Agrarian Structure and Social Change: a Case Study of Bihar, India

AGRARIAN STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL CHANGE: A CASE STUDY OF BIHAR, INDIA Shalendra Sharma B.A. Simon Fraser University, 1981 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology @ Shalendra Sharma 1985 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY August 1985 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Adapted frm: States Atlas of India (Celhl: Indian Cook kpot,. 1982) APPROVAL NAME : Shal endra Sharma DEGREE : Master of Arts TITLE OF THESIS: Agrarian Structure and Social Change: A Case Study of Bihar, India EXAMINING COMMITTEE : Chairperson: Ian R. Whitaker HARI SHARMA SENIOR SUPERVISOR - - -- MARILYN GATES COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT DATE APPROVED: 1 20,. w&!T PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shal I not be a1 lowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay Agrarian Structure and Social Change: A Case Study of Bihar, India Shal endra Sharma ( name 1 August 28, 1985 (date) ABSTRACT This thesis ex ami nes and evaluates the natur e and ext ent change the agrarian social structure in the state of Bihar, India, has undergone since 1947. By agrarian social structure is meant the manner in which various social classes are organized and interact with each other around the activity of agricultural production. Although the thesis focuses on a given region of India since independence, it takes into account both the long historical process through which agrarian relations have evolved, as well as the wider societal forces that impinge upon the agricultural sector of society and which are in turn influenced by it. Drawing on the historical experiences of the European transformation from a feudal mode of production to a capitalist one, this thesis demonstrates that major structural changes towards capitalization in the agrarian sector of India could not have been carried out by the Indian bourgeoisie. - In the Indian context, the capitalist class had to make an alliance with the feudal landlords for a compromised share of state power. Focusing on Bihar, this thesis demonstrates the manner in which the many legislative measures introduced to bring about land reforms and other institutional changes failed effectively. The technological changes introduced in the mid-sixties -- generally known as the 'Green Revolution' -- are seen as a response to the failure of institutional reforms. Since quantitative data do not reveal aspects of relations of production such as the size of landownership, sharecropping and other forms of exploitation of the labour force, the thesis relies on a number of anthropological and other field reports to demonstrate that despite the introduction of the 'green revolution' technology, the agrarian structure in Bihar continues to be significantly characterized by feudal relations. ~echnologicalchange, or development in the forces of production, cannot by itself lead to capitalist development without accompanying changes in social relations. DEDICATION To Aji, and my father, Mr. Rishi Deo Sharma, and mother, Mrs. Krishna Sharma. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My deepest thanks are due to Dr. Hari Sharma, my senior supervisor, to whom I am grateful for more than one reason. It is through my long association with him that my intellectual interest in Indian society acquired direction. His familiarity and vast knowledge of Indian society helped me gain the understanding necessary for a study of this nature. I benefitted immensely from the critical and rigorous expectations of Dr.B. Gartrell who was a member of my supervisory committee except for the last phase when she was on sabbatical leave. For similar expectations, patience and sympathetic understanding I am grateful to Dr. Marilyn Gates. To Prof. R. Wyllie, Chairman of the Department, and Dr. J. Whitworth I am grateful for their understanding and encouragement. I also greatly appreciate the assistance provided me on numerous occasions by Jean Jordan, Departmental Assistant,, and Chris Ward, Graduate Secretary. I am grateful to Soumitra Mondal of Calcutta University and his fellow members of the Indian Students Association, and also to Mr. Alok Mukherjee, who kindly compiled and sent some of the empirical data critical to this thesis. I am also indebted to my fellow members of the Indian Peoples Association in North America (IPANA) in Vancouver. From them I derived a continuous flow of inspiration and understanding of India. Finally, my deepest and sincere thanks to my wife, Vivian, for her loving patience and understanding. TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval .....................................................ii Abstract .....................................................iii Dedication ....................................................v Acknowledgements .............................................vi ... List of Tables .............................................viii List of Figures ...............................................x CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION: PERSPECTIVE AND APPROACH .........1 CHAPTER 11: BIHAR: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE ...............34 CHAPTER 111: AGRARIAN REFORMS IN BIHAR ...................56 CHAPTER IV: AGRICULTURE IN BIHAR: FORCES OF PRODUCTION ...90 CHAPTER V: AGRICULTURE IN BIHAR: THE SOCIAL RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION .......................................... 138 CHAPTER VI: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .....................175 GLOSSARY A ..................................................181 GLOSSARY B ..................................................183 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................184 vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 2.1 Regional Distribution of Population--1981 ............ 41 2.2 Bihar: ~ural/~rbanPopulation-'1981 .................. 42 3.1 Schedule for Compensation Payable to Ex-Intermediaries ................................ 69 4.1 Patterns of Land Use in India & Bihar: 1950-51 & 1978-79 .......................................... 93 4.2 Regional Variation in Pattern of Land Use in Bihar: 1964-65 & 1978-79 ......................... 95 4.3 Agricultural Labourers & Cultivator by Rural/Urban Category: India & Bihar, 1981 ................... 100 4.4 Rural/Urban Distribution of Population: Bihar & India: 1951-81 .................................. 101 4.5 Rural/Urban Distribution of Population in the Two Regions of Bihar: 1961-81 ....................... 102 4.6 'Workers' & Occupational Classification of the 'Workers': India & Bihar--1961-81 ............... 104 4.7 Occupational Classification of the 'Workers' in the Two Regions of Bihar: 1961-1981 ............. 106 4.8 Production & Average Yield of Selected Food & Non-Food Crops: India--Selected Years ........... 113 4.9 Area, Production & Average Yield of Selected Foodgrains in Bihar ............................. 115 4.10 Irrigated Area as Percent of the Total Cropped Area: 1ndia and ~ihar........................... 118 4.11 Distribution of Irrigated Area in Bihar by Sources of Irrigation: 1956-57 & 1978-79 ................ 120 4.12 Oil Engines & Electric Pumps in Use in Bihar's Agriculture ..................................... 122 4.13 Fertilizer Consumption per Hectare of Gross Cropped Area: India & Bihar ..................... 124 viii 4.14 Regional Variation in Various Technological Inputs in Bihar ........................................ 129 4.15 Extent of Irrigation & Average Yield of Principal Food Crops in Selected Districts of Bihar: 1978-79 ......................................... 132 5.1 Size & Distribution of Operational Holdings: 1970-71. Bihar .................................. 144 5.2 Agricultural Land Held by 'Trustees' & Big Landholders in 12 Districts of Bihar, 31st July, 1970 ...................................... 146 LIST OF FIGURES F I GURE PAGE Map 1 Political Map of India ..................... frontispiece Map 2 political Map of Bihar: ~istricts.................... 33 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION: PERSPECTIVE AND APPROACH -The Domain: This study is an attempt to examine and evaluate the nature and extent of change the agrarian social structure in the State of Bihar, India, has undergone since 1947. Since a vast majority of India's population has been directly dependent on agriculture (83% in 1951) -- thus characterising India as an agrarian society -- a study of change in the agrarian social structure is essentially a study of change in the society as a whole. By agrarian social structure is meant the manner in which various social classes are organized and interact with each other around the activity of agricultural production. More precisely, it signifies the specific form the relationship between the means of production, the most important being land, and the actual producers takes at a given point in time. This will be elaborated further later in the chapter. The year 1947 has not been chosen arbitrarily. Its importance lies in the fact that it marks the end of British colonial rule in India. It was in

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