Several profound transformation in the nature of social relations in…

Several profound transformation in the nature of social relations in rural areas took place in the post independent era. These included:

A. A shift from payment in kind (grain) to payment in cash.

B. Rise of class of 'free' wage labourers

C. A loosening of traditional bonds or hereditary relationships between land owner and workers

D. Rise of subsistence agriculture

E. Increase in the use of agricultural labours

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → A, B, C, E only

A. A shift from payment in kind (grain) to payment in cash. Correct. Agricultural workers who were once paid in grain came to be paid in cash.

B. Rise of class of 'free' wage labourers Correct. As old ties broke, there arose a class of ‘free’ wage labourers who work for wages rather than for one landlord’s family by hereditary obligation.

C. A loosening of traditional bonds or hereditary relationships between land owner and workers Correct. The hereditary relationships between landowners and agricultural workers, known as bonded labour, loosened.

D. Rise of subsistence agriculture Incorrect. Subsistence agriculture means growing crops mainly for the farmer’s own family. The change went the other way: these transformations took place where agriculture was becoming more commercialised, with crops grown primarily for sale in the market.

E. Increase in the use of agricultural labours Correct. Cultivation became more intensive after the Green Revolution, so more agricultural labour was used.

NCERT (2025-26): “4.4 Transformations in Rural Society … Several profound transformations in the nature of social relations in rural areas took place in the post-Independence period, especially in those regions that underwent the Green Revolution. These included:

an increase in the use of agricultural labour as cultivation became more intensive;
a shift from payment in kind (grain) to payment in cash;
a loosening of traditional bonds or hereditary relationships between farmers or landowners and agricultural workers (known as bonded labour) and
the rise of a class of ‘free’ wage labourers.”

“The change in the nature of the relationship between landlords (who usually belonged to the dominant castes) and agricultural workers (usually low caste), was described by the sociologist Jan Breman as a shift from ‘patronage to exploitation’ (Breman, 1974). Such changes took place in many areas where agriculture was becoming more commercialised, that is, where crops were being grown primarily for sale in the market. The transformation in labour relations is regarded by some scholars as indicative of a transition to capitalist agriculture.…”