Spatial Transformation of Rice Cultivation during Post-liberalization Period in Haryana, India

Rajat Hooda — 2026-08-05

Aims: This study aims to examine the spatial dynamics of rice cultivation across the districts of Haryana in terms of the percentage of area under rice, crop concentration, and production.

Study Design: The study is based on secondary data obtained from the Statistical Abstract of Haryana. The district-wise share of area under rice, Location Quotient, and index value were computed.

Place and Duration of Study: The study covers Haryana during the triennium periods 1990–93 and 2020–23, representing the post-liberalisation period.

Methodology: The spatial pattern of rice cultivation was analysed using tables and choropleth maps showing the percentage of area under rice, Location Quotient, and rice production.

Results: The findings show that the percentage of area under rice in Haryana increased from 11.56 percent during 1990–93 to 23.47 percent during 2020–23, indicating a substantial expansion of rice cultivation. Rice production also increased across most districts of the state during the study period. The highest concentration of rice cultivation remained confined to the north-eastern districts, including Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Panipat, Ambala, and Yamuna Nagar; however, the relative concentration decreased in these conventional rice-growing districts. Simultaneously, Jind, Rohtak, Hisar, Sonipat, and Faridabad recorded increasing specialisation, indicating a gradual spread of rice cultivation beyond its conventional centre. The index values suggest that the conventional rice-growing districts continued to dominate, while Hisar, Jind, Rohtak, and Sirsa emerged as significant contributors to Haryana's total rice production.

Conclusion: The study concludes that, although rice cultivation has expanded across the districts of Haryana during the post-liberalisation period, it remains strongly concentrated in the well-irrigated north-eastern districts. The analysis highlights the need to adopt water-efficient rice cultivation technologies and sustainable resource-management practices to support the long-term viability of rice cultivation.

Aesthetic Authority and the Shaping of the Bedhaya Dance Genre in the Mangkunegaran Principality: A Historical and Aesthetic Narrative

Indah Cahyasari — 2026-08-05

Aims: This study examines how aesthetic authority was exercised by the rulers of the Mangkunegaran Principality, particularly from Mangkunegara VII to Mangkunegara IX, in sustaining, reactualising, and developing the bedhaya dance genre as a representation of cultural identity and political legitimacy.

Study Design: This study employed a qualitative research design with an ethnochoreological approach to examine dance as a cultural practice within its historical, social, and aesthetic contexts.

Place and Duration of Study: The research was conducted at the Mangkunegaran Principality over an eight-month period through a literature-based study and interpretive analysis of historical sources.

Methodology: This literature study analysed manuscripts, archival records, historical documents, previous research, and scholarly publications related to the bedhaya dance and the Mangkunegaran Principality. Documentary evidence was critically interpreted and enriched by the researcher's embodied knowledge acquired through more than a decade of experience as a court dancer at the Mangkunegaran Principality, providing deeper insight into the tradition, performance practices, and aesthetic construction of the bedhaya dance.

Results: The findings demonstrate that aesthetic authority was exercised through three interrelated strategies: sustaining, reactualising, and developing the bedhaya dance genre. This authority was expressed through the rulers' decisions to absorb selected artistic traditions, reactualise hereditary repertoires based on historical interpretation, and create new repertoires reflecting the aesthetic priorities of each reign. Although court artists translated these ideas into performance, the final authority over aesthetic decisions remained with the Mangkunegara as the highest cultural authority.

Conclusion: The development of the bedhaya dance genre in the Mangkunegaran Principality resulted from the deliberate exercise of aesthetic authority rather than passive cultural transmission. The bedhaya dance therefore functioned not only as an artistic expression but also as a medium for institutional identity, political and cultural legitimacy, and the continuity of the Javanese monarchical tradition through inheritance, reactualisation, and repertoire creation.

Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences

Spatial Transformation of Rice Cultivation during Post-liberalization Period in Haryana, India

Aesthetic Authority and the Shaping of the Bedhaya Dance Genre in the Mangkunegaran Principality: A Historical and Aesthetic Narrative