Notes: Making a Living | Social Studies & Pedagogy Paper 2 for CTET & TET Exams - CTET & State TET PDF Download

Livelihood is one of the most important economic activities in any country. In a developing economy like India, agriculture constitutes an extremely important aspect of the country’s GDP. It increases economic activities, flow of money, and generates employment in the economy.

• India is an agriculture-based economy. About 60% of our population is employed in the agricultural sector or related fields such as fishing, foresting, poultry, or cattle rearing. A large portion of our village population is heavily dependent on agriculture.

Livelihood

On the basis of demography and economics, the livelihoods in Indian society can be divided into two major sectors:

(i) Rural livelihood

(ii) Urban livelihood

• Rural livelihood forms a major part of the Indian economy. It is not only the largest sector but also accommodates the majority population of the country. However, as other sectors, this sector also has its own problems and disadvantages. The rural population is mainly employed in crop-related activities. Other activities in the rural sector include small-scale industries, handicrafts, and other vocations.
• Let us take a small illustration from Kalpattu village in Tamil Nadu, that is close to the sea coast. Other than farming, the villagers are involved in small industries such as making baskets, pots, bricks, bullock-carts, and so on.
• Professionals who provide essential services to the village such as blacksmiths, nurses, teachers, washer men, mechanics, and so on are also present.
• There are also people who are involved in providing food such as idli, dosa, and upma in the mornings. As every geographical area has its own crops, this village has paddy as its main crop. Most families in the village earn their livelihood through agriculture.
• Poor and landless labourers in the rural areas often spend a lot of time every day collecting firewood from the forest, getting water, and grazing their cattle. The labourers do not earn any money from these activities but they do them for the household. The family needs to spend time doing such work as they are not able to survive on the little money they earn. Nearly two-fifths of all rural families are agricultural labourers in our country. Some own small plots of land, whereas others are still landless. 
• In times of difficulties and medical emergencies, the landless families have to borrow money from moneylenders in the village. The moneylenders take undue advantage of their condition and exploit them for their selfish ends. Sometimes, villagers have to sell their cattle to pay back their loans.
• As crops are grown in a particular season, the landless families are not able to earn money throughout the year. Often, they have to travel long distances in search of work. This travel or migration takes place during particular seasons when they do not get any work in the agricultural sector.  

On Being in Debt

It is often said that Indian agriculture is a gamble. Whether you earn or not, it is decided by the nature. Many a time, when there is not enough rain, crops can also be ruined. Consequently, farmers are unable to pay back their loans. They may even have to borrow money to help their families survive. Soon, the loan becomes so large that no matter what they earn, they are unable to repay and the deplorable condition of Indian farmers persists. 

On the basis of the aforementioned account, we observe that there are three categories of farmers in India as explained below: 

1. Landless labourers: This category of farmers constitutes 20% of India’s total farming population. They depend on the work they do on other people’s fields to earn a living. Many of them are landless and others may own very small plots of land. 

2. Small farmers: In case of small farmers, the land is barely enough to meet their needs. In India, 80% of the farmers belong to this group. They lead a very hard and vulnerable life.
3. Big farmers: Big farmers constitute the rest, that is, 20%, of India’s farming class. They cultivate most of the land in the villages. A large part of their produce is sold in the market. Many of them have started other businesses such as shops, moneylending, trading, small factories, and so on.

Therefore, it can be understood that a majority of the country’s farmers are quite poor. 

Rural livelihood

Urban livelihood

To understand the economy of urban areas, we have to understand the following points:

Migrants

There are a large number of people who have migrated from villages to cities and semi-urban areas in search of work. This category constitutes the majority of working and labour class in big factories and other trades.

• A part of these people provide different small services in the city life. They include vendors, rickshaw pullers, barbers, cobblers, and other small workers in the city. They work on their own and are not employed by anyone and therefore, have to organise their own work. They have to plan how much to purchase, as well as where and how to set up their shops. Their shops are usually temporary structures; sometimes, just boards or papers spread over discarded boxes or maybe a canvas sheet hung up on a few poles. There are certain parts of the city where hawkers are not allowed to enter. This is a big ambiguity and also shows a classist character of urban lives.
• Vendors sell things that are often prepared at home by their families who purchase, clean, sort, and make them ready to sell. They include people who sell food or snacks on the streets by preparing most of them at home. There are almost one crore street vendors in the country working in urban areas. Street vending was seen as an obstruction to traffic and pedestrians. However, with the effort of many organisations, it is now recognised as a general benefit and as a right of people to earn their livelihood. 

Businesspersons

• Businesspersons are the second significant category of the urban economy. There are many people who own shops in various markets in the city. These shops may be small or large and sell different things. Most businesspersons manage their own shops or businesses. They are not employed by anyone but they employ a number of other workers as supervisors and helpers. These are permanent shops that are given a licence to do business by the municipal corporation.

Factory-Workshop Area

• In the urban economy, the third significant sector is factory-like jobs. A large number of people in the city work as casual labourers or as temporary staff. These kinds of jobs do not have a permanent status. Working conditions, salaries, and other work-related benefits are not given to people employed in this sector. 
• This may include casual labourers who work as painters or people who are employed in small factories or garment units. If workers complain about their pay or working conditions, they are asked to leave.
• There is no job security or protection if there is ill-treatment. They are also expected to work very long hours.

In the Office Area
The other significant areas of urban economy where people are employed include office-related jobs. These jobs have a permanent status. All regular employees of an organisation get regular salaries on a monthly basis. These jobs continue for a longer period of time.
Other than salary, people employed in this sector get other benefits as follows: 

1. Savings for old age 

2. Holidays 

3. Medical facilities for the family 

There are many workers in the city who work in offices, factories, and government departments as regular and permanent workers. They attend the same office or factory regularly. Their work is clearly identified and they get regular salaries. Unlike casual workers, they will not be asked to leave if the factory does not have much work. We have discussed the different economic activities engaged by people in cities. It is interesting to note that many people perform different kinds of work in cities. They have probably never met each other but it is their work that ties them together and makes them a part of the urban life.

Understanding Markets

Can we exclude our lives from the market? Certainly not. We have to visit the market for purchasing many items whether they are rarely used or used in everyday lives. We buy food, clothes, medicines, cars, and so on. There are weekly markets, street hawkers, permanent shops, local bazaars, malls, and so on. These markets have a very important role to play in our lives.

• The main objective of any market is to make things available for people and earn benefits. A market cannot be understood as single unit, rather we have to understand it as a collective agency, such as one shop is not a mall, one shop is a shop and not the market in its full sense.
• In a weekly market, people set up shops for a few hours and vacate the place. This process happens once a week; therefore, it is called a weekly market. These markets are known by the name of the day they are placed such as Wednesday market, Friday market, and so on. Many markets can be placed at a location on different days. These markets are very useful to buy things for everyday requirements. One can bargain and get cheap things from these markets. There is neither a need for huge investment for such markets nor one needs to employ people. One can place his/her shop in these markets with the help of family members. The most important advantage of such markets is that one can find all the required items at one place.
• On the other hand, there are many neighbourhood shops that are permanent in nature. These shops are also run by one or two people and fulfil the needs of people living nearby. These shopkeepers buy things from other markets and sell them at their shops so that one can get the required things easily without hassles. One can buy, milk, groceries, stationery, medicines, and so on from such shops. There may be an exclusive shop for stationery or groceries or there may be general stores which keep all these things in one shop. These may be permanent or roadside stalls.
• A mall is a bigger place having various shops or brands under a single roof. These are multistoreyed buildings where floors are divided among various kinds of needs such as one floor may be given to eatables, another for men’s wear, one for women’s wear, and so on. They may also be organised at random. Malls sell things on a relatively costly basis. A powerful brand culture has become popular in India. Malls have played a very significant role in promoting this culture. This brand culture has also popularised western life style in India.

It is also important to understand that the wholesale market is very important for other markets. People buy things from the wholesale market and sell them from their shops, weekly market, or malls. However, one has to buy a large quantity from the wholesale markets.

Understanding Equality and Market

• Various kinds of markets have been discussed in this chapter. However, these markets cannot be simply seen as a place where people buy things, rather, they have further created specific kinds of divisions in the society, which cannot be seen by the naked eyes but one has to analyse the situation with reference to the population that goes to malls and the reason for going to malls. 
• One also has to understand that a person belonging to the middle class and lower class cannot afford to buy things from malls but the society has created a kind of thought process where high class and low class are determined by the market. If we take an example of a person working in a mall, he/she cannot buy things from the mall as his/her salary does not allow the same. However, he/she observes people and results in a kind of desire, which probably is not needed, and creates issues in their lives. 
• Advertisements capture the psyche of individuals and become the cause for various problems. There are many such problems of markets which create problems in the society. Therefore, we cannot separate economics from social life.