Agricultural labour under colonial, semi-capitalist and capitalist conditions: a case study of West Bengal
Dasgupta, B.
Economic and Political Weekly 19(39): A.129-A.148
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-9976 Document Number: 422999
The paper begins with an account of the pre-British situation in what is now West Bengal and then traces the growth in the number of agricultural labourers under the British colonial regime. It shows how the growth corresponded to the economic policies of the colonial government and how, by the 1920s, the land-man ratio turned against the labourers, which not only led to a worsening of their condition, but also brought about a change in their ethnic composition. Developments during the three decades of Congress government are then examined, during which period the proportion of agricultural labourers among rural workers reached new heights and the movement of agricultural labourers gathered momentum. Finally, the programme of the Left Front government is examined and a critical analysis is made of the criticisms voiced against it.