Women in Agrarian Transition in India: Impact of Development

Just as social and political aspects of society affect the outcome of development programs and planning, so does the traditional sex roles and occupations. This vital aspect of development has been ignored in most of the Third World countries and so also in India under the western constraints of development planning. In many cases, policies have undermined traditionally independent roles of women in agrarian societies. In others, policies tailored for men have discounted half the population, not only depleting the socio-economic status of women in society but also adeversely affecting the economic potentials of the region.Increasing awareness of this phenomena in the development world has now focused attention on analysis of the impact of modernization on patterns of women's participation in the labor market in the entire Third World agricultural sector. Comparative studies of women's changing labor force participation and examining different regions of different levels of development within differing social structures is likely to provide significant insights in the manner in which development strategies and alternatives may affect the lives of women and societies.The paper attempts at a cross-cultural, cross-economic, and cross-regional study of the participation of rural women in the present day traditional and modern agricultural processes in India and the impact of modernization on the economic participation level. Likewise, socio-cultural and political constraints on the economic participation of women are identified. Also, it has been possible to focus on areas of potential integration of women in the agricultural and rural development process.The Indian state of Madhya Pradesh (map) landlocked by seven different cultural regions/states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujrat, and Rajasthan is chosen as the study area. Believing that the status of women is culture—region specific, the culturally varying border areas of one single state provides a unique physical base to study the problem under diverse settings. Field work conducted in rice areas of the southeast, cotton areas of the west, and wheat areas in the north of Madhya Pradesh provide statistical evidence of the extent of regional diversity of the areas and levels of participation in the agricultural production process. Within each crop region, enough data was acquired to attempt at intraeconomic comparison of the tribal and subsistence economics.Revealing evidences of minimal development programs geared for both men and women or singly for women, the study documents however, a high level of awareness and participation of rural women in the decision making process of agricultural modernization, distinctively in the paddy and cotton growing regions of the state.Conclusively, potentials for improvement in areas of maximum participation through wage rates, evolvement of development schemes in areas of total involvement such as livestock and dairy, and the scope of planning for alternative occupations during off-agricultural season through village crafts and industries are evaluated.