Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Political Economy of Uneven Rural Development: Case of the Nonfarm Sector in Kerala, India 1st ed. Edition Sudarshana Bordoloi full chapter instant download
The Political Economy of Uneven Rural Development: Case of the Nonfarm Sector in Kerala, India 1st ed. Edition Sudarshana Bordoloi full chapter instant download
The Political Economy of Uneven Rural Development: Case of the Nonfarm Sector in Kerala, India 1st ed. Edition Sudarshana Bordoloi full chapter instant download
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-economy-of-chinese-rural-
households-1st-ed-2020-edition-wenrong-qian/
https://ebookmass.com/product/political-economy-of-development-
in-turkey-1838-present-emre-ozcelik/
https://ebookmass.com/product/energy-politics-and-rural-
development-in-sub-saharan-africa-the-case-of-ghana-1st-edition-
naaborle-sackeyfio-auth/
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-rise-of-empires-the-political-
economy-of-innovation-1st-ed-edition-sangaralingam-ramesh/
The Palgrave Handbook of Agricultural and Rural
Development in Africa 1st ed. Edition Evans S.
Osabuohien
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-palgrave-handbook-of-
agricultural-and-rural-development-in-africa-1st-ed-edition-
evans-s-osabuohien/
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-political-economy-of-
automotive-industrialization-in-east-asia-1st-edition-richard-f-
doner/
https://ebookmass.com/product/chinas-uneven-and-combined-
development-1st-ed-edition-steven-rolf/
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-palgrave-handbook-of-african-
political-economy-1st-ed-edition-samuel-ojo-oloruntoba/
https://ebookmass.com/product/the-political-economy-of-middle-
class-politics-and-the-global-crisis-in-eastern-europe-the-case-
of-hungary-and-romania-1st-edition-agnes-gagyi/
Sudarshana Bordoloi
The Political
Economy of Uneven
Rural Development
Case of the Nonfarm
Sector in Kerala, India
The Political Economy of Uneven Rural
Development
Sudarshana Bordoloi
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the
publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to
the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Singapore Pte Ltd.
The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore
189721, Singapore
For Ma, Deuta, Ajay and Mimon, with love.
Foreword
Author of Marxist Class Theory for a Skeptical World (2017 & 2018) and
Critical Reflections on Economy and Politics in India: A Class Theory
Perspective (2020).
The rural areas of the global capitalist periphery are intellectually
interesting for many reasons. From a relatively concrete angle, rural areas
are usually less developed than urban areas, so anyone interested in the
general problem of economic development must confront what I would
call the ‘the rural question’ (i.e. class dynamics of rural areas and their
social-ecological and political effects on different classes and social groups).
There are many strands of thinking concerning the rural question. One is
that the capacity of the agricultural sector to absorb rural labor has not
been satisfactory. This is why the promotion of the rural non-farm sector
(RNFS) as a tool of economic development has attracted attention both in
policy circles and in the academic literature. While the RNFS has been
widely studied in terms of the processes behind its growth and its
developmental impacts, much of the existing literature overlooks or under-
emphasizes the social relations of production in the RNFS, that is, its class
character. There is also little emphasis on the capitalist character of state
policies that aim to influence the RNFS’s development.
From another—that is, theoretical—angle, rural areas have been at the
forefront of class analysis in the context of the less-developed world. In
fact, in India as in South America and Africa, some of the best discussions
on the mode of production and class relations have happened in the
context of rural areas. There are, of course, many problems with this
vii
viii Foreword
analysis. One is that the rural tends to be conflated with the agricultural.
Therefore, development of capitalist class relations outside of farming and
inside of rural areas has not received the attention it deserves. In fact, one
might argue with some justification that what has traditionally been called
the agrarian question must be subordinated to ‘the rural question’, which
should be examined in relation to capitalist development in urban areas
inside a country and to the world-market.
Dr. Bordoloi aims to fill these enormous gaps in an effective manner.
She does this theoretically. And she does this empirically, by using evidence
from India collected on the basis of extensive and intensive research
designs.
Theoretically, Bordoloi examines the capitalist form of development in
the RNFS, but here her method of thinking does not at all exclude
considerations of non-class relations such as those based in gender and
caste, as they operate in the RNFS. The effects of class relations on workers,
small-scale producers, and entrepreneurs within the RNFS are modified at
a concrete level by non-class relations. She also examines how the state
promotes capitalist accumulation processes in the RNFS, often leading to
its uneven development across geographical spaces. A central theoretical
point that Bordoloi takes seriously is the idea that like any other form of
economic activity, RNFS must be examined in terms of the dialectical
relation between the relations of production and forces of production, the
relation that is mediated by the actions of the capitalist state.
Bordoloi operates at different levels of abstraction. Being able to do
this is a hallmark of good research that avoids the problem of both
empiricism and theoreticism (i.e. reducing the empirical to the theoretical).
For example, she sees rural areas in terms of a specific form of rural
economic activity (i.e. RNFS), she sees capitalism partly in terms of a
concrete form of capitalism (neoliberal-capitalism), and she sees the state
in terms of a specific form of its action (i.e. its rural development policies
aimed at the RNFS). As a result, she cogently combines all these constructs
to be able to examine the RNFS as a neoliberal-capitalist, state-driven
political-economic project. Bordoloi demonstrates that the RNFS is one
where the state intervenes to facilitate the exploitation of the poor workers
through processes of informalization, flexibilization, and subcontracting
of work. This process is characteristic of contemporary global flexible
capitalism, she suggests.
And then she further concretizes her work by focussing on the coir
industry in the context of India’s Kerala state, as being emblematic of
Foreword ix
Since the conception of the ideas for this book that developed as my doc-
toral dissertation at York University, Canada, I have been fortunate to
receive help from mentors, colleagues, friends and family, who have been
instrumental in seeing to the fruitful completion of this project.
This book wouldn’t see the light of the day without the constant
encouragement and unwavering support of my doctoral advisor and men-
tor, Dr. Raju J. Das at York University. I am forever grateful to him for
introducing me to Marxism and rigorous critical and analytical thinking,
for constantly challenging me to think outside of my comfort zone and for
being extremely generous with his time and patience over the years
through the development of this project. A special note of thanks is due to
Dr. Philip Kelly and Dr. Greg Albo, members of my doctoral committee
at York University, for inspiring me in many ways than I can count, but
also for reading and offering constructive feedback on several drafts of my
dissertation and for being there for me throughout the entire process. I
would also like to thank Dr. Viviana Patroni, Dr. Lucia Lo and Dr.
Mohanakumar S. for kindly reading parts of this manuscript and for their
thoughtful criticisms and review of this project. I am thankful to all the
professors and scholars at York University who have enlightened me with
their research. The Geography Department at York University was very
welcoming and supportive during my graduate years and beyond. I am
ever so grateful to Yvonne Yim, graduate program assistant in Geography
at York University, for not only helping me format and design this manu-
script but also for her unconditional friendship over the years. I also thank
York University for funding parts of my fieldwork processes during my PhD.
xi
xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people from different walks of life have made it possible for the
culmination of this research project. I have learnt and benefitted from the
knowledge imparted to me by the various participants and respondents of
this research during fieldwork in Kerala. They are the actors of the story I
tell in this book. I cannot thank them enough for accommodating my vari-
ous needs during the research process over the years and for bestowing
their trust on me. I would like to thank Dr. P.K. Balakrishnan (Ex-Chairman
at Coir Board, Kochi), Dr. Vinoj Abraham at Center for Development
Studies in Trivandrum, Dr. N. Ajith Kumar at Center for Socio-economic
and Environment Studies at Kochi, Mr. Sajin Nair (CEO, William
Goodacre) and Mr. Rajappan (Ex-President, Coir Co-operative Society in
Chenganda, Alappuzha) for providing me with all the necessary logistical
support for fieldwork in Kerala. I would also like to thank all the govern-
ment officials and researchers at various organizations in New Delhi and
Chennai for providing me with important documents, data and other
materials.
I am appreciative of friends (Ritika, Asutosh, Ashley, Robert, Charvaak,
Mizhar, Leah, Anto, Claire, Johanna, Nga, Nori, Deepa, Ritu, Adam) in
various parts of the world for stimulating me with their lively discussions,
reading parts of the manuscript, developing powerpoint slides and illustra-
tions for presenting this research at various platforms and offering peer
review and feedback. My colleagues in departments of Geography at
Minnesota State University, Mankato, and Sociology at Saint Cloud State
University have been immensely kind to accommodate my research needs
and encouraged me in every way to publish this book. I am also grateful
to all professors and mentors at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi,
and Gauhati University, Guwahati, for building the early foundations of
my academic career. I am also thankful for all constructive feedback from
colleagues in the academia on papers presented at academic conferences
and publications in academic outlets.
I am indebted to all the reviewers and editorial team at Palgrave
Macmillan/Springer Nature for offering the opportunity to publish this
work. They have been very informative and flexible with various aspects of
the publishing process.
I appreciate my loving parents and brother, who have always had enor-
mous belief, pride and hope in all my endeavors. They have encouraged
me all along to write and publish this research and have motivated me in
many ways. I am also thankful to my in-laws, especially my father-in-law,
for his support and assistance during fieldwork in Kerala. Last, but not the
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
1 Introduction 1
1 Why Rural Nonfarm Sector (RNFS)? 1
2 A Historical-Geographical Materialist Framework for the
RNFS 5
3 The RNFS in India and the Case of the Coir Industry in
Kerala 9
4 Study Area 14
5 Methodological Framework 16
6 Chapter Layout 20
References 22
xv
xvi CONTENTS
BC Backward Castes
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CSES Center for Social and Environmental Studies
EP Exporter-Producer
FAO Food and Agricultural Organization
FC Forward Castes
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
FICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
FICEA Federation of Indian Coir Exporters Association
FTA Free Trade Associations
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GNP Gross National Product
GOI Government of India
HDI Human Development Index
ILO International Labour Organization
INR Indian Rupees
IMF International Monetary Fund
IRDP Integrated Rural Development Program
LDC Less Developed Countries
MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
NABARD National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development
NGO Non-governmental Organizations
NSDP National State Domestic Product
NSSO National Sample Survey Organization
OBC Other Backward Classes
RNFE Rural Nonfarm Employment
RNFS Rural Nonfarm Sector
xix
xx ABBREVIATIONS
Rs. Rupees
SC Scheduled Caste
SGSY Swaranjyoti Gram Swarozgar Yozana
SIDCO State Industrial Co-operation
SME Small- and Medium-Scale Industries
SSI Small-Scale Sector
ST Scheduled Tribe
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization
USD United States Dollar
USAID US Agency for International Development
VSI Village and Small-Scale Industries
WTO World Trade Organization
List of Figures
xxi
List of Maps
xxiii
List of Tables
xxv
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
3. Koira, Kukko ja Kettu.
4. Sääski ja Jalopeura.
Ei pidä ylen korkialle pyrkiä, vaan pysyä siinä, mihen luonto ja onni
on määrännyt.
MEHILÄINEN W. 1837.
Huhtikuulta.
Joukosen nainen.
(Muualta saatu).
Nykysiä Asukkaita.