Peasant Society Concepts major features of peasant society

Peasant Society Concepts, , major features, of peasant society, general features of peasant economy Dr. Kazi Abdur Rouf Department of Sociology University of Chittagong

Definitions, concepts of Peasant Society • Peasants (Krishoks) are attached and integrated with soil cultivations • They have plantation economy and customary agricultural economics activities in the villages • Krishoks of Bangladesh are small scale local producers • Peasants are rural natives • They have strong kinship, but simple equipments, relaying on substance produce • They are miserable marginal peasants in rural Bangladesh • Peasants sell and buy their cultivated products in cities, but the prices are determined by the market • Periodic festival gathering at different occasions in the villages, they have their specific rituals, values, believes, and practices

Concepts-Continue-2 • • Some scholars substituted peasant society as Folk society, folk culture Peasants together generate national economy Land lord peasants have strong ties among them , but marginal peasants are isolated. Peasant society is often described as intermediate-transitional Redfield says, “The peasant is a half-way house and a stable village structure-. This society is often described as static-unchanging Transitional meaning folk-urban continuum- cultural lag- peasant adjust them with the city commercial dynamics

Concepts Continue-3 • Their agricultural knowhow treated as traditional / backdated • They are not autonomous to communicate (primary relationships) with their communities • They are the producers of agricultural products, control and use their own land • Peasants have developed their own songs, music, sports and festival, beliefs, rituals, but now they are depending on peasant-city relationships • They automatically loss their power • However, still they maintain close contact with people in neighboring villages • Commercial farmers are profit oriented at the cost of Krishoks

Feudal Society • Land lords and land cultivators (peasants, serfs, Krshoks) • Feudal land tenure system: • Land lords (land owner, rural elites, rural power structure in the villages • Serfs (land cultivators) • Subsistence agricultural food producers • Self -sufficient village community in Bengal • Different agricultural groups/categories • Powerful land lords and powerless peasants- exploiters and sufferers • Peasants livelihoods and village traditional agricultural management system • Not segmented society-whole society in village • Turned to industrialization and capitalist society –accumulation and concentration of powers and resources

Absentee landlords development • Each society has two dimensions: Vertical and Horizontal • Horizontal peasants- equal status in the peasant society • Vertical-up class, powerful people influential people, absentee landlord • Pre-industrial society- developed urban centers, money is commonly used and developed market procedures and market efforts • Source of non-agricultural innovation and diversified products.

Peasants positions in the capitalist society • If agricultural production hampered, they suffered from starvation and miserable life, no food security for peasants from the state • Peasant are losing their own cultural forms and norms • Non-agricultural groups are dominant • Peasant are rural proletariat and became urban worker, relatively powerless • Peasant survive in the modern world because of cultural lag, dependent on modern elites • Change rural institutions-family, clan, serfs, community • Peasant leadership is normally weak-inefficient in meeting their traditional and domestic demand • Decaying peasant traditions

Peasant social structure • Two types of peasant social structure: Patron-client patterns and Fictive kinship • Patron-client pattern: villagers seek out more powerful people-city dwellers, wealthy owners and religious leaders with powers to aid • Fictive Peasant: The second common structural device –peasants fortify their positions in their communities and in their wider societies. • In the economic sphere peasant is also a subject to his larger social unit • Peasants rarely set the prices that they sell and buy. Prices are fixed by international forces/corporations • Elites drain off most of the economic surplus • Peasants hate and fear cities because city dwellers control over them

Village Aid Program • Now peasants are dependent on city for their non-agricultural products and needs • Increasing landless, marginal and small peasants are increasing • V-Aid program started in 1950 based on agricultural extension model to serve peasants • This program differentiated gender division of labor-male’s work (agricultural work) and women’s work (home economics) • Women are also involved in harvesting, gardening, poultry raising and livestock care apart from domestic work • Women were given training on smokeless chulas, proper health care, home sanitation or nutrition

Problems of the peasants in Bangladesh • • • Traditional agricultural practice treated primitive Income from agriculture are lesser than non-agricultural occupation No organizational outlets at the grass root level No agricultural training for mass people Agricultural development agents are outsiders of the village Initiated the social welfare approach-mother’s club in 1960 s and onward Peasant programs are controlled by outside organizations, Target groups are mainly women-sewing, weaving, handicraft making No peasant community centers Started Cooperative movement approach: IRDP, BRDP, Thana Training Development Center (TTDC) in 1960 s, 1970 s and continue but cooperative managers cheating general cooperative members

Peasant problems -continue • Cooperative members are cheated by cooperative managers • Women are relying on repaying loans, irregular supply of goods and services from the government • Agricultural credit for marginal farmers are few, but if credit is available , incurred high interest rate • Industries and housings are continuously occupying and destroying agricultural lands • Destroying village self-sufficient concept • Destroy the ecological balance in the village , nature and society • Diminishing village leadership and village informal Shalishi (non-formal Justice) System

Next Class • Peasant Economy theories • Peasant social sphere theories • Please read Bangladesh Krishok Samaj by Monirul Islam Khan- Third article of the book

• Comments/ Questions • Group Discussions • Wrap up • Nest Class- Thursday, November, 27, 2014 at 10: 00 am-12: 00 noon