60 SOCIAL SCIENTIST the rest of the year, the peasant and members of his family "hire^ themselves out as "wage labourers". 22 Two main groups constitute the poor peasants. They are the Varlis officially listed as tribal, and the Machis, the nshermen-cum-farmers. This distinction is important for two reasons; 1) Statistically the tribals constitute 62 per cent of the total population, and have a history of having successfully participated in a revolutionary struggle-They support the CPI (M). The Machis are numerically a minority; 2) With their dual occupation they are said to be not only relatively better off but also less liable to exploitation. Yet by and large neither Varii nor Machi owns the land he tills. 2 8 Credit for this achievement goes to the peasants who fought for it and to the CPI(M). The terms of acquisition of land were also made very favourable, that is, the land that the peasant tills becomes his own but on condition he buys it. Cost of land is estimated as twenty times the revenue rate. Provisions were made for payment by easy instalments stretching over several years. 24 The records of land transferred from a landlord to a tenant are very clear, but those transferred to members ofone^s own family members are deliberately messy. 25 Except when the poor peasant-owner (Varii) dies without a child and there is no one to inherit the land. 86 Stanny Miranda, in Asha^hod: Our Efforts to Fight for Justice reports that "through deception the landlords take possession of the land of their ex-tenants". Ashaghod is 2 kms away from Saravali. 27 Manfordpada of Saravali and Dhanu together can boast of 113 small-scale industries. But the total labour power it can absorb is only 1964. Fhe average wage rate is Rs 1.75. Most of these establishments are not covered by the Factory Act. Therefore, free labour is also exacted by deception. 28 To counter this form of exploitation the zilla parishad introduced palemode eradication scheme. It is a failure because of two main reasons: 1) Bureaucratic delay in releasing the loan; 2) bribery and corruption at the lower level. According to the last available record,that is,of 1971, the average loan taken is Rs 40 per person. According to the Kosbad survey 1975,24 Adivasis and 2 non-Adivasis have utilized this facility. 29 Except perhaps on a small portion of his land which is legally necessary for him tc» hold on to his vast estates. 80 The Machis claim they do not fall prey to such chicanery. They keep count of time 8 l Another method of depressing wages is to import labour. Labour contractors supply the necessary labour. They are also tied to him by small loans. 82 Our survey indicated that a poor peasant household with a larger number of employed adults is relatively better off than a small family with only two adults and children. 88 Both bales are tightly packed and carts overloaded. 81 The mode of exploitation of industrial labour is not dealt with as it is beyond the scope of this article.