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ISSN 2456-6861 PRAG CONSILIENCE RNI No. ASSMUL/2016/70132 PRAG CONSILIENCE A Multi-lingual Peer-reviewed Annual Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Commerce Vol. 4, No 1, August 2019 PRAGJYOTISH COLLEGE RESEARCH COUNCIL (PCRC) PRAGJYOTISH COLLEGE Bharalumukh, Guwahati 781 009 (Assam) 2019 PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 1 PRAG CONSILIENCE, ISSN 2456-6861, RNI No. ASSMUL/2016/70132, A Multilingual Peer-reviewed Annual Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Commerce, Printed by Prince Choudhury, Published by Dr. Manoj Kumar Mahanta, Principal, Pragjyotish College, on behalf of Pragjyotish College Research Council (PCRC), Pragjyotish College, Bharalumukh, Guwahati 781 009 and Printed at Bhabani Offset & Imaging Systems Pvt. Ltd., 7 Lachit Lane, Rajgarh Road, Guwahati 781 007 and Published at Pragjyotish College, Bharalumukh, Guwahati 781 009. Editor: Dr. Jyotirmoy Sengupta. © Copyright, 2019, Pragjyotish College Research Council (PCRC) Pragjyotish College Address for Communication Editor PRAG CONSILIENCE (ISSN 2456-6861) Department of Bengali Pragjyotish College, Guwahati 781 009 E-mail: [email protected] Contact No. +91-8638850289 Price: Rs. 250/- (Rupees Two Hundred and Fifty only) Disclaimer The Editorial Board and the Publisher of the Journal are not responsible for the opinions expressed by the authors 2 PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 From the Editor's Desk _________ I am very pleased to introduce the Volume 4, No 1 of the Research Journal PRAG CONSILIENCE published by Pragjyotish College Research Council (PCRC), Pragjyotish College, Guwahati. At the outset, I am offering my sincere apology for unexpected delay to publish this 4th volume of the journal. After winning all the hurdles, when we were almost ready to hand over the finalised manuscript to the press, the pandemic covid-19 stood as an unprecedented barrier. But it is the utmost will-force that helped us to come out and reach to the end of the journey, anyway. We will remain grateful to all the authors for submitting their manuscripts to PRAG CONSILIENCE and for giving us the opportunity to consider their valuable work. We would like to offer our sincere gratitude to the Reviewers from different institutions that have made their precious time available for us to review the research papers for this volume. Their valuable inputs and comments have helped to improve the quality of the papers. On behalf of the Editorial Board, I would also like to convey my special thanks to Dr. Manoj Kumar Mahanta, Principal and President of the PCRC, Pragjyotish College, for his relentless encouragement to publish this volume of the journal. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Paramananda Majumdar, ex-faculty, Geography Department of the college for the cover design of the journal. I must convey my sincere gratitude to Dr. Baikuntha Rajbangshi, Dr. Namita Das, Dr. Ira Das, Dr. Gargee Sharma, Dr. Preeti Baishya, Dr. Kabita Doloi, Dr. Zoul Khawbung and Dr. Saitanya Kumar Bharadwaj for their kind help in compiling this volume of the journal. I must be thankful to all other co-members of the Editorial Board and the members of the PCRC for their support during the journey. I would like to express my gratitude to the Publication Hub, Pragjyotish College for the most important financial assistance extended to publish the journal. Last but not the least, we are thankful from the deep of our heart to Bhabani Offset and Imaging Systems Pvt. Ltd, Guwahati for quality printing of this volume. Place: Guwahati-09, Assam Editor, PRAGCONSILIENCE PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 3 4 PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 CONTENTS Humanities and Social Science Section 1. Oraganized Retail Outlets and Customers' Satisfaction: A Study in Guwahati City, Assam, India Dr. Bidyut Bikash Baishya / 7 2. Religious Beliefs and Practices of Fishermen: A Descriptive Study of Assam Dr. Avijit Kumar Dutta / 17 3. An Overview of the Sculptural Motifs of Madan Kamdev: An Empirical Study Abhijit Bharali / 24 4. Cultural Aspects and Social Systems of the Bodos and their Lives: A Descriptive Study Dr. Jayanta Deka / 34 5. Traditional Religious Practices of The Ao Nagas Kabita Doloi / 40 6. Christian Missionaries and the Tribal Ethos in Pre Independent Assam Dr. Nandini Sarma / 50 7. Breaking Traditional Notions of Impurity With Specific Reference to the Sabarimala Case Arpita Das / 61 8. Lived Religions and Nuanced Syncretism: The Islam in India Dr. Sabrina Iqbal Sirca / 68 9. 'Ankiya Nat'- It's Role in the spread of Bhakti Movement & its Futuristic Aspects Priyanka Sarmah / 78 10. A Reading of Women's Character in Shashi Deshpande's Novels With Particular Reference to Small Remedies and The Dark Holds No Terror Laltlanzuol Khawbung / 85 11. 0 û 93 12. û 107 13. 0 û 116 PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 5 14. û 131 15. / 139 16. , / 150 17. / 158 Science Section 1. Studies on the variation of pKa values of Phosphoric acid supported on different Solid Surfaces Dr. Saitanya K Bharadwaj / 170 2. Association Between BMI and BLOOD PRESSURE of Young Adult Males of Latakata area of Guwahati Sanjiv Mallick / 179 Book Review 1. û 187 6 PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 PRAG CONSILIENCE: ISSN 2456-6861, RNI No. ASSMUL/2016/70132 A Multi-lingual Peer-reviewed Annual Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Science and Commerce Vol.4, No.1 (2019), pp. 7-16 ORGANIZED RETAIL OUTLETS AND CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION: A STUDY IN GUWAHATI CITY, ASSAM, INDIA Dr. Bidyut Bikash Baishya* Abstract: India’s middle income class has greatly expanded, and so has its purchasing power. But over the years, India has been slow to open its retail sector to foreign investment. In 2006, the government eased retail policy for the first time, allowing up to 51 per cent FDI through the single brand retail route. It can be said that liberalization of FDI would usher in quality and discipline in the Indian retail sector besides giving consumers a wider choice and options. FDI in retail could be an efficient way of addressing concerns of farmers and consumers. However, customer satisfaction and its various parameters is the key factor in knowing the success of any retail business. Therefore, this paper tries to focus on the satisfaction level of the customers in the organized retail outlets and also to analyze the factors that determine the satisfaction level. Keywords: Organized Retail, Liberalization, FDI. 1. Introduction Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been integrated into theories of economic growth as the “gains-from-FDI” approach (Krugman, 1998). In the thirty years and more, since the economic liberalization of 1991, India’s middle class has greatly expanded, and so has its purchasing power. But over the years, unlike other major emerging economies, India has been slow to open its retail sector to foreign investment as it has open up the economy in the form of Economic Reforms in 1991 only. In 2006, the government eased retail policy for the first time, allowing up to 51 per cent FDI through the single brand retail route. Since then, there has been a steady increase in FDI in the retail sector, and the cumulative FDI in single- brand retail stood at $195 million by the middle of 2010 (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, DIPP, 2010). It can be said that liberalization of FDI would usher in quality and discipline in the Indian retail sector besides giving consumers a wider choice and options. * Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Pragjyotish College, E-mail: [email protected] PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 7 Dr. Bidyut Bikash Baishya The word retail means to cut off a piece or to break bulk. Retailer is a dealer who sells goods in small quantities. Retailing is a link between producer and the consumer for fulfilling the personal needs. The retailing may be divided into two categories namely organized and unorganized retailing. Organized Retailing refers the activities undertaken by licensed retailers who are registered for sales tax and income tax. Un-Organized Retailing is a traditional way of low-cost retailing. These may be local shops. Unorganized retailing consists of self- employed, hence with more freedom; but may be with stress at this present competitive environment. The employees of organized retailing may be regular employed but with market clearing salary; do not have bargaining power. Some top players of retail in India are, Pantaloon Retail, Raheja Group, Tata, Landmark, Piramal Group, Bharati – Walmart, Reliance Group, AV Birla Group etc. The FDI Policy in retail in India initially had allowed foreign investment only in single brand. The growth of FDI is as follows: 1995: World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services, which includes both wholesale and retailing services, came into effect. 1997: FDI in cash and carry (wholesale) with 100 percent rights allowed under the government approval route. 2006: FDI in cash and carry (wholesale) brought under the automatic route. Up to 51 percent investment in a single-brand retail outlet permitted. 2011: 100 percent FDI in single brand retail permitted 2012: 49 percent FDI in multi brand retail is permitted. The current and anticipated growth of retail sector in India can be seen by the following diagram- Source: International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering, Technology and Management, Vol. 1, Issue 1, November 2012, pg 33 8 PRAG CONSILIENCE / VOL.4, NO.1 / AUGUST, 2019 Organized retail outlets and customers’ satisfaction It was expected that the retail sector would grow by US $ 175-200 by 2017 which is encouraging as foreign players also try to enter India with the allocation of foreign investment. A number of concerns have been raised about opening up the retail sector for FDI in India.