Volume : 3, Issue : 3, March - 2014

Genesis of Agrarian Unrest in Karnataka: An Analysis of Field Data

Dr. R. B. Patil

Abstract :

 During 1980’s the state of Karnataka witnessed an unprecedented peasant movement particularly with the emergence of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangh (KRRS). An analysis of the data indicates that the discontent existed among the peasant much before the origin of KRRS. The peasants were facing a number of agricultural problems. The roots of the agrarian unrest were found among the peasants quite before 1980’s. Poverty was wide spread, illiteracy was very high and ignorance was seen in all aspects of their life. The peasants were docile, conservative and value oriented. They neither had the necessary knowledge nor political and economic power to launch a struggle for the redressal of their grievances. There was absence of organization and leadership which was the essence of any successful peasant movement. The rise of KRRS provided the much needed organization and leadership and succeeded in transforming the peasant’s discontentment into a movement.This paper has attempted to understand the evident agrarian discontent in the study areas and to examine the role of the KRRS in triggering discontent into movement.