Socio- Economic Status of Farmers of Patiala and Sangrur District

Abstract

The state of Punjab has earned the distinction of being the “Granary of India". Punjab is considered as a growing state of India. Development experience of Punjab economy since 1947 has remained quite impressive, though it has been marked by twists and turns. The economy of Punjab has experienced an accelerated economic growth and a steadily rising per capita income as compared to the growth experience of the Indian economy in general and the other states in particular. This remarkable achievement has been attributed to the planned development strategy adopted in Punjab. Punjab is a progressive state of India with an average growth rate of 8.9 per cent. It has evolved into a land of boundless opportunities for investment, industry and employment.

Punjab has twenty two districts, and Patiala district in one of important districts of the state of Punjab in North-West India. Districts of Punjab along with their headquarters Patiala District lies between 29 49’ and 30 47’ north latitude, 75 58’ and 76 54' east longitude, in the southeast part of the state. It is surrounded by Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar and Mohali to the north, Fatehgarh Sahib and Sangrur districts to the west, Ambala, Panchkula, Haryana to the North East and Kurukshetra districts of neighbouring Haryana state to the east, and Kaithal district of Haryana to the south west.The district Sangrur has been reorganized by making a new district Barnala out of it in the year 2006. From Administrative point of view, district Sangrur is divided into six tehsils: Sangrur; Sunam; Dhuri; Malerkotla; Lehra and Moonak.The district of Sangrur takes its name from its headquarters town, Sangrur. Sangrur is one of the southern districts of the state and lies between 29o-4' and 30o-42' north latitude and 75o-18' and 76o-13' east longitude.

The present study attempts to deal with a socio-economic status of farmers of two districts of Punjab, these are Sangrur and Patiala districts. These are two neighbour districts of Punjab. The present research is based on both the primary and secondary data. Primary data has been collected from 61 households of in the districts of Patiala and Sangrur. Socio- economic conditions depends on occupations, education, income wealth, and place of residence. Sociologists often use socio-economic status as a mean of predicting behaviour.