Q.Distinguish between peasant and New Farmer’s movements.

Peasant movements and New Farmer's movements represent distinct phases and characteristics of agrarian struggles.

• Peasant movements primarily involved landless labourers, sharecroppers, and small and marginal farmers. Their demands centered on land reforms, abolition of feudal exploitation, reduction of rent, and security of tenure, often arising from issues of survival and basic rights. These movements frequently employed direct action against landlords and oppressive state structures. …

Agrarian movements in India have a long and complex history, reflecting the diverse socio-economic conditions of its rural population. While both peasant and New Farmer's movements address issues faced by those dependent on agriculture, they differ significantly in their participants, objectives, historical context, and methods. Understanding this distinction is crucial for grasping the evolution of agrarian politics in the country.

Peasant Movements

Historically, peasant movements largely emerged from the struggles of the rural poor, including landless labourers, sharecroppers, and small and marginal farmers. These movements were particularly prominent during the colonial period and the early decades after India's independence. Their core grievances stemmed from the exploitative feudal and semi-feudal structures prevalent in rural society.

The primary objectives of peasant movements were:

• Land Reform: Demanding the abolition of the zamindari system and other intermediary tenures, and advocating for the redistribution of land to the tillers.
• Security of Tenure: Seeking protection against arbitrary evictions and demanding secure rights over the land they cultivated.
• Reduction of Rent and Debt: Protesting against exorbitant rents charged by landlords and usurious interest rates imposed by moneylenders, often leading to perpetual indebtedness.
• Fair Wages: For agricultural labourers, the demand for better wages was a central concern.

These movements often adopted radical approaches, sometimes involving direct action, protests, and even violent uprisings, particularly when state intervention was slow or ineffective. Many were influenced by socialist and communist ideologies, aiming for fundamental structural changes in land ownership and power relations in rural areas. Examples include the Tebhaga movement in Bengal and the Telangana movement.

New Farmer's Movements

The emergence of New Farmer's movements marks a significant shift in the landscape of agrarian protests, largely occurring in the post-Green Revolution era, from the late 1970s onwards. These movements primarily represent the interests of relatively prosperous farmers, often those who benefited from the Green Revolution's technological advancements and became surplus producers. This class of farmers, sometimes referred to as 'bullock capitalists' or 'rich farmers', found themselves facing a new set of challenges related to market dynamics rather than feudal exploitation.

The key demands and characteristics of New Farmer's movements include:

• Better Prices for Agricultural Produce: Advocating for higher Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) and protesting against declining terms of trade for agriculture, where the prices of agricultural goods lagged behind industrial goods.
• Reduction in Input Costs: Demanding subsidies for essential agricultural inputs like fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, electricity, and irrigation.
• Debt Relief: Seeking waivers or restructuring of institutional loans from banks, rather than relief from private moneylenders. …