Artha Journal of Social Sciences

Editorial Note

L T Om Prakash — 2025-04-02

Pattern of Occupational Diversification among Rural Agricultural Households: A Field View

Dinesh Rajak — 2025-04-01

This paper attempt seeks to examine the nature and expansion of non-farming activities in rural areas, as well as to investigate patterns of occupational diversification among various socio-economic strata household in rural Bundelkhand. It also investigates how various social groups and local populations move to non-farming occupations in rural Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh remains an agrarian state, with around 70% of the people living in rural areas. This field study was undertaken in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, India. Bundelkhand, located in one of India's rain-scarce regions, has grappled with prolonged drought conditions over an extended period. Madhya Pradesh, ranking as the fifth most populous state in India, rural population of 72.6 million residing in rural areas and 27.63 percent living in urban areas. For this study, two villages were selected to conduct the empirical study and a mix method approach been taken for the research study and the household survey and semi-structured interview have carried out in selected villages of total 415 total households. Study suggests that rural transformation reveals diverse impacts on different social communities, shaping household experiences according to their disparate socio-cultural and economic statuses. The interplay between land and caste is a significant determinant of social occupational mobility, influencing the livelihood dynamics within the rural agrarian setting of Bundelkhand.

Changing Caste-Class Dynamics in Rajasthan’s Agrarian Landscape

Suraj Beri — 2025-04-01

This article examines the evolving interrelationship between caste hierarchies and class formations within Rajasthan’s agrarian political economy, focusing on post-independence transformations that have shaped the traditional power structure. It engages with the political and economic perspective while borrowing insights from John Harriss (1982) and Purendra Prasad (2014). Drawing upon government reports, contemporary events, and historical context, the paper argues that caste and class relations in Rajasthan mutually constitute social and power relations that are continuously reconfigured through patterns of resource distribution, economic diversification, and political mobilization. The postcolonial economic processes, along with political transformation, have precipitated significant challenges to the dominance of upper castes while creating opportunities for intermediate castes to translate agrarian capital into political influence. Different social mobility patterns of castes like Jats, Yadav, and Gujjars have leveraged agricultural surplus for entry into bureaucracy and market spaces, while Dalits, even with enhanced political representation, continue to experience structural vulnerabilities. Similarly, the tribes have also articulated their distinct position within Rajasthan’s social structure. Finally, the paper ends by demonstrating how traditional social categories are renegotiated within the changing agrarian contexts, economic processes, and political contestation.

Markets in Transition: Assessing the Role and Functions of the Shift from APMC to PACS in Bihar

Navin Kumar — 2025-04-01

Over the past few decades, Bihar's agriculture has experienced a significant transition. Many factors, such as the change in the agricultural markets, are affecting most of the agricultural activities. The agricultural markets are essential for agricultural produce, where the primary agricultural producer meets the first buyer. This paper analyses the transitions in Bihar's regulated agricultural market to a completely open market system. Regulated agricultural markets were established in Bihar in the 1960s and 1970s through the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act (APMC Act). However, the Bihar government repealed the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act (APMC Act) in 2006, aiming to encourage private investment and traders to buy agricultural commodities directly from farmers. It is also supposed to provide farmers with more options to sell their produce. As a result of the abolition of APMCs in Bihar, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) have emerged as key institutions in rural financial assistance and in the public procurement process. However, this transition in the agricultural market in Bihar has raised many questions, such as the state intervention in agriculture markets, the limitation of market liberalisation, the importance of the regulated agricultural markets, and which types of markets emerged for agricultural produce after the abolition of APMC Act regulated markets in Bihar. This study attempts to evaluate the role and function of agricultural markets that emerged in Bihar after the abolition of regulated agricultural markets.

Magnitude and Determinants of Indebtedness Among Farmers in Punjab

Gurmeet Singh — 2025-04-01

The primary objective of this research paper is to check the position of farmers due to the problem of the agrarian crisis that exists in India as well as Punjab. A recent report presented in the Lok Sabha indicated that farmers from Punjab have the highest outstanding loans among northern states, amounting to Rs 1 04,064 crore. To know the exact situation of debt being taken by the farmers, the magnitude and severity of debt have been measured in three different zones of Punjab. The severity of indebtedness was mounting among farmers in the southwestern zone, which mostly produce cotton. As the magnitude of debt on marginal and small farmers increases, they are viciously trapped under it, which further leads to farmer suicide. The other objective of this paper deals with the determinants of indebtedness, which are leading them to critical situations. These factors are responsible for the mounting debt on these cultivators. So increasing indebtedness, crop failure, loss of livelihood, and farmer suicide further indicate the multidimensional nature of agrarian distress, so the government should help the aggrieved farmers by making policies in favour of them.

Owning the Land: Significance of Tenancy Laws in Jharkhand

Jaya Kumari — 2025-04-01

Land and forests have been the mainstay of the Adivasi lives. More than valuing nature for their economic use value, the adivasis have lived in harmony with nature and practiced subsistence living. Land for them has never been a piece of property to be owned privately, but the communities have owned it collectively and therefore land become such an important part of the Adivasi lifeworld. Some of the well-known Adivasi movements in India emerged in today’s Jharkhand fighting for their rights over jal (water), jangal (forest) and jameen (land). The present paper examines the significance of the tenancy laws namely the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act, for the tribal population of Jharkhand. After independence, the Bihar Land Reforms Act 1950 abolished all intermediary tenure holdings, but the tenancy laws in the tribal areas of present Jharkhand were exempted. In the name of development, the state governments have tried to amend the Acts a few times but have met with strong resistance from the people. These colonial acts which were used by the British colonisers to appease the tribals functions as a weapon to protect the tribals against the imperialistic tendencies of the present state. The paper briefly reviews the tenancy laws in Jharkhand and argues that these laws have been crucial for the tribal population. The arguments are based on the study conducted by the author during her doctoral study.