List of tables and figures;

Acknowledgements and a note on certain conventions;

Abbreviations;

Map of the Madras presidency;

Part I:

1. Introduction;

2. The Agrarian background;

3. Forms of agrestic servitude;

4. The importance of agricultural labour in the first half of the nineteenth century;

5. Official policy and the emancipation of the agricultural labourer;

6. Official policy: land tenures and land revenue;

Part II:

7. Land and population;

8. Emigration;

9. Wages;

10. The growth of agricultural labour from 1871 to 1901;

11. Conclusion;

Glossary;

Bibliography;

Index.

Originally published in 1965, this book presents a study of Indian agricultural workers in the Madras Presidency region during the nineteenth century. The text incorporates analysis of changes in population, in cultivation, the distribution of land among landlords, tenants and labourers, and discussion of the economic and social status of the labourer. The main economic factors which contributed to the growth of landlessness during the century are then considered, particularly the pressure of population on land. A glossary and select bibliography are also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Indian history, agriculture and socio-economic history.