,iiJ:MeJf~i.Q. lii.TiJ!UE: I~~uzr~aesungs.

Any study on the leisure time activities of the

ecll-ag0 students would not be complete i.f 1t tails to taktt

account of those socially tabooed activities in which. they

indul9e in. Activities such as movies, reading,playing games,

going to c;afe etc. fall within the purview of socially

approved. leisure pursuits. In cont :rast the society froWhs

upon dating, smoking* drf.n:king, drug taking and gambllng­

ectlvf.ties which Kolli.RtjSbed (1967) has called "fGrbtdden.

pleasures!' ftorbidden pleasures, commonly viewed unhealthy

end destructive• a.re widely pursued by CQllege student e

in their search for pleasure. even if lt entails the breaking

of the tocial convention&. The students b.ave en atlllcU:eness of

the soeial noms tbat fo,J:'blc:ls their indulgence in such

unhealthy praetice.a. Consequently, they do not freely talk

a·bout these activities for they fear social condemnation.

This becam·e quite apparent during thQ course of our t.i.eld

\I'IO.t:k when the student.& initially appe.ared to be va.ry secretive

or unusually guarded tn tb&ts- re$pon·ses when e&sked about the

$UI:tj ect. of forbidden pl•asure$. In the words of Holllngshod

they mat.ntalnn a •conspiracy of silence• (1967.:.260); ··for to

t&cogn.t.se tbe existence of such a.ctS.vlt tee ls c0ns.tdered .

bad an<~ to admit tbeb violatl~ lti wicked. T:be seerGe.y

tbus helps the ·Sttidents tc c '~'lY on tht1k elandeatlrte activf.t£J1

without fear of ectal t:tlllft&:~ Until thoy are found out they

ccmt.lnue 'o cbserv• cv~rtly t.hose very social mores that

deny tb~ the right to enjoy tbe p.leas.ures derived frcm

datln~h smoking. drinking, gambling or d:rug takin!l ·etc.

:rn fact tbe very mystery tbat surrounds these

clandestine activities lends them a special value whiGh

stimulates colle<ge etttdents to &Kpe.rience the thrills the

sot;iety denies thGD:t. The students ar& aware that by

maintaining this secr<tcy which shrows the clandestine

violation of mor&s how mueh easier it is to wold t<llbcos

if they maintain discretion about bow. v.4lere and undet: ~Alat

circumstaDeftS these activi:tie$ Ci:ould be cenvenisntly earrf.ed

on.

Since participation 1n informal discretionary

activities does not imply only the soeiall.y approved

activit 1es, that is leg1t.imate leisure (dtscus$ed in

Ctuapter VI) special care was taken to includ$ in our st.wy

SOtaQ questions dealing wi:tti the other aspect o! s.elf'•

sponsored leisure that scales into clandestih\t ac::tivtttes

so as to obtain a m.ore rounded p1ctu:re ef the toti:J 'J/t'ange of

approved as well as t6booed ple.asures J.n \Vhich th$ col.bui.J~

students tend to parlld.Pa te duria4l their let;:au:ro time.

Since our pUl"P')Ge here 1G not. tG .pll'obe that aspe1;t

of such activities tbst bo:N•J:& on aodi,-tion/ebus{l bt.rt only

to reveal th&h other dillens!on as leisure purslllts to which

the oolle{l)O students are ·f»fPi)Ged·1 we havo r0frain .• d from

attempting .any dlscusslGJlS c~ the drut culturG a:s sucb1 es

it is l>eyond tho scop$ of tble study. But as stated eaJrller

our appr-oi.l,ch bere ls strlc;tly exploratory w!tb the obj ~ctlve

•

70

60

~ 0 H 50 8 <1j P-i H 0 H 8

40 ~ P-i

~ c..? <tl 8 30 ...,.. N 0

ei P-i

20

10

PERCEN'rAGE PAR1'ICIPA'l'ION OF STUDENTS IN · " ~D

SELF SPONSORED ACTIVITIES: TABOOLPLEASURES

(\J

co . 0 \.!)

0 :y H 8 <1j ~~

['-G- , . en '

<'J ;z. H L .4 ,,_, 0 {:~ u1

I'<\ 0' . 0

r_')

z H ~ Zi H ~ A

['- (\J

Lf\ ' 0> . 0 .:t .

I'<\

H 0 ~ ~ H

~ 0 8 ~ (/)

8 H 0 1-=1 8

~ CQ ~ ~ H crt ~ A 0

to und~stancJ the extent to ~tlieh th~ students part.$.c:;ipat~

in sue b. aet i vit i~s.

The very fc;ct that the majQrity of the students

an-swel'ed tbe qyesttons relating to c:d;&Qdestine aetlvl'ttee

goes to prove that larply under conditions sf an·ortymttyt

d·esplte the apparent cloak of secreccy surrounding such

activities. the students werQ prep~red .to admit their

participation in tbem.

Table-..41 (also see Pi90re VI) rev(lals the percentage

partictpaticn ef •tudea't$, both male and female against ei\C'h

of the activity. As is clear d~tlng 14 the most populat

clandestine activity among the majority of collage t;tudents,

followed l'Jy amokil'hJ•· dritlld.n91 dru; taki-ng and. gambllng.

HoWGVqr1 a $1t1all minority of students participate ln a.lllo.$t

all actlvtt1ee. .Stu4ent.a part.tcipa\ion ln dat tng ws$ record~d

to b:e· more than tiU'ee time& that of the otb.er olandesttne

acttvlttes. Mtghe$t part1o1pat1on ln t'b'ls act.ivtty SUgqeSt~s.

that UKJJ:·e student.s wll U .. ngly flaunt. the Gat lng taboo then tbq

others. The social noms that define the ass0¢latlona1'

pattern .of s:exos forbid their free mbd.no. Boys and girls

'brou~ht Up under tbe direct supeJrVls.ion t:f the -rents ln a

gen•rally conservatlY4 envt~Cil'l1neRt a;e aware tbat the

St)$$.tty forbldG the frtoti41y assoclatiert and free1ixin9

witb the menlber& of tba oppeslte sex. Although student$

<:arry wt.th them the values of •'do's• aftd ~on•tst,, I'Mmrnered

early tn t~.n. into the <:ollege situation, thelr assoclational

-#227:-

pattern with tbels- friends, clique mates and members of the

opposite sex tend to change in the freer atmosph~re of the

college. It also signifies a br,aakdown in the sociallsat ton

process leading to a change in tbe value system. In the

traditional order wh<tn boys ilnd 9irls were married with the

attainment of pUI;)erty-pre-marttal ketro-sexual frictndships

were largely redundeAt. Today, the <t(}G at marriage is higher

botb in terms of legal presumptions and aocietal expectations .•

FUrther• wornen.s entry into employment market, facilitates .even

Aeeessitates hetro·-sexual friendships. That ts there is a

"tension" or •oppositlon° between •traditional' expectations

and 'modern• social situation. Prom almost exclusive

interaction with members ef their own sex some of them begin

to prefer mixed asseclat.lon~l pattern in college wbleh ovet a

period ef time may develop into closer ftieftdsbl.p between

members of .the eppeslte seM• Vihen this happens., 1nst·ead of .

f' iJUU.ftg satisfaction within the o lique a students interest

begtns to be focussed en btG date who tben tend to spend

more of their leisure time t<.HJE'tber.~. As the· dating relation

becomes more regular he begins to lose :J.ntere"st ln ttle cllque.

In many cases the clique t.tes ar0 completely S$vered and got

drawn to an -$tn0tlonal bond, which appeared to be all 1mpot:tant

to the stud•nte. tfGwever •. ttte cltque mates J:emain f.riends,.

They meet occaeionally,. may go cut together fo:r: •old times

sake' rather than fer any actively felt current need,,,1 \\then

this pba.se !s reached when clique members ceased to feel

constrained to abide by the codes onGe be.lieved to be the

most irnport.ant thing in the \'l40rld, the Giiqua b~comes non-

( Students participation in taboeed pleasure -

Activit lest Particip~tion Non-participation

(figs in percentage)

1. Dating 60.82 39.18

2. Smoking 18.97 en.o3

3~ Drinldng 10~93 B9.rtt

4. Dl."Ug taking 5.~7 94.43

5. Gambling 4~12 95~88

6. Almost all 3.0':i 96.91

operation.al and ts virtually dellJid• unless dtsappO·i.ntment

lll love bring-s back the person into the .cllque fold to seok

so.laoe and. to get over tbe emotlona 1 disturbence.. Tills

shows that $ttract.ton for tho opposite sex directly tbreatena

the no1-,nal maintenance of the clique. tie.s. A stud:ent

c;:aught in a network of soelal and bicloglcttal forces Whlch

at:trac.t and repel him from one axis to the oti\Gr-dat~e aRd

ellqu~f~en faces a dilemma of adjustment.. The ·~l:Lque

sati.sfi·es his desires. fo:r intimate re.lattons with members

of bis own sex with whom he can share expe;-1e noes, but it

does not s~isfy his bioleu;d~ca¥d:r:1ves to associate wttb a

person of the oppOsite sex, and in the long runt it ts the dating t:e.l.~tion vJbt: h sup~rsed.ed hi$ cltquo needs. The,

maximum p~.~ticlpation lt't dating among college stUdents

therefore suggests tbelr urge to satisfy their need for

closer, intimate relations with members of the op·<osite sex

even at the expenS$ of clique ties, and the breach of $0$la1

norms.

In c-ontrast tc dating whieb threatens the very

"x1stenct) of clique ties, acquisition of knowledge and the

means of overid:ing the taboos against smoking• d:l'inking al$11)hol,1

drug taking and even gambling takes place largely w1th1n the

clique circle,. Studeftta learn to experiment 'I.'Yitb tabooed

a~tivitlee oft~ in S$SCclation with their clique mates,.

Having transgressed the norms once without being (!aught•

some of thfl!!m grow bolder apeeially about smoking and can

be seen indulging in this activity openly lrfanteens• hangot.'tS•

even onpates. It l$ si.gnifie4tnt to note th<it smoking itt the

only activity that some dare to purtn.t-e in the open, that too

strictly males, none of the other tabooed activities arc;

!.ndu1ged in fre~ly and ln open. This also sigr.d.ft&s that

society 1$ more te;lerant towards smo.king than any other

tabooed pleasure. lt also rel14!tets that the olasttct:ty of

social permls.sS.v·enes:s vari'eG from taboo to taboo.

A& stated 1!at1ler i.t ts the c.lt.que that tn1tiatea &n

individual into tb.e tbtllls o.f ctam:testtne culture. If

member$ of one1:s cltq·ue &mokG, one is almost compelled by

the press-ures 1nberent ln the .gmup t·o smoke,. But 1f one

belongs to the c11qu.e ln ~Jhich smoking l!i frowned upon,,on~

lose.s Gllqu+steem by sMtdnt-. and if tha vtol,mtt.on of cltqUO

eode ,continue.& it mlgbt lead to exptd.sion.. To be in a ollque

in vmieb socially tabooed a<:tivlties are a part of lts

culture one bas to participate in them to ensure the clique

cont.inuity. fox one•s membership is d.ependent upon the

Gonformlty t.o tbe values held by tbe majority of the group•

whether they are PJ>Sitive cr negative. This exhibits the

trnportaru:;e of subculture in the case of tabooed pleasurt!

~rmich ls applicable to all{tbe members of the clique who

.part1~1pate in tabooed pleasures,

After dating, smeking is the most violated taboo~

~ctivity 1n v.bieh nearly 19% stud·ents f.'lre found to indulge.

on.:e bavi.ng tasted the tabooed thrills of smoking most of the

students who smoke •. generally find lt difficult to give Up

the habit. In fact the urge to smoke at times is so

compelling that th.ey seek the most opportune ttma and private

place evall$bla t.o hav.e a quick •smoke'• For instan.ce a

male student tQv.ea led to us that#

,.,. ~-SmOking has become e habit_ with me. I.n college its ·no problem bUt at hamo I ·have to be very carefutt!i'. ·You tmow tt is ,":J top secret, my parents. vdll be shoc.:·._.··tted if tbey CQ_··.m_. ~·to Rnow that l smoke.. .. No otu.l in our fant11y ba$ (!Vel' smokecit.c .I just $tarted for. the hoek of tt. beeause my frl>Ql'lds also smol~e. l..ater I trtod to ·give it up but just ~ouldn*t1 the urge is tl!O strong •. l mU$t smQke after my d~nar, it kind.' -of.· .. ;refre$bte ~rt so lliust stroll out of the house. r Tid& shoW$,. that filaode.stine paJ:"ticlpation wntcl'

tnit ia lly springs f~om an urge to \U{P$rienctJ t.he forbidden ·

thr1lts o-tt:en cq,s;talll:$tl;!$ into iB bit$ wnkh a~lpear d.iffte.ult

to give up.. In some cas· s. wh$r~ the family also indulges

-t231:- .

1n this practice, lt pJWvldes a congenial background for the

children 'to pick up this activity from home without fea·r of

censor. But in cases where tho stud~nt breaks the elnti­

smoking ·code of the fam·ily the sancti<ms are severe. It

not only implies disregard for prevailing noms but also

defiance of parental authority. Our findings show that

only a smallfmtnority of students violate the anti-smoking

norm. lbe non-participation rate in this ae~1v1ty was

noted to btl as high as 91% suggesting that inspite of the

partial break-down of parental authority. greater freedom

of choice; and the strong p~er influell'Ce only a small section

of tbe collage students seek pleasure in smoking.

Drinking and drug takin9 are those act1v1ties that

are nover donE! in open. As compared to smoking, drinking

is confined tl'l only 10.93% of the sample. Drug taking on the

ot.ber hand was found prevalent among only 5. 57% of the sample.

Its participation rate was noted to be one third cf smoking

and one half of drtn1dng. These two activities entail the

violation of more stri.ng.ent taboos than smoking and perhaps.

for 'his reason ,.~lle students are willing· to admit

part·lc:tpatton ln smoking, .. their indultence in tbGse two

acttvlttea are closelv guarded by~i'ntalntng tbe ·itconsptracy

of $ilen.ce•., Although most of the college students and

even the hostel wardens. itt &11 the thJ;"ee colleges did echo

the prevalence of SU·cb practices among some of the students

in inf<u.mal discussions, offb:1al1y they dodged the

information abGut these setivit;ie.s and frowned upon our

-t232t-

efforts to find o•Jt the facts. Perhaps they feared that

more violations of the norms \Vould be discovered tha~ they

believed actually existed among the studMts. this reluctance,

to :revGal or to learn the extent of college students

part!cd.patton iA tabooed behaviour p$:tha·ps stemmed from

the anxietty that the revea !at ion might prove to be ~barrass ing

for the stud,ents as well as to the concemed instlttittons»

Nevertheless, we continued to probe this aspect of clandestine

behaviour and slowly our perslstence paid off when s~ •tnsidot"S•

er •know alls' were wtllint t.o talk about th9se activities•

but with an understanding that no names wlll be revealed and

no etorles carried• that ls under strict annenymit.y they were

willing to talk. According to the information gathered tbls way

vJe war~ able to know that drinking and drug tak,.ng ·a:re strictly

pr&Gtlaed 1n a very tight circle of fri.ends. Usually these become

exelus ive rp'ou·ps as only a few student.s wo·uld like to be

asaocl.ated with those students. who v:lolate the drinking and

drug taboos,. be it fOJ' pleasure or abuse. Basically drinking I

and drug taking behaviour raquires the t.ran;gresslon of

ttrong pressures;. even emotional b!oeks before a student.·

succumbs to the lure of tb&se pleasures.; Hts early

sotd .. alt.zat.ton .batt deftn~ tl'lese ac·tlvlt1es as 'bad• antt,

therefore •. to he avolded... But a·s he gro\VS old and gatns

more independence he learns that these taboos are observed

more lll~·violation·ttban confomntty.,: In College he Sees hSs

f)Ge:rs flaunting tbt ncJ;lfts and enjoying the forbidden

pleasures, in fact tbe sthlu1u.s ·which motivates a student

to violate the a lQOhol and drug taboos are often provid«J

-:2331•

1n t.be peer group. Peel.~ group culture defb'les participation

J.n the!iie aetiv1 tie$ as symtrol1c of becoming a ·•man • 1 aftd to

prove that ~ should have at.least tas1;ed 11quol'.

Clique mates wtto drink and take drugs de so 1n

relative secreey not otdy to experience the forbidden thrills

but. also ·to see its ~fter effects. Us,ually re\\d1nees 1 loud,

high and Aoisy &cene'S are the Eucpected after-effects of

cb:·tnking, whlle 'dopey• or •mooney• are those of drug taking.

iy mai.ntalrd.ng the secrecy the st~enta take the necessary

precaution against being caught while still 'high' or 'dopeyl

Clique drinking was often an accepted way to celebrat·e

special events s:"eb a$ birthday• vletory in sports or wtnnln.g

an awar:d. On such occasiens excessive drinking cannot be

ruled out. Drugs ere rarely taken on such oecaslons. In

fa¢.'t consumpttoa of drugs ar,e confin.ed to &ven a more tlghte~

and smaller t;lrcle than drinki.nt:h Despite the belief that

d:tugs, drintdng iat·c,. are wtde<-$1)l'ead among the college

students our findings tndl.eate that such olaftdesttne

aetivtties are ccnflaed to a very amal1mtnorlty of the

students wbo largely 'Gttray into these activities on

ex:pe.:rimenta1 ba$:es fer fun and pleasure.. tn this co·nterl

the find.lng of Mohan (197$) abr::llt dwg taking behaviour of

cr>llege stU<!lent& of Delhi are interesting. Th.ts study

d'Gfi:n~o& d~g* ·ta:kJ.ng b&hav-icul' of college students so as to

inelude alcohol and tobacco ¢enst.tmptlon too. The study

rep<>rt$ t.hat tbe tAanne:r of use of drugs other than tobacco

and a 1coho1 \'las CJ.&ft&J'a.lly casual and •.r.tWrsmtioDf!& • rathctt"

than teaeatJatJ:ep (1975:5},. This tends to supp$:rt our

contention th.at students' i.Adulgence in elandostine

activlt1ea c:ctAstltutes C.?·RG of tho ways in wb1eh they spend

the1.E' ltd. sure along wi tb. accf!'ptable foms of lelsux-e. How

tar th$Se activities take them in thG sphere of a<'d1ction

or vice ls a U«1ttex that .. is b$yond the scope of this study.

What ts slgrtif.ic()nt to nGte la that clandestinQ culture

foB$ •lfl lmPQrtant dimansioa of students l$1sure life where

ncrms f1re violated for thlll s~ke of 'fun!

Gambling, \\~1$ confinQ<i to a very sma 11 perGentaqe of

eol!e~e students and generally was prevalent in the form of

bett i.ng .:ind. playin9 for small atakes. Ameng th~ students

9ambli~' ls defin$d as a delf.bsr;;te .. ~Ja9erlng of rnoney for

quick gains. Betting on the outcome of game$ and s.:porta was

fairly common. :tt is inte:.rest1ng to note that while betting

was donf\l openlyt play1.n.g for stakes was no't an approved

act.ivlty even aong tho students tbmnselvos and was ·therefore

carrl<td on in sGcr.ecy. Altb;ou9h• like other taboood

ao,iv,lt!e& 9m'ftbl.ing aJ.so dopends solely on money; f.t has an

iJifharent dt~lftger t)f spl»alllng the lasses whan the stakes

#1Gtm:t. Perhaps far thl.s £t:H!t$Gn majoxlty ot the college

;tud~nts \vbo. have by atld la:rge ll.rnttod resource-s/ allowance

.do not ~• t.Oc t,a'kt rtsk w1t.b tbe!:r money in ~amblirHl• 'lthen

there are fnr more I'!JMCltlng leisure cboicGs available to them

which. also J:'@quite mon•y but do not entail any uncertainty./rt.s

But f:o~ those who pursu.e tnit activity in their leisure the

element of uncertainty serves to increase the value of this

leisure time aetivity as generating a lot of excitement,

tension and fun. The excitement can easily b~ seen tn the

sports season when st.udents frequently bet on the outcome

of c;ontest in€J te·a&nS:; especially in cricket. While usual

practice is to bet a soft drink,, some students insist on

money bets, for instance I chanced to observe a f:riendly

srieket match ~.ere a troup of students was actively

involved in betting. One of the students saich

•• If •o• scores a hundred I bet 1 ,.-411 stand a Ltmea to all of "tou (they "t.tere fiv~ of tbom),. But he was .refused ln rather scornf'ul tones,. thet, "'we believe betting in mc.'fley and not this 'softie* stufff Thi.G boy protested tb;:.t he bet fer fun and . not f ex money. nveu are in the t.oJrong crow:l tbsnq •1ht&j sc:W:l ttyou sbou.ldft •t be here. We ei tbe:r bet for money or • , not at alU*

lh\\IS betting and playing fer stakes is accepted fom

of lotsure behaviour among a &mall percentage of students

wh•re lu$k and chance plays an important role. But since

tt involves the flow of money Whieb only a small percentage

of students wil U.n9ly prefer to pUt in stakes or aro p:repa:red

to take risk of lDSGt we find tbls el.andes<ti.ne actlv.ity

pursued by only e small minority of college stucients.

Although mc$t o·f too college students generally

paniclpete ei:tb&J: in one or two ol.andesti,ne activities

a rather small percentage .ef students ere those Who

participate in almost al.t the tabooed activities. Such a

state of affairs perhaps SU4J9ests the eollaps·e of parental

authority and total cU.sregard for tne norms of tbe society that

forbids partictp&tlon in them. Seeking e:Kcitement. in

clandestine activities by flaunting the taboos by tht..s group

ls sug9estlve ef far greater degree of deviance than those

wh.o pursue one or the other activ.t.ty for t.emporary thrills.

Such. a group tends to forte strong ties among themselves•

and their participation in the common culture reafflrms

these ties. As ~ompared to those students who pursue only

one or two tabooed activities, that is *specialist.s• ln

particular activities. this group could be designated as the

• generalista• or •rebels• whose major leisure time revclvea

around the~lr deviant sub-culture. our findings suggest

this group is representative of a ve;:y small mtnozoity of

students who seett clandestine thrills from the violation .of

almost. all the forbidden activities.

Thus on the basis of our data we may say that

panictpatlon in tabooed aetivltles forms an important

aspee;t of college students leisure behaviour, though ae

compered to leglti"Aato behaviour this is· far letis actively

pall'ticipated area of self·-spOnso:red leisure actlvttles.

Perhaps this could ba dtte to the operatton of the negat.ive

sanctions of soclety o.r the f'ear of violating the norms

that tends to restrict th$ students participation in th.ls

aspect of leisure behaviour than the i~ttf.mate l.elsure•:

Yet as -. -.,. .. ~.oo~.n<JS suggest somo. ef tbe tabooed aetlvitt~es

are fairly \ddely pursved by the students lr:respeetlve ct

breaking tbe social mores. defyln9 the parental authority.

AS compared to tho other tabooed pleasure.s dating is the

most popular o1an4estine activity among the college studentQ.

It ls also that activity that affects directly the cll.que

ties sometime& even leading to the severin9 of these ties.

Oa~t ing stems from an attraetion for the. eppostte sex, cv'rilere

the parties involved tend to plan most of thetJ: leisure tttne

together as tt~~some• threatonlnq the ma intenanee of regular . ties with clique mates. on the otbel' band, smok;.fttJ1 drinking .•

d~~ taking and CJ8mb11ng are the activities that be~ln w1th1n

the ellque end tends to reinforce th9 clGse ties $tlong cltque.

mates. This shows that certain activities are (I.) cllqve•

breakin~ activ1tiea sueh as chYting' and certain others are

(i.i) elique-retnforcin~ activtti-as which include smold.ng,

drug taking, dr1nki.Rq and gambling etc. we also b•~ve the

(iii) deviant subculture of the m.inority who tend to

pa:rtlctpate in almost ell the tabooed pleasures.,

tf we examt.ne the clique-reinforcing activit i.es we

find that smoking tG comparatively more common among the

eo lle"43e stud-en.ts than drink i.ng1 drugs or 9embling. AS a

whole the non-psn!ctpstion rate tn the·se ac:tivltie; was as

much e.s ~~ • -., fho,ae Wbo indulge 1n these aetlvitieo '

do so for ftm and pleasure. We a.lsc have a ·ver·y small

minority of tbcae wbc believe in davlant eub-culture

Uo&'espective of tbe soc5.a11. $anet1ons., .aftd, partiolpat.e in

almost atl tbe t-~ed scttv!t1ea. Finally• cont.rery

to the gonara.1 belte.f that e1andestine actlv1t1:es are

w~espread among the coll•ge stud-ents, our findings sug~est.

that oxcept for datlFUJt wblcta f;$ the most l'OPUla:r forbidden

pleasure, ths rest of the c landestlne activities are confined

to only a small pereentage of student. Thttt t.s. deviancQ

as a part of students culture is net developod to any

&ignificant extent atRO!lg the college students.

we now turn to the examination of the influenGe of

various socoio-ecommic factors on the clandestine behavioul!'

of $ttzd,ents to see lf they eliert any stgnif icant inf luenc~

in their choioes. In our analysis we shall be concerned with

the v&~rlabl&s ef sex. type of colleg$• year and course of

study• pa't.tern of residence. that is hostlers/d,ay &cholar·s1

type of fam1·ly, fathers Gdueatton, occupation a.nd income as

well as the type of school attended by the college students.

A sex•wltUJ analysis af the ,clandestine activities

reveals some Sntcl'est ing findintS• A$ is elear from table-42

in almQst a.11 the aetl.vlties the ·percentage partie !patton.

of males far e-xe.eeded that of females.. For instanc,e e lmost

twtce as many mal-es than females violated the amokinq. taboo:

participation. of male& ill drtn.ldng waa almost five tlmas

moro than tbe females. even drug taking among males was

found to be tlu'ee timet more than the feaa lbS. J:n gambllftg

h.owev&r, this g.~p was fcuAd 'to be narrower-although mora

males than females gl'lmblod., t.be difference in participation

W~$ ftOt found to be Slgniftcant.. iv•eft the geReraliStStWbO

violated ai•st all the taboos were fa'$ more among males that\

females. llating .. , tbe mo'et ~pular clandestine aotiv1ty also

recor~'Od a· ,much higher tespcn.ee fl"om males than females. The

ve~v foct th<:~t botb sexes admit tbei.r p.:llrticipation 1n

1) Breakint of soe.tat mores to experience the

forbldclen pleasures 1s not conf lned to one

&ex alon'i. Both sexos ~qually trangreas tbe

G(lcial no~s for cla.nf~h~stine thrills and

excitem.ent.

11) However, far more percentt.Jge partieipat.ion of

males than females in forbidden activities tends

to snow that males bave more freedom and

opportunities to i=dulge in such activities than

females. Secondly, violation of taboos or

deviaMe on the part of males is mcu:·e toleratGd

than tha·t in the females. Besides males are more

prone to challenge or defy parental authority

than females, hence tt iS among the male$ that

we find a greater ur99 to overrt.de the social

s-estrictions tha.n the females for ex~rlenclng

forbidden thrills, because on tho wholo a fa~

greatel!' stigma befalls a female than .a male for

violsti:pg more OX' less tho same tlilboOS.• ThiS

pel"baps expla.1Qs the glaring dlfferenct in

participation: rates ,of males and ·females ln

tabooed aetlvtttes.

ill) ¥J1tb the exception of gambling tba difference of

male/f~le pantctpatton t.n dating, smoking,

drinking, 4:rugs was found to be .stattstlcally

bithly slgn1fican1r.: Tilts is also true of the

•rebela''•·whe participated in all aotivlties.

l.

2.

3.

4.

s. 6.

Activities

(figs. in percent&CJ& )*

Dating 69.50 48.77

Smoking 22.34 11.33

Driakin9 15.96 3.94

Drug ta·ki.ng 1.ao 2 •. 46

GambliA<J 4.26 3.94

A~st all 4.6.1. 0.98

*As a itud:ent may be participating in more than one slandesttne activity the percentage wouW not add up to 100~

If we ex.amlne each one of the above activities in the context

of sax we find certain atgnifkant variations vl\1ch we may

attrlbttte. to the d$.fforent·:tal upbringtn; of males· &rut females

in our society. For in'ttance* dating wh1ch involves freedom

to assceiate witb tnGUI'bed of tbe oppaalte sex., though tabooed.f

1s mo~e tole-rated among t~ melee ttum tbe females.. P.emal.es

who are generGl.J.y :brOUght Up ®1'0 Strictly than the Qla les.­

bave restricted f:teedom., are net allowed to go out alone

.and stay out latet have their oppQrtunities to mtx with the

opposite sex (Jl'eat.ly curtailea. on tne other hand males do

not have t.c:J fa~e thesa restrictions to ·an equal extent.

society is more tolerant to theb flaunting the taboos than

tbe f@males. ·Parents v.>~ho strongly dislilpprove of datirlg praeti.co

emong youngsters. would still reluctantly accept their son•a . 1ndulgQ:nce in dating but \~U ld oo pos:lltive.ly upset if they

hear the same thing about their daughter. Tbelr fear and

anxiety stems from tbe knowledge and experi.e.nce that datin9

provides th~ opportunity to the young Jleople to become '*too

intimate•, which ml9ht prove d1&ast.rcus. f~rr:1 the reputation

o.f the girl ilnd may j.eopard1$e her futurQ. Such relations

are tberefox:e strongly disappreved a.nd discouraged for foar

that frequent as soc i~:t.ions may lead to unpleasant consequences •.

Parental e.ooeern stems from the fact thAt pre-martta 1 dating

is not a pre•requisite for marriage 1n India. Most marrtages

are either arranged or tbrou~h advertisement. When dating

occurs as a pre•requi$ite to marria9e it is largely

•supervis~ dating•. l!oreov.er if a girl 1s known to have

d.at.es prtor to marriage lt n~ly impaus her merrt.age

prospect'S.

on tbe d~ting couple however, thf'> usual effect of

these paront~.\ objec;ticns t..s often an tntensifi.cutlon ·of tho

ttee and greater oa;r:e tQ keep· tbefz aff.eirs a secret. Life

teaehes them ·to mat~ their o~ dect.stona and faee tbc

consequonces togetbei'J if they have to defy thetr par~nts,,

they do. Tbe deci:&iott to keep the rel:;tlonshtp wttb $ pc-rrson

of the oppOsite sex ln the face of pressure- ts a part of

independent ,action which tho very nature ot thelt friondsbf.p

to<l.:;hes them. But such a S;tate of affalre. is typlca 1 of

those who tend to go •steoi.ldy-' on their dates: With a laJ>g(b

majority o.f s-tuclents especially males, however, dating :ts

morely for ·h~vinq fun' or for ''taking them for a rlde•.

Although both mal~e and femal~s tend to indulge lri dating,,

greater freedom .and opportunities available to males than

fecnales pt·obably justifie$ higher percentage parti.ei.pation

of maleG in this aetivity.

Uke dating even ~king was found to be more p¢)pu.le.r

among m<al$S than females, the reason is once again the

gt:~~t~.r freedom and opportunity available to males than

females. n10ugh, males could be seen smoking around in

eantoen&., bar&gGuts .• and corridors, f'emelG~s were never seen

smoking openly. They were extremely cauttous about wh.ere

and with Whom they smoked. Girls ~ften los~ face among the

otb~r f.em~l& students if tbcty are knov.n to smoke. ~Acst

female students tend· to avoid friend.shtp with those ~.licls

who sm0ke• as they eelm the .r.ept.Jtation of being 'fastf .•

They are goa.siped e·b'Out• $.nubb$d and boyeott.edt in ·othe1:'

wo~ds t.bey lose "status'' amon9 tbeir own friends for .having

bro~n tbe antt•smoking noxms. Ev~ll omong males smoking ls

tclerarted only if one•&. clique mat&s smoke otberwl.se the

smoker faQts clique object·f.onG and possible boycott. T<J

tboso wbo smoke, smoking is a eymbQl of manhood to mal~s. and

indepe!ndonce to females.- ·However,, desp.ite its symbolic valu&

amo.ng the student eommuntty l'G$t.:r.ietions against smotdng a:re

fairly ttfidespread ln sactoty and th1& po·sslbly explains why

only a small pe:t"Centage of males and a till fewer femal.es

are found to indulge 1n this practice~

Drinking and drug taking behaviour is also found fur

more among males tban females-. But among botb, their initial

experience with these activities is attributed to the

influence of clique mates. Both these activities are pursued

1n strict secrecy and ental! the violation of more stringent

taboos than $lOOking. In this context the finding of ~han

(1975) regarding the t.truq behaviour of college students of

Delhi also show that more males than females stray into the

d.rug. culture. For instanee, ln the sample that he studied

50% males against only 8% of females were found to take drugs'

Thls corroboretes our finding that more males than females

are willing to flaunt the social norms to experienee the

thrills from tabooed pleasures during their leisure.'

Gambling, another aet!vlty whero more males than

females participated dW not show any significant variation

for the ·excitement of winning and lo~;i.ng equ.ally prompts

both the sexes to bet or play for stakes.. OUr finding

suggests 'tbat a very inslgni.flcant minority of females are

bold enough to venture into all the tabooed aetS.vitles,

though male pa·rtt.clpatton in almost all aettvltles t.s alao low

but ts $Omparatlvely more than fetnales•.: 1hts suggests that '

mole'e more often than females etchf.btt total defian,ee tor the

pr.ev~lltng h04"1liS aftd as:e bwol.ved tn the devtaat sub-eu lture.

on the basts of our findings we may say -that se.x very

$trongly influences tho pa-rticlpat lon of' malee and ferns les Jn

foll'blc:tden p1EUUlitU:es. Although society strictly forbids

students indulgence in tabooed activities. the greater

freedom and opportutdties available to males encourages

the to violate the norms mor@ than the females. This

perba·ps explains the significant variation in the

percentage part1c1pat1Gn of males and females in the

clllftdest lne act tvit ies.

table-43 presents the data on the participation of

students in clandestine aet1v1t1es on the basts of type of

college. As is clear the paxt1c1pation of students 1n all

Participation in tabooed aet ivf.ties by type of college

ca: N=l71

( ftgs.. 1n porcen'tage)

J. •. Dating 69.18 46.45

2. Stnoking 22.~01 '

21.01 13.51

3* Drink.tng lS .• Of 12.2& 5.16

4. Drug tektnt 10 •• 4,09 a. sa &It GeGJbli.ng z.sa a.85 3.91 c;. Almo;t till .6.29 1.75 1..29

acttvttf.es ••cept gambling was found to be greater in

pu.rely male college and g~adually dee lined in eoeducatS.Onal

co.llege with lowest pafti($lptatlort in purely females ce11~ege.

This ls a elear refl(!(;t.ton of tbe sex-wise pattern of

partlcipati..on in clandestine aet1vities. Although no

aignlf1cant differene0 ln dating was found between .puroly

male and co-Gdueational college. we find a slgntfieant d!'Op

in the paJ'tic1pat1on rate of purely female college students

in thls aetivity. As stated earlier this difference may be

attributed t·o the greatex- social freedom enjf.>yed by the males

than females. In purely male college (PM.:) students take

advantage of this and _indulge in some of the clandestine

activit tes under the influence of their peers. In

.;oedueatlonal eollege (CHC) the mixed composition of the

college provides t;~reater scope for the formation of close

tie$ with members of the o.ppesite sex which may encourage

d&titl9•- In pUrely female college (PFC) ~rsonal lnblb1tlons

due to the conservative upbringing prevents many fema.les t.o

foxm dat.tng relations with t.ha oppOsite ~o-. Pe.rhsps ,-. · .·:_,.

t .. o dis.courage dat~g PJ'actlee a~ng female~ lt is qu.lte likely

tJlat conseJ"vative parents tend ~o send their daughters to

P1C- tbl& area ne•¢e explor1Bt• , Besides, the we provides

.lese oppOrtunities. to females fF dating because of the

res~rlctS.onG ·put by the college, admtntstration. fhls is

mere true in tbe -<.Hlse of female. hostlers who are roqulred to

ab~de by .the. J;Ules of discipline.. Mcence datl.n<J which ~the most P\')pular cland.~stine aotivtty conttn·ues to attract ta.­

more males t:han females. In other words type of colle{}e,

which beateally nf'leete the $ex-wlse distribution of st~udenta,

also eK.et:ts a very $lgnificant inf lu.enca on the dating pattern

feund among college students.

-:246:-

AS dating, smaking is also more prevalent among the

PAC a~ CEC students showing once ~gain the importance of

sex in determ.tning tha stud0nts partleipatton in this aetivtty,.

Drinking a~so follov4d more or less the same pattern,.

that is bigh preva.lence among Ptt'C and CEC with lowest

partie1patton in PFC-whieh was r~ordad to be one thi:rd of

RAe. :tn drug taking C<nee again PilC students top in

part1cipati.Gn 1 but the p&:rticipat ion rate drops to less than

half among the esc and one fifth in PFC. Compa:rat lvely lo\ve:r

participation in drug taking behaviour among tbe CEC students

as compared to PMC eug9ests tbat the mixed composition of the

college exerts a restrainbt9 influenc~ on the students

preference for this activity. only ln case of gnmbling \"16

find a reversal of this trend.. In this activity maximum

participation was recorded fz·om CEC followed by PPC with

lowest participation among PMC. This suggests that tn a

purely male college students have far g;reater oppor:tunit.:tes

to indulge in other forbidden actlvlt ies which also requ:b:e

money tha11 t~ use it for wage:ring. Although stmtlar opportunltl-1

for c1Q\ndesttne participation. ere also available to sttdents

from other .colleges. tbeu upbringing, acts as an emotional

block aga.i.nst tbelr fctee indulgence in such acttvltles

because they do not. mNt the sanct ion5 of soci.ety. Hence

these stud~ts prefer to g:tve more i.mporte~nee to betting

and "'4tttt;..,._.ng than the other ac;:tivities, In almo~t all

activities highest. participation S.s :t•eeorded from PMJ &.nd it

was found to be six timea more than either CEC or PFC •.

&bowing once aga1n ttlat .male$ are mo.re wlllin.g to break the

soelal norms for c landesttne thrills•

on th0 basts of above we may say that type of college

:ref1&cte more Ql:' lees the same pattern that we obsex-ved t:n

case of variable ef $QX• It also exerts a very significant

,influ'inc.e on tho students participat.ion in tabooed 1elsu~e 1

with tcp.'llOSt p..«rtialpation among tbe PMC, closely followed by

CEC {~xc~:&pt in gambling) and signifieantly lowel" part.ictpatlon

,1DnA9 the WC students.

A coillpartson of tl\e activities of the student$

a:c;cording to tl\0 y·ear of study (s.ee Table-«·) reveals an

interesting pa-ttern regarding their participation ln tat»oed

Aetivf:ties

1. Dating

2. Smoking

s. Drinking

4. Drug taking

5. Gambling

•• Almost all

TABL§:;:K ·tildl •

ls.t .y.·ear N=193

ss.oa 13.47

8.80

tl,.18

5.18

t.m

II.Ird year.' N=202

(fitas.. in percentage)

68.89 59.90

25.!;5 21.28

ao.oo 8.91

10.00 3.96

4 .• 44 2.·rn 3.33 3.16

df = 10

plQasures.. Dati~ conttnues to be tbe most important

clandestine activity amcnq the GOlloge students as eom,pared

to the others irrespective of the year of study. Another

stp1fi.eant finding is that the participation rate i.n all the

activltiee wae found to be much higher among. the Ilnd year

students than the lst or IIIrd years.. ·This was t:Jt'U4! fnr

datin~h emok1n~1 drin.td.ng and drugs wher0 as ln gambling the

·tr.Gnd WCJS dlffl!rent with higher ptr~rticipatiOt1 among the lst

year·s which progress! vely dec li.nGs among the I!nd ard IIlrd

yea:r:· stt~ents. lf we notiee tM figures car&fully we find

that antong the lst & x·tird year studoota dating 1s

c¢mparatively l~ss th&n tbe Itntfiears, smoking is

app:roxlm.ately one half among the lst years and is also

found to be less among liird years than the Ilnd yeartJ

Dr1n:k1ng among l.st & Ill:rd years t.s lass than half af that

found among the lind y<tars and drug taking is ooa'rly one

half amon9 l.st years and one third among liird years vmen

compared to the lind year students.

Low partie ipatlon tn stJ»ld.ng• drlnk1A9 and drug

tatdn<;a among the 1st year student.s may be due to the influence

of die~lplined school lif111 Where they not only hav·o le'SS

freedom but also few oppertunitt.es to indulge .ln tabooed '

til:Etasures., Fresh f.rom &cbocl \hos.e students tn 1st year ate

besitant to trclftsg-r~es the nome: which f.orbid.s their ~ ; '

partleipotton. ln clandestine a~ti.vtties. It ts also likely

that many of them did not have any thing to do t-dth SU(;h

acttvttles tn their pr~ollege days. aut 1n the

comperat1ve1.y mc:ute pormtssUJe soclal mllie~ of the eolloqe.

ava11abl:U.tv -of gteatet freedom .tlM OppOrtunities as well as

the cQmp@lllnq influence of the peor group begin·S to affect

their otttlook/att1tude te tho forbidden, ptu:·suits and soma

of them are tempt~d to expe·:rim~nt with t"booed items for

the sst::e of 'fun:: Thus, it p:·ovides us w:ttb a po.ssibl.o

explQr'h:ttlon regarding the lew participation of lst year

students f.n elandest ine culture. it elso highlights the

!mPQrtanee of the coll0<;1$ social milieu and peer group

influencQ in 1pt'crnuting'' the tabooed pleasures among them.

In the $econd y"ar, students have far fewer reservations

against the breach ef taboo$~ they bZ~ve morQ freedom and they

hew~ the solid experience of one complete year in collage

behind them. Besides, having tasted the taboo~ thrills

many of t.bem go in for gr~ate.r pleasures in the !Ind year of

their study i.n c;o llega. They are a ls\:! in a better position

to influence their clique mate~ ox be influenced by tbem for

clandestine participation.. This possibly explains the blgb

p&"'io1patton .:ate lin clandestine activities found among !It&d

year students as compared to 1st and liiJd yoar studant$~

·(This 1G also true of collego spon&orQd & SGl.t-sponsored

tn fac·t the ' .

cl,andosttne participat.ion beginning with the :Lst year students

reaches tts peak ln lbld yt:!ar and begins to de'Clin.e ln !IIrd

vest. Thls £lntU.ng ts CCMX'GJl'Y to Mohan's study (1975#3)

where he found that the percentage of d~ug users went on.

tnc;~asf.tuJ s.S.·gniftc,antly as students,.meved up from ono y~ar to

another. whereas .oul' findings ~·eveal. th$t elandeettne

particl.patlcn begtnnin~ with lst year (or petb:&ps even

earl let' )touches the J)G<~k in lind year and then deciines ln

1J:hd voar.

Declining trend om,:-ng !I!rd yt!!ar students in respect

of tabooed activities possibly suggests th~t after having

•tasted • the tabooed thrills many r ever·t back to the earl i.er

li.fe-.stylo and become seric,us in stucU.es to achieve success

in this te.rminal ph~$e o·f their cqlleger life, for their ftat,Jre

plans WO\lld d<:pend upon their results. Therefore. wo may say

that in III.rd year students once ar_;ain exhibit a tendency

towards ac:~demic seriousness v>Jhi,ch r.aflacts in their. lGsser

participation in clandestine activities; some of them havin9

experimented ·,vtth tabooed pleasures may also outgrow the

participation in such activities.

l'.n gambling 'VIb~e we find higher participation by 1st

year studerrts as comp.at'ed to Itnd year and liird years it

perhaps tends to show th.t1t tlhter~ they have greater r~scrvatlons

to override the taboos against·• smoking, drinking. drug

taking etc. they are more inclinod to bet or play for stakes.

These are the activities 1rtmt..ch probably they also indulged

during their school years. Betting among school. students is

krlol~tn to exist especially uu.r1n9 tba spo-rts and other

competitions t1here uru::etrtatnty about the final outcOt1'1e of

tbe event· pl'Qt'B,ts viewers to ·bet,. This fam111er1ty wi\~h a

particular activity provtdes them t.he necessary 1mpetus to

carry on the same activity in the eollege &!ltuation so long as

t~ eompelJ.itng blfluence of ·the peG." 9toap does not divert

thelrt attention to more ex.cit!ng clandGsttoo pursults.. once

this happens theh interest in gambling automatieDlly tend$

to decline and tni$ ts prQbably t1bat happens in lind and IIII:'d

yeaJ! of college pbase \\b•u·& we find a progressive d~clinet in

the pantoipat10R rate of this activity.•·,

-:2M;•

In retard to the small seetion of rebels who

participate in all aetivitie$t once again we find the

pattern changing. our fir~dinge $how that. •generalists•

among the J.st year students ar• found to be few, but tha

number gradually i.nereases among the lind ana IIlrd year

students. In fact exposure to all the aspects of clandestine

activi:t ies resul~s ln the crystalliaatton of a deviant

sub-culture and onee a person g$ts •trapped• it is difficult

to wriggle out of !t. This ts indteated by the fact that

those wile participate in almost a 11 activities increase

gradually from the 1st to IIIrd years. unlike other

eu;tivtties.

Thus. on tha basis of the above findings we may

generalise that year of study exhibits a marked difference

in the percentage participation of students in a·ome of the

tabcoed activities.. A$suming that the students part1c1pet.lon

la .;1andes.tine activities begin$ among the lst year students.

(or eveR et1rllerl we may infer tbat such partici~tton

reaeh.es lt& pea·k in the lind year: and then tends to decline

among the i1Ird y,at s·tudents, fo.r reasons discussed above·.

·fbus we may say that 'the urge to overrid-e the soeial mo~:e.a

1n pursuit of forbidden !)leasues is found to be Cjl'eatest

among the l!ad year student.&·# ln other words y&al' of study*

has a strong ttear!n9 on the clandestine behaviour of college

students.

A compsd.aort of the activities of the P&s; eou~se ancs Honours students (Table-45) shows the prevalence ot smoking

and dr.ink:ng a~st equally among them, though slightly mort'

1.

2.

3.

4.

I.

'·

c1andestlne partietpation by course of study

Dating 67.00

Smoking 17.72

Driftkint 12.02

DrUC)J taking 7.59

Gatn:bl.lng 5.06

Almost all 1.89

(figs. in percentage)

p 7 05 . .

57.SO

19.&7

10.40

4.59

3.67

3.67

df. c: 5

I' .

Mona. stu4onts were found to mdulge S.n ~snoklng than Pass

course studeAt.SJ on the eo:ntrat;y a few more Pass course

Gtudenta toe.\ to d~lntd.n9 theA the lions.. studc;,nt &. !t t.s

In dating, ·ds-ug taking and gambling behaviour that we find

slgalftcant difference in the percentage perticlpetlon of

Pass and Hons. stUdent•• However, thett Wh& participated tn

aJmost all ac;tlvit l·&G were more among Honours than Pas.$

course student,s.

Hi~ pal"tlcipatton among P$s,s cour·se etudentG in

datt.ruat drlftktn.9 aJ_ld drug tatd.nt and .gambling ls probably

duo to the watlahility of morG time at their disposal and

less academle pressure (see chapter V). Drin1d.ng and drug

taking are those activities that require privacy/secrecy

aftd fa~ are time to enjoy the tabooed thrills tban for

instance smokin~h which espec·tally for males could be done

at any convenient place. requtre·s lesser privaGy am ontoils

more pext'tdssiveRess. Lesser academic load in Pass course

leave$ these students. enough ti~ae to indulge in tbesetttme•

c~eummg• eotivlt1es than the HoMurs students, which

indlreotly affects tbe rate of part1elpat1on cf the latter

in tbese clandestine act1Vit1os.

Hence we may sey that l.e.ss.er ac;edemtc pJ:ossut-e, more . .

t,~e &t.c. prov:ld•s t~ Pass course students wltb greato•

OP.PGrtur.d .. ttes to pa%tlelpate in eome of the clandestine

ilctlvlttes thtlr'l the Mens, students• who flnd thelr freedom

restricted due to ·the increase in their work load which t~Jftds

to eut on. tb$1r 1td.&u!'e. Thl,s .eMplalns ~ the partlclpatton

cf Pass co-..rs• studentG exeeedo that of· Mens. students in

all .aetivttl~s- ••c.ept mnold.ng~ In other words courth1 of study

dee; affect to some tuctent the stt,idents ·clandestine Ghol¢GS,

a~tlloutb It$ effect waa not found to be $1gniftcant. . .

Table~ give·& w a compa.ratlve picture &"egarding the

part.iclpation 'ot host1ti'·S end day 'soholare in tabooed aettv!tlea

wtt'b &ome f.ftte:estS.ng results.. ln all activities wo flnd '

btgbel" pa:rtlelpatton by hostJ.e.,& tl\an day scholars. Por

lnatanoe, bottl.eQ da'ted more than day scholars, twico es

milny hostler$ tnoked and took alcohol than day s,eholere, 1ft

··-:2541•

d:ru;s and 9ambling ·too their parttcipailion eJCCeeded tbat

of day echola rs. In regard to those , vmo partie ipated

tn a ltnost all the aetivi.tl.es tha partic:tpatlon of ho&tlers

was record~d to be twice to that of day scholars.

As stated earlier (see ehapters V & VI) day &ebolars

being under tbe direct supervision and control of the parents

have fat;~er opportunities and less freedom to indulge in self

.sponsored tabooed pleatltu:res than the hostlers,. Although

hostel life is ~lso subjected to tho operation of certain

rules, our observation suggests that the rules are more

o~erved in breach than compU.ance. Hostlers, who are away

from tbelr parents/family have more freedom to indulge in

actlvtttes that entail violation of the norms. Their higher

<:1and.e$'tlne parti.r;tpatlon omong hostlers and· day scholars • • - • L

(flgs. in .paK:entate)

L. . Pating ,67.61 59:.66

2~ . SJnotc1og 30.99 16.91

a. lki:Aklng 2J..J.3 9~16

4. .Qfttg taktnt 8.45 s .• m $~ Gemt>lif:l!g 5~r43 a~ eo 6. .Almost all 4;.23 2.90

,,. '·

2 I X -s.s4 p .01 df. - s -

pa.rtiet.pat.ion tn all clatt,hlstine activities ther.efore

suggests that thc,ly tend to take advantage of tn1s freedom

t~ exper1Gn<:e eland est ine thrills,. It also implies a

comparative breakdown of parental authority or tn other

wor<h~l we may say thet parental authority becomes non ... op~rat lond

tn the ft"eer atmo.spbere of hotrtel lt£e where the hostler.s

ere eware that tbei.r clandestine adventures tiGUld nelthe:r:

be questioned nor c<~nsored so long as they remain sbrouded

in mystery and the parents do not smell anything wJ'ong~

This ·fr$Gdom of clandestine partietpattion1 to the same eJCtent•

cannot be possible among day scholars whose every move­

legf.timatq or othel'WlG<t -is liable to be quostt·oned by tbe

pa!!'ental am ·of atttbortty. We tn:erefore• find such a m.e:r:ked

differenQe ln piJ:ttctpat!.on ratQs of hostlers and day

echo 1ar.s ln tabooed pt.easu.ros. Th1s shows that h.ostol l.:lfo

provl<tee s moJre congenial back{trop to the v1olet1on of nctms

fo• opeJ:lenetng t.ne tl'lJ>llls of follibldden pleasures• The

~te$id-tm4S· pat~rt\tbus strontl¥ lnfluen~.e$* tbe students

parttclpatS.on. tn tabcoed pleeaux-:1!~.

\1\en examhd.ng tl\e pantcipatlon of stt.dents ln

fcu:bidd·on ectlvitle$ .tn the context of' the type o£ family

variable (tab.le-41') ·we find far moJ>e dating among $tudcmts

belonging to the Joint than .nue.lear femi.lletr. In a .j·olnt

koueeho14 a large ell'cle of relatives on ono hand cut .on the

• Signlflcent at 1.0% (O .• lo) .•

1.

2.

3.

4,.

•• 6.

Clc;ndestine participation by typ(! of family •

. Joint Activities N=l39

Bating 67 .• 63

Stnoking 20.14

Drinking lO.a'l

Drug taking 8~63

Gambling 5.76

Almost all 2.89

( fig.s. 1n percenta.9e)

$8.09

18.~

ll.'D

4.34

3,.47

3 •. 18

p 7 .05 df. = 5

prb1acy of the me!l'lbere but at the same time may encourage

the desire fo.r cultivating frteftdshlp ll'.titb the opposite se••··

In the relative closeness of tho .laS'ge elrclG of kin,

attr.a.;tt.on fo~ 'the opposite sex often pEOvides tbe necessary

impetus fer datint .relat.ions., G0ne.rally joint family ls

believed to be mete consewat.t~o, tt generates more

t-tenslon& • a.n4 refl$Cts author:l.tcr1an:lsm. Dating, wblc·h t.s

bss.od on the. attZ'ac'tl.on fo:r the opposit~ smc tends to

provt4• an ,escape fwm the tensions !al.so t.t got$ a $purt

.in tho ;Jolnt famf..l.y set up where S.t appears to provide more

oppor;tuntty for ttasttng•; sex .• tbe t.nttial experiences are

oftGn leam from and through cousins, aunts, uncles etc.

in the joi.rdi fam11y milieu. Thls p!'obably .oaplalns ·Why moro

students IX'$m Solnt than Auclear famtltes go ln for da~ing.

-:2ef'll·

l'b sit;~tifieaftt difference tn ~king anddxinking te

foa:md &mong students ~n account ef the type of family, but 1ft

drug taking we find th.G J)&rt!cipation of students frem jelnt

famt.ly almost double of that fround 3mong stutllents bel.cnqtng

to the nuclear family. This shows ·that less.er the pl'ivacy

ot home the gri'!atex· ls tb~desire among thG $'tud•t.e to

eGGiWtx+ ths tensions/problems in a joint family and seek

taauoed thrills. It 1• also likely that the lack of privacy

at home encourage-s students to spend more time Jhvay fr;os

hom$ in th$ eom~ny of friends which may lead to their

pBrtioipation in cl.ende~tino activiti0s to •td.ll' time.

Tl'lough gambling does not 5t\etlll significant variation tn

stud<3nts• p3rticipation on account of type of family we

firu.i snor~ parti~ipatlon among students from jo.int than

RUt;.lea.r family.. Finally, those who p~:rt1Gipate in almDst

sll .aettritiee a:f.e found tc be slightly mere in nuclear tbaa

jolrtt f a11tltes .•

fl!l)n;.ff W$ may 9enerallse that students partt.cipation

ln stnoleing,. drinki.ng and 9ambliot l$ more er less tndepend"nt

of the 1nf lueNe of· tb• 't\"P& of' framlly,, mwwer11 on the

b&t£$ of pe~centate we do fi~d vartatien 1n tb., dxug

taking behsVI.Qttr .uon~ student.# belont1ng. to tbe jotnt.

than .nuelear fatnillos•

Tie~a:tu.U.at the tn.ftuence of tatbe.rt's ethtGatton

(fable.G) on the e1$nd$st.lne activities of students we

find thet et\tdrmte wbos• fatbel's bBd low qualttlcat:lm$

clandecst.ine partici.pation by education of father

-- ....... ~~.- ~~~,.,·-~ ...

(figs. 1n percentage)

l. D«ting 70.37 59.25 55.36

2. Smoking 14.61 20.38 19.64

J. Drinking 12.96 10.19 10.11

4. Drug takint 6.48 5.28 5.35

5. Gamblin·trJ 5 .• 56 4.15 2.68

6. Almost all 2.78 2,64 4.46

P I .os df t;· 10

participated tnere in almost all the clandestine acttvlttes:

except smoking. Probably this may be due to the break down

of parental authQrity in those cases vA\ere father.s havo low

educational quallflc.at.ions. 1n the ether two catego:ries

where fatbet•s have ettbel' college education ozr profe-ssional

Ol'' teelmhtal quallfkattcns we do not find eny sign.lflcant

vart.atton ln the PEll'~ent.ate part i-c&·patlon of stUdents in

the dlffer~t acttvlttes .except. gambling Where we find tno$'e

paJ:tS.o!patlon frnrn stUd$nts WlloGe father's have college

education;~ It ts tntell'esttng to not• that those who

~tieipate in almost all the tabooed pleasures the

part:1c1petlon of st,udents whose father-s hove profeaslonal/

technical education was. almost double of those whose father's

bave school or college 0ducation.

our find lngs ind 1eate that vdth the except ion of

smokb~-9 v.lh!ch 1$ fllHJl'ld to 9e maximum among students whose

f(j(ebers v-~1·e collage edVi;.«tad, in all. othe: forbidden

aG·ttvities far more students whose fathers had low

qualifications participated than those whose fathers had

higher qualifications• This <;oes to prove that fathers

low educational qualifications exert a negative influence on

students. Their authority tends to slacken which results ln

the greater partictpat.ion of studeftts 1n forbidden activtttes:~·

Coming to the influence of father's occupation

(Table-49) on the ituderrt.s ¢landestine behaviour we find the

highest incident of dating among those $tudents whose

Low prestige Others* occ·u.· P .... at len N=l29 N=72

. (figs.f in Pl:1~"CGntago} 1,., D.ating 40.,91 $8c~t 10 39.53 ?6.39 2. 5mok!ng 9,.09 l.S. 70 20.93 19.44

si! .Drinking J.S.64 a"02 14,.?3 13.99 4. Drug taking 4.,54 5,. 34 7.11 2., 78 5,. Galllbl1ng • &.,34 4.61 • 6. Almost all • a.aa s. ae -

-- ~ ' - -

*In ~his· cetegary bus~ess.,da£,eneo servioes• famt.ru.J etc. ase included •

.,;. = 13. vr ' L .. os df = 5

fathe!'*s oceupatlon has 'been classified under the tether'

column. ThG oceuf'ations 'l.nc luded i.n this category are those·

whi.ch generally do not require high qualifications but may

ger.ter.Jte lot of income. Our earlier finding on filtbsr•s

edue7ltion ::tl~o sho~1s ~~h-"\t l'ri']he-st ,ar.t1ctr<3t!f)n f.n datt.ng

is p:revBlent among these students whos.e f <lther's have low

educ<.~tion~l qualific,:rtiCtns. Thts shows that the pattern of

dating found .3mong cell~ge students is strongly influenced

by the education and occupation of the father. Dating was

also found to be quf.te high amcng those students t~OSG fath$rs.

v1e:re in pl.!'ofessi.ons but lb. suddenly d.rorJs among the mite

ccll.iotr group .t~nd lo\-: prest lge occupatJ.ons. l'hough attraetlon

for tho oppt.>sitE~ t~eK ts un!.vers~l phenomenon yet various

factors tend to govern the rate of particlpatlon in this

activity• o.ne lmportmt factor that mlght exori a stgniflcant

lnfluenoe on the d<lting beha~vi.our of students ts tho

availability of reso,u·t'<lea. ~#lite collar workers ant,:! those

tn l.ow ·prestl .. qe oecupat.t'On$ with their llmt~cd incomes

cannot affot'd to p:ovtde tbelr children with gonerous

allowance ln the form- o·f s.pendi.Ag money to be used/wasted

i.ft aet1vlties sueh as datin~ one student told us in thts

con~~~

•• Tba~ .ts a_ ~ollqegu$ of mine wh~ ·I appreciate a lot, $h' t. s my k .. : tnd,,.tnt.£Jllt9Qnt but shy~ *.·· .. ettrnes we t..·.··allt, joke, but I h.~-ve not expressed my· feelings .to hel':t not. &oc:au;e I have any doubts ebot..'t her but the fact '· s ;£ ~4lnnot affo~d to ~$te bet .. , Dates cost money and··· I 9R batdl.Y _enou~h for my .·expenses... Well I am trying t-o sav~ and hepG to take ~r out soon.

This ret:nalt'k si't<lws that money plays an t.-nportant ·p& rt in

students ehoicG of tho activities in which they want to

participate but cannot bGcause they eafh"lQt afford the expanses

involved.

smoking <:imong those $tud~nts v11hose fathGrs llXU'e ·in low prGsti.g~

occupations followad by the •others' cat6gory. Smoking was

also found tc ba qui'te high among the students t'llhose f 0thers

were in professions but a significant di'f)p is noticed emong

those students i'l.hos~ fathe:es wer~ in \1h1 te collar category.

The possible expla-nat1cn for th~ highest participation in

smoking emong th~ low presti.rye oceupat.inn category and lowest

partieip·~t ifm among the vJhi.t.e collar cat(f!gory is possibly

tbe infl"nce of the ve~y nature or tbe job in the former

cat<Jgory where 'he f&the:t$ orobably themselves smoke (we h~ve

al.J:eady pointed tbls out ·that 1£ the family members smoke,

the anti•-smoki.ng tabc)o ts pract1ca.lly non,•$xistent amen~ sucb.

$tudents anr.t mony of them are bound t() be smokers) wbieh

influences the children to take over tnts habit from thel.r

parent$; in the l6l'ttex· category "h$ only factor that condition$

tb•ir low .response to smoking· S.s t~ limited i.ncomQ'! If' w.,

take the .latter reasoning to be true it vJoul.d appear d1ffleult

to egpltd.n tbei.- c.omparative high pa:.rtictpation. tn dr1nklir;g

than Gtnoktng. , An ,exampl~ W\)Uld probably c.larlfy the posit ton

in tb.ls regard,. A. stu~ent from pur·ely male college told us t . ~

u The friends I •ye "round with ~11 smoke and dr·ink, tt ts not a rotJUlar hablt but o.nce S.n e while when the group 1& ln mood t"Je pool money get the stuff

aru:i. r.· eall.y e. njoy.. . I hav~ tasted i.t only t .. _wice··· before. I can•t really say its good but I felt lig_"nht. Non• of us can affQrd it and wa don't .· .make any bones about it. When tbe others offer us we don't r~fuse. so tbat 1 s that.

So when the s-eaouree-s are limited tbe students eithert pool

their resources or enjt.>y the clandestine pleasures at· the

expense cf others. D

Drug tatdng was also recorded to be high. among

students whose f ,ltb&r • s occupation \4JllS in the low pJ1ost l.ge

category w1th a gradual decline amenQ the professions., datto

eo llar workers and then the •others •. The only plausible

explanation for h!t;h drug takers amor•g stud~nts Whose fathers

are engaged i.n low prestt.ge oceupet tons ls cnae agatn the

nature of the.ir jobs Vr.b1cb entail low income$ besldea,, .la~k

of adequate edueat1-onal baekgtoun,d of thei~t fathets which

imply the b~tdtdewn of psr~ntel authof!'ity.· And, wltb tbS.s

$0me of the ;restrictions against fotbldden activ1tieG·

autom$'t:i~ally' melt a-way $nd tbe 'SO$Ult is more fs-eedom to

. t.n:dulge ln c;landest.ine aotlvitles.

Gambling and participation ln dGviant sub....-eultur.e

wat; et.>nsclpieuous by lts absence among students. whos$ fat'hors

belon:;ed to the White collar am:l othei'S category!, HowevGr

ln prc,fess.ional and lo.·w prestige occupation cate'}ory we do

find st.ud$nts indulging in tbGS& two elandestfJ\8 -act1vlt1e&

wtth ne signiftcsnt dtffer.enco tn their percentage

pa.rt1clpa~tl0n,. 8ut what is worth noting ts that students

from low prGstl<;e occ'Up~tlons as well as professions

backgJ:ound pal't.i.Glpate ln all clandestine acttvltl.es as

e:~pa:::Gd to ·the 1white collar' and 'others* cate9ory wbero

stuf$ants were not found to participate in 9ambli.ng. Similarly,

all those:) wbo participate in -'almost all activities• are

d:ra~ erxc lusively frc~m families of lov;-pr@st ige occupations

& prof es stons·.

Hence we may int·er tbat QG(;Upation of father exerts

a s i.onificant influence in the students choice of ·the .;.>

clandestine activi.ttea. In some of the activities fathers

oecupat.ian wa$ found to be the ref lect.ion of the influence

of fCJther·•s educi:ition• e.g. dating .• in others it exhibited the

inflUGnce ot' the nature of jobs pursued by the father v.hich

in tuDl twl\i ~ strong be.:Jl'in<J on utuuent.s pa.rtic.ipation in

eland'i~i>tine pleasure pursuits.

l'able-00 reveals significant eorrelation between incomo

and paniei~tton ia ferbldden activities. It is cl.ar that

1~ Dating

2. Smoking

a~ Drlnktng

4. D:rug taking

o. Gambling

6. Almost all

$2.4$

16.08

10,,49

,,,99

4.,.20

2 .• eo

·JdMi'l l-.2\lk_ILIS ..

fis.601 & above N=$3

(ftgs .• in f!\(U:ee'ntage)

62.28 7et •. 41

'19.69

9.69

$,.-19

a.a1 3.46

28.30

18.81

3.71

3.66

1.18

dating Ita& a direc;t .reta·u.on to income w~d.t.h comparatively 1e$G

participation among thoa~ in low ineome bracket whkh pro~t:ossi•

vely 1nGreasC~ui in the ~niddle income brac;ket and is found to

be highest among the to;' income group. Tilis is understandable

for: as stated earli$.r dating i.s one of those activities

that requires money. t'lkilturally those students \\bose family

incomes a:r~ high tnay tet better allowances "~ich &nable them

to date as well aa; to indulge in other s.elf sponsored

activities.

Apart from dating, smoking and drintd.ng was also

found to be highest ~.mong the top income group as compared

t.o the other tneome ,ategorlas. It will ba wrong to assume

here that this nigh rate of rart1ctpatior: 1s only due to the

high ineome 1 for as cur finding in tbe context of fatber•s

o.ccur,Hltlon s~.tggests that maximum smoking and drinking is·

found amorH~ those student$ ~,:..foose fatber•s eceupatf..on was

e.lasstr1ea a$ lc\,..,.pJ.·esttge eategcry. Now these occupations

can. hardly yteld h1gh inc~s vot these clandestine

act!vtti~a are mor·e pr:ev·alent t.n this group. 'f'he only

plausible cxp.lanat1on for thtt7 could be that \"Jhtle income

do t'"ecilltate students ·parti.oipatton in some of tho

clandestine activities. it ·ts the style of life. the degree

of freedomt the el!ttoot of parantal autMl!'lty that. la1'9ely

cond1t.1ons students porttci~tlon tn clattd.astine a.c:tivitlea•

Dru9 taking wa111 found to be maxtmum am(>ng the low

ineonle 'group and ~adually dc.<:lined with th~ rise in income•

thle also reflects to iotne extent the seme pattem a.a we find

impetus to hic;hor p.:~rt:i.Gip.ation in this activity. Gambling

on the other h·Jnd w-~s more pi·onrJtmceo in the hS.gh income

group, av41:caqe in the low income g.t·oup and lowest in the

middle incorae g.t·oup. Ii:J~n~ oi these partlc:lpr.itiv.:m rates were

found to ba signif iodn't. Ho~Jever, t'.'e may say that high

income$ ~obably p>;'ompt batting and wagering among those

stt.Wents who have morG money -to spend on this activity. But

so fax as deviatlt. sub-cult-u:ra !$ concerned we find maximum

part i" ipdtion among th>:J middl~ income groUt') followed by low

inGcHIHll g:.roup ~.nd lowest dman;; the high income 9roup1 but the

resf)ons~lH~> w1.u:e n;:)t ·found ·to b{;; statistically significant.

On the basis of above we may say that along wtth

father's edu,eatlon and c.ccuplltion t.he income variable also

contributes 'to the choice o-f self•spon:aored tabaoed acttvitie.a

of ~•J . .lege student&,.

Comi.n(} to the typo of school (Table-51) wG find that

.tt a lao appears t.o influence t11e cla.ndest ine behaviou~ of

J.. Dating 2 •. Smoking 3,. kirtttne 4. Dru; taking 5. Gamblitl9 6. l-\lmost all

24.8~

J:7,.Ui (;,,.,${)

4,.73

2.96

18.26 a.65 4,.3S 3a4B

2.60

df = 10

14.·43

6.96 A .lfll'l .. ""'

~lllega &'tuden~G. As il.il clear ll«ii find the highest percentagq

of those v.Jho cbte, snwk~t dr:h1.k• .,akG drugs t.S'Ven ~pmble among

tbe s·,ucien.ts who complated their :ichooling from public sehcot~,

fellG\tJed by those from px·ivate school with reference to

smoking atld lllrinking. However• percentage participation of

stude!!nts ~Jith government sebec 1 ing was compa:r·atively more 1n

det inq, ~rug taking a:nd gambling than the privat~ schools.

In devi~ subculture maximum partieipation t...,as recoitied from

those with rpvernment schooling. Public schools as stated

eaJ>lier (~tee Chapter V & VI) are symbolic of affluGnce & mon

fr~edom ·wnieh perhaps influence high stvdento rate of

~rticipation in forbidden astiviti~s. I'rivatQ schools wbtc.b

d:raw its. cli:entele from oxtb~r..uc nd.ddle class tend to rastrlct

studonts pari.i(;ip&:tion in e1ar.destin~ activities du-e to theu

.e,onsewat1ve outlook. In gov~mment scbo.Jls we find once

again tM op~rntlon ·of the influence of fatber·•s occupetio:n

ani inctl}me (tho f1ii::$dl in~ group ·dr.Lif'..\-n from low prestige

arid wbi't~ ~olle~ O'Ccupatien&) in conditioning students

pea~t!~!pation tn foJ~blddt!n activities;

Tbts sh&ws that publi(; .SGhool background stgntft.cently

f..n<!ue..e.s. more stu~nta tow,ar.ds the· vl<:\lattnn of norms tn search

of toJ:b1dden pteaslnres,.. ln other wo:rff6b; pUbli.c .schools sub­

e~:tltUrQ uJhieh symbol1 .. ses affluoncG an\1 freedom facilltctes

student$ partJ .. ctpatton !n tabooed ectlvlt !es• type ot· .school,. • •

t~erefore .• strongly tnfluenees the c.landestf.ne activities

of eollege students.

Briefly~ eland est 1n~ p<1rt i cf,pat5.m. is stz·on{lll''

irJfluecced by t.h0 verf.abl~s* of sex, type of cc.llege, yt:.H~:t

of study, pattern !!' f resid~nce. f ::tthe:rs occup<"tion and type

of seho:··l and to a lesstar ~xtent by type of. family aoo the

sign1.fic::.mt to :l!}ttl th~t sttr.:lerrts pa.r·tic2.patS.on tn tabcoed

pl .. E.-asu.res V>16JS n:;.t found ·to be absc;.lut~ly ir1da-pend~nt of the

in:ttvence of -sny ::>f tha variabl~s discussed above, thuugh

some 1.1ift'erenc& in the {Jill.l'·;Jt'<ae of influence was ol,serva~le,.

(S~t! Ai:!r•endix-!V).,

Prsvalence of forbtddQn actt·vlties among $tudents

reveals only one dtmensi.gn o:€ G.landestinc culture but many

related 1ss.ues are equally important to 9t!t a more or less

complet ~ pletare of tho c landest ina beh~v1·our of tha college

students. fbis study has also attempted to probe the r(.!asom

wh1ch prompt students to flaunt the raoc.ial taboos: the

most pref.erred plac;es ~lere elandestino aetivlties aro

ca:r:r1~ on. Info~mation was also gathar G~d on 1.\''hethe:-

th~1r pcil"ti~ipati~n :tn $Ucb actS.vities is solitary or group .•

tf :so wftth ~1om; the source folf procuring fotbiddon itans.

required for leisure thrills• l<vheth.er fem11y memb$rs are

SllJttl:'e o£ thG· aetivltias of •their sons/daughters o~ is it

·IJt secret? And finally, \1hat is th~ atudentS(111tletbor

part1cipan·ts or non-partici.pants)attitude in genoral. to such

actf.vitias in v.hich some of. them are found to i:ndulge in

violation of tbe social norms.

<H"'141 their· influence on them. Before dwelling on the above

queries we b~9i1~ witb Lhe ~0neral attU.ucl~ of th.a collage

studerrts towanis the to~biuuet~ pleasures i.lfld then move on

to the specii ic issues involved.

Ttte qu~stion on general attitude to clandestine

aetivit i$S was not addressed to the part1eipants alone

but to tbe en-t.i.re student sample to assess their reaction

to those activities tiurt invariably entailed the violation

of accepted valutDs aad were not as freely pursued as tbt;i

otli.ler 1nfo·rma1 discretionary activit tes diaeussed in the

previous chef]tGr as leqitimate lei$ure. table-52 d•plcts

the general att.itude of .:ttll st.udenta to such <forbidden

ploasurea i.rx:espective of whethet: th:&y panielpated in th~

Gentgral sttitude.: of respe.~ents to el~nde$'t.i.ne actS.-vlt,les "mei"l't actlV'CiUs we·u-;;:t(:&~t~;a···..,··-Nr ..... -.,., ....... 1~:···· I -~·

~J'!'fldiMfiliJII!It-..a _ Rtl : .- ·a.·•~* 1· t 1 __ t Jlf · n tuJM -~~ · t •-•- r t .rur_ .~a- · n_ · ., ..... · rnna• 1 rn ••

2.- Bad G2 .• 16 3~ Makes 00 diff·arenc~ 20,.62 4 •. No opinion 2:4 •. !8

•If' _L! .... tltit14l\Wtl,!$_· ·w± I·-- .1 Ill( fltli§ &ilUi1J ltKJiJf!:tZ:: ~w-- *' :;fsUo:¥tl't4jl ·z ,-, •. _ •• -. -·-· tt _-...,..__ • ._ ... SI! ... wtx_ -_ l .itS

i 1 • • ...._...... p· .. 1 tis

*l'he$e queries bave beGn attempted with resp.eet to all <!l~ndGs-tine _ nttiviti"s,dl&CUS&ed aoove,eXG&pt d&;ting. 6e1ng the most popular forb.idden pleasure lt has bean discussed ifl <tetail 1n t"be next chapter.

Jt la sitnifieant to note tbat otol'e than half the respoftdewts

regard clandestine activities &$ *bad•. .Majority (44.95%)

among them are those who have never participated l:n thes~

activ1t1eGt but surprisingly a small percentage (?.21~) of

those who partielpate in such activities also regard them as

'bad t. This shoW$ that even aftGr recognizing these

activitl.es to be bad • som~ of the -st.udents succumb to the

lure of clandest ins thrills-which they attribute to the strong

peer inf lUt!neQ and the e~citement of G.xpsrimontincy'

expex-1enc ing th!l f'orbi.dd~n pl~asures.

Majority of those who feel thG£t tilbooed ac;tivlttes•

vdlether t;;ood or bad1 make no difference so long as they

px·ovide fun and excitement-w~ne those who actively participated

1n these l~ctivtties. It appears their sole concern is the

pureu,,t of tfcn•, t;'l1bether it comes from l~itimate or

illegitimate activiti~s it does not matter to them. As one

student said=

•• If these activities Are •bad • toll me why so many psople parti.cipate in them-. I feel i.f despite the&o beit]g the \'lli!'Q.nq kind of activities they manage to be so. •wtd,espretid' e:tmong we students a~least,·they c.ould nqt be x.-oall.y as harmful as tba soc lety mak&s them out to be. Personally 1 seo nothing wrong ln ~t.

Pex-1\ap.a tht.s lattP.r reaso.rd.ng stimulates many students to

violate the norms ta S'$ek the forbidden thrills whlch the

$oe.tety denies them.

Among thc.$e students v1ho had no op.1n1on about these

acttvlttes 1 more than half were tnos• \vho ( .1.4.43%) abstained

fr-om e;ueb activities whereas 9.6t% werG those who parttc1J'I)ated

-•210:•

ln Glandestlne activlties and yet had no concrete opinion

about tbese activities. rie would say that they were the

•avof.ders• who did not went to be faced or coru;erned about

the effects of their clandestine escapades. so long as they

could Qet. away by flaunting the norms for the sake of having

pleasure and fun. The above findings define the attitude

of students to the tabeo·Gd pleasures of wbi.eh the majority

rega.rded these activities as •bad•: whetiwr despite this

tbey atill indulge in such aet1v1tles is a matter that needs

further research. aut to see whether these attitud•s have

any bearing on the type of family to which they belong,

students• responses in this cantext were further analysed in

relation to the fE11ll1ily (G'ee Table-53) variable •

. TABLi:U

Attitude to clandestine activities by typo of family

J'eint These acti\fit.les a~tt=l39

2. B"

3. Makes no · d tf£ &rene~•

4. 'No opinion

4.31

so •• 28.06

(figs. in-percentage)

2.60

12.89

11.63·

thu shows that p~oponlonately larger number of stu:i.ents

Who regard t.hes.-e actlvlties as 1good • belong to the joint

•Jt:lli•

family as compared to the nuclear family. Significant

difference is also observed in the percentage response

of those students who tblnk participation in clandestine

activities 1makea no differeace• and the majority of tbem

also eome from joint rattier tban nuclear family; whereas

those wrtO prefess ''no epln1on• belong to the nuclear family.

Assuming that those who regsl'd partielpatton ln cland;estine

activities 'good' or •makes no difference• v.ould be the ones

vmo probably also observe these norms more in their btGaoh

a sGtnewbat clearer picture rEHJarding their behaviour emel'QO'S•

We have already fftQnt1oned that tho laek of pr1vagy at home

prompts more stUllients to participate in clandestine

activities, cur findings on tbe type of family reveals that

more students fmm joint rather tban from nueloar families

indulge 1n forbidden pleasures (though the difference was not

found tc be st.gnlfieant). HGnoe we may say that the type of

family not only influences students participation ln

clandestine acrtlvl.ties but also defiaes or moulds their

attitude to these activities in general.

J!}Mi0!it

Table-54 shows t:be comparative acc:ount of tho variety

of reasons v.hk'h stU.derrt,s tenerally essoctate with thG.ir

parttclpatlen in fo:r1bWd•n· aetiritleth for the sake of

meaningful compartsoa the re-s'J)Oft&e& were divlded 1nto the

following c;onceptual oatogoJ:les. '1App~wal seekers• rofs~

to those students who Juettfy thetr clende$t.1ne pentelpatlon.

on grounds tba~ th$y wished to l)e accepted by tbelr frierds/

J.. Appmv al seekers

a. Coping v.d.th tensions

3. Habltuals

4. llebels

s. Achievers

32.13

43.64

1.2.23

6.24

5.76

100.00

societ.y or they jvst wanted to experiment with the tabooed

act.tvltles. •coplng wltb tensions• thole who beleng to this

c;ategozy lnelude those students who attribute their clandestln1

partic1patlon to removin9 boredom• to get over problems. to

feeljrelaJ.CGd/esnteRtodJ 1Habitttals• ar$ tbos,e who cannot glv&

up elandestlne partic!patic:m because it has become .pari. of

their 1tf'e style... *R.ebels' are thesa Who seek solac·e ln

tabOGed pleasures tr;tef:la~e of authorlty and f1:rt&lly1 we·

have tbe •Aeblevers• \\tlo defdfld thelw clandestine

p&rtielpati<on on ttounds that they can study better.

. - . . . . - - . . - . . . . . - .

*'JJirfff.erence I and U bas }3e$n tak$n to9etb.o~ by scoring ~ giving I acoree f'or P%{1st preferenoo) and 1 sco.rQ lor PII(lXnd tn"Gfe~eaee).tbe relattve welgbtege was wot'k,ed out by addi.hg t~. $cores.

As l.s clear ffom tbe Table•54 the main teasons wl\y

$tud.ents participate in foll'bidden pleasu~s is that either

they want to cope with tensiOns or else they wanted to seek

tbe approval of their friends i.n a bid to re:i.nforee tho e1tqua

ties. Among •coping with tenstons• tbe major reason for

clandestine thrills was the students desire for relaxation

o!i' contenment. Contentment implies *fun• and this finding

SUPPOrts our hypothesis that the maj orlty of tho so who

vlolat~ the clandestine taboos do so for fun and pleasure.

Mohan (1975) has also sbom ln his study that· the manne:r ef

use of dru-gs by stuchtnts vJOs g.merally •recreational• rather

tban · 'dependence•. This supports our contention that the

mi1jor driving foroe behind students clandestine participation

I.e their deeb~ for t·t,un• end 1pleasuro• 0 closely follo,.._d by

an u:rge to do what the it:" friends are dOing. It is quite

likely-after the J.nttial fun and eleeitement dies down many

outgrow their lur:'e fer elandentine tlu;tlls an.d perhaps that

ls the x--eason we hav~ eomp&:ratively so few 'ba1dtuals' •

still foW$r •rebels ., and tha~east tbe ,ta'Cbievez:s'.

In order to assess whether the variables .of se•1

r~stdenoe oX> the t}rpe of family exerted any slgnlficent

influence on. t.he studor:rts rtspGnse regarding the reasons

for clandestine 'pf)rtictpation a further analysts was attGmpted ($ice Table-55). The data shows a cons.is.tently hi.gh'

respansll for •coping vdth tensions• l»y all studonts

lndieatlng t'be maln J."easons to be relaxation,, contentment.

to get ri-d o.f boredom/pt"obletn$,. Kov.~ever, on tbe bas is

of percentage alone we find higher •approval soakers' among

•:2?4:•

Reasons for clandestine participation by sex,, resl.dence & type of family.

J..Approval 36.96 seekers

2.coring 36.30 wl b tensions.

3.Habituals 14.52

4.Rebels 6.27

5.Achievers S.95

44.74 27.4.1.

42.J.l 45,.,19

6.14 13.52

1.75 3.70

5.26 5.19

·(figs. in percentage)

27.58

36.8a

11.70

7.46

6.38

47.92 31.00

15.28 13.19

f.emale.$, whQGe deslre fox o 11quG .approval suporsedes even

tb$11: bid for seeking fun/.relaxatlon. on the contrary we

find ¢omparatively fa:c *fewer *ap~oval seekea:-et among thG

hostler·s and those belonging to the jol.nt famt.ly. In th~se

t·wo eat4gories trbelr desire for fun and $XCitement GXGOed$

that of doing things for the sake of being accepted by

friends. Jt. i:& quite likely that the hostlers v-ho have

to c.ope vJith fa:r fewer ~estrietlons and have :relatively more

f~eadom Gre tbern&elves ttle ·ones who W,)U1d be tbe trend setters

for others to follow suli;, in other wo:t:ds they are by end larga

tho initiators, not tbe. initiated, into the elandesttne

culture. Am probably thlo expli!iins Why m.ajority of them

justify thetr cland~\sti.n$ partietpetion for •coping \"Jith

tensi.on8' rather tbal'l for seeking approval of frie:nds.

P~11ong \ho$-e belonging to the joint family escaping the

lack of p:rivac;y or the autbo:ritar1an milieu at home ts

tholr major problem and their maximum response for •coping

with tensions• appell:rs to justify tt.

!~aximum •habltuals• ere ttl$ hostlers and the least

are th$ females. This ls an interesttng finding, as we have

statedearlier that hostlers beve greater freedom and

opportunity to indul~e 1n forbidden actlvltias whereas females

being under the eloso Gupervision of parents are neither

t»rtn1tted freedom nor allowed greater mobility trJhich restricts

tbetr parlicipat.f.on .in this sphere: of act.ivity.

S<;Ually i.nte.restlng to note 1s tl\e day scholars '

· x-e.bel11ouG epi:rit tc fGllow the tabooed pleasures. as shown

by tll~ir ma)liJnutn toes-potu";.& under the •rebels* category. Day

$cbola.r$-......et;;,peeially n'Hll·~S from nuclear fatn:I.U .. es--are undet

tbe dlreet eut1\or1ty. Qf the. pru:·ents vdtw i.ftVGr!ably deny them

tba freedom to pursue· the desired activitl~s. Ar¥:t t-Alen

the,f.tt deslr• fo.r: plea1;:ure S'Upersedes the limlt of their

.enduranc;o(i.n .rega.rding palt'Gnta1 restrlct!.ons to be

unjuc6tified) they l:"ebe.l:t As stat$0 ear.ller society ls tno:t&

toleran\ to m~les flQUntlftg the no.xmG or rebelling, and

p~rhaps Qlales \ake e4vtiota<Je of this laxity en the part

of tha sooi:$tV tn see~Lng t.be clandestine tbrf.lls. Females

on the otber hand bave leamt to J.tve "dtb the lnbibltlons

aftd that 1ti why we find $0 few •rebels• amoru;~ them. No.

slgn.ifiGant diffe~renc.e in 1·asponse was found in case of·

•ach1ev~:rs', thoi.HJh ma~imum response was recorded by the

dey scholars Who feel their cla.J1lGlesti.ne parlieipat ion helps

them to stu.dy better.

On the basts of above 'He may say that •coping with

preblcmts• is the most important reason for clandestine

partic1p~ion and ts independent of the influen¢e of any

of the variables. Ho,vever *approval seekers• • showed

signiff.eant variation in the cooteKt of the hostler/day

scholar categories as vJell as type of family variable •.

•t-tabitu.s:1s 1 showed a raaz·ked influence of sex. 'Rebels' were

inf lueneed by the variables of se•• re.sidence as wall es

type of family• *AeJd.ever$1 were iod.apendent of the

tnftu~~e of my_ -c>f tbo va:t: tables. on the tttflole we may say

that tht:' va:d;abl~$ o.f sa~ .• teaid.ence· and type of fami.J.y

strongly influGncoe tbe tEUJ.~JlSP why &tudents 90 tn fot

clandestine thrills.

In the begl.rm.ln.g of this chapter we have mentioned

tbt1t forblttd~n acti.vf.tles bear negative $anctlo.ns of socl.ety

and thoee wbo indulge tn them take c;.a~e to maintain tho

Ge~l'$$J to avGld the SililltCtions. In this context place of

partLd.patlon in t"ese activtt l.es assumes stgnificanee as

it att.empte to focus attention on where exactly tbe students

feel more secure ln trenstressiru) the norms, without fear

of being found out. Preferred place thus reflects students

choice of the al'ea which in theil' view is safe. Table 56

~resents data in this regard., Here besides the tot~l.

responses we have also at.temptad to analyse the students

responses aoainst the variable of type of famt.ly to see

if it e>eex·ts any meaningful influence on the students chok~

of the most ~referrt?d place for pursuing the cl.aridGstine

activit 1es.

It is surp:ri$109 to note that maj ortty of students

prefer tc indulge in clandestine· 4Gtivities at heme (friends

house incla.u:l$di)• au co.mpared t(:l aray other supposedly •safe'

plac£h this X>asponse ~vas especially high among those

Pl'ef~rluJd placo to:t particl.pat1on: by type of family

Flnd~lv .Joint Nuele€:11' N=l44 Ne273

Total N'#4:17

·lff__ r-u - , t; w ;_ z z __ t '- ·_ . r .~-_. t • tu st r -_ 1 · g t _ n 1 n t _- e , · · u rr u,t- : . tst r r -

1,. At hom,e 44 .• 44 $6.26 39.1.9

2. out.stde 25.-68 23~08 23.89

s. Hos-t~t 11,81 12,.45 12.23

4, No fl~.ed plil·Qe lS~OG 28.21 :24,70

ilalotlging to the joint farn111os,.. We baw already pointed

<>ut that lack ot pr1v$Cy and teneions at borne <h:·ive·s many

students to seek claftdestine pleasu.~es, tn th:ls co.ntext

withdrawal in the sanctaury of home or f:ciends house to

satisfy. the urge for forbidden pleasures is the c::r:ea that

ne$'ds to be inv&stiga.ted. Obviously our data tends to

suppart th:lt> ~:antentlon that most ef the students irrespeettve

of the type of family manage to se0k forbidden pleasures

• et h(Jlrtu~'. The most prefer:r~d plaGe for clandestine

participation in moGt of tile ca&es also impliea the atttu81

k f t i. place as wG t;;athe:red from students rt.mlar a. · Hrtn.e · n

students view ap~ar·ed to be the •safeet• place to avoid

uw,iue ha;rtussment at the hands of <lut.ho:rit1es, (be it legal

cr hostel) in the event of being cau-ght. \\hereas if the

family membe.rs fin(ii out aoout the c.la#ldestine violation of

taboos thez:e a.re cban~es that tbey would be left with a

Gtiff walt'ning -llke tbe fear of punishment tf the police or

tile hostel autbo~ti:~J.qs. W\tl'e to catch tbe students. Hence

weigbittt;; tbe issues pu:re.ly in t~rms of th$ punishment ln the

event of being found out ·- home definitely appear,s to bo the

se£()1: pli:!(H~ for o1andest1nG violation of the norma.• Although

this Gould be tzue· fer those studctnts. where other family

members t)tt$ el$0 lavolv:od ln tabt;oed acttvlties, as for ot.hors

thls s~ea needs p:-o!btn;. Other than home, quite a st.aeable

P~?PGJftion of student$ indulge in thes.e activlt1'$S •outside.•:

in tbis eontext many atud~ts revealed that nosmelly thsy do

not indulge tn forbidden act.ivtttes; their elandestine

D"Gb~viou.zo wa.s moGtly .coQf'ineci to the •·partlea• and •get

togetbeiL'st where ~11 ir~bl.bitlan$ are thrown to wSnd for

getti.nCJ J\d.oks'·• 1beae pal'ties are often arranged at a

mut•~a 1 ht •~cnveni ent pl ;'(; ~ • but r.a ro 1 y (lit home -~ that too

, .. ,men someonw•$ p~r~nts a:re :£'(~all}' broad minded or had locked

up the he use end gone away. •conv0ni.~nt place • v.rat; $ clO$ely

ge.t,arded secret knotm only to the closG ,;irela of f-riends wbo

participated tn t.he cland&stioe activity.

P..n equal number of students responded that often

they heve r11.~ f·ix«f pliice that is •enly·• sssoclr;ted with

$$0k1ng clandestine thrllls. '' couple of friends get together

and plan en activity and he()d fo:· the place ~\hieh at that

mom~nt strikes to all a$ th® most safe. Our findin.gs SU~Jtg&St

that ef all the places hostel i.s reg.~.tded by a .maj(')rlty of

students as the .ler~st preferred place for clandestine vtol~'lon

of th-? t,:11boos. f:,s one hostlt-1.1" r.&veal<l'ch

• • Not hirl\J is sec .:rat ill hostc 1.. Wb~t. you do • what ar~ your fxlends• \'llhlat you eat,.read.wh.en end What movies you see, i:f ynu smoke how manyc iga:rf#ttes, what b:r:-.d-the lt.Gt is endl&r:ns,., You life !s an open bo<Jk. ~ ~atter how much cera you trike.,the·.re a:re 3lways those who will bo the know-a.· ... ·. ·· llSt &rd they tell all. That's my problGm,. .•

If we auce:pt th1& statement as reflecti·ng the viaws

of tbe nlajor!ty we caB under:etand \41by hostel iG the least

prefer~ placG fo.r follbldden pleasu~es 1. a$ matntalnlng

secre<;;y t.s an tmpottta.nt G~tite~r1a for the vlolati.on ·of

PGlMUS i.n the put-&Ui' o:f $UCb aettvlties. All the same, tbe

PQ6Si.bility of ho&tl(lrs. leaving fot: the secxet places ls

bt.gber as CQtnptnted with day ~holars.

Df ceiDparittg the ~sponses of studEnts agai.nst the

vlilxiable GJf tbQ type of family 1t is Qlear that fa~ mer$

students from joint than nuclear family ptrefer •home' te

be the most desirable plaGe for Glandestine thrills for

reasons discussed above. As already mentioned this area

needs further research. No variation was noticed in

indulging 1n such activlt.ies •outside' er at •ho.stel• on

account of fam1ly.. But far more students from nuclea:r

familles than joint bad •no fixed place• for elench~stine

pursuits. On the whole tbe type of family was bound to

influence students participation in clandestine culture

• at home• or at 'Ro fixed place'; whereas their responses

regarding •outside• and 'ho&tel • were found to be ind.ependent

of the type of family.

,m!FftiQ P'Ra!Y· Majority of the students who participated in

forbidden pleasures did so in the company ef •friends'

(see Table-57) 0 approximately half of them we:re •tenets'

whereas a very sma 11 minority of students have stat·ed tbat

thoy i.ndulge ln clandestine partielpation in the company of

their •famlly membersJ In our analys.ta the terms 1 lontr•

stands. for thos,e students who keep their clandestine

pattielpatton a closely ~ar:d•d secret end prefe~ to keep

theb forbidden acti'Vitles to themselves. lboe axe students

wbQ pa.rtict.pate '*alO'ne" ln such actlvltlts•: 1 fr1ends' Imply

not only clique ·mates b¥t also datesJ whereas tfamtly members:•

imply father• mother:,. brother and stater t.hst 1& 'tlders• and

•slblinge*•' An over\'lheimin·g t;espon&e in f aveur of friend·G

company tn clandestlno ttu:llls tends to 1ndlcste that whereas

•

students tend to keep their clandestine b0haviaur a secret,

bUt that secrecy precludes the circle of th.e.ir friend& with

wbcm su<;h act1vitiea are carried out and who probably are the

ones to initiatQ them into the clandestine culture. 1be

1ns1gnificaftt minority who have stated that they indulge in

forbidden pleasures in the company ef family members imply

Companyibr elandestine pa.rtict.pation by tYPO of family

Preferr.efi company Family Total Joint Nuc:; lear N= 144 »=273 N=417

(figS. in percentage)

1. Loners 34.03 31.50 32.37

2. Friends 5'~.03 63.37 61.87

3 • Family members 6.94 5.13 5,76

th$ prevalence of relatt.vo freedom ln tbe family c1rcl·o for

clandestine behaviour, lt may also mean that o.nce the otbe:r:

femtly members also tnctu.lge' in forbidden pleasures whether,,

· smoiUng or drink i.Ag ate• it beccmaes far more oaster to pi.e'k

tbl$ habit .at home withc.lut feellnge of restrictions or

inb1bttt.ons,. that is,, in such eases parental authority bocomea

non-operational..:

tn terms of the type of family we flnd no stgntfteant

difference tn tbe responGe of the &tu:ients. Students

belofttint to both joint as well as noo lear families giv.e

topmost prterit.y to friends eompany. Tho •loners• among

them are also qult.e hlgh though ~reentage..,dse we do not

find any significant difference. This is true even for t:ho

company of family members though cemparatively more stude.nts

from joint than nuQlear families sought their company.tn

joint. family the presence of secondary and teirtlary kln are

1mpe.rtant. These persons may participate end/ or protect

par~ioipation-th1s is wortb noting and need& further p,ob1n.g.

on the basis Gf the a bova we may say that friends company

is extremely p&pular for seeking clandestine thrills.

for. the students who pursued drug taking activity

the ehle-f SMU'f)eG for procuring this forbidden stuff were

two~on-commorctal* sellers and tho 'commerc1s1 1 sellers•,·

Vlltb.in tne first catefoJ:Y comG f;)GneJ:a lly the friends •

f'o~ign stucSonts cr hostlers \~O tenerally supply theb

f'rienda witb d:r:ug.s. fbG non~ommerclal net work provides

S~ ef the drug& to the drug""'USets. Another quota · of ~

is proCul?ed frGm the commercial H11ers who 111ega1ly aell

dwgs. · Wltbbt ttd.a chol~ eomo the chemists:~ pan shops etc.

Our flndlngs sugqest tbat aqaong th& commercial net v.oJ>k,

pan selle%s suppUed as much as 35.'71% of d~gs to the etudlmts

wher-e.es .14.29' drugs were obta:ined from chemists, Keaee •.

we may say \bat friends are the major source of druga among

the students followed by illegal sall$rs. In other words

non-commoX'eial network was the· mest popular sour(:e of drugs

&ft1Gnt the college students.

Regl\lrding tho m.owledgo of sueb ae:t t viti es to other members

of the family Table-58 raveale some surprising findings.

For instance ln our analysts•elders• imply father, mother

and guardian. •$i.blings• stands for b,rotb.QJ'• sister cous.ins,

*rebels' stands for those students who dQ not make secret

of their clandestine activitles and almost everybody in the

family knows about their clandestine pursuJ.ts• vJhereas \

•ratreatists• are those who keep their tabooed behaviour an

absolute secret J.n the sense that none is aware of their'

clandestine aetlvities.. our findings suggest that there are

tbe maximum peJ:C.entage of •retreatists• among the vf.olators

of the tabooed nonto closely fellowed by tbe 'Febels•-that

is those who carry their clandestine aetivities in full

knowledge of everyone• The rest of the responses \-tere

d1vlded among the siblings and eldors• ·lft wh;lch the formar

respanse was mol'e than the lattex-,. This rneans that the

elders bardly come to know about the clandestine,

p$ttlcipatlon of their ehtldren/wards. Zt is lnt(l)Jl'ast ing

to note frOna the a~»ve tindings that the maxlmuu atudonta

ret;ponees s-egarding the tmowledg.e of their clandestine

behavSouz: reflects the t\fe c:uttremee....,that l.s ei-ther: no

one in the f-amlly kfto\W about them or almost everybody

ln the fami,ly knows. Abnost belf tbe students ind$,cated

IAIL!l-:!1 Know_lpdgl Sf flS!!S!@StlDG JlBt.'j&c1Qiti2n )y 1fXQ!. gj' £if!!I.J:x

. i*amlly Who tmows Joint Nuclear Total

J..ilders 2.SlJ)1inga 3.Rebels 4. Retreatt.st s

N-48 N=tl N=139

that their slbllngs kftew about thetr acttvtt los \.'llhereas chan.ees of other membei'S such aG father• mother or guardian l<nowtng it figUred rather low.

ln tezms of the type of family we find the maximum •ret::eatists• in both-jotnt as well as nucleas family .•. Closely following tht.s were the •rebels' in nuclear fam111es 1

•rebels • among joint families t."J()re less than the •retreatista! on the other hand 1n joint family a signlflca.ntly high percentage of students have incU.cated that their siblings ttnow about thea clandestine acti.vlties. Tbls is so because siblings in joint family includes cousins & S.n nuclear family was found to be low. Iilders 1~t both types of families had the lowest knowledge about their chlldrens clandestine behavtous-.

on the basis of the above we may say that on tho v.ho.le we have majority of •re:tft~•tists• but tha type of family exerted no lnfluene~ on thls response~: 'Rebels • formed the othe;- extreme and according to our ftmU.ngs type· of family exert a slgnlf·l:cant influ~e on tbls category' type of famt1Y. strongly tnfluencf!d elbltnge behavtour but not •·elders• responses regeu:dln9 the 'kftowledge of cland41tst1ne Psrticipattcn.

A f·urther an.ely$1& 1n thts respect was carried out ln reference to father$ education. occupatlen and incomtl 1:0 f lnd the tntluenco of these ve:rlables eoncam.t.ng the knowledge about c1an<Jest1ne actl.vttleS·•! · Table•59 shows the picture vls•a-vis education of fathot. It ls interesting to note

that we have t.be maximum •retreatists' among those whose

fathers have college education closely followed by those vlao$G

Knowledg4\ of clandestine act·f.vlties by father's education

School Edu. College Edu. Profesaie>n&.t/, Who knows technical

ill.

1. Elders

2. Siblings

:a_. Rebels

4. Retz·aatists

N=34 r~s N=40 , L _ I 1!1¢21

17.65

29.41

44.12

8.82

.·(figs. la poreontige1· 6.15 12 .• 5

16.92

23lt09

53.85

15.00

30.00

42.5

fathers bad professional/technical qual.iflcatlons,. thi$

response was significantly low among the school educated

category. Jn centra$t we have the maxtmum number of ·

• rebels t drawn from t~e • sohool-et:.tucated •category. 'Rebels •

among the college educated as well as the px:ofeS$iottal '

category were comperetive l·ess. If we recall our earliell'

finding in relation to tbe students participation in

clandostf.nG ac:tivities in the light of fathers educat1,on we

have $SW tbat lower the education of the father the more

is the etuchtntr; ~rtloipatton tn clandestine actlvlt~es. wo also po.in\ed out that. 1n such cizeumstances there t.s an

apparent oollapso of parental author1ty resulttng in maxtmtin

I)$X'tle.tpat.ton amont students ~A'IoGe fatheJs • educational levol

is low.· In the pres~nt context maa!mta respon$~ among the

.rebels category suggests that students f~m low educational

-•·226.1•

backgrounds indulge ln wc.b activities 1n full knowledge of

family membezo$• this state of aff~.;~lrs implies the breakdown

of authority le~ding to the greater partioipetion in forbidden

activities. Ev<in siblings knowing about such activities is

ropo.rt~ to be maximum from among this group as compared to

those whose fathers bed comparatively higher educatiORJ atd

finally even raore elders appear·ed to have the knowledge about

the clandestine part ielpat.ion of students from low educated

familieS. It is likely that families in l'llhic;h fathera are

lew eduoated are joint flilmilies. this shows that fathers

education strongly inflUGDees tha knowled9e about such

act lvi·ties.

Regardin9 fathers oet;upation ($ee T~ble-60) we find

that maxS.rrn.n number of 'retreat1sts• were those whose fathers

l.,Elde!'e, .,.,

a. stbJ.tnes 20.00

&R.,bels sa. sa 4 .• Retreattst& 46 .• 61

Professions N=68

(flCJS• in percentage)

s.ee 19.03

11.16 29,.03

22.06 ~'26

60.30 39.68

e.oo 28,.00

4fJ •. oo u .. oo

were tn profesG:i.ens followed by th$ white collar workers.

lew prestige occup-ations, others in that order. •Rebels t

\\~re found ·to ba ma"imWl among the •ot.her' oceupattons

followed by lo\~;-prest1ge category. If we :cecall our earlier

finding v1e h.1ve shown tb,iJ!\t in the •others• and low-prestige

o(;cupations we have thoS$ whose level of education is low­

tbi.s in turn implies break down of pa.re.nta 1 authority Vllhicb

i.n tum means more participants from a.mon9 these two vategorles

of occupat.ions.. Least knowledge to siblings as well as elder$

worG in the professions and •othG:rs• (in case of latter).

Sibl5.ngs were in the 'know• of clandestine activities in the

\'l'hlte collar, low ... prestige as \~11 as •others• groups. Hence

we nt•lY cone lude that •retreatists • irte:ra highest, among families

in profassi<:mals •. •rebels'..owho tn a way d<.~f1ed authority-

were more among the others, 'low-prestige' atrd 'white collar•

eategox-ies.. On the vbole tba variable of fathers oc;cupatlon

also exerted a meaningful infJ.uance regarding thi$ aspeet

of clandestine bahavl,ourt i('t a wgy it seems to be tho

reflection of tho tnfluenoe of fathers• education.

Coming to tl\() income variable (see Table-61) wG flnd

tho mendmum numbe:r of ''retl'·eatls~s·• in the mlddle income

group, maximum t>Qbala ln the low income groUflt aoo maxhnum

eld~rs who knew about t'be clan.destlne behaviour of th.el.r

cb!ldren belonged to the middle and high income brackets.

s·ibltngs cat.ego.,y df.d net show a.ny meaJd.ngfu1 dlfferQnce .in

the perc$tltage respons~. Assuming that the l~w income group

also E.lignify .lcww.p~estlge oe.Gupationst cur fi.ndtngs ln refere~

to ·• rebels• category becomes once a49ln stgnif'.!c ant and

J )

l.!ldet"s a.sibl.tngs 3.Rebels 4.Retreat1sts

Rs.,Ol & above

N=33

Jmpl!es tbat prevalence of clandestine behaviour occurs maximum in thos• situations where fatb<ttrs education ls low, o<~;cupatloru:; are of low-prestige and tneome is also low or middle level. SUch a situati .. on s1gntfles the slackness ln parental authority and r0sults ln a more permtsslve backdrop foif the violation of norms. 'Hetreatistst, on the other hand are t.he 'loMrs• and tb~y come from middle ineom.e groups genera,lly assoelated w!tb the white collar occupations M\ich ts known to maintat:n the norms and defer their qratificatlona of fun and pleasure. Thus \V$ may say that like fatb0r•s education a,nd occupation income also exerts a very ~.tghly st.gnlficant 1nflutnf;e ln the clandestine knowledge of such activities tn the femllyf,

~&pi} iCY, 11¥. Here we bave attempteo to analyse tbe 'rQtr.efJtista•

Qetegory further to f lnd o1,1t the reasons glv~n by studont,s for keept.n~t tbeb' C)laade:stbte bebavlour a secret from thetr family rnember$.e' Tho hlOft~st percentage of respense · for f$mlly's lack of infotmat:l.on wae ot:t~ibut«J by students to 'kee·ping theb acttvltleG a $eeret* (38.l8%),. An almost equal p%'0PQrtt<Jn attribute lt to lndul<}ing l·n ouch ectivltlos •out.t;tde' (37.1$i) to keep the family fl'Om flndtng about such activltles'·• 29~~e»~ attrt.lb~'"ted l.t to the lack of communteatlon with the tamlly membcu:-s~" These responses onca agat.n slplfy the desire of one &eetlon of students-that la •ret~eatists•-to keep their clandestine behavl.ous- to thanselves for fear of social sanction.s.~

i!tflt\&X• Briefly the aoove findings reveal that;

1. Sttldant& 4o part:i.c1pate in clandestine activttt.es .in

their leisure.

2-. Participation 1n dating wa$ found to be highest~•

P&:rtie1patlon in otbel" activities were comparatively

less anrJ these included smoking, drinking, dru\} ·taldng

~nd gambling in that order. However, there ta a

small group t~Alicb participates tn almost all the

aetivities. This pattern waa found to be conststent~y

s~me with ref~rence to all the variables discussed

above.

3. Sex..,..4Vise partieipat.i.on of males was significantly f.•r

greater thaR females in all the tabooed act1v1tles .•

Sex alSG detemines the society·• s attitude towa!ds t'ho . .

violation of norms.. . As mentioned earlier society ls

tnOJ:e tcle%\ant t~rd& males violating the noms than

the fetn$1es, the forme;r also have more freedom and

~·e~t.er cpportu.nit 1es fer eKperienc 1ng the c lendestine

thrills than the females wb.ose strict upbringing as

v,vel.l as soetety•s doul'ile code in judging the bre.ach

of norma act as an emotionaJ. nlock that prevents

tbelr elartdestlne indulgence to the same e1ttent as

males. 'rill& l.s <;dearly re!lt':!cted in th0 sex V¢lrlab1e

di.cc:ussod. t:bo\t¢1 vm.ere beside male/fOOtale vartsbl~,1 the

type of college elso td.gnlfieantly reflect the unoqtJ~.l

parlieipattcn rate of students on account of t.he sex-wist

compos1t1on of the colleges. Our data indicateG

PMC leads in clandestine partielpati n, CEC stud<:~nts

are mederate or so to say they oecupy an intermedtat.e

pesltlon and PFC students are associated with lowd'

partictpatlon rate. ·

4., The year of s-tudy not only exerts a significant

influenee but provides a vital trend ln students

clandestine behaviour. our findings sugqest that

elande~tine participation beginning in lst year

(or perhaps even earlier) shoots up 1n lind year

and then tends 'to decline tn II!rd year. This is

con~rary to Mohan's study where he found that the

part1eipatton gees on inereasin·g with the increase

1-n rising yfi<U: of study. In the lst year the students

are more· reserved and hesitant to break the norms, .in

the IInd year their reserves break down, and they feel "

more free t'o indulge 1n tabooed pleasures. In the t-emi ..

·-:-:..::nal phase ~f college llfe1 many having tasted tbe

tabooed tlu:.llls, outpow thts fad or elee become

aca<temtcally more serious to makQ grade in exam1natlontti'

this eJrplains the low-part1cipatlon by the 1st aad

ll.Ird year otudeats as compared to tlle aaximum

participation amGJ\9 tbe l:Ind yea~ students':.

'•' Witb referanco to the cours1 of study gen.erally speaking.,

mo:r:e $'ass course 1d\an hoDGui's students participated in all

the tabooed actl.vtti(i!St save smoking,where. revQrse 9JaG I .

tbe case. Even tn regald to othel' lt&ma the resu lt.s

-:291&-

are not statistically sltniflcant except drug taking.

This tndlcates the course of study dtd not have muc:b

influ&nee on the students participation in such

actlvltles.

6. Hostlers bave greater f~eedom and $ppO~tunlt les for

~landestine participation. This ls suppOrted by our

findings where participation of hostlers was found

to be almost double in all aetlvlt lea as compared to

day scholars.

7. In the context. of the family background varlables such

as type of family. father fs education, occupation &

income we find most of the clandestine activit tes were

found to be iftdependent of the influence of type of

family e.g. $motdn<J. drinking and gambling. However,

this variable on th0 basls of percentage tlJ3pe&rs to

affect students participation in drug takt.ng which was

found to he more or less double among those from joint

than nuclear families. The only plausible oxplanat.lon .

far such a state of affairs is the desire to escape

tensions and autllorlta%lanlsm whlch is conduolve to tbe

vlolatt.on of clandestS.ne norms.

Pathqt:$ Gducatlon had a negst.lve influense in students

clandestine behaviour as greater part.1c.1pants t.n sucb

aetlvltles are those 'Whose father•s level of oduca\lon

ls .l"elat1ve1y low~. under such a stat.e of affairs the

parental authority tends to slack which provides the

neeeSUIV impetus for tbe traasgresslon of norms for

forbldd,en pleasures.

unlike education Gf father, his occupation oxerts a

tdgnlftcaftt Influence on the clandestine behaviour

of students• We find maximum patt.1e1panta among the

l&w-presttge/otbers occupational cat.egorl~s. These

easily imply low education• which in tum means less

authority and more freedom for tabooed aetivt.tles.

In a way education aJ¥1 occupation together are

responsible for students clandestine behavl.ou~.

Per capita lncomo be&r$ a direct x·elat1on to the

students pa.rtlci.pation in seme of tbe clandestine

activities. As the income grows the clandestine

paJ't icipat.lon also appears to grow w1tb highest amon.g

those ln the top income bracket and least in the loW

income group. Middle income troup ls associated with

average partifipation. On the whole income along with

fathers. educs.t1-on and occupation also influences

somewhat students c:landestine choices. We may tbus say

that f•lly background variables play meaningful role

in condlttoning stUdent& elandeat ine behaviour~

s .• , Type of achool also bas a direct beartn:g to the

partictpatlon of at\ldents in tabooed sc:tlvltle& "vtth

tnc'ucSmum paxtictpattra among thoae having public

sc;booltng .... whicb l.mplle!:3 affluence and more frGedom­

then tbose hsvirtg prlvat.e o~: goveJmm.ent school

background :fa t:hat o:rder~

9. As stated in the begf.nniftiJ ·ol this ohaptel' clandestine

activities bave netatlve social sanctiens-student$

•12931-

are aware of the prevalli.rt9 norms that forbid

participation in such activities, yet many of them

are lured into such practices by the thrill of

experiencing clandestine pleasures. Clique mates.

to a very larg{5! extent are responsible for their

friends in.itiation lnto the clandestine ac.t1vit ies.

Many students trrespeet.lve of knowing them to be •bad•

still succumb to the clandest 1ne lure. However • a

great majority of students view these aetivltles as

'bad' and tend to avoid indU1CJ1ng in them, this

$Xpla1ns why we have sueh a high. non ... partielpation

rate in elandestine activities, except dating which

by far is the most popular clandestine activity

and therefor·e dlsoussed in det.all tn the next

obapter. .Many who have Gchoed 'no opinton' or lt

•mates tm c:iifference~• are pe.rhaps the ones tnbo also

participate in thet~t... To them perhaps good or bed . makes no dlffer~nce so long as they ~et their tbrtlls.

To avold open sanctions by soet.ety the accepted rule

that opet:'&tes among the college students is to matntai.n

a •conspiracy ,of silence• ln th& sphere of cl.andest.lne

leisure e~tlvtt. tes.

10• *CoPlnt \dth tensions'' is the most important reasort

which compels students to seek clande~rstine thrills.

In this catet)oJ!T deslr$ to feel 'relaxed' or to $oek

•cont.entment• wore the main driving forces. lboso tv.o

reasons imply the college situdents bid to seek pleasure

and •fun' f:rom their l~~re-clandestine and tabooed

does not matter to them ooce they cross tho thin line

that dema.r:c7ltes the two s.pberes of activities. f•han•s

study also empbasi.se the recreational aspect in the

drug taking behaviour of the college students. fle.nce

tbe basic urge of stwents is to satisfy their desire

for fun. We also have quite a number of 'approval

seekers• who $tray into these activities to get the

approval of thelr friends or just to experiment.

•Habltuals• • tz'·ebels' and 'achievers• trlere

comparatively low. Thus we may say that students

clandestine behaviour is guided foremost by intentions

to seek rel<ucatlon, peer group enticement or

acceptance an.d o·tten CUll'uostty that belies an i.rttense

ur9o to experiment for experiencin'9 tabooed thrills

in· sheer dlsre,ard for preva.iling norms.

~<m viewed ag~inst th$ variables of sex., resldeneo

and family we find ma;d.mt.m Jl'G:$pon~H\l tor •coping \'Vith.

tsnsl.ons' 1, •apt)roval seekers' are low smong tbo

hostlers• ... perl\aps: bec,auae they themselves are the

inttlat«>r& lfl many ceses. 1ft joint fami.l~because

fol'emost uge ls to GGpe with the problems of tGnston,

au\ho:ttartenl$1'1 at home. Least 'habituals•/aad

•rebels·t ar.e. found among the females-perhaps duo 'to

thei;r $belterred upbringing- on the \.mole these I

tnt variables exerted a significant 1nfluenM ln determt"f the reasons of stud eRt.s eland-est ine behaviour.

11. Home is th& most p:roferred place for clandostine

part1cipat1o:n follo11;ed by those who prefer to confine

theh clandestine escapades •outslde'home. Our

finding$ -~llggest t·hat more often than net theee

activities are carried out in a fri$ndS house, in

some cases whe.n the parents a:r.G not in town then home

1s the bast place to ca.rcy on these aetivj.ties. P~ore

students from joint families prefer home then outslde.

Whereas more students from nw: lear families had no

fixed place for elandesttne activities •

.12. Majority of the st.udentt? preferred the- company of

friends to seek clandestine thrills-as one student

said~

•• to bavG fun one must be able to share with pa.ls .•

•Loners• tr.rere also quite high: those vJho sought family

members company were very few. This was found to be

more or less independent of the influence of the typo

of family variable.

13. Non.cernw~rcial QS well as commercial nettvork were

found to. be equal ty important ·sources of drugs fa.r

the stu.dents. Among the commercial network lllegf.ll

$e ller$:•pan shops ll'e.re found to be veJty important •

1n tbe non~.om.rne:t:cial circle frta nds ware the major

source of dt-lJ9S to a ma,jort.ty of the f!o1lege students.

14. · Concem·ln9 tmo\-Jledq.e of such activ:ltiee we find that

the majority of the students \1ere tho •retreatists•­

t.bat 1s they kept tttet~r at:t1v1tles a total seeret.

The otht:.r ext~em~ ties the •:re'belst who carried the1xr

activities in full knowledge of all the members of the

ftjm11y. Kncu1ledge about such acti.viti.es to 'sibl.tngst

or 'elden• t.\18$ found to be comparatively lt~nv •

. l\lthough •retreatists• wer·e equally distributed tllmong

the joint and nuclear families we have more •rebels'

from joint then nucle&r families. •stbli.ngs' in tho

foxmer case are also more i.n the knOt'll' of clandestine

act:i.vitias of their brothers or sisters. Majority of

the casE1s tend to oscillate between the *retrr~at.istst

and • rebal.' cat$qo;:-ie$.

15. Parental ignorance about the cl.andostine escapades ol

the •retretists* group is due t·o the utnost secrecy

t'llitb. which such activities are carried on outside homo.

Some attribute tt to the laek of communication with

the family member$.

The al.lQve cU.scusstcms give us a glimpse of the

partlcipattnn of the students in clandestine pleasures. .In

this ckapt.~r we have refrained from taking up the depth

aRalysi.G of tb~ datf.n9"'*•tb~ activity V!.tllch 1s the most

popular of the clandestine act.lvit!es among the college

student$ lrraspeet.lve of th$ influence of any of the vart.abl.e"G

discus·sed above.. OU:r l':lGd chapter wil'(vlew thG most important

self sponsored J,etsu;oe time actlvitie$-l&gitimata as well as

tabooed•-to evaloot~ ttu~lr f.mportflnce in studonts behaviour.