n o n - B r a h m a n . B u t besides be ing a dei ty o f the K o n a r , p rop i t i a t ed by t h e m a t the i r o w n annua l fest ival , the goddess commands the al le­giance o f b o t h Brahmans a n d A d i Dravidas at specific times of the year. H e r shrine stands on a boundary of the v i l lage a n d her i d o l is believed to protect the who le c o m m u n i t y f r o m crop-fa i lure , infec­tious diseases, female barrenness and deaths in c h i l d - b i r t h . House­holds of a l l castes p rop i t i a t e her, in terms o f the i r pa r t i cu la r r i t u a l idioms, in cases of insani ty, bar ren­ness or disease. By far the chief event in the v i l lage calendar is the larger, f i f teen day festival to the goddess celebrated by the who le vi l lage in the summer season. At this festival, the image of the dei ty is n i g h t l y taken in procession t h r o u g h o u t the streets of the v i l lage a n d p r o p i t i a t e d i n every street i n a manner pecul iar to the caste. As in a l l parts o f South I n d i a , the vi l lage temple festival dramatizes the separateness and also the in ter­dependence between castes a n d the need for the i r co-operat ion. Of recent years, since newcomers of diverse n o n - B r a h m a n castes came to K u m b a p e t t a i , there have been disputes concern ing precedence in the rites. These once settled, the r ank of a pa r t i cu l a r f a m i l y in the t o t a l v i l lage s tructure becomes p u b ' l ie ly accepted.

O t h e r events a n d festivals un i t e the vi l lage as a whole . Ch ie f of these are Pongal , the a n n u a l festi­v a l fo r the harvest of the second c rop in January , a n d the day o f the f i r s t ceremonia l p l o u g h i n g , a t the start o f the T a m i l N e w Year . I t i s in teres t ing to note t ha t f igh ts between ne ighbour ing villages of ten take place on one or another of these festival days, thus fu r the r r e in fo rc ing the u n i t y o f the v i l lage as a whole . Spectators f r o m ne igh­b o u r i n g villages, c o m i n g to w a t c h the f u n after the i r o w n celebrations are over, or i f t he i r , o w n take place on another day, have several times recently f a l l en f o u l o f K u m a b a -pe t ta i non-Brahmans and A d i D r a ­vidas, so t ha t a p i t ched bat t le w i t h stones a n d staffs resulted. T h e ab i ­l i t y to mass forces against in terfer­i n g outsiders is a measure of the u n i t y a n d self-sufficiency o f the v i l ­lage. So, too , is the degree to w h i c h c r ime a n d scandal are kep t

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w i t h i n the confines o f the v i l lage . U n t i l recently, the pol ice h a d l i t t l e p a r t t o p lay i n K u m b a p e t t a i , for the vi l lage was u n i t e d against ou t ­side legal interference. T w o m u r ­ders a n d three suicides have, in the past fifteen years, been disposed of a n d hushed up by v i l l age a u t h o r i ­ties, the police be ing qu ie t ly b r i bed a n d sent about the i r business.

T h e s tab i l i ty o f the t r a d i t i o n a l v i l lage organiza t ion may be seen as a ba lanc ing ou t of var ious unit ies a n d antagonisms w h i c h cut across each other . We have men t ioned the u n i t y a n d separateness of the local caste g roup , a n d this, no doubt , has always been accompanied by a ce r ta in antagonism between the three m a j o r groups of castes— an antagonism always engendered by differences of w e a l t h , of custom, a n d of interests in the economic: resources. B u t this antagonism c o u l d no t , t r a d i t i o n a l l y , break ou t i n t o a quar re l between t w o whole groups of castes. N o n - B r a h m a n s c o u l d no t , for example , rise up as a body a n d combat the i r B r a h m a n landlords . T h e r e are several rea­sons for this, the chief be ing the lack of economic corporateness of each caste group . K o n a r a n d A d i Drav idas were employed not as whole castes, by a l l the Brahmans col lect ively, b u t in separate f a m i ­lies, by i n d i v i d u a l families of l a n d ­lords. T h e system of tenure, a n d the landlord ' s t r ad i t i ona l l y recog­nized power of ev ic t ion , keeps the separate families of non-Brahmans compe t ing amongst each other for l a n d a n d for employment . Perhaps a more i m p o r t a n t factor was the sanction given to the t r a d i t i o n a l r ights between castes by r i t u a l beliefs a n d by m o r a l max ims acceptable to the society as a who le . It is these beliefs, together w i t h the i r con t inued economic dependence on the Brahmans , w h i c h even today prevent A d i Drav idas f r o m ente r ing the B r a h m a n street a n d temples, lest the dei ty should take ven­geance on t h e m in the f o r m of disease or death .

As l o n g as the system remained stable, therefore, it seems as t h o u g h , in spite of covert antagonism be­tween people of different castes, t h a t is between the members of groups of di f ferent order in the society, open quarrels demand ing u n i t e d ac t ion on the p a r t o f the g roup c o u l d take place on ly be­tween groups of the same o rde r— fo r example between branches of the same j o i n t - f a m i l y , jo in t - fami l ies of the same casteTgroup, between a l l non-Brahmans o r a l l A d i D r a ­

vidas of adjacent villages. Such quarrels are s t i l l c o m m o n , a n d cut across, and therefore weaken, the cleavages between castes i n the v i l ­lage. Even today, indeed, w h e n the system is far f r o m stable a n d antagonisms between castes have deepened, i t is possible to f ind t w o B r a h m a n landlords dragged i n to opposite sides of a quar re l w h i c h began between the i r A d i D r a v i d a servants. So strong, s t i l l , are the t r a d i t i o n a l feudal obligat ions and loyalties between i n d i v i d u a l f a m i ­lies of different castes.

T o d a y , however , the v i l lage s t ructure presents no longer a nice balance of uni t ies a n d antagonisms between caste a n d k insh ip groups in a self-sufficient l i t t l e republ ic . F o r obviously, the economic basis of the system has been fundamen ta l ly upset w i t h i n the last f i f ty to seventy years. I t is impossible to enumerate a l l the ways in w h i c h this has happened, bu t we may m e n t i o n a few. M o s t i m p o r t a n t i n K u m b a -pet ta i is the depar ture to u rban w o r k of a large n u m b e r of Brah ­m a n families and ind iv idua l s . A few of these have sold the i r lands to middle-class t r a d i n g families of the nearby t o w n ; the m a j o r i t y leave their empty houses locked a n d r e t u r n after each harvest to collect the i r rents, now in cash. M a n y of these m e n w i l l r e t u r n to K u m b a ­pet ta i on re t i rement f rom a govern­men t post; some, after more t han h a l f a l i fe t ime away in the towns of South I n d i a , have already done so. One result is tha t the number of competent young or middle-aged B r a h m a n m e n left to manage; the affairs of K u m b a p e t t a i is very few, w h i l e those w h o do remain t end to feel in fe r io r a n d swamped by the i r more adventurous k insmen. Relat ions between absentee l a n d ­l o r d a n d tenant are unsatisfactory. O f t e n , the l a n d l o r d barely knows his tenants by name a n d knows n o t h i n g about the i r circumstances or the business of c u l t i v a t i o n . O f t e n his only interest in the v i l ­lage is to take away money f r o m it twice annua l l y ; a few landlords o f K u m b a p e t t a i do no t k n o w the site a n d acreage of the i r lands. A m o n g bo th A d i Drav idas a n d the poorer K o n a r tenants i t is begin­n i n g to be said in secret tha t such owners have no r i g h t to the i r lands; since, as Brahmans, they no longer spend the i r lives in p r a y i n g for the c o m m u n i t y a n d adminis ter­i n g its affairs, they should no longer share its income. To this the Brahmans reply tha t w i t h o u t u r b a n w o r k they can no longer

m a i n t a i n the i r s tandard o f l i v i n g ; a n d this, consider ing the increase in p o p u l a t i o n and the smal l size of holdings , is indeed usually t rue . T h e bad harvests of the last few years have of course exacerbated the opposi t ion between l a n d l o r d a n d tenant . O n e temporary solu­t ion w o u l d seem to l ie in f ixi ty of tenure and the f ixing of fairer rents; b u t there is no doubt tha t absentee l and lo rd i sm and the tend­ency (less in K u m b a p e t t a i t han in some other villages) towards the amassing of large estates by a few l a n d l o r d families, must soon be checked by more drastic remedies.

A stronger b low has been dealt at: the K u m b a p e t t a i social system by the in f lux , in the last fifty years, of the t w o new streets of mixed n o n - B r a h m a n castes. These, o w i n g no t r ad i t i ona l allegiance to the Brahmans , t end to resent the i r au tho r i ty a n d to set up an adminis­t r a t i o n of their o w n . In one street, the N a d a r have founded a shrine to a local non-Brahman sanyasi, and recently assemblies of the t w o new streets, and sometimes also of the K o n a r , have met to settle thei r disputes before this shrine rather than before the vi l lage goddess temple , and have decl ined to call in Brahmans to ra t i fy their judg­ments. T h e s tandard of l i v i n g of the families in these two streets, pa r t l y employed as they are in trade and by landlords f r o m out­side1 the vi l lage, tends to be higher t han tha t of other non-Brahmans and allows t hem to dictate terms to the local landlords. T h e K a l l a r paddy merchant 's f ami ly , in p a r t i ­cular , have become power fu l non-B r a h m a n leaders: though h a n d - i n -glove w i t h the landlords in the sale of black-market rice, this ris­i ng middle-class fami ly refuse to observe a l l the o ld rules of r i t u a l p o l l u t i o n w i t h their employers; one of thei r sons, together w i t h t w o other non-Brahman hoys of i n c o m ­i n g families, attends h i g h school w i t h the B r a h m a n youths.

I t i s i m p o r t a n t to not ice tha t the people w h o oppose the t r a d i ­t iona l vi l lage system are not those w h o suffer most acutely under i t , bu t those w h o have p a r t l y e x t r i ­cated themselves f r o m i t t h r o u g h some change in the i r economic c i r ­cumstances. I t is no t , for example, the very poor K o n a r tenants in K u m b a p e t t a i w h o support the a n t i - B r a h m a n D r a v i d a K a z a k a m movement , bu t rather the some­w h a t weal th ie r and more independ­ent " upstarts " of the t w o new streets, a n d to a m u c h larger

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY May 24, 1952

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extent, the new, independent non-Brahman landlords of ne ighbour ing villages, w h o resent the or thodox Brahman's unwillingness to treat' t hem as his r i t u a l equals. C o m ­munis t supporters, again, appear to be stronger among landless, h igh school-educated youths of any caste a n d among A d i Dravidas w h o had t empora r i ly left their natal vi l lage, t r i ed many jobs and come home to f i nd the status quo too conservative for them, than among regular labourers s t i l l at tached to their t r ad i t iona l masters. There is no doubt , moreover, that the t r a d i ­t iona l forms of " caste dis t inct ion " against w h i c h official propaganda is so m u c h directed w i l l disappear f r o m the vi l lage only when the o ld economic arrangements wh ich a l low of h igh caste au thor i ta r ian ism have been more thoroughly undermined . In K u m b a p e t t a i , the gradual d r i f t to the cities of an educated aristo­cracy, the transfer of l and to middle-class t r ad ing families of the towns, and the in f i l t r a t ion of a smal l , autonomous working-class g roup supported by u rban forms of labour, have begun this process, and i t may be expected to cont inue u n t i l the vil lage has lost its t r ad i ­t i ona l in tegrat ion and become l i t t l e more than a un i t of neighbour­hood.

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

Orissa Finances S. Misra

OR I S S A was formed in to a separate province in 1936,

a year before the i n t roduc t i on of p rov inc ia l au tonomy. T h e t e r r i ­tories cons t i tu t ing the province were carved out of the provinces of Bihar and Orissa, Madras and the Cen­t ra l Provinces. As distant corners and ta i l ends of the provinces con­cerned, these areas h a d long been neglected and their adminis t ra t ive development starved. T h e newly created province came in to exist­ence as a par t icu la r ly undeveloped adminis t ra t ive un i t . Bihar and Orissa was the poorest province in I n d i a , where the scale of publ ic expenditure was the lowest. On account of its poverty, this province was exempted, under the Mes ton settlement, f rom m a k i n g any con­t r i b u t i o n to the central revenue. Of this poor province, the Orissa po r t ion was m u c h the poorer a n d less developed. It was essential to appreciate the posi t ion in order to determine the t reatment to be ac­corded to Orissa. G iven the op­por tun i ty of shaping her o w n des­t iny , Orissa was faced w i t h the enormous task of m a k i n g up the leeway. H e r poverty and undeve­loped economy elici ted sympathy f rom t ime to t i m e ; but she d i d not receive the requisite assistance necessary for her development.

Fo r apprecia t ing the f inancial posi t ion of Orissa, it is necessary to appraise h o w she fared w i t h the Nierneyer A w a r d . Sir O t t o N i e -rneyer was appoin ted to conduct an enquiry w i t h regard to any special assistance needed by any province and the t ime and manner of dis­t r i bu t i ng the p rov inc ia l share of i n ­come-tax. I t had been recognised that at the inaugura t ion of p r o v i n ­cial autonomy, each of the provinces was to be so equipped as to enjoy a reasonable prospect of m a i n t a i n ­ing financial e q u i l i b r i u m . I t was par t i cu la r ly i m p o r t a n t to b r ing to an end the chronic state of deficits in to w h i c h some of them h a d fallen. T h e Niemeyer A w a r d was determined on the basis of these short per iod considerations of ba l ­ancing the budgets more or less on the levels existing at the t ime.

U n d e r the Niemeyer A w a r d , 62½ per cent of the ju te export duties was assigned to the provinces. T h i s was in tended to provide a

special assistance to Bengal on ac­count of her f inancial difficulties. Assam, Bihar a n d Orissa received small shares as m i n o r j u t e -g rowing provinces. Orissa's share amounted to about 2 lakhs of rupees in the first year of au tonomy; bu t there­after t i l l the end of war , i t seldom reached even one l a k h a year. There was no doubt considerable, increase after the war ; bu t the amount was so small that it had scarcely any significance in Orissa's finance.

T h e d i s t r ibu t ion of 50 per cent of the proceeds of income-tax among the provinces was of outs tanding importance in the Niemeyer A w a r d . T h e d i s t r ibu t ion was determined on the basis of residence and p o p u ­la t ion , and of the provinc ia l share, 2 per cent was assigned to Orissa on this basis. Before the war , the amount d is t r ibuted was exceedingly small and Orissa's share d i d not exceed 3 lakhs of rupees. Bu t o w i n g to the war - t ime expansion of income-tax revenue, the p rov inc i a l share rose to 29 crores and Orissa received 58 lakhs in the last year of the war.

Of fundamental impor tance to Orissa was the annua l subvention of 40 lakhs gran ted to her under the A w a r d . Niemeyer was impress­ed w i t h the c ry ing needs of Orissa. I t was impossible to ignore the fact, he remarked, that the existing standard of expendi ture in Orissa was exceedingly low. Bu t in re­commend ing the subvention he d i d not take a l l the relevant factors i n t o consideration. I t i s indeed u n ­for tunate that w h e n f inancial settle­ments were made, policies were re­vised in the l igh t of experience and circumstances, b u t the basis of these settlements was never chang­ed. In 1935, before the creation of the province of Orissa, budgets for Orissa were f ramed in parts in the three provinces of Bihar and Orissa, Madras and C.P. a n d - t h e deficit was estimated to be 40 lakhs. Th i s was clone at a t ime when the centra l and the p rov inc ia l govern­ments were ca r ry ing out re t rench­ment and r u l i n g out a l l schemes of new expenditure. T h e three p ro ­vinces concerned h a d no interest in the new province to be created a n d the f inancial posi t ion was no t given proper consideration. Above a l l , the province h a d yet to come i n t o

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May 24, 1952