As the longest surviving democratically elected communist regime in the world, the performance of the Left Front Government in West Bengal has excited considerable attention. This lucidly written book critically examines the achievements of the government in the areas of land reforms, rural development, devolution of administration to the grassroots level, and above all in ensuring the democratic participation of the poorest classes. The study is based on primary field research conducted in four different locations in two dissimilar regions of the state. Contextualising the economic and political environments of the villages studied. Dr. Lieten analyses the differing composition of each village council in terms of caste, class, gender and the ability of the Panchayats to mediate between an interventionist state and the goal of grassroots empowerment. The ongoing process of socio-economic change is understood on the basis of the village-level discourse which illuminates the worldviews and ethical assumptions of West Bengal villagers. Dr. Lieten concludes that the impact of the initiatives launched by the Left Front Government, although generally facilitating improvements in economic and living conditions, has varied in accordance with local conditions. He observes that political maturity and acumen embodied in class-based organisations played a key role in assisting potentially effective development initiatives to percolate from the top down to the villages. Overall, the study provides enough evidence to support the view that the West Bengal Government has not only assisted agrarian development but has done so with a strong pro-poor orientation. With the current emphasis on decentralised and grassroots-level governance, this detailed and critical case study will interest administrators, politicians, economists, planners, sociologists and political scientists as also those involved in rural development.
There are no reviews yet.