DYNAMICS OF THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF INDIAN RURAL SOCIETY 3V
far from being uniform. The data collected on the state and national levels during last rural labour enquiries (1974-1977/8) gives us quite opposite picture: average daily earnings of male and female agricultural labourers belonging to S.C. and S.T. and of total agricultural labourers were practically equal.
One may guess that now caste does not play the role of an important variable determining the conditions of agricultural labour market.
Caste affinity and solidarity plays now much more important role in village politics and inter-group relations than in pure economic
1. In various historical ethno-cultural regions, representing sub-divisions of great Indian civilisation, the social organisation of society had many peculiarities. The author tries in this schematic presencion to sum up most common features of socio-class structure.
2. The land ownership, seen as a category of economic relations bears in itself two controls: over process of production, and primarily the usage of land, and over produced surplus product. In a feudal society the first control as a rule was vested with 'peasants', and the second one—with feudal landlords, with incessant variations.
3. Comparative analysis of caste structures in different ethno-cultural regions of India shows that the basic framework of Indian caste system was formed by socio-class organisation of Indian village communities.
4. In certain cases these rights were conferred also on 'village zamindars'.
5. In some regions concentration of land with 'big mirasdars' was very high already in early 19th century For instance, in Tanjore district 32 per cent and in Tinnevelly district 22 per cent of villages belonged to ekabhogam type, that is belonged to one mirasdar.
6. This process was most prominent in areas where agriculture was more commercialised, as, for instance, in Punjab and cotton belt of Central India.
7. In the process of distribution among landless labourers land acquired under Land Ceiling Acts certain groups of them, especially in West Bengal and Kerala changed their status becoming small and marginal cultivators. But many of them continued hire out their labour thus transforming themselves from 'pure' labourers in semi-labourers.