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field-work long ago. In recent years a few others have
followed in their footsteps. Of the latter a good many
are Mahommedans and Kolis—all young men—most of
whom have taken up employment as teachers in the
neighbouring villages and a few have gone away to dis-
tant places for employment.
(3) This increase in demand is again made greater by
the following fact. The joint-family system in the vil-
lage has given way in a large measure, and has been
replaced by individual families. In consequence, the
individual families of to-day require the help of outside
labourers to work in their fields whereas, in the days of
joint-family system, such outside labour was not needed.
(4) Moreover, the avenues of earnings for rural labour
have increased in the urban areas during the last thirty
years. Whereas, formerly, few people in Bulsar and
Surat required the services of patawalas, ghariwalas, sy-
ces or domestic servants, to-day it is otherwise. In addi-
tion to this demand for domestic servants, there is a de-
mand for labour from industrial centres like Kalyan where
bricks are manufactured, or from Dharsana for the salt-
pits.
Thus, on the one hand the demand for labour has in-
creased in different ways, and on the other hand the sup-
ply has decreased because of the following reason :
Dublas form a proverbially labouring community in
South Gujarat. During recent years some of them havfe
adopted the practice of purchasing small pieces of land
with a few savings made in cities to which they often mi-
grate.1 In this village during the last twenty years, out of
53 families of the Dubla community, eleven have pur-
chased land. Of the rest, fifteen cultivate land on kind-
rent ; eight migrate to different places in the off season in
1 In this respect, Atgam Is representative of South Gujarat. Cf. "Agri-
cultural labour in getting scarce and dear on 'account of the tendency
on the part of the labouring classes either to take up land for them-
selves for cultivation or to emigrate to industrial centres where high
wages are easily obtainable", p. 37, Land Revenue Administration
Report, 1923-34. *