This book brings together seven empirical studies that have a distinct regional flavour of medieval and modern Indian agriculture, peasantry and peasant life in Assam, Malabar, Orissa, Punjab, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. It traces under-development and development in Agrarian India in the context of wider historical perspectives by outlining the importance of localities, regions and systems in land management. The editor in his introduction draws together and expands upon disparate literature to provide a comprehensive account of the agrarian history covering the new themes such as nature, water, climate, rainfall, famines, cyclones, and floods that had an impact on farmers. Further, land and the state relations in the ancient, medieval and modern periods are explained touching upon neglected aspects such as the grievances of the peasants, damage to crops by the march of the imperial armies and varieties of land obligations. Thus, by providing new direction, the book also highlights the growth and changing contours of the historiography of Agrarian India incorporating the significant writings, representing research on an untrodden domain of agrarian history. Renewed debate on the concept of village community, private property, the ownership of land, land holding patterns, land rights and agrarian change have been included with conspicuous presence of the conceptual and analytical work on India’s economic history. This book chalks out a new horizon for further research and analysis in India’s agrarian history.
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