Surat District Research Articles

The most severe rainstorm of India—a brief appraisal

ABSTRACT The rainstorm of 1–5 July 1941 which caused exceptionally heavy rains over the coastal belt of north Konkan-south Gujarat has been analysed. The centre of this rainstorm was at Dharampur (Surat district of Gujarat state) which recorded the highest one-day rainfall of 987 mm on 2 July 1941. The areal rain depths obtained from this rainstorm for durations of one to three days over different sized areas were found to exceed the highest areal rain depths obtained in India. A comparison of areal rain depths for this rainstorm with similar rain depths obtained from the most severe rainstorms of the USA and Australia showed that, barring one or two small areas, the July 1941 rainstorm gave higher rain depths up to an area of 65 000 km2 for durations of one to three days. The efficiency of this rainstorm was also determined and found to be the highest among the Indian and American rainstorms. Considering this, the July 1941 rainstorm may be considered as one of the world's most severe rainstorms.

Seasonal migration and co‐operative capitalism: The crushing of cane and of labour by the sugar factories of Bardoli, South Gujarat‐part 2∗

Seasonal migration is not a new phenomenon in India, but its present character and scale are indicative of a far‐reaching transformation in the countryside: a change to new production relationships. This article contains an analysis of the utilisation of migrant labourers by the sugar factories in the vicinity ofBardoli, in South Gujarat. This type of seasonal migration is most closely bound up with the capitalist development of rural production in this area∼a process in which the organisation of the dominant class of farmers into agricultural co‐operatives has played an important part. After a description of the development of sugarcane cultivation in Surat District, consideration is given to the process of recruitment of seasonal migrants, the organisation of cane cutting, the conditions of work, the reasons for the employment of migratory labour (given the availability of local labour), and, finally, the nature of both the level and the perception of exploitation of labour.

Seasonal migration and co‐operative capitalism: The crushing of cane and of labour by the sugar factories of Bardoli, South Gujarat—part 1∗

Seasonal migration is not a new phenomonen in India, but its. present character and scale are indicative of afar‐reaching transformation in the countryside: a change to new production relationships. This article contains an analysis of the utilisation of migrant labourers by the sugar factories in the vicinity of Bardoli, in South Gujarat. This type of seasonal migration is most closely bound up with the capitalist development of rural production in this area—a process in which the organization of dominant class of farmers into agricultural co‐operatives has played an important part. After a description of the development of sugarcane cultivation in Surat District, consideration is given to the process of recruitment of seasonal migrants, the organization of cane cutting, the conditions of work, the reasons for the employment of migratory labour (given the availability of local labour), and, finally, the nature of both the level and the perception of the exploitation of labour.

Some management objectives of the peasant farmer: An analysis of risk aversion in the choice of cropping pattern, Surat district, India

The basis of peasant farmers’ decision‐making is a critical factor in the formation of agricultural policy in developing countries. If farmers operate efficiently, implying that profits are maximised, then incomes can only be increased by introducing improved methods of production; if farmers do not act efficiently, it may be desirable to reallocate resources within traditional agriculture. Similarly, predictions of farmers’ responses to price changes and thus the impact on aggregate production and employment1 are based on assumptions regarding farmers’ management objectives. The primary aim of this paper is to examine empirically the cropping patterns chosen by a group of peasant farmers in Surat District, India, using a simple model of risk aversion. The data show that the observed behaviour corresponds very closely to the hypothesis that farmers allocate land to different crops by striking some balance between the competing criteria of (a) increasing income and (b) decreasing risk measured by income va...