Pushed Out or Pulled in? Self Employment Among Indigenous People
This paper examines the decision of indigenous people to enter self employment with special reference to Jharkhand. The indigenous people in India, better known as scheduled tribes, are aligning themselves with the mainstream population, albeit rather slowly. They are leaving their traditional way of earning livelihood and increasingly opting for both paid and self employment. In order to better understand this trend of increasing self employment among indigenous population and the role that entrepreneurship can play in empowering them, the researchers conducted a quantitative survey among the self employed people from indigenous communities in Jharkhand. The study examined various motivations behind the decision to opt for self employment and differences in motivations amongst indigenous communities across different parts of the state. The findings suggest that people from indigenous communities choose to enter self employment when they fail to join paid employment, especially of their choice. There was spatial difference among indigenous people when it comes to positive motivation propelling self employment.