Contextualizing Land Question in a Green Revolution Area: Agrarian Transformation and Politics in Western Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

This chapter, mainly drawing upon the multiple rounds of field surveys by the author, seeks to address the land question with reference to two cases of land acquisition in western Uttar Pradesh. Specifically, it deals with the roles of stakeholders in the land question: farmers, political parties, civil society organizations, builders/entrepreneurs/corporate groups and the state. It argues that the notion of land during the neoliberal or post-green revolution period has changed. Unlike in the earlier period, now the farmers no longer feel emotionally or culturally attached to the land. They are no longer interested in farming or sticking to land. A farmer does not mind selling land provided he is given fair price and compensation, and the land is acquired with his consent.