Agrarian crisis in Punjab a study of alternative narratives from the field

Abstract

Agrarian crisis of Punjab is well recognized both within Punjab and at the larger all India plane. The problem has been acknowledged by different statutory agencies and commissions, and underlined in various research studies conducted by them. It has also been vastly commented on by the academicians. This what might be called academic view of agrarian crisis. On the other hand, the field view yield insights that are more organic, as they would come from those whose experience of the structures, conditions and practices is direct and intimate, therefore more detailed and nuanced, capturing the micro-level sense of grassroots stories. Thus, present work intents to study those movements that exist and operate at the bottom, local or grassroots level. The field view is mainly articulated by local and state level leadership of peasants and agricultural workers organizations. The study will take up the narratives of peasants leaders, in the hope that the manners in which the crisis is comprehend by them will add valuable insights to how the crisis can be more comprehensively understood. The purpose is to discover and map the alternative narratives of agrarian crisis produced by peasants orginizations of Punjab. Seeking to map alternative understandings of the current agrarian crisis in Punjab, the proposed study wishes to go beyond professional academic scholarship, and plans to focus on the perspectives provided by grassroots peasants organisations in order to get a more autonomous and intimate view of the crisis. newline