Socio - Economic Structrues

Most of the people in the state are farmers or farm labourers and live in the villages. These people are a close knit community and are ever willing to co-operate with their fellow

The villages follow a neat and orderly pattern. Each village has people, belonging to different castes and income groups. The carpenters, the barbers, the ironsmiths and the Kahars help the landowners with petty form jobs or other necessary work. They are paid in kind and not in cash. These  tribes also help each other in following the rituals and customs at the time of a death or a birth. The larger farms lie outside the villages and are owned by a few rich landlords. People belonging to the lower castes also do begar (work with no payment) for the landlord. The new land reforms and legislations have changed the situation to a certain extent.

The villages follow a Panchayat system. The Panchayat is responsible for development work within the village. The people worship the land and it is supposed to be sinful to steal or sell it. The land is the farmer's sole, property, although at times he is forced to pawn it. The fallow land within or outside the village is known as shamlat. It is considered as communal property.

The settlement follows the caste pattern. The settlements of the higher caste Brahmins, the Rajputs, the Mahajans (money lenders) are beautifully kept and well looked after. The Rajput live close to the hills and forests. They follow the purdah system. The moneylenders and the Khatris live to the cities. The Brahmins live both in the rural and the urban areas. The houses of the lower caste are usually on the outskirts of the villages. The smiths have their foundries inside the house where they work morning and evening.

The villages attach a great importance to brotherhood. When arranging wedding-matches, the caste and Gotra is given importance. People prefer to marry into families with similar backgrounds both religious and economic and into neighbouring villages so that kinship may grow. Each caste is keen to retain its traditions and values. The lower castes are now aware of the benefits of working and living as a community. The   joint family system is encouraged and the familiar relationships are cherished and filial devotion is given high priority. The sister is highly respected and other relationships are also given due importance.

The houses are built of clay bricks and the roofs are of slate. In the hill areas stones are used instead of bricks and timber is used for the roofs. The cattle houses are close to the house. People prefer pucca houses. The tribals live in double storeyed houses where the ground floor is used for the cattle and the first floor is used as their living quarters. The labourers live in thatched huts. The architectural patterns change from area to area. Among the gods both Aryan and non-Aryan gods are worshipped. Shiva is the chief god among the Gaddis. Vishnu, Krishna and Buddha are also worshipped. There is very little impact of Jainism. The Buddhist Lama religion has had a great impact in the Lahaul, Spiti, Pangi and Kinnaur areas.