Occupational mobility
Topic: Gender, Religion and Caste in Politics · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 3 "Gender, Religion and Caste"
Meaning
Occupational mobility means people moving from one kind of work to another. The usual case is a new generation that takes up different work from its parents and grandparents. Under the caste system, a person's job was passed down by birth. When children leave their family's traditional work, that link breaks. NCERT lists occupational mobility, along with economic development, urbanisation (more people moving to towns and cities), education and the weakening of village landlords, as a force that is breaking down the old caste hierarchy (the ladder that ranked castes from "highest" to "lowest").
Example
A potter's son in a village studies and becomes a bank clerk in a city. The job his caste was once tied to no longer decides his work or his place in society.
Don't confuse with
- Sanskritisation: a lower caste copies upper-caste customs to claim higher status. Occupational mobility is a change of job, not a change of rituals or lifestyle.