Rushan Jeyakumar

Winter 2024 Capstone Project Title: The Liberalization of the Indian Economy: The Interplay of Capital, Labour, and the State in the Agrarian Crisis

Project Description: My project focuses on the origins of the Indian Agrarian Crisis through India’s market reforms and the interests of capital, labour and the state. Together, these three factors form the institutional framework which ties agriculture into the capitalist economic system. The agrarian crisis is the manifestation of the flaws of the capitalist system; the underlying contributing factors of the crisis can be studied through an in-depth analysis of capitalism’s institutional framework. I argue that the agrarian crisis has been greatly impacted by the shifting relationship between capital and labour in response to agrarian neoliberalism, facilitated by the Indian nation-state.

The 1C06 Capstone experience: I am passionate about issues impacting South Asia, as well as farming! I find farming to be an inspiring profession and I wanted to combine these two interests in my capstone. I ultimately chose to study the Indian Agrarian Crisis, as it was a prominent issue in the region focused on agriculture. I have had an amazing experience working on my capstone. At first, it was difficult, as the research papers contained many difficult economic terms and concepts. However, I did my best to study these papers and learn more about capitalism and economics. As a result, I have learned so much about this topic and capitalism in general!

Key Takeaways: I have learned more about my topic and about the research process in general. After all the hours put into the capstone, having a complete and comprehensive final draft is definitely rewarding!

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