98 – Land, Labour and Capital: Exploring the Contemporary Agrarian Question in South Asia

October 2, 2025
2:00 pm
H05
Scholars studying agrarian transition in the countries of the global south have discussed the existence of dynamism within agriculture, the possibility of varied solutions to the agrarian question and multiple transition pathways of agrarian change. By spotlighting the economic dynamism and differentiation at work in the rural economy, the panel aims to explore the contemporary processes of agrarian change in South Asia, and the implications of intensifying capitalist development on agrarian lives and livelihoods. The panel seeks an interdisciplinary investigation of the social relations and dynamics of production, property and power in agrarian and labour relations. Restructuring of production and exchange in agriculture and the resultant reconfiguration of the ways in which households reproduce themselves in this part of the world necessitate developing new approaches to studying agrarian change as well as adding new strands of empirical work to unpack the nature of the contemporary agrarian question. Interactions between caste, class, and marginalised communities in the rural, peasant autonomy, deagrarianisation, repeasantisation and emergent patterns of migration, urbanisation and non-farm employment are of particular interest. The panel invites theoretical and empirical papers that discuss the processes and trajectories of agrarian change in South Asia and speak to the problematics of production, accumulation and politics, and welcomes contributions from economists, historians, anthropologists and other related disciplines.

Convenors

Dr. Sunit Arora
Dr. Prachi Bansal

Presentations

Changing Agrarian Relations and Rural Livelihoods: A Comparative Analysis of Eastern and Western Uttar Pradesh, India
Kumar Navneet - Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Mishra Deepak Kumar - Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Socio-Economic Determinants of Food Price Vulnerability in South Asia: A Case Study of India
Tripathi Avinash Mani - Azim Premji University, Azim Premji University, Bhopal, India
Singh Archana - RMP PG COLLEGE, LUCKNOW UNIVERSITY, Sitapur, India
Socio-economic Inequality, Public Procurement and Agriculture Prices across Indian States: Evidence from NSSO Unit Level Data.
Thakur Avanindra - Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat, India
Access to Rural Employment and Its Outcomes in Bihar (India): Evidence from Two Surveyed Villages
Singh Gurpreet - Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Sharma Nivedita - Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Hanging by a Thread: Ecological Shifts, Agrarian Transformations, and Labor in Northeast India’s Silk Plantations
Moral Radhika - Brown University, Brown University, Providence, United States
Labour Absorption in Crop Cultivation in Rural Haryana
Bansal Prachi - O.P. Jindal Global University, O.P Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
The Climate Factor: Rethinking Agrarian Change and Social Differentiation in Rural India
Aslany Maryam - MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University, New Haven, United States
Agrarian Change and Accumulation in Central India: Revisiting the Agrarian Question of Capital
Arora Sunit - Azim Premji University, Azim Premji University, Bhopal, India