C. Bhan’s Farm Mechanisation and Social Change and Nadkarni’s Farmers’ Movements in India are two recent studies which focus on the impact of technological development and moder-nization of agriculture to explore the different dimensions of social and political changes engendered by, and within, a process of agricultural modernization. Both studies are therefore located in areas of relative agrarian prosperity where biological and mechanical technologies have come to play an increasingly important role. Bhan’s book is a .study of three villages in Haryana (selected for their different levels of technological innovation and adoption of modern agricultural practices) whereas Nadkarni, partly engaging in a comparative exercise, looks at Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, but concentrates mainly on Karnataka.
March-April 1988, volume 12, No 2