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Emerging Agrarian Crisis and Farmers Suicides; A Study of Telangana Region of Andhra Pradesh in South India

Thursday, July 17, 2014: 8:45 AM
Room: Booth 61
Oral Presentation
Satyanarayana GATTU , Sociology, OSMANIA UNIVERSITY, HYDERABAD, India
Emerging Agrarian Crisis and Farmers Suicides

                          (A study of Telangana Region of Andhra Pradesh in South India)

                                                                                                                            *Dr.G.Satyanarayana.

Changing agrarian structure and labor relations, Consequent crisis and farmer suicides is an important area for the study of social scientists in contemporary times all over India. It is a well known fact that India is mostly an Agrarian country and even today 70% its population inhabits in rural India by depending on agriculture and its related occupations despite rapid progress in science and technology. It is a paradoxical situation which prevails only in India where large chunk of population lives even today in rural India with or without land by pursuing agriculture and its related subsidiary occupations resulting rigid social and cultural bond. This complex social structure which constitutes deferent layers which creates consequent inequality hierarchal structured in terms of caste, class, ethnicity and gender etc.  

                      Further, increasing modernization in agriculture and consequent growing capitalist mode of production coupled with an unstable returns due to change in climatic conditions resulting the farmers entering into debt traps which leads to help less condition and hopeless life unlike in the past. Lack of timely help from Kith and Kin and indigenous institutional support and constant pressure of ruthless market financers resulting in large number of farmers to attempt suicides   this phenomenon is increasing day by day particularly in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the era of post globalization.

                     This study aims to understand the changing agrarian structure and emerging labor relations since post liberalization era and the reasons for increasing farmer suicides and its causes and consequences. For this study Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh in South India has been chosen where large number of farmers are attempting suicides.

*Professor Emeritus, Dept of Sociology, Osmania University, Hyderabad-7, AP, India.