The Agrarian History of Nepal – Fraser Sugden; Suresh Dhakal; Janak Rai

This book is a comprehensive analysis of the history of farming in Nepal and the political economy of agrarian transition across the country’s diverse agro-ecological and socio-cultural domains. Focusing largely on the last five centuries, it charts the evolution of diverse economic and agro-ecological systems across time and space. This includes the unique agrarian formation associated with Nepal’s Adivasi communities, as well as sedentary owner-cultivation, feudalism and capitalism. It traces the complex relations of subjugation between these different systems over time, while also offering insights into how this has mediated changes in cropping patterns, market engagement and technological change. The book uses these historical insights to offer a deeper insight into many of Nepal’s contemporary rural development challenges.
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This is undoubtedly a path-breaking work, which will be a must read, not only for those concerned to understand the history of agrarian change in Nepal and those concerned to identify possible future developments (in response to climate change and other factors) in this particular country, but to all those interested in agrarian change, wherever and for whatever
reason.
-David Seddon
The book, in a nutshell, has empirically demonstrated that the pattern of change, throughout Nepal’s agrarian history, has been incremental rather than transformative. This monumental work has enriched Nepal’s discourses and debates on the peasantry and their divergent trajectories of change in each region of Nepal.
-Laya Prasad Uprety