Rural unrest in India

India's problems are essentially the intractable problems of the rural poor, who form the majority of her population. During the long history of India the rural areas are said to have remained unchanged, Inspite of the cataclysmic happenings in the cities. Marx pointed out that these idyllic villages were the solid foun dations of Oriental despotism and that they were contaminated by dis tinctions of caste and slavery. Much water has flown under the bridges since then. The assumption of the national struggle for independence Into mass proportions has inevitably resulted in the peasantry being drawn in to the vortex of politics. Struggles against feudal exploi tation which were fierce, became part of the national movement.

Any attempt at increasing the poli ical consiousness of these exploi ted and weaker sections of the rural community was met with stiff resis tence from the ruling classes. With the introduction of land reform measures, though on paper, the assau is on the life and limb of the weaker sections and honour of their women, became the order of the day after independence was won and democracy was formally established. There has been an unwritten collu sion between the rural tyrants and the bourgeoisie and thus the centralised state power comes down heavily on any peasant and agricultural wor kers' and tribal peoples' struggles for survival.