New Agro-Technology and Traditional Rural Family and Rural Power Structure: A Case Study from Odisha

TLDR: In this article, the impact of new agro technology on the rural social institutions with reference to traditional rural family and power structure in Orissa has been analyzed and the authors have explored the changing socio-political structure of the rural society.

Abstract: Agriculture holds a pivotal place in the economy of Orissa in terms of both income and employment around which economic privileges and deprivations revolve. For the people of Orissa agriculture is not merely a means of livelihood but a way of life. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyse the impact of new agro technology on the rural social institutions with reference to traditional rural family and power structure in Orissa.The study intend to explore the changing socio-political structure of the rural society. It seems that the agro technology along with other factors like education, westernization and modernization has led not only to an increasing productivity, but also brought about a fundamental change in the structure and function of rural family power structure. The study also revealed that the agro technology raised the class feeling weakening the traditional caste feeling in the village. Orissa, the tenth largest and eleventh most populous state of India, occupies 5 % of the geographical area (1.56 lakh sqk.m.) and 4% of the population (3.67 crore) of the country (2001 census). Orissa is primarily a rural state. Nearly 87% of the population of the state live rural areas as per the 1991 census. Agriculture is the main economic activity of nearly 72% of the population. They depend on agriculture for their livelihood and employment. Compared to secondary and tertiary sectores, agriculture contributes a sizeable portion of income that is 28.54 % towards the composition of the State Domestic Product (2001 census). So, for the people of Orissa, agriculture is not merely a means of livelihood but as way of life. Hence, any change in the field of agriculture affects the agrarian social structure or agro based rural social institutions. Since the very inception of First Five Year Plan, huge efforts are being made by the Government of Orissa to reshape agriculture through large-scale irrigation, mechanization, land reform measures and other infrastructural development. The Government has implemented different policies and plans like Orissa Estate Abolition Act 1951, Orissa Land Reform Act 1960, Consolidation of Land Holding and the Prevention of Fragmentation of Land Act, 1972, State Agricultural Policy, 1996, Biju Krisak Yojana 2000, Panipanchayat 2001, etc., to create a progressive rural society on the one hand, and to maximize agricultural production on the other. Though the changes in agricultural policies and technology have influenced many rural social institutions and agrarian social structure, especially after 1970s, the mainstream sociological and anthropological literature did not reflect on this to the extent needed. However, some of the social anthropologists like Beteille (1974) and Frankel (1971) have focused on the changing situation of agrarian social structure after the advent of Green Revolution, but their study is confined to some of the states. Even in the case of Orissa, some social anthropologists like Panda (1979) and Mohanty (2000) have done some studies on agrarian relations in the contest of Green Revolution, but their study is not so comprehensive and is also confined to Western Orissa only. The present paper is a modest attempt to see how technological changes in agriculture have their impact on rural social institutions, particularly on traditional family and power structure in coastal Orissa. Methodology: This paper is based on the data collected from Jagdalpur village of Bhadrak district in Orissa by means of case studies, interviews and participant observation of everyday life and practices of the villagers. Quantitative information with regard to the technological development, land holding, demographic aspects, cropping patterns, irrigation systems were collected by using household schedules and District statistical hand book. Data concerning agrarian relations and the economic development of the village were recollected from each and every household. Location and People: Jagdalpur is situated in the Jagdalpur Panchayat of Bhadrak block in Bhadrak district, about 10 kilometres from district head quarters. It is a multi jati village inhabited by 10 jatis. Two of thesethe Brahmin, Khandayat-belong to forward jati category. Six of these -the Gouda, Kumbhar, Kamar, Bania, Barik, Tanti are backward jati. The remaining twobelongs to schedule jati category that are Dhoba and Pana. Although the Pana are numerically highest among the 10 jatis, the Khandayat play a dominant role both economically and politically. The total population is 639 formed by 102 families. Coming to the land holding pattern of the village it is seen that, out of 102 households, 72 households (70.5%) own land. Among the landless jati 63.33% are pana. Most of the landowners come under the category of 0-1 and 2.5-5 acre. Whereas 33 households have less than 3 acres of land, 9 households enjoy the status of owning more than 10 acres of land. The Brahmin and the Khandayat constitute 27% of the total population and acquire 58.2% of total land. The pana, who constitute 25% the total population, posses 3.5% of the total land. The village Jagadalpur is one of the agriculturally advanced villages of Bhadrak district served by the Salandi canal. The main crops grown are paddy, mustard, black and green gram. Along with efficient water management, the use of HYV, chemical fertiliser and machines have accelerated their desire to cultivate more and more cash crops rather than subsistence crops. There are 2 tractors, 2 power tillers, 20 water pumps, 25 wooden plough, 30 sprayers, 59 pairs bullocks and 68 threshing machines out of which 30 electric machines and rests are manual. Traditional family and its changing situations: Family, which is a primary social group, is universally recognised to be the basis of all human endeavours and activities. The concept of family is been found to exist since time immemorial and at all levels of human cultures. However, it has been believed that it would be impossible to conceive progress of man without a family organisation. In social sciences, especially in the field of Anthropology, Westermarck (1891) was the first scholar to emphasize on the supremacy of family. His book “The History of Human Marriage” aroused great interest among the scholars and social scientists about the concepts of marriage and family. The concept of the joint nuclear dichotomy of family is usually based on the mode of family organisation. While the nuclear family is defined as a group consisting of spouses and their unmarried children, the joint family is defined as the nuclear family along with all the kin belonging to either side of the spouses living in one home. Joint family is one of the most important pillars, upon which, the entire Hindu society is based. It is an age-old system, which is deeply rooted in traditional Hindu culture. Different scholars have defined joint family in different times. According to Irawati Karve, “A joint family is a group of people who generally live under one roof, who eat food cooked at common hearth, who hold property in common and who participate in common worship and are related to each other as some particular type of kindred”(1953:10). The joint family system originated in India when the society was agrarian in its character, and acted as a stabilising factor as long as the societal processes remained operative in the agriculture based society. These agro-based families were dependant on their family labourers for their agricultural operation, for which they were staying together under a common roof. But when, along with industrialisation, higher education, urbanisation, and the modernizing process in agriculture entered into the contemporary society, the need for joint family living was gradually felt less (Desai 1961;Mazumdar 1962;Beteille 1964;Wiser 1965;Venkatarayappa 1973;Sharma 1975 and Gupta 1979). However, some of them feel that this is dispersal and not disappearance of joint family altogether (Beteille 1964;Singh 1973;Singh 1984;Mandelbaum 1970). Changes in the structure of the families: Before the advent of new technology in agriculture the family system in Jagdalpur village was predominantly joint in nature. During early 80’s, out of 69 families, 41 were joint in nature? (Table: 1). During 80’s the introduction of mechanization of agriculture in the form of tractor, power tiller and thresher, etc. displaced most of the agricultural labourers from their occupation. This displacement compelled most of the agricultural labourers to leave their joint families and village communities. During early 90’s, 3 agricultural labourers migrated along with their wives and children, while 12 labourers temporarily migrated. The manpower released out of this agriculture found employment in the industrial centres scattered over many distant places in India. Since a joint family cannot always be maintained in the towns or cities, because of high cost of urban living and problem of accommodation, these migrated labourers started to live with their wives and unmarried children, leaving their parents at village alone. This labour migration of young earning members of the family brought a social tension among the rest of the family members in the village. In course of time, this displacement of family members reduced their emotional attachment with other family members and leads to the formation of nuclear families. The family structure of the Badhei (carpenter) was not away from the impact of technological change in agriculture. Due to the introduction of tractor, the Badhei of the village have lost their traditional occupation and gradually moved to the industrial and urban canters in search of employment. In all the 2 Badhei families, except the old man, other youths are working in city. These factors brought about the disintegration of joint family. Before the onset of multi-cropping system, all the members of the family were free to sit together after their dinner. This