Chapter IV PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS Age TABLE 4shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/3774/14/14_chapter 4.pdf · Chapter IV PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS ... Person’s occupations

146

Chapter IV

PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Introduction

In social sciences research personnel characteristics of respondents have

very significant role to play in expressing and giving the responses about the

problem, keeping this in mind, in this study a set of personal characteristics

namely, age, sex, education, occupation, income etc of the 264 respondents have

been examined and presented in this chapter

Age

Age of the respondents is one of the most important characteristics in

understanding their views about the particular problems; by and large age

indicates level of maturity of individuals in that sense age becomes more

important to examine the response.

TABLE 4.1

AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Age in Years Distribution of Respondents

Frequency Percentages

18-28 72 27.5

29-45 126 47.5

46-75 66 25.0

Total 264 100.00

It is evident from the Table that on an average respondents are about 39

years of age with the standard deviation of about 12 years. The range of the age

was found to be 57 years starting from 18 to 75 years. It we consider the quartile

value, nearly 28 per cent are below 28 years of age, whereas one- fourth of

respondents are above 46 years of age, To be more specific large number of

respondents are 40 years of age in the sample. Some interesting feature of this

147

data is that very young respondents are shouldering the responsibility of the

household.

Graph 1

Distributions of Respondents by Age

72

27.5

126

47.5

66

25

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Freqauency Percentages

18-28

29-45

46-75

Gender

Gender is an important variable in a given Indian social situation which is

variably affected by any social or economic phenomenon and globalization is not

an exception to it. Hence the variable gender was investigated for this study. Data

related to gender of the respondents is presented in the Table 4.2.

148

TABLE 4.2

GENDER OF THE RESPONDENTS

Distribution of Respondents

Gender Frequency Percent

Male 210 79.5

Female 54 20.5

Total 264 100.0

It is quite clear that out of the total respondents investigated for this study,

overwhelming majority (79.5 per cent) of them were males whereas about 20 per

cent were found to be females. In a Indian social conditions the households are

normally headed by the males and head of the household was the unit for data

collection, from the given sample very few households are headed by the females

and that too, due to various unavoidable and unique conditions and not because of

any attitudinal change per se hence large number of respondents are males by

gender in this study.

Graph 2

Distributions of Respondents by sex

210

54

Male

Female

149

Marital Status

Marriage is one of the most important social institutions. In a developing county

like India, it has undergone many changes. The perceptions and attitudes of the

person can also differ by the marital status of the persons because the marriage

might make the persons little more responsible and matured in understanding and

giving the responses to the questions asked.

The details of the marital status of the respondents is presented in Table 4.3

TABLE 4.3

MARITAL STATUS OF RESPONDENTS

Marital Status Distribution of Respondent

Frequency Percentage

Married 219 83.0

Unmarried 33 12.5

Widow 8 3.0

Others 4 1.5

Total 264 100.0

Table 4.3 shows that overwhelming number of the respondents (83 per

cent) were married and remaining (12.5per cent) were unmarried, where as three

per cent of the respondents were found to be widows. The respondents under the

category separated or widower were extremely negligible. Since the average

respondents were from late adolescent age group, this is the age at which,

normally, a person gets marry and shoulders the responsibility of a household.

150

Graph 3

Distributions of Respondents by Marital Status

219

338 4

Married

Unmarried

Widow

Others

Education

Education is one of the most important characteristics that might affect the

person’s attitudes and the way of looking and understanding any particular social

phenomena. In a way, the response of an individual is likely to be determined by

his educational status and therefore it becomes imperative to know the educational

background of the respondents. Hence the variable ‘Educational level’ was

investigated by the researcher and the data pertaining to education is presented in

Table: 4.4

151

TABLE 4.4

LEVEL OF EDUCATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

Level of Education Distribution of Respondent


Post Graduate 11 4.2

Graduates 36 13.6

Higher Secondary 46 17.4

High School 68 25.8

Middle School 28 10.6

Primary 37 14.0

Illiterate 38 14.4

Total 264 100.0

Table 4.4 shows that about 26 per cent of the respondents were educated up

to high school and relatively lesser number of them, 17 per cent were educated up

to higher secondary level. The number of respondents attaining higher education

were very few. Only four per cent of the respondents were educated up to the post

graduates level. A considerable number of respondents were just functionally

literates and more than 14 per cent of them were illiterates.

It can be concluded from the Table above that by and large the respondents

were progressive in education but they were still far away from the higher

education which is so important today to create a knowledge based society.

152

Graph 4

11

36

46

68

28

37 38

4.2

13.6

17.4

25.8

10.614

14.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70


Distributions of Respondents by level of Education

Post Graduate

Graduates

Higher Secondary

High School

Middle School

Primary

Illiterate

Occupations

Person’s occupations do have a bearing on his or her personality and so

also the ways of looking at the problem before him. The quality of life is also

determined by an individual’s occupation and the incomes he derives from it.

Occupation of an individual also socialized him or her in a particular fashion

which in turn reflects his or her pattern of behaviors and his/her level of

understanding of particular phenomenon. In other words the person’s response to

a problem is possible determined by the type of occupation he is engaged in and

hence variable occupation was investigated by the researcher and data pertaining

to occupation is presented in Table 4.5

153

TABLE 4.5

OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

Occupation Distribution of Respondents


Govt. Service 22 8.3

Private Service 17 6.4

Self Employed 26 9.8

Agricultural Labors 121 45.8

Daily Wage 39 14.8

Unemployment 9 3.4

House Wives 12 4.5

Farmers 9 3.4

Retired 9 3.4

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from Table 4.5 that near about half of the total respondents

(45.8 per cent) were employed in agriculture as agricultural laborers. Whereas

near about 15 per cent of the respondents were daily wage earners. The number of

respondents engaged in government services as well as in private services were

8.3 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively.

A large number of respondents were landless agricultural laborers and

totally dependents on agriculture. This shows that the agricultural is still a major

sector of employment for the unskilled and less educated people in rural and semi

urban area.

154

Graph 5

Distributions of Respondents by Occupations

22

17

26

121

39

9

129 9 Govt. Service

Private Service

Self Employed

Agricultural Labors

Daily Wage

Unemployment

House Wives

Farmers

Retired

Income

Income of a person plays an important role in shaping the economic

conditions of an individual which in turn is likely to have bearing on the responses

about a problem posed to him. The researcher, therefore in this study attempted to

investigate the income as variable and the data related to income of the

respondents is presented in Table. 4.6

155

TABLE 4.6

INCOME OF THE RESPONDENTS

Income Distribution of Respondents


Low 060 22.7

Medium 138 52.3

High 066 25.0

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from Table 4.6 that the more than half of the respondents (52.3

per cent) were in the ‘middle’ income group whereas one forth (25 per cent) of

them were in the ‘High’ income group and remaining of them that is little less

than a quarter of the respondents (22.7 per cent) were in the ‘low’ income group.

The average income of the respondents was found to be Rupees 3,000/- per month,

with standard deviation of 6942 Rupees.

Graph 6

60

138

66

22.7

52.3

25

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140


Distributions of Respondents by level of Income

Low

Medium

High

156

Type of Family

The type of family in which a person lives and gets socialized has immense

importance in deciding his values, beliefs and behaviors patterns which are likely

to affects his or her attitudes towards a particular problem, hence the family type

plays its own role in giving the response of an individual and therefore it was

thought important to understand the family type of the respondents.

Data related to the family type is presented in a Table 4.7

TABLE 4.7

FAMILY TYPE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Family Type Distribution of Respondents


Joint 65 24.6

Nuclear 199 75.4

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the Table 4.7 that a large majority of the households (75

per cent) were nuclear households and remaining (25 per cent) of the total

households were joint households. This shows the increasing trends in the

changing families from joint family to the nuclear family and the change in family

system can be attributed to the processes of urbanization, industrialization,

migration and modernization.

Type of Houses

The type of the house in which a person lives and socializes is likely to

have impact on his beliefs system and in molding his own personality. This will

have an immense value in giving a response to a problem faced by him and hence

the variable house type was investigated. The data presented in Table 4.8 shows

be result of investigation.

157

TABLE 4.8

HOUSE TYPE OF THE RESPONDENTS

House Type Distribution Of Respondent


Kachha 157 59.5

Pakka 107 40.5

Total 264 100.0

It is obvious from Table 4.8 that a majority (59.5 per cent) of the

respondents were residing in ‘Kachha’ houses and remaining 40 per cent of them

were residing in ‘Pakka’ houses. The number of respondents living in ‘Kachha’

houses were much more than the respondents residing in ‘Pakka’ houses. It can

therefore be concluded that because of the economic backwardness and lack of

materialistic resources the house type of large number of respondents were of

‘Kachcha’ type.

House Ownership

The possession of a house is a status symbol in our society. The house

ownership is likely to boost confidence of a person in understanding and handling

of any situation or a problem. The house ownership is therefore likely to have an

impact on the type of response given by the respondents and therefore the variable

‘house ownership’ was considered an important variable and the same was

investigated and data is presented in Table 4.9

TABLE 4.9

HOUSE OWNERSHIP OF THE RESPONDENTS

House Ownership Distribution of Respondents


Own 245 92.8

Rental 12 4.5

Others 7 2.65

Total 264 100.0

158

Table above shows that a large majority of respondents (92.8 per cent) had

their own houses and very few of them were having either rental houses or they

were living with the relatives. It can therefore be concluded that the housing as a

basic needs of a human beings have been met in case of most of the respondents in

the study area.

Whether Migrants?

An individuals when migrates to some other place becomes a new comer to that

particular place. As new comer he has to face many problems with regards to his

day to day living. This is likely to have effects on his perceptions towards the

particular problem and therefore the variable whether the respondent is a migrant

or not was investigated by the researcher and the same has been presented in a

Table 4.10

TABLE 4.10

WHETHER RESPONDENTS ARE MIGRANTS?

Response Distribution of Respondents


Yes 75 28.4

No 189 71.6

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from Table 4.10 that the majority of the respondents (71.6 per

cent) were found to be non- migrants, where as about 30 per cent of them were

migrants from villages to towns and cities. The phenomenon of reverse migration

is not seen in the present sample. It can be concluded that the rate of migration is

quite slow and it may be because of the least urbanization and industrialization in

the study area.

Reasons for Migration

159

A person migrates to other place due to various reasons and various

situations he is facing at that time. The response of individuals therefore is likely

to be influence by the cause of his or her migrations depending upon the

magnitude of the hardship he has faced. Therefore it becomes imperative for a

researcher to investigate the reasons of a person becoming migrant. The variable

‘Reasons for migration was therefore investigated and the data pertaining to the

same is presented in table 4.11

TABLE 4.11

REASONS FOR MIGRATION

Reasons for

Migration



Employment 63 84.00

Service 4 5. 33

Others 8 10.66

Total 75* 100.0

* This question was not applicable to 189 respondents.

It is evident from the Table above that the overwhelming majority of the

respondents (84 per cent) were migrated for finding some employment in urban

areas. Similarly, the migration due to service and some other reasons was

negligible. It can therefore be concluded that the migration are caused because of

loss of job or unavailability of jobs in the rural areas, enforcing the circumstances

leading to migration from rural to urban areas.

160

BPL Respondents

Socio-economic status of an individual is indicative of his life style and the

pattern of his behavior. The person from a low socio-economic background will

show some peculiar social and psychological characteristics which in turn will be

reflected in his responses towards a particular problem. Considering all this it

was thought necessary to investigate the variable BPL respondents. The data of the

same has been presented in a Table 4.12

TABLE 4.12

NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS IN BPL



Yes 95 36.0

No 169 64.0

Total 264 100.0

It becomes clear from the Table 4.12 that a large majority of respondents

(64 per cent) were above poverty line and relatively lesser number (36 per cent) of

the respondents were observed to be in BPL. It can therefore be concluded that a

majority of respondents had a better economic background.

161

Graph 7

Distributions of Respondents by BPL and Non-BPL category

95

169

BPL

Non-

BPL

Land Owned

Land is a status symbol in a village setting. The ownership of land also

affects the social relationships of any individual. The person’s views about the

problem is likely to be influenced by the material resources posses by him and

therefore it was thought that the variable ‘land possessed’ by the respondents was

important in understanding his response and hence the data in that regards was

collected and presented in Table 4.13

TABLE 4.13

LAND OWNED BY THE RESPONDENTS

Land Owned Distribution of Respondents

Frequencies Percentages

Yes 87 33.0

No 177 67.0

Total 264 100.0

162

From the Table given above it is clear that a majority of the respondents do

not owned any land that means 67 per cent of the respondents are mostly landless

laborers and are totally dependent upon the upper caste people who owned most of

the land in a village. Merely 33 per cent of the respondents do possess some land.

The most striking feature of this data is that those who posses land, majority of

them do not posses more than 2 ackares of land. They are the marginalized

farmers and despite of having their own land, they do not cultivate it because

farming is a costly business and hence they prefer to work on other’s fields for

their survival hence one can say that the socio-eco conditions of these

marginalized farmers is no way better than the respondents having no lands at all.

Graph 8

Distributions of Respondents by ownership of land

87

177

Yes No

Visit to Buddha Vihar

The mass conversion of the formerly untouchables into Buddhism on 14th

octomber, 1956 at Nagpur city in Maharshtra under the leadership of Dr. B. R.

Ambedkar, had a long term impact on their life styles. It was expected that the

conversion to Buddhism will change the religious and cultural practices of the

former Mahar community. The new found faith will change their attitudes towards

163

the Hiindu religious rituals and this will have a significant value in responding to

the changes in their lifestyles. Hence, the variable visit to Buddha Vihar was

investigated by the researcher and the data is presented in Table 4.14

TABLE 4.14

VISIT TO BUDDHA VIHAR



Yes 257 97.34

No 07 2.7

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the Table 4.14 that the overwhelming majority of

respondents (97.34 per cent) were paying visits to ‘Buddha Vihar’ as a way of

their life. This shows that, they no longer practiced the old rituals and places of

their worship have changed completely.

It can therefore be concluded that the Neo-Buddhists have taken up a new

set of values and their behavior and thinking (psychological change) has changed

drastically.

Celebrations of Festivals

Festivals could play an important role in setting our values and shaping the

behavior. Festivals can also be an agency of our socialization. The social values

of a person more or less are decided by the festivals observed and valued by the

people. The Attitudes of the persons are indirectly molded by celebrating such

festivals. The responses and reactions of individual are likely to be affected by the

festivals observed by him and therefore the variable, ‘celebration of festivals’ was

investigated and the data is presented in Table 4.15.

164

TABLE 4.15

CELEBRATIONS OF FESTIVALS

Festivals Distribution of Respondents


Hindu Festivals only 01 0.4

Buddhist Festivals only 199 75.4

Both Festivals 64 24.2

Total 264 100.0

It is quite clear from Table 4.15 that an overwhelming majority of

respondents (75.4 per cent) were celebrating the ‘Buddhists festivals’ and the

remaining quarter of them (24.2 per cent) were celebrating both the Hindus and

Buddhists festivals as a way of their life.

It can be concluded that the over all life styles of most of the Neo-

Buddhists are shaped by the Neo-Buddhism and their behavior pattern showed

total alintation from the Hindus religious and socio-cultural practices.

Ambedkar Jayanti

Celebration of Ambedkar Jayanti is one of the most important ritual and a

festival observed by the Neobuddhists people. It is a way of paying respect to a

person who liberated them from the social slavery. Dr. Ambedkar has remained

an ideal and icons of most of Neobuddhists till today. Their undisputed belief and

loyalty in Dr. Ambedkar is also reflected in their day to day behavior. Taking all

these into consideration, the variable, ‘celebration of Ambedkar Jayanti’ was

investigated and the data is presented in Table 4.16

165

TABLE 4.16

AMBEDKAR JAYANTI CELEBRATION



Yes 260 98.5

No 04 1.5

Total 264 100.0

It is observed from Table 4.16 that an overwhelming majority of the

respondents (98.5 per cent) were celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti with gaiety and

enthusiasm. It shows that the cultural and religious symbols of Neo-Buddhists

people have undergone drastic changes and are replaced by new festivals.

Opinion about Inter-caste Marriages

The Indian society is one of closed society in the world. It is also

characterized by the uniqueness of endogamy, where in the marriages outside the

one’s social group is not permitted. This has been one of the reasons for

continuance of the social disability of many downtrodden people. But with the

spreads of education and the modernization, the situation is changing day by day

and people are becoming socially liberal. Taking this into consideration, it was

felt necessary to know the attitudes of the respondents towards the inter caste

marriages. Hence, the variable, ‘opinion about inter caste’ marriages was

investigated and data presented in Table 4.17

166

TABLE 4.17

OPINION ABOUT INTER CASTE MARRIAGES



Yes 146 53.3

No 92 34.8

Not Responded 26 9.8

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the Table 4.17 that a large majority of respondents (53.3

per cent) had expressed favorable opinion about inter caste marriages, whereas

more than quarter of them (34.8 per cent) did not approve of inter caste

marriages. It can, therefore, be concluded that the attitudes of the respondents,

(Neo-Buddhists), towards the traditional institution like ‘marriage’ has also

changed to a greater extent and it is also an indication of their progressive thinking

and modernization.

Social Participation

Social participation of a person in various events and gathering shows his

degree of involvement in his social and cultural life. This is likely to have an

impact on this views and attitudes about the particular problem. Keeping this in

mind variable social participations was considered for the investigation and data of

the same is presented in Table 4.18

167

TABLE 4.18

SOCIAL PARTICIPATION OF RESPONDENTS

Level of social

Participation



Regularly 19 7.2

Occasionally 89 33.7

Never 156 59.1

Total 264 100.0

The Table above clearly shows that more than half of the respondents (59.1

per cent) never participated in any social function organized by the upper castes

people. A very few respondents (seven per cent) said that they were participating

regularly in the social functions organized by caste Hindus.

The non-participations of the respondent in social functions reveal the

predicament of respondents and also their exclusions from social life. Their non

participation can be attributed to various reasons including the self imposed

isolation from upper caste due to the sense of inferiority complex.

Graph 9

Distribution of Respondents by Social participations

19

89

156

Regularly

Occasionally

Never

168

Practice of Untouchability

Practice of untouchability is an age old phenomenon and is still prevalent in

most of the rural areas. The subjugation of an individual to the heinous treatment

like observance of untouchability can play an important role in shaping the

personality of a person who is subjected to this custom, these kinds of experiences

are likely to have an impact on his views and attitudes and hence, the variable

practice of ‘untouchability’ was investigated. The data pertaining to that effect is

presented in Table 4.19

TABLE 4.19

PRACTICE OF UNTOUCHABILITY

Untouchability

practiced



Always 10 3.8

Some time 52 19.7

Never 202 76.5

Total 264 100.0

From the above Table it is evident that the majority of the respondents that

is 202 (76.5 per cent) of them never felt the ‘untonchability’ being practice with

them by the upper caste people. Whereas 52 (20 per cent) of respondents felt that

‘untouchability’ was practiced against them by the upper castes. Very few

respondents near about four percent of them said they were always experiencing

the practice of untouchability.

The most surprising feature of this data is that the prevalence of

untouchability in urban and rural areas is seems to be disappearing. It also

indicates that the caste based stratified Hindu society is on its way of shading out

the age old dogmas and prejudices.

169

Graph 10

Distributions of Respondents by subjections to Untouchability

10 3.8

52

19.7

202

76.5

0

50

100

150

200

250


Always

Some time

Never

Relations with the upper Castes

Indian society is traditionally compartmentalized and stratified one. The

channels of communication among various castes groups were not opened and

hence exchange of ideas and views was not possible. With passage of time and the

educational advancement of the people, followed by modernity the caste equations

are expected to change and become more cordial. In this context, it was necessary

to investigate the variable, relations of the respondents with the ‘upper castes’.

The data pertaining to that effect is presented in Table 4.20

170

TABLE 4.20

RELATIONS WITH THE UPPER CASTES



Very Good 13 4.9

Good 161 61.0

Average 76 28.8

Not At all good 14 5.3

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the Table above that more than half of the respondents

had ‘good’ relations with the upper castes people. In all 161 (61per cent) of them

had stated to have cordial relations with the upper castes people whereas more

than a quarter (28.8 per cent) of them had rated their relationships with the upper

castes people as ‘average.’ The most outstanding feature of this data a handful of

respondents had good relations with the other people specially the upper castes

people in the caste ladder, indicating that the social fabric of traditional Hindu

society is seems to be changing

Graph 11

Distributions of Respondents by Relations w ith upper castes

13

161

76

14

Very Good

Good

Average

Not At all good

171

Member of Social Organization

The association of a person with the social organization shows the degree

of his investment with societal issues and problems. The social organization can

also mould the personality of a person. The personal characteristics of an

individual are closely associated with the his membership and activeness with

social organization keeping this in mind, the variable member of social

organization was investigated and the data is presented in Table 4.21

TABLE 4.21

MEMBER OF A SOCIAL ORGANIS ATION

Response



Yes 128 48.5

No 136 51.5

Total 264 100.0

The opinion of the respondents with regards to their involvement in social

organization is evenly divided. Near about half of the respondents (49 per cent)

had said that they are active in social organizations whereas remaining half of

them (52 per cent) had said that they are not associated actively with any social-

political movement of their emancipation.

It can be concluded from this data that Neo-Buddhists are losing their

interest in their social movements. Some of them may be due to their frustrations

from selfish Dalit leaderships and some of them who are well of due to their

adoptions to the newly acquired middle class life styles of self centered

individualism.

172

Improvement in Social Status

In a society like ours which is based on gradation and inequality, came a

long way social status enjoyed by an individual plays a very important role in

perceiving of any incident or a social phenomenon. Hence the responses about

perceptions of improvement in social status was investigated and the data is

presented in Table 4.22

TABLE 4.22

THE RESPONSE TOWORDS IMPROVEMENT IN SOCIAL STATUS



Agreed 98 37.1

Undecided 57 21.6

Disagree 109 41.3

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the above Table, that above 41 per cent of the total

respondents disagreed with the statement that there is a improvement in their

‘social status’ and approximately one third of the respondents could not decide

whether their status has improved or not. Where as more than 37 per cent of the

respondents agreeably said that their ‘social status’ has improved during past few

years.

More than (40 per cent) of the respondent’s refusal to admit any positive

change in their ‘social status’ indicates that the social spheres of the respondents

did not change much.

173

Graph 12

Distributions of Respondents by Response to improvement in Social

Status

98

57

109

Agreed

Undecided

Disagree

School Enrollment

The enrollment of children in a school is an indication of educational

development of a house hold. Enrolment is a tricky issue for a society having a

long history of educational deprivation. The proportion of school enrollment also

shows awareness amongst the respondents about the education. Taking those

things into considerations the variable school enrollment was investigated and the

data is presented in Table 4.23

TABLE 4.23

SCHOOL ENROLLNMENT OF THE CHILDREN OF RESPNDENTS

School Enrollment Distribution of Respondents


Yes 167 63.3

No 97 36.7

Total 264 100.0

174

The data presented above shows that near about (38 per cent) of children in

school going ages have not been enrolled in the school whereas a little more than

(60 per cent) of the children in the school going age of the respondents have been

enrolled in the near by school. The sizeable number of children being out of

school without enrollment shows that the respondents who are poverty stricken

will first try to satisfy his hunger. Poverty and lack of regular employment has

forced the parents not to send their children to schools. The attitudes of parents

that education is useless thing today because it failed to provides employment after

the education, is also equally responsible for low enrollment of the children in

schools.

It can therefore be concluded that globalization have created the new

educational disparities for the third generation learners of Neo-Buddhist

community.

Type of School

The quality of education in public schools and in the private school is

beyond comprehension. The children enrolled in the public school do not get the

best access of education and therefore they could not compete with the other

children who are educating in a private education institutions. The state

government seems to be indifferent as far as the quality of public education is

concerned. As per the WTO provisions, ‘education’ has become a commodity to

be sold and buy in a market. The poor parents could not afford to send their

children to such expensive educational Institutions. The higher education is now

becoming a monopoly and privilege of few well to do people and rests of people

are left in the larch. All these changes are important and therefore, in the present

study, it was thought necessary to look into both types of education is available for

poor and marginalized sections of the society.

The Data presented below pertains to the type of school being attended by

the third generation learners of Neo-Buddhists.

175

TABLE 4.24

TYPE OF SCHOOL ENROLEMENT

School Type Distribution of Respondents


Public 126 74.11

Private 44 25.88

Total 170* 100.0


It is evident from the Table 4.24 presented above that an overwhelming

majority (74.11 per cent) of school going children of respondents were enrolled

in a public schools and little more than one forth of the children were enrolled in

a private schools. This clearly shows that quality education which is provided by

the private educational institutions is not affordable and accessible to the majority

of the respondents.

Deterioration in Educational Status

Education is one of the most powerful means of empowerment of persons.

Education makes the person aware of his conditions and prepares him to take up

the challenges in life. An individual’s perceptions about the deterioration of his

educational status is therefore becomes important to assess the impact of any

external phenomenon. Hence the variable deterioration in educational status was

examined and the data is presented in Table 4.25

176

TABLE 4.25

RESPONSE TOWARDS DETORIATION IN EDUCATIONAL STATUS



Agree 66 37.93

Undecided 97 55.74

Disagree 11 6.32

Total 174* 100.0


The Table above clearly shows that the majority of the respondents (38

percent) were agreed with the statement that the globalization had led to their

educational deteriorations. It was also found that very few of them (6.32 per cent)

were undecided in answering their perception about the statement.

One of the striking features of this data is that a large majority of the

respondents could not express clear opinion about the progress or regress in their

educational status. The respondents in large majority are seems to be in a state of

confusion over the issue.

Graph 13

Distributions of Respondents by Response to deteriorations in

Educational Status

66

97

11

Agree

Undecided

Disagree

177

Occupational Changes

The occupation of an individual is an important factor in determining the

life style and also achieving the economic well beings. It is quite possible that the

views and perceptions of persons can be affected by the changes in occupations

and the way the person socialize at his or her work place. Hence the variable

occupational changes was investigated by the researcher and the data about the

same is presented in Table 4.26

TABLE 4.26

OCCUPATIONAL CHANGES



Yes 63 23.9

No 201 76.1

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the Table shown above that more man two third (76.1 per

cent) of the respondents did not perceive any change in their occupations during

the last few years where as little less than one fourth (24 per cent) of the

respondents said that there is a changed in their occupations during the last few

years.

The overwhelming majority of the respondents did not experience any

occupational changes it can be concluded that there is occupational stagnations

and the respondents were not been able to achieve any occupational mobility.

Nature of Employment

The employment status of a person is reflected in his level of confidence

and his ability to handle the problems at his hand Individuals over all outlook and

perceptions about a particular social phenomenon is likely to be influenced by his

178

employment status. Hence the variable nature of employment was investigated

and the data is presented in Table 4.27

TABLE 4.27

NATURE OF EMPLOYMENT

Nature of

Employment



Temporary 201 85.89

Permanent 24 10.25

Others 09 3.84

Total 234* 100.0


The data presented above demonstrated that the more than two third (76 per

cent) of the respondents were employed temporarily. Where as only nine per cent

of the total respondent were permanently employed.

The temporary employment always creates uncertainties and the

psychological tensions and pressures which affects efficiency and functionality of

any persons. The majority of the respondents being unsecured indicate that we are

living in the world which is much unsecured and uncertain.

Satisfaction about Present Occupation

Any occupation is not free of tensions, stress and anxieties in today’s

competitive age. In Individual attitudes, views and perceptions are likely to be

affected by his level of satisfactions from the present satisfactions and therefore

the responses about their level of satisfaction were investigated by the researcher

and the same has been presented in Table 4.28

179

TABLE 4.28

SATISFACTION ABOUT PRESENT OCCUPATION



Satisfied 52 19.7

Undecided 19 7.2

Not Satisfied 193 73.1

Total 264 100.0

The data present above clearly shows that near about two third (73.1) of the

respondents were not satisfied about their present occupation where as less than

one fourth of them any were satisfied about their present occupations. The low

wages, hardships, without any incentives and undignified treatment could be some

of the factors which might led to the dissatisfaction of the respondents about their

present occupations.

Graph 14

Distributions of Respondents by level satisfactions about present

Occupations

52

19

193

Satisfied

Undecided

Not Satisfied

180

Discrimination at Work

The social and economic discrimination is a common feature of our society.

This kind of discrimination at the work place can have the bearings on person’s

behavior and his ability to responds to his social and physical environment. His

beliefs and perceptions could also be affected by the treatment; a person receives

from his co employees and the employer. Keeping this in mind the variable

‘Discrimination at work place’ was inquired and the data is presented in Table

4.29

TABLE 4.29

DISCRIMINATION AT WORK



Yes 76 28.8

No 188 71.2

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the Table above that majority of the respondents little

above 70 per cent of them did not experience any discrimination at the work place

whereas 29 per cent of the respondents did experience the discrimination at the

work place.

The above responses can be understood in the context of number of

respondents employed in formal and Non formal sectors. The majority of

respondents in this study are working in unorganized sector where the

consciousness about their own rights and the level of sensitivity to the

discrimination being practice is very low. The majority of the workers are not

sensitized about their own rights.

181

Member of Association

The assertiveness of a person and his or her inherent human rights can be

translated into action by way of associations and involvement in unions. The

association and union can also mould the personality of a person in a different

way, influencing his attitudes, values and he beliefs system. Hence the responses

about the respondent’s membership to any association or union were investigated

and the same has been presented in Table 4.30

TABLE 4.30

MEMBER OF ASSOCIATION

Response



Yes 25 9.5

No 239 90.5

Total 264 100.0

It is quite obvious from the above Table that overwhelming majority of the

respondents (90.5 per cent) were not associated with any associations by way of

membership and involvement. It was noted that little less than 10 per cent of the

respondents had responded positively regarding their involvement and

memberships of association/unions.

The trends of not having any association or weaking of the unions in all

spheres of employment is a world wide phenomenon which also reflected in this

study.

182

Savings

The economic conditions and social conditions are closely related to each

other. The surplus money in the hands of any individual gives him/her a sense of

satisfaction and sense of comforts. The person with money in balance will be

more risky and courageous in his approach. The money in accounts will give him

extraordinary confidence and will change his personality all together. Saving

could leads to prosperity and physical and psychological comforts. This is likely to

have an impact on the responses of the respondents. Therefore the variable

saving was investigated. The data presented below shows the responses of the

respondents about whether they have any saving or not.

TABLE 4.31

SAVINGS OF THE RESPONDENT



Yes 48 18.2

No 216 81.8

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from Table 4.31 that an overwhelming majority (81.1 per cent)

of the respondents did not have any saving whereas little more than 18 per cent of

the respondents had some saving.

It can be concluded that the majority of the respondent’s earning is just

sufficient to sustain their livelihoods and they do not have surplus money to save

because majority of the respondents are agricultural laborers and do not have a

regular source of income.

183

Indebt ness

The recent incidents of farmer’s suicides in the study areas and elsewhere

in the country were associated with bankruptcy and inability to repay the debts

taken from relatives, Banks and ‘Savakars’ (money lenders). At one point we are

talking about the India becoming the economic power at the same time there are

people who are suffering from the economic problems. The economic condition is

likely to affect the response and attitude of the respondents towards a particular

problem and hence the variable ‘indebt ness’ was considered for investigations.

The data presented in Table 4.32 shows the response of the respondents with

regards to their indebt ness.

TABLE 4.32

INDEBTNESS OF THE RESPONDENTS

Response Frequency Percentages

Yes 64 24.2

No 200 75.8

Total 264 100.0

It is evident from the table given above that more than two third (76 per

cent) of the respondents did not have any debt against them whereas little less than

one third ( 24 per cent) of the respondents said that they were indebted.

It can be said that, majority of the respondents had no access to the formal

money lending agencies because of their strict rules, regulations and attitudes

towards the poorer sections of the society and hence, the poor people like Neo-

Buddhists had no access to formal money landing agencies. The non-accessibility

of the crediting formal agencies to the poor sections is a common phenomenon in

184

Indian villages/Rural areas and this could be the reason had not borrowed money

and were shown as not indebted.

Conclusions

By and large the respondents were appeared to be progressive in their

thinking and were vocal about the issues pertaining to the process of globalization

which was reflected in the focused group discussions and the personnel interview

conducted with them. Majority of them were following the new lifestyles after

conversion into Buddhism. Even if their Social Status is better than what it was a

decade ago their economic conditions remained the same. This corroborates the

earlier studies conducted by Sunanda Patwardhan (1977) and Johannes Beltz

(2005). The respondent’s perceptions about the globalization and its relevance to

their socio-economic status differs as per their level of education, level of income

and the other characteristics like occupations. It is noteworthy to mentioned that

the discontents about the globalization and its policies was seen and observed but

their was no organized protest and no mass movement to protest these policies.

*****

Documents

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