Wide gap in literacy, employment figures for Andhra Dalit sub-groups

The Supreme Court on August 1 allowed states to create sub-categories in reservations. In this first of a three-part series, Business Standard looks at Andhra Pradesh

The most literate in the Scheduled Caste community in Andhra Pradesh has higher literacy than the state average, while less than 40 per cent in the least literate sub-group can read and write.

A similar gap exists on employment with some sub-groups having a greater proportion of people with steadier employment than others. This is based on a Business Standard analysis of the Census 2011 data, which has statistics on sub-groups at state level.
 

A Supreme Court judgment on August 1 allowed states to create sub-categories for reservations so that it could reach more segments of the population. Andhra Pradesh had moved to create sub-categories in 1997 before it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2004 on grounds including that it was beyond the powers of the state government to do so. This position has now been revised.
 

The 2011 Census shows at least 60 sub-categories within the Scheduled Caste community in Andhra Pradesh. The largest are the Madiga and Mala, or Mala Ayawaru. Each of these has over five million members. The rest are smaller, according to the census. The Adi Dravida, Adi Andhra and Relli (between 130,000 and 270,000) too are the other numerous sub-groups. Around 41 of the 60 sub-categories are those with less than 10,000.
 

Only the sub-groups with a population of at least 1,000 were considered for the analysis on education and employment. There were significant gaps in education as of 2011. The Samagara sub-group had a literacy rate of 73 per cent. It was 71.3 per cent for the Mitha Ayyalvar and 70.1 per cent for the Arwa Mala sub-groups. A number of top sub-groups thus had higher literacy than the statewide average of 59.8 per cent. Other sub-groups such as the Jaggali, Beda (Budga) Jangam, and Dakkal, or Dokkalwar, had a literacy rate below 40 per cent. This is lower than the overall Scheduled Caste literacy figure of 55.3 per cent (chart 2).

“There are castes like Mala, Mahar, Paraiah, and Pulaya, which were distanced early from ‘impure occupations’ and there was occupational mobility among them. This created migration, urbanisation and community reform among those communities, and hence the improvement in education. These communities also had access to British services, British army recruitment, and community leadership. And following Ambedkar’s path had a huge impact on them. Communities like Madigas, Arundatiyars, and Vamikies lack them, and hence their lower literacy and employment,” said Chandraiah Gopani, associate professor at the G B Pant Social Science Institute.

 

The geographical location of individual sub-castes and social reform by the government and Christian missionaries in these areas have had a bearing on their education levels, said Yagati Chinna Rao, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
 

Nine districts in coastal Andhra Pradesh and four in Rayalaseema fell under the Madras presidency, which introduced educational reforms as early as 1893.
 

A separate government labour department, established in 1920-21, undertook work for those in the labour community, largely composed of Scheduled Castes.
 

The employed were divided into two categories: Main workers and marginal workers. Main workers are those who have been employed for more than six months. Marginal workers are employed for less than six months. The analysis looked at the top and bottom three sub-groups within the Scheduled Caste community in terms of workers as a proportion of population.
 

The Mashti, Dandasi and Godagali, or Godagula, sub-groups had over 55 per cent of their populations as workers. This is higher than the Scheduled Caste average of 50.5 per cent. But many such as the Mehtar, Dhor and the Madasi Kuruva, or Madari Kuruva, communities had less than 40 per cent of their population listed as workers.
 

But the ratio of marginal versus to main workers also varies significantly, pointing to differences in employment opportunities among worker populations across sub-groups. A higher share of marginal workers can be indicative of poorer job opportunities. The share of main workers in Andhra Pradesh overall across castes was more than five times the share of marginal workers. It was lower for the Scheduled Caste community overall. Some have argued that sub-categorisation can affect solidarity among the Scheduled Caste community. Others say it can help advance those lagging behind the most.

Next: In Tamil Nadu, 85% of Dalits in top 4 sub-categories