Available online
Description
The village of Jodhan, situated in the middle of Punjab's rich wheat-land, has undergone rapid changes in the last 15 years; new seeds, irrigation, tractors, have all made their appearance. This fi...lm explores the lives of the inhabitants: Surjeet Singh, a rich farmer who has made a fortune using the new methods, Jagnail Singh, a small farmer with few resources who has scarcely benefitted at all, migrant labourers from Bihar who are paid a pittance but feel they are "a little better off" than they were at home and a landless Harijan family who have made money with a fruit stall on the main road. Some of the complexities and contradictions of development begin to appear; though the ownership of tractors is higher in this area than anywhere else in India, much of the farm work is still done by hand and the demand for wooden ploughs and ox-carts has increased, not decreased. The aim of the series is to build up a picture of the impact of agricultural development on village life in northern India. Punjab is exceptional, a prosperous state famous for its agriculture, but what about poorer areas such as Bihar and West Bengal?
The village of Jodhan, situated in the middle of Punjab's rich wheat-land, has undergone rapid changes in the last 15 years; new seeds, irrigation, tractors, have all made their appearance. This fi...lm explores the lives of the inhabitants: Surjeet Singh, a rich farmer who has made a fortune using the new methods, Jagnail Singh, a small farmer with few resources who has scarcely benefitted at all, migrant labourers from Bihar who are paid a pittance but feel they are "a little better off" than they were at home and a landless Harijan family who have made money with a fruit stall on the main road. Some of the complexities and contradictions of development begin to appear; though the ownership of tractors is higher in this area than anywhere else in India, much of the farm work is still done by hand and the demand for wooden ploughs and ox-carts has increased, not decreased. The aim of the series is to build up a picture of the impact of agricultural development on village life in northern India. Punjab is exceptional, a prosperous state famous for its agriculture, but what about poorer areas such as Bihar and West Bengal?
| Module code and title: | U204, Third world studies |
|---|---|
| Item code: | U204; 17 |
| First transmission date: | 01-05-1983 |
| Published: | 1983 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OUDA web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:24:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Edward Milner |
| Contributors: | Indira Joshi; Surgeet Singh; Jagnail Singh |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Green Revolution; Irrigation; Peasant farmers; Punjab; Wheat |
| Master spool number: | HOU4425 |
| Production number: | FOUP156J |
| Videofinder number: | 1253 |
| Available to public: | no |
