FARMERS' MOVEMENTS IN INDIA - M.V. Nadkarni
FARMERS'MOVEMENTS ININDIAM.V. N A D K A R N IA L L I E D PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITEDAHMEDABADHYDERABADBANGALORE BOMBAYCALCUTTALUCKNOW MADRAS N E W DELHI
By the same AuthorAgricultural Prices and Development with Stability, 1973Impact of Drought on Rural Life, 1975 (Co-author)Socialist Agricultural Price Policy—A Case Study of G D R ,1979Marketable Surplus and Market Dependence in a MilletRegion, 1980Socio-Economic Condition in Droughtprone Areas, 1985
FARMERS' MOVEMENTS IN INDIA
ALLIED PUBLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITEDPrarthna Flats (I st Floor), Navrangpura, A h m e d a b a d 3800(1915 J.N. Heredia Marg, Ballard Estate, Bombay 4 0 0 0 3 83-5-1129. Kachiguda Cross Road, Hyderabad 5 0 0 0 2 7Patiala House, 16A Ashok Marg. Lucknow 2260015th Main Road, Gandhinagar. Bangalore 5 6 0 0 0 917. Chittaranjan Avenue, Calcutta 7 0 0 0 7 21 3 / 1 4 Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi 1100027 5 1 . Mount Road. Madras 6 0 0 0 0 2First published, 1987 The Author, 1987Published by R.N. Sachdevand printed by Ravi Sachdev at Allied Publishers Pvt. Ltd.A-104. Mayapuri, Ph y; II. New Delhi 110064
ToGANGAFor what you areand do for meno exchange is equal,exchange it can't be—this is just yoursyou made it possible.
ForewordPeasants' movements in India against landlordism andoppression within the rural sector are relatively an oldp h e n o m e n o n and have been well researched. These movementswere greatly instrumental in breaking the old feudal order andushering in agricultural development on modern lines. Yet, theagrarian structure that came into being was hardly egalitarian.We have hardly come to a stage where we can ignore classdistinctions and inequality within rural areas.It is at this juncture that farmers' lobbies and open movementson price and related issues have dominated the Indian scene.TTiey have been relatively a new phenomenon compared to theanti-feudal peasant movements. Unlike the latter, the farmers'movements are not against oppression within the rural sector,but against what they believe to be the factors behind continuingrural underdevelopment and a relative deterioration in theincomes of farmers. Price has naturally received the utmostattention from farmers' lobbies. While the fact of rural areasbeing less developed can be readily conceded, therenevertheless arise doubts about the efficacy of a strategy whichrelies mainly on turning the terms of trade in favour ofagriculture to alleviate rural poverty. A lively debate has ensuedon this question particularly among economists, and there aremany who do not believe in the efficiency of the priceinstrument. One could even legitimately question whether in factagricultural prices have been deliberately depressed as a matterof long term policy.Being an economist, Nadkarni has thoroughly discussed theseeconomic issues in this book. According to him, and manywould agree here, "any unbalanced stress on price incentives topromote production and reduce rural poverty, promotes its owncontradictions. . . . Initial gains to agriculture are cancelled to a
PrefaceThis brings to fruition nearly t w o years of my efforts t od o c u m e n t , u n d e r s t a n d a n d interpret farmers" recent m o v e m e n t so n price a n d related issues. T h e b o o k e x a m i n e s theirc o n t e n t i o n s , d e m a n d s a n d ideologies, a n d p r o b e s into their classbasis in rural a n d inter-sectoral o r national perspectives. A nassessment of t h e m o v e m e n t s from the point of view of t h eimpact that ihcy a n d their d e m a n d s could m a k e o n e c o n o m i cd e v e l o p m e n t in general a n d rural d e v e l o p m e n t in particular, isalso m a d e . In the p r o c e s s , t h e extent of their progressivepotential is evaluated.I h a d to go outside t h e safe b o u n d s of e c o n o m i c s a n d a t t e m p tbeing a social scientist with a wider perspective in this study,since the m o v e m e n t s a r e a major poHtical p h e n o m e n o n withrich social a n d e c o n o m i c d i m e n s i o n s . 1 c o u l d u n d e r t a k e thish a z a r d mainly b e c a u s e of t h e affectionate a n d enthusiastice n c o u r a g e m e n t from within a n d outside my Institute.It w a s my y o u n g friend N a r e n d a r Pani, w h o first suggestedthat I should write such a b o o k , followed shortly by M e s s r s K.N.H a r i k u m a r a n d R a m a c h a n d r a D e v a of T h e Printers ( M y s o r e ) .TheKarnatakaPragatiparaV e d i k e , its t w odynamicconveners—Prof. B.K. C h a n d r a s h e k h a r a n d Prof. G . T h i m m a i a h ,a n d its p r o m i n e n t m e m b e r . Prof. A . Lakshmisagar, urged that Ishould attend to the entire gamut of t h e p r o b l e m s a n d issuesraised by the m o v e m e n t s . Prof. V.K.R.V. R a o a n d D r . D . M .N a n j u n d a p p a h a v e always been a s o u r c e of e n c o u r a g e m e n t . It isnot for m e to say how far 1 have fulfilled their expectations. Ihave, however, benefited from discussions with t h e m , as alsowith Professors V.M. R a o , A b d u l Aziz. L.S. Venkatartunanan, a n dR. R a m a n n a . Prof. V.M. R a o took the t r o u b l e of going t h r o u g hthe entire manuscript a n d gave valuable reactions. Dr. G.V.K.R a o , B.K. C h a n d r a s h e k h a r . G. T h i m m a i a h . A b d u l Aziz, J o h n
xiiPrefaceHarriss, N a r e n d a r Pani and Sreenivasa Reddy spared time toread parts of initial drafts and gave useful comments. My heartythanks to them all. T h e Karnataka Pragatipara Vedike invitedme to present two seminars on the theme, first for its membersa n d then for the public, I am grateful to the Vedike as also tothe I S E C Study Circle for a similar opportunity to havereactions to my analysis.I have equally benefited from my younger friends' enthusiasm,encouragement and even occasional assistance—particularlyMessrs R.S. Deshpandc, M.G. Chandrakant and M. JohnsonSamuel. Mr. J.R. Ramamurthy of T h e Printers (Mysore) gaveaccess to their files for paper cuttings and old newspapers.Mr. G.P. Basavaraju was helpful in my field visits in Shimoga.Mr. M. Basavana G o u d and Mr. S.G Bhat of the State PlanningDepartment have alway.s been helpful in many ways. Mr. H .Basavarajappa of the S D P Division, Directorate of Economicsand Statistics, kindly took trouble to provide some of theunrclcased data for my sake, which helped me in estimating theterms of trade for Karnataka on the same basis as for India.Above ail, I am immensely grateful to farmers, Dalits andactivists of their movements from the State to village levels, andalso to the leaders of the left parties which have supportedfarmers' struggles on price issues. They spared their time toanswer endless and even irritating questions and very hospitablylooked after my personal comforts during my field visits.Discussions witli them helped m e in understanding theirviewpoints and provided valuable field insights. My interviewswith local-level officers of government departments—procurementofficers, secretaries of cooperative societies and LDBs, Tahsildarsand B D O s were also equally helpful. A full list would be toolarge to give here and I might omit some names through oversight.1 seek their pardon for not recording all the names.1 had the privilege of brief but helpful discussions withMr. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Dr. Ashok Mitra and Mr. IndradeepSinha when they happened to be in Bangalore. I have alsointerviewed in detail Messrs B.V. Kakkilaya and Srinivasa Gudi*of the CPI, M.K. Bhat and V.N. Halakatti of the CPI-M, Mr. H.S.R u d r a p p a and Prof. M.D. Nanjundaswamy of the K R R S , Prof. Sadly, he is n o more.
PrefacexiiiB . K r i s h n a p p a of t h e DaHt Sangharsh Samiti, a n d Prof.C . N a r a s i m h a p p a of the F a r m e r s ' F e d e r a t i o n of India. I shouldparticularly m e n t i o n M r . V. M u n i v e n k a t a p p a , a Dalit poet a n dBlock D e v e l o p m e n t Officer at Malavalli. w h o s p o k e to me as aDalit and also as a field-level g o v e r n m e n t officer. Discussionswith M r . S.K. D a s and M r . Sanjay Kaul. D i r e c t o r a n d JointD i r e c t o r respectively of the D e p a r t m e n t of Food a n d CivilSupplies, a n d with M r . Sudhir Krishna. D i r e c t o r of Sugar,p r o v e d to be quite informative a n d helpful. My hearty thanks toall of t h e m .T h o u g h the b o o k traces the history of the m o v e m e n t s invarious regions of India, particularly Tamil N a d u . M a h a r a s h t r a .I'unjab (only the most recent events), and K a r n a t a k a , the last hasreceived greater attention. This is not only b e c a u s e of thea u t h o r ' s greater familiarity with the State, but also b e c a u s e t h em o v e m e n t in K a r n a t a k a c o n t i n u e s to be most alive a n d kickingt o this d a t e a n d shows n o sign of a b a t e m e n t . It has also shownm o r e skill a n d subtlety in securing a wider base. T h e m o v e m e n t sa n d the issues are, however, analysed in t e r m s of b o t h regionala n d national perspectives. I must also m e n t i o n that it has notb e e n possible to d o c u m e n t each and every event or to d o justiceto every slogan raised o r to discuss every d e m a n d m a d e fromtime to time; but efforts have been m a d e to cover all importanta n d interesting issues raised. T h e e m p h a s i s has b e e n m o r e o nanalysis, interpretation and assessment, than o n d o c u m e n t a t i o n .H o w e v e r , n o fact or event of significance has b e e n s u p p r e s s e d .M y assessments a n d findings may not all be acceptable to theleaders of farmers' m o v e m e n t s — w h e t h e r led by the left andd e m o c r a t i c parties or by the n o n - p a r t y Ryotha Sangha. but Ihave b e e n fair to their views a n d honest to facts.I a m immensely grateful to Professor C . H . H a n u m a n t h a R a o ,M e m b e r , Planning Commission, for kindly allowing me to exploithis affection a n d e n c o u r a g i n g disposition to m e , by p r o m p t l yagreeing to my request to write a F o r e w o r d for this b o o k inspiteof his heavy engagements. O n several occasions in the past, hehas convincingly reacted to the ideology of a n d issues raised byfarmers" m o v e m e n t s which has helped me here.T h e b o o k represents my personal work and views. Neither myInstitute n o r any o n e of those w h o gave the benefit ofdiscussions a n d interviews, is responsible for the s a m e a n d also
xivPrefacefor any possible errors here.T h e figure drawing in chapter VI has been d o n e by my frienda n d colleague, M r . B.G. Kulkami, for which I a m grateful. I mustalso thank my esteemed publishers for agreeing to bring this outsoon.T h e study covers developments upto the end of D e c e m b e r1 9 8 4 . I would n o t hazard any prediction of the course of themovements, but I trust that my analysis of their course so farshould b e of e n d u r i i interest.M V NadkarniJanuary, 1 9 8 5ISECBangalore-560072
NDPOUPSCSDPLakhCrore— Agricultural Prices Commission— Agricultural Situation in India— Census of Agricultural Holdings— Communist Party of India- CPI (Marxist)— Deccan Herald, Bangalore— Economic and Political Weekly— Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics— Institute for Social and Economic Change,Bangalore— Journal of Peasant Studies— Karnataka Rajya Ryotha Sanga (Karnataka StateFarmers' Association)— Net (National) Domestic Product— Oxford University Press— Scheduled Castes— State Domestic Product— hundred thousand— hundred lakhs
ContentsForewordviiPrefacexi1. FARMERS AND INDIA'S POWER STRUCTUREIntroductionMovements and Power StructurePeasants' Movements and Rise2. AGRARIAN STRUCTURE AND AGRICULTURE INNATIONAL ECONOMYAgrarian StructureAgriculture in National Economy3. T H E COURSE OF T H E MOVEMENTS - T A M I L NADU.MAHARASHTRA AND PUNJABAt the National LevelTamil NaduMaharashtraPunjab4. T H E COURSE OF MOVEMENTS IN KARNATAKABefore MalaprabhaThe Malaprabha AgitationThe Rise of Rudrappa's Ryota SanghaFarmers' Demands and Government Response. 1980Post-1980 Issues and DevelopmentsPostscript5. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF T H E MOVEMENTSSpatial DimensionsMass Movement or Class Movement?Dalits and Farmers' MovementsIn Inter-Sectoral 36136139148156
xviii6.ContentsPRICE POLICY ISSUESIntroductionT e r m s of T r a d eCost of Production: Conceptual IssuesA r e Costs C o v e r e d ?W o r l d PricesProcurement and Public DistributionM a r k e t Instability7.IndexPRICES A N D D E V E L O P M E N T - A C O N C L U S I O N162162162178189197203210215229
List of 16.16.26.36.4: Distribution of M e m b e r s of the Ruling Partyin Lok Sabhas, by their Occupation: Composition of Uie Legislative Assembly byOccupation, 1 9 7 2 Election in Karnataka: Agrarian Structure in India: Agrarian Structure in Karnataka: Rural Labour H o u s e h o l d - 1 9 6 4 - 6 5 and 1974-75: Comj ound Growth in National Income—Agricultural and Total: Relative Income of Agricultural Workers: Factor Shares in N D P from Agriculture: M o d e m Inputs in Agriculture—Statewise: M o d e m Inputs in Indian Agriculture in Relationto Total Inputs and Output: M o d e m Inputs in Karnataka Agriculture: Procurement/Minimum Support Prices: Share of Small, Middle and Large Holding inA r e a imder Sugarcane: A r e a under Sugarcane: Emoluments as per cent of Value A d d e d andOutput in Organized Industries: Terms o f T r a d e of Agriculture as perTamarajakshi and Kahlon-Tyagi: All-India Implicit Sectoral Deflators andRelative Agricultural Prices derived fromNational Income D a t a: T e r m s of T r a d e of Agriculture in Indiawith respect to Material Inputs, as derivedfrom National Income Data: T e r m s of T r a d e of Agriculture in Karnatakawith respect to Material Inputs, as derived from2425343640424345505154106116118159167169174
Contents6.56.66.76.8National E c o n o m i c D a t a: Z o n e wise Cost of Production and R a t e ofR e t u r n o n Principal C r o p s in Karnataka1980-81: T r e n d s in the Economics of Partially ProcuredCrops: Prices of Agricultural Commodities in India andWorld Markets: A Few Illustrative Cases: Instability in Physical Yields vis-a-vis Instabilityin Money Value of Yield at Current F a r mHarvest Prices176184191202212
CHAPTER 1Farmers and India's Power StructureINTRODUCTIONSince the late 1970s, agitations by farmers—mainly on price andrelated issues and against the alleged neglect of ruralinterests—have been a prominent feature of the political scene inseveral States, particulady in Tamil N a d u , M a h a r a s h t r a andrecently in Karnataka. These agitations have b e e n fairly wellsustained and have enjoyed a fairly wide base among farmers andalso a support much beyond their regional base, though they cannotbe said to have covered all areas even m the State where they havebeen recurring often. N o State government and n o political partytoday can dare to either ignore them or openly oppose their cause.These agitations cannot be brushed aside as sporadic or as minorlobbies in the corridors of power. They constitute a major politicalp h e n o m e n o n and richly deserve to b e called movements ratherthan mere agitations. In a sense, the distinction between anagitation and a movement is the same as between a battle and awar. Agitations form operational parts of a movement, but amovement is m o r e than the sum of its agitations. A movement canalso originate from sporadic agitations, with n o larger perspectiveand goals initially. T h e leaders of farmers' agitations have,however, often managed to rise above the immediate local issuesthat provoked agitations, and give them a larger perspective andgoals needed for a movement. A movement has a class base andintends to alter the existing social o r d e r o r the p o w e r structure atleast at the regional levels where it takes place. It also has anideology to justify it. A movement has also a dynamics of its own a n dits prospects depend u p o n what alliances it seeks and how itresolves its contradictions arising in its course.All this also determines whether or not a movement has aprogressive character and a potential for contributing to social and
2Farmers' Movements in Indiaeconomic development and thus lo a substantia] reduction inpoverty and inequality. The farmers' movements' seem to be in acrucial phase today. They have the choice of either being a pressurelobby like the Chambers of Commerce and Industry furthering theprofessional cause of the rich and commercialised farmers, or ofbeing a vehicle of social and economic transformation of ruralIndia. But this would depend on the class character of themovement, though the leaders of the movements seem to think andeven assert that there is no contradiction between the two.Basically, the farmers' movements are seen here as a strugglewithin the power structure, and not as a struggle between thosewithin and those outside. However, the repercussions of thestruggle extend outside and cover the whole economy and polity.The study is primarily an attempt to understand the character of themovements and the implications of farmers' demands and ideologyfor economic development in general and indeed for ruraldevelopment. In the process, it traces the historical, social, politicaland economic context of the farmers' movements, and assesses thefactors behind them; documents the course of major events;examines the issues raised, their objective base and thegovernment's response to them, and analyses their spatial and classbase and the reaction of another major movement—that of theDalits—to these movements. In the course of the discussion, priceissues naturally receive the major attention. The controversy overthe declining terms of trade is viewed in a long-term perspective,and an attempt is made to settle it definitively. Similarly, thecontention regarding agricultural prices being depressed beloweconomic levels or below the levels in world markets, is also viewedin a broader perspective. The real crisis affecting agriculture isshown to be one of viability arising not out of price factors, but froma stunted capitalist development in the larger national economywhich has constrained diversification and generation of gainfulemployment.Though the farmers' movements are analysed here in terms of anall-India perspective, the major emphasis is on movements in thetliree States where they have been active since the late 1970s viz.,Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka, Recent movements by1. The plural is used, since there are several movements each with not only adifferent regional base but also with different styles and ideologies.
Farmers and India's Power Structure3Punjab farmers have also been discussed, though briefly.Karnataka has, however, received the greatest attention, not only innarrating the course of events but elsewhere too. This is so becausethe author had the advantage of observing it at close quarters. Evenotherwise, movements in this State have been quite interesting.They have thrown up wider issues on a more sustained basis thanelsewhere. The social and political setting of the movements hasemerged here with much greater clarity than perhaps in otherStates.Starting with this chapter from a discussion of the nature of themovements and the dynamics of interaction between them and thepower structure, we trace the rise of farmers in national polity. Aplace in the power structure has not made their position secure. Thelandlords had a sense of security in the feudal order, which today'srich peasants do not necessarily have. Their base in the agrarianstructure and in the national economy and the weaknesses andinsecurity they are exposed to, are analysed in the second chapter.The course of the movements—the background of agitations, theirproximate causes, demands made, and
Though the book traces the history of the movements in various regions of India, particularly Tamil Nadu. Maharashtra. I'unjab (only the most recent events), and Karnataka, the last has received greater attention. This is not only because of the author's greater familiarity with the State, but also because the
Council For Scientific And Industrial Research - CSIR, India Government of India, India Indian Council of Medical Research, India Indian Department of Atomic Energy, India Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India, India Ministry of Science and Technology of India, India
Share to Total Suicides During 2014 Total number of Farmers' Suicides Total number of Suicides Percentage Share of Farmers' Suicides to Total Suicides [(Col.1/Col. 2)x100] (1) (2) (3) A total of 5,178 male farmers and 472 female farmers have committed suicides, accounting for 91.6% and 8.4% of total farmers' suicides.
to farmers selling at farmers markets or other local outlets. This publication illustrates the main characteristics of farmers markets, the benefits of selling directly to consumers, and the main price trends of specialty crops sold at farmers markets. Since January 2017, the Horticulture Business Extension Program at Purdue University has been
Social movements and the state 2 Old and new social movements 4 Demand making and the language of rights 5 Institutional engagement 6 Democratic Transition 7 Cycles of protest 7 The projection of grassroots movements into political society 8 Transition, neoliberalism and the decline of grassroots movements 8 The Democratic Regimes 9
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