Protest,Change,and Democracy: Locating Current Farmers Protest Movement in Dube’s Construct of “Understanding Change”

Abstract

S. C. Dube’s contributions to the understanding of social change are as relevant today as these were in the decades of the twentieth century. He cautioned saying “good economics is not always good sociology.” Decades following economic liberalization inequalities have continued to rise, socioeconomic distress and more recently farmers resistance to proposed agricultural reforms revalidate some of his prophecies. He cautioned that if cultural norms and the “hold traditional agricultural practises have on people’s way of life are ignored, reforms will be resisted.” In this presentation, an attempt is made to revisit some of his invaluable contributions in understanding farmers protest movement that lasted for more than a year and was withdrawn only after a public announcement by the Prime Minister of India that the three laws against which persistent protests were organized are unequivocally withdrawn. This Dube Memorial Lecture was presented on the invitations of Indian National Confederation and Academy of Anthropologists on February 22, 2021, when the protest movement was on for nearly 8 months. Tarrow’s construct of protest movements and inherent contestations in movements provides theoretical framework to explore longevity and outcome of this prolonged resistance on reforms and restructuring of political configurations.