This collection presents critical and action-oriented approaches to addressing food systems inequities across places, spaces, and scales. With case studies from around the globe, Radical Food Geographies explores interconnections between power structures and the social and ecological dynamics that bring food from the land and water to our plates. Through themes of scale, spatial imaginaries, and human and more-than-human relationships, the authors explore ongoing efforts to co-construct mo...

This book covers the sensitive real-life story of Gulzari and Parvati, their marriage in Lahore in 1942, the eruption of violence and carnage, their flight to New Delhi just a month before the partition and their aristocratic lifestyle that slowly crumbled (so did their love for each other).An interesting account of a man who struggles to keep up with his swanky lifestyle he once enjoyed as one of the richest landed families of Lahore, who never knew what it meant to work for a livi...

'One of the world's most prominent radical scientists', Vandana Shiva demolishes the myths propagated by corporate globalisation in its pursuit of profit and power, revealing the devastating environmental impact of corporate capitalism.Shiva argues that consumerism lubricates the war against the earth and that corporate control violates all ethical and ecological limits. She takes the reader on a journey through the world's devastated eco-landscape, one of genetic engineering, indu...

Rural development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of the rural people. Rural development involves extending the benefits of development to the poorest among the population. The concept of rural development has now undergone a change and has become more comprehensive. This book covering all the topics of Rural Development as per UGC syllabus.

A lot has changed in Indian social and economic planning since the introduction of the grand rural employment guarantee scheme, now known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA). The act has been implemented, suffered setbacks, established land-marks, drawn criticism, and collected accolades in all these years. But most significantly it has profoundly changed the character of the Indian women at large. Whether these changes are good for Indian democracy is a matter of...

Politicians and economists fixate on “growing the economy”—measured by a country’s gross domestic product. But this yardstick counts harmful activities such as greenhouse gas emissions, plastic waste, and cigarette sales as gains, and it ignores environmental protection, voluntary community work, and other benefits. What we measure is a choice, and what is and isn’t counted determines what sorts of policies are enacted. How can we shift the focus to well-being and quality of life?

The difficulty of finding solutions After six decades of policy-making and planning that appear perfect on paper, vast pockets of poverty persist across the country, accompanied by low human development indices. In Poor but Spirited in Karimnagar, Sumita Dawra recounts her experiences as collector in the district of Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh, and grapples with the question of why even with crores of rupees of government funding, well-meaning implementing agencies and constructive action...

Why Agriculture Productivity Falls: The Political Economy of Agrarian Transition in Developing Countries offers a new explanation for the decline in agricultural productivity in developing countries. Transcending the conventional approaches to understanding productivity using agricultural inputs and factors of production, this work brings in the role of formal and informal institutions that govern transactions, property rights, and accumulation. This more robust methodology leads ...

This book discusses the continued emphasis on development gains in India’s national policies and its quest to meet sustainable development goals. It offers an analysis of the laws and infrastructure for environment protection in the country and their ineffectiveness in dealing with the water pollution which has had dire consequences on India’s ecological landscape.The book, while highlighting the need and importance of industrial development, argues for sustainable measures to mode...

Over the last 50 years, Nepal has been considered an experiential model in determining the effectiveness and success of global human development strategies, both in theory and in practice. As such, it provides a rich array of in-depth case studies in both development success and failure. This edited collection examines these in order to propose a novel perspective on how human development occurs and how it can be aided and sustained.Aid, Technology and Development: The lessons from...

This volume examines the transitions in Indian agriculture since the 1980s, and emphasizes upon the role of neoliberal policies and their impact. The essays presented here deal with a range of pertinent and contemporary issues, including global food security, livelihoods of agricultural labourers, and public and private investment. These weave together glimpses of the impasse faced by petty commodity producers (marginal and small farmers) and their subsequent economic distress and social e...

A comprehensive study on the phenomenon of Indian urbanization, and what comes with it.Indian policy has been characterised by a denial of urbanization. This has prevented us from meaningfully addressing the blizzard of policy issues that come with the phenomenon: from governance deficit to infrastructure shortfall, from effective management of land to lack of focus on growing city economies; from access to potable water to incessant flooding; from traffic congestion to sufficient ...