Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

sustained them. This destruction of environment has prevented the establishment of
sustainable form of agricultural production any more. Given the geological and
geographical character of the region, any attempt to promote agriculture will have to take
into account the ecological and socio-economic factors now guiding agriculture. It is not
only a question of preserving the still remaining patams and parambas making them
suitable for cultivation, but also a question of regenerating the destroyed patams and
parambas. There is also the question of who will undertake this operation. In an
atmosphere in which the thinking of the state and the dominant political parties in the
region are influenced by market-friendly strategies, and where the attitude and the world
perception of the gulf migrant goes a long way in deciding the nature of policy decisions,
there is only a very dim chance that anyone will take the enormous risk involved in the
regeneration of the area.
The transformation of land in the area has also resulted in the growth of a ‘land market’.
Continuous land transactions, not a feature of the earlier period and the growth of
infrastructures like road access, electrification, development of different modes of
communication, apart from the proximity to various institutions like the University or a
College, has resulted in the rise of land values in all the areas. The commodification of
land surface encourages its use as a means of generating profit, what has been called
fictitious capital, and this leads to development of various forms like commercial
cultivation, giving the land on lease, pledging the land for loans of various kinds, or
construction activities on such land. The growth of this commodification is indicated by
the substantial growth of document writers, private land surveyors, and land brokers all
over the region. This commodification process is already going on at a great pace, and is
one the major contributing factors to the homogenization of land surface, and the
destruction of the natural environment. The land surface is becoming subject to the logic