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सभी खान-पान

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Transitions in food and farming Well into the 1980s, the region of Sitapur (located in western Avadh, Uttar Pradesh, India) was famous across north India for its dals (pulses). Flanked by the Gomti and Sharda rivers and dotted with wetlands, Sitapur district was a major producer of urad (black gram), arhar (pigeon pea), masur (lentil) and chana (gram) as well as groundnuts. Not only were these nutritious foods sent across the country along the railway network, they were also an integral part of local diets, even of the most marginalised. Along with these protein rich foods, diets included jaggery (high in iron and micronutrients), milk and ghee (clarified butter) for the rich and raab (liquidy jaggery) along with buttermilk (byproduct of the butter-making process) for the poor. Nutritious cereals like barley, bajra (pearl millet), dhaani (indigenous red rice) and husked millets (barnyard, kodo and foxtail) were cultivated and consumed across caste and class, although elite households ate wheat and white rice. Several varieties of vegetables, greens and fruits were cultivated, and many that grew in the wild were collected. Animals – cattle, goats and pigs – were an integral part of the farming system, and bred for milk or meat. Wild rice, fish, mushrooms, wild animals, tubers and other wild foods were hunted or collected from forests, wetlands and fallow fields and formed an integral part of food cultures. Diets changed with the seasons, and festivals marked these changes through ritualised consumption of seasonal foods. You will be able to hear or read about some of these dietary practices as you browse specific items on the food mat. Today, very few of these foods can be found growing in the region and they have also disappeared from people’s plates. In the past 40-50 years, changes in the agrarian landscape and the availability of packaged foods have transformed diets, and this has had a serious impact on household nutrition.



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खेती और खान पान में बदलाव पिछले कुछ वर्षों में सीतापुर जिले में बढ़ते कुपोषण को देखते हुए, संगतिन और आई. आई. टी. दिल्ली ने मिलकर खेती खाना और पोषण के बीच रिश्तों को समझने की कोशिश की। इस शोध में हम 2 गांव के 102 परिवारों से (जो विभिन्न जाति और वर्ग से थे) चार मौसमों में मिले और उनके खान-पान का सर्वे किया। इससे पता चला कि अधिकतर लोग सिर्फ गेहूं की रोटी, सफेद चावल, चीनी, आलू, चाय और बाजारी पदार्थ, जैसे बिस्किट और रस्क, खा रहे है, जिससे उनके पोषण की जरूरतें पूरे नहीं हो रही हैं। हम जानते थे कि यह क्षेत्र, पश्चिमी अवध, कभी दालें और मूँगफली के लिये मशहूर हुआ करता था । देश भर में पहुँचती थी सीतापुर की उरद, अरहर और मसूर की दाल। दाल मिलों के साथ-साथ मूंगफली का तेल भी कारखानों में तैयार हो कर उत्तर भारत में कई जगह पहुँचता था। यहा लोगों के खान-पान में दाल, मूंगफली, गुड़, मोटा अनाज प्रमुखता से था। सर्दियों में गाँव में गुड़ बेल और भुर्जियों के ठेले, गर्मियों में आम और अमरूद के बगीचे, बरसात में हरा साग, मशरूम और मछलियाँ, हर मौसम में कई प्रकार की खाद्य सामग्री हुआ करती थी। ढेरों त्योहार अलग-अलग मौसम में उगने वाले फसल से जुड़े थे। अब हमारे सामने कई सवाल आये जैसे - कहाँ गई सारी विविधता, कहाँ गया पोषण? इनके गायब होने के क्या कारण रहे होंगे? इन सवालों के कुछ जवाब हमें शोध के दूसरे हिस्से से मिले।



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Caste: All

Geography: All

In western Avadh, jau (barley) was the primary cereal grain of the rabi (winter) crop before irrigation became widespread. As villagers in this video describe, jau was processed and cooked in various ways and was an important component of local diets. However, threshing and processing was tedious, and meanwhile expanded irrigation led to a transition to wheat. Barley has disappeared from fields and plates – is this mourned or accepted as a fallout of "progress"?

Caste: All

Geography: All

Kodo millet is a resilient and nutritious grain grown by farmers in western Avadh for generations. In this video, farmers from the region share how they cultivated and consumed this grain, and describe its benefits.

Caste: All

Geography: All

Many types of fruits were cultivated or grew wild in western Avadh. Fruit shrubs and trees could be found in forests, by the river or alongside roads. Villagers in this video describe how they collected and consumed these fruits.

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Pidva was made by roasting and grinding pearl millet, dry ginger, groundnut and sesame, mixing it with jaggery and rolling it into balls. The ingredients for pidva were roasted for 2 days at a stretch. Those who were making more got it roasted by a bhurji. Pidva could be stored for months"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We ate bajra ki roti with mattha"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Thick rotis made of jau or bajra, left over from the evening before, were eaten in the morning - these were called baasi roti. Thin wheat rotis don't taste as good when left overnight"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"When working in the fields, labourers were given boiled or roasted chana, jondhri and bajra. Sometimes, even the landowners ate this"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"To make saalan, we would boil chane ka saag, and to it add chana, bajra, saanwa and ber"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Chabena was made by roasting jau, moongphali, chana, jondhri, bajra, moth etc."

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Bajra was pounded and cooked with chana to make khichdi"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Moti (thick) rotis were made of gram, barley, pearl millet etc."

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Aalan – chane ka saag cooked with bajra flour"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Saanwa ka bhaat (barnyard millet rice) was eaten throughout the year"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Saanwa ki roti was eaten with ghuiyya (arbi, taro root) cooked in gravy"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We women had to pound saanwa in the morning & grind it in the evening. It has seven layers of husk, so it took so much effort."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"During weddings, work was distributed to other families in the village, e.g. a few kgs of saanwa were given to each woman to be pounded. Sometimes, women would grind 80 kg and more"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Saanwa grains were roasted before storage. This made the grains fragrant, and they could be pounded to make rice easily"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"We ate less wheat and more jau, saanwa and kakun. Saanwa and kakun rice was consumed regularly"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Saanwa would sometimes be roasted and pounded to remove the husk, then eaten as is"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Jau and chana rotis were made thick and by hand"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Bajra and jowar were eaten till Phagun (spring), after that saanwa was pounded and consumed till Bhadon-Kunwaar (monsoon)"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Saanwa was boiled and then dried, then pounded"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Jau ki guri (barley with husk removed and pounded) was used to make roti. It could also be used to make rice"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Jau ki dalia (coarsely ground) was cooked with arhar dal to make khichdi"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Sattu – roasted and powdered jau and chana – was mixed with water or milk/buttermilk and consumed in the mornings"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Jau ki bhuri – coarse jau flour with the bran – was used by the poor"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"There was more jau and chana in rotis and less wheat"

Caste: OBC

Geography: All

"We went to school 6-7 km away. For us, raw kakun rice was roasted and soaked in water – we would tie it up in a cloth and take it with us. By lunch time, it would puff up and we ate it with relish."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Gojai was a mix of jau and wheat. Chamariya gojai, with less wheat and more jau, was consumed by Dalits and the poor, while Rajhatta gojai (more wheat, less jau) was purchased by the rich"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Wheat was separated from gojai for guests and weddings"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"In uparhar land (uplands) we grew bajra, til, moong, moth and groundnut"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"Arhar was intercropped with urad, jowar, saanwa, kakun, maize, bajra and other crops"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"The yield of jau was very low, sometimes just 30-40 kg / bigha"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"Jau and chana were mixed and broadcast on upland fields"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

If it rained in winter, then jau would be harvested along with other winter crops"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"Less amounts of bajra, jowar, saanwa and kakun were sowed, so less was harvested"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"The best harvest of saanwa would be a quintal per bigha"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Saanwa was sown in Saavan and harvested in Bhadon-Kunwaar"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Saanwa and kodo were sold in the village itself"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"We lost many of our traditional seeds – bajra (pearl millet), moth, saanwa (barnyard millet) - during the 1979-80 drought. After that, we had to buy hybrid seeds from the market"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"In the month of Bhadon, we Paasis have a puja where we worship the saanwa pannicles. Even now, all the saanwa pannicles in one field of mine go to relatives and friends for puja"

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: All

Geography: All

From Gibb, H.A.R. The Travels of Ibn Battuta, quoted in A History of Agriculture in India, vol 2, M. S. Randhawa

Caste: All

Geography: All

From: Ferrar, M. L. (1875). The Regular Settlement and Revised Assessment of the District of Sitapur

Caste: All

Geography: All

From: Ferrar, M. L. (1875). The Regular Settlement and Revised Assessment of the District of Sitapur

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Ber was added to khichdi"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Ber was cooked with chane ka saag as it was sour"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Karaonda (carissa carandas) was used to make chutney and pickle"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Tamarind was mixed with salt, jeera (cumin) and chilli peppers and dried"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"To make aamras tikki, mango pulp was mixed with salt and chilli peppers and dried. Later, it was soaked in water and made into chutney"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Dried ber were boiled with gur and eaten with roti" – ber (jujube) fruit were collected in winter and dried. Later, they would be boiled with jaggery and eaten with roti

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Ber ki bariya – jujube mixed with salt and chilli peppers, dried, and later eaten with rice"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Ambiya (small raw mangoes) were soaked in vinegar"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"Pickles were made from lemon and jackfruit"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Mangoes were plentiful, even cattle were fed mangoes"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Mahua was used in sabji and to make alcohol"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Ber was cooked with urad dal or lobhiya and chane ka saag"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"We would go into mango orchards and pick up the fallen fruit. The orchard owners did not object. We would dry them and use them for cooking"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: River banks

"There were many makoiya trees nearby, as well as other fruit trees"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Beljharra is the small, sour type of jujube which grow on shrubs. They were eaten with gur or dried for later use"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forests

"We used to collect sackfuls of ber, beljharra, jamun, karaonda etc. from the forests"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Sometimes I would eat only amrud (guava) from the orchard the entire day"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forests

"We would fill our stomachs with ber when there was nothing else to eat"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"We used to clean and store tamarind in deheriya – it would last us for months"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: River banks

"There was so much sharifa (custard apple) and bel (Bengal quince) - they are nutritious and we ate to our hearts" content"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"There was more than enough fruit for everyone. We didn"t have to make rules for how much each family could take"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"There wasn"t much of a market for fruit. Vendors who took mangoes to Saadatnagar to sell were told to take their unsold produce back. They would dump them outside villages"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forests

"There were lots of jungle jalebi shrubs in the forest"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forests

"Now only some small trees are left in the forest, all the big fruit trees have been cut down"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forests

"Earlier, men would go to the forest almost everyday and women would go when there were fruits to pick"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"After Chakbandi (land consolidation), many fruit trees were cut down"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"The tamarind trees were cut down to be sold for timber"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We eat fruits in season, though much less than before, and do not dry or preserve them now"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Each year, one field would be kept empty – saali rakhte - and animals would graze there"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: River banks, pasture lands

"There was plenty of grazing lands for our cattle. We had many cows at that time."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"In our village, the Brahmins told us Dalits that we should only rear goats and pigs, not cattle"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We drank gur or raab sharbat mixed with curd or mattha. Some called it Shikanna, others Dahgarda" – jaggery was mixed with water and buttermilk to make a drink

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Milk was not sold - ghee was. So any excess milk was converted to ghee. Traders would come to the village, from as far away as Kanpur, to buy it"

Caste: Savarna, OBC

Geography: All

"Mattha could not be sold, so it was consumed or given away"

Caste: Savarna, OBC

Geography: All

"Then we didn"t eat so much grain – we drank milk"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We consumed baasi (leftover) roti with milk or mattha for breakfast"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"We Brahmins never bought ghee made by Dalits" (Savarna castes practiced untouchability around ghee)

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"When we worked in a big farmer's field, we received mattha while working or before going home"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Mattha gave us strength - We would drink 2 kilos of it, then plough the fields"

Caste: Savarna, OBC

Geography: All

"Bajra ki rotis were dipped in ghee and eaten"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"When we had nothing else to eat, we would drink mattha with raab and get by"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Bulls were used for agricultural work, to operate kolhus (for gur) etc."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Pasture lands

"Everyone was allowed to graze their cattle in the pastures – in fact, some Chamars (Dalits) worked as herdsmen and earned a small wage"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Indigenous bulls, which were used for ploughing, threshing etc. were more important than the cows, which gave just a little milk. The cows were left to graze in the pastures, while the bulls were fed extra grains"

Caste: All

Geography: All

Caste: All

Geography: All

Article on the impact of "gau raksha" on farmers in Sitapur dt. https://thewire.in/agriculture/gau-raksha-bovine-economy-agricultural-produce

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Now, we don"t drink milk at home – we feed it to the dairy"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"The rate given by Parag or by private dairies barely covers our expenses. That is why so many families are giving up rearing cattle"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Even children barely drink any milk, only a little bit in chai"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Very few people drink mattha these days. Only during Aghaniya (a festival in November), we use mattha to make dahi vada"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"So much adulteration of milk happens to increase the fat and SNF (Solids Not Fats) readings, so that they get a better rate"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

Batra, S M, 1981, "The Place of Livestock in the Social and Economic System of a Village in Haryana", thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology, University of Delhi, quoted in George, S. (1985). Operation Flood and Rural India: Vested and Divested Interests. Economic & Political Weekly, 20(49), Dec 7, 1985

Caste: All

Geography: All

India"s Milk Revolution: Investing in Rural Producer Organizations" - Verghese Kurien, 2007

Caste: All

Geography: All

Postcolonial developments" - Akhil Gupta, 1998, pg 282

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Earlier, one cared about the animals. One would search everywhere for a missing calf. Now, no one is bothered about even a desi cow"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Bulls were used for ploughing and to operate the kolhu, now what use are bulls?"

Caste: All

Geography: Canal command area

From: Darley, S.B., 1932. THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE SARDA CANAL.(INCLUDES PLATES AT BACK OF VOLUME). In Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers (Vol. 233, No. 1932, pp. 140-160). Thomas Telford-ICE Virtual Library

Caste: All

Geography: Water bodies

From: Tripathi, R.P. and Misra, C.B. 1964. Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sitapur. Lucknow: Department of District Gazetteers

Caste: All

Geography: Water bodies

From: Varghese, S., Narayanan, S.P., Raj, V.P., Prasad, V.H. and Prasad, S.N., 2007. Analyses of Wetland Habitat Changes and its Impacts on Avifauna in Select Districts of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh, India, Between 1972 and 2004

Caste: All

Geography: Water bodies

From: Varghese, S., Narayanan, S.P., Raj, V.P., Prasad, V.H. and Prasad, S.N., 2007. Analyses of Wetland Habitat Changes and its Impacts on Avifauna in Select Districts of the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Uttar Pradesh, India, Between 1972 and 2004

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"Fish were abundant in Chaith and Baisakh (the summer months). When they came to the surface, they were knocked out by sticks, collected and cooked."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"In the monsoon, when water overflowed and filled up in low lying areas, we would catch fish there as well."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"Fish were available throughout the year in ponds or rivers."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: River banks

"Fish were caught in the nearby river and cooked once every 2-3 days"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"Fish were plentiful – those who were good at catching fish ate more, others less"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"We ate"chudhi machhli" – fish cooked and eaten without any grain or accompaniment"

Caste: Dalit, poor Muslims

Geography: Water bodies

"In the month of Poos (January), food was scarce, so we ate fish every day"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We ate many types of fish - seeng, bham, mangur, bhur, chhanga, rohu, tangna, mudaar, patva, katna, padini, jhikta, bhakru..."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Fish was cheap in Saadatnagar market. We bought many varieties of fish throughout the year."

Caste: Savarna & Dalit

Geography: All

"The Paasis (a Dalit caste) would fish, and we Thakurs (a dominant warrior caste) would buy fish from them"

Caste: Dalit, poor Muslims

Geography: Water bodies

"The jhabar (wetland) near our village was huge and bordered two other villages. We caught fish, consumed and sold it"

Caste: Dalit, poor Muslims

Geography: Water bodies

"The jhabar (wetland) near our village was huge, bordering seven villages. Most villagers regularly caught fish there and ate fish almost every day"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"My grandfather is over 100 years old and he has eaten fish every day all his life"

Caste: All

Geography: Water bodies

"Now all the ponds are under contract - we can"t go and fish there. First the contracts were issued by the Pradhan (elected village head). Now they are being issued by Revenue officials."

Caste: All

Geography: Water bodies

"Now there isn"t much rain. So how can the ponds fill up and how will we get fish?"

Caste: Poor Muslims

Geography: All

"Onions were soaked in vinegar and eaten with roti"

Caste: Dalit, Poor Muslims

Geography: All

"Bathua was cooked with urad dal or added to roti directly"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"We did not eat potatoes in this village when I came here as a bride, but in my maika (natal home), we used to buy potatoes from the Ramkot market"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Fertile lands

"We would harvest lehsua, silvaari, nari and other greens from the tarai fields where dhaani grew. These were owned by big farmers who didn't object to us doing this. We helped clear their fields of khar patvaar (weeds) after all"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"While poor families collected greens from forests or fields, we bought these greens from them"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Naari, a green, was cooked with chaulayi, another green"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Ghuiyya leaves were cooked with dal"

Caste: All

Geography: Homes

"Everyone grew greens and vegetables, either in their fields or on their thatched roofs. We could harvest greens from any field for our home use, or pick a lauki from someone's roof. No one objected."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Whatever vegetables were in season, we would cut and dry them to use at other times. For example, when it rained continuously for days and we couldn't get any fresh vegetables, we would soak these dry pieces and cook them."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We ate bajra roti with fresh revsa, pumpkin and other seasonal vegetables"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"Jalghuyya, a root vegetable, was found on the banks of the Kathna river. It was found throughout the year and was used to make sabji"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Jimikand, a root vegetable, was boiled with tamarind leaves to get out the glue. After that, it was cooked"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forests

"Kateela parwal and other wild vegetables were found in the forests near our village"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We ate saanwa ki roti with ghuiyya ki sabji"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"The greens of chana, peas and mustard plants were consumed in winter"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"Bathua grew in fields or near water bodies. Often widows and others from very poor families would collect these greens and sell them in the market"

Caste: OBC

Geography: Fertile lands

"Traditionally farmers from the Murao (Maurya) caste cultivated vegetables. This was especially true in Pitouli village, where farmers would supply the local markets. Now other farmers also grow vegetables"

Caste: All

Geography: Homes

"Earlier, women used to plant vegetables around their house, now very few women do"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"We made sabzi with groundnuts"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"Groundnut kheer was made by roasting the groundnuts, peeling and grinding them and then cooking with rice"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soils

"Labourers were given groundnuts, salt and matchsticks so that they could roast them"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Groundnuts and dal were shelled at home"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soils

"A lot of groundnut was cultivated in the bhur region. Labourers would come from the matiyaar region to work in the groundnut fields"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soils

"Then we passed haivat with groundnuts"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Mustard, til and niger were used to make oil. Niger was called kharif waali alsi and grown in the monsoon."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Even poor families were able to grow or purchase a few kilos of oilseeds and get them pressed for oil."

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"Black sesame was used in poojas"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"We had rooms filled with groundnuts. We would sell 500 kg of groundnut to buy kerosene and salt for the whole year"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"Rampal Singh became the Pradhan of Jaswantpur in 1982, then he still had desi groundnut in his fields"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy soils

"The old, desi variety of groundnut was called bedka – those seeds have now disappeared. With this seed, production was low, but more oil was generated - it gave half its weight in oil. It was like an almond. It was a 5 month crop, from Ashaad to Agahan"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Alsi (flax) was planted with chana for oil and fodder"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy soils

"White girar attacked groundnut crops from 1982-86"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Groundnut cultivation dropped due to sugarcane. Irrigation started the decline, but sugarcane finished it"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"The Thadiha variety of groundnut came from Gujarat – they were long and sweet"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Til is now grown as a commercial crop. We consume a little during Sakat, that's all."

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"Some farmers have been buying hybrid groundnut seeds for the last 15 years from Sandila market and Madhavganj. These grow in 3 months and are slightly salty."

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy soils

"Now we get the saatha variety of groundnut seeds. They grow quickly, but barely give one-third of their weight in oil"

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"The lean times were during Jharautha (Phagun, Feb-March), Kunwar (Aug-Sept), Bhadon (July-August)"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Money was borrowed at dhevda to buy grain - if we borrowed one rupee, we had to return one-and-a-half rupees. Dhevda was horrible as interest would add up very quickly"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"People would work for others for grain"

Caste: OBC

Geography: All

"We would maintain patrols at night to protect our wheat. Thieves would try to steal it"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"The poor would grind bathua seeds and use the flour to make rotis. Or they would make ghaas ki roti (rotis made from brown top millet)"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Two famines were experienced in the 70s-80s. Then ladhiya was boiled and eaten. People sold a lot of things to get by"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"The months of Pus and Phagun (Jan-Feb, Feb-March) were the times of least food availability"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Haivat (Dec-Jan) was toughest for the labouring class. Work was hard to get, warm clothes were insufficient, and oppression was widespread"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Crop yields were low, people had very little money or access to services"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Sugarcane juice and gur helped people get by"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Boiled bathua was mixed with jowar to make roti"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"During drought, boiled semra ka chaal (bark of the semra tree) was consumed"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Bel or bathua was boiled and eaten"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Sometimes, there was no food for 2-3 days"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Foods was distributed at poojas (religious ceremonies)"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"People would go out to find work, but even work was hard to get"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Sometimes, roads were being built and people would get work"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Broken rice or rice pieces were sold in the market"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

Guests would come during haivat and there was no food for them

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"When I came as a new bride here, my in-laws were harsh with me. Sometimes I would only eat amrud from the orchard the entire day"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

One year, the barley harvest failed, so the bajra pannicles were ground and used as flour"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"During Holi Parikrama, the pilgrims had to be fed. Money would be borrowed for this"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Once, to pay off a loan, I had to work for 3 years in the lender's field"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Many years ago, an embankment was being built near the river. 25-30 kg of rice was given on the fourth day. Till then, people borrowed atta on dhevda and worked"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Sometimes all we had was salt dissolved in water"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"We ate semra ka chhaal and fruits"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"We harvested akra ki dal from wheat fields"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Then, atta and dal would be stolen"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Then we ate baasi food"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"In Haivat, we drank sharbat and somehow managed"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Then, when we ran out of grain, we could only go to Saadatnagar. Now, when we run out of grain, we can even go to Delhi"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"In our village, there was hunger. People ate saag and drank water."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Us women would drink ganne ki patoi (the dust on top of sugarcane juice)"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"When women began to work outside the house, hunger went down. They came out to take up domestic work and then MGNREGA"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Migration has increased, and that has improved incomes. Some 6-7 families in this village have left over the past 2 years"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Since 2016, ration is provided, but some needy families still don"t have ration cards"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"We would lend money at dhevda"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Now, if we work hard we can meet our food needs"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Then we passed haivat with groundnuts"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"We would fill our stomachs with ber when there was nothing else to eat"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"There was hunger then, there is hunger now"

Caste: Dalit, poor Muslims

Geography: Water bodies

"In the month of Poos (Jan-Feb), food was scarce, so we ate fish every day"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: Water bodies

"The zamindar brought in 3 families in the late 1800s to settle this village and work on his fields - we are all their descendants. He gave us some land by the river, but our kharif crop would often be washed away. If any saanwa or kakun or makai survived, it would be harvested. We would also collect jarua ka daana (browntop millet) and pound it to make rice."

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"If you worked on a big farmer's land, you barely had time to take care of your own land. We could not sow on time, weed or harvest on time"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"In Kunwaar (Sep-Oct), our food grain stocks would run out before the next crop could be harvested. Then we women would go into the fields, looking for ripe pannicles to harvest for rice."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"After Independence, about half of Ballapur"s residents got rights to some land - the land that they were permanently cultivating. But most of the land that they cultivated was on short-term lease (kooth) and they did not get ownership of this land"

Caste: All

Geography: River bank

"In the late 1950s, the Gomti river changed its path and deposited a huge pile of sand on Pitouli's more fertile lands. We had to move our village a kilometre inland, and lost about half of our landholdings"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"The chakbandi in Wazirnagar Panchayat was conducted in 1963. Then, the ceiling laws weren't in effect, so not much land was freed up. Whatever parthi zameen was available was distributed. We didn't know that we had to ask for common lands during the Chakbandi, so there was no grazing land allocated in our village. Grazing lands were identified in other villages in our Panchayat."

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"The Ballapur zamindars were the first to grow trees in the bhur region. Their orchard was planted in anticipation of the ceiling announced in 1966-67. The ceiling for orchards was higher, so this was one way of protecting land. Desi mango trees take about 8 years to fruit."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"The Yadavs in Jajpurva owned more land, the Paasis less. Yadavs bought more than 30 bighas of land from Saadatnagar landowners and increased their holdings. Meanwhile, the Paasis did not sell land, but their landholdings dropped due to having large families"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Pattas were made to landless or marginal landholding families in Ballapur, but the land was not distributed - the zamindar family is very powerful. My family got a patta, but we don"t even know where the land is."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"There was grazing land (40 bighas), land for homes (6 bighas), khalihaan (threshing ground) and a playground. Now they are all encroached by villagers"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"There was forest land near the road and 27 bighas of grazing land, now very little is left"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Chakbandi took place in Sundarpurva in 1970-75. Our forefathers were not knowledgeable, they thought "we will get a good chak (piece of land) for ourselves". Instead, a lot of good land in Sundarpurva went into the hands of Saadatnagar farmers"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Sataana had 3 bighas of land. Her husband had a vasectomy and they were allotted 5 bighas, though only half came into their possession. Some 5-6 families got 2 bighas each in our village after having vasectomies."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"In Bareliya Gram Sabha the land ceiling limits, set at 15 acres, were implemented during Chakbandi in 1979-80. No one had land above the limits, but 2% was taken from every landowner. Some forest land was distributed, but most of the land distributed to the landless or marginal farmers was on a sloping channel between two rivers. The Soil Conservation Department built bunds, then cut terraces into the channel. These fields are now irrigated and farmers cultivate wheat there."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Earlier, there was a lot of rain and land flooded from Maliyani to Sultannagar (3 km). When the canal was full, it would be breached and the water filled the jhaabar. The jhaabar connected with the Gomti river through the canal. Short-term pattas were given to families on the edge of the jhaabar in the 1980s, but they continued to cultivate there even after the pattas expired. As the jhaabar receded, they encroached on the exposed land."

Caste: All

Geography: Forest

"The Soil Conservation Department worked on our village forest. It was divided into 4 parts and bunds were built, trees were planted. But many of the trees were uprooted and stolen – people planted them on their own land. Then, the new Pradhan took up tree planting, but he selected diesel trees (jatropha) and not fruit trees. They are of no use to us. Earlier, we were scared of entering the forest - there were bandits, but now kids play there. Now it is a jungle in name only"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"During the early days of the MGNREGA struggle, in 2006-07, ponds were built in the Miyapur jhaabar. That time there was still water in the jhaabar. But gradually the rains reduced and even the ponds did not fill up - only in years with heavy rainfall do they fill up. When digging the ponds, the soil dug out was spread in the jhaabar and maybe that elevated it. Anyway, the jhaabar is dry now and people farm there."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Malathi's father-in-law owned 90 bighas of not-so-fertile land. It was distributed between his two sons. Malathi has 5 sons and 3 daughters – each son will receive 9 bighas. One son has two sons, so it will be further divided. So, over 4 generations, the landholding has dropped sharply"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"There are 3 lakes in Wazirnagar and 3-4 lakes in Miyapur. The contracts for fish in these lakes were auctioned just last year by the Tehsildar – these are 10 year contracts. Some people in Miyapur took these contracts. Earlier, this was done by the Pradhan but now the government wants to manage these directly. These lakes are not getting filled, so how will they get much fish? But the contract amounts are very low - three or four thousand, so maybe it is ok for them"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"The jhaabar near Rannupur spanned seven villages. But after a drainage canal was built, the water has receded and powerful farmers have taken it over. They cultivate paddy and sugarcane now."

Caste: All

Geography: All

From: Tripathi, R.P. and Misra, C.B. 1964. Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sitapur. Lucknow: Department of District Gazetteers

Caste: All

Geography: All

From: Tripathi, R.P. and Misra, C.B. 1964. Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sitapur. Lucknow: Department of District Gazetteers

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"A few Chamar (Raidas) used to eat cow and buffalo meat. Now no one does"

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"Deer, syahi (porcupine) and hare meat was consumed"

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"Pigs were reared. For the price of 1 kg of goat meat, one could get 1 paseri (2.5 kg) of pork"

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"We ate daangar, the meat of cattle that died of natural causes. After eating daangar, we would bathe and only then enter our homes or drink water from there."

Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims

Geography: All

"Chickens are being reared only recently."

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"Women would eat less meat, they usually ate last and there was very little left for them by then"

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"Chaugada were hunted by men and eaten."

Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims

Geography: All

"Buffalo meat, all kinds of meat were consumed, but now due to fear they are not consumed"

Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims

Geography: All

"Goat meat cost Rs. 100/kg when I was young. Now it is more than Rs. 400/kg. We women ate plenty of goat meat"

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"A family reared pigs in our village, so pork was cheaply available."

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"At the time of marriage, the groom's family would hold a ceremony where a pig was sacrificed."

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"Many Dalits have given up eating meat after joining the Jai Gurudev movement."

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"Even now, we can hunt hares in sugarcane fields. No one stops us."

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"During the Ashaad puja (in monsoon), pigs were sacrificed"

Caste: Poor Muslims

Geography: All

"Even Muslims don't eat as much meat as before. Now it is goat meat only during Eid and chicken occasionally."

Caste: Dalits, poor Muslims

Geography: All

"Broiler chicken is like potato - without any nutrition."

Caste: Dalits

Geography: All

"The Brahmins told us not to eat beef, the Muslims told us not to eat pork. So we stopped eating them."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

Western Avadh was replete with wetlands, as a result of low-lying land that would be flooded seasonally or perennially. In this video, a landless farmer couple share their memories of the wetland near their home, its gradual disappearance and the various foods it provided.

Caste: All

Geography: Water bodies

From: Pathak, M.D., 1991. Rice production in Uttar Pradesh: progress and suggestions for improvement. Int. Rice Res. Inst..

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

From: Neville H. R. 1905. Sitapur, a Gazetteer being Volume XL of the District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: River bank

"We used to collect jarua ka daana (browntop millet), which grew wild. We pounded it to remove the husk and make rice."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: River bank

"Patua was grown to make thick rope from its stem. We collected and used the flowers and seeds. The flowers added sourness to any food, and the seeds were roasted for chabena or setua"

Caste: All

Geography: Fields

"Sanai was grown to make thin rope. We collected the flowers - sanai ke phool - and cooked them."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Fields

"Patua ki bodri (roselle seeds) were ground and cooked with salt, chillies and turmeric"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Fields

"We harvested akra ki dal (a type of wild legume) from wheat fields."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forest

"Earlier, we used to get ber, kareliya, karaonda, jamun, kateela parwal and mushrooms from the Bhedaiyya jungle. Mushrooms are still available"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"We used to collect lotus plants and eat kamalgatta, and also harvested jalghuiyya and other tubers from lakes and rivers"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Water bodies

"We would harvest quintals of tinni and pasahi rice from the nearby jhabar. Tinni rice sold at a good rate because it was consumed on fasting days. We ate the pasahi rice ourselves."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Forest

"We collect the small white mushrooms from the nearby forest. They fetch a good rate in the market, so we sell them."

Caste: All

Geography: All

Farmers in western Avadh cultivated a wide range of pulses, some of which have now vanished from farms and diets. As they describe in this video, diversity was not just due to the different types of pulses, but also the seed varieties which determined the cultivation season and growing period, as well as the processing and cooking methods used

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"The arhar plants were used for firewood all year long, also for making brooms"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy soils

"Arhar was intercropped with groundnut; both harvests were good - in 1 bigha, we would get 2 quintals of groundnut and 1 quintal arhar"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"When working in the fields, labourers were given boiled or roasted chana, jondhri and bajra. Sometimes, even the landowners ate this"

Caste: Dalit & OBC

Geography: All

"To make saalan, we would boil chane ka saag, and to it add chana, bajra, saanwa and ber"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Chabena was made by roasting jau, moongphali, chana, jondhri, bajra, moth etc."

Caste: Dalit & OBC

Geography: All

"Bajra was pounded and cooked with chana to make khichdi"

Caste: Dalit & OBC

Geography: All

"Moti (thick) rotis were made of chana, jau, bajra etc."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Arhar, urad and lobhiya were extensively cultivated"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Moth (moth bean) and bhatmaas (kesari dal) were extensively cultivated, now they have disappeared"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Yellow mugarra (moong, green gram) was cultivated and eaten"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Aghaniya urad would take 5 months to grow. On the last day of Aghan (in November-December), vade were made of urad dal. Only after that would urad dal be consumed"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: All

"We would get 60 man (1200 kg) of arhar, most of this would be sold for marriage expenses"

Caste: Dalit & OBC

Geography: All

"We stopped growing pulses in the 1990s due to the incursion of nilgai (wild antelope) into our fields"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Chana was boiled, ground and mixed with gur to make bheli"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soils

"We used to eat urad ki roti with urad ki dal"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Jau and chana rotis were made thick and by hand"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"We would make setua (sattu) with mauthi. Once you ate this sattu, you would not want to eat any other kind"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Bajra rotis were consumed with urad ki dal, chana dal, revsa or lobhiya

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Lobhiya and mauthi were ground into flour to make rotis"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Dal was more sticky – zyaada chiknahat"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Sattu – roasted and powdered jau and chana – was mixed with water or milk/buttermilk and consumed in the mornings"

Caste: Dalit & OBC

Geography: All

"Labourers were given roasted chana, now they get glucose biscuits"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"There was more jau and chana in rotis and less wheat"

Caste: All

Geography: All

There was a saying about rain in the winter months. 'sothi baras gayi, mothi baras gayi' – if it rained during the time of the Swati nakshatra, the earth would be very fertile. Then one could get a good harvest of chana and matri"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"In uparhar land (uplands) we grew bajra, til, moong, moth and groundnut"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"Arhar was intercropped with urad, jowar, saanwa, kakun, maize, bajra and other crops"

Caste: All

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"Jau and chana were mixed and broadcast on upland fields"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Canal command area

A story of jaggery: new sugar mills that were set up in the 1990s and 2000s in western Avadh led to a transformation in the processing and consumption of jaggery. In this video, a farming couple from a village by the Sharada canal, where sugarcane has been cultivated for decades, describe the changes they have experienced and observed in jaggery use.

Caste: All

Geography: Fertile lands

"Sugarcane was grown in small patches of fertile land or in the terai lands near the rivers"

Caste: All

Geography: Canal command area

"The canal water came here long ago. Some of our grandfathers worked to dig the canal. Once it came, our families shifted to wheat and sugarcane"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Fertile lands

"Gur was sent to Hardoi, Mishrikh to be sold"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Chana was boiled, ground and mixed with gur to make bheli, a sweet"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Ber were collected in winter and dried. Later, they were boiled with gur and eaten with roti"

Caste: OBC

Geography: All

"I would consume a bucketful of raab sharbat and plough 10 bighas. Raab and gur gave us strength"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Moong was roasted and ground with gur to make kathli, a sweet"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"There was no problem in eating black jaggery – it just didn't look good. Sugar looked better"

Caste: All

Geography: Canal command area

"We had a room filled with mithai (gur). We would stock it for months. When needed, we would sell it"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"In winters, people would congregate around the kolhu to keep warm. They would consume the byproducts from the jaggery making process, including dhovan, the hot water that was used to wash the pans. Children would regularly get jaggery to eat during its processing."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"We made and drank shikanna – gur sharbat mixed with mattha"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Roti was eaten with gur"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"In lean times, We had only raab ki sharbat to drink all day"

Caste: All

Geography: Canal command area

"There were many kolhu for making gur in the village"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Sometimes, the workers would get only raab, gur or mattha from the landowners when working in their fields"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"We made geeli khatai by soaking raw mangoes and gur in vinegar"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Fertile lands

"In 1997, Ramgarh sugar mill began buying sugarcane at the rate of Rs. 20 per quintal"

Caste: OBC

Geography: All

"Earlier, we only grew a little sugarcane for our needs, to eat and for gur. Or we bought gur from the terai."

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"The dusty layer on top of sugarcane juice (ganne ki patoi) is usually decanted and thrown away. But we women would drink that also"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy soil

"Our village has sandy soil and there was less sugarcane. We had just 1 kolhu here"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Fertile lands

"The first cheque I got from the Ramgarh mill was for Rs. 1,25,000. I had never seen so much money at one time"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"After Ramgarh mill opened, production increased and even more after Jawaharpur mill opened"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Production of gur and raab in the village stopped in the 2000s, when threshers started coming here to purchase sugarcane. They would give half rate of the mill, but make cash payments"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Earlier, jaggery was made in the villages for local consumption. Now, there are separate jaggery making units outside villages (often near mills). They buy sugarcane from the mills or from farmers who weren't able to sell to the mills at a reduced rate"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Now, gur is being used not for eating but for drinking. People buy gur to brew alcohol at home"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Sugarcane is grown everywhere now – all you need is irrigation"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Now, if we don't get a parcha from the mill, we don't harvest. The sugarcane dries up in the fields"

Caste: All

Geography: All

Caste: All

Geography: All

Agriculture data for Sitapur district obtained from Uttar Pradesh Department of Agriculture

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Fertile lands

From: Tripathi, R.P. and Misra, C.B. 1964. Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sitapur. Lucknow: Department of District Gazetteers

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Fertile lands

From: Neville H. R. 1905. Sitapur, a Gazetteer being Volume XL of the District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"We ate less wheat and more jau, saanwa and kakun."

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Gojai was a mix of jau and wheat. Chamariya gojai, with less wheat and more jau, was consumed by Dalits and the poor, while Rajhatta gojai (more wheat, less jau) was purchased by the rich"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"Wheat was separated from gojai for guests and weddings"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Women usually wore lehengas but, when making roti, would change into a sari kept aside for that purpose."

Caste: All

Geography: Fertile lands

"Dhaani was black or brown, with a closed pannicle, and required less water"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Fertile lands

"Wheat cultivation started here after chakbandi. At that time, many fields were levelled. Also, with land now assigned, the big farmers began investing in borewells"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"In 1 bigha, 2 quintals of barley would be harvested; now we get 3-4 quintals of wheat"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Dhaani, especially the red rice seeds, were broadcast. Even with less water, a bigha would yield 2 quintals"

Caste: Savarna

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"Our village lands were of two types – on one, only wheat was grown and animals grazed the rest of the time; the other type was 'atari' and any type of crop could be grown"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Desi wheat had small grains, like Arra 21. The pannicles were red"

Caste: Dalit, OBC

Geography: All

"We grew wheat and sold it, then bought jau and chana from the market as they were cheaper"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"The kan (eye, inner part) of sedha (red rice) was used to treat pechees (diarrheoa)"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Earlier, wheat was ground by hand in the chakiya and stayed cold, now wheat flour becomes hot in the chakki and so doesn't taste as good"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Wheat has made people lazy"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: Sandy or mixed soils

"After I got married and came here 35 years ago, that is when wheat came"

Caste: All

Geography: Canal command area

"Some people in the village used to grow paddy with the canal irrigation, now more grow with borewell irrigation"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"Wheat can be eaten in any season"

Caste: Dalit

Geography: All

"Wheat is 'naram' (soft), 'achhi' (good), 'saaf sudhri' (clean)"

Caste: All

Geography: All

"There is more 'chiknaahat' – glue - in wheat now. It is easier to roll out rotis made of wheat flour"

Time Line
1930s

The Sarda canal was opened in 1932, providing irrigation waters to an estimated 1 million acres in western Avadh. Networks of drainage channels were also built at this time to drain jhils and low lying lands, which had provided irrigation in the past. These were now converted to agricultural lands

1950s

The Sharda canal was expanded in the decade after independence, and canal waters reached villages in our study region. Farmers along the canal, mainly from dominant castes or the richer OBCs/Dalits, switched from mixed crops of millets, pulses and oilseeds to paddy, wheat and sugarcane in the irrigated fields

Post-independence, the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms (ZALR) Act was passed, transferring land from landlords to the tillers. A large number of farmers, mainly from dominant and backward (Yadav, Maurya) castes became landowners.

1957-63

During a period of seven years, the region experienced floods every monsoon, and crops were regularly damaged. People suffered from scarcity, and distress out-migration occured. Poems were composed about the hardships in this period. Drainage canals were built during this period to divert the water into rivers and prevent flooding

1960s

The Land Ceiling Act was passed to limit the amount of agricultural land held by a single family. While this freed up more land for redistribution, large landowners used various strategies to bypass this and retain most of their land. The ceiling land given to the government was often of poor quality

The Land Consolidation Act was passed in the 1950s, through which all lands in a village were assessed and consolidated. Thus joint family land was distributed among inheritors, fragmented landholdings converted into one or two parcels etc. Existing landowners had to give up a portion of their land (2-6%) - this and other available land was distributed to landless families. Land Consolidation or Chakbandhi was taken up in the region starting in the 60s and continues until today

1970s

After 1970, the Saadatnagar minor canal was extended and reached villages such as Ambarpurva. Farmers along the extension, mainly OBCs and some Dalits, switched from mixed crops to wheat, sugarcane and peas (matar) in the winter crop. As these soils were sandy and canal water wasn"t available in the monsoon, paddy was not cultivated

Tubewells were installed in villages such as Sundarpurva to provide irrigation to almost all the village lands. These tubewells ran on electricity. and water was available at 10-20 ft. Such tubewells operated successfully for atleast 10 years, and farmers switched from mixed crops to wheat.

The 'Garibi Hatao' campaign was launched nationally to give land to the landless peasants. Pressure from above drove revenue officials to identify available land and distribute it to landless families.

Land was provided in a few villages to men who underwent sterilization

As improved wheat seeds as well as Urea, DAP and pesticides began to be supplied at subsidized rates, rich farmers began adopting"modern" techniques and switched from mixed cropping to wheat, transplanted paddy and sugarcane

1979-80

The severe drought of 1979-80 affected 1,37,492 hectares in Mishrikh tahsil, according to the Sitapur Supplementary Gazetteer of 1989. Many traditional seeds were lost at this time, and the drive towards irrigation increased. To provide relief, the government initiated many public works. Bunding and leveling were taken up, and farmers began growing paddy, wheat and sugarcane in these"improved" fields

1980s

In terai land near the river, barnyard millet was broadcast along with dhaani (indigenous paddy). When the seeds sprouted and grew, the field was flooded and leveled with a"patela" to control weeds. From the 1980s onwards, farmers began transplanting hybrid paddy and using pesticides to control weeds. They stopped growing barnyard millet

In 1980, during the drought, Brahmin farmers in Sharvanpur installed diesel-operated borewells. Their success drove others to install borewells, and switch from mixed crops to transplanted paddy, wheat and sugarcane

Land consolidation was taken up in a number of villages. Newly distributed lands were often marginal lands, either undulating or lowlying, vulnerable to soil erosion and not suited to cultivate irrigated crops. The Soil Conservation Department, set up in the 1960s, began undertaking land improvement projects in the region, mainly bunding and leveling of fields. Meanwhile, Punjabi farmers moved into the area and began levelling their fields using tractors, and local farmers picked up this practice.

Earlier, there were wide med (raised borders) between fields, with many fruit trees on them. As irrigation and modern cultivation practices spread, farmers reduced these borders and cut down trees

Many mango orchards had been set up in the 1960s to avoid confiscation of land above ceiling limits (orchard lands were subject to higher ceiling limits than cultivated lands). The landowners weren't concerned about income from the orchards, and didn't bar entry to villagers. As the threat from ceilings receded, landowners cut down some orchards, and planted hybrid, marketable mangoes in the rest. Guards were appointed in the repurposed orchards, and cut off villagers' access to fallen, free mangoes

1990s

Private borewells expanded further. In Lakshmanpur, some Yadav farmers had installed borewells in the 1980s but didn"t hit water. In 1990, more farmers tried and some were successful. They began growing transplanted paddy and sugarcane

Many trees were cut due to road expansions. The new trees planted were the fast growing varieties, not fruit trees.

Planting of eucalyptus to sell as timber picked up in the 90s, and many kaanta (timber trading posts) were set up in the region. In the process fruit trees, such as tamarind, also began to cut down for timber

Many Dalits, influenced by movements such as Jai Gurudev, began giving up meat

Bull-powered jaggery making units within villages began shutting down as sugarcane was sold to the sugar mills

1994

In the 1990s, a change in government in Uttar Pradesh state led to a renewed interest in financing sugar production. Until this time, the nearest sugar mill in the region was in Maholi (opened in 1932), and only the big farmers could take their sugarcane there. This mill shut down in the early 1990s and soon after, the Dalmia company opened a sugar mill in Ramgarh. This was more easily accessible by big, medium and even small farmers. The mill also initiated an extension programme to promote sugarcane cultivation

2000s

Plastic pipes, which could be used to transport irrigation water up to a kilometre away, began to be used in the region. This allowed small and marginal farms to be irrigated. This led to transformation of cropping among Dalit marginal farmers.

Thatched roofs, once common in villages, were ideal for growing creepers like lauki (bottle gourd). As concrete roofs or tin sheets became more popular, with the former supported through government housing schemes, thatched roofs began to disappear. With them, vegetable cultivation at home also declined

A handful of village forests can still be found in the region and, until the 2000s, these had plenty of fruit trees. Illegal tree felling and encroachment had brought the numbers down. In one forest, a bunding and afforestation program was taken up. But the new trees planted were eucalyptus, jatropha etc. - fast growing trees with no fruits. While locals were hired to protect and nurture the newly planted saplings, their payments were stopped after a year and they lost interest. Thus the forest was not revived as well as it could have been and provides very little fruit to the nearby communities

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), passed in 2006 and launched in this region in the first phase, provided 100 days of work to rural families at a fixed wage. This increased the wages of agricultural labourers, bringing them income security. Also, under MGNREGA, the levelling of Dalit farmers' fields could be taken up and many fields were levelled under this provision

Rearing of broiler chickens as a micro-enterprise picked up in the region

2006

The Dalmia company opened another sugar mill in the region, further incentivizing the shift to sugarcane

2010s

Under pressure from cow vigilantism and cow slaughter bans, village-level cattle markets closed and farmers could no longer earn a livelihood by rearing and selling cows and bulls. They instead shifted to goat rearing. However, this is almost entirely a commercial enterprise, with very little goat meat consumed by these families

Since the 2010s, cow vigilantism has led to a huge increase in stray cattle. These cattle are a major threat to food crops, but less so for sugarcane, especially after the first 2-3 months. This has further pushed small and marginal farmers towards sugarcane cultivation

2014

The implementation of the National Food Security Act resulted in almost 80% of the rural population of Uttar Pradesh becoming eligible to receive subsidised food grains. This expanded the ambit of the Public Distribution System (PDS) and improved the food security of the rural poor