Offering new insights into the political economy of contemporary India, this book considers how and why unequal patterns of economic growth have taken shape within the context of a democratic and decentralising political system, and how this has impacted upon the processes of economic development.

List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgement Foreword by Anthony Giddens 1. Introduction by Chandan Sengupta and Stuart Corbridge 2. Equality or Inclusion: The Dilemma of India's Democracy by Meghnad Desai 3. Burden of Exception? Deficits and Deepening of Democratic Development in India by Chandan Sengupta 4. The Continuing Reinvention of India by John Harris and Stuart Corbridge 5. Development as Freedom and Justice: An Essay on Sen and Rawls by Parthasarthi Mondal 6. Framing the Development Debate: The Case of Farmers' Suicide in India by Ritambhara Hebbar 7. Institutional Credit and Economic Entitlement: Emerging Regional and Sectoral Divides in Maharashtra by Abdul Shaban 8. Fiscal Decentralisation and Urban Local Governments in India: An Emperical Review by Anita Rath 9. Decentralisation, Women's Rights and Development: Lessons from India and South Africa by Jo Beall 10. Social Divisions and Rural Non-Farm Sector: Lessons from India by Gaurang R. Sahay 11. Development and Change in Agrarian Economy: Aspects of Rural Non- Farm Sector in Andhra Pradesh, India by P. Gopinath 12. Privatising Social Opportunity: Trends and Implications for Higher Education in India by Anindita Chakrabarti 13. Healthcare Services and Development in India: A Study of Reproductive Health in Jharkhand by P.M. Sandhya Rani 14. Public Intervention, Institutions and Human Development in India: Theory and Evidence by Sandhya S. Iyer About the Editors Notes on Contributors Index