Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

determined by the floating middle class, with whom they form friendships and meet in
mosques or temples. Many of them retain aspirations of going to gulf. Some of them are
not even averse to forming and joining criminal gangs. Unsolved petty thefts and
household robberies are quite common in the area, and those who are involved are
sufficiently well-versed in the geography of the region and financial status of the
population. Some informants told us that many crimes committed in the area are being
patronized by members from well-to do families in the area.
The human labor power in the area is now much more physically, culturally and
intellectually equipped than ever before. The number of educational institutions,
hospitals, and service facilities of various kinds has increased substantially during recent
years, and members of the floating middle class and underclass including women, are
beneficiaries of these facilities. The years of pestilence, poverty and natural calamities are
distant memories for a number of families. This is shown by the response of a large
number of respondents that the present life style is better than ‘ever before’. We should
remember that it is the same human beings that live upon the uncertain benefits provided
by market forces, are underemployed or totally confined to the household. The available
information from educational institutions shows that dropouts are far less among the girls
than among the boys. The figures from hospitals show that more women consult the
hospitals than men. But their visibility in social labor is negligible, which means that their
resources are totally wasted by society. Similarly the resources at the command of an
average school student today are far more than what a local intellectual, like a school
master could acquire even fifty years before, but such inputs have not been put into any
productive or creative use. Numerous students accept schooling or degree education as a
necessary stepping stone to a comfortable living, and not a necessary resource for manual
or mental labor. Perhaps, this approach is also fostered by contemporary religiosity,
which trains the students to look upon the knowledge imparted in schools and colleges