SharmaEtAl2020-RelationalApproachesPovertyRuralIndia.pdf (1.34 MB)
Relational approaches to poverty in rural India: social, ecological and technical dynamics
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 07:48 authored by Divya SharmaDivya Sharma, M Vijayabaskar, Ajit Menon, Saurabh AroraSaurabh AroraPoverty is now widely recognised as multidimensional, with indicators including healthcare, housing and sanitation. Yet, relational approaches that foreground political-cultural processes remain marginalised in policy discourses. Focusing on India, we review a wide range of relational approaches to rural poverty. Beginning with early approaches that focus on structural reproduction of class, caste and to a lesser extent gender inequality, we examine new relational approaches developed in the last two decades. The new approaches examine diverse ways in which poverty is experienced and shapes mobilisations against deprivation. They draw attention to poor people’s own articulations of deprivation and alternate conceptions of well-being. They also show how intersecting inequalities of class, caste and gender shape governance practices and political movements. Despite these important contributions, the new relational approaches pay limited attention to technologies and ecologies in shaping the experience of poverty. Reviewing studies on the Green Revolution and wider agrarian transformations in India, we then sketch the outlines of a hybrid relational approach to poverty that combines socio-technical and -ecological dynamics. We argue that such an approach is crucial to challenge narrow economising discourses on poverty and to bridge the policy silos of poverty alleviation and (environmentally) sustainable development.
History
Publication status
- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Contemporary South AsiaISSN
0958-4935Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Page range
1-16Department affiliated with
- SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-08-27First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-08-27First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-08-26Usage metrics
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