Accidental Gamblers: Risk and Vulnerability in Vidarbha Cotton

Description

Vidarbha - a major cotton growing region in central India has been the epicentre of a protracted agrarian crisis. Chronic indebtedness and farmers' suicides continue unabated despite decades of state intervention. Going beyond the contemporary discourse that finds fault in neoliberal policies and integration with global markets, this fascinating book tells the story of how nineteenth century 'accidents' particularly in the form of colonial policies and the American Civil War ushered in institutional transformations that shaped the region's cotton economy. By drawing insights from their longitudinal study in villages of the region spanning 12 years, Gaurav and Ranganathan present the 'gambles' that farmers are part of. The novelty of combining a long view of history and evidence based on primary field research results in a book that underscores the importance of investigating roots of agrarian crisis and paying attention to adjustments of farm households, at a crucial juncture in India's economic transformation.

Sarthak Gaurav is a faculty in Economics at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. He began researching risk and vulnerability of agricultural households in Vidarbha and Gujarat since 2008 as part of his PhD at IGIDR, Mumbai. His postdoctoral research at the London School of Economics and CSH, New Delhi was on the Palanpur longitudinal village study. He cofounded the Behavioural Lab and GISE Hub at IIT Bombay. Thiagu Ranganathan is a faculty at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. Since his PhD at the IIT Bombay, he has worked on issues in agricultural economics and development economics including agricultural price risk management and implications of water scarcity on rural livelihood diversification.