6' A KOSALRAM Political Economy of Agriculture in Tamil Nadu IF one were to believe the two-volume Report of the Task Force on Agriculture, 1972-1984, enthusiastically titled Towards a Greener Revolution^- the main trend in agriculture in Tamil Nadu during the last two decades is "the definite transformation from a stage of chronic stagnancy to sustained growth, resulting in Green Revolution, which has been spreading in the State during the past Eve years^9.2 A revolution is said to have invaded the occupation that contributes 33.79 per cent of the State's net domestic product and supports 73.3 per cent of the rural population.3 An extreme backwardness that did not conceal a growing instability and differentiation among the peasantry was certainly characteristic of agricultural production during the half-century preceding 1947.4 Having registered our agreement with the first part of the Task Forceps boast, let us examine briefly the second, the breakthrough to "sustained growth35.