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

Model Answer:

Technological intervention in Indian agriculture marks a structural shift from subsistence peasant farming to commercialized, mechanized agriculture, predominantly initiated by the Green Revolution.

Sociological Perspectives on Agrarian Change

• Class and Caste Consolidation: M.N. Srinivas argued that technology enriched middle-peasant castes, leading to the consolidation of the “Dominant Caste” (e.g., Jats, Patidars) in rural power structures.
• Capitalist Polarization: Using a Marxist lens, Utsa Patnaik observes that capital-intensive technology (tractors, HYV seeds) spurred capitalist farming, widening class differentiation and marginalizing marginal peasants.
• Shift in Labour Relations: Mechanization dismantled traditional patron-client (Jajmani) ties. Jan Breman highlights the emergence of “Footloose Labour”, replacing secure bonds with commercial wage labour and distress out-migration.

• Ecological and Agrarian Distress: Vandana Shiva critiques modern agro-tech (monoculture, Bt Cotton) for ecological degradation, manifesting in farmer suicides in regions like Vidarbha.
• Feminization of Agriculture: Mechanization-induced male migration leaves farming to women, yet they lack secure land titles, a paradox noted by Bina Agarwal.
• ICT Interventions: Digital platforms (e-NAM) attempt to bypass middlemen, though a stark rural digital divide persists.

Conclusion

While technology functionally ensured food security, structurally, it catalyzed capitalist class differentiation, dismantled traditional social hierarchies, and introduced new ecological vulnerabilities in rural India.