1st Edition

Theory, Policy, Practice Development and Discontents in India

Edited By Suman Nath, Debraj Bhattacharya Copyright 2022
    294 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge India

    294 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge India

    294 Pages 19 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge India

    This book explores the meanings and perceptions of development and the dialectics of theory, policy and practice. It looks at how theory translates into policy, and the disconnections in its design and implementation in the Indian context.

    The book focuses on the influence of capitalist globalisation, democratisation, decentralisation and neoliberal economic reforms on the development discourse in India and how these have challenged the traditional role of the ‘state’, the meaning of citizenship, and public participation. Through an analysis of case studies from various parts of the country, it bridges the gap between policy prescriptions and practices and unpacks the institutional, political and policy-led compulsions and incompatibilities which most often remain unreported. It also discusses the intersections between policymaking and the politics of class, caste and gender, and emphasises the role bureaucracy plays in institutional governance.

    The volume includes articles from professionals ranging from academics, practitioners and activists. It will be of interest to scholars and researchers of public policy, development studies, South Asian politics, and economics as well as policy makers and practitioners in government and civil society.

    List of Figures. List of Tables. List of Contributors. Preface. Introduction 1. Institutional environment and organisational responses in changing decentralised governance systems in India: An ethnographic study 2. The Community Development Block and India’s Development Discourse 3. Urban Restructuring, Forced Evictions and Transition of the Welfare City into Entrepreneurial City: The case study of Bawana resettlement Colony, Delhi 4. Mapping the Development Paradigm of Northeast India from Ancient Past to Present in the Realm of Political History and Economy 5. A Multisited ethnography of land management in the context of the development policy in West Bengal 6. Revisiting Wittfogel: ‘Hydraulic Society’ in Colonial India and Its Postcolonial Legacies in Hydropower Management 7. Re-contextualizing Micro-credit: From Reinventing Development to the Financialization of Everyday Life 8. The Making of a Neglected Tropical Disease: Discourse on Snakebite and Its Medical Management in India 9. Negotiation by the Waste Pickers: In the Context of Socioeconomic and Cultural Marginalisation 10. Dominant Party Rule, Development, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in West Bengal 11. Harnessing the Digital Revolution for Development: The Indian Experience 12. Organisation Structure of Family Owned and Controlled Business Groups in India: Some Reflections on Theories and Policies of Corporate Governance. Index.

    Biography

    Suman Nath received his PhD jointly under faculties from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and the University of Calcutta in Anthropology. He teaches anthropology as Assistant Professor at Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Government College, Kolkata, India. Since 2007, he has been researching on issues of politics of resource allocation, which includes a stint as Research Associate at Public Policy and Management Group, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, India. His books include a monograph, titled People-Party-Policy Interplay in India (2020) and a co-authored volume on Sexuality, Identity and Health (2014). He has published in international journals on issues of politics, corruption and governance. He was awarded to participate in different research programmes organised by the UNDP, Planning Commission and SaciWATERs. Apart from his academic publications, Suman runs a couple of internationally recognised blogs and writes popular articles in Little Magazines and Bengali dailies. His forthcoming research monograph Democracy and Social Cleavage in India is scheduled to be published next year.

    Debraj Bhattacharya is with the Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India. An alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata, he is working in the development sector of India since 2000. He has published on a wide range of issues of the past and the present. He has published on a wide range of themes and topics - modernity, urban crime, rural development, migration, local government, Marx, and Marxist West Bengal. His books include a monograph Exploring Marxist Bengal (2016) and a couple of edited volumes entitled Of Matters Modern (2008), and Karl Marx: 19th Century Memories and Reflections (2018).