Introduction
The Jajmani system was a very important economic institution in traditional rural India. It provided a degree of economic security to various hereditary occupational groups in a relatively closed and non-monetised economy. In fact, some traces of Jajmani system are found even today in the countryside. It consists of exchange of services or goods with or without money.
For example, exchange of goods or services exists between the village landlords and the castes or person, which render services or supply goods or services, Earlier the term Jajman was used for the person/s who patronised a Brahmin’s services but later it acquired a wider meaning to include all recipients of goods or services in the Jajmani system. The Kamin is also referred to as purajan or pardhan in some parts of country. In Karnataka Jajmani system is called “barabahti system” in Karnataka it is known as “aya system” and in Andhra Pradesh it is called “mera pardhati”.
Studies
| Sociologist | Field study |
| D. N Majumdar | Lucknow, U.P |
| Kathlene Cough | Tanjore, T.N |
| Wiser | Karimpur |
| S C Dube | Hyderabad |
| Pauline Kolenda | Kohlapur |
| Oscar Lewis | Study of Jajmani system in North Indian Villages |
| Opler & Singh | Investigations of Jajmani System in India |
| Thomas Beidelman | A Comparative Analysis of the Jajmani System |
Definition of Jajmani
- According to Harold Gould, Jajmani system is: An inter- familial intercaste relationship pertaining to the patterning of super ordinate- subordinate relations between patrons and suppliers of services.
- Yogendra Singh says that a system governed by relationship based on reciprocity in inter-caste relations in villages is Jajmani system.
- Pauline Kolenda defines that Jajmani system as an institution or social system within Indian villages made up of a network of roles and of norms integrated into the roles and into the system as a whole legitimises and supported by general cultural values.
- Ram Ahuja says that the durable relation between a landowning family and the landless families that supply them with goods and services is called the Jajmani system.
Features
According to the researches of D.N. Majumdar, Iravati Karve, R. Ishwaran, Thomas Beidleman, Harold Gould, Pauline Kolenda, Henry Orenstein and William H. Wiser, the main features of Jajmani system are as follows.
- Jajmani relations are between families not between individuals. For example, the land owing Thakur family in a village gets all its clothes washed from one particular Dhobi family, not from any Dhobi family. The obligation of the Dhobi towards his Thakur Jajman and those of the Thakur family to the dhobi family are passed on from one generation to another and sanctioned by tradition.
- More often, jajman , the persons receiving services or goods belong to that land owning or higher castes while the Kamin supplying them belong to the lower or the so-called ‘unclean’ castes.
- Jajmani relations do not always involve economic considerations only. At times, particularly during festive occasions or life-cycle ritual in the Jajmani’s family, the serving castes or kamins provided specialised services as a matter of duty. D.N. Majumdar gives an interesting example of how in an UP village the lower castes render their services to the high caste Thakur family during the birthday celebrations in the latter’s household. He writes, “at the birth feast of a child, Brahmin presides over the ceremony of “Nam-Sanskran” (gives a name), Sunar (goldsmith) provides the gold ornament for the new-born, Dhobi (washerman) washes dirty clothes, Nai (barber) carries messages, Khati (carpenter, provided a wooden stool (patta on which the child is kept for the ceremony, Lohar (black-smith) provides kara (iron bangles), Kumbar (potter) provides (jugs) kulhar for keeping cooked vegetables and drinking water, Pasi provides patal (leaf-plates) for taking food, and Bhangi(scavenger) cleans the place after the feast. All people who help receive gifts of food, money and clothes depending partly on custom, partly on Jajman’s affluence, and partly on the recipient’s entreaty”.
- It is interesting to note that lower castes make their own jajman- like arrangements based on payments in cash or kind. These arrangements are not as elaborate as the Jajman relations they have with the upper castes. Generally, as per tradition payments are made during harvesting time in the form of grains. In addition, the jajman may give clothes, gifts, cash, etc., at other times of the year and let the kamins use other facilities like grazing on his lands and free supply of cowdung for fuel. Harold Gould made a list of all such considerations, which a kamin gets, from his jajman. These are –free residence site, free food for family, free clothing, free food for animals, free timber, free dung, rent free land, credit facilities, opportunity for supplementary employment, free use of tools, implements and animals, free hides, aid in litigation, free funeral pyre lot and free use of raw materials.
- The Jajmani system operates in a normative context and is bound by duties, rights and privileges sanctioned by tradition. The dominant castes uphold its traditions.
Is the Jajmani System Exploitative?
There is no agreement among anthropologists as to the exploitative nature of Jajmani system. Some anthropologists like Thomas Beidleman, and Barnouw hold that the system is basically exploitative in as much as the rich land holding castes take servicing castes tend to get underpaid for the goods/ services supplied and are often forced into servicing the jajmans.
However, some other anthropologists like Pauline Kolenda, Harold Gould and David Pockok disagree with the view that the Jajmani system is exploitative. Ram Ahuja in his book, ‘The Indian social system’ lists several arguments in support of the second view. These are,
- (a) there is an element of interdependence, not exploitation, in Jajmani system. For example, the Kamins render a range of services, which the Jajmans help their Kamins on many social occuasions without necessarily receiving any service or goods,
- b) the Kamins are not forced to sell their goods or services only to a single jajman or only to a particular group of upper caste families. They are free to offer their services to a wide range of clientele in the village.
- (c) Both the Jajman and Kamin bring any infringement on either side to the notice of caste councils which mediate and
- (d) Traditional norms and expectations bind the jajmans to be paternalistic and benevolent to their Kamins since the system does not operate exclusively in an economic context. It forms the cultural set up of rural India.
Decline of Jajmani System
The Jajmani system has been on the decline ever since the rural economy underwent changes introduced by the British. The process of transformation of the rural economy and its socio- cultural milieu is a continuous process. It has picked up momentum particularly after independence.
We may list out the several factors responsible for the weakening of the Jajmani system.
- a) Monetisation of the economy,
- (b) Emergence of commercial attitude,
- (c) Established of banks, co-operative institutions in rural areas
- (d) Integration of rural markets through means of transportation and the market assistance programmes of governmental agencies.
- (e) Migration of occupational groups to urban centers in search of better economic opportunities,
- (f) Availability of factory made goods in the countryside,
- (g) Political awareness and organisation among backward classes and scheduled castes.
- (h) Weakening of the association between castes and occupations.