Socio-cultural practices influencing economic activities in rural Odisha?

Pages: 179-183
Atmaja Acharya (Department of Sociology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry)

The state Odisha has a rich history of heritage and cultural traditions. However multiplicities of causes are explained by earlier authors in economic terms to explain the poverty of the state. Many national development reports too ranked the state as poorest in the country. The dearth of researches was however evident establishing alternative causes of backwardness. The present paper in the regard is unique to find out socio-cultural factors responsible for the backwardness. For the purpose Kendrapara district in the state of Odisha was selected for study. Socio-cultural practices were summed up under festival & health, social interactions, community life, tobacco consumption and participation in governance by rural folks through factor analysis. Economic activities included dimensions such as agricultural inputs and time spent for earning activities. Socio-cultural practices like festivals & health, Social interactions, community life, tobacco consumption and participation in governance were found to be significantly related to agricultural inputs and time spent for earning activities. These socio-cultural dimensions through regression analysis explained the extent to which these affect economic activities of rural folk.