The Indian Onion Crisis: Agricultural Pricing Policy and State Legitimacy

This paper explores the relationship between agricultural pricing policy and state legitimacy in India through a case study of the onion crisis that began in 2010. It places the government's responsive pricing policy to the onion crisis within the historical context of how agriculture and food policy were used by colonial and post-colonial governments to create state legitimacy. The paper argues for the centrality of agricultural pricing policy to understanding state legitimacy.