Social transformation in rural society and social unrest in Punjab

Punjab is a border state which contributes in a big way to ensure the food security of India. As an agrarian society, it had to pass through the various economic as well as social phases. The model of the development of agriculture has its own achievements as well as limitations which has posed the serious questions. The agrarian crisis created the sound ground for the emergence and growth of agrarian struggles which could not achieve its goal due to several reasons. The failure and fragmentation of agrarian movement pushed the entire farming community in a unique dilemma. The sense of “alienation of work “and form the “self“ is resulting into suicides which indicates the severity of widespread depression in the working community of rural India. Drug addiction and alcoholism has made its grip on the large youth population. In such a situation, there has been a proliferation of “deras “which are working as “counseling centres”, expanding their base among the lower segments. These “deras” are enjoying name, fame, huge income and property without any fear in the wake of no appropriate politico-legal mechanism to check them. The present paper makes a modest attempt to highlight socio-economic crises being faced by the lower segments of the rural society which has become the cocktail of “drugs”, “deras” and “gangsters'.