Author: Debal K SinghaRoy
Publisher: Sage Publications
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 276
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0761998276
Description
Presenting varied experiences of the interaction between social capital and the democratic functioning of a variety of institutions in India, the essays in this volume subject the notion of social capital to close and thorough scrutiny.
Debal K SinghaRoy focuses on three major radical movements-Tebhaga and Naxalite in West Bengal and Telangana in Andhra Pradesh. Based on empirical data and supported by a wide range of secondary sources, the author argues that as spontaneous expressions of discontent against oppression, domination and marginalization turn into institutionalized movements, the space for radical challenge shrinks. As exemplified in West Bengal, the co-option of peasant movements by the state has largely stifled the scope for radical action. In Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, the relative independence of the grassroots mobilization process has allowed the peasantry to exercise multiple options for collective action.
REVIEWS
Apart from building theoretical foundations, analytical and methodical framework, the interesting part of the book relates to origin and development of the three movements (Tebhaga, Telengana and Naxalite) and their link with contemporary mobilizations in the same villages. The author has made a comparative study to bring out commonalities and differences in grassroots mobilizations in experience in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, The book is a well researched work on the radical peasant movements and their transformation in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. The book needs to be read by all those interested in radical rural transformation in India from the perspective of society’s oppressed sections.
-Economic and Political Weekly
Singharoy has brought about a work that will be considered a pioneering study in the area of peasant movements, The hard work that has gone into collecting data is reflected in the number of tables that contain enormous amount of information about social, political and economic status of peasants with other classes in society. The book is well written, methodical and is most comprehensive in tackling a subject that has not been probed seriously before. The reader will find it not only interesting but also thought provoking.
-The Resurging India
Contents
PREFACE
Towards a Conceptual Framework
Radical Peasant Movements: An Interface with History
Peasantry in the Emerging Agrarian Social Structure
Contemporary Peasant Movements: An Account from Within
Trends of Mobilization: From Radicalization to Institutionalization
Domination, Dependency and Discontent: Peasant Praxis for New Identity and Autonomy
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX