Irrigation and Agrarian Change in India: Two Village Studies of Differentiation Without De-peasantization

Abstract

This article is based on two village studies and a primary survey conducted in the irrigated part of South Telengana, Andhra Pradesh, India. It shows that, in the period 1960–96, canal irrigation and the rapid commercialisation of agriculture reinforced the dominant castes/classes, but also that the small and middle peasantry survived. State intervention strengthened the dominant landowners, particularly through irrigation, which increased the value of land, as well as through subsidies for tractors and mechanisation. These interventions increased caste/class inequalities, but did not lead to the disappearance of the peasantry. The article points to the consequences of irrigation for agrarian change and concludes that irrigation without meaningful land reform can only strengthen the pre-existing inequalities, in terms of both caste and class.