Small farmers are being proletarianised ‐ a note on persistence and polarization by Bhaduri et al.

It is suggested in this note that the so‐called ‘stability’ or ‘persistence’ of the small peasantry, postulated by Bhaduri, Rahman and Arn in their article in The Journal of Peasant Studies of April 1986 (Vol.13, No.3) is a myth. Using the data presented by Bhaduri et al. themselves, and data from other micro studies, the author argues that differentiation and disintegration of the peasantry are proceeding in the countryside of Bangladesh. This may be happening slowly, but it is clearly in evidence.