SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The thesis is based on a study of two villages of contrasting resource bases located in Kambam Valley, Madurai District, Tamil Nadu, India. Field work was carried out in 1978/79, involving the collection of contemporary and retrospective data on population, agriculture and class variables. The thesis seeks to describe and examine the relationships between these three major variable groups, and the extent to which two identified externally operating factors, population increase and technological change, have affected the course of village development generally, Although it is not the primary objective to explain change in the light of the villages' differing resources, the extent to which the distribution of resources within the villages influences change is examined. The first part of the thesis seeks to describe the contemporary and changing nature of population, agriculture and class variables. Demographic change is traced both with the use of record data and an investigation of patrilineages. The analysis of agriculture involves especially an examination of the changes in intensity of cultivation and labour demand (especially with reference to changing agricultural technology). The investigation of class emphasises changing patterns of landownership and ownership mobility among patrilineages. The organisation of labour in the villages is also examined. The second part of the thesis examines the relationships between these variable groups, involving, especially, the relationship between land intensification and population growth within the village, the relationship between household organisation and landownership, and the relationship between land productivity and class distribution. The final chapter presents a general model of change drawn from data from the two sample villages. The potential weaknesses and relevance of this model to village change in general is examined in conclusion.