78 SOCIAL SCIENTIST the haves and the have-nots which should create a new bond between all the lower sections of the castes, which needs to be emphasised and consolidated through common struggles. A number of other important issues have also been raised in the book in connection with the impact of the 'new technology' on farm size and yield per acre, use of fertilisers and the profitability of crops for different categories of cultivators. Harriss draws attention to the emerging ecological crisis due to the declining water-table as ground-water utilisation is not regarded as a common resource and "individualistic exploitation leads to a lot of waste, from the point of view of the society as a whole" (p 75). Similarly, the use of tractors enables the bigger farmers to cultivate a larger area at the correct time to take advantage of the few showers of rain, but it is doubtful whether tractors have actually enhanced the productivity on such farms, as has been shown by the experience of other Asian countries. Widespread tractori-sation can lead to further pauperisation of many landless labourers and also lead to more extensive and low productivity cultivation on larger farm units (p 86). Another innovation, i e, the mechanical thresher mostly helps the richer farmer as it reduces their dependence on hired labour. At the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that the introduction of the new technology has increased the employment opportunities for the agricultural labour—more so for female labour due to increased weeding and transplanting and because of increased demand at harvest time (p 98). A positive relationship between farm size and yields, especially for high yielding varieties, is due to the superior endowment of the larger farmers with regard to water supplies, which enables larger farmers to cultivate the new varieties during the dry season. Harriss also finds a positive relationship between productivity and labour use which refutes the inverse relationship obtained from the FMS data. The wage labour per day appears to be slightly cheaper for the larger farmers due to the existent relations of patronage. Harriss also notes that there is a clear trend towards increasing reliance upon family labour amongst the poorer peasants which has led to a higher level of female participation in various agricultural operations (p 156). The marginal producers in Group D show the lowest returns on capital investment due to being over-capitalised with high fixed capital costs per acre (p 161). The study shows that a ceiling has been reached as far as productive investment in agriculture in some areas is concerned (p 195). The capitalist farmers show a greater tendency for usurious moneylending—more so due to the persistence of small property holdings, due to the rigidity of the market, and also because small producers need credit more often as a result of the introduction of the "new technology". SHAKTI KAK Research scholar working in Delhi