Socio-economic deprivation of Muslims in lock and lac industries: a comparative study of Aligarh and Hyderabad

Abstract

The title of the thesis is Socio-Economic Deprivation of Muslims in Lock and Lac Industries: A Comparative Study of Aligarh and Hyderabad . The focus of the study is to examine dispossession and loss of downtrodden Muslim workers of Aligarh lock industry and Hyderabad lac industry respectively. Deprivation of Muslim workers have been examined in terms of (a) material deprivation, (b) Social deprivation, (c) multiple deprivation viz. low income, poor housing and unemployment. The present study is primarily based on field work carried out during April 2009 to March 2010 in Aligarh (U.P.) and Hyderabad (A.P.). newlineThe objectives of this study are to explore the socio-economic deprivation of Muslims in Aligarh Lock Industry (Uttar Pradesh) and Hyderabad Lac Industry (Andhra Pradesh) within the framework of relative deprivation. Important issues in this study are as follows: (1) Selected socio-economic indicators viz., family background, education, income, housing status, health and hygiene and political dimension of the respondents are to be assessed in Aligarh and Hyderabad. (2) To explore the causes and consequences of socio-economic deprivation of Muslims in the lock and Lac industries. (3) To examine, whether the Muslim children supplement to their family income? (3) To assess how and why the Muslims in lock and lac industry are socially and economically deprived. newlineResearcher planned to collect data using schedule, case study and participant observation. The reason for choosing schedule is obvious. It ensures reliability of data unlike questionnaire. Besides, many respondents being illiterate, schedule is the right choice. As for as case studies is concerned researcher has chosen case study as a technique because it can help in gathering qualitative data to supplement quantitative data related to the problem under investigation. Participant observation as a technique of data collection has been a method of enhancing understanding. It has been of great help in getting insights into the problem under investigation.