This paper addresses the agricultural transformations occurring in India in relation to the migration of children from rural to urban centers. With a shifting system of landholding, climatic changes, increasing mechanization and industrialization of agriculture, and new development projects, the agrarian system in rural India is rapidly changing. Based on fieldwork conducted in India, interviews with local experts and urban/rural informants, this paper draws connections between the transformations occuring in the agricultural sector with the increase in the number of children running away to major cities.