THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
Social Structure and Change in a UP Village
McKim Marriott
[The author studied the people of
1951-52, thanks to a fellowship
U. s.A.]
HE social structure of many
H i n d u villages raises problems
for concerted action w h i c h must be
squarely faced by a l l who w o u l d
speculate upon or plan for the real
future of rural I n d i a . Kishan Garhi,
a village in the Brij division of the
upper Ganges-Jamuna Doab, is a
fair specimen of the complex village
settlements w h i c h crowd the most
productive agricultural areas of the
country. T h e present situation there
and the trends w h i c h have created
it give pause to thought.
Kishan Garhi, w i t h its 160 m u d
houses, is half again as large as the
average UP village.
Its greater
size allows it to include a fortress
belonging to three one-time landlords, and a large number of specialists (45 houses) and traders (10
houses)—small but v i t a l elements of
rural life--as well as the agricult u r a l core of tenant farmers (68
houses) and landless agricultural
labourers (34 houses).
T
Economic Groupings
T h e rich alluvial plain where
Kishan Garhi's 535 acres lie is extremely flat—so flat that a rise or
fall of two inches in a field may
be worthy of close attention. T w o
inches more or less in the amount
of the monsoon rainfall is worth no
particular notice to farmers here,
for the summer crops of millet and
maize provide hardly a quarter of
h u m a n foodgrains. Most crops and
nearly all foodgrains are grown only
by dint of sustained irrigation from
50 deep wells. F r o m June through
August and from October through
M a r c h , teams of t w o men and a
pair or t w o of oxen tread the wellramps hoisting thirty-gallon buckets
of water. A boy guides the water
through raised channels to moisten
the squared fields of wheat, barley,
oilseeds, peas and gram.
In the
spring harvest, there may be some
advantage if six or eight men work
side by side for a day or t w o on
the fields Of one holding, but no
o t h e r agricultural operation —
ploughing,
smoothing,
weeding,
threshing—demands
the
simultaneous w o r k of more than three
persons. T h e yield of these labours
is a sufficiency of fodder for some
400 a n i m a l s , a moderate quantity of
Oilseeds for sale, and a slight surplus of food-grains beyond the-appe-
Kishan Gar hi as a resident of that village for fourteen months in
granted by the Social Science Research Council of Washington, D.C,,
T h e total annual produce of Kishan
Garhi, if equally divided among all
residents, w o u l d amount to about
As 8 per day.
W o r k groups were always strikingly small, and w i t h subdivision of
the average holding from sixteen to
twelve acres over, the past t h i r t y
years, work groups even of small
size have become less sustained.
But the problems of essential cooperation
are
tremendous
and
growing. A farmer ordinarily depends on others' wells for half of
his irrigation.
Since the average
holding has now come to be d i v i d ed into nine non-contiguous plots,
the success of one man's crops may
depend on his maintaining good
relations w i t h the fifteen persons
who ordinarily comprise his fieldneighbours. No more than one-half
of the tiny work groups can consist of fellow members of the same
caste and clan.
Sixty-eight families of farmers cultivate forty holdings and ultimately distribute the
yield of each holding among some
twelve sharers. Even the landlord
rights have come to be complexly
divided, changing from three units
eighty years ago to eleven separately-managed units at present.
Economic
dependencies
thirty
years ago constituted much larger
and much more inclusive groupings.
These were focussed quite
narrowly on a few persons of outstanding wealth and power.
For
access to land, most cultivators, were
dependent on short-term, unwritten
leases granted by one of three families of a single line of landlords.
T h e landlords in those days kept a
t h i r d of the village lands in their
o w n control always — one-fifth for
their " personal " cultivation through
servants, and the rest in forest, pasture, road and house areas for the
enjoyment of their followers. Most
persons were borrowers of grain
and money, .and most had then to
t u r n to two or three wealthier
tenants or to the same landlords for
credit. Disabled by debt, many of
the t h i r t y families of landless labourers worked year after year for one
tenant or landlord master. Heavy
debtors could never repay fully nor
could they readily shift their debts
f r o m one creditor to another. Rut
the depression, followed by rising
crop prices together w i t h new
tenancy l e g a t i o n helped t o u n b i n d
869
most of the older land- and debtdependencies.
Five families of
landlords and two of tenant lenders
were themselves bankrupted.
The
forest and pasture lands were parcelled out to tenants for cultivation.
Most of the tenants were made
secure, their rents reduced and fixed.
The landlord's personal fields were
whittled away: today there remains
but a single tenant-at-will of one
landlord.
Sub-tenants and sharecroppers are an increasing class of
cultivators; for fear of the 1939
tenancy laws, they are moved about
every year or at the most, every
t w o years. Labourers are rarely kept
by ;an employer for longer than the
six-month watering season. Groupings whose form is determined by
economic dependency have thus
generally become smaller and more
diffuse; they no longer clearly
organise the village into segments
of distinct allegiance.
A similar break-up of larger dependent segments has overtaken the
artisans and servants. T h e t h i r d of
the village people w h o live by
means other than their own c u l t i vation—priest, wizard, accountant,
barber, musician, -cobbler, cottoncarder, potter, weaver, carpenter,
tailor, trader, and so on—find more
than half of their clientele in some
ten fanning hamlets outside of
Kishan Garhi.
Until t h i r t y
years ago, most of the specialists
were aligned as special retainers of
one or another of the landlord
families of this area, and as servants of that landlord's tenants.
These old segmental clienteles have
now dissolved into a helter-skelter
pattern of many more equal clients..
The plots of land granted free of
rent in return for special services
have mostly been subdivided beyond
the point of efficient utility. H a l f
of the artisans and servants now
shift masters w i t h each generation.
Parallelling the clear, old hierarchy of economic power thirty
years ago was an informal but compelling structure of power.
The
landlords were the law for all purposes beyond the caste councils.
T h e landlords maintained their own
court and record-room, and dealt
summarily w i t h all offenders through
their strong organizations of dependent followers.
One landlord
always held the office of police
headman
(mukhya)
for Kishan
August 23,1952
ability and need, and maintaining
a common grain store for common
ceremonies and j o i n t irregular needs.
Beyond the lineage and w i t h i n the
clan there was less intense co-operation, but strong preference was
given to clan members in making
loans and exchanges, and support
could be expected by any member
in case of dire financial need.
A g r a r i a n legislation over the past
t h i r t y years has made holdings
stable and has thereby eliminated
some of the flexible old arrangements for sharing.
Bitter experience w i t h i n d i v i d u a l treachery
based on technicalities of the new
l a n d laws has now changed the
forms of co-operation materially for
many clans and lineages. At each
new settlement and recently at the
granting of proprietary certificates
under the Zamindari A b o l i t i o n Act,
group holdings have been more
frequently listed in the separate
names of all male members of the
group.
T h e cultivators welcome
such opportunities to subdivide their
lands without the costs of a court
fight. Officials advertise the A c t
as such.
Even minor- children's
names are now entered as separate
landholders. In this way the popular changes in. the agrarian structure are quietly accomplishing some
of the effects that arc most feared
and opposed from the H i n d u Code
Bill.
T h e artisans, menials and landless
labourers have not, of course, lost
forms of co-operation dependent
upon joint management of lands.
But they, like most castes, have seen
their caste and clan councils lose
force. T h e loss of force seems to
have been occasioned by an i n creasing: differentiation of statuses
w i t h i n the castes, by widened contacts w i t h less constrained ways of
life outside the village (hastened by
emigration from the crowded hinds)
and by internal dissension of a k i n d
w h i c h has come to be pervasive
throughout village social life. T h e
loss of force has also been parallelled and helped by an accelerating
loss of distinctive elements of caste
culture once associated w i t h particular occupations and ritual duties.
T h e special religions of the lower
castes have been fast giving way to
ceremonies imitated from the Brahmans and from the generalised neoH i n d u i s m of the cities.
O n l y the clan of the landlords
has retained some semblance of
effective organisation beyond the
village and beyond a single generation.
B u t the landlords are a
special case: their lineage is a j u n i o r
strates its h i g h position, the more
comprised several hundreds o f v i l - the 1 wife's family must exert to
lages in the districts of B r i j . T h e i r please and to bribe their guests.
conquest of Kishan Garhi in rela- T h e economic, effects of this pattively recent centuries and their terning of marriage are great. N o t
continued association w i t h a royal only are marriage expenses thus
house keeps them aware of a larger kept high, but quantities of goods
area of organisation than that of the follow marriage in later years by
settled cultivators or even of the the same non-rational path. Onemore mobile artisan castes. Over t h i r d of all milk animals are given
the past thirty years w i t h its chang- and an equally large proportion of
ing economic fortunes there have cash is lent to marital relatives.
been many dissensions w i t h i n the Perhaps one quarter of all debt is
landlord lineage. At the same time, to f u l f i l marriage demands. T h e
the landlords' wider organisation persistence and vigour of such a
has actually been strengthened by structuring of marriage puts limits
their taking over many government on the degree to which a village
and party jobs which require a can manage its economic all airs as
background of wealth and educa- a local unit.
tion which only their class possessed,
Rank Groupings
A l l of the k i n groups of Kishan
Garhi have vital connections outside
The categories of rank t h i r t y
the village through marriage. T h e years ago in Kishan Garhi probably
organisation of marriage, like the correspond much more neatly than
organisation of caste which results they do today w i t h the kinship
from i t , is one of the most stable of groupings of caste, clan and linea l l elements in village society. Since age. By r i t u a l criteria having to
most persons who are born in the do w i t h occupational duty and
village are considered to be related manner of life, all twenty-lour
by a kind of fictional common castes were placed w i t h perfect
descent, and since most persons agreement in five or six ranked
address each other—even across groups of castes.
These larger
caste lines by kinship terms appro- ritual ranks of castes may be given
priate to age and descent, a mar- the general name " orders ".
Vilriage between a boy and a girl of lagers icier to the orders from top
Kishan Garhi w o u l d constitute i n - to bottom as " highest " ( B r a h m a n ) ,
cest. The feeling is extended: no " h i g h " (Kshatriya, Vaisya, and
one is married w i t h i n less than four some six others), " l o w " (most of
miles of the village.
The average the other H i n d u castes, known to
distance of marriage is in fact, twelve urbanised
Hindus
as
Shudra),
miles. T h e kin groups of Kishan " M u s l i m ", " very low " ( Chamar,
Garhi have living marriage ties w i t h D h o b i)
and " untouchable "
some seventy other villages on all (sweepers, hunters). The arrangesides; twenty of these other villages ment of castes in orders determines
which lie toward the heart of B r i j most inter-caste ritual behaviour—
account for half of a l l marriages, forms of greeting, the arrangements
Marriage in Kishan Garhi
for eating, smoking and sitting, etc.
strongly patrilocal, as in most of W i t h i n the orders, ranking of sepanorthern India—is oriented to flow rate1 castes, clans, households and
in a single direction only.
T h e individuals was more complex, befamily and village to which one ing affected by diverse criteria
gives a daughter occupies a " high " which are less permanent and obrelationship; the family and village jective. Among these other criteria
from which one takes a wife occu- are power, wealth, position in the
pies a " low " relationship. There service system, familial morality,
Thirty
can be no m i x i n g of the t w o : once age and personal virtue.
high, a village remains high. A d d i - years ago there was a closer cortional marriages l i n k i n g the same respondence in Kishan Garhi betwo villages and bringing or send- tween the distribution of power and
ing more women in the same direc- wealth and the ritual ranking of
tion are desired; exchange, or a castes. Almost all land rights and
reversal of direction is unthinkable. a l l formal political power were in
T h e feeling behind this organisa- the hands of the top two orders
tion is that the daughter and sister and the four or five top castes.
at marriage becomes the helpless Thirty years of economic' and polipossession of another group.
To tical changes in the larger societysecure her good treatment, lavish have done much to jostle this o l d
entertainments and gifts must be structure and to rearrange wealth
made; to the husband's family. T h e and power- among different permore the husband's . family demon- sons and among ritually lower per871
T H E ECONOMIC WEEKLY
numerous a n d important.
Their
diffuse patterns l i n k together, however tenuously, the ranks and kin
groups w h i c h are formally set
apart.
M e n and women live their associational lives in sharply separated
spheres. This separation in itself
promotes a greater diffusion of
contacts,
for the associations
of
husband and wife may take entirely
different directions. In the same
way children, although admonished
by adults as to their
associates,
rarely conform in their play groups
to the adult pattern either of
formal groupings or of cliques.
Cliques and friendships are variously determined by neighbourhood, by kinship, by shared work
or other similarities of social position and occasionally by sheer personal attraction or common
personal interests in disregard of social
differences.
A strong
positive
attachment outside of one's kin
group is, however, a potential
threat to that group's primary
demands for
exclusive
loyalty.
When adults do form such cliques
or friendships, they do so secretly
and deny that the association exists.
Pairs or groups of men who sit
together frequently without
some
formal reason in spite of differences of kinship, rank and power
that may exist among them are
likely to he regarded as fools or as
trouble-makers.
To be sure, one
common reason for the existence of
cross-kin and cross-rank associations
is that
there are
serious
troubles w i t h i n the primary f o r m a l
groups; splits w i t h i n those groups
require members to seek allies outside, if anywhere. As a result of
strong disapproval, very few friendly
secular associations do span
great
differences of social status.
There
are perhaps a dozen pairs and two
or three small cliques of this type,
to be compared w i t h
numberless
w a r m clusters of persons of similar
social position.
There are no
larger permanent voluntary associations.
Ceremonial
patterns
provide
many approved contexts for briefer
convivial associations among all
persons. Such ceremonial contexts
may be put to varied social uses,
but in themselves seem to be o l d
and stable elements of village culture.
Family ceremonies, especially the
ceremonies leading up to and
following marriage, require the
most active' and organized group
participation. On ten nights, one
to four dozen women gather to
August 23, 1952
sing w i t h o u t invitation at the house
of the betrothed. Marriage feasts
and processions are joined by i n v i tation only according to an explicit
formula. The formula gives fullest
participation and first claim to the
nearest
kinsmen,
representative
participation to other kin groups of"
the. same caste, smaller representative participation to
other castes
considered as wholes, and i n d i v i dual participation to persons who
have been one's hosts in the past,
to non-relatives who have made
token contributions to marriage
expenses, and to other economic
associates and servants. Any of
these, categories may extend beyond
the village itself. But if a category of persons is invited, it must
be invited consistently, for errors
are taken as slights, and may be
sternly reciprocated. Still there are
some unstructured opportunities for
personal choice w i t h i n each category. Family ceremonies at b i r t h
and death are much more narrowly
constrained.
The festivals of the H i n d u
calendar, which occur in monthly
and annual cycles, provide numerous occasions for brief convivial
association
and give much wider
scope
to
inter-personal
choice.
Although no festival can be said
to
be wholly unconnected
with
family patterns, still these calendrical
ceremonies are much less
completely governed by formal
categories of social structure. Primarily for male attendance are
sacred recitations and
incendiary
sacrifices held occasionally at the
dark of the moon and in great
numbers at Divali and H o l i .
To
these sacrifices, from five to twenty
kinsmen and associates may be
i n v i t e d ; rarely, a feast
is added,
which may attain the proportions
of a marriage feast. D u r i n g the
month be!ore H o l i and on a lew
other festival days, two or three
small male singing societies
meet
informally but w i t h some frequency. Primarily for female and
child gatherings are a dozen annual
festival days. These are celebrated
in small groups in nearly every
household by neighbours, kinswomen and playmates.
Freer,
open participation occurs
among
about half of the younger men on
a few annual days of sports, and
among most of the women on two
annual days of songs. An annual
fair at a village shrine and an
annual propitiation of one goddess
of smallpox are occasions for mass
participation by all and by women,
respectively. T h e
great
annual
873
saturnalia at H o l i consists of three
days of mob, clique and individual
expressions of love and aggression
in forms which represent a general
privileged over-riding and overturning of ordinary social structure.
The many tiny and frail convivial groupings in Kishan Garhi
thus maintain a m i n i m a l network
ol
positive
connections among
people across ordinaly formal lines
of economic, rank and kinship
divisions. At. no time in the knowable past has there been any more
comprehensive organisation of the
village than that winch they provide. There seems never to have
been any form of associational
behaviour which regarded the village as a unit in which all groups
have
a shared equity, or winch
looked on village problems as the
problems of all. T h e disciplined
followings of landlords and lenders
had great strength and heterogeneous composition, but never organised the whole village. The councils of the several tastes have only
rarely had the assistance of nonmembers of the caste in arbitrating
their private solutions. The informal council of the Brahman
tenants, potentially the strongest of
all associations, has stood only for
itsefi.
Villagers voting in the
recent election grouped themselves
by caste and clan, took their choice
among five sets of candidates all of
the local landlord's caste, voting
for the candidate w h o m they felt
best
represented the. interests of
their particular class or order.
Present Problems
No one
w i l l he surprised if a
village whose social relations are
structured in
the
manner of
Kishan Garhi does not
rapidly
develop an active village committee (gaon panchayat) or contribute
to an effective rural court (panchayati adaIat) as prescribed in the
U P Panchavat Raj Act. T h e v i l lage committee that was officially
elected includes a fair sampling of
many castes. But that committee
never meets. The group that actually
considers public issues
and
uses the new authority granted by
the Act is none other than the old
informal Brahman caste council,
representing one quarter of the
people and one half of the land
rights. The ex-landlords proudly
abstain from this body, manueuvring as best they can through the
remnants of their followings. or
experimenting w i t h alliances among
the other disinherited persons. The
Brahman council acting as village
August 23,1952
numerous and important. Their
diffuse patterns l i n k together, however tenuously, the ranks a n d k i n
groups w h i c h are f o r m a l l y set
apart.
M e n and women live their associational lives in sharply separated
spheres. This separation in itself
promotes
a greater diffusion
of
contacts,
for the associations
of
husband and wife may take entirely
different directions. In the same
way children, although admonished
by
adults as to their
associates,
rarely conform in their play groups
to the adult pattern either of
formal groupings or of cliques.
Cliques and friendships are variously determined by neighbourhood, by kinship, by shared work
or other similarities of social posit i o n and occasionally by sheer personal attraction or common
personal interests in disregard of social
differences.
A
strong
positive
atttachment outside of one's k i n
group is, however, a potential
threat to that group's p r i m a r y
demands
for exclusive
loyalty.
W h e n adults do f o r m such cliques
or friendships, they do so secretly
arid deny that the association exists.
Pairs or groups of men who sit
together frequently w i t h o u t
some
formal reason in spite of differences of kinship, rank and power
that may exist among t h e m are
likely to be regarded as fools or as
trouble-makers.
To be sure, one
common reason for the existence of
cross-kin and cross-rank associations
is that
there are
serious
troubles w i t h i n the primary formal
groups; splits w i t h i n those groups
require members to seek allies outside, if anywhere. As a result of
strong disapproval, very few friendly
secular associations do span
great
differences of social status.
There
are perhaps a dozen pairs a n d two
or three small cliques of this type,
to be compared w i t h
numberless
w a r m clusters of persons of similar
social position.
There are no
larger permanent voluntary associations.
Ceremonial
patterns
provide
many approved contexts for briefer
convivial associations among a i l
persons. Such ceremonial contexts
may be put to varied social uses,
b u t in themselves seem to be o l d
and stable elements of village c u l ture.
Family ceremonies, especially the
ceremonies leading up to a n d
f o l l o w i n g marriage, require the
most active and organized group
participation. On ten nights, one
to four dozen women gather to
sing w i t h o u t i n v i t a t i o n at the house
of the betrothed. Marriage feasts
and processions are joined by i n v i tation only according to an explicit
formula. The formula gives fullest
participation and first claim to the
nearest
kinsmen,
representative
participation to other k i n groups of
the same caste, smaller representative participation to
other castes
considered as wholes, and i n d i v i dual participation to persons who
have been one's hosts in the past,
to non-relatives who have made
token contributions to marriage
expenses, and to other economic
associates and servants. Any of
these categories may extend beyond
the village itself. But if a category of persons is invited, it must
be invited consistently, for errors
are taken as slights, and may be
sternly reciprocated. Still there are
some unstructured opportunities for
personal choice w i t h i n each category. Family ceremonies at b i r t h
and death are m u c h more narrowly
constrained.
T h e festivals of the H i n d u
calendar, which occur in monthly
and annual cycles, provide numerous occasions for brief convivial
association
and give m u c h wider
scope
to
inter-personal
choice.
Although no festival can be said
to
be wholly unconnected
with
family patterns, still these calendrical
ceremonies are much less
completely governed by formal
categories of social structure. Primarily for male attendance are
sacred recitations and
incendiary
sacrifices held occasionally at the
dark of the m o o n and in great
numbers at D i v a l i and H o l i .
To
these sacrifices, from five to twenty
kinsmen and associates may be
i n v i t e d ; rarely, a feast is added,
which may attain the proportions
of a marriage feast. D u r i n g the
m o n t h before H o l i and on a few
other festival days, t w o or three
small male singing societies
meet
informally b i t w i t h some frequency. Primarily for female and
c h i l d gatherings are a dozen annual
festival days. These are celebrated
in small groups in nearly every
household by neighbours, kinswomen
and playmates.
Freer,
open participation occurs
among
about half of the younger men on
a few annual days of sports, and
among most of the women on two
annual days of songs. An annual
fair at a village shrine
and an
annual propitiation of one goddess
of smallpox are occasions for mass
participation by a l l and by women,
respectively. T h e
great
annual
873
saturnalia at H o l i consists of three
days of mob, clique and i n d i v i d u a l
expressions of love and aggression
in forms w h i c h represent a general
privileged over-riding and overt u r n i n g of ordinary social structure.
The many tiny and frail convivial groupings in Kishan Garhi
thus maintain a m i n i m a l network
of positive
connections
among
people across ordinary formal lines
of economic, rank and kinship
divisions. At no time in the knowable past has there been any more
comprehensive organisation of the
village than that which they provide. There seems never to have
been any form of associational
behaviour which regarded the v i l lage as a unit in which all groups
have
a shared equity, or w h i c h
looked on village problems as the
problems of all. T h e disciplined
followings of landlords and lenders
had great strength and heterogeneous composition, but never organised the whole village. The councils of the several castes have only
rarely had the assistance of nonmembers of the caste in arbitrating
their private solutions. T h e informal council of the Brahman
tenants, potentially the strongest of
all associations, has stood only for
itself.
Villagers voting in the
recent election grouped themselves
by caste and clan, took their choice
among five sets of candidates all of
the local landlord's caste, v o t i n g
for the candidate w h o m they felt
best
represented the interests
of
their particular class or order.
Present Problems
No one
w i l l be surprised if a
village whose social relations
are
structured
in
the manner of
Kishan
Garhi does not
rapidly
develop an active village committee (gaon panchayat) or contribute
to an effective rural court (panehayati adalat) as prescribed in the
U P Panchayat Raj Act. T h e v i l lage committee that was officially
elected includes a fair sampling of
many castes. But that committee
never meets. T h e group that actually
considers public issues
and
uses the new authority granted by
the A c t is none other than the old
informal Brahman caste council,
representing one quarter of the
people and one half of the land
rights. T h e ex-landlords proudly
abstain from this body, manoeuvring as best they can through the
remnants of their followings, or
experimenting w i t h alliances among
the other disinherited persons. T h e
Brahman council acting as village
August 23,1952
committee has been unable to estab- the landlords' o w n hierarchy of
lish sufficient trust to collect as dominance has been much disruptmuch as one half of its .small com- ed of late, and they too, like the
mittee tax or to realize a fraction litigating tenants of Kishan Garhi,
of the fines it has levied over a are torn by competition and alignto
period of." nearly three years. It ed in factions. Unable now
was able w i t h great difficulty to arbitrate conflicts individually, these
collect enough straw to repair the rustic magistrates do battle among
themselves using litigants as pawns.
roof of the two-room village school
It has been unable to carry through Such a contentious court welcomes
inteany of the three projects of village new litigation, but has little
improvement which it haltingly rest in achieving real composition of
undertook. It has achieved punish- the cases which come before it.
simply
ment of one petty criminal case Its '' dismissals ' ' often
w i t h i n the Brahman caste, and of represent delays and diversions of
two minor crimes by lower persons process into the higher courts; its
against Brahmans.
In all other inept " decisions " often simply
cases there have been dissident opi- provide the technical bases for
nions which led the committee to higher appeals. Still the ex-landappeal to non-official coercive arbi- lords have a smattering of the law
tration by the police or by a neigh- and enough valuable higher conbouring landlord, or to refer the nections to guarantee their control
cases to due process of law in of the rural court for some time to
come. Tahsildars and Sub-Divihigher courts.
The failure of the village com- sional Officers, deluged now w i t h
mittee to dispose of cases of con- the new volume of litigation from
flict in the village docs not mean the rural courts, regard their v i l that conflict has been in any way lagers as depraved, or look back
lessened. Since its official
incep- longingly on the days when there
in
tion, the village committee has for- was at least one strong man
mally entered more than thirty- each village who could be dependcases, an average of a case per ed upon to settle petty quarrels
m o n t h . Of these thirty,
twenty- w i t h a firm hand. The strong men
five have passed up to the rural of the past are the amateur advocourt at Brij Garhi. Oases are t r i - cates of the present.
Kishan Garhi's internal divisions
vial in o r i g i n ; insult, threats and
suspected p l o t t i n g
are common are not entirely disadvantageous to
instigations, although the formal governmental administration; i n charge may be theft, heating
or deed, factional splits are often temdefault, of' payment. The initiating porarily useful to officials who
fees and gifts are deceptively small. might otherwise have to cope w i t h
One vague issue quickly deviates united opposition against their offiThe three major crimes
and
diffuses into other issues
as cial acts.
additional members of the affected of Kishan Garhi in recent years
groups j o i n in the case as
" w i t - which fell to the police for investinesses '
T w o or three officially gation were all solved by the techunrelated cases are always in pro- nique of widening village divisions
gress; not uncommonly all dissolve at promising points, and then exmutually
incriminating
at once if crucial advantage is tracting
gained by one faction. If the other information from both of the two
faction can manage i t , three more opposed groups. The revenue officases may be fabricated on the next cials who had to collect landlord
the party
day. An average case runs for two abolition payments and
months in the rural court. An organisers who had to get out the
average man spends a whole
day
of each
month in
litigation,
throughout the year.
The rural court at B r i j Garhi has
superior jurisdiction over the v i l lage commimittee at Kishan G a r h i
and over four other village committee areas in the region. T h e
members of the rural court were
elected just as were the village
committees, by public show of
hands confirming a panel of nominees
which had been previously
negotiated among the village factions. Almost a l l of the twentyfive members are landlords.
But
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
vote in the elections similarly made
use of competition among K i s h a n '
Garhi's factions.
Were the national economy moving smoothly towards the goal of
improved
sustenance,
then
the
problem of concerted action in v i l lages like Kishan Garhi might not
arise.
But some amount of concerted action is now required by
intense and inequitable competition
lor static resources and static social
goods. Most programmes for political, technical or economic development of rural I n d i a require that
there
be a modicum of classless
local co-operation. Officials at the
planning level recognise village
factionalism as a chief obstacle to
all programmes.
The
low state of co-operation
that presently prevails among
the
k i n groups of Kishan
Garhi and
the structural features that
determine it suggest that greater concerted action w i l l he achieved only
by a more severe unsettling of
basic structures than has occurred
in any age of the past. T h e energies of the kin groups are devoted
to securing their private prestige
and prosperity, to advancing and
fulfilling the claims of marriage,
The inequities that once articulated
the k i n groups in work and subordinated them one to another in
wealth and power are largely levelled. The traditional criteria that
once set them in an agreed hierarchy of ranks are now confounded.
T h e kin groups themselves remain
as so many sovereign states, loosely
linked by a few work relations, "oy
a handful of friendships, and
by
the ceremonies of an ancient cycle.
To ask the fifty-five k i n groups of
Kishan- Garhi to continue to live
by shifting alliances is to promote
inaction or strife as much as cooperation. To entice them to delegate some of their loyalties for the
work of the village as a whole is
to lure the old social structure
toward its sure destruction.
August 23, 1952
ance companies too have to provide out of profits considerable
additions to their free reserves if
the security of their policyholders
is to be relatively as strong as it
was pre-war."
I , therefore, again appeal t o Government to see that substantial relief in the matter of taxation is
given to general insurance companies.
Heavy Bombay Taxation Will
Divert Trade
I have already stated that the
taxation policy of the Government
of I n d i a as well as the State of Hornbay has adversely affected trade,
commerce and industry and is
likely to adversely affect the operations of I n d i a n insurance companies.
As for example, the recent taxation
proposals of the State of Bombay
such as multi-point sales tax, i n crease in the rates of taxation on
motor vehicles, increase in the price
of petrol, etc. The State of Bombay, admittedly, is the most heavily
taxed State in the country and in
my humble opinion this w i l l divert
the trade to other centres where
there is no such taxation. In this
connection it w i l l not be out of
place to quote a. statement uttered
by Sir Purshottamdas Thakordas,
prince among businessmen and
financiers, at the last A n n u a l General Meeting of the Oriental Government Security L i f e Assurance
Co. L t d . :
" When there is so much searching for new sources of revenue,
one may legitimately ask w h y
some State Governments still pursue ideological policies like Prohibition and forego revenues
which can well be spent on such
productive works. But since they
adhere1 to their ideologies, they
have to scramble for getting more
revenues by searching all sources
irrespective of whether or not
they satisfy the canons of sound
finance."
I hope and trust that the Government of Bombay w i l l give due weight
and consideration to the advice of
Sir Purshottarndas Thakordas and
give material relief to trade, commerce and industry in the State.
Estate Duty Bill
Recently Government of India
have introduced in Parliament an
Estate D u t y Bill for the levy of
death duties on properties passing
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
or deemed to pass on the death of the K o r e a n W a r . There is also a
a person. While it is admitted that fall in the premium income of the
taxation in the form of death duties Accident Department due to the
is most equitable, still care must be introduction of social insurance
taken to see that the rates of duties scheme by Government and nawhich may from time to time be tionalisation of transport services in
fixed by the A n n u a l Finance Bills some of the big centres. N o t w i t h should not be an undue burden on standing the above factors, the rethe public as that w o u l d be likely sult of the working of the fire i n to prevent capital formation for the surance department w i l l be found
purpose of industrial development satisfactory.
of the country. In the United K i n g As w i l l be seen from the Reved o m rates of death duties w h i c h
nue
Account of the Fire Departwere introduced since 1894 have i n creased from year to year and dur- ment, after p r o v i d i n g reserve for
i n g the last year executors of de- unexpired risks at fifty per cent,
ceased's estates had to sell to the the company has made a profit of
public assets to the value of £ 1 9 0 Rs 7,51,635 out of which a sum of
millions. Before fixing the rates in Rs 2,00,000 has been transferred to
I n d i a , I think it should be the the additional reserve and the balduty of the Government to see that ance transferred to the profit and
nothing should be done which loss account. As I pointed out in
would reduce the personal savings my last year's speech that when
of the public available for industry the p r e m i u m income w o u l d stabilise
in the years to come, it w i l l not be
and insurance.
necessary to provide large amounts
for reserves for unexpired risks and
Insurance Act Needs Further
that w o u l d result in larger profits
being earned by the company in
Amendment
future years.
This surmise has
In my speech last year I made a tome true and the result of this
reference to the working of the I n - year's w o r k i n g in the Fire Departsurance (Amendment) Act of 1950 ment shows five times the profit of
and you w i l l be glad to find that the previous year.
as a result thereof several insurance
companies have shown better reAccident Department
sults d u r i n g the year 1951. I still
feel that immediate steps should beT h e results of the Accident Detaken to amend some of the pro- partment have not been as satisfacvisions of the Amendment A c t of tory as in the past on account of
1950 in the light of experience gain- heavy claims experienced in the
ed during the last year. I hope and motor car business of insurance
trust that I n d i a n insurance com- which forms a major portion of our
panies through their respective asso- accident business p r e m i u m . There
ciations w i l l make a suitable repre- lias been alround increase in the
sentation to Government in this claim experience in this Department
behalf.
for the last three years by all com-
Results of Working of Fire
Department
The details of the account as
well as of appropriations from the
profits have been already dealt w i t h
in the Directors' Report, w h i c h is
before you.
F r o m the Revenue
Account of the Fire and Accident
Departments it w i l l be observed
that there has been a fall in the
premium income. T h e fall in the
premium income of the Fire insurance business is mainly due to want
of demand for riot insurance on
the part of the insuring public on
account of absence of disturbances
and prevalence of peaceful conditions in the industrial centres of the
country.
The fall in the premium
income in this Department is also
due to fall in commodity prices on
account of practical cessation of
876
panies. In this connection it w i l l
be pertinent to point out the statement made by the Chairman of the
Royal Insurance Co. L t d . :
" T h e impact of inflation is
perhaps seen most vividly in our
motor results, w h i c h , in most
parts of the w o r l d , have been consistently unfavourable and continue to cause us serious concern.
T h e rise in the cost of claims continued unabated and p r e m i u m
rates have not yet caught u p . "
Marine Department
T h e M a r i n e Department unfortunately shows an unsatisfactory position due to adverse claim experience
during the year. This is mainly
due to the total loss of cargo of
a couple of steamers operating in
I n d i a n waters in w h i c h your com-
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
pany had on its books insurance of
a considerable amount. But for this
total loss, the w o r k i n g in this D e partment w o u l d have shown n o r m a l
profits even though we were required to add to our reserves over
previous years.
It w i l l be observed that the i n come f r o m investments has shown
satisfactory increase.
D u r i n g the
year under report the total income
f r o m interest before deduction of
income-tax at source amounts to
Rs 1,73,860.
As you know, due to
the increase in the Bank Rate in
November, 1951, the market prices
of Gilt-edged Securities fell heavily
d u r i n g the year and also affected
the prices of Stock Exchange Securities.
T h e investments of your
company as also other companies
were also adversely affected. Y o u r
directors therefore considered it
prudent to write off a sum of
Rs 1,78,891 out of the profits by
way of depreciation on the investments.
Y o u r Directors have also
maintained the existing investment
reserve at Rs 1,45,000.
Satisfactory
Results
After making due provision for
depreciation, bad debts, etc., your
directors have been able to transfer
a sum of Rs 3,36,264 to profit and
loss appropriation account subject
to taxation.
Y o u r directors are
advised that sufficient provision
exists to meet all taxation liabilities
unto the end of December 1951.
I t w i l l he seen from the accounts
that the total premium income of
a l l departments of the company
during the year was Rs 31,21.020
and the total reserves of all departments amounted to Rs 23,97,197
that is, about 83 per cent: of the
total p r e m i u m income. It is hoped that this w i l l be considered quite
satisfactory.
In view of the satisfactory results
of the company's w o r k i n g for 1951
your directors have decided to grant
two months' salary by way of bonus
to the members of the administrative staff.
Extension of Operations
As stated in my last year's speech,
arrangements were being made to
extend the company's operations in
other parts of the country particularly w i t h a view to increase the
p r e m i u m income, and the directors
are confident that the result of these
arrangements w i l l
the coming years.
be
reflected
in
D u r i n g the corning years in the
M a r i n e Department your company
expects to receive a part of H u l l
insurance business by way of reinsurance from other I n d i a n companies and it is expected that the
p r e m i u m income in this department
w i l l also considerably increase i n
the coming years.
I must place on record appreciation of the work done by the General Manager, our officials and staff
both at the H e a d Office and
brandies and by our agents and field
workers and it w i l l be no exaggeration to say that but for the strenuous efforts made by them it
w o u l d not have been possible to
present to you the satisfactory results as shown by the accounts.
T h e Directors' Report and the
audited Revenue and Profit & Loss
Accounts were adopted, the retiring
directors were duly re-elected and a
dividend at the rate of 12 annas
per share free of Income-tax was
declared.
August 23, 1952
N a t i o n a l Development C o u n c i l
The Government of I n d i a have
decided to set u p , on the recommendations of the Planning Commission, a N a t i o n a l Development
Council w i t h a view to furthering
the objectives of the Five-Year Plan.
T h e functions of the National
Development Council w i l l be:
(1) To review the w o r k i n g of
the National Plan from time
to t i m e ;
(2) To consider important questions of social and economic
policy affecting national development ;
(3) To recommend measures for
the achievement of the aims
and targets set out in the
National Plan, including measures to secure the active
participation and co-operat i o n of the people, improve
the efficiency of the a d m i nistrative services, ensure the
fullest development of the
less advanced regions a n d
sections of the c o m m u n i t y
and, through sacrifice borne
equally by all citizens, b u i l d
up resources of national
development.