Social Impact Assessment of Agrarian Reforms in Punjab: A Sociological Analysis

Pages:142-146
Pushpinder Singh (Department of Sociology, Mata Gujri College, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab)

This paper addresses the question of social impact of Agrarian Reforms in Punjab. There has been the highest number of workforce involved in the agriculture sector in India and out of which majority of the people are still living in rural areas. Therefore, the study of agriculture, its development, its structure, its past, present and future holds the most significance. This study is an effort to evaluate the different social impact of major agrarian reforms that have been introduced in India and especially in Punjab through Social Impact Assessment (SIA). The agriculture sector is the largest in terms of people involved in it and contributes around one fifth in the GDP of the country. Accordingly, after the independence various agrarian reforms were introduced in the country and in the state of Punjab. These were related to land, tenants, farmer’s income, market, taxes, procurement, rural development, irrigation, food security, co-operative societies, technological advancement and MSP etc. These reforms had brought in the constructive and destructive impacts on the agrarian society. In the state of Punjab the journey of people depended on agriculture has been paradoxical. Initially, the income of farmer’s have been increased to a certain extent, which ultimately impacted the society towards more progressive path and afterwards the slowly creeping social negative impacts (mainly indebtedness & farmer’s suicide) started emerging. So, in an emerging period of new agricultural Reforms, it is utmost important to assess the impacts of past reforms.