CHAPTER II

AGRARIAN CHANGE AND MOBILISATION IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH: EMERGENCE OF THE BHARTIYA KISAN UNION

The farmers movement led by the Bhartiya Kisan Union

(BKU) in western Uttar Pradesh (UP) is in many ways similar

to the movements in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and

Punjab. The BKU raised the same issues and had similar

goals. Moreover western UP, like the other parts of the

country, where farmers were mobilised through agitational

politics, is an area where commercialisation and capitalism

was first to penetrate agriculture. But the Upper Doab

region of western UP, had specific economic, social, and

political conditions, which shaped the nature and character

of the farmers movement in western UP.

Uttar Pradesh (UP), with 16.44 per cent of India's

population, 1 sends the largest number of members of Parlia-

ment (85), thus exercising a decisive role in the formation

of government at the centre. Geography alone assures its

position as the agricultural heartland. UP comprises almost

half the Gangetic plain, one of the most fertile tracts in

the world. Economically the state is backward, 82.1 per cent

of the population lives in rural areas. With a slow space

56

NAP s:r

LOCATION- MAP Of WESTERN UTTAR

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PRADESH

of industrial development, the state is predominantly de-

pendent on agriculture. In agro-economic terms, UP can be

divided into 5 regions: (i) the northern hills, (ii) western

UP, (iii) central UP, (iv) Bundelkhand and (v) eastern UP. 2

The 19 districts of western UP, (see map 2.1) is economical-

ly and agriculturally the most advanced region, followed by

the central and eastern districts, the hill districts and

finally Bundelkhand.

TABLB 2.1: RBGIONWISK SOMK KCONOMIC INDICATORS OF UP

Region Per Capita Cropping % of Net Fertilizer % of Wor- Per Capita No. of % of Ble- Per Capi-

Gross Va- Intensity Irriga- used per kers in Value of Persons ctricity ta elec-

lue of Ag- 1983-84 tion Area Hect. of Agricul- Industrial per lakh used in tricity

ricultural Sown Cropped ture to Production of popu- Agricul- consumed

Produce 1983-84 Area (kg) Total 1982-83 lation in ture to (KHW)

1982-83 Workers Reg. Fac- Total 1982-83

(1981) tories Blectri-

1982-83 city used

1982-83

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Eastern 635 146.59 54.59 65.85 79.1 272.43 281 24.97 100.90

Hill 851 160.36 29.53 46.20 69.2 344.41 421 6.82 105.35

Bundelkhand 901 112.14 24.41 18.95 78.3 133.94 188 33.82 35.15

Western 920 152.79 75.52 80.02 69.1 917.36 932 42.58 112.30

Central 709 141.58 51.84 61.96 75.7 528.26 733 13.05 103.73

UP 772 144.76 57.18 65.63 74.5 542.90 594 29.03 102.12

Source: Kripa Shankar, UP in Statistics, Ashish Pub. House, 1987: 56, Table 30.

57

Table 2.I shows that by 1982-83, western UP had the

highest cropping intensity, (152.79), highest percentage of

net irrigated area to net sown area (75.52), highest per­

capita gross value of agricultural produce (Rs.152.79) and

lowest percentage of workers dependent on agriculture

(69.1). As compared to the other regions of UP it was far

ahead in industrial production, with the highest per-capita

value of industrial production (Rs.917.36), and with highest

number of persons per-lakh of population working in regis­

tered factories (932) . But within western UP, the Upper Doab

region consisting of districts, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar,

Meerut, Gaziabad, Bulandsahar, parts of Aligarh, Mathura,

Bijnore and Moradabad, 3 had a different agrarian, social,

economic and political conditions which played an important

role in the mobilisation of the farmers in late 1980's.

Western UP, before the Mughal rule was marked by

instability and conflict. The Upper Doab was settled by Jat

peasant communities. 4 M.C. Pradhan found that these peasant

communities expanded its territory during the 14th century

by capturing villages held by Muslims. Quite often they

even purchased the entire village. 5 The Upper Doab during

this time had low agricultural yields and low population

58

density conditions. It was drier, less secure tract, with

considerable extensive rather than intensive cultivation.

These conditions were largely responsible for the growth of

peasant proprietors, 6 who cultivated their own land under a

system of bhaiyachara tenure. It was a system where customs

(chara) was observed by a community (bhia) for the manage-

ment and distribution of land. 7 The bhaiyachara communities

colonised an area after capturing or purchasing it. The

area colonised was equally divided among the members of the

bhaiyachara community. They divided this area into groups

(khaps) of 84 villages, 42 villages, 32, 25, 12 or 8 vil-

lages. There was a hereditary headman of a khap (clan)

called Chaudhary. 8

The increase in the number of descendents and cessation

of colonisation led to the division of the bhaiyachara

villages into thoks (maximal lineage) Likewise land was

equally divided into thoks and within the thok it was fur­

ther divided into equal shares among peasants inhabiting a

thok. 9 But the land was not owned communally in the bhaiya­

chara villages. Under this system the peasants had individ-

ual and hereditary rights on the land. Land could be sold

only within a patti or thok. The right to alienation did

59

not exist outside the patti or thok. 10

This system to some extent was also adopted by other

cultivating castes holding land in the area, i.e., Gujjars,

Tyagis, and Jat Muslims, which is evident from the fact that

even today all the khap chaudries, of Balyan khap are based

in Sisauli (Muzaffarnagar) . 11 Jats, Gujjars, Tyagis and

Muslims therefore in this period consolidated and spread

their control on land in the Upper Doab region.

With the establishment of the Mughal rule, relations

between the central authority and these village communities

was regularised. Many village councils of the Upper Doab

received charters recognising their authority in village

affairs and entrusting them with the collection of

revenue. 12 The choudharies were entrusted with these re-

sponsibilities. The bhaiyachara system of land tenure did

not allow these chaudaries to enhance their personal wealth

and become a landlord class. Unlike eastern UP local lords

and zamindars were not a norm among these more egalitarian

peasant communities of the Upper Doab. The higher echelons

of jagirdars and mansabdars were subject to periodic trans­

fers and reappointments, preventing them from establishing

feudal proprietary rights over any area. 13

60

When Upper Doab came under the control of the British

in early 19th century, land was settled (during early set­

tlements) with the primary zamindars, ignoring the claims of

the local rajas and jagirdars. 14 Hence, a cohesive and

aristocratic class with large estates could not develop in

the Upper Doab. Even the agricultural condition (low pro-

duction and yields) in the western districts were not condu­

cive to the entrenchment of a strong parasitic landlord

class. 15

On the contrary, the eastern region was agriculturally

secure. Founded upon rch soil, reliable rainfall and easily

utilised groundwater, great commercial centres came up along

the river routes. To name a few Benaras, Mirzapur and

Azamgarh were among the prominent trading centres. Along-

with rice, sugarcane, indigo, cotton and opium were the cash

crops. 16 A large number of local zamindars, mainly Rajputs,

Brahmins, and Bhumihars controlled a large area of land.

They remained a petty landlord class, driven close to the

soil but still continuing to exploit it through lower caste

sub-tenants and bonded labourers.

The notion of alienable private property in land was

introduced by colonial laws in the early 19th century.

61

Along with this, high revenue demands from the British

government forced many Upper Doab peasant proprietors to

sell their proprietary rights and cultivate their ancestral

fields as tenants. This enabled the rural elite to profit

from the hardships of the cultivators and few large estates

were established, i.e., the Jat raja of Kuchesar in Meerut

district, the Landhaurah raja in Saharanpur, the Jansath

Sayyids in Muzaffarnagar etc. 17 The peasant proprietors

though under pressure was not completely uprooted, they

retained a capacity for resistance. Their discontent soon

found expression in the mutiny of 1857, when the Jat peas­

ants of Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Saharanpur revolted

against the British. 1 8

The post-mutiny years saw a sharp rise in the fortune

of peasant cultivators and a corresponding decline in the

importance of rural elite in the Upper Doab. The British

constructed several gigantic canal systems in the drier

western part of UP. These include the upper Ganga canal

(1864-65), lower Ganga canal (1877-78), eastern Yamuna canal

(1878) and Agra canal (1877-78) 19 . State investment in the

form of canal irrigation facilitated higher productivity

through concentration upon cash crop production in the

62

western districts, especially sugarcane and wheat. The

cropping pattern shown in table 2.2 reveals that the eastern

districts grew largely food crops. Compared with Meerut and

Muzaffarnagar they grew less than half the area of sugarcane

(with the exception of Gorakhpur), a quarter or less of the

area of wheat, no cotton and only one or two districts grew

a significant area of oilseed. Ian Stone found that moving

down the Doab the proportion of the cash crops undoubtedly

diminished. 20

Table 2.2: Comparison of Crop Patterns in the eastern and Western UP: averages of 1908-9/1909-10 crop areas in respresentative districts in percentage of net culivated area

Major Crops Western Districts Eastern Districts

Muzaffarnagar Meerut Benaras Gorakhpur

Rice 6 2 25 42 Wheat 34 30 7 13 Barley 5 7 23 18 Gram 13 13 10 6 Other Foodgrains 20 24 35 36 Sugarcane Cotton Oil seeds

Source:

11 10 4 4 4 8

5

Returns of the Agricultural Statistics of British India 1905-6/1909-10. Cited in Ian Stone, Canal Irrigation in nological change 1984) 1 p.282.

India: Prospectives as tech­in ~ peasant economy (Cambridge,

63

This change in cropping pattern in the western dis­

tricts due to canal irrigation and more intensive cultiva­

tion allowed the expansion of commercialisation of agricul-

ture in the Upper Doab. At the same time the introduction

of railways in 1870s in western UP widened the market for

gur, cotton and wheat. Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Shamli,

Deoband, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Hathras etc. developed

into major wheat mandis (markets), whereas Baghpat, Khekra,

and Dankaur emerged as gur and shakar markets. 21

It was the peasant proprietors of the bhaiyachara vil­

lages, who because of their community solidarity, were the

first to receive the largest share of the canal water. The

railways and the market system further created a situation

of labour scarcity. This helped to maintain the tradition

of family labour among the peasant proprietors, which could

bring highest returns in agriculture. The agricultural

dynamism of western UP, consolidated the position of the

peasant proprietors of the Upper Doab.

The eastern districts had no canal system. Moreover

because of the zamindari system of land-tenure, sub­

infudation, subdivision and fragmentation of land, there

emerged a large class of tenants. The British had in fact

64

created categories of protected occupancy and sub­

proprietary tenants in the pre-mutiny years. But after 1857

the colonial administration brought several tenancy laws

into force which severely curtailed landlord rights to

increase rents and guaranted a substantial pattern of ten­

ants with almost unassailable and heritable security and

tenure. This process began with the North-western Provinces

Act XII of 1881, which prevented landlords from purchasing

tenants rights of occupancy. While Act XIV of 1886 permit-

ted accrual of occupancy rights even when a tenant moved

from one plot to another, the Oudh Rent Act XXII fixed the

rent for every seven years. Then followed in succession,

the Western Provinces Tenancy Act of 1901 (similar in con­

tent to the Oudh Rent Act) and the Agra Rent Act of 1926,

culminating ultimately in the UP Tenancy Act of 1939 which

provided the background for zamindari abolition in the post­

independence period. 22

These laws failed to strengthen the tenants of the

central and eastern UP, but were successful in the Upper

Doab region. We have already seen that the essence of

bhaiyachara tenure was the exclusion of landlords forms

within the village or neighbourhood community. Theoretical­

ly, the bhaiyachara tenure admits no tributary tenant or

65

quasi-tenant body, and the proprietor and cultivators are

identical. But few Rajputs, Pathans and Sayyids, being too

indolent and proud to cultivate themselves inclined towards

pattidari tenures. Thus, when Henry Elliot settled Meerut

in the mid 1830s, he found few tenants in the western dis-

tricts. In Saharanpur, for instance in 1870, there was

hardly any distinction between the rent paying tenant and

the revenue paying proprietor. 23 This was because apart from

the legal protection the tenants of the Upper Doab enjoyed

their communal solidarity. In fact the Jat cultivators were

able to extend their control over rented land in a manner

that approximated proprietorship. Ian Stone cites the case

of Gujjar communities of tehsil Budhana and Rajput tenants

of Khatauli (Muzaffarnagar), the former withstanding the

attempts of their new landlords to raise prevailing rents,

while the latter restricted competition for village lands by

not allowing tenants of other villages to cultivate there.

Even on the great Kuchesar estate a settlement official

found the occupancy tenant community referring his occupancy

land as hamare (ours) . 24

Towards the end of British rule and even before zamind­

ari abolition there was a substantial number of medium and

66

small peasant proprietors in the Upper Doab region, who paid

a substantial amount of revenue. In Meerut there were 26

zamindars with only 8 per cent of the area, paying revenue

more than Rs.500 annually. In Saharanpur, there were only 5

zamindars and in Muzaffarpur only 7 had been paying more

than Rs.5oo 25 . In Upper Doab middle and small cultivators,

were of middle castes, i.e., Jats, Gujars, Tyagis, and Jat

Muslims, 36 per cent owned holdings of 5 to 25 acres and 18

per cent of the area, while another 13 per cent farms of 25

acre and more and 13 per cent of the ara. 26 But the middle

caste/class, i.e., Yadavs, Kurmis, Koeris, Kachis and Lodhs

of other parts of UP remained tenants who could not manage

to ensure a surplus from their crops because of rising rents

and other exactions, by the landlords. The lower caste

tenants had neither a security of tenure nor sufficient

surplus for subsistence. Their deteriorating economic

conditions in 1920s and 1930s made possible their large­

scale mobilisation by the Indian National Congress, and

Communist party through kisan sabhas. Several studies have

documented that in the central and eastern UP, peasants

revolted against the zamindars and their colonial masters

for right to land, tenancy rents etc., 27 whereas this type

of peasant movement did not occur in western UP.

67

The Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act of 1951,

aimed at eliminating the former system of tax farming by

removing the zamindars and talukdars from their position of

intermediaries between the cultivators and the state. It

aimed at bringing the actual tiller of the soil in direct

contact with the state. It also aimed to reorganise agri-

culture on co-operative lines. 28 As a result, the interme­

diaries lost their right to collect rent and the existing

more than 22 types of tenure were converted into four, i.e.,

Bhumidhars, Sirdhars, Asami and Adivasi. The bhumidhars had

permanent heritable and transferable rights over the land.

Their revenue was reduced to half. The sirdhars were given

permanent and heritable rights, but they were denied trans­

ferable right over land and were not entitled to use it for

non-agricultural purposes. However, sirdhars were entitled

to become bhumidhars after paying ten times of their rent to

the state. Asamis had only heritable, but not transferable

rights. They were liable to eviction in case they were the

tenants of students, mentally or physically handicapped

persons and serving in defence. Adhivasis were the tenants

in sir and khudkast land which came under personal cultiva-

tion. They were entitled to become sirdhars or bhumidhars

after 5 years of commencement of the act on payment of 15

68

times of the rent, failing which they were liable to eject­

ment.29

The Zamindari Abolition and Land Reform Act of UP 1951

(UPZALA) had different impact on different parts of UP. In

the eastern and central UP the pre-existing patterns of

subinfeudation of land rights either allowed the zamindars

to legalise their own family and subtenurial rights into the

new bhumidhari or sirdari rights, mostly through conversion

permitted by law. The class of traders and moneylenders,

who under the zamindari system had developed subtenurial

rights in land were now able to pay the required compensa­

tion to buy titles as bhumidhars or sirdhars. By and large,

land rights seldom went to the direct cultivator, who in

most cases was either not in an economic position to pay the

compensation or was not recognised as tenants by law.30

In western districts and particularly Upper Doab, where

a large number of rich and middle caste/class of peasant

proprietors had emerged among Jats, Gujars, Tyagis, etc.,

the impact of the UPZAL 1951 was different. M.C. Pradhan

provides an account of a panchayat (meeting) held in Novem­

ber 1949 of the Balayan Khap in Muzaffarnagar District.

This panchayat of all the agricultural castes of the area

69

was called to discuss the implications of the UPZALA and

its effect on the farmers. A resolution was passed by the

panchayat calling upon the farmers of the khap area to pay

the required money in order to claim proprietary rights in

the agricultural land, which they tilled as tenants of the

landlords. 31 The panchayat was successful as most of the

farmers paid the required amount to acquire property rights.

This success was because of the ability of the panchayat

leaders to remove suspicion and fear from the minds of the

farrners. 32 In the Upper Doab and particularly the Meerut

division, peasant proprietorship soon became the order of

the day, with as much as 60.5 per cent of the cultivable

land in Meerut division and 71.08 per cent of that in Meerut

district corning under bhurnidari tenure_33 Table 2.1 (appen­

dix) shows that the Upper Doab had the highest percentage of

households of proprietors (95.81) and lowest percentage of

tenants 1.16, as compared to other regions of UP

UPZALA 1951 further consolidated the holdings of the

emerging rich and middle caste/class in western UP. Studies

have concluded that in the bhaiyachara areas, it had little

impact. Its objective to remove intermediaries and intro-

duce peasant proprietorship was virtually redundant, as

70

there were few intermediaries, and a large section of them

were already enjoying the ownership right over their land.

For instance in Meerut district, where 83 per cent of land

was under the bhiyachara. The smaller tenants, either

purchased their bhumidari rights or in 1954 became bhumid­

hars directly without paying the 10 times of their rent. 34

Baljit Singh, in a study conducted in the late 1950s, shows

that the percentage of the peasant households which received

direct bhumidhari rights without paying 10 times of rent was

higher in western UP than in central and eastern UP. It was

still higher in Meerut than in other districts of UP. They

formed 52 per cent of households in western UP, 31 per cent

in central and eastern UP, and 71 per cent of the households

in Meerut district. 35 Hence the ownership pattern in Meerut

district was not altered much. Similarly Table 2.3 shows

that in the case of Muzaffarnagar there was hardly any

change in this respect during the decade 1951-61 of land

reform implementation. Zoya Hasan similarly found that the

areas of Iglas and Khair in Aligarh district which had

bhaiyachara tenure was not much affected by the UPZALA-

1951.36

71

Table 2.3: Muzaffarnagar 1951-61: Distribution of Land by Size Class

Size Class Area Cumulative (per cent) in acres

1951 1961

Less than 1.0 17.89 19.64 1.0 to 5.0 54.51 54.48 5.0 to 10.0 78.06 79.33

10.0 to 15.0 88.41 89.47 15.0 to 20.0 95.69 96.30 20.0 to 25.0 99.31 99.44 25.0 & above 100.00 100.00

Source: Census of India: 1951, i961, cited in Kai Fruse, "Peasant Communities and Agrarian Capitalism", EPW, Sept. 29, 1990.

In the bhiyachara region of the upper doab, i.e.,

Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Chandpur and

Kiratpur areas of Bijnor, Khair and Iglis telsil of Aligarh,

Moradabad, and parts of Mathura, the number of rich and

middle peasant castes slightly increased with the zamindari

abolition.

The UP consolidation of Holdings Act 1953 proved to be

more beneficial to the rich and middle caste/class cultiva-

tors of Upper Doab than the UPZALA of 1951. They bribed the

consolidation staff and took the best land at the location

of their choice. The poor peasants of lower castes were

given unfertile land.37 Land consolidation caused more

72

efficient cultivation possible. Needless to say it clearly

assumes greater sigificance for the middle and large land­

holders who were now in a position to make effective use of

the new agricultural inputs. The bigger farmers received

wider range of opportunities to adopt some forms of mechani­

sation.38

The community development, panchayati raj and co-opera­

tive programmes aimed to help the small, marginal landhold­

ers and agricultural labourers, instead benefited the rich

class/caste farmers. When these programmes failed to bene-

fit the marginal, small farmers and agricultural labourers,

the government of UP imposed a ceiling on land and redistri-

bution of surplus land to the landless. But by the time

land ceiling act was passed in 1960 and again in 1970s, the

rich caste/class peasant proprietors of western UP had

retained large tracts under sir and khudkasht tenure for

self-cultivation. They dominated the rural society and

occupied seats in the state legislature. 39

Defective nature of the legislation, high ceiling

limit, non-availability of surplus land, lack of interest on

the part of Congress politicians and connivance of the

bureaucrats with the rural rich made the ceiling laws redun-

73

dant. Our field work in 8 villages of Meerut and Muzaffar-

nagar reveals that out of 732 scheduled caste households,

only 87 got patta land below 1 acre, 50 per cent of the land

distributed to them were uneconomical holdings and uncultiv-

able land. Moreover, 20 per cent of those who received

pattas in 1970s, still do not have possession of their

land. 40 For many it proved to be disadvantageous as on the

one hand, it kept them under the illusion that they were

land owners, discouraging them to find other means of live­

lihood on the other hand it increased their harrassment and

intimidation by the landowning caste/class.

The strategy to raise production and make rural UP

egalitarian through institutional changes did not succeed.

On the contrary in the 1960s India became dependent on

import of foodgrains from the United States. To overcome

this situation the Central government under Indira Gandhi

introduced new technology in agriculture. It aimed to

increase the total production and production per hectare of

major crops, i.e., wheat, rice, maize etc. This strategy

was called as green revolution.

The very nature of the green revolution package re­

quired certain pre-requisites, i.e., infrastructure facili-

74

ties in the form of assured water supply, modern inputs,

fertilizers, pesticides, transport and communication linking

the markets, banking facilities, distribution of loans,

support prices and a large number of middle and rich peas­

ants who had the economic resources to adopt the new tech-

nology. In northern India Punjab, Haryana, western UP and

within western UP, the Upper Doab as we have discussed above

possessed infrastructural facilities to ensure the success

of the new technology package. With the introduction of new

technology, UP made considerable progress in agriculture.

Though the share of agriculture sector in the total domestic

production declined due to the upward trend in the secondary

sector. Yet, its contribution to the total income in 1976-

1977 was about 50.8 per cent. 41 Until the mid-1960s UP

experienced slow agriculture growth, but in mid-1970s, it

became a major foodgrain producing state in the Union.

Total production of foodgrains in UP increased from

144.9 lakh tonnes in 1960-61 to 199.09 lakh tonnes in 1976-

77 and 303 lakh tonnes in 1986-87. 42 Its contribution to

the total foodgrain production in 1986-87 in the country was

20.7 per cent. 43 UP by 1986-87 had the highest relative

percentage area under rice 13.3 per cent, wheat 36 per cent,

75

sugarcane 53.3 per cent and total foodgrains 16.2 per cent

among all the states of the Union. It accounted for 35.3

per cent of the total wheat production in the country, 12.4

per cent of rice and 43.8 per cent of sugarcane. 44

The western region of UP comprising 19 districts wit-

nessed faster growth than other parts of the state. Many

studies have documented the uneven spread of the green

revolution technology in UP. 45 But within western UP, it

was the Doab region with infrastructural resources suited to

the conducive adoption of the green revolution, which saw a

rapid growth and faster assimilation of the green revolution

technology. Table 2.4 shows that Meerut (44.18 per cent)

and Muzaffarnagar with 43.47 per cent of area under HYV, to

gross cultivated area of four major crops, had the largest

amount of area under HYV in 1970-73. ( Map 2.2 Appendix )

shows that the spread of HYV areas was maximum in the Doab

districts. Only Rampur and Pilibhit districts outside the

Doab had high HYV area by 1978-1981.

76

Table 2.4: Districtwise Percentage of Area under HYV Seeds in western UP for 1970-75 and 1978-81 (percent­age of area under HYV to Gross cultivated area of four HYV crops)

District 1970-73 1988-81

1. Saharanpur 32.33 65.80 2 . Muzaffarnagar 4'3 .47 78.41 3. Meerut + Ghaziabad 44.18 67.67 4. Bulandshahr 38.85 60.62 5. Aligarh 37.33 34.61 6 . Mathur a 37.70 74.89 7. Agra 30.30 58.25 8 . Mainpuri 38.79 45.76 9 . Etah 29.34 44.76 10. Bareilly 21.17 58.00 11. Bijnor 27.07 66.53 12. Badaun 27.43 44.32 13. Moradabad 23.27 53.81 14. Sahajahanpur 29.35 51.54 15. Pilibhit 30.22 75.98 16. Rampur 33.02 65.86 17. Farrukhabad 33.04 42.75 18. Etawah 29.04 47.66 19. Western UP 32.35 56.30

Source: i. Agricultural Census of UP, 1962 to 1981. ii. UP ka krishi ankre - 1978-79, 1979-81 and 1980-81

Directorate of Agriculture UP, Lucknow.

77

Table 2.5: Districtwise Cropping Intensity in western Uttar Pradesh, 1962-65, 1970-75 and 1978-81 in per cent

District 1962-65 1970-75 1978-81

1. Saharanpur 138.80 149.28 157.15 2. Muzaffarnagar 131.98 146.65 155.82 3 . Meerut+Ghaziabad 142.67 155.72 160.37 4. Bulandsahr 40.66 154.72 164.32 5. Aligarh 135.22 155.45 162.62 6 . Bijnor 118.16 127.70 132.31 7. Moradabad 117.56 133.03 145.00 8 . Mathur a 121.72 132.15 141.24 9 . Agra 116.99 126.25 134.48 10. Mainpuri 130.82 139.40 147.18 11. Etah 133.78 145.38 152.73 12. Bareily 127.85 132.52 142.47 13. Badaun 117.12 127.30 135.86 14. Sahajahanpur 118.19 123.53 138.76 15. Pilibhit 129.80 141.13 156.44 16. Rampur 137.04 144.73 154.30 17. Farrukhabad 127.35 134.68 145.49 18. Eta wah 126.21 139.57 139.80 19. Western UP 128.30 139.22 148.21

Source: Agriculture Census of UP, 1962 to 1981.

With the introduction of HYVs, there was a dramatic

change in the cropping intensity in western UP. The short

duration of HYV wheat varieties facilitated intensive use of

land under cultivation with double and tripple crops per

year, thus raising the level of agricultural production and

overall development. Table 2.5 shows that the average

cropping intensity in western UP by 1962-65 was 128.30 per

78

cent. It increased to 139.22 per cent in 1970-73 and 146.21

per cent in 1978-81. But in 1962-65, only Meerut and

Muzaffarnagar had the cropping intensity more than that of

the average of western UP Map 2.3 -Appendix reveals that by

1970-73, it spread to all the Doab districts and by 1978-81

even to other parts of western UP. The spread of HYV and

intensive agriculture increased the level of agricultural

productivity per hectare. Table 2.6 shows that in 1962-65,

Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Saharanpur and Bijnor had more than

Rs.1000 per hectare agricultural productivity. In 1970-73

Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Piliphit joined the high productiv-

ity districts. By 1978-81 only Agra, Etah and Badaun had

low levels of productivity per hectare. Whereas Muzaffarna­

gar and Meerut had the highest level of productivity.

79

Table 2.6: District-wise Agricultural Productivity per hectare in western UP (Productivity in Rs. per hec.)

Districts 1962-65 1970-73 1978-81

1. Saharanpur 1111.46 1369.83 1671.80 2. Muzaffarnagar 1457.96 1892.28 2209.37 3 . Meerut+Ghaziabad 1228.30 1655.53 1976.76 4. Bulandsahr 607.41 1211.42 1472.06 5. Aligarh 686.59 1030.68 1247.'88 6 . Mathura 637.49 919.64 1091.83 7. Agra 612.33 704.01 912.11 8 . Mainpuri 721.88 887.62 1047.94 9 . Etah 723.45 873.62 944.58 10. Bareily 800.88 937.11 1211.18 11. Bijnor 1093.17 1382.65 1755.53 12. Badaun 684.92 955.65 936.48 13. Moradabad 825.76 992.87 1388.56 14. Sahajahanpur 707.60 897.47 1175.63 15. Pilibhit 894.51 1052.67 1443.49 16. Rampur 822.08 987.86 1427.96 17. Farrukhabad 822.48 968.06 1323.48 18. Etawah 722.19 964.39 1060.81

Source: Mahabir Chand Thakur: Spatial Determinants of Agri­cultural Productivity in western UP - 1962-65 to 1978-81: M.Phil dissertation, Centre for Social and Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, JNU, N.Delhi, 1983.

80

Table 2.7: Sourcewise Irrigation: In western UP

Source

Canals

Tanks

Wells Electric+ Diesel

Others

Total area

1962-65

Area in % to 000 hect. total

1120.41 50.03

26.21 1.17

1068.16 47.70

24.72 1.10

2239.50 100.00

1970-73

Area in % to 000 hect. total

1177.43 34.30

26.00 0.76

2186.81 63.72

42.03 1. 22

3932.27 100.00

1978-80

Area in % to 000 hect. total

1250 29.21

41.70 0.96

2866.20 66.98

122.08 2.85

4279.98 100.00

Source: Agricultural Censes in Uttar Pradesh 1961 to 1981 Board of Revenue Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow.

This increase in per hectare productivity and spread of

HYV was due to assured water supply through the canal system

in western UP, and especially in the Doab region. With

green revolution technology, there was a major shift in the

source of irrigation in the region. Table 2.7 shows that

upto the 1960s, canals were the main source of irrigation as

they accounted for 50.30 per cent of the total irrigated

area, while well (electric and diesel) was in second place

accounting for 47.70 per cent of the area. In the 1970s,

the well (electric+diesel) emerged as the primary source of

irrigation contributing as much as 63.72 per cent of irri-

81

gated area. The increasing use of wells was due to the

large scale introduction of electric and oil engines ln the

green revolution area. In 1975-76, western UP accounted for

about 58 per cent of the total tubewell acreage of the

state, almost twice the share of east UP. 46 Within the 19

districts of western UP Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Buland-

sahr have the highest concentration of electric pumps, i.e.,

24.62, 26.46 and 25.69 per 1000 hecatre of gross cropped

area in 1978-81 (see Table 2.8).

Table 2.8: Districtwise Distribution of Agricultural Impli­ments and Machinery: 1978-81 (per 1000 hectare of Gross Cropped Area)

District

1. Saharanpur 2. Muzaffarnagar 3. Meerut+Ghaziabad 4. Bulandsahr 5. Aligarh 6. Mathura 7. Agra 8. Mainpuri 9. Etah 10. Bareily 11. Bijnor 12. Badaun 13. Moradabad 14. Shahjahanpur 15. Pilibhit 16. Rampur 17. Farrukhabad 18. Etawah 19. Western UP

Tractors

7.89 17.17

7.84 4.88 2.31 5.95 4.17 2.07 1. 67 2.79 4.85 1.34 4.70 3.28 4.88 7.75 2.99 1. 72 5.04

Oil Engines

43.42 25.37 20.02 18.29 20.51 16.52 27.67 20.94 15.97 16.22 28.22 11.44 33.35 33.45 31.16 28.35 24.19 20.86 24.25

Electric Pumps

12.37 24.62 26.46 25.69 12.05 12.26 13.16 18.36

8.84 5.85

15.07 7.80

16.28 4.42 4.35 6.93

18.63 6.02

14.16

Source: Agricultural Census in Uttar Pradesh 1961 to 1981, Board of Revenue, UP, Lucknow, UP ke krishi ankre, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, Directorate of Agriculture, UP, Lucknow.

82

Similar trend is visible with regard to other agricultural

implements and the level of mechanisation in western UP.

Increase in tractors, oil-engines, and electric pumpsets

denote the diffusion of agricultural technology, ultimately

resulting in the growth of agricultural productivity.

Moreover, agricultural production became increasingly de-

pendent on the use of chemical fertilisers. The consumption

of fertilizers increased phenomenally in western UP (see

Table 2. 9) , from 4.14 kg per hectare in 1962-65 to 26.11

kg/hectare in 1970-75 to 54.22 kg per hectare in 1978-81.

It was maximum in the Upper Doab region, i.e., Saharanpur,

Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Bulandsahr.

Table 2.9: Districtwise Consumption of Fertiliser in west­ern UP - Fertilizers in kg/hectare

D1str1ct

I. Saharanpur 2 . Muzaffarnagar 3. Meerut+Ghaziabad 4. Bulandshahr 5. Alirtarh 6 . Mat ura 7. Ag:ra . 8 . Ma1npur1 9. Etah 10. Bareily 11. Bi~nor 12. Ba aun 13. Moradabad 14. Shah~ahanpur 15. Pili hit 16. Rampur 17. Farrukhabad 18. Eta wah 19. Western UP

1962 65

4.38 7.40 6.52 4.50 3.85 1. 63 1. 68 2.94 2.98 3.44 4.06 3.07 5.23 1. 87 2.57 3.63 9.80 2.55 4.14

1970 75

31.4 I 47.94 45.94 28.42 19.09 11.58 21.26 20.19 17.51 22.16 27.99 17.76 24.30 15.61 22.19 35.24 35.67 15.13 26.11

1978 81

63.48 68.97 87.92 61.52 41.99 31.50 40.28 40.10 34.33 46.70 56.00 40.46 50.64 54.53 56.40 71.51 69.14 42.82 54.22

Source:i.Agricultural Census of UP, 1961-1981, Board of Revenue UP Lucknow.

ii.UP ke krishi ankre, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-85, Directorate of Agriculture UP, Lucknow.

83

As a result of the green revolution technology there

was a phenomenal increase in production of both foodgrains

and cash crops, particularly wheat and sugarcane, in western

UP. At the same time, the constant use of electricity,

diesel, machineries, HYV seeds, and fertilizers increased

the dependency of farmers on the government and market,

which decides the price of these inputs and their produce.

Agriculture in Upper Doab region like in the other parts of

country, where farmers' movements occurred was highly com­

mercialised.

If this increase in agricultural production was uneven

in its geographical spread even in western UP the benefits

of the green revolution was more unequal amongst the farm­

ers. There emerged a class of rich farmers having more than

15 acres. They use family as well as hired labour throughout

the year. In our village surveys, we found that they had

hired permanent farm servants from Bihar. This class of

farmers were the first to adopt new technology, which gave

them advantage over the large and middle farmers. The large

holders own roughly 10 to 15 acres. They use family labour

but also hire outside labour specially during the peak

agricultural season, but do not hire permanent farm serv­

ants. Middle class farmers are those who own 5 to 10 acres

84

of land and are solely dependent on family labour. The large

and middle farmers have also adopted new technology. The

demands therefore made regarding, farm prices, subsidies

etc. are similar for rich large and middle farmers. These

categories also overlap with the middle agricultural castes

of the Upper Doab region i.e., Jats, Gujjars, Tyagis, Rewa

Rajputs, Jat Muslims etc. Small farmers are those who oper­

ate 2.5 to 5 acres. They do not hire outside labour. In the

Upper Doab region some of them have also adapted the new

technology. In the villages survayed numerically, they were

larger than the rich, large and middle farmers put together.

Their caste background is more or less same to that of the

rich, large and medium farmers. The marginal farmers owning

less than 2.5 acres, overlap with the class of agricultural

labourers. They live on subsistance farming and are the

poorest section of the agrarian hierarchy. Together with the

landless and agricultural labours they constitute the larg­

est category i.e. 74.12 percent of the total house hold's

survayed (see Chapter 4 table 4.1). They belong to the

service castes i.e. Dhiwar, Saini, Badhi, Gadharia, Nai,

Muslim Julaha etc., and schedule caste's, especially Jatavs.

It was the same middle and large cultivating

85

caste/class, who had benefited from the earlier policies of

the government, emerged as the major beneficiary of the

green revolution technology. 47 Large farmers were able to

accumulate irrigation and other resources to be further

invested in new technology inputs, i.e., seeds, fertilizers,

pesticides, tube-wells and machineries. 48

Table 2.10: Percentage Distribution of number and area of operational Holdings in western Uttar Pra­

desh, using chemical fertilizers and pesticides in irrigated area

Sl. Size Class

No. in hectare

1. Below 1.00

2. 1.00 - 1. 99

3. 2.00 - 3.99

4. 4.00 - 9.99

5. 10.00 & above

6. Total

No.

61.20

19.58

12.97

5.76

0.47

100

Total No. of Holdings Chemical Fertilizers Pesticides

Rs. (Use) Rs. (Use)

Area No. of Hold- Gross Irri- No. of Area, Trea- No. of Area

(hect.) ings, grow- gated area

19.11

21.79

28.32

25.34

5.41

100

ing one or

more of the

major HYV

crops

69.57

86.04

93.12

92.94

91.03

78.06

under crops

72.30

81.69

70.71

68.97

60.91

72.37

Holdings ted with

Chemical

Fertilizers

78.73 72.73

69.88 69.88

86.96 83.87

92.56 85.70

94.85 79.69

82.81 78.61

Holdings Treated

with Pe­

sticides

1.38 0.4

5.12 1.7

8.95 5.1

12.98 5.4

15.19 6.9

4.50 3.6

Source: Agriculture Census in Uttar Pradesh 1976-77, Part I, Board of Revenue Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow,

1980, p.241.

Recent studies show that small holders do participate

significantly in the new technology. 49 No doubt, the use of

HYV, chemical fertilizers, pesticides had a tendency to

increase with the landholding size. But Table 2.10 shows

86

that in western UP out of 61.20 per cent of the marginal

holders controlling 19.11 per cent of the area, 69.57 per

cent used HYV seeds and 78.73 per cent used various types of

chemical fertilizers. Moreover our village survey in Meerut

and Muzaffarnagar, confirms this trend (see Table 2.11).

Hence in the growth regions of western UP, small holders

were bound to develop common interest with large holders on

the issue of cheap inputs. If the prices of agricultural

commodities (particularly wheat) does not benefit them,

input costs definitely form a part of their calculations.

This enhanced credibility of small producers have increased

farmers solidarity on issues such as input prices.

As far as the output is concerned, the contribution of

marginal and small farmers regarding surplus for market has

been meagre. Though they used HYV seeds (68.5 per cent of

households) chemical fertilisers (81.5 per cent) and pesti-

cides (20 per cent) . Only 5 per cent of the household sold

rice, 15 per cent sold wheat and 4 per cent sold sugarcane

(See Table 2 .11) . Moreover, 60 per cent of the marginal

farmers sold these cash crops to buy other inferior varie­

ties of foodgrains for consumption. This was not the case

with small, middle, and large land holders. Table 2.11

87

shows that the contribution of surplus to the market in-

creases with the increase in land holdings, and the maximum

contribution of about 70 to 100 per cent is of large and

rich farmers.

Table 2.11: Land-holding-wise, use of Modern Inputs and Surplus production for market, in 8 villages of Muzaffarnagar and Meerut

Land Holdings No. of House- Percentage Percentage Percentage Percentage of household intervie-

per Hect. holds of house- of house- of house- wed and ceiling their produce for

holds I, holds I, hold profit of 3 major crops

total inter- using HYV using chemi- interviewed

viewed seeds cal fertili- using Rice* Wheat Sugarcane

zers fertilizers (produced)

Landless 2084 418

Marginal

below 1 878 176 68.5 81.5 20 5** 35** 34**

Small 1-2 535 106 98.5 100 56 so 45 85

Middle 2-4 362 73 100 100 67 60 so 98

Large 4-6 96 19 100 100 75 71 80 100

6 & above 41 9 100 100 80 85 95 100

Source: Field work, conducted in 1991, 1992, 1994. * Rice in western UP is produced not for consump­

tion but for market. ** Some of the marginal farmers purchased other

foodgrains instead of rice and wheat.

This class of surplus producers are numerically prepon-

derant in western UP, as the concentration of medium, large

88

and rich holdings are more in this region than the other

regions of UP (see Table 2.2 Appendix). This surplus pro-

ducing class, with the onset of green revolution contributed

to the government's buffer stocks of wheat and other food­

grains. The central government was dependent on the surplus

producing farmers of Punjab, Haryana and western UP in order

to feed the growing urban and semi-urban population. Hence

the procurement and support prices of foodgrains was an

important issue both for the producers and buyers.

In the initial stages of the Green Revolution, the

government in order to sustain the new technology provided

the farmers with cheap inputs with credit facilities and

other manufactured goods and machines. The procurement and

support prices of agricultural produce were fixed in such a

manner that new farmers and regions would adopt the new

technology to increase per hectare yield. This policy paid

off and as we have seen, the per hectare yield increased

phenomenally in western UP thereby increasing the income of

surplus-producing farmers. This trend changed in the mid-

1970s, partially due to the hike in petroleum prices and

cost-push economy, the prices of the inputs increased. For

example, over the decade 1970-71 to 1980-81, fertilizer

prices increased by 243 per cent, pesticides by 329 per cent

89

and tractors by 290 per cent, while prices of cereals in-

creased only by 213 per cent.

Table 2.12: Domestic Terms of Trade between Agriculture and Industry, 1971-72 to 1980-81 (1971-72 = 100)

Years

1970-71 1971-72 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81

Source:

Prices Received by the Agricul­tural Sector

100.1 102.3 117.1 142.9 166.8 143.9 154.0 162.7 157.1 185.4 213.6

Prices paid by the Agri­cultural Sector

100.5 105.3 113.1 131.6 164.2 165.9 170.3 180.1 183.9 209.3 244.8

Barter terms of Trade

99.60 97.72

103.54 108.59 101.58

86.74 90.43 90.94 88.58 88.58 87.25

A.S. Kahlon and D.S. Tyagi, Agricultural Price Policy in India, Allied Publishers, cited in Swamy and Gulati in "From Prosperity to Retrogression -Indian Cultivators during the 1970s", EPW, Vol.XXI, Nos.25 and 26, Review of Agriculture, June 21-28, 1986, p.A62.

Kahlon and Tyagi have calculated the prices received

and paid by farmers, Table 2.12 shows an average annual

deterioration at the rate of 1.8 per cent loss to the farm-

ers in the domestic terms of trade. 50 This has been de-

scribed as the decline in the,net barter, terms of trade for

agriculture.

90

Table 2.13: Net Income from Wheat production 1970-71 to 1980-81 (rupees per hectare at 1970-71 prices)

Year Punjab Haryana Uttar Pradesh

1970-71 328 611 N.A.

1971-72 426 553 504

1972-73 167 N.A. 248

1973-74 589 601 612

1974-75 430 478 N.A.

1975-76 59 331 110

1976-77 124 -109 N.A.

1977-78 72 27 N.A.

1978-79 193 -46 149

1979-80 175 N.A. 78

1980-81 54 N.A. 126

Annual Rate of Decline of Price over Cost 17.09 28.18 13.82

% of Wheat to Net Sown Area 41.3 26.8 30.4

Source: (i) Indian Agriculture in Brief (various issues) . (ii) Report of Agricultural Price Commission on Wheat Policy (various issues), cited in Dilip Swamy and Ashok Gulati, "From Prosperity to Retro­gression Indian Cultivation during the 1970s", Economic and Political Weekly, vol.XXI, Nos.25 and 26, Review of Agriculture, June 21-28, 1986, p.A57.

91

In the mid 1970s, the parity between the agrarian and

non-agrarian sectors of the economy was not only disrupted

but moved decisively in favour of non-agricultural sector.

Wheat is the principal (dominant) crop in Panjab, Haryana

and UP, where it covers 41.3 per cent, 26.8 per cent and

30.4 per cent of the net sown area respectively. But in the

mid 1970s the wheat growers' income in UP, Punjab and Har-

yana steadily declined. In UP, it declined from Rs.504 to

Rs.126 over the period 1971-72 to 1980-81 (see Table 2.13).

On the other hand by mid 1970s, the green revolution

technology both at the all India level and in the states

like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and

western UP entered a period of decline. A number of empiri­

cal studies shows serious shortages of inputs by 1975 and

hence decline in quality and also per hectare yields. 51

92

Table 2.14: Districtwise Percentage of Annual Compound Growth Rate of Agricultural Productivity Per Hectare

Districts

Saharanpur Muzaffarnagar Meerut + Ghaziabad Bulandsahr Aligarh Mathura Agra Mainpuri Etah Bareily Bijnor Badaun Moradabad Sahajahanpur Pilibhit Rampur Farrukhabad Eta wah Western UP

1970-73 over

1962-63

2.65 3.31 3.80 9.01 5.21 4.68 1. 76 2.62 2.39 1. 07 2.98 4.25 2.33 3.02 2.06 2.32 2.06 2.82 3.42

1978-81 over

1970-73

2.52 1. 95 2.24 2.47 2.45 2.17 3.29 2.10 0.98 3.26 3.02

-0.25 4.28 3.43 4.02 4.62 4.00 1. 20 2.63

Source: M.C. Thakur: Spatial determinants of agricultural productivity in western UP - 1962-65 to 1978-81, M.Phil Dissertation 1983, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, JNU, New Delhi.

In western UP Table 2.14 shows that the annual com-

pound growth of agricultural productivity per hectare in-

creased by 3.42 per cent between 1962-65 to 1970-73. But

between 1970-73 and 1980-81, the growth rate of agricultural

productivity per hectare was only 2.63 per cent. Out of the

93

19 districts in western UP only 4, i.e., Moradabad (4.2 per

cent), Pilibhit (4.02 per cent), Rampur (4.62 per cent) and

Farrukhabad (4 per cent) showed high growth rate between

1970-73 to 1978-81. This was evident from the fact that the

growth rate per kg/hectare of major HYV crops in western UP

by mid 1970s either stagnanted or declined. The growth rate

for rice was 6.17 per cent from 1962-65 to 1970-73, it

declined to 2.56 from 1970-75. to 1978-81. For sugarcane it

went to negative -0.12 per cent in the second phase (see

Table 2 .15) .

Table 2.15: Percentage of Annual Compound Growth Rate, Yield kg per hectare of some principle crops in West­ern UP - 1962-65, 1970-73, 1978-81

Crops

1. Rice 2. Jowar 3. Bajra 4. Maize 5. Wheat 6. Barley 7. Tur 8 . Groundnut 9. Rap seed &

10. Gram 11. Potato 12. Sugarcane 13. Tobacco

Mustard

Percentage of Annual Compound Growth Rate kg/Hect.

1970-73 over 1962-65

6.17 -1.63 -2.51 -6.22 4.02 1. 60

-3.87 -6.53 4.60

-0.75 10.47

2.68 8.53

94

1978-81 over 1970-75

3.20 2.43

-2.43 -3.02 2.56 1. 30

-1.96 -3.23 1. 54 5.32 3.92

-0.12 2.62

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Uttar pradesh on the other hand by mid 1970s, remained

ndustrially underdeveloped. This was evident from the very

slow growth of the non-agriculture sector, particularly

manufacturing and industries of consumer goods. During

1970s, the economy of UP progressed at a slow rate of 2.3

per cent per annum as compared to 3.3 per cent annually for

the entire country. Hence work force dependent on agricul-

ture remained stagnant. 66

Similar type of crisis in agriculture and deteriorating

incomes of the surplus producing farmers triggered off

agitations on price and related issues in Tamil Nadu, Karna-

taka, Maharashtra, and Punjab. As discussed above, the

agrarian situation of western UP was the same. Many dis-

tricts of western UP, i.e., Rampur, Farrukhabad, Pilibhit

etc., witnessed the same level of success in many indices of

green revolution and commercialisation of agriculture. The

farmers' movement could not establish itself in these dis-

tricts. It was limited to the Upper Doab region because the

social condition of this region were different. Map 2:2

shows that at the peak of the movement, the geographical

support base of the BKU was the same area where Jat, Gajjar,

Tyagi and Jat Muslims farmers were surplus producers. Thus

95

with agrarian change in western UP, its social organisation

of caste and bhiyachara among Jat, Gujar, Tyagis and Jat

Muslims played an important role in mobilisation of the

farmers. BKU was not able to mobilise the surplus producers

of other castes outside the Doab region. 53

It is not only the caste and bhiachara tradition that

limited the geographical spread of the movement. But the

political condition being different, farmers' movement on

non-party lines did not start in the mid 1970s but in the

late 1980s. In the 1970s western UP farmers had Chaudhary

Charan Singh and his various agrarian political parties to

voice their grievances. Charan Singh through his writings

and political action within and outside the government not

only catered to the demands of the middle and rich farmers

of western UP, but played a major role in their emergence as

an economic and political force in the rural areas. He

played an important role in the growth of capitalism in

agriculture of UP which Byres calls capitalism from below,

as it was based on peasant proprietors and not landlords. 54

In his writings Charan Singh rejected collectivisation and

co-operative farming or socialist form of agriculture. He

even opposed capitalist form of agriculture based on mechan-

96

isation. 55 Instead, he favoured peasant proprietors having

2.5 to 27.5 acres of land. In the post-independence period,

when he was in the Congress party, he played a leading role

in framing the Agricultural Produce Market Bill 1938 and the

Debt Redemption Bill 1939. Both the bills had measures

designed to protect the emerging rich proprietors of western

UP from traders and money lenders. His hatred of the zamin­

dar class which had suppressed the upper and middle class

peasantry, led to his becoming the main architect of the

Zamindari Abolition Act in UP. This act created a large

number of bhumidhars (owner-proprietor) in western UP. He

further strengthened the position of middle caste/class

proprietors by consolidation of Holdings Act 1953. As a

membr of the UP cabinet, he had differences with Pandit Pant

and almost resigned in 1959 when the Congress proposed joint

farming. 56

In the 1960s the green revolution strategy increased

the production of wheat in western UP hence raising the

income of middle and rich caste/class peasant proprietors.

Charan Singh was instrumental in translating their economic

gains to the arena of state and national politics, making

them a political force in the rural areas of western UP. By

taking issues like land taxation and food procurement, he

97

took the struggle on behalf of the emergent middle and rich

caste/class proprietors from the countryside to national

politics. 57 He did not allow the Chief Minister C.B. Gupta

in 1962 to increase land tax by 50 per cent. He told the

Congress party high command bluntly, that it is the land

holders of more than 12.5 acres who enjoy political influ-

ence in the countryside. If land taxes are increased, this

influence in future would be exercised to the disadvantage

of Congress. 58

In 1960s, the central government wanted to progressive­

ly socialize foodgrain trade, i.e., take it out of the hands

of the private traders. The Food Corporation of India (FCI)

and Agricultural Price Commission (APC) were created in

1965. When the government failed to procure sufficient

amount of foodgrains through levies from traders, it aimed

to procure it from those producers with large marketable

surplus and holding capacity. Charan Singh would have

preferred no policy of procurement. It was in this national

crisis situation, that he became the first non-Congress

chief minister of UP. He modified the scheme of the previ-

ous government and instead of charging levy on all the

farmers, holdings of 8 acres and above had to give wheat to

98

the government purchasing centres. 59 Moreover, he gave many

concessions to these farmers, i.e. areas hit by drought were

to be exempted, a reduction was allowed to those cultivaors

who had sown less than their full acreage; there was a

generous time limit for registering objection to the amount

levied. In addition the government issued supplies of

cement, sugar and galvanised iron sheets to be made avail­

able to the farmers coming forward with their produce. 60

Finally, the price paid to the farmers Rs.80 and Rs.85 per

quintal was a high one. In fact, the whole scheme in the

long run proved to be beneficial to the rich farmers. As in

1970s, the administered prices for agriculture through mini­

mum support price and procurement price gave a significant

upward bias to agricultural prices. 61

In 1967, Charan Singh formed the Bhartiya Kranti Dal

(BKD) . This party articulated the discontent of the rich

and middle peasants of Upper Doab. They were not only

dissatisfied with government's failure to provide subsidies

for capital inputs and incentive prices for foodgrains, but

also irritated by the revised irrigation rates and develop­

ment levies imposed by the Congress government. 62 The

formation of BKD and later Bhartiya Lok Dal (BLD) offered

them an organisational alternative for asserting their

99

political interest which they believed had been hitherto

neglected by the Congress. Moreover, economic gains of the

large proprietors of western UP, provided the party means to

make an independent bid for power. 63 Charan Singh through

BLD/BKD, formed an alliance of Jats, Muslims, Ahirs, Rajputs

and Gujjars of western UP, Yadavs, Koeris, Kurmis and OBCs

of eastern UP. These castes had benefited from the Green

revolution technology and by the end of 1970s had acquired

the characteristics of class for itself. 64

With this alliance, his BKD/LD was instrumental in the

formation of Janata Party which formed the first non­

Congress government at the centre. He became Minister for

Home Affairs, but was forced to resign. Under his guidance,

Rai Harlal and Balbir Singh formed the Bhartiya Kisan Union

(BKU) on 13 August 1978. The BKU mobilised more than 10

million farmers for the kisan rally in Delhi on 23 December

1978 on the occasion of Charan Singh's birthday. It was the

largest rally in the history of the capital. Charan Singh

in this kisan rally talked of discrimination of rural areas

by the Indian planners, hence indirectly raising the issue

of urban versus rural, what Sharad Joshi latter called

Bharat versus India.65

100

This kisan rally, a show of his support base made him

the finance minister and later the Prime minister. The

Budget of March 1979 when he was Prime Minister, is often

described as a kulak budget. The duty on chemical fertiliz­

ers was cut by half, taxes on mechanical tillers, diesel oil

and plastic PVC pumps were either reduced or abolished,

subsidy on minor irrigation was extended even to large

farmers, rural electrification, grain storage etc. were to

be improved, commercial banks were to lend to farmers etc.

These were all benefits which would accrue substantially to

the rich-middle class peasantry farmers. 66

After the defeat of 1980 elections, the BLD split into

two groups, one group consisted of the erstwhile BKD under

Charan Singh and the other Socialists consisting of Raj

Narain, Charanjit Yadav and Chandra Sekhar Singh who collec­

tively had a base in eastern districts. Charan Singh start­

ed nurturing his son Ajit Singh as his political heir. But

other leaders of BLD resented it nor could Ajit Singh over­

come his urban background. After the death of Charan Singh,

two factions arose - one led by M.S. Yadav having support

bases in eastern and central UP, and the other by Ajit

Singh. These splits and struggle for leadership affected

101

the surplus producing farmers' of western UP, who suddenly

found no one of the stature of Charan Singh to pursue their

grievances. Hence a leadership void was created. The sur­

plus producing farmers lost faith in political parties. 67

It was against this political backdrop that the BKU was

revived in western UP to fill the void and champion the

cause of the farmers.

Agrarian change in UP has therefore played a major

role in the mobilisation of rural population both in the pre

and post-independence period. The bhaiyachara land tenure

system in western UP, particularly in the Upper Doab region

did not allow the growth of a landlord class and tenants.

With the canal system, railways and commercialisation of

agriculture, there emerged a large section of rich, large

and middle caste/class farmers. The zamindari abolition,

consolidation of Landholding Act, community development, co­

operative movement and finally the new technology called

green revolution further broadened the base and strengthened

this caste/class of proprietors economically. This economic

gain was translated in their emergence as a political force

in the rural areas of western UP, under the leadership of

Chaudhary Charan Singh and his various agrarian political

parties. The political condition of upper doa~ districts

102

being different, the farmers movement on non-political lines

did not start in the mid 1970's when the income of surplus

producing farmers had declined. The death of Charan Singh

and division of Lok Dal in late 1980's, created conditions

for the emergence of the BKU and Chaudhary Mahendra Singh

Tikait. The khap system among the surplus producing

caste/class i.e., Jats, Gujjars, Tyagis, Jat Muslims,

initially helped in mobilising them. At the same time

limited the spread of the movement to other districts of

western UP, outside the Upper Doab region.

103

NOTES:

1. Census of India 1991, Series, ~Uttar Pradesh, Direc­tor of Census Operations UP.

2. Statistical Dairy of Uttar Pradesh 1988 - Economics and Statistics Division, State Planning Institute, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh 1989.

3. In this chapter our focus of the study is on the agrar­ian social and political condition of the Upper Doab districts, where the farmers movement had its support base.

4. A.B. Mukherji, "Jats: A Study on Human Geography", Geographical Review of India (Calcutta), vol.16, No.2, 1934, pp.12-35.

5. M.C. Pradhan, The Political System of the Jats in North India, Oxford University Press, London, 1966, pp.21-22. During our field work we were told stories about the settlement of villages particularly Sonta in Muzaffar­nagar and pichaukra in Meerut. Sonta was captured and Richaukra purchased by Jats.

6. They are called peasant proprietors by virtue of their proprietorship over land and family participation over the production process. Sometimes assisted by their riayas of lower caste.

7. See Baden Powell, The Land System of the British India, vol.I, Oxford University Press, London, 1972, p.162.

8. M.C. Pradhan, QQ. cit., pp.6, 35.

9. Ibid., pp.22, 24.

10. Ibid., pp.35, 36.

11. Interview with Mange Ram Sharma (Lecturer, Political Science), Intermediate College Sisauli, Muzaffarnagar, June 1989.

12. M.C. Pradhan, QQ. cit., p.21.

104

13. Kai Freise, "Peasant Communities and Agrarian Capital­ism", Economic and Political Weekly, September 29, 1990, p.A-137.

14. See N.C. Saxena, "Caste and Zamindari abolition in UP", Mainstream, June 15, 1985.

15. Muzaffarnagar was from the agricultural point of view very similar to Bundelkhand of the present day. The revenue rates on cultivated area for Saharanpur and Muzaffarpur were less than half the level of those prevailing in districts like Etawah and Kanpur, con­firming the imprison that the Upper Doab was less prosperous than the lower Doab and eastern UP. For details see Ian Stone, Canal Irrigation in British India: Perspectives on Technological change in ~ peas­ant community, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984, p.291.

16. Ibid., p.286.

17. Eric Stokes, The Peasant and the Raj: Studies in agrar­ian society and peasant rebellion in Colonial India, Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, 1978, pp.216, 217.

18. Ibid., p.217.

19. E. Whitecombe, Agrarian Conditions in Northern Vol.I: The United Provinces under British Rule, 1900, Thomson Press India Limited, New Delhi, pp. 64, 65 ..

20. Ian Stone, QQ. cit., p.282.

21. Stokes, QQ. cit., p.228.

India 1860-1971,

22. Amit Bhaduri, "Class Relations and Commercialisation in Indian Agriculture: A study in the Post Independence Agrarian Reforms in UP" in K.N. Raj, Sunita Bhatta­charya (eds.), Essays in the Commercialisation of the Indian Agriculture, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1985, p.313.

23. N.C. Saxena, QQ. cit., p.16.

24. Stone, QQ. cit., pp.308, 309.

105

25. Stokes, QQ. cit., pp.221, 22.

26. Baljit Singh and S. Mishra, ~Study of Land Reform in UP, Oxford Book Company, Calcutta, 1984, p.217.

27. For detailed discussion on Peasants movements in UP, see D.N. Dhanagre, Peasant Movements in India 1920-1950, OUP, New Delhi, 1982. Kapil Kumar, Peasants in Revolt, Tenants, Landlords. Congress and the Raj in Awadh 1986-1922, Manohar Publications, Delhi, 1984. M. Sidiqui, Agrarian Unrest in Modern India, The United Provinces 1918-23; Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, 1978. Rajendra Singh, "Peasant Movements in UP: A study in the Politics of .Land and Land Control in Basti District 1801-1970" in M.S.A. Rao (ed.), Social Movements in India, Vol.I, Manohar Publications, New Delhi, 1978.

28. The idea of co-operative farming did not materialise. The cooperative farming societies came into existence as an attempt by the large land owners to circumvent the land ceiling legislation and to get various conces­sions from the government. See Ajit Kumar Singh, "Impact of Land Reforms on Agrarian Structure and Agrarian Growth in UP" in Land Reform and Rural Change, Indian Association of Social Science Institute, New Delhi.

29. See Charan Singh, Land Reforms in UP and the Kulaks, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1986, p.48.

30. Bhaduri, QQ. cit., p.315.

31. M.C. Pradhan, QQ. cit., p.186.

32. Ibid., p.187.

33. Singh and Mishra, QQ. cit., pp.121-22.

34. Jagpal Singh, Capitalism and Dependence: Agrarian Politics in Western UP 1951-1991, Manohar Publica­tions, New Delhi, 1992, p.19.

35. Baljit Singh, Next Step in Village India: A Study of Land Reforms and Group dynamics, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1961, pp.26, 28, 121-122, Table 3.

106

36. Zoya Hasan, Dominance and Mobilisation: Rural Politics in Western Uttar Pradesh, 1930-1980, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1989, p.56.

37. Jagpal Singh, QQ. cit., p.23.

38. Paul Brass, "The Politicization of the Peasantry in a North Indian State" (Part I and II), Journal of Peasant Studies, January and September, 1980, p.398.

39. The ceiling programme in UP came almost after one decade. This programme was opposed by the Congress MLAs including Charan Singh, Swatantra Party, Jan Sangh, the leftist parties and a section of the boure­geoise on different grounds. For details see Charan Singh, QQ. cit., 1986. Z.A. Ahamad, Ceiling on Agri­cultural Land, New Delhi Communist Party of India, 1976, p.60. Newell Richard, "Ideology and Realities: Land Redistribution in UP", Pacific Affairs, vol.45, No.2, Summer 1972, pp.220-390.

40. Survey of 8 villages, 4 each in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut district, conducted in 1993.

41. Agricultural Census of UP, 1976-77, Board of Revenue Government of UP, Lucknow, 1978, p.14.

42. Statistical Diary of UP, 1988, Economic and Statistics Division, State Planning Institute, Lucknow, UP, 1989, p.143.

43. Indian Agriculture in Brief, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture Government of India, 1988, p.326.

44. See T.S. Papola, "The Economy of UP" in M. Adiseshiah Malcolm (ed.), The Economics of the States of the Union, Lancer International, New Delhi, 1989, pp.326-27.

45. For details, see T.C. Sharma and 0. Coutinho, Green Revolution Gaps: g Geographical Analysis, Rawat Publi­cations, New Delhi, 1989. Mohammad Safi, Agricultural Productivity and Regional Imbalance: ~ Study of Uttar Pradesh, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, 1989.

107

T.S. Papola, Special Diversification of Industries: ~ Study in UP, Allied Publications, New Delhi, 1987. C.H. Hanumantha Rao, "Factors Endowments Technology and Farm Employment: Comparison of Eastern UP with West UP and Punjab", Economic and Political Weekly, vol.II, No.39, September 25, 1976, pp.A117 to 123.

46. For a detailed discussion on tubewell irrigation see B.D. Dhawan, Development of tubewell Irrigation in India, Agricole Publishing Academy, New Delhi, 1982, pp.32-33.

47. Many studies have shown that the profits of new tech­nology increased with the increasing land holdings. For details see Chapter I, Note, 17.

48. See Biplab Das Gupta, The New Agrarian Technology and India, Macmillan, New Delhi, 1977.

49. See Chapter I, p.l3.

50. D.S. Tyagi, "Domestic terms of trade and their effects on supply and demand for the Agriculture Sector", Economic and Political Weekly, vol.22, No.13, 1987.

51. See Biplab Das Gupta, QQ. cit.

52. Percentage of rural work force depending on Agriculture in UP: 1960-61- 87.20 per cent, 1970-71- 87.68 per cent, 1980-81 - 86.76 per cent. See H.R. Sharma, "Distribution of Landholding in Rural India 1953-54 & 1981-82, Implications of Land Reform", Economic and Political Weekly, September 24, 1994, p.A118.

53. For detailed discussion of the caste support base of BKU, see Chapter III and IV.

54. Terrence J. Byres,, "Charan Singh 1902-87: An Assess­ment", Journal of Peasant Studies, vol.15, No.2, Janu­ary 1988, p.l76.

55. Charan Singh has written several books which makes his ideas clear and distinct on Indian Agriculture, i.e., Charan Singh, Abolition of Zamindari: Two Alternatives, Kitabistan, Allahabad, 1942. Joint Farming X-Rayed: The Problems and its Selection, Kitabistan, Allahabad,

108

1959. Indian Economic Policy: The Gandhian Blue Print, National Publishing House, New Delhi, 1978. Economic Nightmare of India: Its Causes and Cures in 1980-87, National Publishing House, New Delhi, 1981.

56. Sudha Pai, Uttar Pradesh: Agrarian Change and Electoral Politics, Shipra Publications, Delhi, 1993, pp.47-48.

57. Byres, QQ. cit., pp.156-57.

58. Charan Singh, Land Reforms in UP and the Kulaks, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, p.188, cited in Byres, ibid., p.158.

59. Ibid., p.160.

60. Ibid., p.161.

61. Ashok Mitra, Terms of Trade and Class Relations, Frank Cass, London, 1977, pp.110-11.

62. See Zoya Hasan, "Power and Mobilization: Patterns of Resilience and Change in Uttar Pradesh Politics" in Francine R. Frankel, M.S.A. Rao (eds.), Dominance and State Power in Modern India: Decline of ~ Social Order, vol.I, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1989, pp.180-81.

63. Ibid., p.181.

64. For caste or class debate see, Paul Brass, Caste, Faction and Party in Indian Politics, vols.I and II, New Delhi, 1984, 1985. Zoya Hasan, QQ. cit., 1987. Lloyd I. Rudolph and Susanne H. Rudolph, QQ. cit., 1984. Horal A. Gould, "A Sociological Perspective on the Eighth General Election in India", Asian Survey, vol.XXVI, no.6, June 1986, p.640.

65. The Hindu, 25 January 1979.

66. Sudha Pai, QQ. cit., p.49.

67. Interview with Choudhry Jasbir Singh, President BKU, Meerut district, 1989.

109