ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Suicides of Cotton Farmers in Andhra Pradesh-An Exploratory Study

An Exploratory Study G Parthasarathy Shameem Though there are several accounts of the suicides of cotton farmers in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Telugu newspapers, no comprehensive account of the phenomenon is available. This paper makes such an attempt and concludes that the main reason for the strain on the cotton peasant is the growing indebtedness to the agriculturist to moneylender-cum-trader. But this does not entirely explain the suicides; one has here to understand the social milieu in which an individual gets alienated front the family and the society.

Water for the Rich

G Parthasarathy Water Management in India by A Subba Rao; Chugh Publications, Allahabad,
THE present work is the product of author's Ph D thesis entitled 'Management of Water Supply in Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation: A Study ot Public Utility'.The theme or the book is drinking water supply in an urban setting.

Lakdawala Estimate of Poverty and Targeted PDS-Injustice to Andhra Pradesh

in dampening the spirit of the oppressed people and halting their onward political march. In the assembly elections of 1995, CPI(ML) candidates bagged the Darauli and Mairwa seats in the district. One of these victorious CPI(ML) MLAs. Amar Yadav, was however soon implicated in false cases and put in jail. On the day of the Lok Sabha election in 1996, Shahabuddin himself opened fire on innocent voters standing in the queue before a polling booth, but following fierce popular protests and intervention of the high court, Shahabuddin had to surrender on August 29.

Unorganised Sector and Structural Adjustment

G Parthasarathy It is unfortunate that in the euphoria about liberalisation and globalisation we have forgotten the fundamental task of institution-building. This is brought home most sharply by the case of the unorganised sector.

Public Intervention and Rural Poverty-Case of Non-Sustainable Reduction in Andhra Pradesh

Case of Non-Sustainable Reduction in Andhra Pradesh G Parthasarathy Andhra Pradesh presents a unique case of poverty reduction, its performance between 1970 and 1988 being the highest among all the major states. This trend is not surprising for the 1970s, a period of rapid agricultural growth but is perplexing for the latter part of the 1980s when growth had slackened. These trends point to the significance of public intervention for poverty alleviation, in particular the Rs 2 a kilo rice scheme, which is evaluated here. However, the most effective measure that could be taken to reduce poverty is land reform, without which other schemes cannot have much impact.

Employment and Unemployment in Andhra Pradesh-Trends and Dimensions

in Andhra Pradesh Trends and Dimensions G Parthasarathy assisted by Jayshree Anand This paper discusses trends in unemployment in Andhra Pradesh focusing on (i) the association between the proportion of casual labour and unemployment and between unemployment and rural poverty; (ii) changes in the elasticity of employment to output; (iii) the puzzle of usual status unemployment showing a rise even as there is a decline in unemployed person days; and (iv) employment generation under public works programmes in relation to the extent of unemployment.

Rule of the Contented

G Parthasarathy The Culture of Contentment by John Kenneth Galbraith; Houghton Mifflin Company/Boston, New York, London, 1992; pp 195, $ 22.95.
THIS book is about the attitudinal changes in the behaviour of the majority affluent towards the minority poor in the US in the 1980s, from one of concern to that of gross indifference. Galbraith, in his inimitable style seen in The Affluent Society, and other works, describes the culture 6f contentment and narrates the transition to it in 15 eminently readable chapters. What makes the book of absorbing interest to Indian readers is the parallel to the current situation in India. The situation here is marked by the culture of contentment of the minority elite and tack of concern towards the majority poor.

Green Revolution in Middle Phase

the changes in their work status that accompanied changes in technology and production organisation. A general finding of Isa Baud's study is that women's THIS empirical study on the impact of the Green Revolution on production efficiency by size, income distribution and poverty is based on a large-scale survey of a cross-section of cultivating households in the state of Haryana in 1975-76. By the middle 1970s, Haryana had made mqch progress in the rate of adoption of H Y V technology. In terms of numbers, 56 per cent of cultivators had adopted HYV, and in terms of area the coverage was 44 per cent. Considering wheat, almost two- thirds of the area was under HYV. This was made possible by the considerable progress in infrastructure, viz, electricity, tubcwell irrigation, etc. Thanks to the development of infrastructure and access to it of even small farmers, differences in the rate of adoption between large and small farmers got reduced, and the intensity of adoption by the small was higher. In order to appreciate the findings of the study, it is important to recognise the particular phase of HYV development in which the large farmers lost their decisive advantage over small farmers. The findings on income distribution effects by Ladejinsky, Wharton and Francine Frankel related, by contrast, to the late 1960s, when infrastructure progress was still limited and large farmers dominated the scene. (G Parthasarathy, 'HYV Technology: The Polarisation and Im- miserisation Controversy', Economic and Political Weekly, June 29, 1991.) A major merit of this work is the lucid description of the research procedures before presentation of the results of the survey. The chapter on 'Data Base, Concepts and Methodology' contains a good description of the methodological base of the survey. The description of procedures followed in agricultural regionalisation of Haryana and of the use of principal component analysis will be found to be particularly helpful by young researchers. In the chapter on Adoption of New Technology', there is a good description of the models chosen for analysing the factors influencing the intensity of adoption. Similarly, the description of alternative methods of measuring production access to jobs is higher where the scale of production is low. A higher proportion of women workers than of men workers are casual labourers and women workers obtain less regular employment than men.

Land Reform and Rural Development-Highlights of a National Seminar

Development Highlights of a National Seminar T Haque G Parthasarathy LAND reform no longer appears 10 be considered a live issue in development planning and policy, notwithstanding the rhetoric displayed periodically in policy documents. This is during a period when peasant struggles for land and naxalism have been growing in their intensity In vast parts of the country. Such contradictory trends called for a reassessment of the role of land reform and its impact on agricultural and rural development. The Centre' for Agrarian Studies, NIRD held a national seminar during December 16-18, 1991 for this purpose.

White Revolution, Dairy Co-operatives and Weaker Sections

Weaker Sections G Parthasarathy Bringing together available factual evidence on the role of co-operatives in dairy development

HYV Technology The Polarisation and Immiserisation Controversy

Immiserisation Controversy G Parthasarathy The interaction between technology and institutions is complex and it is not easy to disentangle the social impact of technology without reference to the social institutions through which it generates its impact. Nor is it very rewarding to try to abstract the effects of technology per se This paper does not pretend to establish the causal relationship between technology per se and social change. Instead, it follows a 'before and after' and 'with and without' approach to illuminate the nature of change associated with technology Section I of the paper deals with technology and trends in polarisation and proletarianisation and Section IF with differences in trends in polarisation and proletarianisation between technologically leading and technologically lagging States. Section III discusses wages, unemployment and immiserisation in technologically leading and lagging States, Section IV examines inequality, non-agricultural employment and sustainobility of capitalist farming in technologically leading States and Section V deals with class formation in technologically leading and lagging States.

Indian Agriculture Emerging Contradiction and Alternatives

Indian Agriculture: Emerging Contradiction and Alternatives G Parthasarathy Institutional Aspects of Agricultural Development by P C Joshi; Allied Publishers, Delhi, 1987; pp 335, Rs 125.

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