Urbanization and social change in rural India

Abstract

A major social transformation is reshaping rural India. New processes of urbanization are marked by steep declines in agricultural jobs, the restructuring of local economies, changing livelihoods, and the emergence of new forms of permanent circular labor migration. Our research suggests that this transformation has important social ramifications for household dynamics and class structures. We conducted a comprehensive geospatial analysis across 600,000 villages to illuminate the extensive spatial patterns of this transformation. Additionally, we collected primary data from two case-study sites in Bihar and West Bengal. Our findings indicate trends toward smaller household sizes and increased complexity in extended family organization, shifting the roles of women within households, and either a continuation (and possibly deepening) of class disparities or an upending of existing class structures. These observations deviate markedly from what is postulated in conventional Western urban theory, and they may be relevant to the urbanizing experiences of other parts of the Global South. In India alone, this transformation is affecting the livelihoods and well-being of hundreds of millions of people.