Q: Discuss the role of technology in agrarian change in India.

Model Answer:

Role of Technology in Agrarian Change in India

Agrarian change refers to long‑term transformations in agricultural production, land relations, and rural social structure. In India, technology has been a central driver of such change, especially since the Green Revolution, reshaping class, caste, labour and regional patterns of development.

Economically, technology has altered the agrarian mode of production.
– The Green Revolution’s “package” (HYV seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, tube‑well irrigation) increased yields and marketable surplus, as analysed by Francine Frankel and Ashok Rudra.
– Mechanisation (tractors, harvesters, pump‑sets) enabled intensive cultivation and commercialisation. Bardhan argues this strengthened a class of rich peasants/capitalist farmers, particularly in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
– Newer technologies – drip irrigation, cold chains, food processing and precision farming – deepen integration with national and global markets, enabling diversification into horticulture, dairying and high‑value crops.

Socially, technology has restructured rural stratification and labour relations.
– Andre Béteille’s work on Tanjore shows how technological change combined with land reforms to weaken traditional landlordism and strengthen prosperous peasantry.
– The gap between large and marginal farmers widened as only those with capital and access to credit could adopt costly technologies, producing “differentiation of the peasantry” (Byres).
– Mechanisation and chemical inputs displaced manual labour, promoting seasonal and circular migration and partial proletarianisation of small peasants and landless workers.

Caste and gender relations have also been reshaped.
– Dominant peasant castes (Jats, Patidars, Reddys, etc.) could better utilise state subsidies and technology, reinforcing their political dominance (M.N. Srinivas’s “dominant caste” thesis).
– Mechanisation often reduced women’s customary work and control over seeds, while male out‑migration has simultaneously led to a “feminisation of agriculture” under precarious conditions.

Regionally, technology produced uneven development: irrigated, politically influential regions benefitted most, while rain‑fed and tribal areas lagged. Critics like Vandana Shiva highlight environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and ecological vulnerability created by chemical‑intensive technologies.

Contemporary ICTs (mobile phones, agricultural apps, digital marketplaces, remote sensing) offer information and market access but can create new digital divides and corporate dependence through contract farming and platform intermediaries.

Thus, technology has been a powerful but uneven driver of agrarian change, demanding policies that ensure ecological sustainability, equity, and inclusive access to innovations.