Irrigation, Agrarian Change and Local Politics: in South Telengana, 1960-1996

This paper deals with the impact of irrigation on agrarian change and local politics in the period, 1960 to 1996 in the irrigated region of South Telengana, Andhra Pradesh. The article is based on a primary survey and two village case studies from Miryalguda Mandal of Nalgonda District, South Telengana. The paper is , is based on two village studies and a primary survey in the irrigated part of South Telengana, shows that though during 1960-96, the process of commercialization, which resulted from canal irrigation, strengthened the position of the dominant castes/classes, small and middle peasantry continued to survive. The paper discusses the contradictory nature of agrarian change with the peasantry persisting but increasingly faced with problems of survival and the consequences of sharpening economic inequalities. Finally, while concluding, article points to a policy implication: irrigation alone, without agrarian reform, cannot lead to progressive change and for more equitable agrarian change, both irrigation and agrarian reform are needed.