Read the passage given and answer the questions:
The harsh working conditions suffered by labourers in Aghanbigha were an outcome of the combined effect of the economic power of the maliks as a class and their overwhelming power as members of a dominant caste. A significant aspect of the social power of the maliks was their ability to secure the intervention of various arms of the state to advance their interests. Thus, political factors decisively contributed to widening the gulf between the dominant class and the underclass.
i. Why do you think the maliks were able to use the power of the state to advance their own interests?
ii. Why did labourers have harsh working conditions?
i. The Maliks were from dominant caste and they were politically, socially and economically powerful. This power made them able to use the power of state for their own benefit.
ii. Deliver had to work in harsh working conditions because they were of deprived caste and were not allowed to own land. They were compelled to work in the land of people from dominant caste as labour.
What measures do you think the government has taken, or should take, to protect the rights of landless agricultural labourers and migrant workers?
Since independence government has taken various steps to reform the agricultural sector and especially the land holding system and distribution of land so as to bring development and progress in the agricultural sector. Various land reforms laws were passed at national as well as state level during 1950s to 1970s.
The Major Land Reform Laws that were passed to protect the rights of landless agricultural labourers and migrant workers are –
i. The abolition of Zamindari System, it was most effective among all the land Reform laws as it lessened the political and economic power of the zamindars.
ii. Tenancy Abolition and Regulation Act, it attempted to outlaw the tenancy all together and to regulate rents to give security to the tenants. Though it was not very effectively implemented in most States.
iii. Land Ceiling Act, it fixed an upper limit on the amount of land that can be owned by a particular family. On the basis of this law, the state took possession of the surplus land held by each household and be distributed among the landless families.
There are direct linkages between the situation of agricultural workers and their lack of upward socio-economic mobility. Name some of them.
The situation of Agricultural workers is directly linked with their lack of upward socio economic mobility.
i. The most important resource of Indian rural society is the agricultural land possessed by them but it is quite unequally distributed among the people associated with agriculture.
ii. In major part of the countries women are only allowed to work as labour in the agricultural land but they are excluded from the right of ownership of land.
iii. The income of the agriculture worker is quite low and their job is also insecure.
iv. Due to the caste and class discrimination the Upper and Middle Class had best access to land and resources and thus they enjoyed the power and privilege.
What are the different factors that have enabled certain groups to transform themselves into new wealthy, entrepreneurial, dominant classes? Can you think of an example of this transformation in your state?
There are various factors that have enabled certain groups to transform themselves into new wealthy, entrepreneurial and dominant classes. These factors are being discussed below –
i. Land ownership: The cast and classes who became rich purchased big pieces of land and used all the modern means of agriculture so as to increase the agricultural production and became wealthy and thus hold dominant position in the society.
ii. Access to land and resources: The Upper and Middle cast had better access to land and resources as compared to the other caste and which made them powerful and privileged. This had an important implication for the rural society.
iii. The Green Revolution: It brought significant changes. It was a government program for modernization of agriculture and was funded by international agencies. In beginning, only the medium and large farmers were able to take the benefit of the Green Revolution because the inputs were so expensive that the marginal farmers could not afford to spend that much.
Hindi and regional language films were often set in rural areas. Think of a film set in rural India and describe the agrarian society and culture that is shown in it. How realistic do you think the portrayal is? Have you seen any recent film set in rural areas? If not how would you explain it?
Many Hindi as well as regional language movies try to portray the village life of India now and then. Some famous movies among them are - Mother India, Lagaan, Upkaar, etc.
We can't say that these films portray the hundred percent real picture of the village life but to some extent they try to touch their lives and make us aware about the difficulties and other problems faced by them.
Some facts portrayed by these movies are
• Forced sale of Agricultural product at less than market price
• Zamindari system and its drawbacks
• Exploitation of women by zamindars in Olden Times
• Lagaan system
• Forced loan from money lenders in villages at high rate of interest
Exploitation by British in colonial period by imposing hi land revenue
Visit a construction site in your neighbourhood, a brickyard, or other such place where you are likely to find migrant workers. Find out where the workers come from. How are they recruited from their home villages, who is the ‘mukadam’? If they are from rural areas, find out about their lives in their villages and why they have to migrate to find work.
I am living in Delhi, NCR where due to rapid infrastructure development the construction work is on full swing. The builders have appointed labours from various parts of country like Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, U.P, etc who are working under manager and engineers.
The labour is engaged at low wages because of poor bargaining power and they are often exploited by the clever contactors and managers. The place is full of migrant workers. The labour from different state move to these areas where construction work is regularly carried on so that they could on a regular living.
The whole family is engaged by the contractor and the small kids generally suffer the lack of parent attention, schooling, proper food habit, proper nutrients, etc.
Visit your local fruit-seller, and ask her/him about the fruits she/he sells, where they come from, and their prices. Find out what has happened to the prices of local products after fruits began to be imported from outside of India (such as apples from Australia). Are there any imported fruits that are cheaper than Indian fruits.
Near to my place in the Gazipur fruit and vegetable market. Usually the fruits from various States of India are sold in this market, like we get apples from Kashmir, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Oranges from Nagpur and so on.
Due to liberalisation and globalisation the door of world market has been opened for Indian producers and it is often observed that the fruits of good quality are generally exported and we are offered low quality fruit at higher rate.
Various fruits from foreign markets are also available in India which has lowered the price of Indian fruits. Imported fruits are not cheaper than Indian fruits but they have increased the competition in Indian market which has brought down the rate of Indian fruit in local market.
Collect information and write a report on the environmental situation in rural India. Examples of topics: pesticides; declining water table; impact of prawn farming in coastal areas; salination of soil and waterlogging in canal irrigated areas; loss of biodiversity. Possible source: State of India’s Environment Reports: Reports from Centre for Science and Development Down to Earth.
The environmental situation of rural India is not very good. The negative impacts of various means of agriculture are –
1. Use of Pesticides – Pesticides are the chemical preparations used to protect the agricultural produce from fungal and animal pests. They have negative impact on environment. The pesticides sprayed on the agricultural fields pollute the air not only of that area but they are carried away to other areas also. The pesticides pollute the water when they when they move from field to the water off nearby dreams and Ponds and rivers with rain water. The use of pesticides also adversely affect soil conservation.
2. Soil salinity – Salinization is the process of increasing salt content in the soil which is the result of irrigation. The negative impacts of salinity are –
a. It adversely affects the plant growth and yield
b. In damages the infrastructure like roads, bricks, cables, pipes, etc
c. It reduces the water quality and results in soil erosion
3. Waterlogging – It means saturation of soil with water. Waterlogging results in soil salinity.
4. The Other negative environmental impacts of modern agriculture are listed below –
a. Land conversion and Habitat loss
b. Wasteful water consumption
c. Soil erosion and degradation
d. Pollution and climate change