New economic interests

The essentials

Planning and development changed the structure of Indian society and created new economic interests that sought political influence. The most important example is the Green Revolution of the mid-1960s. Faced with food shortages and dependence on food imports, the government adopted a new agricultural strategy that supported areas and farmers with irrigation. It offered high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and better irrigation at subsidised prices, and it guaranteed that the government would buy the produce at a set price.

Key points

• Food output, especially of wheat and rice, rose sharply, and India became more self-sufficient in food grains.
• The benefits went mainly to richer peasants and to already prosperous regions such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, which widened inequalities between classes and regions.
• A class of middle peasants, owning medium-sized farms, grew in political importance. Such groups supported leaders like Chaudhary Charan Singh and parties that spoke for farmers.
• Inequalities also encouraged left-wing peasant movements among the rural poor in some areas.
• Operation Flood, launched in 1970 and linked with Verghese Kurien and the Amul co-operative in Anand (Gujarat), expanded milk production through co-operatives; it is sometimes called the White Revolution.
• The growth of the industrial middle class and of business groups under planning also created interests that later pressed for economic liberalisation.

Exam tips

• Know the inputs of the Green Revolution and the regions that gained most.
• Be able to explain how economic change led to new political forces.

Common mistakes

• Thinking the Green Revolution benefited all farmers equally.
• Confusing Operation Flood (milk) with the Green Revolution (food grains).