Agricultural Labour Recruitment and the Caste System : A perspective from Newar, Parbate Hindu and Maithili society

Abstract

In South Asia, Iabour recruitment in agriculture is an important issue and is relevant to the analysis of social structure. 1. Webster (1987: 297-312) and Allen (1987: 92-103) have emphasized the custom of agrlcultural labour exchange among the Newars in the Kathmandu Valley asserting that It offers an example of the existence of the pnnclple of "horlzontal" solidarity and equality amidst the hierarchically ordered caste society. Following Das and Uberoi, Allen calls it "complementarlty" and argues that the existence of such is not unique to the Newars but can also be found in other caste-structured Hindu communities though in weaker forms. On the other hand, Dumont (1970) and especially Parry (1979: 3-4) stress the role of Inequality in structuring both inter- and intra-caste relations. Keeping this difference of interpretaion in mind, I put forward materials on agricultural labour recruitment among the Newars, Parbate Hindus, and in Mithila, compare them with other sources from India and the sub-Himalayan areas, and try to consider and clarify the significance of thls theme in the scope of the analysis of the caste system. 2. In a Newar village In the Kathmandu valley, there are three ways to recrult labour from outside the household. They are: l. bwala' (exchange labour including the 'group bwala' and 'unstructured bwala') formed mainly by caste-peers with agnatic kin as its core, 2. gwdli (help with no direct compensation), 3. jydmi (day labour). I counted about 20 parties of 'group bwala' in 1970 but only one in 1978, when villagers hired many day labourers. But even in 1978, there were many instances of 'unstructured bwala'. The importance of gwdli has been always small.