Post-development in Contemporary India: Politics of Mediation and Association

It has been widely recognised that top-down development projects do not necessarily contribute to bettering the life of ordinary people. In India, where environmental degradation and the exhaustion of natural resources have become pressing social concerns, many state-led development projects have failed to address these issues and have worsened the situation. Instead of looking at large national or international development projects, we need to focus on the movements of people in local societies and their efforts to maintain and improve their lives through engagement with the state, market economy and global civil society. We describe and analyse these bottom-up movements within the “post-development” framework. First, we look at the ways in which local people redefine their forms of “association.” Secondly, we highlight the role of “intermediaries” who link local societies with the state, market and civil society at large. Through ethnographic fieldwork, we examine both the possibilities and limitations of several concrete examples of ”post-development,” such as in the mobilisation of people for environmental change, alternative forms of development, and new cultural and religious movements.

- Akio Tanabe
- Shinya Ishizaka
- Yoshiaki Takemura

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