Changing livelihoods: Spatio-temporal dynamics of occupational structure in upper Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh

The pattern of occupations in rural households depends mainly, on cultivation as the main source of livelihood. Occupation is a crucial socio-economic attribute, providing insights into an economy's productive capacity and highlighting changes in occupational structure. The main source of the livelihood of inhabitants of the district Kinnaur is mainly based on agriculture and horticulture. The study tries to analyse the dynamics in the occupation structure of study area as reference to the changing livelihoods of the tribal people. The study is primarily based on secondary sources of data. The study examines the temporal and spatial changes in categories of main workers i.e. cultivators, agricultural labourers, household industry workers and other workers. The study shows the significant increase in the cultivators since 1971 to 2011. The study reveals that there is significant decrease in the proportion of household industry workers and agricultural workers.