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Book Reviews
Development with a Bang
by Gautam Vohra;
Uppal
Publishing House, New Delhi;
1992, Rs. 225
Most voluntary agencies are perceived as
small groups of individuals working with tireless zeal in
the remote corners of the country, but whose impact is not
always visible. This perception is not off the mark. What
is not so well known is that there are sizeable NGOs whose
budgets may run into a crore rupees and more employing a few
hundred people - some no doubt working with tireless zeal -
which have had a visible impact in the areas where they
operate.
“Development With A Bang” discusses the
contribution of three such NGOs: Bhagavatula Charitable
Trust (BCT), Anand Niketan Ashram (ANA) and Aga Khan Rural
Support Programme (AKRSP). The BCT and ANA are relatively
old organisations with an enviable track record; the former
has done remarkable work with women’s groups which have set
up thrift societies that have changed the complexion of the
villages; the latter has organised affective people’s courts
(Lok Adalats), among tribals that have not only enabled them
to secure speedy justice but educated them on a range of
government programmes. The ANA has of late come in for some
flak from the NGO community, in particular the Narmada
Bachao Andolan, since it is pro-dam and has been assisting
the Gujarat government in the resettlement of the oustees;
in the 1970s it came under the shadow of the Kudal
Commission.
Like the BCT and ANA, the AKRSP’s work too is
there for all to see. Its impact has been through the
capital-intensive co-operative lift irrigation schemes that
it has set up, dramatically raising the incomes of the
farmers in the command area.
Vohra provides insights by examining a range
of issues - people’s organisations, professional staff,
training programmes - with regard to each NGO. This is all
the more welcome considering the paucity of empirical
material on the voluntary sector. But the weakness of the
book is its failure to discuss the processes involved in
rural development. For change occurs through a process
within rural India and it is not always quick, or dramatic.
An answer to how these NGOs have been able to initiate,
promote or later this process, would have been
enlightening. This is Vohra’s third book on NGOs, as the
jacket flap announces. Perhaps he has dealt with this
crucial issue in
“Women In
Bihar”
and
“Altering
Structure: Innovative Experiments at the Grassroots”.
Reviewed by Rajesh Nanda
India : A Regional
Interpretation
by C.D. Deshpande; Northern Book Centre, New
Delhi; 1992, Rs. 310
Rising political and social consciousness in
the north-east, border disputes in the north-west and demand
for separate statehood in tribal pockets of east India have
gained momentum during the last two decades. The twin
factors of ‘identity’ and ‘resources’ are the main
ingredients of contemporary regional disputes. All these
are pointers to the fact that the process of state formation
is not yet complete and that the formation of linguistic
states has not served to foster unity, politically and
culturally. A reordering of regional and national loyalty
calls for a through understanding of rising regional
consciousness and economic forces at work in different parts
of the country. “India - A Regional Interpretation” is
aimed towards such an understanding.
The author has classified the country into
what he calls ‘geographical regions’. At the macro-level,
these take into account historical evolution, natural
resources, cultural facets, economic landscape and
administrative divisions. In such a scheme, therefore,
Kerala and Tamil Nadu are grouped to form the Dravidian
South as they share common cultural evolution and political
and economic expansion. Similarly, the states of Jammu &
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the Himalayan part of Uttar
Pradesh are grouped to form the North Western Region.
Each macro-region is then studied in the
context of its meso and micro-level units. The former are
identified on the basis of significant differences in
relief, cultural patterns, economic base, lifestyle etc.,
and the latter coincide more or less with the district
boundaries. The region of Madhya Bharat Plateau has eight
meso-level units - Bundelkhand, Malwa, Dandkarnya,
Chattisgarh, to mention a few. The boundaries of these
often spill-over into the neighbouring states.
Based on an understanding of regional
identities and socio-economic problems, the study envisages
a new federal structure for India consisting of states (19
in all); state under Union Government with developed powers
(Himachal Pradesh & Purvanchal Pradesh); sub-state
(Jharkhand, Calcutta Metropolitan Region...) and Regional
Development Authority in States (Kutch, Telengana...); and
finally sub-states under the Union Territories with special
responsibilities (Ladakh, Uttarakhand...). The functioning
of the proposed federation, however , will depend on
political will, administrative competence and sensitivity to
regional aspirations.
Desphpande’s book makes for interesting and
thought-provoking reading; geographers; planner,
administrators and policy makers will benefit by it.
q
Reviewed by Prema Gera
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