STAGGERED DEVELOPMENT: Close-Ups form Delhi’s Margins

Book Details

• Author: Devesh Vijay

• Binding: Hardcover

• ISBN: 9788131610657

• Pages: 336

• Release Date: 01-12-2019

• Publisher: Rawat Publications

About the Book

Despite India’s impressive growth rates over the last decade, the country continues to grapple with severe underdevelopment issues, such as high informality, underemployment, undernutrition, and a lack of social security for its laboring masses. Devesh Vijay’s book delves into the paradox of slow development in rural and urban spaces around Delhi, specifically in a slum and a village, chosen to represent marginalized Bharat (India).

By combining ethnographic and quantitative methodologies, Vijay presents a compelling analysis of these areas, tracking the living standards and welfare delivery from 1988 to 2014. This timeline coincides with significant policy shifts like the Rajeev Gandhi government’s technology missions, the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991, the ‘inclusive growth’ strategy from 2004 to 2014, and key welfare improvements under the first Modi government. Through repeated surveys conducted in these communities, the book systematically compares the local economies, revealing the nuances of development in these contrasting environments.

The book sheds light on the complexities of underdevelopment, particularly the wide array of livelihoods pursued by individuals who are often labeled simply as farmers, laborers, or homemakers in official records. Vijay also addresses the paradox of poverty decline and reduced illiteracy rates, yet an increase in other forms of deprivation, such as health issues, pollution, morbidity, and crime. These insights offer a nuanced perspective on development, culminating in a set of policy reforms aimed at promoting growth at the grassroots level in today’s India.

Contents:

• Introduction

• The Physical Setting

• Changing Livelihoods

• Agriculture in Dhantala

• Non-Farm Economy of Dhantala

• Workers in Aradhaknagar

• Poverty and Privations

• Ironies of Welfare

• Looking Back and Ahead

Devesh Vijay’s book is an important contribution to the study of development and underdevelopment, providing both theoretical insights and practical policy suggestions to tackle the persistent issues faced by marginalized communities in India.