Agrarian Questions In The Era Of LPG

Abstract

Present Indian society like any other has evolved from hunters and gatherers to agrarian to industrialist to market driven economic order. Of course its motif and context has undergone a sea change. During early stages of economic orders fulfilment of food requirements were primary, which is replaced with profit making in market driven economy. Thus, the land and its cultivation could not remain unaffected with the idea profit and loss. It began to require a huge amount of cash input into agriculture, making most of the petty farmers helpless in lieu of the same. Large farmers have always had an upper hand in terms of availing patronage and benefits from the governments.   Gradually it led to, what we today call ‘Agrarian Crisis’. However, in the era of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG), the agrarian community got   marginalised. Partially due to global policies like those of World Trade Organisation (WTO) and substantially due to lack of interest by the ruling governments. Also, since the land is in the state list of the Indian Constitution, thus the Union government has got limited role into land reforms, which could have brought a large number of agrarian subalterns into the mainstream of agro-economy.