Revision summary
Agriculture employs many and contributes less surplus. Youth and labour leave; the village becomes a reserve. Rich peasants diversify; smallholders squeeze. Family and gender adapt through remittance and women’s field work. Politics defends farm identity while the economy urbanises.
Model answer
Copper italics in this answer — like this — are the key facts. Each one is unpacked in the Facts & figures rail.
Introduction
Agriculture’s falling share of GDP, with still-large employment, means a declining significance of the agrarian economy as surplus and status. Impact is a squeezed village, a migrant labour force, and farmer politics of price rather than a peasant civilisation.
Body
Economic and class impact
- Youth seek non-farm work. The village is a labour reserve, which Desai’s class map now stretches to the city.
- Rich peasants diversify into trade and education. Smallholders face a cost-price squeeze after the Green Revolution’s uneven gift.
- Land remains honour, as Srinivas’s dominant caste still shows, even when it is not the main national surplus.
Social impact
- Circular migration and slums are the household form of agrarian decline.
- Family fission and delayed marriage follow remittance, yet Seed and Earth can survive the empty field.
- Women’s farm work may rise as men leave, without title.
Political impact
- Farmer movements demand the state market. Landless politics is weaker.
- Food remains politically sacred; the economy has moved on.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD DEC[Agrarian GDP share down] --> MG[Migration informal] DEC --> SQ[Smallholder squeeze] DEC --> POL[Price politics] LAND[Land as honour] --> POL
Conclusion
- Declining agrarian significance produces a hybrid India: farm as identity and fallback, city as wage. The impact is transformation of rural class, not the end of the village.
Quick related
Students also ask
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How is ageing becoming an emerging issue in Indian society ?
Next question on this syllabus topic (2016 · Q7(c)). View answer →
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Does this mean India is industrial?
It means India is informal-urban more than classic industrial. The farm still absorbs shocks, as COVID return showed.
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Is land reform now irrelevant?
Land still structures rural power. Reform of title and tenancy remains live even if GDP share falls.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.
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2025 · Q5(b) · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks
Bring out various factors responsible for declining of village Industries in India.
More from this topic
Q5(e) · UPSC Mains 2026 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks · Solution
Bring out the debates of 'insiders' and 'outsiders' approaches in understanding Indian society.
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
• The insider (emic) approach studies Indian society using native categories, sacred texts, and cultural immersion, championed by G.S. Ghurye and D.P. Mukerji. • Critics argue the insider view suffers from upper-caste bias and ignores ground realities in favor of normative texts. • The outsider (etic) approach applies universal models and comparative frameworks, famously used by Western scholars like Louis Dumont. • Critics dismiss the outsider view as orientalist reductionism that imposes Western concepts and misinterprets local idioms. • Modern Indian sociology bridges this binary through a reflexive methodology combining cultural familiarity with analytical rigor. • Ultimately, combining native insights with objective scrutiny is essential to capture India's complex social dynamics.
Q5(a) · UPSC Mains 2026 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks · Solution
Discuss the challenges faced by the aged people in receiving 'elder care'.
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
• India's aging population faces severe elder care challenges due to the breakdown of traditional joint families and youth out-migration. • Over 80% of seniors lack formal pensions because they worked in the informal sector, worsening financial vulnerability. • High out-of-pocket medical costs for chronic illnesses quickly drain meager personal savings. • Public hospitals suffer from an acute shortage of geriatric specialists, dedicated wards, and rehabilitation facilities. • Implementation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 remains weak, leaving legal tribunals overburdened. • Solutions require shifting from a welfare approach to a rights-based framework, combining community care networks with strict legal enforcement under Article 41.
Q4(c) · UPSC Mains 2026 · Sociology GS 2 · 10 marks · Solution
Compare G. S. Ghurye's and A. R. Desai's approaches used in understanding Indian society
Perspectives on the study of Indian society
• **Ghurye’s Indological Approach:** Relied on sacred texts and classical literature to study Indian society through civilizational continuity. • **Core Themes in Ghurye:** Focused on caste, kin, and how Hinduism historically integrated diverse tribal and regional groups. • **Desai’s Materialist Approach:** Rejected textual idealism in favor of Marxist political economy to study social structures. • **Economic Formations:** Analyzed Indian society through successive modes of production—ancient, feudal, and colonial capitalist. • **Caste vs. Class:** Viewed caste and religion as superstructural elements that mask underlying economic exploitation. • **Critique of State and Nationalism:** Argued that the nationalist movement was bourgeois, leaving agrarian inequalities intact post-independence. • **Key Contrast:** Ghurye highlights cultural tradition and integration, while Desai emphasizes economic power and class conflict.