In this episode, anthropologist Dr. Aarti Sethi talks to us about understanding debt, distress and social relations in agrarian societies in India.

‘In Perspective’ is The Swaddle’s podcast series where academics reveal little-known facts about Indian history, society and culture. 

Notes: 

00:01:05:03- How has agriculture been central to the emergence of modern industrial capitalism around the world?

00:08:01:01- How did monetary debt become central to the production process for farmers in central India? In what ways has this contributed to farmers’ distress in the region? 

00:20:46:02- In what ways has the centrality of debt impacted social relations and hierarchies in rural society? 

00:33:05:14- Does the interconnection of everyday life and inter-family social relations with farming have anything to do with the pressure that the centrality of debt puts on farmers?

00:41:05:05- Why do say that the 2016 Jallikattu ban centers around the differing social conception of animals?

00:48:14:17- Was the media coverage of the Jallikattu ban and animal cruelty  unfair, or not nuanced enough to capture the complexity of human-animal relationships in rural India?