Gains of the Green Revolution : How they have been Shared in Punjab

It is fashionable for sociologists and political economists these days to malign the ‘green revolution’ technology on the grounds of its effects upon the agricultural income distribution, which are claimed to affect small farmers and agricultural labourers adversely. No doubt the income effects of a technological change should be a valid concern for a society inflicted with mass poverty and unemployment, yet to condemn an improvement in production technology alone seems misplaced. Inequality in income distribution depends not only on the nature of the technology, on its degree of scale‐neutrality or labour intensity, but often arises from resource allocations and fiscal policies. In India green revolution technology is unfortunately being condemned out of all proportion. The policy measures that emanate out of this thinking are throttling the development of the agricultural sector. This article is an attempt to examine the recent changes in employment and agricultural labourers and farmers in the Punjab State, which is the area most favourably affected by the green revolution technology in India.