CHAPTER FOUR REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Brief historical sketch 4.3 General studies on the fisherfolk 4.4 Sociology of Education : Perspectives on the study 4.5 Influence of home and related variables 4.6 Influence of School, Teachers etc. 4.7 Merit, Equality and Opportunity 4.8 Economy, PoHtics and Education 4.9 Education and Inequality 4.10 Education and the Political System 4.11 Education and Social Change 4.12 Education and Economic Development 4.13 Disadvantaged Communities and Educational attainment 4.14 Conclusion References CHAPTER FOUR REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 4.1 Introduction In studying the educational backwardness of the marine fishworkers of Kerala, relevant literature was identified in the following areas. From a general perspective, history of the fisherfolk of Kerala and general studies on the fisherfolk are looked into. Sociology of education, with particular reference to home and related variables, School, teachers and other related variables, and Merit, Equality and Opportunity debate is the second major part of the review. Economy, politics and education is another major area of interest wherein specific issues such as education and inequality, education and the political system, education and economic development, and education and social change are discussed. Studies on the educational standards and problems of various dis- advantanged communities especially of the Fishworkers is of most relevance and has been referred to. The one problem any researcher in this area is bound to face is the paucity of literature particularly on the history and the educational problems of the marine fishworkers. Hence, the review necessarily will not be a total coverage of all related literature. A spurt of interest in the fisheries sector has generated a lot of studies in the techno-economics of fisheries. Review of it appears in the introductory part of the study and hence is not repeated in this section. 4.2 Brief Historical Sketch A sense of history is essential for any community . Lack of it leads to the drying up of its roots " To live without history is to be a waif, or to use the roots of others. It is to renounce the possibility of being oneself a root for those who come after— for somewhere beneath the ashes of the past there are embers instinct with the light of resurrection."' The community under study, the fisherfolk, has very little sense of their own history. Consequently they have not been able to acquire a unity which other communities have been able to muster. There is not any serious history written of them. One attempt at writing their history has been N.K.Jose's "Children of the Sea", part of which has been published. What is presented here is primarily based on this author and hence does not have any claims of bemg a total picture.'^ Generally the fisherfolk are called Dheevaras but the term does not include all fisherfolk. There are mukkuvars, Arayas, Valars, Marakkans, Mukayar, Nulayars etc. Today, the Hindu categories of fisherfolk have come under the general name Dheevaras. The Christian and Muslim fisherfolk are not included in the Dheevara category. The Christian categories of fisherfolk probably have only a history of 3-4 centuries, though some Christian authors would claim the tradition to 13th century/' Similariy , Islam has claim to a tradition of nine centuries and Hinduism about 8th,9th century Prior to the influence of these major religions it is Hkely that the fisherfolk had their own gods and ways of worship They probably worshipped their own predecessors and exhibited tribal characteristics. 56 Fishing as a profession probably originated right at the beginning of human civilisational history, prior to the evolution of agriculture. Among the primitive people of Kerala, where history can be traced to B.C. 3-4, Kerala must have had categories who took to fishing. It must be from them that the fisherfolk as a category emerged. The historians also claim that the fisherfolk fi-om Tamilnadu and Kerala have been a common people and that a good chunk of them have come from the Sind culture and that there have been a mixture of original fisherfolk of Kerala and the Dravidas fi-om Sind region. The fisherfolk who came fi-om the Sind civilization were never slaves like the hill inhabitants. Pulayas, Kuravas, Parayas have been slaves, but Mukkuvas, Arayas or Parathavas have not been slaves. The bondage that has been forced on the hill inhabitants by the Aryan Brahmins based on religious beliefs and legends, have not been felt on the coast. Hence, the coastal fisherfolk have always been a fi^ee people. Even as late as 1869 fisherfolk are not included among the lower castes. In 1847 when the European, missionaries appealed to the Travancore Govt to prohibit slavery none of the fisherfolk are mentioned. In the letter of Devan peshkar to Travancore, Devan Sir Madhava Rao, there is mention of lowest castes, but fisherfolk are not included. So too in the memo of 16 April, 1872 fi-om the British Resident to the Devan. But the Malabar Manual of 1887 refers to the 24 ft. distance untouchability of Mukkuvas."* Kerala is known for its age-old contact with merchants and their contact has always been through the coast. Hence it is but impossible that the fisherfolk had the initial contact with foreign merchants. There was a time in history where fishing was more profitable than the other occupations That surely was the golden period of the fisherfolk. Some of the fisherfolk would have been 57 merchants and the mediators for the foreign merchants. This was a time when the fisherfolk were happy about their situation, occupied as they were with fishing business and salt making. Fishing was a technically superior occupation and a prestigious one. Though the Aryans would have ostracized the fisherfolk as well as those who crossed the sea, this did not at all affect the fisherfolk. As merchants in bargaining with both the foreigners and the hill inhabitants the fisherfolk would have achieved a remarkable degree of skill and expertise. N.K. Jose remarks that if the Roman Empire had got so apprehensive of endangering their economy and in buying up pepper at exorbitant rates, those merchants who bargained with them would have been none other than the fisherfolk. They would also have learned foreign languages suflficiently to communicate with the foreigners. Both Islam and Christianity entered Kerala coasts primarily through business interests. The Arabian merchants slowly settled down here. They married local women and a mixed population emerged. They established themselves on the Malabar coast. Between 12th and 16th centuries the Muslim community was at its glorious period. With the arrival of Vasco Da Gama in 1498 the Muslims lost their predominance in business and many of them left the coast. Theoe who remained took to fishing The Christian invasion on the other hand, particularly, with the conversion efforts of the Jesuit Francis Xavier and their educational efforts, the Christian Fishermen community was on a rich course. The Hindu counterparts again probably vvdth the Aryan invasion brought in also the varna system and its accompanying burdens. But the picture that emerges in the eariy history up to 13-14th century is one of a community 58 culturally superior, economically self sufficient and exposed to the international intrusions. Their occupation was considered noble. Kunjali Marakar built up his naval force on the fisherfolk strength. In Travancore, Marthanda Varma relied on the fisherfolk to replenish his army to fight the Dutch. Thus in brief, the fisherfolk had a flourishing period. But since then, there has been a sharp decline, the forces of which have not been sufficiently inquired into. Already with the insistence of Namboothiries no other lower castes were allowed to be educated.^ The educational efforts of Christian missionaries on the coast slowed down or even died. The fisherfolk slowly and steadily declined in their education, cultural levels and life styles. As the inland progressed the fisherfolk remained in the sea, and paradoxically the very progress of the inland and hill land made the fisherfolk vulnerable to exploitation. Once the Kings of the sea and the land now they are fast becoming the slaves of modem techno-scientific growth. Today, fishing is more and more considered a low job and the fisherfolk are clamouring for inclusion in the lower castes. Historically there is a gap wherein this process of deterioration and decline has to be explained. What is of relevance to us is that fisherfolk once a socially economically powerful group has become a depressed group , exploited and backward. 4.2.1 The Dheevara Community Dheevara, literally, means clever fisherman. The early inhabitants of the river valley of the Nils and the Dravidian aborigines were considered to be the precursors of the Dheevaras of Kerala. They were good navigators and 59 soldiers, who secured the fidelity of the native rulers and paid respect to them. They lived together in separate class or gotras, controlled and disciplined by able chieftains and their economy mainly depended on occupational income.^ Today, the Dheevaras consist of a variety of fisherfolk like Arayas, Mukkuvas, Nulayas, Mugeyas, Paravas, Valars and Marakkan, These categories with varying skills and tradition have come together under the banner of Dheevara Sabha. Some of the precursors of the Sabha were the foUowing- 'Samastha Kerala Araya Mahajan Yogam' (1919), which was established during a convention of the Dheevaras of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar. 'Araya Agitation League' was founded in 1929. The All Travancore Hindu Backwoard Communities Federation of 1946 in which the Travancore arayas actively participated was another step in the history. In 1924, Sri.