Humanities and Social Sciences

Dr. Dhanmanjiri Sathe
Professor, Head of Department, Department of Economics, Savitribai Phule Pune University

Land acquisition is one of the most important issues that has been besetting the Indian’s political economy for some time.  This study focuses on the implications of land acquisition on the land losers i.e. the farmers. While many other studies concentrate on the increase in the industrial output, exports, employment and investment due to land acquisition, this study tries to look at the reality from the point of view of the farmers.
To that end, the study engages in a case study approach by studying a village close to Pune (20 kms)  viz. Maan. We have surveyed all 805 families from this village and have found that the farmer also aspires for the benefits of development, if an ‘ acceptable’ compensation is made available.
The study engages with the theoretical concepts of ‘ primitive accumulation’ and ‘ accumulation by dispossession’ and gives reasons why these frameworks are no longer meaningful and hence applicable to the situation in India.

Dhanmanjiri Sathe has been teaching at the Savitribai Phule Pune University since 2001. Her research interests include issues related to Local Governance, Aspects of Political Economy, Institutional Economics and International Trade. She has published on facets related to land acquisitions in India, globalization and governance, reservations for women in village- local governance bodies  in the state of Maharashtra, India, in various academic journals. Recently she has published a book titled “The Political Economy of Land Acquisition in India: How a Village Stops Being One’ (published by Palgrave). She also contributes regularly to the national newspapers.