De-/Re-Agrarianisation: Indian Perspective

The results of past and contemporary processes of agrarian transformations are theorized as deagrarianisation and depeasantisation. The consistent development and spread of global capitalism have significantly (re)shaped the agriculture process, agricultural production, investment and consumption patterns affecting forces of production at farm, family, rural and land-based livelihood. Disappearance of peasantry whose livelihood is tied with their land, getting replaced by large scale corporate farming operations. The convergence of deagrarianisation and depeasantisation offers the need of critical engagement with the conceptualisation of the agrarian transformation processes. With the rise of global capitalism there is urgent need to rethink on the Agrarian Questions. This paper tries to look at the evolutionary outcomes of the agrarian transformations in the neoliberal regime and critically engages with the predominant view that deagrarianisation and depeasantisation are inevitable. New Agrarian Questions in the view of increasing neoliberal policies and capitalism in the context of future of small land holding farmers in India. This paper explores, exchange of the ideas and possibility of alternative framework to understand what will be the possible future of small-holding farmers, rural and agrarian systems, new relations between production and consumptions, impact of neoliberalism on agrarian landscape, stress on rural livelihoods, etc. This paper will contribute to the discussions on rethinking rural capitalism and the New Agrarian Questions.