Sustainable Agriculture, Civil Society and Social Power in Rural India
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 1954-2016 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2013 Sustainable agriculture, civil society and social power in rural India Trent Brown University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Sustainable Agriculture, Civil Society and Social Power in Rural India Trent Brown Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Wollongong School of Social Sciences, Media and Communications Faculty of Arts January 2013 CERTIFICATION I, Trent Brown, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty of Arts, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work, unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Trent Brown 22 January, 2013 i ABSTRACT Low external input sustainable agriculture is an important focus of the international development sector and is often presented as a solution to ‘agrarian crises’ in developing countries. It is a project that has been taken up by formalised non- government organisations (NGOs) and less formalised social movements alike. There is a major focus in the literature on the value of participatory approaches to sustainable agricultural development that build alternative farming systems in a manner that reflects the immediate needs and perspectives of rural communities, particularly the rural poor. This thesis examines three sustainable agriculture organisations in India and theorises their potentials and limitations for promoting sustainable agriculture in a participatory, inclusive and democratic fashion. In particular, it considers the way that organisational structure, the middle class status of leading activists and the social relations in which they are embedded facilitate and/or limit organisations’ capacity to contribute to this kind of inclusive, pro-poor development. Data was collected on case studies over a five month period, from December 2009 to April 2010. Four main methods were used to collect data on each case: participant observation, interviews (103 in total), the collection of primary written materials and secondary sources. The data collected suggests that, while there is some scope for the participation of the rural poor in sustainable agriculture organisations, in practice, organisations tend to be directed and managed by middle class activists, who have access to the relevant resources to sustain projects over time. In order to maintain their initiatives, these activists not only forge relations with the rural poor, but also the state, donor organisations, dispersed activist networks and local elites. In the process, these more powerful groups come to have greater influence over the ideology, strategy and direction of sustainable agriculture organisations than do the rural subaltern groups who are most in need of change. I argue that sustainable agriculture organisations could be made more responsive to the needs of the rural poor if their leading activists take up facilitative (rather than leading) roles and adopt more flexible and expansive definitions of ‘sustainable agriculture’. Ultimately, however, the limitations in the ii current institutional environment mean that it may be better to begin to theorise ‘beyond sustainable agriculture’, abandoning pre-formulated development models and building the political capacity of the rural poor to formulate their own responses to agrarian crisis. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research that informs this thesis was made possible through financial support received from the Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies (CAPSTRANS) and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Wollongong. I would like to thank, first and foremost, my supervisors Richard Howson, Susan Engel and Tim Scrase for their valuable guidance, suggestions and criticisms. I have benefitted tremendously from having input from three scholars with diverse areas of expertise – in sociological theory, the political economy of development and South Asian studies, respectively. I believe that through their diverse forms of input, I have been able to develop a far more comprehensive perspective on the issues discussed in this thesis. I am particularly indebted to Kanchi Kohli, from Kalpavriksh, New Delhi, who has helped me at various stages in the research process, but particularly during the formative stages. Kanchi’s support was extremely valuable in developing a research focus, identifying issues of local significance and in providing me with a number of contacts in India. I have had the good fortune of receiving academic input from a number of sources, but I am particularly grateful to Tanya Jakimow and Michael Gillan who both took the time to provide detailed and thought-provoking scholarly suggestions on papers I presented at conferences. Both helped me in forming a far better understanding of the significance of my research findings. During my fieldwork in India, I had the pleasure of meeting a number of scholars, who received me with great hospitality and were a source of great intellectual stimulation. In particular, I must acknowledge Manjit Singh (Professor of Sociology at Panjab University, Chandigarh) and Shubhprem Brar (Professor of Geography at Rajindra College, Bathinda), who added a great deal of depth to my perspective on Punjab. Manjit was of great help in getting me established in Punjab, providing local contacts and a broad perspective on the history of social movements in India. iv Shubhprem, who I feel especially indebted to, was an insightful guide for me as I conducted my research in Punjab, who taught me a great deal about the geography, culture and political economy of the region. I look back with great affection on the many, thought-provoking discussions we had regarding my research and a range of local issues. Many thanks to Angrej Singh Gill and Deepak Singh Rotella, who assisted me as translators in Punjab and Uttarakhand, respectively. I would like to thank Professor Brian Martin, for organising the High Output Writing Programme at the University of Wollongong. Through the discipline of regular writing, the programme enabled me to improve my written skills and complete my thesis in a timelier and less stressful fashion than might otherwise have been the case. I am also grateful to all of those who participated in the weekly meetings of the programme (too numerous to name individually), who provided useful feedback on my written work. I would also like to extend thanks to Professor Ruchira Ganguly-Scrase, who contributed to an engaged research culture amongst South Asian scholars at the University of Wollongong. Through organising various seminars, reading groups and film screenings, Ruchira helped to further develop my interest in contemporary South Asia. I would also like to thank Bokhtiar Ahmed, Emily Pleskun, Andrew Deuchar, Susheela Pandian, Vicki Crinis and George Matheson, who were all regular participants within this research community. In the final stages of preparing this thesis, I was lucky enough to recruit a few friends for proof-reading. I am deeply grateful to Veronica Thake and Jill Bryant, who took the time to read through the thesis, identify errors and make useful suggestions on sentence structure and grammar. Finally, I would like to thank all of those who gave up their time to participate in my research. In particular, I would like to thank Biju Negi, Umendra Dutt, M. Revathi, R. T. Thiruvenkataswamy, Sudesha Devi and Vijay Jardhari, who were extremely generous and patient in providing me with access to their organisations, giving v interviews, providing local connections and allowing me to stay in their homes as I conducted my fieldwork. Although the