Read the passage carefully and answer the questions based on it.
Another significant change in rural society that is linked to the commercialisation of agriculture has been the growth of migrant agricultural labour. As 'traditional' bonds of patronage between labourers or tenants and landlords broke down, and as the seasonal demand for agricultural labour increased in prosperous Green Revolution regions such as the Punjab, a pattern of seasonal migration emerged in which thousands of workers circulate between their home villages and more prosperous areas where there is more demand for labour and higher wages. Labourers migrate also due to the increasing inequalities in rural areas from the mid-1990s, which have forced many households to combine multiple occupations to sustain themselves. As a livelihood strategy, men migrate out periodically in search of work and better wages, while women and children are often left behind in their villages with elderly grandparents. Migrant workers come mainly from drought prone and less productive regions, and they go to work for part of the year on farms in the Punjab and Haryana, or on brick kilns in U.P., or construction sites in cities such as New Delhi or Bangalore. These migrant workers have been termed 'footloose labour' by Jan Breman, but this does not imply freedom. Breman's (1985) study shows, to the contrary, that landless workers do not have many rights, for instance, they are usually not paid the minimum wage. It should be noted here that wealthy farmers often prefer to employ migrant workers for harvesting and other such intensive operations, rather than the local working class, because migrants are more easily exploited and can be paid lower wages. This preference has produced a peculiar pattern in some areas where the local landless labourers move out of the home villages in search of work during the peak agricultural seasons, while migrant workers are brought in from other areas to work on the local farms. This pattern is found especially in sugarcane growing areas. Migration and lack of job security have created very poor working and living conditions for these workers.
Sugarcane workers in Maharashtra migrate to Karnataka for 5 months and after the work is over, they go back to their village. What does this process reflect?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Seasonal Migration
Option (1) Green Revolution — Incorrect. The Green Revolution brought new technology to agriculture and made some regions prosperous, raising their demand for labour. It is one cause of migration, not the movement of the workers itself.
Option (2) Seasonal Migration — Correct. In seasonal migration workers leave their villages for part of the year, work where the demand for labour and wages are higher, and return home when the season is over. The sugarcane workers go to Karnataka for five months and then go back; this pattern is found especially in sugarcane growing areas.
Option (3) Exploitation of Labour — Incorrect. Migrant workers are often exploited and paid lower wages, but the case describes a movement to and fro for one season, not the wages or conditions of work.
Option (4) Breakdown of Traditional Bonds — Incorrect. This is the end of the old ties of patronage between labourers and landlords. It helped start migration, but it does not describe the workers’ yearly journey and return.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.5 Circulation of Labour … Another significant change in rural society that is linked to the commercialisation of agriculture has been the growth of migrant agricultural labour. As ‘traditional’ bonds of patronage between labourers or tenants and landlords broke down, and as the seasonal demand for agricultural labour increased in prosperous Green Revolution regions such as the Punjab, a pattern of seasonal migration emerged in which thousands of workers circulate between their home villages and more prosperous areas where there is more demand for labour and higher wages.…” “…This preference has produced a peculiar pattern in some areas where the local landless labourers move out of the home villages in search of work during the peak agricultural seasons, while migrant workers are brought in from other areas to work on the local farms. This pattern is found especially in sugarcane growing areas.…” |