ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the loosening of ties of patriarchy among Gounders in Coimbatore villages that underwent agrarian transition in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. It focuses on Gounders in villages in western Tamil Nadu that were drawn into a process of industrialisation in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Gounders from better-connected villages who migrated early to Tiruppur and settled there were prominent in the development of the Tiruppur knitwear industry. The Gounders on whom the chapter focuses came into the Tiruppur knitwear industry late by which time it had become much more difficult to enter successfully. The village economy was predominantly agricultural in 1981-82 when the majority of Gounders were agriculturalists and agricultural labourers. Agriculture was based on land irrigated by large open wells and dry land on which rain-fed crops were grown. The chapter reviews changes with respect to marriage, fertility decline and the child sex ratio (CSR) in the sections on the 2008-09 position later.
