ABSTRACT
This chapter explores certain conceptual problems in the study of change in the agrarian space of India since 1800. A crucial factor, therefore, in the interpretation of the development of the Indian space economy is an understanding of the way in which surplus is circulated, concentrated and utilized in space. Decision-making groups in Indian society can be identified in a number of ways. An historical perspective which emphasizes decision-making units based on the social relations of agricultural production and exchange has much to contribute to the understanding of contemporary problems or to regional and rural development. A geographer concerned with the development of spatial structures over time, and who attempts to initially interpret such development through the identification of decision-making units, will find that neither caste categories nor general class categories, are entirely suitable for the purpose. In its fundamental meaning, the concept of class can be applied to indigenous social categories, other than caste, in rural India.
