Andhra Peasants Under British Rule (Agrarian Relations and the Rural Economy 1900-1940)

A lively debate on the “Colonial mode of production”, “external articulation” and the rise of commodity production in India has been going on for some time. However, it is not possible to answer the various questions raised by the debate, unless there is detailed and concrete research into different regions of India. As it is, there are very few systematic regional studies.
The present study seeks to fill this gap to some extent. It breaks new ground by concentrating on the process of agrarian change and class formation in Andhra in a colonial context. Contrary to the prevalent generalizations, it argues that the development of agrarian relations in Andhra was to a significant extent, an internal and dynamic response to India’s integration into the world capitalist market. It also examines the emergence of the nascent agrarian bourgeoise and suggests that although agrarian capitalism had not fully come into being, its roots can be traced to the early decades of the present century.
An important contribution to Indian economic history.