Articles by D N

D N In the course of the lower castes acquiring dignity it is not only practices like wearing clothes of one's choice, sitting on a cot, etc, that have changed, but also the manner in which festivals and social occasions are celebrated. An example of this change is provided by the holi festival in Bihar, This democratic advance is now not confined to those villages in which actual struggles have taken place, but is a general feature of village Bihar.

Arms Purchases D N While the unequal 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty gives India a veto over Nepal's purchases of arms through India, the Indian government has tried to broaden the veto to include any purchases of arms by Nepal. By its recent purchase of arms from China, the Nepali government has signified its rejection of this attempt.

The growth of the sugar industry in south Gujarat has led to a large demand for seasonal workers to cut cane. The report of a committee appointed by the Gujarat high court to enquire into the conditions of employment and living of the migrant sugarcane cutters brings out, first, their abysmally low wages and, second, the connection between such super exploitation of the cane cutters and their nationality or caste identity.

Relations D N Famine is not an inevitable consequence of drought. Drought is an act of nature, whereas famine is the result of specific agrarian relations compounded by government policy on relief which in turn depends on the pattern of accumulation being undertaken.

carpentary with a stipend of Rs 125 per month was given to 15 young men. They were also given implements for practice of the trade. But there is no steady work for them. About 34 young men, most of whom were not oustees, were trained as masons for a period of four months Some of them have been engaged as assistants in masonry work, but the majority are still unemployed. Even manual, unskilled work is denied to the landless oustees at the construction sites of canals and dykes. The reason is that construction companies prefer to engage outsiders for such work as the outsiders are less likely to complain when they are not paid wages according to law As the landless labourers are unable to get steady work many of them are forced to starve for a significant part of the year.