Book Review

Globalising Rural Development
Competing Paradigms and Emerging Realities

Title             :       Globalising Rural Development
                           Competing Paradigms and Emerging Realities  

Edited by      :       MC Behera

Publisher      :       Sage Publications

Price            :       Rs. 550

Pages          :       462

This tome, compiled and edited by MC Behera, Reader, Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies and Director, Centre for Distance Education, Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar; examines the impact of the changing paradigm of rural development on poverty alleviation, equity, gender, food security, employment and sustainability.

      The contributors draw upon the experiences of their countries, be it, Kenya, East Germany, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand or India and the volume identifies the commonalities and differences in the circumstances of the countries and their approach to rural development.

      Divided into four segments, the books delves into – inherently contradictory relationship between the new development patterns and objectives of rural development; studies the roles of state and state-led interventions in the context of globalisation and the role of NGOs; highlights the rural livelihood framework and presents participatory methods for addressing problems like poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment.

      Says the editor in his preface, “The aim of this volume is not to discuss the broad and specific nature of rural development in the context of globalisation nor to offer suggestions for rural development…………….the main objective of the volume is to present a collection of papers from multi-country experiences to identify the commonalities and approaches to rural development with a view to providing a framework for the analysis of the processes and interacting forces which operate towards the development of rural people.”

      There cannot be a preconceived formula, each policy and approach has to be designed to meet specific ethos and cultural needs of particular people. Very often it is a method of trial and error.

      The relocation story from Thailand  amply illustrates this. The Thai authorities first tried to settle the Kensiu people in a village, in 1961. There were approximately 80 people. But the hunters and wood gatherers among them were afraid they would be attacked by the communists, for fear they may reveal their (communists’) whereabouts to the authorities. They fled from the village. They were once again resettled in another village in 1971, reluctant at first, slowly the tribe took to the state sponsored village, several other Thais and Malays also moved in and today the Sakai Village is a development self-help village.

      The migration from urban to rural areas (counter-urbanisation) in Western Europe is mainly motivated by a desire for a better quality of life than employment opportunities, but this process is still not apparent in East Germany. In the rural areas of E. Germany, as a whole, a relatively successful, highly professional agriculture stands out against a background of a poor rural economy! But it should not be forgotten that the success of agriculture enterprises has been largely founded on poor wages.

      Women in South Asia have the lowest rates of participation in governance structures. They occupy only 7% of parliamentary seats; 9% of cabinet membership;  6% of judicial positions; only 9% of civil service posts and just 20% of local government membership.

      In the UN’s Human Development Report (1995) India ranks 99th on Gender Related Development Index (GDI) of 130 nations. The report has identified three critical areas – access to education, reproductive health and credit resources. As a signatory to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, Government of India has drawn up an Action Plan for the girl child (1991-2000).Prevention of female foeticide after sex determination, is a starting point.

            The exhaustive volume, brimming with interesting statistics and models from different parts of the world, is a most useful reference and perusal material for economists and students and scholars of development studies. q

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