Operation Barga: A Comprehensive Policy for Addressing Rural Poverty

Running head: OPERATION BARGA
OPERATION BARGA
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Author Note

1OPERATION BARGA
Table of Contents
Answer 1..........................................................................................................................................2
Answer 2..........................................................................................................................................2
Answer 3..........................................................................................................................................3
Answer 4..........................................................................................................................................4
Answer 5..........................................................................................................................................5
Answer 6..........................................................................................................................................6
Answer 7..........................................................................................................................................7
Answer 8..........................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

2OPERATION BARGA
Answer 1
Operation Barga was introduced by the West Bengal (WB) government as a
comprehensive policy in 1978 for addressing the problem of high rural poverty and also to bring
a reform in the system of sharecropping (Dam 2015). The new laws of Operation Barga
protected the bargadars from being exploited by the landowners and gave them the right to keep
three-quarters of their cultivated crops with them while paying only 25% quota to the owners of
the land (Murty and Reddy 2017). The higher amount of output share enabled the farmers to earn
increased income. The anti-eviction measures accompanied by big rise in their income gave the
farmers incentives to work much harder and raise their productivity. With more incomes, the
bargadars were capable of undertaking efficient methods and effective techniques to increase
their productivity, which in turn raised their earnings even further. Moreover, with the
implementation of Operation Barga, in the period of 1978-1990, the number of registered
sharecroppers grew to 65% from only 23% and this led to an account of increasing an overall
agricultural output of the region as well as the farmers’ income.
Answer 2
The legal amendments of Operation Barga had left behind an indelible impression on the
bargadars in West Bengal. It changed the relationship between the landowners and bargadars in
two significant ways. Firstly, the anti-eviction policies had prevented the property owners from
throwing the poor farmers forcibly away from their lands with slightest excuse. The rights of the
sharecroppers were thus made hereditary and hence perpetual. Secondly, a fair and sufficient
share of cultivated crop was guaranteed to the tenants by the state. Therefore, the launch of
Operation Barga was quite successful in preventing the exploitation of the poor bargadars by the
wealthy proprietors. In fact, the peasants were massively benefited by the program, which

3OPERATION BARGA
brought a big rise in the agricultural output along with the farmer’s earning level. In West
Bengal, the agricultural growth skyrocketed. It was found that the adoption of Operation Barga
had accounted to beyond 36% increment in the total growth of agricultural productivity during
the period (Bhalotra 2019). Further, the Act had opened the opportunity for the bargadars to
enjoy the economic and social gains. The main achievement of the reform program was that it
enhanced the bargadar’s social status in addition of bringing security to tenancy. In other words,
the policy had ensured as well as legalized a safe and secured position for all the sharecroppers
in the agrarian society. The changes, which took place in the tenancy condition, due to Operation
Barga in West Bengal, brought economic stability among the peasants. Each and every rural
households received tremendous benefits from the reform program. The poverty level in rural
areas reduced sharply with a considerable increase in both wages and food intake in countryside
(Majumder 2018). Hence, from a consequentialist perspective, it can be said that the introduction
of Operation Barga by the newly elected Left Front government of West Bengal was ethically
justified.
Answer 3
Operation Barga can be regarded as the most prominent reform program undertaken by
the Left Front government in the state of West Bengal in the year 1978. The core aim of the
movement is to introduce a shift in the paradigm from the harsh tenancy norms prevalent in the
rural areas of the state and also to encourage the financial emancipation of poverty stricken
sharecroppers. The Act was adopted as a remedial step against the extensive deprivation and
exploitation of the bargadars as well as intense poverty (73%) face by the rural population in
1973. The mission nullified the prevalence of mass exploitation and formed a situation where the
farmers could enjoy the benefits of excessively rising agrarian products. In addition to these, it