EPISTEMIC INEQUALITY IN THE FIELDS: TRIBAL SEED KNOWLEDGE, POWER, AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF AGRICULTURAL CHANGE

Indigenous seed knowledge among tribal communities in India represents a rich ecological and cultural resource developed through generations of lived experience. However, this knowledge has remained largely marginalized within modern agricultural systems dominated by scientific expertise, market forces, and state-led development policies. Drawing on secondary literature this paper examines tribal seed knowledge as a form of subjugated knowledge that is systematically devalued in dominant development discourse. Using a power-oriented and intersectional framework, the review highlights how control over seeds is increasingly shifted from communities to external institutions, leading to the erosion of local autonomy. The paper further demonstrates that tribal women, who are central to seed preservation and exchange, experience layered marginalization based on gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic position. By foregrounding epistemic injustice and unequal power relations, the study argues that the marginalization of indigenous seed knowledge is not merely a technical issue but a sociological problem rooted in structural inequality. The paper calls for greater recognition of tribal communities as legitimate knowledge producers and for more inclusive agrarian policies that address both ecological sustainability and social justice.