This volume contains part of the results of a research programme on Agrarian Change in Sri Lanka, organized by the Social Scientists’ Association during the period 1980 to 1982. The research programme on Agrarian Change was the first such programme undertaken by the Association. It was felt that a deeper analysis of the changes in peasant agriculture and peasant society was necessary for understanding the way in which Sri Lankan society has evolved over the past decades. This volume is now being offered to readers in the hope that it will help build a sound understanding.