{"id":3524,"date":"2026-08-11T22:11:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/green-revolution-land-reforms-and-agrarian-relations\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T02:57:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:27:46","slug":"green-revolution-land-reforms-and-agrarian-relations","status":"publish","type":"psir_note","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/green-revolution-land-reforms-and-agrarian-relations\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"n-wrap\">\n<div class=\"n-shell\">\n<div class=\"n-crumb\"><a href=\"\/psir\/psir-notes\/\">PSIR Notes<\/a><span class=\"sep\">\u203a<\/span><a href=\"\/psir\/psir-notes\/#i-b\">I-B Indian Government and Politics<\/a><span class=\"sep\">\u203a<\/span><span>Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations<\/span><\/div>\n<header class=\"n-head\">\n<div class=\"n-eyebrow\">Paper I \u00b7 Indian Government and Politics<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"n-title\">Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations<\/h1>\n<div class=\"n-syl\"><b>Syllabus \u00b7 Paper I-B \u00b7 8<\/b> \u2014 Planning and Economic development : Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives; Role of planning and public sector; <span class=\"cur\">Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations<\/span>; liberalization and economic reforms.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"n-grid\">\n  <main class=\"n-body\"><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"land-reforms-agrarian-transformation\">Land Reforms &amp; Agrarian Transformation<\/h3>\n<p>Central to social justice after Independence. <span class=\"n-term\"><span class=\"n-law\">Article 39<\/span>(b)<\/span> \u2014 material resources should serve the common good; <span class=\"n-term\"><span class=\"n-law\">Article 39<\/span>(c)<\/span> \u2014 the economy must not concentrate wealth and means of production. Land was never only production \u2014 it carried social status, caste power, livelihood security and political influence.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Constitutional amendments &amp; the <span class=\"n-law\">Ninth Schedule<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"n-tw\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Amendment<\/th>\n<th>What it did<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>First Amendment, 1951<\/td>\n<td>Amended Art 31; added Art 31A &amp; 31B; created the <span class=\"n-term\"><span class=\"n-law\">Ninth Schedule<\/span><\/span>; protected 13 state land-reform laws<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Fourth Amendment, 1955<\/td>\n<td>Substituted a more elaborate Art 31A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Seventeenth Amendment, 1964<\/td>\n<td>Protected acquisition of estates; personal-cultivation land needed compensation not below market value within ceiling limits<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Seventy-Eighth Amendment, 1995<\/td>\n<td>Added 27 state land-reform laws to the <span class=\"n-law\">Ninth Schedule<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Forty-Fourth Amendment<\/td>\n<td>Removed the right to property as a Fundamental Right<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Cases \u2014 <em>Shankari Prasad v. Union of India<\/em> upheld the First Amendment; <em>State of Bihar v. Kameshwar Singh<\/em> read Bihar land reform as consistent with Directive Principles and social justice.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">The four instruments<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Abolition of zamindari<\/span> \u2014 bills in UP, MP, Bihar, Madras, Assam; around <span class=\"n-term\">20 million<\/span> tenants became landowners; rural power shifted from feudal landlords to independent cultivators.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Tenancy reform<\/span> \u2014 security of tenure, fair rent (about one-fourth to one-sixth of produce), ownership; but most tenancies were oral, so tenants could not prove rights and tenancy went underground. West Bengal\u2019s <span class=\"n-term\">Operation Barga, 1978<\/span> registered around <span class=\"n-term\">1.5 million<\/span> sharecroppers.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Ceiling laws<\/span> \u2014 failed through high ceilings, the individual (not family) as unit, benami transfers, exemptions and litigation. The <span class=\"n-term\">National Guidelines, 1970<\/span> lowered ceilings, made the family the unit and gave SCs\/STs priority in surplus distribution.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Cooperatives<\/span> \u2014 the <span class=\"n-term\">Kumarappa Committee, 1949<\/span> backed cooperation; the <span class=\"n-term\">1959 Nagpur Resolution<\/span> pushed cooperative farming but shrank to pilots under pressure. <span class=\"n-sch\">N.G. Ranga<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">C. Rajagopalachari<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Charan Singh<\/span> feared coercive collectivisation; bogus cooperatives helped landowners evade ceilings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThe abolition of intermediaries transformed agrarian relations by shifting the locus of rural power from feudal landlords to market oriented independent cultivators \u2026 marginal tenants, dwarf holders, and agricultural labourers did not benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Lloyd I. Rudolph &amp; Susanne Hoeber Rudolph<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Bhoodan, Gramdan &amp; the state cases<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-sch\">Acharya Vinoba Bhave<\/span> \u2014 <span class=\"n-term\">Bhoodan<\/span> (April 1951, from Pochampali, Telangana) used Gandhian moral persuasion for land donation; <span class=\"n-term\">Gramdan<\/span> (1955, \u201call land belongs to God\u201d) worked better in tribal communities but declined by the 1960s. <span class=\"n-term\">Kerala<\/span> (<span class=\"n-law\">Land Reforms Amended Act, 1969<\/span>) \u2014 about 2.8 million tenants gained ownership over 600,000 hectares. <span class=\"n-term\">West Bengal<\/span> (1977\u20132011) \u2014 about 205,444 hectares redistributed among 2,102,529 individuals, backed by CPI(M) networks.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Why land reform underperformed<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p>\u201ca planned and institutional reorganisation of the relation between man and land.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Gunnar Myrdal (defining land reform)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Reasons \u2014 land is a State subject (uneven implementation), weak political will, dominance of landowning classes, poor records, oral tenancy, loopholes and exemptions, corruption, litigation, benami transfers, caste\/religion divisions and the post-LPG decline of the agenda.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Bina Agarwal<\/span> \u2014 lack of political will and elite obstruction; <span class=\"n-sch\">M.S. Swaminathan<\/span> \u2014 outdated, inaccurate records; <span class=\"n-sch\">Pranab Bardhan<\/span> \u2014 done well, reform can cut poverty and raise output.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Atul Kohli<\/span> \u2014 the state lacked capacity to confront propertied classes; <span class=\"n-sch\">Daniel Thorner<\/span> \u2014 massive legislation, limited grassroots change; <span class=\"n-sch\">Ashutosh Varshney<\/span> \u2014 Kerala\/WB success came from strong movements and grassroots mobilisation.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-sch\">Klaus Deininger<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Hari K. Nagarajan<\/span> \u2014 poor implementation hurts productive agriculture and leasing; <span class=\"n-sch\">Utsa Patnaik<\/span> \u2014 poverty and food insecurity; <span class=\"n-sch\">Hamza Alvi<\/span>\u2019s \u201coverdeveloped state\u201d applies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2025 \u00b7 10m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Land reforms programmes led to some constitutional amendments. Comment.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/land-reforms-programmes-led-to-some-constitutional-amendments-upsc-psir-2025-2312\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2016 \u00b7 20m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Land reforms have failed in the eradication of rural poverty. Comment.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/land-reforms-have-failed-in-the-eradication-of-rural-poverty-upsc-psir-2016-2301\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"green-revolution-agrarian-crisis\">Green Revolution &amp; Agrarian Crisis<\/h3>\n<p>Agricultural modernisation through HYV seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, tractors, tube wells, assured prices, institutional credit and public investment \u2014 a response to food shortages, PL480 imports and fear of famine. It began in the 1960s via the <span class=\"n-term\">IADP<\/span> and later <span class=\"n-term\">IAAP<\/span>, supported by the <span class=\"n-term\">Agricultural Prices Commission (1965)<\/span>. Leaders \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Lal Bahadur Shastri<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">C. Subramaniam<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">Indira Gandhi<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">M.S. Swaminathan<\/span>, with <span class=\"n-sch\">Norman Borlaug<\/span>\u2019s wider influence. It turned India from \u201cBegging bowl\u201d to \u201cGrain bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Food-grain output rose from <span class=\"n-term\">82 mt (1960\u201361)<\/span> to <span class=\"n-term\">264 mt (2013\u201314)<\/span>; later estimates place it at <span class=\"n-term\">329.69 mt (2022\u201323)<\/span>. India became self-sufficient and a net supplier by the 1980s.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Social, economic &amp; ecological costs<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Regional imbalance<\/span> \u2014 Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and parts of Tamil Nadu gained; the East, Deccan and rainfed areas lagged. <span class=\"n-sch\">G.S. Bhalla<\/span> \u2014 benefits later spread, but early inequality mattered.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Class inequality<\/span> \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Daniel Thorner<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Wolf Ladejinsky<\/span>: rich farmers gained most. <span class=\"n-sch\">Francine R. Frankel<\/span> (<em>India\u2019s Green Revolution: Economic Gains and Political Costs<\/em>) \u2014 gains carried social tension. <span class=\"n-sch\">V.K.R.V. Rao<\/span> \u2014 widening rich\u2013poor gap, rising indebtedness, some land loss, reversal of land-reform gains.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Labour<\/span> \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">G.S. Bhalla<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">G.K. Chadha<\/span>: wages and bargaining power rose. <span class=\"n-sch\">G.S. Grewal<\/span> \u2014 food-price inflation offset gains; migrant labour from Bihar\/UP weakened local bargaining; women bore more burden.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"n-lab\">Environment<\/span> \u2014 groundwater depletion, waterlogging, salinity, soil-fertility decline, pesticide pollution, monoculture, pest resurgence. <span class=\"n-sch\">Vandana Shiva<\/span> (<em>Violence of Green Revolution<\/em>) \u2014 the model\u2019s ecological and social cost. <span class=\"n-sch\">T.N. Khoshoo<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">Ashok Gulati<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Utsa Patnaik<\/span> warned on sustainability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p>\u201cEver-Green Revolution \u2014 productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>M.S. Swaminathan<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Political fallout<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">How the Green Revolution reshaped politics.<\/span> <span class=\"n-term\">Green Revolution<\/span> (HYV + assured prices) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">\u201cBullock capitalists\u201d<\/span> (new rich-farmer class) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">Backward-caste assertion<\/span> (+ farmer unions) \u2192 <span class=\"n-term\">Common \u2192 Demand Polity<\/span> (Congress decline, regional parties). <em>Farmer unions: Bharatiya Kranti Dal (Charan Singh) \u00b7 BKU \u00b7 Shetkari Sangathan \u00b7 Karnataka Rajya Ryot Sangha<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-sch\">Lloyd I. Rudolph<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Susanne Hoeber Rudolph<\/span> named rich farmers \u201cbullock capitalists\u201d and traced India\u2019s move from \u201cCommon Polity\u201d to \u201cDemand Polity.\u201d Rising groups \u2014 Jats, Yadavs, Lodhs, Gujars, Kurmis, Marathas, Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Reddys, Kammas. <span class=\"n-sch\">Yogendra Yadav<\/span> \u2014 the \u201cfirst democratic upsurge\u201d; <span class=\"n-sch\">Aditya Dasgupta<\/span> \u2014 class differentiation, farmer movements, decline of the Congress system; <span class=\"n-sch\">Christopher Jaffrelot<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">Louise Tillin<\/span> \u2014 regional consciousness and federalisation; <span class=\"n-sch\">Zoya Hasan<\/span> \u2014 communalism in some contexts.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p>\u201cfailure of land reforms could convert the Green Revolution into a RED REVOLUTION.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>K.R. Narayanan<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Need for a Second Green Revolution<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Productivity has stagnated; ecological costs are severe; water scarcity and climate change threaten farming; rainfed areas and Eastern India were left behind; small farmers remain vulnerable; farming is no longer sufficiently profitable.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"n-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThe green revolution that made the nation self-sufficient in food grains has run its course \u2026 a second green revolution that maximises productivity and generates income and employment \u2026 is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Pratibha Patil<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Eastern India \u00b7 Rainfed &amp; dryland \u00b7 Micro-irrigation \u00b7 Climate-resilient crops \u00b7 Diversification \u00b7 Organic &amp; conservation agriculture \u00b7 C2+50% MSP<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"n-sch\">Ramesh Chand<\/span> \u2014 power\/fertiliser price distortions; <span class=\"n-sch\">Tushaar Shah<\/span> \u2014 micro-irrigation and water management; <span class=\"n-sch\">Ashok Gulati<\/span> \u2014 market reform, supply chains, price support; <span class=\"n-sch\">Vandana Shiva<\/span> \u2014 agroecology.<\/p>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2017 \u00b7 15m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">What do you understand by Green Revolution? Do you think that a Second Green Revolution is needed to adequately address the agrarian challenges in contemporary India? Examine.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/what-do-you-understand-by-green-revolution-do-you-think-that-a-upsc-psir-2017-2303\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2019 \u00b7 15m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">What has been the political fallout of the Green Revolution in India? Explain.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"n-term\">Agrarian crisis today<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Visible in farmer suicides, Nashik\u2013Mumbai and Delhi marches, distress sales, indebtedness, migration and protests over MSP and farm laws. <span class=\"n-sch\">D.N. Dhanagare<\/span> \u2014 farmers moved from landlord dependence to <span class=\"n-term\">market dependence<\/span>, unregulated by the state; <span class=\"n-sch\">P. Sainath<\/span> \u2014 neoliberal macro-policy and corporate input costs; <span class=\"n-sch\">Ashok Gulati<\/span> \u2014 farmers often get as little as <span class=\"n-term\">25%<\/span> of the final consumer price; <span class=\"n-sch\">M.S. Swaminathan<\/span> \u2014 procurement, PDS and C2+50% MSP. Weak mobilisation \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Atul Kohli<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">Ashutosh Varshney<\/span>, <span class=\"n-sch\">Pranab Bardhan<\/span>; urban bias \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Charan Singh<\/span>; anti-WTO critique \u2014 <span class=\"n-sch\">Mahendra Singh Tikait<\/span> and <span class=\"n-sch\">M.D. Nanjundaswamy<\/span>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2018 \u00b7 20m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Examine the various causes of agrarian crisis in India.<\/span><a class=\"n-pyq-a\" href=\"\/psir\/psir-pyq\/examine-the-various-causes-of-agrarian-crisis-in-india-upsc-psir-2018-2304\/\">Answer<\/a><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"fourteenth-finance-commission-agriculture\">Fourteenth Finance Commission &amp; Agriculture<\/h3>\n<p>The Finance Commission (<span class=\"n-term\"><span class=\"n-law\">Article 280<\/span><\/span>) reviews Union\u2013state finances, recommends tax devolution, distributes grants and augments resources of Panchayats and Municipalities. The <span class=\"n-term\">Fourteenth FC<\/span> \u2014 chaired by <span class=\"n-term\">Y.V. Reddy<\/span>, report tabled 24 February 2015 \u2014 raised the states\u2019 share of the divisible pool from <span class=\"n-term\">32% to 42%<\/span>, deepening fiscal autonomy and automatic transfers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"n-tw\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Devolution criterion<\/th>\n<th>Weight<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Income distance<\/td>\n<td>50%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1971 population<\/td>\n<td>17.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Area (2% floor for smaller states)<\/td>\n<td>15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2011 population<\/td>\n<td>10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Forest cover<\/td>\n<td>7.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Agriculture gained indirectly \u2014 untied funds and fiscal space let states design their own policies for irrigation, research, rainfed and watershed development, drought-proofing, livestock, APMC market reform, post-harvest storage and cold chains, credit, financial inclusion and crop insurance. Impact depended on whether states used the space for agriculture.<\/p>\n<div class=\"n-pyq\"><span class=\"n-pyq-chip\">UPSC 2022 \u00b7 15m<\/span><span class=\"n-pyq-q\">Discuss the policy initiatives of the Fourteenth Finance Commission aimed towards promoting and strengthening agricultural development in India.<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"n-next\"><a href=\"\/psir\/notes\/role-of-planning-and-public-sector\/\"><em>Previous<\/em><b>Role of planning and public sector<\/b><\/a><a class=\"r\" href=\"\/psir\/notes\/liberalization-and-economic-reforms\/\"><em>Next<\/em><b>Liberalization and economic reforms<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/p>\n<aside class=\"n-rail\">\n<h4>On this page<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"#land-reforms-agrarian-transformation\">Land Reforms &amp; Agrarian Transformation<\/a><a href=\"#green-revolution-agrarian-crisis\">Green Revolution &amp; Agrarian Crisis<\/a><a href=\"#fourteenth-finance-commission-agriculture\">Fourteenth Finance Commission &amp; Agriculture<\/a><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations for the UPSC PSIR optional \u2014 PSIR Notes \u203a I-B Indian Government and Politics \u203a Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian rel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"fx_note_key":"I-B.8.3","fx_note_sec":"I-B","fx_note_point":"8","fx_note_desc":"Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations for the UPSC PSIR optional \u2014 PSIR Notes \u203a I-B Indian Government and Politics \u203a Green Revolution, land reforms and agrarian rel","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3524","psir_note","type-psir_note","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_note"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3833,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_note\/3524\/revisions\/3833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}