Indebtedness of the Scheduled Castes Agricultural Labour Households: A State-Wise Analysis

Studies focusing on the indebtedness of agricultural labour households belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCLHs) are seldom seen. In this paper, therefore, an attempt is made to study the incidence as well as extent of indebtedness of agricultural lobour households belonging to the Scheduled Castes. State wise cross section data pertaining to five time points (1974-75, 1977-78. 1983, 1987-88 and 1991-94) available through Rural Labour Enquiry reports have been used for the analysis. It Is found that the share of institutional debt in the total debt of SCLHs has increased from 5.76 per cent in 1974-75 to 30.10 per cent in 1993-94. Similarly, the share of productive purpose debt to the total debt of the same group has also increased from 8.81 per cent to 21.63 per cent daring the same period. While the incidence of indebtedness of the Scheduled Castes labour househalds has deClined between 1974-75 and 1993-94 inmost of the states, the same is found to be higher than the national level average among the agriculturally advanced states at all time points. The average amount of debt (in real value) of the Scheduled Castes lobour. households has increased between 1974-75 and 1993-94 in almost all the states, but the value of debt is found to be smaller among the agriculturally less developed status. It appears from the analysis that the extent of indebtedaess of agricultural labour households is higher in those states that have higher percentage of landless labour households, percentage of the Scheduled Castes, labour households to the total agricultural labour households and share of productive purpose debt to the total debt.