Q. Identify different forms of inequalities associated with agrarian social structure in India.

Model Answer:

Agrarian Social Structure and Inequalities

The agrarian social structure refers to the institutional framework of agricultural production and the resulting social relations. Daniel Thorner conceptualized this structure through property relations, classifying agrarian classes into Maliks (landlords), Kisans (working peasants), and Mazdoors (landless laborers), immediately highlighting the inherent structural inequalities.

Historically, as Andre Béteille noted, agrarian India featured “cumulative inequality,” where upper castes exclusively monopolized land, wealth, and political power. While modern democratic forces are shifting this toward “dispersed inequality,” Dalits overwhelmingly remain landless agricultural laborers.

M.N. Srinivas conceptualized that agrarian inequalities are sustained by Dominant Castes (e.g., Jats, Kammas). They leverage their numerical strength and land ownership to exert localized political and socio-economic dominance over lower castes.

Using a Marxist perspective, A.R. Desai argued that state-led land reforms actually fostered a new class of rural capitalists, deepening class divides. Furthermore, Jan Breman highlights how traditional patronage has devolved into pure capitalist exploitation of unorganized rural labor.

Bina Agarwal, in A Field of One’s Own, emphasizes that patriarchal inheritance norms exclude women from land titles. Despite the contemporary “Feminization of Agriculture”, women perform the majority of farm labor but lack land ownership and access to institutional credit.

Today, traditional disparities are exacerbated by the Digital Divide and Ecological Inequality. As highlighted by P. Sainath, marginal farmers are disproportionately vulnerable to climate change and debt traps, culminating in rural distress. This reflects the complex Mode of Production Debate—Indian agriculture remains an unequal hybrid of semi-feudal legacies and ruthless capitalist market forces.

Conclusion

Agrarian inequalities have mutated from traditional caste-based hierarchies to complex capitalist divides. Dismantling this structure requires systemic interventions, notably Land Reforms 2.0 to secure tenancy and women’s land rights, thereby empowering the subaltern classes toward an egalitarian rural society.