Session 2D on Day 2 (November 7, 2025) of the International Conference on Agrarian Change was chaired by V. Sridhar (Former Associate Editor, Frontline, Bangalore). The discussant was Vinoj Abraham (Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram). The speakers were Priya Kumari (PhD Scholar, CESP, JNU), Prachi Bansal (Assistant Professor, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, Jindal Global University), Mrityunjay Rao (PhD Scholar, JNU), Sreenivasulu Yamanapalli (Associate Professor, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad), and Nageshwar Bansode (Assistant Professor, B. R. Ambedkar School of Economics University, Bengaluru).

The session explored how rural India’s labour, credit, and agrarian systems remain deeply shaped by caste, class, and land inequalities, with smallholders, Dalits, and Adivasis systematically excluded from formal credit, secure employment, and public amenities, while persistent tied labour, mechanisation, migration, and social hierarchies reinforce structural marginalisation.