Abstract

The word research has long been associated with investigations done in the scientific subjects which are usually studied by most educated men of the country. The scope of research does not end with these subjects, as, in ar.y field of study or activity pursued for the benefit of the people at large, the idea of research still holds good. Compared with physics, chemistry, etc., research in the science of agriculture has been of recent origin. Re- search has its own reward. Careful observation, analysis of materials and sound enquiries are required to build up the foundation on which the edifice of common good and prosperity have to be built up. One important division of the science of economics, so far as our country is concerned, is the subject of rural economy. The importance of this subject is well knoψη but many have not clearly understood the nature and implications, because it has not been studied exactly in the manner of other sciences. It is seem- ingly simple but really complex in the interaction of its various aspects and therefore neglected by the intelligentsia of the country. In the words of Prof. Radhakumud Mukerjee, "Rural economy being the simplest and oldest form of man's adaptation to environment thus reveals in the sequence of stages certain fundamental types which all go back to the cumulative effects of environment and biological succession. The basic economic adjustments are co-extensive with civilisation. Hence rural economics is an adjunct of the comparative study of civilisation."

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