Прилози за друштвену историју Косова и Метохије шездесетих и седамдесетих година 20. века
The Elements for Social History of Kosovo and Metohia in 1960s and 1970s

Summary/Abstract: In contrast to overwhelmingly approaches in writing on modern Kosovo issue, the author of this paper turns his attention on social environment of Kosovo and Metohia in 1960s and 1970s. His very focus is put on public health, mortality rate of the newborns, numbers of medical doctors and staff, dislocation of medical infrastructure, birth rate and differences between towns and country. The author cast light on blood feud, the trends of divorces, type of families in the cities and villages. He examines the trends in education and developing education network in Kosovo and Metohia. He offers his insight in developing unemployment, and the structure of local economy. His attention is on nature of agrarian society and agrarian production, as well. This paper is basically founded on personal research conducting on theifiiles of President’s Office (i.e. Tito’s Cabinet) in Yugoslav Archives (Belgrade). Selected fiiles cast the light how Tito was informed by his staff or Federal offiicials on social picture of the local society and its problems that were too hard to be overcome in short period time. The transcripts of Tito’s talks with local leaders put on light how they perceived situation and trends, on what they emphasized and what they escaped to tackle. By using published offiicial statistic data, suitable current literature and by applying comparative approach, the author fiinds out that Kosovo and Metohia society was fare more backward and traditional than similar in the neighboring republics (Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro) also regarded as undeveloped in former Yugoslavia. As mortal rate of the newborns considerably dropped, permanent high growing birthrate and overpopulated rural holdings instigated migration wave into the urban canters in the region and across Yugoslavia. Thousand flied to European countries as well. According to the prominent local leaders, on labor market in 1970, there was surplus of some 150.000 of those who flied villages. The author is of opinion that State showed less than required care for developing agriculture in Kosovo and Metohia. Finally, he rather indicates possible causes of different trends in changing standards and society as whole in southern Serbian autonomy province than to take a fiirm stand. In this paper he emphasized that he is rather at the beginning of his protracted interest for the issue than at the end.

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