Land Ownership Patterns and Desertification in Western Rajasthan

Abstract

The process of continuous pauperization of ryo,s (peasants) in the land tenurial management systems formerly prevailing in Western Rajasthan led to over-exploitation of the land resources, thereby contributing to an intensification of the xeric environment. The rituals and customs of their socia-religious way of life required the rural folks to indulge in much non-productive expenditure, leading to poor economic growth in these arid areas. Unchecked resource exploitation over the centuries eventually disturbed the already fragile eco-system beyond redemption. Past land tenurial management systems and the social attitudes of the rural people would, thus, appear to have been jointly responsible for intensifying the desertification process in western Rajasthan.