Resource information
This report is based on a field study of
two large settlements, Satghara (a census town) and
Bhagwatipur (a rural cluster with 10,000 plus population) in
the Madhubani district of Bihar. The study explores the
social dynamics of the rural non-farm economy by empirically
mapping non-farm occupations in both the settlements. It
examines the dynamics of caste, community, and gender within
the social organization of the non-farm economy in terms of
their economic and social hierarchies and the differential
incomes and status they provide. The study also looks at the
relationship of the local non-farm economy with patterns of
outmigration. It further attempts to understand the manner
in which the changes in the regional structures of power and
domination have influenced the local economic processes and
are being influenced by them with a specific focus on the
non-farm economy in the two setting. The study also attempts
an assessment of the possible development and urbanizing
effects of the rather rapid growth of nonfarm economy in
rural Madhubani.
