Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
The increasing rate of unorganised literacy poverty and seasonal unemployment has raised the issue of landlessness in the country in current times. The present study is going to discuss the issues of landless labour along with the increasing population and wage-earning issues in the agricultural sector. Further, it will discuss customary rights of labourers active in the country and based on the current scenario it is going to outline potential interventions that can be effective to improve the issue of landless labourers in modern India.
Discussion about Landless Labourers
Landless labourers are commonly prevented from owning their farmed lands and working on others’ land with low wages. Currently, the number of landless labourers is increasing over time as many political and natural issues have impacted its occurrences within India. The issues of climate change and repeated natural hazards have potentially increased the volume and numbers of landless labourers in India. Additionally, issues like low literacy rates in rural parts and increasing unemployment have influenced the gradual increase of landlessness within the country. Most rural parts of modern India are suffering from the absence of alternative occupations and minimised policies for agricultural development. It has forced the low-level to mid-level labourers to become landless, eventually increasing the number of landless labourers in modern India.
Issues of Landless Labour in India
The high-level usage of machinery in agriculture has caused a major void for landowners by decreasing the agricultural lands within the country. The unorganised approach of the rural farmers and their traditional approach have caused a major increase in landlessness for the labourers in the current scenario of the country. Poverty on the other hand has also appeared as a major reason behind the increasing growth of landlessness in the rural parts. Most rural areas are underdeveloped in India, eventually enforcing anarchy over the illiterate and poor farmers. It finally results in the landlessness of the labourers due to the high maintenance charge and business losses from the agricultural lands.
Why the Population of Landless Labourers Are Increasing in India?
The agricultural sector in India is currently suffering from the issue of underemployment and unemployment in the rural parts of the country. It has eventually resulted in a fierce consequence over the landless labourers by increasing their population in modern India. Most labourers in the agricultural sector are entangled in debts due to their landlessness and working on others’ lands. It has further influenced the poverty level of the labourers along with the seasonal unemployment enforced upon them. There are also familial issues within the farm labourers, especially in terms of cultivating the same land over the years.
A Short Note on Wage-Earning and No-wage Earners in Agriculture
In India, the volume of wages is very low due to the less productivity of the labourers in the agricultural sectors. As the marginal productivity in the agricultural sector has also become challenging in the country, it has affected the wage-earning of farmers in current times. Additionally, the increased use of weedicides and machinery in the agricultural lands is becoming impossible for the labourers to cope with. It has also appeared as a major reason behind low wage-earning for labourers in India.
Customary Rights of Landless Labourers
The landless labourers in India are subjected to different consumer rights over different eras in the country. Starting from the time of feudalism in India, labourers had a taxation system and debt trap rights based on the Ryotwari System. Eventually, in British India, the Forest Act was initiated for the landless farmers and in modern times the labourers have the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Act 2013 as their customary rights.
Ways to Improve the Current Circumstances of Landless Labourers in India
Improving the current scenario of landless labour needs to follow government interventions and other ways like:
- Providing landless labourers with farm tools
- Fostering development in the rural side of the country
- Improving the literacy margin among landless labourers
Conclusion
The issue of landlessness for labourers in modern India is influenced by many predominant issues in the current context. The issue of poverty and unemployment affects the literacy of the labourers eventually resulting in them becoming landless even in the current times. Further, most rural parts of the country do not have a developed structure for implementing proper policies and infrastructure for agricultural development. It has a negative impact on the increasing number of labourers in modern India. Additionally, the issue of climate change and repeated natural hazards have also influenced the increasing population of landless labourers in modern India.
