Who Are We Without Land? Repeasantization and Caste in a Village of South India

Abstract

The article explores the motivation for the reclamation of land-based livelihoods in a village in South India. In contrast to studies reporting a change in class position of small cultivators to wage workers due to pressures of depeasantization, this article argues for an agency-driven view of agrarian change. However, the article contends that such motivated acts of peasants to retain their autonomy are not solely derived from their interaction with economic processes. Fears of decline in status provide an extra-economic impetus to repeasantization. The loss of land-based livelihood implies social death for those castes with historical land occupation. A comparative perspective of the social framework of agriculture is essential to ground agency in social relations and comprehend the radical potential of peasant actions.