Until the shift of developmental policy in India in 1990s the state used to play an instrumental ... more Until the shift of developmental policy in India in 1990s the state used to play an instrumental role India’s development. By the time India attained independence it was widely regarded that semi feudal landlordism was the main obstacle in the way of national economic regeneration. In this paper an attempt has been to capture the processes of land reforms in India’s West Bengal under the Left Front rule and to critically review impact of this programme on village society. This paper also seeks to identify reasons with the help of empirical studies why it has not been possible for the Left Front Government to achieve the declared objectives of the programme. Major transformations in economic, social and political fields during the first two decades of the Left Front rule characterized by the successful implementation of land reform programmes but failed to produce sustained benefits to the poor beneficiaries of land reforms. The panchayat institutions were unsuccessful in making the ...
Probing participatory rural governance in India through the institution of Gram Sabhas, the basic... more Probing participatory rural governance in India through the institution of Gram Sabhas, the basic unit, the authors first examine its structure, nature, and evolution. Imparting focus on West Bengal's Gram Sa.nsad, they make a comparative assessment on its efficacy visa -vis Gram Sabhas in other states. Concentrating on enhancing people's participation, they give some weightage to West Bengal experience and conclude by prescribing certain measures which need to be implemented to obtai'n the desired advantage of people's participation.
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in the eastern range North-East (N-E) has the ‘seven si... more Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in the eastern range North-East (N-E) has the ‘seven sisters’—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, along with a small and beautiful cousin in the Himalayan fringes, namely, Sikkim. Nearly ninety-eight per cent of N-E is surrounded by international boundaries and two per cent with the rest of India. Often known as ‘the ethnic cauldron’, this region is the home of extraordinarily diverse mosaic of ethnic groups having distinctive social, cultural and economic identity, more akin to their South Asia neighbours than mainland India. It is a habitat of a good number of ethnic rebel groups whose agendas vary from complete session from India to fighting for ethnic identities and home lands. The primary objective of the colonial rule in N-E was to ensure its administrative insulation which might have largely contributed to the continuation of the backwardness of the N-E region. It is probably the only political...
During the last 44 years of its existence, NAM as a movement has had many achievements to its cre... more During the last 44 years of its existence, NAM as a movement has had many achievements to its credit. To name just a few, the classical form of colonialism that dominated Asia and Africa at the time of the birth of the Movement is, with some exceptions, dead. Hie Movement was instrumental in bringing about the end of the apartheid in South Rhodesia and South Africa. The Movement was witness to historic movements such as the signing of the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, the independence of Namibia, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the North-South dialogue. Apart from these momentous happenings in which NAM had a crucial role to play, the Movement gave certain ideas and concepts to humanity for its own betterment. For instance, the Algiers Summit in 1973 gave the world a definition of the criteria for a New International Economic Order which, one year later, was proclaimed by the plenary of the United Nations. This new order ushered us" into momentous socio-economic developments like the restructuring of international trade, transfer of technology and access to the markets of products in developed countries. This significant thrust also resulted in the evolution of concepts like the right to development and sovereignty of the State over its natural resources, rules governing international trade and codes of conduct regarding transfer of technology. At the time of the holding of the XII NAM Summit in South Africa, the Movement was facing challenges galore. For instance, we were witnessing wars in many of our countries which spawned millions of refugees criss-crossing interstate boundaries. There were also migrant workers in equal numbers searching in other lands for the paradise they never found in their own homelands. But, faced with these threats, a perverse xenophobic tendency seeks to disrupt our unity. ^ . Similarly, new non-tariff protectionism administrative, and customs obstacles have turned into a wall that is higher and stronger than the old tariff barriers that stood in the way of introducing our products in the markets of industrialised countries. The problem of external debt still weighs like a milestone around the necks of our countries hampering our chances of development. Limitations
Until the shift of developmental policy in India in 1990s the state used to play an instrumental ... more Until the shift of developmental policy in India in 1990s the state used to play an instrumental role India’s development. By the time India attained independence it was widely regarded that semi feudal landlordism was the main obstacle in the way of national economic regeneration. In this paper an attempt has been to capture the processes of land reforms in India’s West Bengal under the Left Front rule and to critically review impact of this programme on village society. This paper also seeks to identify reasons with the help of empirical studies why it has not been possible for the Left Front Government to achieve the declared objectives of the programme. Major transformations in economic, social and political fields during the first two decades of the Left Front rule characterized by the successful implementation of land reform programmes but failed to produce sustained benefits to the poor beneficiaries of land reforms. The panchayat institutions were unsuccessful in making the ...
Probing participatory rural governance in India through the institution of Gram Sabhas, the basic... more Probing participatory rural governance in India through the institution of Gram Sabhas, the basic unit, the authors first examine its structure, nature, and evolution. Imparting focus on West Bengal's Gram Sa.nsad, they make a comparative assessment on its efficacy visa -vis Gram Sabhas in other states. Concentrating on enhancing people's participation, they give some weightage to West Bengal experience and conclude by prescribing certain measures which need to be implemented to obtai'n the desired advantage of people's participation.
Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in the eastern range North-East (N-E) has the ‘seven si... more Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas in the eastern range North-East (N-E) has the ‘seven sisters’—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, along with a small and beautiful cousin in the Himalayan fringes, namely, Sikkim. Nearly ninety-eight per cent of N-E is surrounded by international boundaries and two per cent with the rest of India. Often known as ‘the ethnic cauldron’, this region is the home of extraordinarily diverse mosaic of ethnic groups having distinctive social, cultural and economic identity, more akin to their South Asia neighbours than mainland India. It is a habitat of a good number of ethnic rebel groups whose agendas vary from complete session from India to fighting for ethnic identities and home lands. The primary objective of the colonial rule in N-E was to ensure its administrative insulation which might have largely contributed to the continuation of the backwardness of the N-E region. It is probably the only political...
During the last 44 years of its existence, NAM as a movement has had many achievements to its cre... more During the last 44 years of its existence, NAM as a movement has had many achievements to its credit. To name just a few, the classical form of colonialism that dominated Asia and Africa at the time of the birth of the Movement is, with some exceptions, dead. Hie Movement was instrumental in bringing about the end of the apartheid in South Rhodesia and South Africa. The Movement was witness to historic movements such as the signing of the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, the independence of Namibia, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the beginning of the North-South dialogue. Apart from these momentous happenings in which NAM had a crucial role to play, the Movement gave certain ideas and concepts to humanity for its own betterment. For instance, the Algiers Summit in 1973 gave the world a definition of the criteria for a New International Economic Order which, one year later, was proclaimed by the plenary of the United Nations. This new order ushered us" into momentous socio-economic developments like the restructuring of international trade, transfer of technology and access to the markets of products in developed countries. This significant thrust also resulted in the evolution of concepts like the right to development and sovereignty of the State over its natural resources, rules governing international trade and codes of conduct regarding transfer of technology. At the time of the holding of the XII NAM Summit in South Africa, the Movement was facing challenges galore. For instance, we were witnessing wars in many of our countries which spawned millions of refugees criss-crossing interstate boundaries. There were also migrant workers in equal numbers searching in other lands for the paradise they never found in their own homelands. But, faced with these threats, a perverse xenophobic tendency seeks to disrupt our unity. ^ . Similarly, new non-tariff protectionism administrative, and customs obstacles have turned into a wall that is higher and stronger than the old tariff barriers that stood in the way of introducing our products in the markets of industrialised countries. The problem of external debt still weighs like a milestone around the necks of our countries hampering our chances of development. Limitations
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