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Paper short abstract:

Taking Politics of Knowledge as a theoretical framework, this paper examines how colonialism and capitalist agriculture reshaped agrarian practices, leading to the marginalization of millets in India. It explores the enduring impact of these historical processes on indigenous food systems in India.

Paper long abstract:

Millets have been an integral part of India’s indigenous food systems for centuries. Known for their high nutritional value and resilience in diverse agro-climatic conditions, these small grains once formed the backbone of India’s agricultural and dietary landscape. However, colonialism and capitalist agricultural practices led to their marginalization in favour of high-yielding crops like wheat and rice, causing a drastic shift in food habits and the agrarian landscape.

This paper uses the Politics of Knowledge as a theoretical framework to examine the intersection of colonialism, capitalist agriculture, and agrarian transformation in India. It explores how colonial policies and capitalist farming models disrupted indigenous farming practices and knowledge systems. The study focuses on both colonial and post-independence periods, highlighting how post-colonial agricultural policies continued to mirror colonial practices. It demonstrates the continuity of colonial agricultural legacies, showing how these policies contributed to the decline of millets and other traditional crops. The author argues that these processes were not driven only by material forces but also by Knowledge politics, which favoured monocultures and cash crops, undermining ecological sustainability and crop diversity.

The paper also tries to understand how colonial and capitalist agricultural practices unfold in the contemporary food scenario in India, contributing to food insecurity, biodiversity loss, and the erosion of indigenous knowledge systems. By revisiting these historical transformations, the author advocates for the revalorization of millets and the restoration of indigenous food practices as crucial steps toward achieving food sovereignty and sustainable agricultural systems in post-colonial India.