63 CHAPTER III BASE LINE STUDIES 3.1.1 Physical Characteristica l The thinly populated village of Gundbala lies about 14 kms off the coast of Ottar Kannad district of Karnataka. Most inhabitants of the village are illiterate and the average villager seems to be apathetic towards the education of his children. Gundbala has a total population of around 750 and covers an area of 25 sq.Kms. It has seven hamlets - Marakal, Markaal, Navalse, Kondolli, Santepete, Gudinavalse and Hadinagadde as seen in figure 3.1. The main majare of Gundbala is Marakal which is adjacent to the main road. The village post office and the rural health centre are both located here. The primary school is a two room brick building and has classes upto Y standard. This school known as Gundbala school and has two teachers - the head master and his wife residing in Marakal Itself. North of Marakal about a kilometer away is Santepete. It is also referred to as Harijan Vasti, since the government has » "In parts of south India it is usual to distinguish between a gumpu (hamlet), Majare (a small village) and Grama (a large village). The first of these denotes a tiny collection of huts, the second is a larger hamlet and third is a village proper."! •••'• (T'->vv G4 ••^^ -^^ Vi-Vjj f^- ('•"*• MAP OF VILLAGE GUND3/^U:,jf:;J Haciik\agaddi S*»^e-; K^rn^iaM, -b: Jul -To = Road — Pafkwa ,^ Rivet- • ••'i^'M^*^*'" r^v 6oun<4arie5 rkaal MaratJafie . t iVi 'hot* J, . 1.',( I -» . wj~ -•; -^ <-^: 6^ '' :• -mi ^ ^ t? 4 se -*^i :e*7-'^ •^J9 i-^ g^ !i^ "^^ M •Crudi ^ i^aiyftlsi ^^ :i?i 41 1^ "v A/ V ^ :s) 1^ ^ ^^ ^- '•• . — "'yf • F19> 3. Mrti- Ui' iHJiiua^Ui. - l-Hii ViLLrtbt U.<Utih it'tVlii •"( G5 provided a housing colony for the Harijans of the village. From Santepete, the road leads to Markaal towards the east. Roughly it is 1.5 kms from Hillur which is a better developed village than Gundbala. Hillur has a high school and students from Markaal find it convenient to continue schooling after primary education. Markaal itself has a single room school where classes from first to fourth are taught by a single teacher. Hadinagadde, Kondolli, Navalse and Gudinavalse are located at higher atitudes than the rest and connected by 'kucha' roads to the main majare, Marakal. They are 3, 1.5,2 and 6 kms from Marakal respectively. Hadinagadde and Kondolli do not have either Anganwadi or lower primary school. Whereas children from Kondolli can manage to attend the Gundbala school and a few children do come fairly regularly, children of Hadinagadde, though enrolled at the Markaal primary school do not attend at all. Mavalse is approached from Marakaal south-eastwards by a winding pathway leading through the woods. It has a lower primary, single-room, single-teacher school and an anganwadi. Gudinavalse is further uphill eastwards from Navalse and is almost inaccessible. There are no wells, no electicity supply and no schools. This majare is exclusively inhabitated by Marathes. *3fc The terms Harijans, untouchables and Aagars are used interchangeably in this study. I;-- 'i'4- 6B 3.1.2 SoGiQ-economlc Aspects ot ths. Village Community: People belong to one of these subcastes of the Hindu religion : Havik Brahmin, Goud Saraswat Brahmin, Halakki Vakkal, Desh Bhandari* Nador, Kalavant, Vishwakarma and Songar. Gaud Saraswats were supposed to have come to Gundbala from Goa in the early 1800s, seven generations ago. They were then the major landowners in the village. With the Land Reform Act the Saraswats were no longer landlords. Most of the present generation has moved to urban areas for employment. The older generation residing in the village are dependent on either agriculture or small-time trade. Table 3.1 Caste Wise Distribution of Families of the Village Caste Number of percentage families Brahmins 21 17.2 Marathes 8 6.6 Halakkivakkals & Karivakkals 47 38.5 Nadors & Namdharis 25 20.5 Aagers 16 13.1 * Others 5 4.1 Total 122 100.0 » Includes two families of songars, one of kalavant, one of vlshwakarraas and one of Desh Bhandaris. 67 There is only one well-settled Havik Brahmin family in Gundbala. Havik brahmins are traditionally agriculturists and have a rich cultural background. They are experts in *Yakshagana' a classical dance - drama of karnataka. In Uttar Kannad district they are well known for their coconut and arecanut plantations. Nadors claim that they are the original inhabitants of the land. (Nadiga in Kannada means the inhabitant of the land) The Land Reform Act made them owners of the land they tilled. Nadors as a caste are meat eaters and very good hunters. The educated youth, unlike Gaud saraswats, do not migrate to urban areas but try to get government employment in their own village or nearby towns. They are generally employed as primary and high school teachers, in police, transport and as clerks. The present generation is well represented in the educational process and is taking up work other than agriculture. Most educated youth nevertheless, try to carry on agriculture along with their salaried jobs. Namdharis in the caste heirarchy fall on the same level as Nadors and are also meat eaters. Namdharis are also known as idigas. The term denotes that they were old-infantry or foot soldiers as some of them were being enlisted in the armies. Together Nadors and Namdharis constitute a little over 20 per cent of the families in Gundbala. Almost all families are agriculturists. 68 The Halakkivakkal and Karivakkals have been grouped as backward tribes. They constitute an agricultural caste, work mostly as cultivators and agricultural labourers. They are also fishermen and hunters and live mostly In thatched huts. They have a strong caste organization. They speak a dialect of Kannada called Halakkl Kannada. Marathes are a backward caste and in Gundbala who live isolated at Gudinavalse. Their main occupation is agriculture and cultivation. They are also adept at cane work. Harljans here are refered to as Agaers and are still treated as 'untouchables'. They live in a colony at Santepete where they have been provided government housing. Desh Bhandarls are among the lower caste acting as 'poojaris' for them. Kalavants come under Group B of backward classes. Vishwakarmas and Songars belong to the class of artisans. They have been grouped as backward classes under group C. The latter four castes are represented in Gundbala by a total of five families. (Table 3.1) The major peasant castes, Halakkivakkal, Karivakkal Nadors and Namdharis form the bulk of th^ population and make up for 59 per cent of the same. ill Occupation' The main occupation of the people of the village is agriculture and as such 86 per cent of the families either 6.9 cultivate their own land or serve as agricultural labourers (Table 3.2). In addition, most people also engage themselves in a host of other gainful activities like cane weaving, fishing, mango-gathering and small time trade like selling firewood and other forest produce. These subsidiary occupations assume importance especially during summers when there is no significant agricultural employment. liill Literacy: Of the total adult population of 405, 230 were males and 175 females. Total adult literacy with atleast a year's schooling was 41 per cent. Male literacy was higher (50 per cent) than female literacy (29 per cent). That Gundbala is an underveloped village is elaborated in the following account: The population consists of mainly backward castes, while the dominant peasant castes of Karnataka like Vokkaligas and lingayats are totally absent. Part of the economy is dominated by Gaud saraswats who are of relatively recent arrival in the village area. Agricultural technology is primitive with farmers depending mostly on rains for their cultivation and using no modern implements. Most of the required tools are either brought from nearby towns or made in the village itself. 70 TABLE 3.2 Distribution of Families according to Family Occupation Occupation Number of Percentage Families Agriculturist 81 66.4 Agricultural Labour 24 19.7 Trade 7 5.7 Service 4 3.3 Others 6 4.9 Total 122 100.0 Includes three family heads, are dependent on old age pension, and two others dependent on either trade or salaried job. TABLE 3.3 Hale and Female (adult) Literacy percentage Adults above 18 years Gender Literates Illiterates Total Percentage Males 117 113 230 66.79 Females 51 124 175 43.20 Total 168 237 405 100.00 Percentage 41.48 58.51 71 Educational level la low, literacy percentages for male and female being 50 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. These percentages are much lower when compared to the corresponding percentages for the taluka (Ankola) or even the whole of Uttar Kannad district. 3-1-3 Particulars of tha Child Population i. In Gundbala, the total population in 1985 of boys and girls of the age group zero to 18 was found to be 157 and 171 respectively, making up a total child population of 328. Schooling age childern (above 5 years to 18 years) totalled to 225 of which only 120 were enrolled in classes I and above. In addition 36 children were enrolled in Anganwadies and fell in the age group 3 to 7 years. Percentage enrolment in classes I and above was thus only 53. Enrolment decreased with higher stages of schooling. 67.3 per cent of children of age group 6-9 were enrolled. The percentage decreased to 58.3 for the age group 10 to 12 and to 31.6 for the age group, 13 to 18. The low representation of the child population in the educational process can be further explained after analysing the factors affecting enrolment and retention.