The Indian state of Kerala is known for its high social model of development and social democratic governance. This book presents the most comprehensive analysis of the Kerala Model of Social Development to date. The model has often been identified as one worth emulating because it is seen to have taken the state to the zenith of human development and democratic governance. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the book sheds new light on the paradoxes of the Indian state and its model of economic development. The book provides a consolidated exploration and critique of the Kerala model,...

The relationship between ethnic politics and democracy presents a paradox for scholars and policy makers: ethnic politics frequently emerge in new democracies, and yet are often presumed to threaten these new democracies. As ethnic politics is becoming increasingly central to Nepali politics, this book argues it has the potential to strengthen rather than destabilize democracy.

Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, Susan Hangen focuses on the ethnic political party Mongol National Organization (MNO), which consists of multiple ethnic groups and has been mobilizing support...

The rise of Maoism as one of the organized political movement in India is the outcome of a historical situation. Both colonialism and the failure of the Indian state to implement land reforms more stringently in the aftermath of independence resulted in terrible sufferings of the marginalized, land- dependent, sections of society.

Through historical analysis, this book assesses the ideological articulation of the contemporary ultra-left movement in India, including Maoism which is expanding gradually in India. The author provides answers to the following issues: Is Maoism...

The Indian Ocean Tsunami, which devastated 70 percent of Sri Lanka's coastline and killed an estimated 35,000 people, was remarkable both for the magnitude of the disaster and for the unprecedented scale of the relief and recovery operations mounted by national and international agencies. The reconstruction process was soon hampered by political patronage, by the competing efforts of hundreds of foreign humanitarian organizations, and by the ongoing civil war.

The book is framed within this larger political and social context, offering descriptions and comparisons between...

This book deals with issues in economic development in India. It highlights those factors that are indicative of India's emergence in the global economy yet indicates negative "trickle down" effects, such as malnutrition, poverty, bonded labourers, high adult unemployment and the widespread use of child labour.

Focusing on structural deficiencies for a steady growth rate, and how to make growth inclusive, the book examines duality in development and the factors standing between national economic prosperity and human development. The author analyses issues concerning international...

Universalization of primary education has been high on the policy agenda in India. This book looks at the reproduction of social inequalities within the educational system in India, and how this is contested in different ways. It examines whether the concept of education for all' is just a mechanically conceived policy target to chasing enrolment and attendance or whether it is a larger social goal and a deeper political statement about the need for attacking entrenched social inequalities.

Drawing on original data collected in the two states of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the...

In 1971, a war which took place in Pakistan that resulted in the establishment of two separate countries; East Pakistan became Bangladesh, leaving the remaining four western provinces to comprise a truncated Pakistan. This book examines how literature by those who remained Pakistanis acts as a cultural response to the threat the war posed to a nationalist identity. It provides an analysis of the writing by Pakistani authors in their attempt to deal with the radical shock of the war and shows how fiction about the war helps readers imagine what the paring down of the country means for any...

This book gives a detailed political analysis of nationbuilding processes and how these are closely linked to statebuilding and to issues of war crime, gender and sexuality, and marginalization of minority groups.

With a focus on the Indian subcontinent, the author demonstrates how the state itself is involved in the construction of a gendered identity, and how control of women and their sexuality is central to the nationbuilding project. She applies a critical feminist approach to two major conflicts in the Indian subcontinent - the Partition of India in 1947 and the...