Commentaries

Interface between civl society and governance in India is somewhat different from countries which share a different political, economic and social context. This book by Dr Rajesh Tandon and Dr Ranita Mohanty of Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), New Delhi, seeks to explore this interface in a context where democracy has travelled some distance but at the same time economic and social inequalities of various kinds persist to create a great divide among its people. The book contains empirical case studies drawn from various regions of India and we reproduce the case study about ABSSS.

Bharat Dogra, Vansh and ABSSS Activists have come out with an alternative plan for sustainable livelihood in Bundelkhand, blessed with adequate water resources, good farmland and rich mineral wealth, but cursed by deprivation of the people in general.

By eminent journalist and social activist Bharat Dogra in Food Security in India: Alternative Policies and People’s Initiatives, published by the author

This case study deals with the programme of distribution of land pattas (titles) to Kol tribals in Chitrakoot district of southern Uttar Pradesh. By Prof. BK Joshi, Shachindra Sharma and Vasudev, published in Does Civil Society Matter? Governance in Contemporary India, Editors Rajesh Tandon and Ranjana Mohanty, SAGE Publications

By Jeremy Seabrook, In Notes From Another India, Pluto Press, 345, Archway Road, London N6 5AA. This is a journey through an India rarely seen by the visitors. Part-travel writing and part-reportage, this case study is about positive intiatitives taken by the people’s movements and grassroots organisations.