Agriculture under the Left Front Regime in West Bengal

Abstract

The agricultural scenario in colonial Bengal was dominated by the zamindari system which transferred ownership of land into the hands of a number of non-cultivating landlords, a huge parasitic class of rent receivers living off a pauperized peasantry showing little interest in agricultural progress. The single most notable feature of West Bengal agriculture since Left Front Government (LFG) came into power in 1977 was the remarkable growth in agricultural output compared to the dismal picture presented by the state till the end of the 1970s. In the context of the alarming decline in agricultural output, LFG announced a new agricultural policy in 2002 to give a boost to the sagging morale of the state’s peasantry. Yet the political will displayed by LFG in effectively implementing the provisions of the 1973 Act and mobilizing the potential beneficiaries first through peasant organizations and then through the panchayat bodies was largely responsible for the success of the land reform measures in West Bengal.