Opposing views persist with regard to the emergence of plantations in southern India and the transfer of slave labour to these plantations: the abolition of slavery as an end in itself and, second, as a means to an end. In spite of the fact that slavery had been abolished by the mid-nineteenth century, workers on plantations found themselves no better off than slaves and bondsmen - so intensive and painful was the ill treatment meted out to them. The workers with their newly realised freedom from the feudal relations spared no means to revolt against the new Masters. Yet, a truly systemic transformation failed to materialise. The present paper attempts to unravel the constituents of changing forms of bondage and the coercive/disciplinary strategies adopted by the planters which in effect gave rise to a new labour regime. It also attempts to unravel the way in which the reborn â€˜slavesâ€™ unleashed their resistance at the capitalist work sites. [CDS Working Paper No. 327]

Breaking New Ground: The Adivasi Land Struggle in Kerala

Bondage in freedom : colonial plantations in southern India, c. 1797-1947

The privileging of internal resources over external finance is not only the most democratic but also the most politically desirable option. The implications of the ADB loan for Kerala is situated against this premise by employing an empirical political economy method. The paper is divided into five sections. In section 1, along with the structure of the loan, the current status of state finance is briefly outlined. Section 11 explores two hypotheses: the Resource Mobilisation Crisis Hypothesis and the Debt Overhang Hypothesis. In section 111, the socio-political implications of the ADB loan are discussed in the context of the conditionalities imposed. In section IV, viable alternatives are analysed with special emphasis on internal resource mobilisation and section V summarises observations. It is pointed out that the debt sustainability in Kerala was foreclosed by the late 90s with the state is in debt overhang. The ADB loan would only be an attack on the fiscal health of the state. Moreover, the class bias of the state blinds it to encrypted sources of funds which in Kerala help foster social structures of accumulation, leading to what could be called a state-â€˜augmented/patronisedâ€™ fiscal crisis. If the Kerala government were to adhere to ADB-driven governance, it would culminate in social de-investment, â€œcommodificationâ€ of critical sectors such as education and health and thereby a reversion of whatever remains of the Kerala model of social development; vulnerable social sections being the hardest hit. Although the state has accepted the first tranche, it could just as well withdraw totally from the ADB package. What is required is a concerted effort towards an internal resource mobilisation which would liberate the state from its commitment to the high-conditionality ADB loan. A mere 20 per cent or less of the locked up funds/arrears would save the state from seeking the second tranche. The state would be well advised to first stop further borrowing from the ADB and to dispense with the ADB policy package, and, second, to renounce the path of externallydriven neo-liberal reforms. [Working Paper No. 357]

http://www.esocialsciences.org/Download/repecDownload.aspx?fname=Document19112010580.1950647.pdf&fcategory=Articles&AId=3144&fref=repec

The Asian Development Bank loan for Kerala (India) : the adverse implications and search for alternatives

Changes in land relations: the political economy of land reforms in a Kerala village.

The paper seeks to examine the plight of tribals (indigenous people) in the context of globalization and liberalization. The tribals are children of nature and their lifestyle is conditioned by the Ecosystem. India, with a variety of Eco-system, presents a varied tribal population throughout its length and breadth. India is also characterized by having second largest tribal (Adivasis) population in the world. The impact of globalization on the Indigenous communities is manifold, and often they are ones most negatively affected. Under globalization, it is the tribal Indigenous areas that have had to face the attacks of massive developmental projects. The paper argues that deprivation of land and forests are the worst forms of oppression that these people experience. The Constitution of India makes special provisions for socioeconomic and educational development of these groups. It is also a fact that pre-independent and post independent governments in our state could not and did not do much for the development of the scheduled groups. The present paper shows that after the sixty years of formation of the state tribals continues as one of the most marginalized community within the state, the post globalized developmental projects and developmental dreams of the state has again made the deprivation of the tribals of Kerala and the developmental divide has increased between the tribal and non-tribal in the state. Despite government initiatives, the existing socio-economic profile of the tribal communities is low compared to the mainstream population. The instruments of globalization have not rendered positive impact in achieving intended objectives social security to the indigenous people.

Globalization and the plight of tribals: the case of kerala, india

In general, indigenous livelihoods are often adversely incorporated within development
processes and policies on account of their multiple disadvantages and discrimination. The
paper argues that the ability to build on or manage livelihoods is largely gendered, often
exacerbated through the nuanced working of socio-economic forces as women’s experiences
of poverty should be located and deconstructed within the configuration of local, political, social
and economic forces. Despite notable state led development initiatives in Kerala, the
multidimensionality of deprivation among different groups of poor and women within these
communities is yet to be seriously considered. Only then, responsive measures can be
developed, that will bear any significant difference and meaning to a historically neglected
social group. Their social, economic and political participation is important to develop
responsive and specific policies and institutions in lieu of those that are designed on the basis
of preconceived notions of ‘modernisation’ and ‘homogeneity’ of indigenous livelihoods.

/pdf/managing-assets-and-vulnerability-contexts-vistas-of-13kfx8vg5f.pdf

Breaking New Ground: The Adivasi Land Struggle in Kerala

Citations

Bondage in freedom : colonial plantations in southern India, c. 1797-1947

The Asian Development Bank loan for Kerala (India) : the adverse implications and search for alternatives

Changes in land relations: the political economy of land reforms in a Kerala village.

Globalization and the plight of tribals: the case of kerala, india

Managing assets and vulnerability contexts: vistas of gendered livelihoods of Adivasi women in South India