Intergeneration Occupational mobility Patterns in the Fringe villages of Nagaon Town, Assam

Abstract

Occupational mobility is the characteristics of recent times along with the development of
diversification in economic activities. More particularly, the mobilization is intense when it is located
around the town. The literacy also plays a major role in the intergenerational occupation mobility,
which clearly implies that people shifts their occupation with their educational attainment, but
generation wise as the importance of literacy is realized in the recent times. So the mobility is more in
the present generation. Such patterns are also observed in the fringe villages of Nagaon town where
the occupational mobility has been observed with the growth and expansion of town and literacy.
Correspondingly, the people of the fringe villagers have started to shift increasingly from agricultural
to non-farm sector. The results shows that the occupational mobility is distinct between the two fringe
types, inner fringe with more increase in shift of occupations than the outer fringe type of villages.
With this background the present paper attempts to explore the changing pattern occupational
mobility over three generations of fringe villagers of Nagaon town, considering grandfather, father
and present generations. For these, Census of India data (1971-2011) has been used for literacy and
occupation in the study area and primary household survey was also employed to understand the
realities in proper perspectives.