RURAL AND AGRARIAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE

1 . RURAL AND AGRARIAN SOCIAL STRUCTURE

A. Agrarian Inequality, Class & Power

1. ‘Agrarian class structure has been undergoing changes due to modern forces.’ Critically examine. (2025)
2. Identify different forms of inequalities associated with agrarian social structure in India. (2024)
3. Do you agree that the agrarian class structure in India is changing? Justify. (2022)
4. Indian rural society is a faction-ridden society. Discuss. (2020)
5. Write short note: Agrarian class structure in India. (2001)
6. Write short note: Peasant Society. (1999)
7. Write short note: Agrarian social structure. (1995)
8. Write short note: Market economy and Agrarian social structure. (1990)
9. Write short note: Class-conflict in the agrarian society. (1986)
10. Write short note: Inequality in the agrarian structure. (1985)
11. Write short note: Dominant caste and the agrarian power structure. (1984)

B. Land Reforms, Tenure & Peasant Issues

1. Transfer of land from cultivating to non-cultivating owners transforming Indian society. (2025)
2. Discuss the main features of Land Reforms in post-independence India. (2023)
3. Analyse the major components of Land Reform Acts. Show their effectiveness in curbing rural inequality. (2016)
4. Describe the impact of land reforms on the peasants of Indian society. (2014)
5. Examine the changing initiatives of the land tenure system in India. (2019)
6. Write short note: Social consequences of land ceiling legislation. (1994)
7. Probe the social consequences of the land ceiling legislation in any one of the Indian States and state difficulties in implementation. (1992)

C. Village Studies in Indian Sociology

1. Who is said to be the pioneer of village studies in India? Illustratively describe contributions of some Indian sociologists on village studies. How their approaches are distinct from each other? (20 marks) (2025)
2. “The decade of 1950 was the golden period of village studies in Indian Sociology.” Explain. (2023)
3. Discuss the challenges during village studies in India. (2022)
4. Critically examine Dube’s contributions to the study of Indian villages. (2019)
5. Give a critical analysis of Andre Beteille’s study of Tanjore village. (2018)
6. Write short note: Significance of Village Studies in Indian Sociology. (2016)
7. With reference to their understanding of the Indian village, compare the perspectives of M.N. Srinivas and S.C. Dube. (2010)
8. Write short note: Village studies in Indian Sociology. (2008)

D. Concept of Indian Village & Tradition

1. Do you agree with the view of Andre Beteille that India’s villages are representative of Indian society’s basic civilizational values? (2023)
2. Critically examine the phrase “Little Republics” as used to denote India’s villages. (2021)
3. What is the idea of ‘Indian village’? Explain. (2014)
4. Is Indian peasant society a non-modern society? Evaluate. (2006)
5. Analyse the traditional production relations in Indian villages in the framework of the Jajmani System. (1988)

E. Agrarian Change, Technology & Unrest

1. Discuss the role of Technology in agrarian change in India. (2021)
2. Examine the factors responsible for the rural unrest in contemporary India. (2021)
3. Changes that the agrarian social structure in India is undergoing. Comment. (2009)
4. Write short note: Agrarian Unrest. (2007)
5. Write short note: Characteristics of peasant societies. (2005)
6. Write short note: Feudalism and Semi-feudalism. (2004)
7. Write short note: Characteristics of Neo-Rich agrarian class. (2002)

F. Thinkers & Perspectives

1. Write short note: Andre Beteille’s definition of class. (2013)
2. Write short note: Jyotirao Phule as an agrarian radical. (2015)
3. Bring out the relationship between fertility and social structure as viewed by Davis and Blake. (2011)

G. Democratization & Political Change in Villages

1. Analyse the limitations of working a democratic political system in a traditional society. (1988)
2. Write short note: The impact of democratisation on the village community. (1984)