Class 12 Sociology Book 2 Chapter 4 Change and Development in Rural Society Short Notes

Contents hide
1 Agrarian Structure
2 Land Reforms (1950s-1970s)
Zamindari abolition
Tenancy acts
Land Ceiling Acts
3 The Green Revolution
4 Post-Independence Rural Change
5 Circulation of Labour and Globalisation

A quick summary of Change and Development in Rural Society (Book 2, Chapter 4) for revision right before the exam: the core definitions, the named facts, and the key structure. Read the full notes separately for detailed explanations and examples.

Board Weightage
CBSE 10 marks (Unit 11, 2026-27)
Other boards Check your board’s current syllabus

1 Agrarian Structure

69%rural population, 2011 Census
40-50%families landless in some regions
50-75%of crop income, often, paid as rent by tenants
Region Dominant landowning castes
Uttar Pradesh Jats and Rajputs
Karnataka Vokkaligas and Lingayats
Andhra Pradesh Kammas and Reddis
Punjab Jat Sikhs

2 Land Reforms (1950s-1970s)

1

Zamindari abolition

Probably the most effective; removed the intermediary layer.

2

Tenancy acts

Mostly never implemented effectively, except West Bengal and Kerala.

3

Land Ceiling Acts

“Toothless” in most states: evaded via loopholes and benami transfers.

3 The Green Revolution

1960s-1970sPhase 1: Punjab, western U.P., coastal Andhra Pradesh, parts of Tamil Nadu
1980sPhase 2: spreads to dry and semi-arid regions

Ultimate outcome: “differentiation” (the rich grew richer, many of the poor stagnated or grew poorer). Also: displacement of tenants and service castes; a shift to mono-cropping in most Green Revolution areas; worsened regional inequality, as it was promoted more in the western and southern parts than in the east (Das, 1999). Land reforms, by contrast, had only a limited impact.

4 Post-Independence Rural Change

  • More use of agricultural labour (more intensive cultivation)
  • Payment in cash instead of kind
  • Hereditary (bonded) ties loosen
  • A class of “free” wage labourers

Jan Breman: “patronage to exploitation” (1974). DDU Gram Jyoti Yojana: 2014.

5 Circulation of Labour and Globalisation

“Footloose labour” (Breman, 1985): mobile but not free; very poor working and living conditions. Feminisation of agricultural labour. Contract farming (PepsiCo example, tomatoes/potatoes). Farmer suicides since 1997-98: 8,900 (2001-2006, four states).

All definitions in one place
Agrarian structureThe structure or distribution of landholding, shaping the rural class structure
Dominant casteM.N. Srinivas’s term for a region’s numerically strong, economically and politically powerful landowning caste
Green RevolutionGovernment programme of agricultural modernisation using HYV seeds, fertilisers and pesticides
DifferentiationGreen Revolution outcome: the rich grew richer, the poor stagnated or grew poorer
Footloose labourJan Breman’s term for circulating migrant workers who have few rights despite their mobility
Feminisation of agricultural labourWomen emerging as the main source of agricultural labour, as men of poor areas migrate out
Contract farmingA company supplies seeds/inputs and guarantees to buy a farmer’s produce at a fixed price
PeasantProduces mainly for the family’s own consumption (“subsistence agriculture”); a farmer produces a surplus for the market
Raiyatwari systemColonial system where the “actual cultivator” paid tax directly to the government
BegarFree or forced labour that low-caste groups gave the zamindar or landlord for a fixed number of days a year
UnderemploymentAgricultural labourers having no work for many days of the year
Patrilineal kinshipProperty and lineage pass through the male line
Benami transfersStrategies to escape the Land Ceiling Acts, e.g. rich farmers who divorced their wives but continued to live with them
Last-minute recap
  • Land = productive resource + property + way of life
  • Caste and class broadly match, but not exactly: Brahmins, for instance, are usually not major landowners
  • Zamindari abolition was probably the most effective of the three land reforms
  • Green Revolution raised output but widened inequality (“differentiation”)
  • “Footloose labour” is mobile, not free
  • Contract farming: security and dependence, together
More for this chapter
NotesImportant QuestionsMCQ / ObjectiveNCERT Solutions