Social Change and the Economy

About this unit

This unit looks at how economic changes have transformed Indian society. In the countryside, land reforms and the Green Revolution changed agrarian relations, while in cities planned industrialisation and later liberalisation reshaped work and class. Economic change is studied for its social effects: who gains, who loses, and how caste, class and gender are reworked.

Key ideas

• Agrarian structure: land ownership, caste and class in rural India
• Land reforms: abolition of zamindari, tenancy reform and land ceilings
• The Green Revolution and its uneven effects
• Planned industrialisation, the public sector and the mixed economy
• Liberalisation from 1991: privatisation and globalisation of the economy
• Organised and unorganised sectors of work; the changing class structure

How to prepare

Learn the main land reform measures and why they were only partly successful. Know the regions and social effects of the Green Revolution. Understand the contrast between organised and unorganised work and between the planning and liberalisation periods. Questions often ask about the social consequences of economic policies.