Trent Brown

Beyond the metropolis - Regional globalisation and town development in India : An introduction

Despite the rapid transformation of India over the past 25 years and a swathe of publications dealing with the impact of globalisation on the culture and economy of the subcontinent, and on its large metropolitan cities, we contend that relatively far less is known about the regional impacts of globalisation and the localised impacts of neo-liberal development policies. Significantly, we seek to understand and analyse how globalisation is transforming smaller, regional towns in India. Based on social scientific research exploring the development and changes taking place in two distinctive, middle towns—Anand, Gujarat and Darjeeling, West Bengal—we highlight the social and political forces at work that are re-making these towns, the local issues residents contend with, and the external drivers of change that influence the unique growth and development of these towns.

Chipko legacies: sustaining an ecological ethic in the context of agrarian change

Abstract During the 1970s, the Chipko movement mobilised popular opposition to commercial forestry in the Indian Himalaya. Today, the legacy of this movement remains contentious. For some, it was a successful environmental movement, which led to the protection of natural resources. For others, it has stalled development in the region, preventing the creation of much-needed employment opportunities. This article engages with this contentious legacy and evaluates the ongoing relevance of Chipko in the region. It does this by presenting a case study of a Chipko-inspired seed conservation movement, the Beej Bachao Andolan (Save the Seeds Movement, BBA), which has attempted to sustain Gandhian and ecological values in the region by promoting ecologically sensitive, bottom-up village development. While BBA has been effective in mobilising people against threats to subsistence agriculture, local people remain ambivalent about aspects of its core message, which are not seen to offer solutions to growing local challenges, such as climate change and out-migration. The successes and failures of BBA point to the complex and contradictory position of farmers in the Indian Himalaya and the extent to which Gandhian and ecological values remain relevant to them in the context of agrarian change.

Agrarian crisis in Punjab and 'Natural Farming' as a response

After four and a half decades of Green Revolution agrarian development, the state of Punjab is now, according to many commentators, in a state of social, economic and ecological crisis. In this paper, I interpret this crisis through a Gramscian lens as a ‘crisis of authority’, in the sense that while the dominant paradigm (the Green Revolution) can no longer provide solutions to the states most pressing social problems, there is no clear single alternative either. This situation provides a political opportunity for non-hegemonic groups to articulate various other possibilities that address fundamental questions. This paper focuses on the work of one such group, the Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM). KVM is a civil society organisation that promotes ‘natural farming’ as a solution to the crisis in Punjab: natural farming is a chemical-free method of farming, which relies exclusively on materials available at the local level. This paper looks at KVMs methods of intervening in the crisis situation and examines the difficulties faced at the level of implementation. It argues that KVMs successes and failures highlight the uneven capacities of different classes and social groups to effectively respond to a ‘crisis of authority’.

Globalised dreams, local constraints: migration and youth aspirations in an Indian regional town

ABSTRACT Youth in India’s regional towns face a paradox: they are exposed to discourses of neoliberal globalisation through education and media, yet are unable to seize the benefits of globalisation, due to regional isolation. In this paper, we explore how aspirations of youth in India’s regional towns are influenced by their geographic marginalisation. Drawing on interviews and ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Darjeeling, a regional town in West Bengal, we demonstrate that regional youth feel disadvantaged in their access to middle-class jobs, modern education and lifestyles associated with neoliberal globalisation. Consequently, they express strong desires for ‘exposure,’ which can only be met through migration, particularly to India’s metropolitan cities. They are frustrated in their aspiration to migrate, however, as they feel constrained by the traditional family structure, discrimination in the larger cities and the uneven temporalities between regional towns and ‘global India.’ Their experiences highlight the geographically uneven effects of neoliberal globalisation.

Civil society organizations for sustainable agriculture: negotiating power relations for pro-poor development in India

ABSTRACT The promotion of sustainable agriculture is a focal point for many civil society organizations (CSOs) in India, including both development NGOs and grassroots organizations. In this article, I draw on three case studies of CSOs promoting sustainable agriculture in India, in order to evaluate their potential to address contemporary agrarian issues in a pro-poor manner. I argue that, whatever the technical merits of sustainable farming systems may be, CSOs are constrained in their ability to implement these systems in a manner that directly meets the needs of the rural poor. This is largely because, in order to achieve their goals, sustainable agriculture organizations usually must forge relations with at least five separate entities: the state, donor organizations, activist networks, rural elites and the rural poor. Strategic decisions must be made regarding which of these entities are prioritized and, for a variety of reasons, the leaders of sustainable agriculture organizations often prioritize relations with powerful actors rather than the rural poor. This is a major barrier to the development of models of sustainable agriculture that may address the needs of rural communities in the context of the contemporary agrarian crisis.

Youth Mobilities and Rural–Urban Tensions in Darjeeling, India

Abstract Globalisation has introduced new sources of mobility for Indias youth, yet not all youth experience mobility in the same way. The unevenness of mobility trajectories is especially visible in regional towns, where poor rural migrants and more globally connected middle-class youth occupy the same social space. To illustrate these mobility trends, this paper presents the stories of youths from various backgrounds in the town of Darjeeling, exploring different sources of mobility for rural and urban youth. While rural youth experience some forms of upward mobility as they migrate into the town, urban youth are confronted with downward mobility and are frustrated in their aspirations for professional careers and ‘modern’ lifestyles. For aspiring urban youth, upwardly-mobile rural people are seen as a threat to their privilege, blocking their mobility aspirations. This is contributing towards emerging tensions between rural and urban populations within the town.

Beyond the Participatory Development Impasse: Pathways Forward to Sustainable Rural Development

Participatory development models remain influential within mainstream development institutions, despite substantial scholarly critique. This paper examines one case study of a rural development facilitator from Tamil Nadu, India, who adopted participatory strategies to promote transitions to ecological agriculture. It considers the challenges and frustrations she faced in adopting these strategies and their shortcomings in promoting meaningful, long-term transformations within communities. In particular, local power structures and neoliberal institutions that made up the local context made it difficult to achieve participatory development’s stated objectives. The case illustrates potential pathways forward beyond the current participatory development impasse, suggesting a modified participatory development model, with a stronger emphasis on fostering cooperative economic relations.

Urbanization, rural mobility, and new class relations in Darjeeling, India

ABSTRACT Throughout the developing world, rapid urbanization is leading to new social relations and new conflicts between urban and (formerly) rural populations. This paper examines this process of change through a detailed examination of changing rural–urban relations in the town of Darjeeling, in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern India. In Darjeeling, increased rural mobility, accelerated rural-to-urban migration and the increased participation of rural people in local politics have led to major changes in the town. We demonstrate that the upward trajectory of rural classes who were previously subordinate is leading the more established urban residents to feel threatened, resulting in a redrawing of local political issues along rural–urban lines and a reconfiguration of class consciousness and social relations. The urban middle class, whose opportunities in the town have stagnated or declined, see rural migrants as a source of competition for increasingly scarce resources and blame them for the overall decline in the quality of urban life. They mobilize their (predominantly cultural) capital to reinforce markers of cultural distinction between them and the rural migrants and to delegitimize the political gains they have made. We argue that rural–urban conflict is emerging as the chief source of tension in the town and that this tension is largely grounded in class issues.

India Today: Economy, Politics and Society

Harriden notes the exploitation and reported abuse of women who joined the communist insurgency. During the military rule of Ne Win (1962–88), Harriden shows how women’s status worsened due to the Burmanisation campaign, state-sponsored violence against minority women, and extreme poverty due to government control and economic mismanagement. Harriden, however, fails to explain contradictory trends, such as rising female literacy during the socialist era. Women from different walks of life were also at the forefront of workers’ strikes and anti-government demonstrations in the 1960s and 1970s and the mass uprisings in 1988. Chapter 7 considers Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Harriden argues that, because Suu Kyi grew up around strong female role models, she never felt oppressed as a woman. Consequently she has not explicitly addressed gender inequality, but focused on human rights, asserting that men and women were equally vulnerable to injustice and oppression under military rule. National League for Democracy members hesitate to openly challenge her views, lest they create divisions within the party and weaken the democratic movement. In Chapter 8 Harriden argues that women’s organisations established under successive military regimes (1988–2011) operated as a control and mobilisation mechanism for the government. She overlooks their achievements in micro-finance, child protection, education and healthcare, and the campaigns of minority women’s organisations to secure inclusion of women in ceasefire and peace negotiations. But overall this is a readable, engaging and well-documented book and is highly recommended.