SOCIO-ECONOMIC STRUCTURES
Most of the people in the state are farmers or farm labourers and live in the
villages. These people are a close knit community and are ever willing to
co-operate with their fellow villagers and share their problems. Most people
earn their living through farming. The hill tribes also rear goats, sheep,
horses and mules. Some tribes earn their living by grazing cattle, crushing
stones or searching for and collecting medicinal herbs.
The villages follow a neat and orderly pattern. Each village has people,
belonging to different castes and income groups. The carpenters, the barbers,
the ironsmiths and the Kahars help the landowners with petty form jobs or other
necessary work. They are paid in kind and not in cash. These tribes also
help each other in following the rituals and customs at the time of a death or a
birth. The larger farms lie outside the villages and are owned by a few rich
landlords. People belonging to the lower castes also do begar (work with no
payment) for the landlord. The new land reforms and legislations have changed
the situation to a certain extent.
The villages follow a Panchayat system. The Panchayat is responsible for
development work within the village. The people worship the land and it is
supposed to be sinful to steal or sell it. The land is the farmer's sole,
property, although at times he is forced to pawn it. The fallow land within or
outside the village is known as shamlat. It is considered as communal property.
The settlement follows the caste pattern. The settlements of the higher caste
Brahmins, the Rajputs, the Mahajans (money lenders) are beautifully kept and
well looked after. The Rajput live close to the hills and forests. They follow
the purdah system. The moneylenders and the Khatris live to the cities. The
Brahmins live both in the rural and the urban areas. The houses of the lower
caste are usually on the outskirts of the villages. The smiths have their
foundries inside the house where they work morning and evening.
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The villages attach a great importance to brotherhood. When arranging
wedding-matches, the caste and Gotra is given importance. People prefer to marry
into families with similar backgrounds both religious and economic and into
neighbouring villages so that kinship may grow. Each caste is keen to retain its
traditions and values. The lower castes are now aware of the benefits of working
and living as a community. The joint family system is encouraged and the familiar
relationships are cherished and filial devotion is given high priority. The
sister is highly respected and other relationships are also given due
importance.
The houses are built of clay bricks and the roofs are of slate. In the hill
areas stones are used instead of bricks and timber is used for the roofs. The
cattle houses are close to the house. People prefer pucca houses. The tribals
live in double storeyed houses where the ground floor is used for the cattle and
the first floor is used as their living quarters. The labourers live in thatched
huts. The architectural patterns change from area to area. Among the gods both Aryan and non-Aryan gods are worshipped. Shiva is the
chief god among the Gaddis. Vishnu, Krishna and Buddha are also worshipped.
There is very little impact of Jainism. The Buddhist Lama religion has had a
great impact in the Lahaul, Spiti, Pangi and Kinnaur areas.
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