ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the importance of the share distribution system, which the author defines as ‘the system of entitlements’, in pre-colonial Orissa. To cope with and to adjust to the erratic rainfalls and temporal fluctuations it was essential for the society to have a system functioning as a mechanism to share risks. Allocation of agricultural/non-agricultural labor or the diversities of occupation and food habit among various social groups were some of the features that offered ‘multi-layered safety nets’ for the society. However, the introduction of private proprietary right by the new land system and the liberal economic principle in the process of colonial development fragmented the social system and encouraged people in ‘taking risks’. One of the results was the suffering of the lower classes, especially at the times of famine.
