The 2009 conference is hosted by The Science Shop, Queen's University Belfast

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE: A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION AMONG THE TRIBALS

Agriculture is the primary source of income for the majority of the people of India. Nearly 76 per cent of the total population live in villages and more than 74 per cent of the rural population depend on agriculture and allied activities.  Agriculture dominates the economy to such an extent that a high proportion of the working population in India is engaged in agriculture.   In such circumstances, agricultural development should form the foundation for national development; and agricultural modernization and agricultural mechanisation must be an essential condition for the development of the national economy.         

Since the mid-sixties traditional agricultural practices are gradually being replaced by modern technologies and farm practices in India and a veritable revolution is taking place in our country as it moves into a new era of modernization in agriculture with an increasing emphasis on capital inputs.  The introduction of mechanization in farming, the extension of irrigation facilities and the revolutionary improvement in agricultural practices, through the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, H.Y.V. seeds etc. have resulted in widespread increases in production.

While traditional agriculture relies heavily on indigenous inputs such as organic manures, seeds, simple ploughs and other primitive agricultural tools, bullocks etc, agricultural modernization involves the use of modern agricultural technology in the form of improved varieties of seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, extensive irrigation and improved machinery.  Agricultural modernization has long been underway in the tribal and rural areas of West Bengal, primarily with a view to raising the level of income, standard of living and lifestyle of the rural people.  It was also intended to raise the level of national income by increasing agricultural production. 

Tribal populations constitute a considerable percentage of our country’s population.  Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for the overwhelming majority of the tribal populations.  The Santal is one of the largest tribal communities in India.  In West Bengal, the Santal is the most dominant tribal group, constituting more than 54 per cent of the total Scheduled Tribe population of the State.  They are found in almost all the districts of West Bengal.  The Santal of West Bengal is broadly known as an agriculturist tribe having an essential economic articulation with Hindu caste-peasants and with the market economy of the larger society.  In the course of their contact with their larger society many changes have occurred in their social organisation and cultural activities.  It has, however, been found that the Santals live in a world of dynamic isolation and perpetuate a distinct socio-cultural identity of their own.

Agricultural modernization has long been taking place in the tribal areas of West Bengal, primarily with a view to raising the level of income, standard of living and lifestyle of the tribal people.  In the agrarian sector, the Santals are mainly marginal and small farmers and cultivate for their own consumption without hankering after profit.  Very few among them practice commercial agriculture and others are involved as landless agricultural labourer or day labourers.  Some of the  Santal families in this locality have adopted modern agricultural technology in the form of shallow tubewells, chemical fertilizers, high yielding varieties of seeds, power tillers and so on.  But this innovation can be found in a patch of the Santal areas having tiny farms.  The greater portion of Santal agriculture has, however, still to achieve the spectrum of modernization.

In the present research, attempts have been made to study empirically the impact of agricultural modernization on the lifestyles of the Santals especially the extent and nature of socio-economic and socio-cultural changes among the Santal cultivators due to agricultural modernization.  Besides studying the economic and social interaction of the people, an attempt has also been made to grasp the nature of the Santals’ outlook on life in this changing context.

For the purpose of the study on modernization, it is imperative to choose an area where the modernization process has been taking place widely and another area where the process has been restrained.  Accordingly two districts of India will be selected for the study.

Theme: Science shops, sustainable development and climate change

Presenters Name: Sujit Kumar Paul

Presenters Institution: Department of Social Studies and Rural Development, Visva-Bharati (A Central University), West Bengal, India

Presenters Biography:

Dr. Sujit Kumar Paul (b.1970) is a Senior Lecturer in Rural Development in the Department of Social Studies and Rural Development, Visva-Bharati University, India. He obtained a Master’s and Ph.D degree in Rural Development from Visva-Bharati, India.  He has published several articles in National and International Journals of repute and has undertaken various research projects.  His specialization has been in the fields of Rural Development, Education, Women’s Studies and Extension activities.

Closely associated with various organizations, societies and associations in different capacities, he has visited different countries for academic purposes.  He is a member of the International Council Chapter of the Association for World Education, Denmark – An NGO with consultative status in the United Nations.  He published books, entitled Tribal Agriculture and Modernization – the Change and Continuity and Poverty, Health and Development.  He was Guest Editor of the Journal of World Education, Vol. 34, No. 1, Winter 2004, published by the Association for World Education.