Growth of Agricultural Labourers in Colonial India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16900642Keywords:
labourers, colonial, de-industrialization, population-growthAbstract
This paper examines the emergence and expansion of agricultural labour as a significant occupational category during colonial India. Agricultural labourers are typically defined as landless or near-landless individuals who earn the majority of their income by working on land owned by others. The study traces the trends in the size, growth, and regional distribution of this category and explores the underlying causes of its expansion.
Scholarly debates on this subject offer contrasting perspectives. One group of scholars attributes the growth of agricultural labourers to colonial policies that led to de-industrialization, land alienation, de-tribalization, and the breakdown of traditional village economies—factors that pushed a large number of people into wage labour. On the other hand, some researchers question the accuracy of colonial census data and challenge the extent of the reported increase, calling for a more critical interpretation of available sources.
Despite these differing viewpoints, the overall evidence indicates a significant rise in the number of agricultural labourers during the colonial period, driven largely by structural changes imposed by colonial rule.
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