To MSU homepage
To CHSS homepage
To Anthropology Home Page
Life Is A Little Better: Redistribution as
A Development Strategy in Nadur Village, Kerala
Read chapter 3 on-line
Read an introduction to the village on-line
Contents
1 Development, Inequality, and Redistribution 1
Kerala's Achievements, 1
The Redistribution Debate in Development Policy, 6
Inequality in Social Science Theory, 11
Why a Village Study?, 16
The Study Hypothesis, 17
Notes, 18
2 Methods of Research and Analysis 19
Why Nadur Village?, 19
The 1971 Household Survey, 25
The Sample, 25
The 1986-87 Field Study, 27
Quality Control of Data, 28
Units of Analysis, 32
The Statistics Used in the Study, 34
Data Analysis: The Basic Structure, 41
Notes, 42
3 Nadur Village 45
Entering Nadur, 48
Nadur's Main Temple, 51
Nadur City, 54
A Walk Through The Lanes, 55
The Seasons at Nadur, 56
4 The Castes 68
Caste in India, 68
Analytical Importance of Caste, 68
Caste in Kerala, 70
Castes in Kerala and Nadur, 71
Nambudiri, 72
Variar, 74
Nair, 75
Craft, 78
Chetty, 79
Ezhuthasan, 79
Muslim, 79
Christians, 81
Ezhava, 82
Mannan, 84
Pulaya, 85
Caste and Class, 89
Notes, 89
5 The Classes 90
Definition and Characteristics of Class, 90
Class Definition for Nadur Households, 94
Occupational Class Breakdown, 94
Class Descriptions, 94
Internal Class Composition, 100
Class and Caste, 103
Classes in Kerala and Nadur, 103
Notes, 107
6 Redistribution Versus Inequality 108
Economic Change in India and Kerala, 108
Income Levels in India, Kerala, and Nadur, 108
Economic Change in Nadur, 110
Nadur's Income Quintiles: 1971 and 1987, 111
Income Inequality: 1971 and 1987, 113
Inequality and Redistribution Programs, 114
Income Inequality by Caste, 116
Income Inequality by Class, 118
Summary and Conclusions, 120
Notes, 120
7 The Land Reform 121
The Historical Context, 121
Popular Struggles for Land Reform, 123
The Land Reform, 125
Land Reform and Income Inequality, 132
Land Reform and Caste Inequality, 135
Land Reform, Caste, and Income Inequality, 138
Land Reform and Class Inequality, 140
Land Reform and Income Inequality by Class, 144
Conclusions, 148
Notes, 149
8 Unions, Wages, Work, and Survival 152
Prior Conditions of Agricultural Laborers, 152
History of Trade Unions in Kerala, 154
What Have Agricultural Laborers Won?, 156
The Kerala Agricultural Workers Act, 157
Wages in Kerala, 158
Wages in Nadur, 159
Unemployment in Kerala, 160
Work and Unemployment in Nadur, 161
Underemployment in Kerala, 167
Underemployment in Nadur, 168
Coping with Underemployment, 174
Conclusions, 177
Notes, 177
9 Workers, Welfare, and Targeted Advancement 179
Insurance and Pensions in Kerala, 179
Pensions and Welfare in Nadur, 180
Pensions, Welfare, and Income Inequality, 181
Caste, Class, and Pensions, 183
Resource Transfer Programs: IRDP, 183
Housing Programs and RLEGP, 186
Rural Employment: Nadur's Spinning Coop, 187
Wages, Work, Welfare, and Survival: Case Studies, 188
Notes, 192
10 Public Food Distribution 193
School and Nursery Lunches, 193
Lunches and Income Inequality, 196
Food Distribution Through Ration Shops, 198
Historical Struggles for Subsidized Food, 198
Nadur's Ration Shop, 200
Rice Land and the Ration Shop, 201
The Ration Shop and Income Inequality, 204
Food Distribution and Food Intake, 207
Seasons, Rice, and the Ration Shop, 217
Calories and Public Food Distribution, 220
Conclusions, 221
Notes, 222
11 Education 223
Mobility, Development, and Education, 223
Educational Achievements in Kerala, 224
Struggles for Education in Kerala, 224
Nadur's School and Village Library, 227
Literacy in Nadur, 228
Caste, Gender, and Literacy, 229
Class and Education in Nadur, 233
Effects of Education in Kerala, 234
Female Education, Age of Marriage, and Birth Rates in Nadur, 235
Conclusions, 239
Notes, 240
12 Mobility 241
Class Mobility, 241
Income Mobility, 245
Land Reform, Class Change, and Income Mobility, 247
Education, Class Change, and Mobility, 250
Land Reform, Education, and Mobility, 252
Household Life Cycle, Household Structure, and Mobility, 263
Conclusions, 264
Notes, 264
13 Is Redistribution an Effective Development Strategy? 265
The Standard of Living, 266
Redistribution and the Rate of Development, 271
Attitudes Towards Life and the Future, 272
Conclusions, 275
Notes, 276
14 Redistribution: Basis for Development? 277
Struggles to Improve Nadur Village, 277
The New Democratic Initiatives, 279
Development, Redistribution, and Inequality, 283
Notes, 287
References 288
Index 299
To MSU homepage
To CHSS homepage
To Anthropology Home Page