Social movements in India: poverty power and politics

Text results from the workshop Social movements and poverty in India held at the University of California at Berkeley in April 2001. Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-297) and index.

The role of social movements in Indian politics has always been important, even before independence from colonial rule in 1947. During the Nehruvianera, poverty alleviation was a foundational standard against which policy proposals and political claims were measured. At that time, movement activism was directly accountable to this state discourse. Today, however, the nature of social movements has undergone a transformation. In this volume--the first to focus on poverty and class in its analysis of social movements--a group of leading India scholars shows how they have had to change because poverty reduction no longer serves its earlier role as a political template. With key cases from across states and sectors, the book analyses their role in the constantly changing political landscape. It has distinctive chapters on gender, lower castes, environment, the Hindu Right, Kerala, labor, farmers, and biotechnology mirroring change and social movements in a comprehensive fashion. With contributions from renowned academics, this informed, accessible, and analytical anthology will be of immense importance to students and researchers in political science, sociology, and history. It will be indispensable for postgraduate courses on social movements. Policy planners and an informed general audience will also find it useful. (Source: http://www.easternbookcorporation.com/)