CASTE AND CLASS 41 is the highest. The dominant majority castes contain a high proportion of cultivators and also labourers. The same is the case with the non-dominant minority castes. Among the depressed castes a high proportion consists of agricultural and non-agricultural labourers, though in the urban areas an equally sizable section of the labourers comes from the dominant majority castes. These data do indicate that there is some relation between occupation and caste structure. It is interesting to know that a similar conclusion was reached by Noel P Gist, based on the study of 2377 families in Bangalore and Mysore cities in Karnataka. He found that "...Brahmins,...in their occupational deviations...have remained in the high status occupations that are considered respectable for men of high birth. This tendency applies also to high caste non-Brahmins such as the Rajput, the Mudaliar and the Naidu castes. On the other hand, low-caste Hindus, such as those of the Adikarnataka or the Korama castes, are found almost entirely in low status occupations. They are the day labourers, sweepers, servants or even skilled workers. But rarely does one find them in the occupations that carry prestige. This occupational orientation, in the case of low castes may be a matter of custom, or it may be the result of exclusion from the higher occupations because low-caste men are inadequately equipped by education or training to carry out the necessary functions. It is immediately apparent from these data that a relationship does exist between the status of the caste and the status of occupation; that is, high status castes are oriented toward the high status occupations and vice-versa."2 Policy Implications The foregoing empirical results suggest that though rich as well as the poor exist in all the castes, there are certain differences in the economic status of the different castes. For instance, Brahmins, who are predominantly urban in their habitation, have few destitutes. They have a larger proportion of high income people than the other groups. This finding would imply that the demand for removing caste as a criterion for recognising the backwardness of people in Karnataka does not stand to the test of empirical scrutiny. No doubt the income criterion is necessary to identify the economically backward people. But it has got to be combined with the caste criterion as a majority of the Brahmins are also economically well off, quite apart from their higher ritual status which confers on them certain privileges. Among the dominant majority castes like the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats wide inequality of income exists and a significant portion of the population belonging to these castes is economically well off. This would suggest that the demand of the Vokkaliga community to remove the income criterion as a test for identifying backwardness for the purpose of reservations in jobs and for admission to