Upload
others
View
19
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Chapter 6
SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OFTHEGRAMPANCHAYATS
The last chapter was an overview of the agrarian structure, the social origins of
peasant radicalism, Land Reforms and agricultural transformation in the states of
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The present chapter will basically involve a brief
profile of the different Gram Panchayats in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala which I .
form part of our study. The first half of the chapter delves into the demographic
details, brief history and the basic socio-economic profile of the Gram Panchayats
and the districts where we have conducted our Survey. The second half deals with
the differences that exist between the two states in terms of socio-economic
development, by looking into certain institutions and the diverse experiences in the
two states.
Different states in India have followed different trajectories of development and
while the development of capitalism itself as we have seen earlier was fraught with
inherent contradictions, certain states like Kerala and West Bengal followed a path
of development diverse from that tread by other states. The socio-economic
setting and the political direction under the influence of Socialism comes across as
the most striking difference that ensured a deviation from the national trend. This
study intends to look into the development strategies of Kerala and Andhra
Pradesh wherein Kerala has been acclaimed for high Human Development indices
comparable to many of the developed countries and Andhra Pradesh has been
poor on this front and unlike the Kerala agricultural scenario has been among the
top producers of crops like paddy, cotton and groundnut. The two states share a
history of peasant protests and revolts and organised presence of the peasantry,
although in the recent decades, Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a de-radicalisation
of its peasantry.
The Kerala trajectory of development has been termed as the Kerala Model of
Development and been acclaimed as a model that could ensure high social
indicators despite low economic development. , In the decade of the nineties
however, Andhra Pradesh was in the forefront of implementing neo-liberal
policies and World Bank-IMP conditionalities and was projected as the show-piece
of the reform regime. It embarked on Janmabhoomi and Vision-2020 programme
while Kerala in the same phase undertook a project of democratic decentralisation
empowering the Panchayats and involving people in a participative planning
experience in what is known as the People's Plan or Janakeeyasuthranam.
Andhra Pradesh has not been known for having implemented comprehensive
Land Reforms and the recent period has witnessed problems in production
relations with high input costs, indebtedness, irrigational constraints, absence of
institutional credit and presence of dominance of usurious interests while the rural
social structure remains only marginally altered. Kerala on the other hand is known
to have implemented Land Reforms in an effective manner and a comprehensive
credit system and a system of cooperatives is in place. In the phase of liberalisation
the Kerala agricultural scenario which looked up in the eighties was hit by crashes
in prices of commercial crops and the fluctuating prices and high costs of
cultivation led to distress amidst the peasantry. In Andhra Pradesh too the farmers
bore the brunt and thousands of farmers are reported to have committed suicide
unable to repay their debts due to drought and crop failures. The presence of
certain structures in Kerala act as buffer partly because of Land Reforms,
unionisation, decentralisation etc. Our study thus seeks to make a comparative
analysis of the two states to understand the impact of the neo-liberal policies on
the peasantry in diverse settings.
161
The absence of any recorded history of the Gram Panchayats in Andhra Pradesh
unlike in Kerala where the rich oral tradition is also accompanied by documented
history of the region constrains our profiling about the Panchayats in Andhra
Pradesh. We have hence, stuck to a broad proftle of the districts in which the
Panchayats are placed as far as Andhra Pradesh is concerned even as we have tried
to include a detailed history of the Panchayats in Kerala along with a brief proftle
of the districts in which they are pl::t:::ed.
Political Economy of Andhra Pradesh
The State of Andhra Pradesh situated to the south-eastern part of the Indian
peninsula whose peasantry created history by launching militant movements in
Telangana and Coastal Andhra with the prime motive of restructuring the agrarian
social relations through direct action has been facing the implications of the
current strategies of neo-liberal economic policy. The underlying concern of this
study is to analyse the impact of these policies on an agrarian society with specific
reference to the condition of the peasants and agricultural workers and the
response of the peasantry in Andhra Pradesh to these policies, and compare it with ... ...,
the condition of identical sections in the State of Kerala while situating the entire
problem in the context of their respective trajectories of economic development.
The modus operandi employed for this purpose has been to collect primary data
through a structured questionnaire by a field survey in four different village
Panchayats in different districts, selecting a statistically sound random stratified
sample of thirty respondents in each Panchayat. The Panchayats chosen for the
purpose in Andhra Pradesh are Ipperu Gram Panchayat in Kuderu Mandai of
Anantapur District, Chenguballa Gram Panchayat in Shantipuram Mandai of
Chittoor District in the Rayalseema region, Sirisedu Gram Panchayat in
Jammikunta Mandai in Karimnagar District in the Telangana region and Unagatla
Gram Panchayat in Chagallu Mandai of the West Godavari District in the Andhra
162
region. A preliminary visit to Damaramadugu Gram Panchayat in Nell ore District,
also a part of Coastal Andhra was made, although it is not part of the original
research plan. The Andhra Pradesh trajectory of development and the proflle of
the Panchayats will follow in this section.
We shall now look into the profile of the different districts and the Gram
Panchayats wh1ch form part of our"study. We are constrained here by the lack of
any recorded history or even details from the oral tradition as far as the Gram
Panchayats are concerned. This is in striking contrast with the Gram Panchayats of
Kerala which have a systematically recorded history which finds mention in the
annual Development Plan Documents which have become a regular feature ever
since the inception of the People's Plan Programme. Hence we have had to resort
to the utilisation of District level history for understanding our area of study
better.
Anantapur District
Rayalseema region, comprising of Cuddappah, Kurnool, Chittoor and Anantapur
districts were among the prosperous regions of Andhia Pradesh as evident in the
flourishing of the Vijayanagara Empire in the region till about four and a half
centuries ago. The rise and fall of the region seem to have been more or less
coinciding with the fortunes of the Empire itself and with the defeat of the
Empire in the battle of Talikota in 1565 the region also slipped into a cycle of
famines and starvation.1 Anantapur was formed in the year 1882 separating from
Bellaryr district, being expanded later on with the addition of revenue mandals
from previous Cuddappah district and Bellary district in 1910 and 1956
respectively, making it the largest district in the state spread over an area of 19,130
sq.km.2 Anantapur was part of what is known as the 'Ceded Districts' or in the
local dialect as the 'Datta Mandala' and its political history witnessed the various
1 K.Rami Reddy, "Structure and Growth of Rayalseema Districts" in A.Ranga Reddy (Ed.), The State of RqyaLreema, Mittal Publications, New Delhi, 2003, p-3. 2District Census Handbook- :\nantapur, Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh, 1991, p-1.
163
dynasties that ruled in India, from the Mauryan emptre ranging across the
Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Y ada vas, the Khaljis, the Vijayanagara empire, the Marathas,
the Moghuls, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan to the Nizam before finally coming under
the British. The region which came under Tipu Sultan had to be ceded in 1792 to
the combination of the British, the Marathas and the Nizam after they defeated
him and he was forced to sign the Treaty of Srirangapattana. After the third
Mysore war in 1799 the whole area came under the Nizam who agrt.ed to cede to
the British these territories in return for a subsidiary force to be stationed in his
dominions based on the British expansionist policy of Subsidiary Alliances thereby
beginning a prolonged spell of colonial domination.3
Anantapur district is the most drought-prone area in the whole state and is second I
only to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan which is the most u.rought-prone region in the
country.4 'The geographical position of the district in the middle of the peninsula
renders it the driest part of the state and hence agricultural conditions are more
often precarious.'5 Anantapur forms a part of what is known as the 'rain shadow
zone' in peninsular India being as it is a part of the northern extremity of the
Karnataka plateau sloping from the South to the North. Its annual rainfall is
544mm only which has made it a perennially drought-prone area earning it the
sobriquet 'the stalking ground of famines'.6 The history of the district is one of
longstanding droughts and famines with recorded history showing evidences to the
effect from the fourteenth century downwards till date. 7· This has rendered the
region totally arid and dry land agriculture is the main economic activity with over
~ 74percent of the total main workers engaged in agriculture and above 84percent of
the population living in rural areas depending upon agriculture for their livelihood
3 Ibid, pp-7 -9 and Interview with Obulakonda Reddy Peasant Leader, Anantapur. 4 Y.V.Malla Reddy, "AnantapuramJillalo Durbhikshyam Oka Karyacharana Saddrishyam", Kadanka-Telugu Journal, Vol.X, 1, April 1999, Anantapur, p-3. and Interview with Dr. Yellamanda Reddy, Director, Agricultural Research Station, Rekulakunta, Anantapur on 6 January 2004. ; Handbook of Statistics: Anantapur District, 1987-88, Compiled by Chief Planning Officer, Anantapur, 1989, pw. 6 R.Vasantha, "Famines and the Agrarian System in South India-Anantapur District: A Case Study on South Western Part of Andhra Pradesh" Paper Presented at the 16th European Conference on Modem South .\sian Studies, www.sociology.ed.ac.uk/ sas/ conf/ 16/ panel/8.htm--76k. 7 Cf, Purendra Prasad, Famines and Droughts; SNrvival Strategiu, Rawat Publications, New Delhi, 1998.
164
according to the 1991 census.8 There has not been much change in the situation
even till date. As one traverses through the region it comes across quite strikingly
close to a desert and probably the only factor that sets it apart from natural deserts
seem to be the absence of sand dunes, although the process of desertification has
set-in in an alatming way. Recent findings based on the photographs sent by the
National Remote Sensing Agency's Satellite IRS-1A clearly indicate that sand
casting is also occurring to the eastern side of the river Hagari near a village called
D.Honnuru in Kanekallu Mandal.9 The village Panchayat that we shall be studying,
i.e., Ipperu Gram Panchayat in Kuderu Mandai is not very far away from here.
Anantapur has been a groundnut economy and in recent years has been in the
news for the extreme distress faced by the peasantry and the resultant large scale
suicides.
Ipperu Gram Panchayat
ST 69
lpperu Gram Panchayat consists of three revenue villages: Ipperu, Antaraganga
and P. Nagireddipalli. Ipperu has 350 families. The village is reminiscent of the
typical caste hierarchies that exist in the rural Indian society. The high caste
peasantry continue to monopolise control over land, water, credit and markets to
this day with negligible alteration in the socio-economic conditions of the deprived
sections especially the Dalits who continue to remain as exploited agricultural
workers and are tied in debt bondage. The incidence of suicides by peasants was
quite high in the Panchayat and is only matched by the Telangana village Sirisedu
on this count.
The village was earlier known to cultivate cereals like ragi, jowar, bajra etc. The
emphasis on edible oil production saw a shift in cropping pattern in the region
8 Op.Cit, District Census Handbook -Anantapur, 1991, p-12. 9 Op.Cit, Purendra Prasad, 1998, p-44.
165
with the electrification and sinking of bore-wells to groundnut cultivation.
Although a predominantly groundnut economy nearly 100 percent of the
respondents were using the cheaper palm oil which came in the form of cheap
imports from the south-east Asian countries. The Open General Licence and
flooding of the Indian market with cheaper edible oil from other countries has
nearly demolished the groundnut oil industry. Anantapur which once had more
than 100 oil mills has been forced to close down in the recent years. Naturally this
has affected the rural economy and Ipperu has also been badly hit.
The vicious cycle of low unremunerative prices, high costs of cultivation and debt
has only further been accentuated by the recurring drought and lack of rainfall. Its
debt burden through loans from formal sources alone is calculated by an ex
official of the BC Corporation as being in excess ofRs.1.2 crores. People spoke of
a nexus between bank officials and the "buyer" and the land auctioned was worth
more than what one owed. The difference was pocketed by the buyer and the bank
officials. to The loans from private money-lenders with exorbitant rates of interest
are far higher as we have witnessed that most people rely on non-institutional
credit.
Starvation and malnutrition was common and people eating wild plants and roots
which happened only during the worst famines centuries ago is symptomatic of
the agrarian crisis in the region. Governmental effort to mitigate the situation in
the form of Food-for-Work Programmes was very limited and large-scale
migration occurs from the Panchayat to far off cities. The access to water has
become the privilege of the resource ricli few who indiscriminately sink bore-wells
to draw from an ever depleting water table and grow crops requiring assured water
supply, while adjacent farms belonging to poor lower caste peasants even holding
up to 5 acres of land remain fallow. The village witnessed the presence of NGO
intervention wherein the Rural Development Trust had assisted the schools,
ensured mid-day meal scheme, developed water-shed and also provided some
to P.Sainath, "Where Stomach aches are Terminal", The Hindu, April29, 2001.
166
small accommodation for the homeless. However, this has been done with partial
assistance by the government and the beneficiaries even as the Gram Panchayat
was not in any way involved.
According to the 1991 Census the total population was 3192 for these three
villages and the increase in population is only by about 434 in a time span of over a
decade is a clear indication of the large scale migration that has been taking place
from the region.
Details of the Survey in Ipperu Gram Panchayat
In the Ipperu Gram Panchayat out of the random stratified sample of 30
respondents the gender composition was 19(63.3%) men and 11(36.7%) women.
The Panchayat witnessed the hold of the rich landlords belonging to the high caste
Reddy community earlier, who continue to dominate the landholding structure to
this day. A few Kurubas from the OBC have also in recent times become
prominent cultivators. The plight of the Dalits remains unchanged with most of
them including those with landholding of 2.5-5 acres being agricultural workers.
Dalits accounted for 18(60%) in the sample while 7(23.34%) were OBC and the
remaining 5(16.66%) belonged to the high caste Reddy community.
The Panchayat saw a low level of participation in political activity. The Panchayat
has a very low literacy rate which is only at par with that of Sirisedu Gram
Panchayat in Karimnagar district with only 11(36.7%) 1:e·spondents having had any
formal education. In terms of political participation also merely 5(16.7%) of the
respondents were involved with political parties and only 3.3 percent of the
respondents being members of their respective class organisations (Rythu Kooli
Sangham) which is mass organisation of agricultural workers affiliated to the
Naxalite CPI(1\1aoist). The participation in Panchayat activities and in political
movements for higher wages, rerimnerative prices, subsidised inputs and various
167
class demands was negligible among this section. Only a single respondent was
member of any caste organisation in the entire sample.
Table 6.2: Caste Backl!round of Land Holders in loo_em Gram Panchavat SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL
HOLDING (in Acres)
0-1 09 OS 01 1-2.5 02 01) 00 2.5-5 07 01 ' 00 5-10 00 00 00
10-20 00 01 01 30-50 00 00 02 50+ 00 00 01
The Panchayat continues to be dominated by the high caste Reddies and the I
upward mobile Kurubas. One third of the respondents were landless. 90 percent
of the respondents who were landless belonged to the OBC or Dalit community.
The condition of the Dalits continues to be one of abject misery. In this Gram
Panchayat 50 percent of the landless belong to the OBC while 40 percent were
Dalits and the rest were from the higher castes. Only the high caste peasants'
possessed more than 30 acres of land with one of them also possessing more than
50 acres. The asset structure also as we shall see later clearly shows the dominance
of the high caste peasantry.
Chittoor District
Chittoor is located on the south-western part of Andhra Pradesh. It is situated
bordering Tamilnadu in the east and Karnataka in the west and on the north the
districts of Cuddappah and Anantapur also falling in the Rayalseema region.
Chittoor also having been a part of the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire was one of
the prosperous regions of the state. The decline of the Empire also reversed the
fortunes of the region and it slipped into a cycle of famines and starvation. The
region later came under the influence of the Bahmani Sultans, Marathas and the I
Moghuls. The decline of the Moghuls saw the control being transferred to the
Nizam-ul-mulk (Regulator of the State) Asaf Jah who was the Moghul Subedar of
168
Deccan. The district being a part of the Carnatic with its centre at Arcot came
under the Nawabs of Carnatic who were subordinate to the Nizam. The region
witnessed a bitter struggle for succession to the throne and the two European
powers, France and Britain who were seeking to strengthen their possessions
intervened in the matter. The initial successes of the French notwithstanding, the
British-won a decisi"r~ victory in the battle of Wandiwash in 1760 and emerged as
the masters of the region. Although the Nizam had in 17 58 ceded temporarily the
districts of the Northern Circars to the British, it was only in 1766 by a treaty that
they came to also exert military authority over the region. The Camatic came
under the influence of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore later on and after the
defeat of Tipu Sultan, the region was forced to station a Subsidiary army under the
Treaty of 1792 which also gave the British the right to manage the Zamindars of
the region. The British army under Sir Eyre Coote advanced to Chittoor and also
reduced its little fort which was mistaken to be a depot for provisions to the
Mysore army.
The defeat of Tipu 1n 1799 brought parts of the district under the direct
acquisition of the British East India Company. The creditors of the Nawab of
Carnatic were given the revenues of large portions of Carnatic and this led to the
Ryots being ground down by high assessments of land revenue collected by them.
The authority over the entire region however, was handed over to the British in
the year 1801 by one of the descendants to the throne of the Carnatic, finally
bringing it under Company rule. The district had been under the control of ten
Paleygars were paying a tribute to the government. The enhanced demand for
tribute by the British was resisted and the British sent a force to resume the whole
of their lands and customary fees. A detachment of British army was stationed at
Chittoor and as the Paleygars did not respond to conciliatory measures and
continued to resist, they' were put down militarily and one of the most daring
among them, the Paleygar of Y edaragunta was defeated and hanged. Thus by 1805
the last signs of resistance was put an end to, bringing the region under complete
169
control of the Company.11 Chittoor was also a part of the erstwhile Madras
Presidency and continued to be under the North Arcot district till 1911 when it
became a separate district with the merger of the Telugu speaking areas of the
district. The region was under the Ryotwari tenure during the colonial rule.12
Chittoor is also a semi-arid region prone to droughts, lying in the dry upland
plains of the Deccan Plateau. The Western part of the dist;rict has a situation
characteristically similar to the other drought-prone regions of Rayalseema, while
the Eastern part is closer to the Andhra region in characteristics.B The region has
been characterised as a 'local subsistence economy' and despite the Madras
Presidency as a whole having been an exporter of foodgrains the phenomenon was
restricted to the wet zone and the Ceded Districts of Rayalseema were marked by
an absence of surplus in food production.14 The region like other parts of
Rayalseema was earlier known to grow coarse cereals and pulses. The cropping
pattern shifted in favour of commercial crops like groundnut and sugarcane with
the emergence of the possibility of irrigation. Of late this region has seen the
advent of Commercialisation and Corporatisation in the field of agriculture. An
effort to replicate the 'Israeli Model' with high investment, water management and
use of chemicals to produce export-oriented crops like gherkin, baby corn,
capsicum, potato and even vanilla is being made which we shall look into in the
next chapter in detail.
Chenguballa Gram Panchayat
(Source: Mandai Revenue Office: Shantipuram Manda~ Kuppam, Chittoor District)
11 District Census Hand Book, 1991-Chittoor District, pp-7-12. 12 Wendy Kay Olsen, Rural Indian Social &lationr: A Stutfy of Southern Andhra Pradesh, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1996, p-45. 13 Ibid, p-45. 14 Cf, D.A.Washbrook, The Emergence of Provimial Politics: The Madras Presidenry 1870-1920. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976 and C.J.Baker, An Indian Rural EronOfi!J, 1880-1955, Oxford University Press, London, 1984.
170
Chenguballa Gram Panchayat falls in Kuppam constituency of Chittoor district
which was represented by the then Chief Minister of the state N.Chandrababu
Naidu in the Legislative Assembly. It was chosen for the purpose of study as it has .
been show cased as the successfully implemented Israeli-model of cultivation and
is located withi? the constituency of one of the foremost votaries of neo-liberal
policies in India. The Panchayat is a prime example of agricultural backwardness '
and is in a region which has been chronically drought prone. The Panchayat is
spread over an area of 458.736 Hectares with a cultivable area of 373.096 Hectares.
The net sown area is 258.06 Hectares.1s The Panchayat was a sole exception
among all the Sample villages in the sense that it had the prevalence and
dominance Gf the upward mobile OBC peasantry. The random survey of the
peasantry conducted in this Panchayat showed a high presence of the upward
mobile Backward Castes, and their domination over the landholdings. This
situation is a result of the high caste cultivator families shifting to cities and
resorting to absentee cultivation.
It was in 1997 that the Kuppam Project was commissioned to adapt and
implement Israeli-American agricultural technology, the 'Micro-Irrigation System'.
BHC Agro India (Pvt) Ltd., a subsidiary of the multinational American-Israeli
company Beta Hakshita Company Agro was selected to design, develop and
implement the project. Chenguballa has also been in the forefront of
implementation of this Project.
Details of the Survey in Chenguballa Gram Panchayat
In Chenguballa Gram Panchayat out of the random sample of 30 respondents the
gender composition was 23(76.6%) men and 7(23.4%) women. The Panchayat
witnessed the hold of the rich landlords belonging to the high caste Reddy, ;
Kamma or Brahmin community earlier, who however, no longer continue to
dominate the landholding structure in the Panchayat. This is unique in the whole
15 Information collected from Mandai Revenue Office, Shantipuram.
171
of Andhra Pradesh as the members of the upward mobile OBC Gandla caste in
recent times become prominent cultivators. Dalits accounted for 4(13.33%) in the
sample while 25(83.33%) were OBC and the remaining 3.34 percent only belonged
to the high caste Reddy community.
The Panchayat saw a high level of participation in political parties when compared
to the other Panchayats of Andhra Pradesh with 13(43.33%) of the respondents
being involved with some political party or the other. The Panchayat has a higher
literacy rate when compared with the other Panchayats of Andhra Pradesh with
22(73.33%) of the . respondents having had some formal education. The
participation in Panchayat activities and in political movements for higher wages,
remunerative prices, subsidised inputs and various class demands was negligible
like in other parts of the state. Only 10 percent of the respondents were members
of any organisation representing their class interests which however was not along
ideological or political lines. Only a single respondent was member of any caste
organisation in the entire sample.
In the Chenguballa Gram Panchayat the Gandla caste coming under the Other
Backward Caste category dominates the landholding today. Earlier the Reddies,
Brahmins and Kammas dominated. The Dalits were mostly agricultural workers ·
and none of them owned more than 2.5 acres. The OBCs constitute 80percent of
the landless while the remaining belongs to the high caste. This
Table 6.4: Caste Background of Land Holders in Chenguballa Gram Panchayat
SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL HOLDING 1 •
(in Acres) 0-1 01 06 01
1-2.5 03 06 00 2.5-5 00 01 00 5-10 00 06 00
10-20 00 OS 00 30-50 00 01 00 50+ 00 00 00
172
Gram Panchayat was unique in the state of Andhra Pradesh given the fact that it
was the peasants from the OBC who were the main cultivators. This trend may
actually reflect the fact that members of the higher castes who earlier dominated
the landholdings have diversified from agriculture to services and with increased
educational qualifications have migrated to the cities like Hyderabad and Chennai
in search of white-collared jobs.
West Godavari District
West Godavari is situated in the Andhra region or coastal region of Andhra
Pradesh with its head quarters at Eluru. The district had witnessed a vibrant
peasant movement and the resistance to the enhancement of land revenue by the
Madras government in the form of the "1\Jo-Tax Satyagraha is a notable agitation.
The Satyagraha was successful as we have seen earlier, forcing the government to
withdraw the proposal. The region also witnessed protests against the usurious
moneylenders and peasants seeking moratorium on agricultural debts had resorted
to burning of the account books maintained by the landlords and moneylenders.16
The region which was part of the Madras Presidency witnessed the Zamindari
system which was the bane of agriculture leading to oppression of the peasantry
and also agricultural stagnation because of the absence of capital investment in
irrigation and agriculture in general. The insecurity of the peasants was very high as
there was no permanency of tenure. It was. under such circumstances that the
Third Andhra Zamindari Ryots Conference was held at the district Headquarters
of Eluru which made the demand for abolition of the Zamindari systemP The
Communists later on intensified these struggles for the abolition of the Zamindari
system, given the fact that the Congress which also articulated these demands
backtracked once they had come to power and the district was witness to
organised peasant struggles under the leadership of the Communists which
occupied Zamindari lands forcibly. Police brutalities and firing was reported from
16 Interview with Jakka Venkaiah, Peasant leader and Central Committee member CPI (M). t7 Op Cit, T.S.R.Krishnayya, 1980, p-201.
173
many places. The Madras government under the pressure of these struggles passed
the Bill to abolish Zamindari system in the region in 1948 as we have noted
before.18 West Godavari was one of the districts identified under the Intensive
Agricultural Development Programme in 1960, with the objective of enhancing
food production. The district hence was one of the first to implement 'Green
Revolution' techniques in the state.
U nagatla Gram Panchayat
Table 6.5: Demographic Profile of the Unagada Gram Panchayat
Households Population Male Female sc ST
1602 6785 3420 3365 974 32 .. (Source: Gramadarshini, Unagatla Gram Panchayat Document, 2002.)
Unagatla Gram Panchayat is located in the Chagallu Mandai of West Godavari
Distric_t. It has been a village surveyed for five times beginning with a survey under
Prof. Gilbert Slater's guidance for Madras University way back in 1917 getting it
the designation of "Slater village", followed by the second survey under
P.J.Thomas19 in 1936 for the same University, by the Indian Institute of
Economics, Hyderabad as an ancillary to the 1961 census, a survey carried out as a
supplement to th~ _ 1971 census and a survey under the guidance of
G.Parthasarathy and K.A.Nirmala20 in 1998. Our survey is the sixth such study of
the village and being an individual effort the questionnaire based survey had to be
restricted to 30 households. Discussions however, were carried out with many
villagers including Panchayat members and political activists.
The village is spread over an area of 1541.60 acres. The village located in the
upper regions of West Godavari was earlier known for its palmgur industry. The
dry village had to fall back on agriculture for subsistence with the gradual decline
18 Interview with J akka Venkaiah, Peasant leader and Central Committee member CPI (M). 19 P ].Thomas and K.C.Ramakrishnan (Eds.), Some South Indian Villages: A Remrvry, University of Madras, 1940. 20 G.Parthasarathy and K.A.Nirmala, 'Dynamics of Caste and Power in Unagatla Village of West Godavari District', Paper presented at Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, KRPLLD, Centre for Development Studies Publication, Trivandrum May, 1999.
174
and disappearance of the palmgur industry. Unagatla was electrified in 1966 and
this gave an impetus to tube-well irrigation or to a 'Tube-well Revolution' in the
village enhancing the productivity and leading to advancement of the economy.
The rain-fed agricultural operations were displaced on the larger holdings by
irrigation. Assured irrigation also made the area suitable for the 'New Agricultural
Strategy' and the use of modern techl)ology, High Yielding Variety of seeds and
chemical inputs. The cropping pattern shifted from ·dry rice cultivation to it..:igated
rice and sugarcane cultivation, with nearly 50 percent of the cultivated area being
under sugarcane.21 The area has only tell-tale signs of its once flourishing palmgur .
industry and coconut and cashew are the new commercially attractive crops that
the people have adopted. I
The 'Green Revolut.vn' technology was only accessible to the rich and the larger
holdings invested in irrigation, while the small and marginal holdings were left
behind. The high caste Kammas or Choudharies adopted this technology and
benefited economically while the Dalits and other backward communities
remained at the bottom of the social pyramid, since they continued to be denied
access to land and were forced to continue as landless agricultural workers or
J eethagallu earning the bare subsistence. The village is a classic case of
development of capitalist techniques in agriculture even as the worst forms of
oppression of the agricultural workers from the lower castes continues unabated,
although in more sophisticated and subtle forms.
Details of the Survey in Unagada Gram Panchayat
In the Unagatla Panchayat out of the random sample of 30 respondents the
gender composition was 21(70%) men and 09(30%) women. The Panchayat which
was an early Green Revolution area witnessed the hold of the rich landlords
belonging to the high caste Choudhary or Reddy community, who continue to'
dominate the landholding structure to this day. Dalits accounted for 10(33.33%) in.
21 Ibid.
175
the sample while 13(43.33%) were OBC and the remaining 7(23.34%) belonged to
the high caste Choudharies and Reddies.
The Panchayat saw a low level of participation in political activity. The Panchayat
is highly literate when compared to the other Panchayats in Andhra Pradesh with
only the respondents in Chenguballa Gram Panchayat having a higher literacy rate.
A total number of 20(66:7%) respondents had acquired some formal education
and it had the highest percei1tage of respondents in Andhra Pradesh who were
well informed of the political and other developments through daily reading of the
newspapers with 18(60%) respondents regularly reading newspapers. In terms of
political participation however, merely 23.3 percent of the respondents were
involved with political parties and only 4(13.3%) of the respondents were
members of their respective class organisations (Raitha Mitra) which however was
not based on ideological or political lines. The participation in Panchayat activities
and in political movements for higher wages, remunerative prices, subsidised
inputs and various class demands was negligible among this section. It is notable
that although West Godavari had witnessed peasant mobilisation and land
struggles under the leadership of the Communist party in the past and respondents
claimed that people from the Panchayat had also participated in some of the
struggles, there is no organised peasant movement in the Panchayat at present.
Only a single respondent was member of any caste organisation in the entire
sample.
Table 6.6: Caste Baclm-round of Land Holders in Una!!ada Gram Panchay_at SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL
HOLDING (in Acres)
0-1 11 07 04 1-2.5 00 00 00 2.5-5 00 00 00 5-10 00 00 04
10-20 00 00 02 30-50 00 00 01 50+ 00 00 01
176
The Unagatla Gram Panchayat which falls under the Green Revolution area was
dominated earlier by the Reddies or Choudharies from the high caste and even to
this day their dominance continues unquestioned. Unlike the other Gram
Panchayats of Andhra Pradesh in Unagatla we find that the condition of the Dalits
is the worst with not a single respondent possessing any land other than the land
on which their small huts or houses exist. Of the total landless 68.7 percent are
Dalits, 18.7 percent are OBC and the remaining 12.6 percent are from the high
castes. However, two respondents each from the OBC and the high castes had
sold land to repay old debts. Even the respondents belonging to the OBC hold
either one acre or below. Dalits and the OBCs are agricultural workers and this
village where the capitalist techniques were one of the earliest in penetration
witnessed a high proportion of workers who were Jeethagallu and instances of the
big farmers from the high castes· usurping land belonging to these sections was
also reported highest in this Panchayat.
Karimnagar District
Karimnagar falls ~thin the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh. The region was
earlier under the Andhra, the Chalukyas, the Y adavas of Devagiri, Kakatiya
dynasty, the Khaljis, Tughlaqs and the Bahamani Sultans. After the break up of the
Bahmani kingdom it came under the Qutb Shahi dynasty, but the region was
finally captured by the forces of the Moghul emperor Aurangzeb in 1687. It came
under the administration of the Nizams after the decline of the Moghuls. Under ~ .
the Nizams the region witnessed the oppressive J agirdari system which led to
untold misery for the peasantry as we have seen before. It was no surprise then
that the backward district also witnessed incidents in the Telangana armed
struggle.
The region had earlier seen the predominance of the high caste Brahmin/V elama
land owners and Pattadars who however declined with the rise of the peasant castes
like the Reddies and the Kammas who were upward mobile peasant proprietary
177
castes. The region also witnessed the presence of a trader-money-lender caste of
Komtis, who were gradually relegated to the background by the ascendancy of the
Marwari sahukars. Although, the impact of the Act abolishing J agirdari and the
effects of the Telangana Movement were witnessed in the region and it was noted
that the Tenancy Reforms were more effective in the region, the situation has been
reversed and the peasantry as a whole today faces the worst forms of oppression.
Karimnagar district is irrigated by the Sri Ram Sagar Project and the district also in
the recent years like the neighbouring Telangana districts has witnessed a shift in
cropping pattern in favour of cash crops like cotton, chilly etc. a large number of
peasants in the district have resorted to the cultivation of BT cotton and the
district has also been amidst an agrarian crisis where distressed peasants have
committed suicide in large numbers.
Sirisedu Gram Panchayat
Table 6.7: Demographic Profile of the Sirisedu Gram Panchayat
Households Population Male Female sc ST
1163 3253 1640 1613 1160 35 (Source: Andhra Pradesh Census Report)
The Sirisedu Gram Panchayat is located in the J ammikunta Mandai of
Karimnagar District. J ammikunta is known for its cotton market which supposedly
is one of the largest in Asia. The Gram Panchayat lying in close proximity to such
an important commercial centre, has been witness to commercialisation of
agriculture and reflecting the trend in the entire Telangana region, this region also
witnessed a shift in cropping pattern from coarse cereals and early cash crops like
groundnut in favour of cash crops like cotton and chilly predominantly. The
Panchayat in many parts is irrigated by the Sri Ram Sagar Project and the
availability of assured irrigation and also the sinking of bore-wells and
electrification has given rise to this trend. The influence of the New Agricultural
Strategy and tractorisation is quite discernible.
178
This region was also witness to the unbridled feudal oppression of the Peasantry
by the Jagirdars and finds mention in the map of the Telangana Peasant Revolt.
The condition of the Dalits with a rare exception is quite degrading. Although we
have noted earlier that the Telangana region saw the more effective
implementation of the Tenancy Reforms, this region still exhibits the worst forms
of land monopoly and the loss of land by the early beneficiaries from the deprived
sections is maximum in this Pancharat when compared to all the Sample villages.
One can also witness the influence of Traders-Usurers capital wherein traders lend
inputs to the peasantry at high rates of interest, even replacing the erstwhile money
lending class. The Panchayat however, moved against the general trend in the
Telangana region to shift to Monsanto's BT cotton, purely on the basis of the
experience of the peasants in other regions. The Panchayat also witnessed the
perpetuation of newer forms of the Bhagela serfdom and Vetti in the form of the
J eetha system. The Panchayat is headed by a Dalit as it is reserved for the
community.
Details of the Survey in Sirisedu Gram Panchayat
In the Sirisedu Gram Panchayat out of the random sample of 30 respondents the
gender composition was 20(66.6%) men and 10(33.4%) women. The Panchayat
witnessed the hold of the rich landlords belonging to the high caste Reddy,
community earlier, who continue to dominate the landholding structure in the
Panchayat to this day although a few upward mobile OBC respondents also have
achieved dominance as cultivators. Dalits accounted for 10(33.4%) in the sample
while 18(60%) were OBC and the remaining 6.6 percent only belonged to the high
caste Reddy community.
The Panchayat which falls in the Telangana region which saw a high level of
participation in political activity and witnessed the militant mobilisation of the
peasantry against the feudal J agirdari system, however, has a very low political
179
participation today with only 5(16.7%) respondents being members of some
political party or the other and only 3(10%) of the respondents being members of
apolitical Raitha Mitra groups. This situation seems to be a reaction to the police
repression and encounter deaths of the Naxalite activists that have taken place in
the vicinity. The Panchayat has a low literacy rate at par with Ipperu Gram
Panchayat with only 11(36.6%) of the respondents having had some formal
education. The participation in Panchayat activities and in political movements for
higher wages, remunerative prices, subsidised inputs and various class demands
was negligible like in other parts of the state. Only 10 percent of the respondents
were members of any organisation representing their class interests which however
was not along ideological or political lines. This Panchayat witnessed a slightly
higher participation in Caste based organisation with 2(6.7%) of the respondents
being members of some such organisation.
Table 6.8: Caste Background of Land Holders in Sirisedu Gram Panchayat
SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL HOLDING (in Acres)
0-1 08 11 01 1-2.5 01 03 00 2.5-5 00 01 00 5-10 01 03 00
10-20 00 00 00 30-50 00 00 01 50+ 00 00 00
Reddies were the dominant landholders earlier. Now although a section of the
upwardly mobile OBCs also ·own between 5-10 acres the biggest landholding is
that of a high caste Reddy peasant who owns 35 acres after having sold 35 acres
earlier and shifted to Hyderabad. He had sold the land to repay agricultural loans
and meet family expenses especially for education of children. Dalits continue to
reel under the worst fonns of deprivation. 60 percent of the Dalit respondents had
no land at all while 20 percent were holding below 1 acre. Only the Sarpanch who
was also a Dalit owned 6 acres of land and also a tractor. This was a rags-to-riches
180
story as he was earlier working as a Jeethagadu. Of the total respondents 53
percent were landless agricultural workers of whom 62.5percent were from the
OBC and 37.5 percent were Dalits. One third of the respondents lost land to repay
loans, of which 50 percent were OBC, 30 percent were Dalits and 20 percent were
from the higher castes.
Jeetha System
J eetha system or agricultural labour bonded by contract was a uruque system
witnessed in Andhra Pradesh. Bordering on the oppressive bonded labour system
in this system a patron-client relationship exists between the cultivator and the
agricultural worker. This kind of a patron-client relationship has been existent for
. generations and employment of such workers was part of social status and was
indicative of one's socio-economic standing.22 Such a worker bonded by contract
is called J eethagallu or Paleru in the region and earns anything between 4000
rupees to 6000 rupees for the entire year (paid annually), a considerable section of
which is retained by the cultivator as interest for loans advanced to the worker. In
most cases the worker was forced to work for more than 12 hours a day.
It has been found that most of these workers also possessed some land and
although in the earlier times they resided in the cultivator's house, now they go
back to their residence and the cultivator also rarely provides with food. Two sets
of clothing per year are given to the worker by the cultivator. Invariably on all
kinds of occasions like festivals, marriages and any other unforeseen expenses like
health problems, death etc., the workers had to depend on the cultivator jati
patrons. So if one household is indebted, it takes several years for them to clear off
the debt. The only option left to them at that time was to work as jeetha. It has
been noted that even school drop-outs are getting employed as jeethagallu to meet
household expenses and pressure to involve educated yqung men under the
pretext of indebtedness has also been witnessed. In Ipperu we have come across
22 Op Cit, Pureadra Prasad, 1998, pp-91-94.
181
forcible employment of youngsters pursuing education as jeethagallu by making
them discontinue their studies.
Gradually there is clear indication of this system turning into a hereditary system
which would continue for generations. The continuation of such a system of
oppression has a direct relation to the growing indebtedness in the countryside and
in the semi-arid region of Ipperu Gram Panchayat in Anantapur district the money
lenders who are the big farmers, prefer to retain the debtors as Jeethagallu rather
than take over their land which is seen as an unattractive proposition given the
rising input costs and recurring drought. This system is highly prevalent in
Karimnagar and West Godavari districts also.
The Political Economy of I<erala
The State of Kerala situated to the south-western part of the Indian peninsula,
well known across the world for an unparalleled history of social mobilisation for
social transformation, human development and for fundamental structural changes
in the form of Land Reforms, has also been facing the implications of the current
strategies of neo-liberal economic policy. The underlying concern of this study is
to analyse the impact of these policies on an agrarian society with specific
reference to the condition of the peasants and agricultural workers in Kerala and
compare it with the condition of identical sections in the State of Andhra Pradesh
while situating the entire problem in the context of their respective trajectories of
economic development. For this purpose primary data was collected through a
structured questionnaire by conducting a field survey in four differe'nt village
Panchayats in different districts falling under the different regions of Kerala,
select:ir.lg a statistically sound random stratified sample of thirty respondents in
each Panchayat. The Panchayats chosen for the purpose are Karivellur-Peralam
Gram Panchayat in Kannur District and Nenmeni Gram Panchayat in Wayanad
District of the Malabar region and two Panchayats from the Travancore-Cochin
region namely Kainakary Gram Panchayat in A1appuzha District and Kurichi
182
Gram Panchayat in Kottayam District. The Kerala trajectory of development and
the profile of the Panchayats will follow in this section.
We shall now look into the profile of the different districts and the Gram
Panchayats that we are studying.
I<.annur District
Kannur district lying towards the north of Kerala is. bound by Kasargod district
on its north, Coorg and Mysore districts of Karnataka on the east, the Arabian Sea
on the west, and Kozhikkode and Wayanad districts of Kerala on the south.
Kannur had been part of the erstwhile Kolathunad region (spread over Chirakkal
and Kasargod areas of north Kerala) which was ruled by the Mooshaka kings I
known as Kolathiris. Vasco Da Garr.<l on his way to Kozhikkode in May 1498
established contacts with the Kolathiri ruler and later exploited the political and
commercial rivalry that existed between them and the Zamorins of Kozhikkode to
gain absolute monopoly for Portugal over the pepper trade.23 The earlier contacts
that the Arabs had were purely trade-oriented. The Portuguese began to construct
the St.Angelo fort at Kannur in 1505 under Francisco De A~eida and the very ;-, ..
next year they intercepted the Arab and Turkish armada whom the Zamorin
launched against Kannur and decisively defeated the Zamorin's fleet resulting in
the establishment of their naval supremacy. The Portuguese hold was continued
over Kannur despite the Kolathiri and the Zamorin uniting and besieging the
Kannur fort in 1564. The Dutch colonial power captured the fort in 1663 leading
to another spell of colonial dominance in the region. The Kannur region later
witnessed the advent of the British who towards the end of the seventeenth
century acquired a site at Thalassery for establishing a fort and factory. The British
soon expanded their trade and established superiority over the region. The
engagement of the region with colonial powers continued and in 1725 the French
captured Mayyazhi and renamed it as Mahe.
23 Cf, http:/ /kannur.nic.in/hist.htrn.
183
The break in this domination of colonial powers over the region was effected
when Haider Ali conquered Malabar in 1773 and later his son Tipu Sultan in 1788
established Feroke as the new capital of Malabar. Tipu's defeat a.nd the signing of
the Treaties of Srirangapattana in 1792 led to cession of Malabar to the British.
The East India Company gained full sovereignty over the region and suzerainty
over trade. 24
Kannur was also an important centre of the anti-Imperialist movement that
engulfed the country later on. Malabar also witnessed the Malabar Rebellion of
1921 and a series of peasant revolts led by the Moplahs against the high caste
]anmies. The Left minded section of the Kerala Provincial Congress grew stronger
in influence by the late thirties and the Right wing suffered a defeat in the election
to the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee in January 1939 with Muhammad
Abdur Rahiman Saheb and E.M.S.Namboodirippad being elected as its President
and General Secretary respectively. The branch of the Communist Party of India
was started in Malabar towards the end of 1939 and the Congress Socialist Party
workers joined it in large numbers. It was this section which under lined the need
for organising the peasants and workers also in the anti-feudal, anti-imperialist
struggle.
Kannur was in the forefront of peasant struggles and the famine that struck the
region during the period of the Second World War along with the cholera
epidemic that led to the death of thousands of people from the deprived sections
threw up innovative forms of peasant struggle that were militant in nature. The
Kisan Sabha organised the 'Grow More Food Campaign' at Mangattupparamba,
wherein more than 50 acres of government land was forcibly cultivated. Although
the government suppressed the movement and destroyed the farm it marked a
significant chapter in the history of mass mobilisation for common class demands.
24 The unpopular Re,·enue Policy followed by the Company administration in the region met with the stiff resistance in the form of the Pazhassi Revolt under the leadership of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of the Kottayam family. The Raja stopped the collection of revenue and also threatened to cut down all the pepper vines if the Company continued with the revenue collection. The killing of the Raja in November 1805 put an end to the resistance(We shall delve into this Revolt in the section on Wayanad).
184
The Karivellur struggle about which we shall study in greater detail in a later
section is unique in the sense that in the wake of continuing famine under which
the common masses suffered, the transportation of paddy from the village to
Chirakkal Kovilakam was blocked and distributed to the people of the village. In
December 1946 the people of Kavumbayi also rose in protest and in the resistance
by the peasants to police action, five peasants were killed in police firing. The
Kayyoor peasant struggle was the inspiration for most of these struggles. The
landlord exploitation was opposed even after independence and the struggles of
Thillankeri, Munayankunnu, Korom and Padikkunnu are memorable peasant
struggles in the post-independence period. It was at Kannur that the All India
Conference of the Kisan Sabha in 1953 resolved to initiate struggles for new
tenancy legislations. It is only natural that the peasant and agricultural workers'
movement continue to have a very strong presence in the district to this day.
Karivellur-Peralam Gram Panchayat
hie Profile of the Karivellur-Peralam Gram Pancha at
4,297 19,773 9,472 10,301 853 (Source: Karivellur-Peralam Gram Panchayat-Vikasana Rekha, 2002)
Karivellur-Peralam Gram Panchayat chosen for the study is located to the
northern most tip of Kannur district in what is known as the Malabar region of
Kerala and it is spread over an area of 22.23 sq.k.m. The Panchayat came into
being in 1946 and comprises of the revenue districts of Karivellur and Peralam. It
is a part of Payyannur ,block which itself falls within the Talipparamba taluk.
Karivellur has a glorious legacy of peasant struggles against the par~sitic landlords
or ]anmis and the British colonialists that occupies a significant space in the
chapters of written histOry as well as the unwritten stories propagated purely
through the oral tradition which we largely benefited f~om. Prior to the
reorganisation of states the Panchayat had been a part of the Malabar district of
the ~tate of Madras.
185
The Panchayat has earned the sobriquet of 'Viplava Bhoomi': meaning the land of
revolution and the land struggle which took place here on 20 December, 1946 has
become a part of folklore having inspired similar struggles in other parts of the
state. The region was witness to a rigid caste system and the high caste landlords
were known to be extremely oppressive indulging in different illegal exactions and
-- the tenants were under the constant threat of evictions. The peasants had to get it
certified by the Congress leaders that they were not Communists or associated
with the Karshaka Sangham to be allowed to plough or conduct other agricultural
activity and in many instances the Congress leadership acted as police informers.
Numerous activists were arrested on various pretexts especially after the Kayyoor
struggle.25 It was under such circumstances that the Communist Party and
Karshaka Sangham decided to protest against the contemptuous situation and
mobilised the peasants to forcibly stop the transport of paddy cultivated in the
Panchayat to Chirakkal. The Malabar Special Police under the British
administration gunned down two peasants who were part of the protest organised
by the Communist Party and the Karshaka Sangham against the ]anmi Chirakkal
Tampuran whose men were transporting the paddy cultivated in the Panchayat to
his storehouses in Chirakkal taluk. A.V.Kunhambu, Payangappadan Kunhiraman,
K.Krishnan Master and others gave leadership to the movement. Protection of the·
tenants, lower rents and 'Land to the Tiller' became the slogans of the
mobilisation. The Communist Party and the Karshaka Sangham also demanded
that in the situation of acute shortage of foodgrains, they must be allocated at fair
price through the Producer-Consumer Cooperative Societies.26 This was a unique
instance of a mass movement to ensure foodgrain distribution at fair price.
The peasant and agricultural workers who were in the forefront of the anti
imperialist and anti-feudal struggle also had a heightened political consciousness
because the political leadership belonging to the Karshaka Sangham and the
25 Information given by Pottakkulath Madhavi who faced the repression of the Malabar Special Police for having given shelter to E.K.Nayanar and Subrahmanya Shenoy who were involved in the Kayyoor struggle. 26 V.V.Kunhikrishnan, "Karivellurinte Rashtriya Chanthram" in A. V. Smaranika, CPI (M) Publication, Karivellur, 1992, p-34.
186
Abhinava Bharat Yuvak Sangham, a precursor to the Communist Party in
Karivellur stressed from the very beginning for literacy and political education
imbibing the essence of various social movements of Kerala.2i Communist
stalwarts like A.K.Gopalan, E.M.S. Namboodirippad, Krishna Pillai, E.K.Nayanar
and A.V.Kunhambu were activelv involved with this movement and a network of -
V CD'anashalas(reading rooms), and public notice boards were established to
disseminate political information and organise the peasantry.28
Agriculture has been the mainstay of the economy and 84 percent of the total area
has been set aside for agricultural purposes. Paddy and coconut are the main crops
with paddy fields occupying 24 percent and coconut farms occupying 35 percent
of the agricultural land respectively. The other main crops are areca, pepper, . I
cashew, rubber, banana and vegetables.29
Details of Survey in Karivellur-Peralam Gram Panchayat
In the Karivellur-Peralam Panchayat out of the random sample of 30 respondents
the gender composition was 19(63.3%) men and 11(36.7%) women. In a
Panchayat which had earlier witnessed the hold of the rich landlords or Naduvazhis
belonging to the high caste Namboodiri or Nair community, the sheer strength of
the peasant movement and the implementation of the Land Reform measures
ensured that land became accessible to all sections of society.
27 The Abhinava Bharat Yuvak Sangham started by A.V.Kunhambu and others had A.K.Gopalan, E.K.Nayanar and E.M.S.Namboodirippad closely associated with it. According to Vaikkath Kunhi Manikkam Teacher, the first trained teacher in the Panchayat even as the members of the Yuvak Sangham joined Communist Party, a section of them opposed to this including her father who was its treasurer remained with the Congress. The information about the association of the above mentioned leaders with the Sangham is based on a photograph of its Executive Committee that she possesses. 28A unique instance unseen of in any other part of the country, that exemplifies this culture is visible in the largest Kerala Dinesh Beedi Factory in the village where a system of one worker reading aloud the Deshabhimani news paper while others tied the beedis, and the person being compensated in the form of one bundle of beedi being given by every other worker so that there is no loss of wages has attracted curiosity and interest and the Canadian Television(CTV) had also expressed interest to make a story on this practice. Rodney Palmer, the C1V correspondent had evinced interest in the project as part of a special programme carried out by the C1V on the fiftieth anniversary of Indian independence, in a meeting with the researcher. 29 Karive/lur-Pera/am Gram Panchtryal Plan Document, 2001-02.
187
The Ezhavas or Thiyyas belonging to the OBC and the Dalits who faced an
extremely contemptuous caste system wherein they had to part with a major share
of produce and also were meted out with indignities like the men and women from
the caste being barred from wearing upper clothing30 or restrictions on movement,
entry into temples and so on have seen a positive change after they gained
possession over land and reached a position of economic security. The upward
mobile Ezhava community who were traditionally toddy tappers dominate the
cultivation scene at present and our sample consists of 25 respondents from this
caste. The Dalit SC population being only about 9 percent of the total population
of the Panchayat, our sample had only one SC respondent and 4 respondents
belonged to the high caste Nair community.
The Panchayat saw a high level of participation 1n political activity and the
respondents predominantly belonged to the Communist party (CPI-M). The
Panchayat is highly literate and 28 respondents had acquired some formal
education and although the Panchayats in the Southern Kerala had 100 percent
literacy and also all of them being well informed of the political and other
developments through daily reading of the newspapers, this Panchayat also saw a
high readership of 22 respondents. The Panchayat stands at par with the southern
village of Kainakary in Alappuzha district in terms of political participation with 28
respondents being involved with political parties and 24 of the respondents were
members of their respective class organisations. The participation in Panchayat
activities and in political movements for higher wages, remunerative prices, , .
subsidised inputs and various class demands was high among this section. It is
notable that Karivellur-Peralam and Kainakary both have witnessed peasant
mobilisation and land struggles under the leadership of the Communist party in
the past and the level of political awareness and participation is higher than the
other two Panchayats. However, one significant deviation from the Kainakary
30 Even to this day one could be able to witness the women agricultural workers of yesteryears from these castes bearing the scars of caste syste:n who even in their old age are forced by their habit not to wear upper clothing, although later generations have questioned and overcome such practices.
188
experience is the near absence of the involvement in the activities of the caste
associations, notably the SNDP. The members of left organisations in this village
refused to be part of the caste organisation, unlike in Kainakary.
Table 6.10: Caste Background of Land Holders in Karivellur-Peralam Gram p h t anc ava
SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL HOLDING (in Acres)
0-1 01 10 04 1-2.5 00 06 00 2.5-5 00 03 00 5-10 00 OS 00 10-20 . 00 01 00 30-50 00 00 00 i
50+ 00 00 00
Earlier the high caste Nairs and Namboodiris dominated the land holdings. The
impact of the militant peasant movement and land struggles that has given a
legendary reputation to this Panchayat along with the implementation of Land
Reforms ensured that the backward Ezhava community and the Dalits also gained
access to land. Among the respondents 50 percent owned below 1acre and
although the Dalits had gained access to land their lot have still remained poor and
are mosdy engaged in working as casual labourers, construction workers and other
traditional activity like basket-weaving etc. Of the total number of respondents 12
i.e. 40 percent were holding less than half an acre. No respondent owned more
than 15 acres~ of land.
I<.ottayam District
Kottayam district situated on the south of Kerala is bound by Emakulam district
on the north, Idukki district on the east, Alappuzha district on the west and
Pathanamthitta district on the south. Kottayam had been part of the erstwhile
princely state of Travancore. Kottayam unlike the neighboming Alappuzha district
was known more than the class struggles, for the struggles against caste
189
'
oppress10n. The famous Vaikom Satyagraha in 1924-25 was an epic struggle
against untouchability and registered its protest against the ban on the entry of the
Dalits and other backward communities into temples and inaccessibility to temple
roads. The 'Nivarthana" agitation that took place in the early thirties seeking
adequate representation for the non-caste Hindus, Christians and Muslims in the
state legislature derived enthusiastic support in the region._ The district was also in
' the forefront of the agitation for the overthrow of the Dewan of Travancore, Sir
C.P.Ramaswamy Iyengar and the setting up of a responsible government in
Travancore.31The district being undet the Travancore kingdom had the land
relations similar to that which existed in Alappuzha and cultivation by reclamation
of land had taken place in certain parts.
I<urichi Gram Panchayat
T bl 611 D hiP fil fth K 'hiG p h a e . 0 emo~rraDJ c ro eo e unc ram anc a vat 0
I Households Population Male I Female sc I ST
I 5,962 29,577 14,868 I 14,709 3,769 I 167 (Source: Kurichi Gram Panchayat Vikasana Rekha, 2001-02)
Kurichi situated in the Madapalli Block in Changanacherri Taluk of Kottayam
District in the Kuttanad region in southern Kerala, had historically been a part of
the Village Union system that existed in the erstwhile princely state ofTravancore.
Kurichi Gram Panchayat came into existence in 1962 with the amalgamation of
Kurichi till then a part of Neelamperoor Panchayat and Ithithanam which was a
part ofVazhapalli Panchayat. The Panchayat is spread over an area of 16.22sq.k.m.
It is at a distance of 6k.m. from the taluk headquarter, Changanacherri, situated to
its south and 11k.m from the district headquarters at Kottayam situated towards its
north.
The extremely contemptuous system of pollution and untouchability that was an
intrinsic part of the casteism prevalent in the erstwhile Kerala society was also
witnessed here and that has manifested in the form of certain communities being
centred in specific regions. The Dalits and the Other Backward Castes were denied
31 http:/ /kottayam.nic.in/kottayam/histor:y/milestones.htm
190
J I
the right to education, entry into temples . and even had restrictions imposed on
their freedom of movement. Social movements that emerged in the early years of
the twentieth century gave rise to an entirely new approach towards society and
social issues amidst the local people, especially the oppressed sections. The
establishment of the Sachivottamapuram in 1938 by the Travancore government
was a landmark development which was the first such model colony in the entire
country wherein families from the oppressed castes were settled in about 112
acres.32 The social movements led by the leaders like Narayana Guru, the 'Temple
Entry Movement' and the growing left movement brought about a significant
change in the societal consciousness. The Panchayat also witnessed a vibrant
Library Movement with a network of Reading Rooms. The gradual spread of
education also contributed to the social change in the region.
Agriculture was the main occupation of the people and all sections of the society
irrespective of caste and creed involved themselves in agricultural activity.
Although a social change was taking place, in the economic sphere the peasants
and agricultural workers were still reeling under the feudal yoke. Unlike the
neighbouring Kuttanad region, the region was not witness to any significant
peasant movements. A few struggles for the rights of agricultural workers did
however take place. It was only with the passing of the Kerala Agrarian Relations
Bill in 1959 by the first Communist government led by E.M.S.Namboodirippad,
that any basic change in the land structure was effected. 33. The implementation of
Land Reforms and the possession rights over cultivable land and homestead
gained by the peasants changed the production techniques· and cropping patterns
in the Panchayat. The shift in cropping pattern to commercial crops like coconut
and rubber was a new trend.
32 Kurichi Gram Pancht!Jal Development Plan DoCIIment, Kottayam, 1996, pp-15-16. 33 Interview with M.S.Soman, former President, Kurichi Gram Panchayat.
191
Details of Survey in I<.urichi Gram Panchayat
In Kurichi Gram Panchayat out of the 30 respondents the gender composition is
19(63.3%) men and 11(36.7%) women. The village also witnessed a high Dalit
population when compared to the villages of Kainakary and Karivellur-Peralam
and it reflected in the caste composition of the respondents with 8(26.66%)
belonging to the SC community, and 11.(36.66%) each belonging to the OBC
Ezhava community and the General category which includes the Nairs, Brahmins
and the Christians. The village has a hundred percent literate composition and all
of them are daily newspaper readers. However, unlike the neighbouring Kuttanad
region in Alappuzha district to which Kainakary belongs, the political participation
and membership of Cla~..; organ{sations is lowest in this village with only
19(63.3%) respondents being involved in such activity and only 21 being members
of one political party or the other. The membership and participation in Caste
organisation was 18(60%), which is next only to that of Kainakary.
Table 6.12: Caste Background of Land Holders in Kurichi Gram Panchayat
SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL HOLDING (in Acres)
0-1 OS OS 04 1-2.5 02 03 01 2.5-5 01 01 03 5-10 00 02 02 10-20 00 00 01 30-50 00 00 00 50+ 00 00 00
Nearly SOpercent of the respondents were those holding below 1 acre of land.
Among the Dalit respondents 62.Spercent were those holding below one acre of
land and mainly were agricultural workers only one respondent from the upper
castes owned more than 10 acres and even the respondents belonging to the
Ezhava community held 10 acres or below and more than 45percent of the OBC
respondents owned less than one acre of land. The high caste Nairs and
Namboodiris along with a section of the Syrian Christians dominated the land
192
holdings earlier. Presently, the upward mobile Ezhava caste and a few from the
Scheduled Castes have also emerged as cultivators. The Dalits have largely
benefited in the form of possession of Homestead rights and housing facilities.
Alappuzha District
Alappuzha district situated on the south-west coast of Kerala is bounded on the
north by Ernakulan1 district, on the east by Kottayam district and Pathanamt}-litta
district, on the west by the Arabian Sea and by Kollam district to the south.
Alappuzha had the first encounter with colonialism under the Portuguese and then
the Dutch who also had a predominant position in the principalities of the region.
The seventeenth century was marked by the building of Dutch factories and
warehouses for storing pepper, ginger and other spices and commercial crops for
trade in Europe. The region later came under the rulers of Travancore when
Marthandavarma, the 'Maker of modem Travancore' annexed many small
principalities of the region and upstaged the Dutch from the political scene of the
district. Alappuzha soon became an important port of Travancore. The region
developed as an area of intensive agricultural activity when V elu Thampi Dalava
brought large areas under coconut cultivation and also boosted paddy cultivation
in the region. 34
The uniqueness of Alappuzha is that a major portion of the district was reclaimed
from water over time and the low land with stretches of sand and numerous
backwaters makes cultivation require an exclusive strategy known locally as the
Kuttanad method or rather pompously mentioned by the local population as 'The
Holland Model of Cultivation'. The paddy lands which are below sea level are
inundated during the monsoon seasons necessitating the draining out of water
before cultivation. The region predominantly grows paddy and Kuttanad is known
as the rice-bowl of the district. Kuttanad is a classic case of land reclamation of
land from water through the ages. Land was reclaimed from the V embanad Lake
34 http://alappnzha.nic.in/alappuzha history.htm
193
for extensive cultivation of paddy.35 The region has a well organised agricultural
workers' movement. Alappuzha as we have noted is known for the legendary
struggles of the peasants and agricultural workers and the Punnapra-Vayalar
movement against the tyranny of the landlords has become a part of folk lore. The
district has a strong peasant and agricultural workers' movement to this day.
l(ainakary Gram Panchayat
Male Female SC ST 21,160 10,666 10,494
Kainakary Gram Panchayat which includes the revenue villages of Kainakary nrrth
and south is a part of the Chambakkulam Block in Kuttanad Taluk and is spread
over an area of 32 sq.k.m. Kainakary is a water-logged area surrounded by the
V embanad Lake. Paddy cultivation is an intensive enterprise in the Panchayat and
it has witnessed the advent of High Yielding Varieties of seeds and also new
techniques of cultivation earlier than most other parts of Kerala.36 Cultivation is
carried out 1.5 to 3 metres below sea level and requires the pumping out water
before the sowing begins. The Panchayat is divided into 26 Padhashekharams with
paddy cultivation taking place in 2262 hectares and mainly coconut being
cultivated in the remaining 1118 hectares.
In the 1930s food shortages and famines had been a global problem and the
Travancore region was also not untouched by it. The then state Dewan ~ .
Ramaswamy Iyengar involved the experts of the time and devised a concrete plan
to overcome the impending crisis. The proposal was to reclaim land from the
shallow eastern side of the Vembanad Lake and make it fit for cultivation.
Muricken Moottil Ouseph an affluent cultivator took up this challenge and the
35 V.R.Pillai and P.G.K.Panikar, Land Reclamation in Kn-ala, Asia Publishing House, New Delhi, 1965, p-26. 36 Jose George, Unionisation and Politicisation of PeasaniJ and Agn.cultural Labourers in India (W'ith Special Referen~ to Kerala), Commonwealth Publishers, New Delhi, 1992, p-9.
194
'Chittira Kayal' was reclaimed. 37 Muricken Moottil Ouseph acquired Kutthaka
Paatam (literally meaning monopoly lease) for 99 years over about 1800 acres of
land reclaimed from three lakes in Kainakary alone other than vast tracts of land in
other areas. In 1972 in the wake of land struggles under the leadership of the CPI
(M) and the Karshaka Sangham and Kerala State Karshaka Tozhilali Union
(KSKTU) and other left parties like CPI and RSP, which demanded surplus land '
for peasants and agricultural workers, he stopped cultivating the land. The State
Security Act was implemented to retain these lands with the Revenue Department
initially and later with the Co-operative Department which carried out cultivation.
The land was then equally divided and given to four political parties namely the
CPI (M), CPI, RSP and the Congress during the Emergency in an unscientific
manner to distribute it among agricultural labourers according to Land Reform
rules.
Even the situation earlier was one of a surplus of agricultural labourers wherein till
the early 1980s during the peak season, especially during harvesting, they had to be
regulated using police and the issue of coupons.38 A unique feature of the area has
been the system of ''Kodij>okkal"(Iiterally meaning lifting the flag) wherein KSKTU
members show the red flag at 8 AM and after a fixed time frame of six hours
including one hour of rest in-between they signal the end of the day's work.39 It
has also been noted like in other parts of Kerala there exists in Kainakary, a system
of the KSKTU issuing circulars to announce increases in wage rates which is
implemented by the peasantry as a whole. The entire activity of cultivation is thus
given a factory-like ambience which can be visible in capitalist agriculture.
Kainakary has a unique place in the history of agricultural workers' movement as it
was here that the ftrst Agricultural Workers' Union was set up way back in 1940
with J anaki a woman agricultural worker presiding over it. V.S.Achuthanandan,
37 Cf, Kainakary Gram Panch'!)'at Vikasana Rekha-2000, Alappuzha, p-5. 38 Interview conducted with P.K.Chandranandan, veteran leader of the Left Movement and an active participant of the Punnapra-Vayalar struggle and C.K.Sadashivan, leader of CPI (M). 39 Interview with P.P.Ramachandran, agricultural worker, Kainakary.
195
Varghese V aidyan, S.K.Das and others were the prominent leaders who were the
initiators of this movement.
Details of Survey in I<ainakary Gram Panchayat
The total number of respondents surveyed in the Gram Panchayat was thirty. The
gender composition of the respondents was 24 (80%) men and 6 (20%) women.
The Panchayat saw an overwhelming presence of the upward mobile OBC Ezhava
population amidst the respondents chosen randomly and accounted for 22 out of
the total respondents. The Panchayat which had earlier witnessed the domination
of the high caste Nair community saw a transformation in traditional social
relations with the implementation of the Land Reforms and hitherto excluded
castes like the Ezhavas and the Dalits benefited in the form of ownership rights
over their Kudikidappu or homestead land and also became new owners of small
tracts of land. The Ezhavas are the dominant cultivators today. Five respondents
were Dalits and three belonged to either the higher castes or the Christian
community which also possessed large tracts of land earlier.
The Panchayat witnessed 100 percent literacy among the respondents and a high
degree of awareness among all classes, all the respondents of the sample survey
kept themselves aware of the political developments and other relevant
information including in the field of agriculture by regularly reading the news
papers and also listening to the radio or television. It was noted during our survey
that the organised movement of the peasantry and the agricultural workers was
very strong in the Panchayat and 28 respondents were members of the Class
organisations, mainly the Left-wing K.arshaka Sangham and the KSKTU i.e., the
affiliates of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and the All India Agricultural
Workers Union (AlA WU). All the respondents were aligned politically to different
parties. A notable feature worth mentioning is the fact that even those who were
politically aligned with the non-left parties were aligned with the left mass
organisations on economic issues. The KSKTU also had a sub-grouping of The
S:ree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) which represents the interests of the
196
Ezhava caste had an overwhelming presence in the region and nearly all the
respondents belonging to the caste including those who were aligned with the
Communist party were its members. A total number of 21 respondents were
members of their respective caste organisations. It is also significant that although
the Dalit community benefited by the implementation of the Land Reforms, to
this day they are holding mosdy less than an acre of land only. None have risen to
hold above 5 acres.
Table 6.14: Caste Background of Land Holders in Kainakary Gram Panchayat
SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL HOLDING
(in Acres) 0-1 03 10 00
1-2.5 01 I 03 00 2.5-5 01 04 01 5-10 00 02 00 10-20 00 04 00 30-50 00 00 00 50+ 00 00 01
Earlier the high caste Nairs and Christians dominated the landholding structure in
the Panchayat. The implementation of the Land Reforms ensured that the hitherto
deprived Ezhava community gained access to land and also the Dalits who were in
abject poverty and faced social exclusion, many of whom benefited in the form of
the homestead land or even by the sheer availability of land as a commodity
accessible to them, since the higher caste landlords of the earlier years sold their
land and moved to the city in the wake of agrarian unrest, land struggles and the
impending 'danger' of Land Reforms. The Nairs mosdy sold their land and
diversified into other activities like services, money-lending, rice-mills etc. To this
day however, the single respondent who owned more than 50 acres was a
Christian whose ancestral property was around 150 acres, and the Land Ceiling
had been evaded by the family registering the land in excess of the 15 acre ceiling
in the name of the other members of family who had attained adulthood.
197
Wayanad District
W ayanad district situated in an 'elevated mountainous plateau on the crust of the
Western Ghats at a height between 700 and 2000 metres above sea-level'40 in the
Malabar region in northern Kerala is bounded on the north by Kodagu district of
Karnataka, on the east by Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu and Mysore district of
Karnataka, Kozhikkode and Kannur districts to the west and Malappuram district
in the south. Wayanad had been a part of Kannur district when Kerala was
formed, although soon in 1957 South Wayanad was added to Kozhikkode district
while North Wayanad remained with Kannur district. The North and South were
amalgamated and the present Wayanad district came into being on 1 November
1980 comprising of the Vythiry, Mananthavady and Sultan Bathery taluks.
The vast stretches of paddy fields in erstwhile Wayanad apparently gave it the
name V qyal Nadu' meaning the land of paddy fields. The fact however remains
that the paddy fields have been remarkably depleting under the corrupting impact
of the urge for super profits and commercial agriculture. The backward district
was till recently perhaps the biggest foreign exchange earners of the state endowed
as it was with the optimum soil and climatic conditions necessary for the growth
of cash crops like pepper, cardamom, tea, coffee, spices and other condiments.
The district has a remarkably hlgh Adivasi population (about 36%) which is in fact
the highest among all the districts in Kerala. The Scheduled Caste population in
the district comes to only 1percent while the Scheduled Tribe population comes to
17 percent of the state's population. The main tribes are the Paniyas, Adiyas,
Kurumas, Ooralis, Kattunayakans and Kurichiyans.41
Wayanad in the 18th century was under the rule of the Pazhassi Rajas of Kottayam
royal dynasty, but later on became a part of the Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu
Sultan. Aftet Tipu's defeat and the signing of the Treaty of Srirangapattana, the
40 Government of Kerala: Panchqyat Level Statirtics 2001: Wqyanad District, Department of Economics and Statistics, Thiruvananthapw:am, p-3. ~I Ibid, p-3.
198
entire region along with the whole of Malabar came directly under the rule of the
British. The district has a history of a popular uprising against British Imperialism
under the leadership of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja who organised a guerrilla kind
of warfare building a people's militia with the help of the martial Kurichye
tribals.42 The defeat of this uprising administratively also strengthened the British,
who opened up the plateau and laid roads connecting it the major commercial
centres around t.he region. Cultivation of tea, coffee and other cash crops were
encouraged by the British authorities and huge estates came into being.
N enmeni Gram Panchayat
T bl 615 D a e . : h' P fil fth N emo~ranl tc ro eo e 'G enmem ram p h anc avat Households Population Male I Female sc I S't'
7451 37,045 18,448 I 18,597 1,577 I 6,181
N enmeni Gram Panchayat which includes the revenue villages of Nenmeni and
Cheeraal is a part of Sultan Bathery Block in Sultan Bathery Taluk and is spread
over an area of 69.38 sq.k.m. The Panchayat was established in the year 1973. The
population density is 539 I sq. k.m. The Panchayat was witness to the anti
imperialist struggle of the Pazhassi Raja and historically had briefly witnessed the
rule of Tipu Sultan. Early lessons in class struggles were witnessed in the region in
the form of small struggles by the Adivasis against the then existing slave system
and the Valli tradition43. The region was witness to struggles of the retired soldiers
for benefits and also struggles by the workers in the large plantations for their
rights.44
The Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes comprise of about 21 percent of the
total population of the Panchayat, mainly belonging to the Paniyas, Kurumas,
42 K.Santosh Kumar (Ed.), W qyanad: District Handbook, Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 2003, p-8. 43 The Valli tradition was something similar to the Jeethagallu still prevalent in Andhra Pradesh. Under this system the agricultural workers were tied to the landlords, paid meagrely, men were given 2 measures of paddy and women half the quantity as wages daily and a set of Mundu and oil was given on a yearly basis. The workers had no freedom to work independendy. 44 Nenmeni Gram Panchqyat Vikasana Rekha, Sultan Bathery, 2001, p-v.
199
J I
Ooralis and Naicker tribes. The Chetty community that came from Tamilnadu or
Karnataka, the other migrant settlers mainly Christians and Muslims who occupied
land for cultivation and the retired soldiers who were rehabilitated in the region in
1948 in a special colony together with the Adivasis formed the cultural milieu of
the Panchayat. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for majority of the
population and the eco~omy is mainly- dependent on -:ash crops. The region is
below the state average in productivity for all crop~ according to Krishi Bhavan
statistics. Nearly 75percent of the landholdings were above half an acre, which is
unlike the other Malabar Panchayat, Karivellur-Peralam which has more than
60percent owning less than half an acre.
Details of Survey in N enmeni Gram Panchayat
In Nenmeni Gram Panchayat of the 30 respondents the Gender Composition is
23 (76.66%) men and 7 (23.34%) women. The Panchayat falling within Wayanad
district which has a high proportion of the Adivasi community and accounts for
17 percent of the state's tribal population also reflected on the sample with
8(26.7%) respondents belonging to the ST community. The respondents belonging
to either the high castes or to Christianity or Islam who would fall under the
General category were 9(30%) in number while the OBCs mainly belonging to the
Ezhava community or Islam numbered 13(43.3%) out of the total respondents.
Like in other Gram panchayats in Kerala, Nenmeni too had a relatively high
literacy level with 27 respondents having had some level of formal education and
23 regular newspaper readers. However, in the field of political awareness and
participation this village is nearly at par with the Kurichi Gram Panchayat in
Kottayam district, witnessing only 22 respondents being members of political
parties, 20 members of respective class organisations, mainly the left wing peasant
and agricultural workers' organisations. Like the other Malabar village, Karivellur-
200
Peralam, Neruneni also had very limited participation in caste organisation, a single
respondent being member of such organisation.
Table 6.16: Caste Background of Land Holders in Nenmeni Gram Panchayat
SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL HOLDING (in Acres)
0-1 07 06 02 1-2.5 00 03 01 2.5-5 01 02 03 5-10 00 01 01
10-20 00 01 02 30-50 00 00 00 50+ 00 00 00
Earlier the Panchayat was dominated by the Christian cultivators who had
migrated to the region from other parts of Kerala and occupied large tracts of land
over which the ·indigenous tribes had control till then. SOpercent of the
respondents owned 1 acre or below and one respondent each from the OBC and
the Dalit community were landless. Even to this day it is the Christians who
dominate the landholding structure along with the some from Islam and the higher
castes.
The Ezhava community has benefited from the Land Reforms and many of them
acquired land and turned into cultivators. The plight of the Adivasi community
remains largely unchanged, except that they have gained some homestead land and
financial assistance for house construction. All but one Adivasi responc:lent were
agricultural workers owning less than one acre of land and only one of them had
more than 2.5 acres. A large number of the tribals have no access over land. This ~ .
situation has led to discontent among the Adivasi community and it manifested
recently in the form of the forcible occupation of forest land under the leadership
of Adivasi Gotra Mahasabha led by C.KJanu, a tribal woman who has been
involved with the cause for the last two decades. This led to a violent reaction by
the Government and some Adivasi activists were killed in police firing at
Muthanga. Adivasi Kshema Samithi affiliated to th~ CPI (M) has also been raising
201
the issue of land to the Adivasi corrmmnity and has successfully occupied forest
land in Pulpally and other regions ofWayanad.
When we embark on a comparison of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, we
have to keep in mind the irrefutable fact that Kerala has been a forerunner in
many aspects of human development and has developed many institutions on the
basis of political mobilisation which acts as a Suffer. The question of Land
Reforms and its efficacy in the two states has already been looked into in the
preceding chapter. We shall now look into the other institutions in the light of our
own findings regarding these socio-economic indicators.
Caste-Class Correlation
India has been witness to the continuation of the vestiges of the feudal past in the
form of the caste system which has been striking at the very foundations of human
dignity. Kerala was a state in whlch till the early 20th century one of the most rigid
caste system and extreme inequalities associated with it including untouchability
and unapproachability was normal accepted practice. The organised Left
Movement and the unionisation of the workers . and the hitherto unorganised <
peasants and agricultural workers along with the Social Movements against caste
discrimination gave a death blow to the caste inequalities and caste hierarchies
were given a decent burial with the implementation of Land Reforms. The Kerala
society which was once witness to the most oppressive variety of agrestic slavery
today has no signs of any such forms of servitude and even an indebted
agricultural worker is not held in bondage.
The situation in Andhra Pradesh although undoubtedly better when compared to
earlier times, the caste hierarchies are continuing unfettered and the most
immediate manifestation can be witnessed in the land holding structure. The least
disconcerting nature of the existence and continuation of the two tumbler system
and the J eetha system which is a variant of the bonded labour system or Bhagela
202
system that was predominant in the Nizam era even in the 21st century is a case in
point.
The hitherto oppressed castes in Kerala benefited from Land Reforms and our
study clearly shows as to how over time these castes which were once deprived of
land have emerged as prominent cultivators today. The condition of the SC and
ST population, especially the Tribal population is still very poor even in Kerala.
The structure in Andhra Praciesh however, is quite contrary and even to this day
the high caste dominates over the land holdings which is exposed quite starkly in
our study. If one were to look at our study of the sample in the two states, it
comes out clearly that in Andhra Pradesh an overwhelming number of Dalit
respondents hold less than one acre of land and are agricultural workers, in most
cases tied by contract to high caste peasantry. This amounts to 67.4 percent of the
total Dalit respondents and nearly 25 percent out of all the respondents surveyed
in the state. If the OBCs in the same grouping by acreage are taken into account
jointly, it would amount to nearly 50 percent of the total respondents in the state.
If all the respondents in the same category are considered then the Dalits account
for 44.6 percent and so do the OBCs, while the higher castes account only for the
remaining 10.8 percent. The entire sample did not have a single Dalit owning more
than 10 acres in both the states put together. The value of the means of
production possessed by the Dalits is also not remarkably high or rather is
infinitesimal when compared to the possessions of the higher caste. peasantry. The
Dalits are in most cases landless agricultural workers. Although the OBCs mainly
the hitherto untouchable Ezhava caste have improved their economic condition
over time, they also continue to remain in the lower rungs of the society. The
Dalits in Kerala are also mostly agricultural workers who have gained Household
Rights and a few of them are small peasants. The tables given below show the
caste background of the respondents in the two states in a classification based on
the size of land holding alone (\i/e shall resort to a classification of the peasantry
based on the value of productive assets in the seventh chapter).
203
Table 6.17
Caste Baclmround of Resnondents in Gram Panchavats in Andhra Pradesh SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL
HOLDING (in Acres)
0-1 29 29 07 1-2.5 06 09 01 . 2.5-5 07 03 00 5-10 01 09 03
10-20 00 06 03 30-50 00 01 04 50+ 00 00 02
Table 6.18: Caste Background of Respondents in Gram Panchayats of Kerala
SIZE OF LAND SC/ST OBC GENERAL HOLDING
(in Acres) 0-1 16 31 10
1-2.5 03 15 02 2.5-5 03 10 07 5-10 00 10 03
10-20 00 06 03 30-50 00 00 00 50+ 00 00 01
Literacy and Political Awareness
The growing left movement and social movements of the 20th century had
ensured that Kerala had a head start as far as the literacy movement was
concerned. The luminaries of the left movement stressed on the importance of
literacy and political education as potent instruments that would raise political
consciousness and lead to greater political mobilisation against both imperialism
and feudal oppression. The spurt in educational activity with the intervention of
the Christian missionaries and the leaders of the backward caste movement also
ensured a gradual deterioration of the caste rigidities and an erstwhile
204
discriminated lot benefited from the spread and accessibility of education. Andhra
Pradesh too had its educational institutions, but they were in most cases products
of the different governing authorities ranging from the Imperial British to the
Feudal Nizams, rather than an emergence by a social churning process from
below. To this day the disinherited masses in the state are in a state of lethargy
least anxious to participate in the political process. This could be tl:~ condition
because literate masses alone could develop political awareness and begin to look
critically at the social situation in which they are placed and the consciousness so
generated may lead them to take the initiative in actin.g to transform the society.
Although it may not be by design, the literacy scenario in Andhra Pradesh villages
creates the impression that the state considers education to be a (subversive I
force'.45
It is interesting to note that the Telangana region which had a higher degree of
consciousness, not through the spread of formal education, but through the
system of political education that the Communist movement naturally took along
with it, saw a better implementation of the Tenancy legislation. The more
conscious Diwani areas saw better implementation of the legislation when
compared to the ex-Jagir and the regions of the Rayalseema or Andhra. The
implementation of the Tenancy legislation, or the success or failure of the Land
Reforms is a function of the degree of consciousness among the subject
peasantry. 46 However, our study shows that the sample village chosen from the
Telangana region for the purpose of our study, Sirisedu is the least literate and
politically aware of all the villages. The weakening of the left movement could be
the major cause of the absence of political awakening. It is equally significant that
this region which saw the better implementation of the Tenancy legislation today
45 If one were to read Paulo Friere, Pedagogy of the Oppremd, Penguin Books, London, 1996 Lle seminal importance of education to the oppressed can be understood. The situation in Andhra Pradesh wherein an erstwhile radical peasantry ceases to be politically active or unorganised is probably because of the lack of education and a uniting ideology. Any effort to question and drastically change the present situation will be still-hom if the question of education is not addressed appropriately. Richard Shaull has in his foreword to Fricre's book described education as a 'subversive force', p-11. 46 Op.Cit, A.M.Khusro, 1958, p169.
205
ranks ftrst among all the sample villages in terms of the loss of land due to
indebtedness, what we may term as the reversal of Land Reforms.
The impact of' the Communist movement in Kerala also saw L~e spread of the
library movement and the entire stretch of the state is adorned by People's
Reading Rooms, in memory of the stalwarts of the movement itself, the most
prominent of them being that of A.K.Gopalan. The Communist Party Organ
came to be published from very early years of the formation of the Party and the
working classes benefited from this as well as the novel system of the village notice
boards that kept the people informed of day to day political developments. We
have seen earlier as to how the beedi workers got to know the news on a daily
basis at their work-place even in the absence of modern technology in information
and broadcasting. This aspect has aroused curiosity of academicians from early
years and an observer had described the scenario thus:
Nor had I seen anything at all like the bleak little tea-shops of Kerala villages in the early mornings, crowded with coolies scanning the newspapers or listening while others read them aloud. More than 40 newspapers in the Malayalam language are published in Kerala; they are read and discussed by people of all classes and castesY
In the backdrop of this heritage and affirmative action undertaken later on by the
governments, civil society groups and mass organisations Kerala tops in the
literacy rate in the entire country while literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh has
however been much below the national average. 48The performance of Andhra
Pradesh in literacy was worst among all south Indian states also.49 The levels of
political awareness witnessed in Kerala is also unmatched by any other state. The
retention of land among the peasantry or beneftd'lri.es of the Land Reforms in
Kerala is very high and nearly intact unlike the situation we witnessed in Andhra
Pradesh. The high level of awareness has been complemented by an efficient
health system in Kerala and in terms of life expectancy, population control and
other indicators its performance is impeccable when compared to Andhra Pradesh
47 George Woodcock, Kerala, A Portrait of the Malabar Coast, Faber and Faber, London, 1967, p-35. 48 C.H.Hanumantha Rao and S.Mahendra Dev, ''Economic Reforms and Challenges Ahead: An Overview", Economic and Politi.'"(J/ Week&, March 22-29; 2003, p-1137. 49Kalipada Deb, Development and Disparitier: Experiences From Southern India, Rawat Publications, New Delhi, 2001, p-29.
206
and the rest of the country. This is mainly a result of better education and
awareness among the people and the Kerala example clearly calls for emulation.
The Human Development situation in Kerala thus, greatly compensates for its
inadequacies in the income sector. In our study in the two states the stark contrast
is clearly exposed.
Table 6.19:
L' tteracv an dPr· lA o ttlca wareness Am on~ R d . th T S esDon ents'tn e wo tates Gram Panchayat Total Literate NewsPaper
Res_p_ondents Readers lpperu 30 11 07
Unagatla 30 20 18 Chenguballa 30 22 15
Sirisedu 30 11 OS Andhra Pradesh 120 64' 45
Kurichi 30 30 30 Kainakary 30 30 30
Nenmeni 30 27 23 Karivellur-Peralam 30 28 22
Kerala 120 115 105 In Kerala 95.8 percent of the respondents were literate and 87.5 percent of the
respondents were regular readers of the news papers, while in Andhra Pradesh
only 53.3 percent of the respondents are literate and merely 37.5 percent read the
daily news papers. This being the case we also came across a very high percentage
of respondents in Kerala who were aware of the policy decisions and having a
clear understanding as to the crisis in the agrarian sphere and the causes of the
price crash, high input costs, depleting public investment and so on. We shall see
in the next section as to how this also reflects in the political participation and
accountability of the local institutions and the political system. The case in Andhra
Pradesh is not even remotely comparable to that of Kerala and the peasantry are
largely ignorant of these things or rather are resigned to it, exhibiting Gemeinschajt
kind of tendencies.
207
Cooperatives and Institutional Credit
Capital investment is indispensable for proper agricultural development and for
centuries under the British rule, inadequate investment and low productivity led to
stagnation in the agricultural sector. The condition has not been much different
even after independence and low investment arising out of low farm incomes and
low resource productivity has resulted in poor performance of the agricultural
sector. Low investment caused bv low farm income which in turn follows from
low resource productivity has been likened to a vicious cycle that could be
effectively overcome only by facilitating greater capital investment through
institutional sources at reasonable rates of interest. 5° This situation has underlined
the importance of institutional credit for agricultural development. Sl
Credit also acts as a facilitator for the use of different modem inputs which are
exorbitantly priced and is also required for working capital and long term
investment aimed at raising the productivity of land. In a country whose agrarian
scenario is quite uncertain given the nature of its dependence on unpredictable
climatic conditions and rainfall which often results in absence of investment
potential at the beginning of the new season, credit is almost indispensable for
even initiating the process of cultivation. 52
Agricultural credit extended from institutional sources has been relatively high in
Kerala, aided as it was by the presence of a good network of cooperative credit .
institutions. The provision of credit is governed by many factors and it has been
found that in Andhra tJradesh the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies has been
heavily biased against the weaker sections and also there existed a district-wise
disparity in provision of credit by the P ACS and even the Scheduled Commercial
Banks with the Coastal Andhra receiving high credit when compared to the
Rayalseema region and Telangana region which was worst placed. The situation
5o Op.Cit, SWlanda.S, 1991, p-1. 51 Cf, J .P.Singh, Role of lnttitutiona/ Finana in Agriculture, Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi, 1986. 52 Cf, Op.Cit, Kalipada Deb, 2001, pp-108-111.
208
was much better in Kerala and the large number of small landholders in Kerala
receives a high share of the short-term direct finance from such institutional
sources.53
Our study shows that the dependence on non-institutional sources is very high in
Andhra Pradesh when compared to Kerala. The traders and rich farmers along
with the traditional moneylenders have emerged as the biggest lending ~gency
which resorts to the exaction ot usurious interest rates and coercive tactics to
ensure repayment. In Kerala the cultivators of cash crops have been more prone
to fall into the trap of the private money lenders. The case of the Nenmeni Gram
Panchayat in Wayanad clearly illustrates this condition. The findings of our study
have been corroborated by earlier studies and it is a generally accepted fact that in I
Kerala the dependence on private moneylenders is relatively less when compared
to other states of India and in this case when compared to Andhra Pradesh. 54 Our
study clearly brings out the dependence of the peasantry in Andhra Pradesh on the
Private Money Lender, the Traders and other non-Institutional sources of credit
despite usurious interest rates. Even the section of 'Agricultural Moneylenders' in
Andhra Pradesh which is more or less absent in Kerala lend at the rate of the
private moneylenders and not much distinction can be made. In fact this section
we have found is more prone to usurp land from the indebted peasantry and then
convert them into J eethagallu.
If we consider the source of credit in the two state and purpose of borrowing as
shown in the tables 6.20 and 6.21 given below, the information points to the fact
that in terms of the purpose of borrowing, there is a synonymity across the two
states. In Andhra Pradesh out of the total 302 borrowings across a five year period
between the years 1998 to 2002, 113 i.e. about 37 percent have been taken by the
respondents in the lowest bracket and 145 which is about 48 percent is taken by
the highest bracket while in Kerala the figures are 99 or about 27 percent and 19
or 21 percent of the total 364 borrowings respectively.
;3 Ibid, pp-1 09-111. >~ Cf, Op.Cit,Jose George, 1992, pp-114-120
209
In Andhra Pradesh 100 borrowings or about 33 percent of all borrowings are for
unproductive purposes and 164 which are about 54 percent are for general
agricultural purposes while only about 11 percent or 34 borrowings are for asset
creation in agriculture. In Andhra Pradesh the informal sources of credit account
for more than 50 percent of the total loans whereas this section accounts for only
about 26 percent in the case of Kerala. This is indicative of the well developed
formal credit market with a wider reach. In Andhra Pradesh for the lowest bracket
around 64 percent of the total loans are for unproductive purposes having no
future returns whatsoever. About 68 percent of all borrowings or 77 were availed
from the big farmers. In the case of the highest bracket around 78 out of the total
145 borrowings which would account for about 54 percent are availed from
institutional sources and 13 or around 9 percent are from friends and relatives. In
this bracket 99 or 68 percent of the total borrowings was for general agricultural
purposes and 25 or about 17 percent are for asset creation in agriculture. In both
the cases about 56 percent of the investments have been financed from
institutional sources.
In Kerala 62 out of 99 borrowings, i.e. about 62 percent of the total borrowings of
the lowest bracket are for unproductive purposes; about 31 percent (31
borrowings) are for general agricultural purposes. Significantly, about 45 percent
i.e. 45 borrowings by the group was from the ins~tutional sources. Around 41
percent are from the Private Money-Lender or Blade Companies and out of the
total 31 borrowings made for general agricultural purposes among this group 23 or 1 •
around 7 4 percent are financed through institutional sources. The Private Money
lender accounted for 50 percent of the 62 borrowings for unproductive purposes.
In the case of the highest bracket about 95 percent of the total loans availed are
from institutional sources, about 61 percent i.e. 50 out of 82 borrowings are made
for general agricultural purposes and about 6 percent or 7 borrowings were for
asset creation in agriculture. This indicates a higher credit worthiness of these
sections and also higher credit availability due to the presence of land and other
210
assets which are a security for the amount borrowed. It is interesting to note that
there is no prevalence of the "agricultural money-lender" in the form of big
peasants in Kerala while in Andhra Pradesh this section is as usurious as and more
dominant than the Private Money-Lenders or the Traders.
Table 6.20: Purpose and Source wise Frequency of loans Taken by the Samnk Households in Andhra Pradesh
Range of Asset Asset Value General Creation For Other Other Than No of Agricultural Agricultural Productive Unproductive All Land Respondents Sources Purpose l'_urp_ose Purposes Pll!lloses Purposes
BF 19 4 0 39 63
PML+Trader 3 1 0 10 14
IS 10 1 0 6 17
F 2 0 0 16 . 19 .,
0-10000 69 IAUSOurees · ~,; .,ii::...as : ~., : >~ b: .:ii»J<. ll . ;, : ;, •:;':f : :12 <c \ 1J3 BF 1 0 1 2 4
PML+Trader 1 0 1 0 2
IS 0 0 2 0 2
F 0 0 0 1 10001-20000 7 -Ml'_ Slim~ .. ' '{.::,' ''2: ,, s i) . '4 f:!:: •: : .•. 3 ·. . 9
BF 3 0 0 0 3
PML+Trader 0 0 0 0 0
IS 1 0 0 0 1
F 0 0 0 0 0
20001-30000 3 !Au SO'iltcd" · "· . ,-, :i'IM1)i\ :4 I······· ·.o .~~, :;.;:;.r ·o . '•.<f:r;;,::,·;>. 0 . : 4
IBF 7 0 0 1 8
PML+Trader 0 0 0 0 0
IS 5 0 0 0 5
F 2 0 0 1 3
30001-40000 2 ~~ s"'J'.'. .. . .... , outces·/ :. .-·_.'':: ;;,;:<;1'4 >,''- . ;>'. o I ~~ii;::. ;:~~~~!~f:O. lat~····i~ \ y: .: ~§
IBF 0 0 0 0 0
PML+Trader 5 0 0 0 5
IS 5 2 0 0 7 I .
F 0 1 0 2 3
40001-50000 4 M,J• Sourcc::s : ,, . to 3. : .~ . •. i .• ·~. 15 BF 14 5 0 3 23
PML+Trader 16 9 0 4 3_! IS 63 7 0 8 78
50001 and F 5 3 0 5 13
above 35 !AU So~~ .. •:. '~ ,, .'9!) :, ~ '' > ·;;:: 0 .• 't: •. <c ~~.- '21 • 0 ·· .. 't45
~F 44 9 1 45 101
PML+Trader 26 11 1 14 ~ IS 84 10 2 14 110
F 10 4 0 25 39 ...,....,.__ . ..,.,_
•.;~ =i~ ,_., ---- :.J®• 002 All Sample 120 ~~o.urces ·"' ~. • .0 .... ... ~~ .. 4 '
,,
211
Table 6.21: Purpose and Source wise Frequency of loans Taken by the Sample Households in
Kerala Asset
Range of Creation !Asset Value General For Other Other Than No of !Agricultural IAgricultura Productive Unproductive Land Respondents Sources Purpose I Purpose Purposes Purposes IAII Purposes
~F 0 0 0 0 0 P:ML+Trader 9 0 1 31 41
•.. IS 23 3 2 17 45 F 0 0 0 15 15
0-10000 32 AUSbut~e~ ')1 ,. ·~ .•:;,:.{;;.., ·s· ~·· <· 62 ~ 0 .. jBF 0 0 0 0 0
P:ML+Trader 0 0 0 2 2
IS 5 0 0 1 6
F 0 0 0 0 0 10001-20000 3 iA!l SOUic:es ;, ' ; ·i• ::;;:~ · ... ~ :. 'f~t>i•"'· /1.0 .. ..• .;&J£:;,;;;:.t)•G ~"' j{("<t;; ·' ·.,. 3 l:d~'.;;t:~ . 8
~ 0 0 0 0 0
P:ML+Trader 21 2 0 7 30
IS 34 1 0 10 45
F 0 0 0 0 0 20001-30000 18 ~.$ii.ttrces .. : :{ 7<!¥ ss !hl~(. ·.~
.: ,.,,,, '.{l ',',, ,, lli. ·, ·'". 7:5
~F 0 0 0 0 0
P:ML+Trader 6 3 5 11 25
IS 55 4 2 3 64
F 2 0 0 3 5 30001-40000 23 ~.Stlutces. ; ' .. ;T +f:[:63 t {;{~~::"' ; )':"1 ... fl~i;-t'.;,, . .. 1!1 Lt:/+~c ~; ,. ~4
BF 0 0 0 0 0
P:ML+Trader 0 0 0 0 0
s 4 2 0 3 9
F 0 0 0 0 0
40001-50000 10 ltU.fSiiwc~. ~f;;{f! . ·. [1~1 ;,4 !;1Jw• >:tw >H ':0 ~ :Ahl ,\j$.;~:2: ; .• · .. ··9 ~ 0 0 0 0 0
P:ML+Trader 0 0 0 1 1
IS 47 7 5 19 78
50001 and F ' . 3 0 0 0 3
above 34 IAn SQw.ces · >.; 49: 0:. 'C> ··'b'~'; ;·· 5 . •i!::··~ 1$ ii' .· 19 BF 0 0 0 0 0
P:ML+Trader 35 4 6 52 97
IS 168 17 9 53 247
F 4 0 0 18 22
All Sample 120 IAn So.utces • · . :;;; 'IJ)V ' 0 .zt r;:.1:f:!~··i·;1•its i~·~2 121 k .~
212
Unionisation and Political Participation
The analysis of the role of peasants and agricultural workers in union activity and
political participation and its impact on agrarian relations is indispensable in the
context of our study on the impact of Neo-Liberal economic policies on the
peasantry. Both the states under study have had a history of peasant mobilisation
and politicisat:ion unmatched by other parts of the ccuntry, with the exception of
probably Bengal. However, the common experience in this regard in the initial
years after independence was momentary and the strength of the peasant and
agricultural workers' movement in Andhra Pradesh once an example to such
movement elsewhere has waned to a considerable extent
The impact of the organisations of peasants and agricultural workers on the socio
economic and political scene in Kerala is quite substantial and it is one of the few
states in which the agricultural workers and peasants through the sheer strength of
their organised presence could withstand the onslaught of the economic crisis to
some extent. 55 The wage rates in Kerala for the agricultural workers is decided by
the Kerala State Karshaka Tozhilali Union which issues a circular to the effect and
which is accepted and implemented by all sections of the peasantry. The Karshaka
Tozhilali Kshema Nidhi is another unique achievement wherein a Welfare fund for
the agricultural worker is set up drawing contributions from the agricultural
workers, the peasantry and the government which would be utilised to grant relief
to the agricultural workers to meet expenses of daughters' wedding and also for
pregnancy related expenses. The pension scheme for agricultural workers is also
unique and unparalleled in India. The Pension Scheme was initiated by the Left
and Democratic Front government on 15 May 1980. All the agricultural workers
above sixty years of age whose annual income from all sources is below Rs.3,600 /
could claim a monthly pension of Rs.45/- when the schen;te was initiated and it
has now increased to about Rs.120/- per month. Although it is desirable to
55 Ibid, Jose George,, p-140.
213
increase this further to make it meaningful, nevertheless it is a unique scheme
which is a milestone in the history of agrarian movements.
Even to this day no agriculturai worker who has been working for a long period
can be deprived of employment opportunity without some settlement and the
Kainakary case is unique in a sense because even the use of tractors is restricted to
single use to be alternated with traditional ploughing because of the presence of
strong organisation of the workers specialised in ploughing. The 'Kodipokkal'
system wherein the agricultural workers have fixed hours of work decided by the
waving of the red flag at the beginning of work and at the end of six hours
including lunch, by representatives of the Union is also unique, although is now a
declining trend witnessed rarely during peak seasons. The KSKTU attempts to
implement minimum wage rate and in case of a permanent worker losing the job,
compensation or other. adjustments are made by intervening in favour of the
worker. The respondents in Kerala were unanimous that unionisation played an
important role in their social upliftment and even led to job security and also
ensured that remunerative prices, proper procurement facilities, subsidies, efficient
extension services and credit facilities were made possible due to the collective
bargaining power that they acquired. 56
If one were to compare tlus with our findings in Andhra Pradesh the stark
contrast wherein there is negligible influence of political mobilisation and
unionisation can be understood. The peasantry and agricultural workers in a state
that witnessed the Telangana Movement which arguably was the most ~ .
revolutionary movement that has yet arisen in India are today largely unorganised
and resigned to their fate, devoid of the earlier radicalisation. The Left parties have
made efforts in this regard and only have succeeded in having pockets of
influence. For instance, in the Nellore village, Daamaramadugu where we
conducted a preliminary visit, the CPI (M) was strong and its peasant organisation
was also quite active. Similarly in Nalgonda, Khammam and a few other districts
56 Cf, Op.Cit, K.P.Kannan, 1988, Jose George, 1992 and Abraham Vijayan, 1998 both of which have docwnented the achievements of the peasants and agricultural workers' movement in Kerala.
214
the situation is better than what we have witnessed in the sample villages with both
the CPI and CPI (M) having influence. The innumerable Naxalite organisations
have also carved out pockets of influence especially in the T elangana region and
some parts of the Coastal region. The fact remains however, that there is a lack of
ideological orientation and low levels of class consciousness among the peasants
and agricultural workers.
Table 6.22
P li. I P o ttca dU. articmatton an momsatton 1n s amu1e 1 a~?es I V"ll Gram Panchayat Political Class Caste Organisation
Participation Organisation Members Members
Ipperu OS 02 01 Unagada 07 01 01
I Chenguballa 13 03 01
Sirisedu 02 03 02 Andhra Pradesh 34 09 05
Kurichi 21 19 18 Kainakaty 28 28 21 Nenmeni 22 20 02
Karivellur-Peralam 28 24 01 Kerala 100 91 42
In Andhra Pradesh while the number of respondents who are members of any
political party is only 28.3 percent of the total respondents and the percentage of
respondents who are members of the class organisations representing peasants or
agricultural workers is as low as 7.5 percent, when compared to the Kerala average
of 83.3 percent and 75.8 percent respectively: While the participation of women in
such activity as members of these organisations is nil in Andhra Pradesh, in Kerala
women do take part in meetings and protest actions. Similarly even in the case of
membership of caste organisations in Andhra Pradesh merely 4.3 percent of the
respondents are enrolled, whereas, in Kerala 35 percent of the respondents are
members of the caste based organisations. It was however noted in the study that
in Kerala a large section of the respondents who were belonging to the left wing
peasant and agricultural workers' organisations or the Communist parties were not
enrolled as members of the caste organisations, more so in the northern districts
215
of the state falling. under the Malabar region. Of the total respondents who were
enrolled as members of caste organisations in the state 92.8 percent were from the
two Gram Panchayats that fall in the southern part of the state.
Public Distribution System
The Public Distribution Systt..:.n was introduced in India in 1939 during the
Second World War as a rationing measure in Bombay and then extended to other
regions. A comprehensive Food Policy can be traced to the War years when the
disruption in supply of rice from Burma and crop failures created famine-like
conditions in the rural countryside, before finally culminating in the disastrous
Bengal Famine of 1943.57 Public Distribution System is a state-run mechanism for
the delivery of food at affordable rates in a country with rampant poverty,
malnutrition, starvation deaths and low per capita availability of food. It hence
plays a very crucial role in supplementing the availability of food grains. The
System complements the governmental intervention in the food grain markets by
way of public procurement, management of food stocks through storage and
buffer stocks and regulation of trade in food grains by acting as a delivery system
for the distribution of affordable food grains. The governmental intervention
primarily was intended to achieve basic food security and the Indian experience in
this regard has been rather uneven.
The experience of Kerala with regard to Public Distribution is unique and
unparalleled in the sense that it was the result of a demand articulated by the
peasantry under the aegis of the Karshaka Sangham, rather than being a
governmental effort of a palliative nature. We have noted earlier as to how the
famine-like conditions emerging out of the food crisis during the War was sought
to be overcome by the Karshaka Sargham and other Left mass organisations by
insisting procurement of grains from the landlords and distribution through
Producer-Consumer Cooperative Societies (See the section on Karivellur-Peralam
57 Op.Cit, P.R.Dubhashi, 1986, p-176.
216
Gram Panchayat) and also in some cases actually confiscating grain from landlords
and distributing it, forcing the government to initiate the measure.58The rent-in
kind was sought to be abolished and the Karshaka Sangham demanded that it be
diverted to the Producer-Consumer Cooperative Societies which were
cooperatives formed as part of informal rationing in Malabar and were run jointly
by the KarshakaSangham and the government.59 In Malabar and Travancore region,
the Public Distribution System was 'directly the consequence of mass action and
government response to such action during the period of the food crisis. '60
Kerala has had a very effective Public Distribution System from then on till recent
times and it has ensured a fairly satisfactory level of net availability of food grains
despite the lowest per capita production of cereals in the whole country because of
the statutory rationing system that was in place. 61 The state has had a wide network
of retail outlets through which the Public Distribution System operated effectively
and facilitated the provision of food grains and other essentials like sugar, edible
oil and kerosene. The effective and efficient delivery system contributed to the
success of the system. The universal nature of the System in Kerala with wide
reach touching the remotest corners of the state comes across as a unique
affirmative action benefiting the rural areas and the poor most. The system
benefited the urban and the rural population irrespective of their class background
and Kerala has the highest proportion of population which depended on the
System for partial purchase of its monthly quota of cereals and the highest per
capita implicit subsidy. It is worth noting that Kerala distributes the highest ~ . .
quantity of food grruns through the Public Distribution System and the per capita
58 Cf, Madhura Swaminathan, Weakening We!fare: The Public Distribution of Food in India, LeftWord Publications, New Delhi, 2000, 59 Op.Cit, K.P.Kannan, 1988, p-120. 60 V.K.Ramachandran, "Kerala's Development Achievements: A Review", in Amartya Sen and John preze(Eds.), Indian Development: Selected Regional Perspectives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1996, p-245. 61 M.Mohandas, "Poverty, Food Intake, and PDS in Kerala: Emerging Trends" in B .• \.Prakash(Ed.), Kerala's Economic Development: Issues and Problems, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1999, p-86.
217
monthly purchase of cereals even in rural areas is far higher than the national
average.62
However, while Kerala is a food grain deficit state, Andhra Pradesh is considered
to be a food grain surplus state which is food secure at the macro level. The
ground reality is to the contrary with about one fourth of the state's population
suffering from chronic food insecurity and nearly 40 percent of the children
s_uffering from malnutrition, thereby actually pointing to food insecurity at the
household level. 63The experience of Andhra Pradesh in Public Distribution
although, cited to be better than the national performance, it far lags behind the
other southern states and our own observation regarding food security and
malnutrition especially in the semi-arid regions starkly contrasts with the Kerala i .
experience. 'fhis aspect will be looked into in greater detail in the next chapter.
Local Democracy and Development
Andhra Pradesh was one of the first advocates of the decentralisation scheme
proposed by the Asoka Mehta Committee on Panchayati Raj Institution in 1978,
the other being Rajasthan. A three-tier structure of Panchayati Raj, with the Zilla
Parishad at the top, the Panchayat at the bottom and the Panchayat Samiti at the
middle level was introduced in 1959.64 In Kerala, the first step towards
decentralisation was taken in 1957 during the period of the first Communist-led
Ministry. The Administrative Reforms Committee headed by
E.M.S.Namboodirippad recommended various measures towards the formation of
institutions for devolution and decentralisation at different levels. The
recommendations could not be implemented because of the dismissal of the
62 Ibid, p-88. 63 C.H.Hanumantha Rao and S.Mahendra Dev(Eds.), Andhra Pradesh Development: Economic Reforms and Chalknges Ahead, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad, 2003, p-28. 64 C.V.Raghavulu and E.A.Narayana, ''Reforms in Panchayati Raj: A Comparative Analysis of Andhra Pradesh, Kamataka and West Bengal" in S.N.Jha and P.C.Mathur (Eds.), Decentralisation and Local Politics: Readings in Indian Government and Politics-2, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1999, pp-118-19.
218
Ministry in 1959.65 It has been rightly remarked that 'the history of decentralisation
in Kerala is a litany of frustrated efforts.'66Repeated attempts were made in 196 7,
1979 and 1980.67 In both the states there were many ups and downs and repeated
efforts were made to reform the system and make it more effective.
In Kerala a concrete move was made in 1987-1991 period when District Councils
were created under the Direct Administration Act; with 18 departments and 143
subjects being allotted to them. A high power Committee to suggest transfer of
further powers and a Finance Commission for devolution of funds were also
appointed. Elections were held in 1991 and the District Council System was put in
place.68The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment 1993 placed decentralisation
firmly on the agenda once again. However, this Act did not envisage any sort of
devolution of power from the centre to the states and then downwards. Kerala
and West Bengal had also made periodical elections to the local bodies mandatory
and ensured one-third reservation to the posts for women, even before the 73rd
and 74th Constitutional Amendment of 1993.69
The A.P. Panchayat Raj Act was passed in 1994, keeping in view the mam
objectives of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. The performance of Andhra
Pradesh so far in terms of concrete decentralisation or devolution to the local
bodies leaves much to be desired. In the functional domain, Andhra Pradesh
transferred functions in respect of 16 subjects of which 5 subjects with funds and
only 2 subjects with functionaries are transferred to local bodies. The performance
of the state in this respect is below that of states like Karnataka, Kerala and West 1 •
Bengal. The Panchayats have no financial autonomy either in raising financial
65 T.K.Balan, "Experience of District Councils in Kerala", Paper presented in Section on Decentralisation of · Governance and Development in International Congress on Kerala Studies, Abstracts, Vo/.4, .A.K.G.Centte for Research and Studies, Thiruvanathapuram, 27-29 August, 1994, p-127. 66T.M.Thomas Isaac and P.K.Michael Tharakan, ''Kerala-The Emerging Perspectives: Overview of the International Congress on Kerala Studies", Social Scientist, Vol.23, Nos.l-3,January-March, 1995, p-20. 67 Op.Cit, T.K.Balan, 1994, p-127. 68 Op.Cit, T.M.Thomas Isaac and P.K.Michael Tharakan, 1995, p-20. 69Gita Mathew and Jose George, "The Panchayats and the Municipalities Act, 1993 and the State of Local Governments in Kerala", Paper presented in Section on Decentralisation of Governance and Dtvelopment in International Congress on Kerala Studies, Abstracts, Vo/.4, A.K.G.Centre for Research and Studies, Thiruvanathapuram, 27-29 August, 1994,p-131.
219
resources or in deciding on the allocation of funds across different sectors. The
devolution of funds to Panchayats in A.P is much less than in Kerala where
around 40 percent of state Plan funds are allocated to local bodies. 70 It was with
such a background that the two states embarked on different models of local
development emerging out of ideologically opposed view points on development.
Kerala embarked on the People's Plan Programme known in popular parlance as
Janakeeyaasuthranam under the Left De~ocratic Front government headed by
E.K.Nayanar in 1996. The basic idea was to devolve about 40 percent of the Plan
outlay directly to the local self-governing institutions for projects and programmes
to be formulated and implemented at the local level. This entire exercise was
however, preceded by a popular People's Campaign for Decentralised Planning
with the immediate objective of empowering '10cal self-governments to prepare
plans in a transparent and participatory manner', while also successfully generating
popular pressure at the grassroots to 'bring about necessary institutional reforms
corresponding to the scale of devolution.'71This effort was different from the
World Bank model of decentralisation and had its origin way back in 1957 wherein
E.M.S.Namboodirippad proposed a system of 'democratic decentralisation'.
In the same decade the Andhra Pradesh government under the then Chief
Minister of the state, N.Chandrababu Naidu embarked on a World Bank directed
programme from the mid 1990s and this model promoted parallel institutions in
the form of a number of Community Based Organisations (CBOs), such as
J anmabhoomi Programme etc., which are entrusted with numerous functions
bypassing the Panchayat Raj Institutions. 72 Drawing from the experience of the
'Prajala Vaddakku Palana',73the government embarked on the Janmabhoomi
Project.. The government later released the Vision 2020: Swarnandhra Pradesh
70C.H.Hanumantha Rao and $.Mahendra Dev, "Economic Reforms and Challenges Ahead: An Overview'', Op.Cit, C.H.Hanumantha Rao and $.Mahendra Dev (Eds.), 2003, p-33. 71 T.M.Thomas Isaac and Richard Franke, Local Democrary and Development: People's Campaign and Decentralised Planning in K.erala, Left Word Publications, New Delhi, p-xi. 72 Op.Cit, C.H.Hanumantha Rao and $.Mahendra Dev, 2003, p-34. 73 It literally means taking the administration to the doorsteps of the people. It was a policy launched in November 1995.
220
Document on January 26, 1999 suggesting a long-term vision about the direction
and process of development for the state. Preceding the Vision 2020 Document, It
has been pointed out that political regimes in the era of liberalisation evolve
strategies to overcome the political compulsions that emerge with the
implementation of neo-liberal economic policiesJ4 The political compulsions may
be purely electoral or po!:'ular resistance and mass mobilisation against these
policies itself. The most proximate factor behind the J anmabhoomi Project was
this dilemma and the need of the regime for incorporating different sections of the
society into a loyal support base for the liberalisation process in its self. It was
neither in any way conditioned by any popular demand of the masses nor was it
guided by any consciousness to provide alternative strategies to the liberalisation
process which called for withdrawal of the state from social expenditure.
Our Survey in the two states brings out clearly the fact that in Andhra Pradesh the
Panchayats are superseded by bureaucracy and parallel institutions including
NGOs. The respondents in the state claimed that the Panchayats which were
active . about a decade ago have been rendered ineffective by the last government.
No palpable role in agriculture, employment generation and social service sector
was witnessed, while in Kerala the system was vibrant and ever since the People's
Planning experiment have taken up developmental activities, infrastructural
development, housing, sanitation, extension of subsidies to the peasantry,
procurement and storage facilities, encouragement of group farming and provision
of tractors, pump-sets etc at subsidised rate during the cultivation period.
It is with such a background of diverse trajectories of development in the two
states that we go into the central chapter of the thesis and test our hypothesis
based on the field survey details, which we have partially looked into in this
chapter. The impact of neo-liberal economic policies on the· peasantry in the two
states would be looked into in ci1e context of this background.
74 G.Krishna Reddy, "New Populism and Liberalisation: Regime Shift Unde.r Chandrababu Naidu in AP", Economic and Political Weekb•, March2, 2002, p-871.
221