Intergenerational changes in issues related to the education of the cobbler community in Mumbai

This study is an attempt to tackle the changes in challenges associated with the education of the last three generations of the cobbler community in Mumbai. Data for this study has obtained using snowball sampling methods from 733 respondents of the cobbler community. The result indicates that most cobblers of the first generation (both male and female) were illiterate. On the opposite, however, a hundred percent of men and ninety-seven percent of women of the younger generation became literate. This community has suffered from casteism in schooling, having an education was not easy for them, and they had to do much struggle in their educational life. Before and after school/college, the last two generations assisted their fathers in cobbling work; they even had to do part-time jobs/work to meet their financial needs for continuing education. While there is a legacy of struggle and hard work for education, the young generation of cobblers is seeking to overcome certain socio-economic obstacles in order to achieve a brighter future for reaching their goals. As a result, there is upward educational mobility between generations with an overwhelming desire to change the current social standing.