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id	eprints-5275
recordtype	eprints
institution	SOAS, University of London
collection	SOAS Research Online
language	English
language_search	English
description	The article attempts to distinguish and locate choices in agricultural production, with special reference to Bihar, India, during the nineteenth century. On the one hand, it considers closely managed and extensively irrigated areas, long involved in trade under the overall control of 'landlords', and, on the other hand, the expanding production of opium, and also of indigo and sugar (so-called 'forced' commercialization), identifying common features and continuities of production and marketing. Particular the importance of advance payments and local intermediaries is stressed. Thus, in contrast with the more usual evolutionary models, based on unitary categories and modes, the essay illustrates ecological, customary, collective, and local political constraints upon agricultural decisions; and this leads to the identification in turn of their different kinds and levels.
format	Journal Article
author	Robb, Peter
author_facet	Robb, Peter
authorStr	Robb, Peter
author_letter	Robb, Peter
title	Peasants' Choices? Indian Agriculture and the Limits of Commercialization in Nineteenth-Century Bihar
publisher	Wiley
publishDate	1992
url	https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/5275/