Citizens as Cultivars: Democratic Values in Paddy Fields and Universities

LSE: Public Lectures and Events | March 5, 2025
Host: London School of Economics and Political Science
Speaker: Professor Mukulika Banerjee

Episode Overview

This special lecture, delivered by Professor Mukulika Banerjee to mark her promotion to Professor of Anthropology at LSE, explores the metaphor of "citizens as cultivars"—tracing democratic values through the parallel worlds of Indian paddy fields and universities. Integrating insights from decades of fieldwork in rural Bengal and rich reflections on university life, Banerjee examines how democratic sensibilities are painstakingly cultivated, drawing lessons for the contemporary threats faced by both agrarian and academic worlds. The lecture celebrates the nurturing of active citizenship, critiques trends of alienation and individualism, and ends with calls for renewed political and social solidarity.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introduction and Thematic Framing (00:21–05:50)

• Cultivating Citizens as Cultivars:
  Banerjee introduces the analogy between cultivating rice and cultivating democratic citizens. Both processes require selection, nurture, patience, cooperation, and vigilance—they don’t occur naturally but “must be nurtured into existence.”

  • “Good, active citizens with democratic values are precisely such cultivars. They don't exist naturally, but must be nurtured into existence.” (03:09)

• Parallel Worlds: Paddy Fields and Universities:
  Insights are drawn from her fieldwork in Bengal villages, describing the rigorous, communal, and hope-filled work of rice cultivation as reflecting virtues needed in both democracy and education.

  • “With research too, a good idea or question is just a seed. To make it flower… a process of nurture marked by the relief and exuberance of a job well done.” (04:30)

2. Anthropological Approaches to Democracy in India (05:51–22:30)

• Why Elections Matter to the Disadvantaged:
  Fieldwork reveals Indian elections deeply meaningful to poor and marginalized groups—not because of pragmatic change, but because of the “unique arena” of mutual respect, dignity, and real political equality present at the polling station, even if just for one day.

  • “The polling station in India was a unique arena because there was genuine social mixing… where all citizens were treated with dignity and respect. For this one day only, democracy's promise of political equality felt real.” (09:10)

• Subjectivity and the “Elections Are Sacred” Thesis:
  Anthropology’s attention to what people do (not just say) revealed deep emotional investment—e.g., women wear their best saris to vote, signifying the symbolic importance of elections.

• Case Study—Challenging Power Through Civic Growth:
  The story of West Bengal villagers gradually organizing across lines of caste, friendship, and kinship to challenge an abusive local Communist leader. Self-help groups, alliances, and solidarity eventually led to his downfall and broader regime change.

  • “Over several years, the villagers identified a common purpose... to create ties across the caste, gender, and economic differences which the comrade had long exploited to keep them divided.” (18:25)

• Civic Growth Defined:
  The growth of citizens’ capacity to hold power accountable between elections—requiring ongoing work, not just periodic voting.

3. Decline of Civic Growth—Bowling Alone and Neoliberal Universities (22:31–32:10)

• Erosion of Social Capital in the West:
  Refers to Robert Putnam’s "Bowling Alone," mapping the decline of community, bridging groups, and collective belonging in the UK—paralleled by the decline of trade unions, clubs, churches, etc.

• Universities as Spaces for Bridging and Civic Education:
  Universities historically serve as greenhouses for nurturing pluralism, critical thinking, and collective action—qualities under threat from consumerist, metrics-driven, and audit-obsessed models in British higher education.

  • “The university will then be a shadow of itself, full of academics bowling alone, mirroring the alienation in society rather than challenging it.” (31:30)

4. Parallels from Agriculture—Lessons from Rice Varieties (32:11–36:45)

• High-Yield vs. Traditional Cultivation:
  The shift from traditional Swarna rice to high-yield varieties brought short-term gains but led to environmental and social decline—mirrored in the switch to high-output but atomized university culture.

• Rediscovering Communal Values:
  The labor, knowledge-sharing, and resilience of old farming practices are invoked as metaphors for the virtues needed in academic communities and democratic life generally.

5. Inspirations for Democratic Education—Tagore and Beyond (36:46–48:50)

• Tagore’s Educational Vision at Shantiniketan:
  Details Tagore’s integration of agricultural rhythms, nature, and community into pedagogy—rituals marking the ploughing and harvest tying university life back to agrarian values and solidarity.

  • “Tagore’s idea was not just to develop the village but to develop one's own mind in order to engage with the rural.” (44:00)

• Lessons for Modern Universities:
  Urges new universities, especially those built on converted agricultural land, to reflect on their relationship to local cultures and cultivate holistic, communal, emotionally resonant education.

6. Political Emotions, Liberalism, and Farmer Protests (48:51–53:30)

• Martha Nussbaum on Political Emotions:
  Progressivism and democracy require not only rational conviction but the cultivation of the imagination and emotions—the kind Tagore fostered.

• Recent Indian Farmer Protests:
  The 2020–2021 mass protest by Indian farmers exemplified democratic virtues—solidarity, self-organization, persistence, and a sense of dignified political agency.

  • “First and foremost, we want to display that farmers have dignity and they have rights and we have come to claim those rights.” (51:30)

• Key Lessons:

  • Democratic energy is maintained by collective mobilization and participation, opposing government overreach, and reliance on the values learned from cultivation.

7. The Social Contract, Taxation, and Democratic Culture (53:31–55:35)

• Taxation and Active Citizenship:
  Banerjee’s new research focuses on the role of taxation and civic participation as a foundation of the social contract in India, linking fiscal practices directly to cultures of democracy.

8. Reflections and Conclusions (55:36–63:00)

• Interwoven UK–India Histories at LSE:
  The LSE’s close ties with India and its foundational commitment to social science for societal improvement are highlighted.

• On Nurturing and Rooting:
  A tribute to the many mentors, colleagues, and family who acted as "rooting powder" to her career, echoing Tagore’s phrase:

  • “The roots below the earth claim no reward for making the branches fruitful. Nonetheless, I end by recognizing your claim on this moment. Thank you.” (67:04)

Memorable Quotes

• On the cultivation of democratic citizens:

  • “Good, active citizens with democratic values are precisely such cultivars. They don't exist naturally, but must be nurtured into existence.”
    —Prof. Mukulika Banerjee (03:09)

• On the meaning of elections:

  • “For this one day only, democracy's promise of political equality felt real.”
    —Prof. Banerjee (09:36)

• On active citizenship:

  • “We should measure a country's political health not merely by a checklist of democratic institutions, but by the capacity of its people to do the exhausting work of active citizenship between elections…”
    —Prof. Banerjee (21:47)

• Obama on democracy:

  • "Enjoy this moment, but stay engaged… Democracy… requires our active citizenship and sustained focus on the issues, not just in election season, but all the days in between."
    —Barack Obama, quoted by Banerjee (21:31)

• On modern universities:

  • “…it will be a shadow of itself, full of academics bowling alone, mirroring the alienation in society rather than challenging it.”
    —Prof. Banerjee (31:30)

• On farmer protest organization:

  • “There was no single leader the farmers followed and only a committee to represent them… its mood one of quiet determination, not anger.”
    —Prof. Banerjee (51:01)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:21 Introductions and Banerjee’s career overview
• 02:26 Parable of cultivation: Paddy fields vs. universities
• 05:51 Democratic experience in India—meaningfulness of voting
• 14:40 Case study: Dismantling autocratic local power in Bengal village
• 22:31 Civic growth and its decline—Putnam’s Bowling Alone
• 27:50 The role and crisis of universities as civic nurseries
• 32:11 New rice varieties as a metaphor for neoliberal universities
• 36:46 Tagore’s Shantiniketan—agriculture, ritual, and education
• 48:51 Political emotions, Tagore, and progressive values
• 50:20 2020–2021 farmer protests as democratic action
• 53:31 Democratic culture, taxation, and the social contract
• 55:36 Reflections on UK-India ties and LSE’s history
• 66:50 Closing thanks and acknowledgments

Audience Q&A Highlights

• On ongoing farmer struggles and vigilance
  “There’s no resting on laurels. You’ve won that fight, but... you’ve got to be vigilant, you’ve got to work hard, and you’ve got to keep fighting. And they are.”
  —Banerjee (64:15)

• How can citizens become ‘cultivars’?
  “You don’t have to live in a village… it is that idea of bridging groups, of learning. What a university education teaches you… is that you learn to work with people you don’t know. It’s not your private dinner party.”
  —Banerjee (65:10)

Respondent Reflection: Professor David Wengrow (54:54–63:00)

• Wengrow, a former student and colleague, gives a personal and academic tribute to Banerjee’s scholarship and teaching, emphasizing her ability to illuminate the ethical and civic values of marginal groups, and her commitment to “the most difficult and challenging path… of greater value, not simply to herself, but to the people around her.”

Final Takeaways

• Democracy as a process of cultivation:
  Democratic values require painstaking, collective nurture—whether in paddy fields or universities.
• Threats to communal life:
  Both villages and campuses face growing fragmentation, individualism, and short-termism that undermine solidarity and civic growth.
• Renewed hope in solidarity:
  The parallel between rural tradition and educational ethos offers inspiration for rebuilding cultures of active citizenship—and resistance to autocratic threats.