The Caste Dynamics of Rural Livelihood Sustainability in Punjab

The paper has delineated the caste dynamics of access to employment, income distribution and rural household poverty which ultimately influence the sustainability of rural livelihoods in Punjab. The study is based on the primary data collected from 315 rural households during 2005–06. The agricultural land has been found distributed in a highly skewed manner with more than 91 per cent being owned by the general castes. The lower caste workers were more dependent on the wage employment in the non-farm sector. The study has revealed that the general caste households apportion almost 70 per cent of the total rural household income as compared to about 15 per cent share each for scheduled caste (SC) and backward caste (BC) households. A significant relationship has been found to exist between the extent of household income from different sources and caste, education and size of landholding. There is the need to direct efforts to improve the educational level and skills of the lower castes households. It will improve their access to more remunerative employment and hence will enhance their income levels. Generation of low-skilled jobs in the non-farm sector will also help in increasing the work force participation of these castes, especially women with a positive impact on household incomes.