Land and Social Power Relations in Bihar: Tale of Two Villages
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00195561221120943 |
| Published date | 01 March 2023 |
| Date | 01 March 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Land and Social Power
Relations in Bihar: Tale
of Two Villages
Rapti Mishra1
Abstract
There is a complex relationship between land and the network of social power
in Bihar, which cannot be comprehended by a single lens. This article argues
that depending upon the historical and local contexts of a place, various pat-
terns of social power configurations evolve, which present an opportunity for
theorists to move beyond the established set of narrations and broaden their
lenses, thereby challenging the conformity and reposing trust in variations based
on day-to-day experiences. To highlight this varied pattern of complex relations
between the network of social power and its historical linkages, the article tries
to look into the local narratives of land relations of two villages of Samastipur
district in Bihar, namely Shri Kameshwar Nagar and Banda. Through critical dis-
course analysis (CDA), the article attempts to illustrate that the shifting politico-
economic status is intrinsically related to complex land relations, which, in turn,
reinforces and perpetuates social inequality in various ways, and therefore, there
is a need to have greater insight on the local histories of the land-relations.
Keywords
Bihar, land, bonded labour, social power, local narrative
Introduction
There is a complex relationship between land and social power relations in Bihar.
Though several works have been devoted to Bihar, understanding the shifting
nature of its society through caste and (or) class dynamics, this article adds ‘local
narrative of land relations’ as an additional important component to have a deeper
understanding of the social power relations of a particular place to investigate
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
69(1) 176–187, 2023
© 2022 IIPA
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DOI: 10.1177/00195561221120943
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1 Department of Political Science, Shyam Lal College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Corresponding author:
Rapti Mishra, Department of Political Science, Shyam Lal College, University of Delhi, New Delhi
110032, India.
E-mail: rmishra@shyamlal.du.ac.in
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