Population Structure and Reproductive Behaviour of Pasis and Chamars: A Comparative Study among the Scheduled Castes of Lucknow, India

The present study is aimed to report and compare the demographic structures among the Pasis and Chamars of rural Lucknow, India. The data were collected from 323 households (158 Pasis and 165 Chamar) belonging to the two scheduled castes family of Lucknow district, Uttar Pradesh. Pasi and Chamar both constitute a very important group in Hindu society and occupy the lowest position in the caste hierarchy; they are also includes in the schedule of Government of India and hence popularly called as scheduled caste. The analysis reveals that females are preponderant in the both areas than males. There are more economically active members in Chamars than in the Pasis population. No marriages take place below 15 years of age. The menarcheal age of both scheduled caste females have been seen maximum in 12–13 years and marriages have been found maximum in 19–21 years in the population. Age at first conception has been found maximum in age of 20 years of women.