CHAPTER -1

THE OBJECTIVE AND THE SCOPE

The

present

study

seeks to

examine

the

employment

pattern and correspondingly, income and consumption levels of the

non-cultivating

rura) labour households in the selected areas of

Punjab and Bihar.

one

hang.,

and,

the

The basic

objective is to understand on

the internal dynamics of agricultural

transformation

impact of the newly emerging interaction between

internal dynamics
e'mp l oymen t

and the growing rural-urban linkages

structure

of

the

the

non-cultivating

this

on

rural

the

labour

on the other.

ho~seholds,

Classification of the Rural Labour Force

There
force.

are various ways of classifying the rural labour

Broadly speaking,

agricultural
economic

labour

activities

substantial

it may either be agricultural or non-

or both since there is an

performed

such

While

labour.

a small part of it is engaged in

non-farm traditional activities such

jheor (water loading),petty shoe repair, etc.

the

of

proportion of the rural labour force is dependent on

agriculture for its livelihood,

self-employed

by

intermixture

as

barbers,

Besides, a part of

rural labour force also derives its livelihood from numerous

other non-farm activities such as construction,

trading, factory

work, and so on. Among those engaged in agriculture, the share of

wage-paid labourers is quite substantial.
labour

force

may be divided into two

This category of rural

broad

categories

namely

hired

attached labourers and casual labourers .

labourers
time

are those who are generally

and perform different

quite

often

Casual

employed for a year at

agricultural,

non-agricultural

domestic functions for their respective

labourers can be divided into

first

Hired attached

sub-category

consists

two

to

remunerated
category.

undertake

specific

agricultural

the

two

broad

types

of

former

being

attached

second

and

casual

daily wage rate

year,

due to their attachment

the employer under conditions of indebtedness.

labourer because,

generally

in most cases, the

latter does not get continuous employment for the whole year,
does the former get
from

each

labourers
work.

Further these two categories also

other in terms of their job mobility.

are

heavily dependent on one

Generally

severe

restrictions

The

particular
are

to

Nevertheless, the

income of the attached hired labourer

exceeds that of the casual

and

the

assured of a continuing employment over the

yearly

The difference is partly due to the

and partly perhaps more -importantly,

average

for

operations

labourers, the former are generally paid a lower

compared with the latter.

The

Those who are

according to the job done are placed in

Of

employers.

employed

certain number of days and paid on a daily basis.

employed

and

sub-categories.

of those who are

imposed

as

differ
attached

family
by

for
their

1.

V.S.Vyas
(1964),
"Agricultural Labour in Four Indian
Villages, 11 Sardar Patel Agro Economic Research Centre,
Vallabh Vidyanagar, Sardar Patel University, Gujarat.

2.

Ministry of Labour (1954);

"Report on Intensive Survey of
Agricultural Labour~ Employment, Underemployment, Wages and
Lev e 1 s. '"'6 f L i vi n g " ,
v o l. I , p p . 9 1- 9 3 ;
and
(1960);-wReport on the Second Agricultural Labour Enquiry~
(1956-57)", Vol. 1, Governement of India, New Delhi, p. 148.
l

1-

3
respective employers on their right to leave the work.
with

this,

the

casual workers are more independent

diverse sources of employment.

Nevertheless,

that as long as total opportunities

employment

are

independence
symbolic.

at

the

village

In this regard,

the

pursue

for

level,

alternative

the

so-called

enjoyed _by the casual workers is nothing more

individual

than

the available evidence clearly shows

that even in the case of casual labourers,

with

to

it is important to

underline

small

Compared

traditional ties exist

landowning employer

families,

which

get

strengthened by the credit and accomodation facilities offered by

the employers 3 .
A
labourers
economic
4
level .

major

factor

the

dependence

of

agricultural

on their employer is the close correspondence

hierarchy

with

Agrarian

agricultural
landlords
religious

in

studies

labourers
hail

from

the social hierarchy

show

belong
superior

to

that
lower

castes.

at

great

the

Various

castes and classes over agricultural labourers,

among

whom are literate.

agricultural

of

while

the

social

and

control

upper

the

village

majority

castes,

institutions strengthen the economic

of

of

the

very

few

Attempts to establish organisation of

labourers or the organisation of lower

castes

for

3.

J.B.
Verma (1970),
"Ankodia _:_ Change in Economic Life of
Tobacco
Village",
Sardar
Patel
University,
Vallabh
Vidyanagar,
Gujarat.

4.

Ramkrishna,
Mukerjee ( 1961), "Rural Class Structure in West
Bengal", reprinted in A.R. Desai ed. (1969); Rural Sociology
in India", Popular Prakashan Pvt. Ltd., Bombay, pp. 281-286;
and Dharma Kumar (1965),
Land and Caste in South India",
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p.33-.-

4
improving their economic and social standing invariably fac,e
open hostility of the landed interests,

the

and may be successful in

5
areas where alternative job opportunities exist .
According

to

another system

of

classification,

labour force is divided into two broad categories, viz.,

labour

and

the

unfree labour.

labour

as

labour

cannot refuse to work for

against

A striking feature

free labour is that the

during the peak season.

given

employer,

the free

of

possessor

the

unfree
of

such

particularly

It may be due to a variety of bonds such

as traditional attachment to a family,

or an estate,

indebtedness

for a sum larger than that can ordinarily be repaid, allotment of

a

plot

of

land

conditionsJ and

by the
so on.

employer,
Further,

tenancy

under

precarious

the high dependency

of

the

unfree labour on its master almost invariably entails lower wages

than the prevailing market wages,
payments,

the

tasks,

claim

longer working hours,

irregular

obligation of having to perform sundry

by

the

employer even upon

the

household

time

of

the

labourer's wife and children, and so on.

Further
service
unfree

and

its conditions,

upon

the length of the

the broad categories of

labour can be further divided into

instance,
5.

depending

within the group of free labour,

period

of

free

and

sub-categories.

For

various arrangements

It
is worth mentioning that the problem of organising
the
agricultural
labourers
is
largely due
to
illiteracy of
labourers, absence of alternative non-farm job opportunities
and organised resistance by the employers.
For
further
details,
please see,
S.L.Bapna(1973), "Economic and Social
Implications of
Green Revolution - A Case Study---of Kota
District," AgroEconomic Research Centr""S";Vallabh
Vidyanagar, Sarder Patel University, Gujarat.

I -

5
such

as

those

contract,

from

ranging

between a single day to

whole

a single crop operation to a whole crop

6
can be visualized .

etc.

year

season,

Similarly the broad category of unfree

labour covers full time service arrangements on an annual or more

than

annual

basis in a state of precarious

bordering on beck-and-call system;

single
only

master

certain

almost

unfree labour must work for a

whenever required and can seek

when there is no work on master's

arrangements,

dependency,

other

fields.

employment

Under

tenancy

the unfree-tenant-labourer is required to perform a

number

of days of work for his landlord at

7
sometimes no wages at all .

nominal

or

The harwaha system of parts of Bihar

represents another instance of beck-and-call relationship.

This

was in evidence in our sample households from Bihar's district of

Bhojpur.
New Farm Technology in Rural India
Over
sixties,
mainly

Indian

the last two decades,

especially since the

agriculture has undergone significant

mid-

changes,

because of the introduction of new production technology.

The new production technology consists of a highly complementary

6.

Daniel and Alice Thorner (1965),

"Types of Employer-Labour
Relationship in Indian Agriculture", in, "Indian Journal
of
Agricultural Economics 1940-64:
Selected Readings,"
The
Indian Society of Agricultural Economics,
Bombay,
pp.287302.

7.

Daniel and Alice Thorner (1965),

Ibid, p.288.

6
packages
While

of

biochemical

as well

as

mechanical

8
innovations .

package,

the former comprises irrigation-seed-fertilizer

pest

and

disease

harvestor,

control

tubewell

and

land

the

base,

etc;

tractor,

other mechanical

equipment

thresher,
etc.

are

Available evidence suggests that with a

included in the latter.

given

measures

said

two components

of

the

new

farm

technology have a differential impact on the timeliness and scale

of

field

crop

labour-absorption
etc

10

have

soil

structure,

plants,

composition of costs on different farm

animals,
sizes,

.
Under

while

operations,

the

spurt of this

on the one hand,

registered

proportions

and

breakthrough,

agricultural production and productivity

fairly big
their

technological

increases,

on

relative shares have

the

other,

also

factor

undergone

8.

Earl 0 Heady, (1949), "Basic Economic and Welfare Aspects of

Farm Technological Advance",
Journal of
Farm Economics,
Vol.21,
May,
pp.293-316 quoted in Uma ~Srivastava,
et.al
(1971),
"Green Revolution and Farm Income Distribution",
Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol.VI,
No~52,
Review of
Agricultur~ December 25,
pp.
A163- A172 ; C.H.Hanumantha
Rao (1975); "Technological Change and Distribution of Gains
in
Indian Agriculture",
The Macmillan Company of
India,
Limited,
Delhi,
G.K.Chadha,
(1979), "Production Gains of
New Agricultural Technology",
Publication Bureau,
Panjab
University,
Chandigarh,
1979,
p.I; Master Hari Singh,
(1980), "Agricultural Workers' Struggle in Punjab, People's
Publishing House,
New Delhi,
p.2;
and L.N.Dutta (1982),
"Relative Efficiency,
Farm Size and Peasant Proprietorship:
A Case Study of Ranchi District(Bihar)," Indian Journal
of
Agricultural Economics,
Vol.XXXVII,
No.1,
January-Marc~
pp.76-82.

9.

Don.
Kanel (1967.), "Size of Farm and Economic Development",
Indian Journal Q! Agricultural Economics,
Vol. XXII, No. 2,
April-June, pp. 26-44.

10.

C.H. Hanumantha, Raci,

(1975); Op. Cit. pp.77-79

7
change 11 ,

tremendous
base,

However,

infra-structural

depending upon

the

irrigation

facilities and institutional

framework,

the new technology has been adopted by different areas in varying

proportions.
on

Consequently,

the impact of the new farm technology

agricultural production and productivity as also on the rural

employment structure has differed from

It
Punjab

is now widely acknowledged that states such as

and Haryana have experienced the most profound impact

the new farm technology,

have

generally

construed
same

of

lagged behind.

This,

however,

There

experienced
has

are pockets of Punjab such as

mountainous terrain of Districts Gurdaspur,

which

should not

of the impact and the whole of Bihar

it.

Districts

substantially

such

ahead

of

of

as

Nalanda,

Bhojpur

others in the

be
the

remained
the

sub-

Hoshiarpur and Ropar

are relatively much less developed than others,

Bihar,

the

whereas states such as Bihar and Orissa

to mean that the whole of Punjab has

degree

devoid

area to area.

matter

and
of

whi'le
Rohtas

in
are

agricultural

development.
The induction of the new farm technology has

process

of

qualitative

characterised

by

attitudes

the

These

of

changes

rural
in

the

transformation.
socio-e~onomic

different sections of

the

rural

initiated
This

is

outlook

and

community.

changes have occurred in a manner that economic values are

becoming increasingly dominant over social values.

In the areas

11.
Uma K.
Srivastava,
et.
al.
(1971) Op. Cit, p. A171. For
more recent studies on the subject,
see,
The Indian Society of
Agricultural Economics ( 1983);
"Indian Journal Q! Agricultural
Economics", Vol. XXXVIII, No. 4, October-December, pp. 391-434.

r:
I,

8
of

green

dominant

revolution,

caste

institution

of

influence,
less

and

which once used

the

rural

society

in

the

economic life

of

compared to the pre-Green Revolution era.

breaking.

The

traditional

regulating

the

socio-economic

is

relations

gradually

12

out

being

the

'Jajmani' system,

most

losing

its

rural

which

life of the rural

replaced

Consequently,

occupational
people

people

by

been

people

formal

are

had

since

contractual
~

occ~-at

ional

Low caste people

are

caste-based

of their ancestral occupations in search

economic professions.

The

is

the

Caste rigidities

classification is gradually disappearing.

moving

be

caste-based obligations are now given relatively

recognition

long,

to

of

better

Inter-generational and intra-generational

mobility seems to be increasing at a faster rate

in

the

countryside

are

becoming

more
In

attitudes and values.

and
brief,

13

more
the

receptive

to new ideas,

economic,

social and institutional set-up of the village economy

is undergoing important changes.

Under

the

impact of the

technological

changes,

the

factor proportion in agriculture have changed substantially.

So

have changed the structure and the level of employment.

the one hand,
partially
have

While on

the relative importance of the non-farm activities

inspired by agricultural expansion

grown steadily over the years,

itself,

seems

to

the locale of some of these

"Inter-generational
Punjab Agricultural

12.

B.K.Agarwal,
and P.C.Deb,
(1971),
Occupational Mobility in Ludhiana",
University, Ludhiana

13.

M.P.Kaushal,
(1969),
"Mechanisation of Agriculture and
10th All
India
Community
Relations",
Paper read at
Sociological Conference, Delhi.

9
activities

has

also shifted from the rural to the nearby

and sub-urban areas,

farm

activities

on the other.

Consequently,

are gradually disappearing from

urban

lots of nonthe

villages.

However, simultaneously some other activities are expanding fast.

Besides,
sources
labour

some new activities are also emerging as the

of

employment and income to the

households.

Still further,

non-cultivating

in

areas of the Green Revolution,

towns.

enjoying more than one source of employment and

In

changing

households

are

conditions,

some

working

employed as wage labourers

members

inside

income.
of

wellaSi~the
J,

nearby

urban

centres

nearby urban areas.

has

Employment in

been opened up to

such

agriculture;

some others are also employed in non-agricultural activities,

the rural as

In

these households have

started
the

rural

some of these households are

gaining employment in the nearby sub-urban and urban

brief,

important

them

because

in
the
of

expanding industrial and commercial activities and facilitated by

an

expanding network of village link roads.

Although

physical

distance from the town still remains an important constraint, yet

the growing network of village link roads and
increasing
rural

urban contact,

consequently,

the

coupled with the internal dynamics of

transformation have an important bearing,

on the

changing

employment structure of the rural labour households.

Empirical Evidence on New Farm Technology
Recent
contributions

by

years

have

witnessed

spate

of

research

Indian as well as foreign research workers

the study of the new technology.

to

It is, however,a pity that very

10
few studies regarding the impact of agricultural growth and rural
transformation on rural labour households have appeared so far
Most studies on the impact of the Green Revolution have
on

production

between

performance,

small

and

large farms,

regions, and so on.

At best,

households

has

impact

tractorisation

of

behavior,

distribution
between

on

labour

cropwise labour use, etc.

household

been

rather

focussed

production

surplus

and

gains
deficit

the category of the landless labour

figured only marginally,

total

of

14

i n t e r ms o f

say,

the

real

employment,

wage

Comprehensive studies on the

economy of this category of rural workers

exceptional.

Perhaps,

the

have

preoccupation

of

researches and policy administrators .with agricultural production

and

problems connected with the Green Revolution was due to

fact

that

in

technology,
These

issues

the

wake of the introduction

large
are

technological
with

the

of

the

number of economic issues

of

diverse

variety.

As

new

have
the

the
farm

come

up.

process

of

transformation of Indian agriculture was initiated

introduction of the IADP in the

early

sixties,

some

researchers examined critically the achievements of the programme

in

terms of its objectives of increase in yield levels

volume

of

programme
finder'
imp a c t
14.

foodgrains production.
was

or

and

the

The broad finding about

the

that it did not succeed much either

as a

pace setter'.

on o u t p u t a t

t he n a t i on a l

It did not make

l eve 1 .

as
an

It was found

'path

immediate
that the

One such study is Harbans Singh, (1986), "Employment, Income

And Consumption QI Rural
Labour Households ~ ~ Green
Revolution Region: ~Case Study Qi Punjab and Haryana",Ph. D
Dissertation (Unpublished),
Jawaharlal Nehru University,New
Delhi.

11
production
this

increase in IADP districts was

experiment did not virtually make any perceptible

India's agricultural economy.

Next,
th e

non-significant

.
f arm-s1ze

dent

and
on

15

while a fiercer controversy has centred around

pro d uc t'1v1't y re l a t'1ons h'1p

16

some

stu d'1es

explored extensively the input-output relationship under the

h ave
old

15.

D.K.
Desai
(1969),
"Intensive Agricultural
District
Programme
Analysis of Results",
Economic and Political
Weekly,
Vol.IV, No. 26, Review of Agriculture~une 28, pp.
f\83-A90;
Sherman E.
Johnson, (1970), "Combining Knowledge,
Incentives
and
Means
to
Accelerate
Agricultural
Development," in E.O.
Heady, (ed), "Economic Development~
Agriculture" Thacker and Company,
Bombay,
pp 218-222;
and
Dorris D.
Brown ( 1971),
"Agricultural Development
in
India's Districts," Harvard University Press, Massachusetts,
Cambridge, p. 33.

16.

The issue of 'farm-size and productivity relationship'

has
been
extensively explored in the context
of
Indian
agriculture by a large number of scholars.
A.K.
Sen,
R.
Agrawala,
Dipak Mazumdar,
Morton Paglin,
Usha Rani, Ashok
Rudra and G.S.
Sahota are among
the earlier batch of
researchers e~amining the above mentioned issue.
For more
upto date discussion in this regard,
please see, G.R. Saini
(1969),
"Farm size,
Productivity and Returns
to Scale,"
Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol.
IV,
No.26,
Review of
Agriculture,
June 28,
pp.
A119-A122; Utsa Patnaik (1972),
"Economics of Farm size and Farm scale; Some Assumptions Reexamined",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.VII, Nos. 3133,
Special Number, August, pp. 1613-1624; Krishna Bhardwaj
(1974),
"Notes on Farm Size and Productivity," Economic and
Political Weekly,
Vol.
IX,
No.13,
Review of Agriculture,
March 30,
pp. A11-A24;
G.K. Chadha, (1978), "Farm Size and
Productivity Revisited: Some Notes from Recent Experience of
Punjab," Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol.XIII,
No.39,
Review of Agriculture,
September 30,
pp A87-A96;
R.K.
Sharma,
(1983),
"Impact ~ New Technology on Income
Distribution
Among
Cultivating
Households
in
Rural
Haryana:
A
Regional
Study",
Ph.D.
Dissertation
(Unpublished),
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi; and
Pol Barbier (1984),
"Inverse Relationship between Farm Size
and Land Productivity : A Product of Science or Imagination
?",
Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol.
XIX,
Nos. 51-52,
December 22-29~p. A189 - A198.

12
and

the new technology for different strata of farmers 17 .

research

workers while attempting to investigate the input

and the composition of cost for adopters and the non adopters
the

Some
cost
of

new

technology have highlighted its social and economic

implications. 18
Still others have sought to look into the
possibilities

of

capital

formation in agriculture under the

19
impact of the new farm technology.
Some studies also deal with
the institutional finance and co-operative credit in the light of
the rising requirements of the new agricultural technology. 20

Some

researchers

have also attempted to highlight the

role

of

17.

J.Q. Harrison (1972); "Agricultural Modernisation and Income

Distribution", Ph.D. Thesis,
Princeton University; S.S.
Sidhu (1972);
"Economics of Technical Change in Wheat
Production in Punjab,
India", Ph.D. Thesis, University of
Minnesota;
G. R.
Saini
( 1973),
"Economics of
Farm
Management",
Ph.D. Thesis, University of Delhi-;--Pranab
Bhattacharya and Abdul Majid (Jr.) (1976),
"Impact of Green
Revolution on Output, Cost and Income of Small and Big
Farmers", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.XI, No. 52,
Review of Agriculture, December 25, pp. A 147 - A 150,
Surendra Singh (1977) "Transformation Q.!_ Agriculture in
Ganganagar District Q.!_ Rajasthan", Ph.D Thesis (Unpublished)
Panjab University, Chandigarh.

18.

G. Parthasarthy ( 1973); "Changes in Rice Farming and Their

Social and Economic Impact : A Case Study
of a Delta
Village in Andhra",
(Mimeo);
A. S. Kahlon, and Gurbachan
Singh (1973), Sacial and Economic Implications of Large
Scale Introduction of H.V.V's of Rice with special reference
to Gurdaspur District", also see their study on Wheat in
Ferozepur
District,
Punjab
Agricultural
University,
Ludhiana; S.L. Bapna (1973); 2 Cit; and G.S. Bhalla,
(1974), "Changing Agrarian Structure Q.!_ India-A Study Q.!_ the
Impact Q.!_ Green Revolution in Haryana," Meenakshi Prakashan,
Meerut- Delhi.

19.

Baldev
Singh,
Agriculture",
Kurukshetra.

20.

Harwant Singh, and A.S. Kahlon, (1971), "A Study of Credit

Requirements and Advances to Farmers in Patiala District",

(1973),
"Capital Formation
Ph.D.
Thesis,
Kurukshetra

in Haryana
University,

13
,, semj- feudal'

institutional
bottlenecks as a barrier to agricultural development 21 . A lively

debate

production

relations

and

other

on the emergence of capitalism and the mode of production

in Indian agriculture has also ensued following the onset of the

22
Green Revolution .
It is, however, a different matter that it
21.

For the pioneering field studies undertaken by

individual
scholars on the subject, see; Pradhan H. Prasad,
(1973),
"Production Relations; Achilles' Heel of Indian Planning",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. VIII, No. 19, Special
Article, May 12, pp. 869-872; -------- (1974), Reactionary
Role of Usurer's Capital in Rural India", Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol.
IX, Nos. 32-34, Special Number,
August, pp. 1305-1308;
(1975), "Agrarian Unrest
and 'Economic Change in Rural Bihar
Three Case Studies",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. X, No 24, Special
Article, June 14, pp. 931-937;
(1976), "Poverty
and Bondage", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XI, Nos.
31-33, Special Number, August, pp. 1269-1272;
(1980),
"Rising Middle Peasantry in North India", Economic
and Political Weekly, Vol. XV, Nos, 5-7, Annual Number,
February, pp. 215-219,
( 1987), "Agrarian
Violence in Bihar", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
XXII, No. 22, Special Article-,--May 30, pp. 847-857; and
(1987), "Towards a Theory of Transformation of
Semi-Feudal Agriculture", Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. XXII, No. 31, Special Article, August 1, pp. 1287-1290;
also see, A. Bhaduri (1973);
"A Study in
Agricultural
Backwardness under Semi-Feudalism", The Economic Journal,
Vol. 83, March, pp. 120-137.

22.

Ashok Rudra (1970),

"In Search of the Capitalist Farmer",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. V, No. 26, Review of
Agriculture, June 27, pp. A 85- A 87;
(1971),
Capitalist Development in Agriculture- Reply", Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. VI, November 6, pp.2291-2292 ; Utsa
Patnaik,
(1971), "Capitalist Development in Agriculture : A
Note", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. VI, No. 39,
Review of Agriculture,
September 25, pp. A 123-A130;
(1971), "Capitalist Development in Agriculture :
Further Comment", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. VI,
No. 52, Review of Agriculture, December 25, pp. A 190 - A
194
(1986),
"The Agrarian Question and
Development of Capitalism in India", Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. XXI, No. 18, Special Article, May-3, pp. 781793 ;
Paresh Chattopadhyay, (1972), On the Question of the
Mode of Production in Indian Agriculture
A Preliminary
Note", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. VII, No. 13,
Review
of
Agriculture,
March 25,
pp.
A39
- A46;
( 1972);
"Mode of Product ion in
Indian

14
has enmeshed itself only into an abstract conceptual controversy.
Further,

empirical

studies on the pattern of distri-

bution of gains of the improved farm technology have also swelled

in number.
of

Some Indian scholars have found that the distribution

production

gains of the new agricultural technology has been

highly skewed.

In particular, the production gains accruing from

new

investments

following

the adoption of the new agricultural

technology, especially for tubewell installations and

channels,
tilted

the distribution of seeds and

heavily

fertilizers,

in favour of big land operators.

sections

the

weaker

and

the landless labourers constitute a fairly

h ave

genera 11 y

they

have

viewed

the

d evo1. d

of

small farmers

large multitude,

23
.
o f sue h ga1ns.

perpetuation

etc. have

Consequently,

of the society of which the

. d
rema1ne

irrigation

rural

I n a sense,
poverty

and

Agriculture: An Anti-Kritik, "Economic and Political Weekly,

Vol. VII, No. 53, Review of Agriculture, December 30, pp. A
185
A 192;
and Ranjit Sau (1973), "On the Essence and
Manifestation of Capitalism in Indian Agriculture'', Economic
and
Polotical
Weekly,
Vol.
VIII,
No.13,Review
of
Agriculture, March 31, pp. A 27- A 30.
23.

Pranab Bardhan (1970),

"Green Revolution and Agricultural
Labourers in India", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. v,
Nos.
29-31, Special Numbers, July, pp. 1239
1246;
(1970),
"Green Revolution and Agricultural
Labourers: A Corection",
"Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. V, No.
46 November 14, p. 1861; G. Parthasarathy
(1971 ),
"Green Revolution and the Weaker Sections", Thacker
and Co, Bombay; V.M. Dandekar and N. Rath (1971 ), "Poverty
in India- 1: Dimension and Trends", Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. VI, No. 1, January 2, pp. 25-48; --(1971 ),
"Poverty in India-II: Policies and Programmes",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. VI, No.2, January 9, pp.
106-146; A.V. Jose (1974),
"Trends in Real Wage Rates of
Agricultural Labourers", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
IX, No.13, Review of Agriculture, March 30,pp. A 25-A 30.

---=-----~-

1.5
economic
Such

destitution

views

have

as an off-shoot of the

gained

further

support

qreen
from

Revolution.
some

foreign

observers of India's Green Revolution who maintain that a host of

social and political problems such as social polarisation,
conflict
emerged
Green

and

social

tensions due to

growing

inequality

much more quickly than anticipated in the areas

Revolution.

class
have

of

the

On the basis of impressions gathered hastily

via their talks with officials and non- .. officials and also during
short trips to some areas of the Green Revolution,

scholws
Their

feared

pessimism

deteriorating

the
is

Green

based

Revolution'

arising

employment prospects of the weaker sections

the impact of rising mechanisation,

24.

foreign
24
turning into 'red
.

upon apprehensions

some

out

of

under

growing regional disparities

Wolf Ladejinsky (1969a),

"The Green Revolution in Punjab: A
Field Trip", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. IV, No. 26,
Review of Agriculture, June 28, pp. A 73 - A 82 ;
(1969b), "Green Revolution in Bihar- The Kosi Area: A Field
Trip" Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. IV, No. 39, Review
of Agriculture, September 27, pp. A 147-A 162;
(1970),
"Ironies of India's Green Revolution", Foreign
Affairs, Vol. 48, No. 4, July pp. 758-768; clifton R.
Wharton (1969).
"The Green Revolution
Cornucopia or
Pandora's Box", Foreign Affairs, Vol. 47, No. 3, April, pp.
464-476; Francine R. Frankel ( 1969), "India's New Strategy
for Agricultural Development", Journal of Asian Studies,
Vol. 28, No. 4, August, pp. 693-710;
(1970).
"Agricultural Modernisation and Social Change", Mainstream
March 28;
(1971).
"India's Green Revolution :
Economic Gains and Political Costs", Oxford University
Press, Bombay; John P. Lewis (1970), "Wanted in India : A
Relevant Radicalism", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. V,
Nos. 29-31, Special Number, Jul~pp. 1211-1226; T.J. Byres
(1972); "The Dialects of India's Green Revol-ution'', South
Asian Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, January, pp. 99-116; Andre
Gunder Frank (1973), "Reflections on Green, Red and White
Revolutions in India", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
VIII, No. 3, January 20, pp. 119-124 ; and also see, Yujiro
Hayami ( 1981), "Agrarian Problem of India : An East and
Southeast Asian Perspective", Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol. XVI, No. 16, Special Article, April 18, pp. 707-712.

16
with

irrigated

areas progressing steadily and

the

unirrigated

areas lagging behind and the strengthening of socio-economic

political
on.
of

power of the rich peasants in the rural areas,

Some scholars of this genre have anticipated the

historical

The

other

technological

set of studies strike an

gains

technology 26 .

yet in absolute terms,

from

the

introduction

all
of

of
vein

changes

optimistic

studies concede that although the gains have been

distributed,
some

emergence

perhaps basing their analysis in the

consequences of all major

.
f rom t"1me t o t"1me. 25 .
occurr1ng

Such

and so

the 'generations of problems' consequent upon the arrival

the Green Revolution,

of

and

note.

unevenly

groups have registered

the

new

agricultural

Consequently the view that the gains of the

new

25.

Walter P. Falcon (1972);

"The Green Revolution: Generation
of Problems" in Comparative Experience .!.. Agricultural
Development in Developing Countries .!.. Asia and the South
East Since World War II, The Indian Society of Agricultural
Economics, Bombay~p-.-295-315.

26.

B.Sen (1969),
"Regional Dispersion of Agricultural Income
Implications of the New Technology", Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. IV, No. 52, Review of Agriculture, December 27,
pp. A 190- A 196;
(1970),
"Opportunities in
Green Revolution", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. V,
No. 13, Review of Agriculture, March 28, pp. A 33 -A 40;
R.W. Herdt and E.A. Baker (1972);
"Agricultural Wages,
Production and High Yielding Varieties",
Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. VII, No. 13, Review of Agriculture,
March 25, pp.A23-A30; J.Q. Harrison (1972), "Agricultural
Modernisation and Income Distribution",
Ph.D. Thesis,
Princeton University, G.S. Bhalla (1974), ~Cit; and G.K.
Chadha (1983),
"Green Revolution and the Small Peasant : A
Study of Income Distribution among ---punjab Cultivators"~
Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi; C.H. Hanumantha Rao
(1975), ~ Cit pp. 135, 150 and 178 ; Deepak Lal (1976),
"Agricultural Growth, Real Wages and the Rural Poor in
India", Economic and Political Weekly", Vol. XI, No. 26,
Review of Agriculture, June 26, pp. A 47 - A 61.

17
farm

technology have tilted in favour of big farmers alone

not either exist or has been exaggerated by the

critics.

does
Their

main conclusion is that the advent of the new farm technology has
made
its

a perceptible dent both on the absolute poverty as well

intensity.

impression

By

that

the

implication,

these

new farm technology

studies
tends

to

the

the

accentuate

It is held in

poverty and leads to immiserization of peasantry.

many

refute

as

quarters that the new farm technology has helped to

relative

However,

some

income inequality among the

scholars

while

not ruling

adopting
out

reduce
27
sub-sets.

altogether

the

possibility of future agricultural unrest, conclude that symptoms

28
of the rise of dual economy were not discernible in the areas
And moreover,

there is not enough empirical substance either for

the growing rural tensions or to the view that such tensions have
mainly originated from the introduction of the new agricultural
29
Some scholars mildly concede these problems which
technology
according

to

them are of minor nature

growth as the main objective,

only.

While

accepting

they have advocated that resources

must be placed at the disposal of large farmers to secure maximum

growth.
care

Widening
of

later

inequalities in the same region can be

by

appropriate

fiscal

and

taken

redistribution

27.

G.S. Bhalla (1974),

28

Peter von Blanckenburg ( 1972), "Who Leads Agricultural

Modernisation ? - A Study of Some Progressive Farmers in
Mysore and Punjab", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.VII ,
No.40, Review of Agriculture, September 30, pp.A. 94-A 112.

29

~Cit.

C.H. Hanumantha Rao (1975),

p. 48;

~Cit.

pp. 179-180.

18
measures

30

The
of

the

new

pattern of spatial distribtion of production gains

farm technology also forms the

pattern

matter

of

it has been observed that

the

and the intensity of adoption of the new technology

and

recent research.

the

In such works,

subject

resultant gains are unevenly distributed among

31
regions
of the country and also between different

different
districts

within a state.

Besides, the impact of the new technology on the

levels of living of adopters and non-adopters, wage rates 32 ,
levels of living and poverty of agricultural labourers 33 , the

30

31
32.

33.

N.A.Majumdar,
(1970);
"Intra -Sectoral Dualism
and
Agricultural Growth", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.V,
No.13, Review of Agriculture, March 28, pp. A 2- A5; and,
Dharma Kumar (1970);
"Technical Change and Dualism Within
Agriculture in India", Journal Q! Development Studies, No.1,
October, pp. 50-59.
C.H. Hanumantha Rao (1975), ~Cit. Chapter 8, pp. 91-104.
Some of the important studies on the theme of the impact of
the new technology on the wage rates of agricultural
labourers are by P.K. Bardhan (1970, 1973), N. Krishnaji
(1971), A. V. Jose (1974), Deepaklal (1976), Sheila Bhalla
(1979), G.Parthasarthy and K. Adiseshu (1982), Rakesh Basant
(1984). For further details, please see, Appendix-! A.
The impact of new technology on rural poverty has been
studied by quite a number of researchers.
In particular,
see, P.K. Bardhan (1973);
"On the Incidence of Poverty in
Rural India of the Sixties", Econ~mic and Political Weekly,
Vol.VIII, Nos. 4-6, Annual Number, February, pp. 245-254;
Indira Rajaraman (1975); "Poverty, Inequality and Economic
Growth:
Rural
Punjab, '1960-61-1970-71",
Journal
Q!
Development Studies, Vol. XI, No.4, pp. 278-290; M.S.
Ahluwalia
(1978),
"Rural
Poverty
and
Agricultural
Performance in India", Journal Q! Development Studies,
Vol.XIV, No,III, April, pp.298-323,Keith Griffin and A.K.
Ghose (1979), "Institutional Structure, Technological Change
and Growth in
Poor Agrarian Economies: An Analysis with
reference to Bengal and Punjab", World Development Vol. 7,
Nos.
4-5,
pp.385-396;
and J.N. Sinha (1981),
"Full
Employment and AntiPoverty Plan: The Missing Link",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XVI, No.50, December 12,
pp. 2043-2052; also see Pradhan H. Prasad ( 1985), "Poverty
and Agricultural Development",
Economic
and Political
Weekly, Vol. XX, No. 50 December 14, pp. 2221-2224.

19
participation of female labour- 34 , the employment opportunities
outside agriculture,
tenancy and changes in land relations 35 ,
etc.

has also been explored by a number of researchers.

research

A few

workers

have also investigated the impact of the new

farm technology on farm employment 36 as also productivity levels

of major crops.

34

Martin,
H.
Billings
and
Arjan
Singh
(1970);
"Mechanisation and the Wheat Revolution; Effect on Female
Labour in Punjab", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.V,
No.52, Review of Agriculture, December 26, pp.A 169- A 174.

35

P.K. Mukerjee (1970); "The H.Y.V. Programme; Variables that

Matter", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. V, No. 13,
Review of Agriculture-, March 28, pp. A 15-A 22; and Sheila
Bhalla (1977); "Changes in Acreage and Tenure Structure of
Land Holdings in Haryana, 1962-72", Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol.XII, No. 13, Review of Agriculture, March 26,
1977, pp. A 2 -A 15.

36.

Some important micro-and macro level studies on the effect

of different types of mechanisation on farm employment of
labour have been conducted in India.
In particular, see
Martin H. Billings and Arjan Singh (1970),
"Mechanisation
and Rural Employment. With Some Implications for Rural
Income Distribution, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. V,
No. 26, Review of Agriculture, Jun~ 27, pp. A 61 - A 72 ;
( 1972); "The Ef feet of Technology on Farm
Employment
in India";
in Comparative
Experience
Q!_
Agricultural Development in Developing Countries Q!_ Asia and
the South East Since World War II, The Indian Society of
Agricultural~onomics,
Bombay-,- pp. 332-342; A Rudra,
(1971),
"Employment Patterns in Large Farms of Punjab",
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. VI, No. 26, Review of
Agriculture, June 26, pp. A 89 - A 94; S.V. Sethuraman
( 1971); "Measuring Rural Umemployment to provide Guidelines
to Policy Makers", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.VI,
No.24,
June 12,
pp. 1186-1191; C.Bell (1972);
"The
Acquisition of Agricultural Technology:
Its Determinants
and Effects", Journal Q!_ Development Studies, Vol.9, No.1,
pp. 123-159, S.S. Acharya (1973); "Green Revolution and Farm
Employment",
Indian Journal Q!_ Agricultural Economics, Vol.
XXVIII, No.3, pp. 30-45; Raj Krishna (1974), "Measurement of
Direct and Indirect Employment Effects of Agricultural
Growth with Technical Change" in E. 0.
Edwards
( ed) ,

20

It needs
relate
each

to

the early years of the Green

individual

example,

to be pointed out here that most such studies

study

studies

had a limited

dealing

Moreover,

Revolution.
scope

of

inquiry.

with the production effects

did

attempt to go into the question of income distribution and

concerned

with

For

the later did not generally examine the

not
those

closely

related but crucial aspects of household consumption, savings and

so

on.

Similarly,

unemployment

have

consumption
the
with

the scholars dealing with problem of

not gone farther to

adequately

patterns of those who belong to the lower strata

rural hierarchy.
the

examine

rural

Green

development

In plain words,

Revolution

does

and

the

most literature
consequent

not attempt specification

of

the
of

dealing

agricultural
the

household

economy in terms of the employment - income- consumption nexus of

the non-cultivating rural labour households.
some

of the studies,

referring

to

Consequently,
conclusions

Not only this,

in

the conclusions have been derived just

by

historical
in

absence

reached

casual observations.

in

parallels (as in the case

of enough

empirical

such studies tend to be

Further,

of

Byres).

substance,
borne

the

out

of

some other studies are based

on

Employment
in Developing Nations:
Report on a
Ford
Foundation Study, Columbia University Press; Kusum Chopra
(1974);
"Tractorisation and Changes in Factor Inputs -A
Case Study of Punjab", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
IX, No. 52, Review of Agriculture, December 28, pp.A 119- A
127; C.H. Hanumantha Rao (1975);
~Cit, Chapter 9, pp.
105-122 and A.S. Oberai and Iftikhar Ahme~1981);1abour Use
in Dynamic Agriculture : Evidence from Punjab", Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. XVI, No. 13, March 28, pp. A 2 - A~
Besides, attempts have been made to study the problem of
rural
unemployment/ underemployment.
For a
detailed
discussion on the subject, please see, Appendix-! B.

THESIS

339.20954
K529
Em

21

1111111111111111111111111

TH2781

unduly

small

sample

coverage,

./

and some of them

suffer

from

technical inadequacies as well.

The foregoing discussion shows that most studies on the
impact

of

Green

cultivating

Revolution have generally

rural

bypassed

the

labour households in a manner as if

non-

most

them constitute only a fractional cost of farm operation and

an

integral part of the rural economy.

sed

on

the presumption that

not

This neglect might have

since

rural agricultural

to provide employment opportunities to ensure

subsistence level,

-r-

somewhere

of

most such households seek employment

within the agricultural sector itself.

In

sense,

\Y.l

these households have continuously been neglected not only by the

(iY

policy

I
.:t:'

1-

makers

but also by the academicians,

notwithstanding.
technological
cultivating

For

changes

instance,

the

have been directed

households.

The

a few

exceptions

institutional
largely

exclusive

and

towards

the

preoccupation

of

researchers as well as policy administrators with the cultivating

households

may have its own

justification,

presumably

because

increased agricultural production has been one of the most urgent

and major concerns for the country.

But keeping in view the fact

that the non-cultivating rural labour households form an integral

part

of

population

the rural community both in terms of the size of

as

well

economic activities,
some
the

as their participation

in

various

economic

socio-

they should not have been ignored.

reforms are claimed to have been exclusively

betterment

of such households,

yet

their

Though

designed
their

hearted implementation has rendered them almost a paper

for
half-

exercise

22

Furthermore, the expansion in employment opportunities of

only.
these

households

not

been

Consequently,

Revolution.
impact

has

of

the

one

a prime objective of the Green

does

not

know

much about the

internal dynamics of rural transformation on the

household economy of such households.

Further, over the last 10-15 years, a new phenomenon of
great significance has emerged inside the Punjab agriculture.
seasons

of

wheat

harvesting,

rice

transplantation

and

In
rice

harvesting, a large number of agricultural labourers migrate into

Punjab from other states.

This is mainly due to certain pull and

push factors, operating simultaneously in the inmigrating as well

as

in

the

years,
place

in

terms

heavily

Further,
related
of

outmigrating states.
of

aspects,

Unluckily,
attention
employment

of

the

reasons for this migration and its

has

force

for
this

of

it needs to be pointed out that the employment

labour

implications

number of migrants, a shift has taken

in favour of Bihar against eastern Uttar Pradesh.

regardless

this

the

Moreover, during the last 8-10

certainly

the inmigrating as well as

many

socio-economic

outm~grating

areas.

important phenomenon has not attracted adequate

researchers.

pattern

37

Consequently, issues pertaining to

of the migrant vis-a-vis local labour remain

by and large unexplored.

37.

So far, only two studies have appeared on the theme of

migrant labour in rural Punjab. See Bipin Chandra (1982),
"~
Study of Migrant Agricultural Labour in Punjab" (mimeo),
August; and Manmohan Sharma (1982), "Impact of Migratory
Labour on the Rural Economy of Punjab State" Man and
Development, Vol. IV, No.3 pp. 66-130.
--- ---

23

THE PRESENT STUDY

The
systematic

discussion

preceding

empirical

non-cultivating

attempt

to

labour

rural

implies

examine

the

households

employment, income and consumption as also the

pattern

single

position of the
the

matter

of

employmen~/earning

of the migrant labour in rural Punjab has yet to appear.

Thus 1 there is a big research gap.

attempt
and

in

that

to fill this gap.

consumption

counterparts

status

The present study is a modest

The study compares employment, income

of such households in Punjab with their

in Bihar.

Besides, an attempt is made to study the

pattern of employment and earnings of the migrant labour in rural

Punjab.
within

The states

of Punjab and Bihar, and the specific areas

the two states, have been chosen to provide both contrast

and similarity.

The sampling details are set out in Chapter II.

The Study Seeks to Examine:

1.

The

variations in the nature, composition and extent of on-

farm

as

well

as

cultivating

rural

states

to

and

non-farm

activities,

in

which

non-

labour households are engaged in the two

account

for the factors that underlie such

variations;
2.

The

quantitative

source

of

sign~ficance

employment

of

these activities as the

and income to the households engaged

in them;
3.

The

consumption

areas;

pattern of such households in the selected

24

4.

The

extent

and

intensity

of

poverty

among

the

sample

households in the two study areas;

Out of the

5.

in

year-round wage-paid on-farm employment/earnings

Punjab, the proportion that is enjoyed separately by the

local labour and the migrant labour; and

If

6.

the

migrant

agricultural

labour

into

rural

Punjab

outflows from the agriculturally developed/backward areas of

Bihar.
The
areas

in

sample

criterion

the

two states, a comparative profile of these areas,

procedure

Chapter II.

adopted for the selection of the sample

as

also the size of the sample are set out in

Chapter III describes the concepts and the variables

used in the present study.

on-farm

Issues pertaining to the structure of

employment/earnings

two

study

the

pattern

the resident labour of the

areas are examined in Chapter IV.

households
pattern

between

of
of

of

Chapter V compares

non-farm employment/earnings between the labour

Punjab

and Bihar.

While Chapter VI examines the

total yearly employment/earnings, an attempt is also

made here to look into the levels of net household income as also

in

the levels of poverty prevalent in the two study areas on the

basis
some

of

per capita net household income.

issues

employment
detail,
states.

pertaining
and

the

earnings.

to

the

migrant

the

labour

as

also

its

Chapter VIII describes, in reasonable

consumption pattern of sample

Finally,

Chapter VII examines

main

conclusions

recommendations are given in Chapter IX.

househol~s

and

in the two
ew

policy