The Politics of Hunger in India

Do people starve in democratic polities? It is often claimed that as government must respond to public needs in times of crisis, democracy has reduced famine in India since Independence. This book seeks to identify the processes which generate and perpetuate hunger in India, and what sort of intervention by public and private agencies are best suited to combat this problem. Drawing on fieldwork in the much publicised Kalahandi district, Bob Currie explains why problems of poverty and alleged starvation remain despite regular elections and extensive regional and national publicity.

Autorentext

BOB CURRIE is Lecturer in Development Politics at Huddersfield University, UK. He is also Review Editor of the journal Contemporary South Asia. His main research interests lie in the politics of poverty; and the politics of economic adjustment in India. This research draws on fieldwork conducted in the Orissa State of eastern India between 1992 and 1999.

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List of Tables List of Figures and Maps Preface Glossary List of Abbreviations Introduction PART I: POLITICS, POVERTY AND HUNGER: THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS Poverty, Politics and the Political Political Culture and Political Process in Welfare Protection PART II: POLITICS, POVERTY AND HUNGER IN NAWAPADA AND KALAHANDI, ORISSA, EASTERN INDIA Introduction The Politics of Poverty, Commonality and Power in Nawapada and Kalahandi Procedural Guidelines for Relief Administration in Orissa Translating Procedure into Practice: Policy Networks for Relief and Development Public Action and its Limits: Authority's Response to Critical Questioning Poverty, Hunger and the Political in Nawapada and Kalahandi: Concluding Statements Index