Raghu has answered this somewhat. Bihar is a classic example of the
superimposition of colonial structures on pre-existing feudal-like social
relations. Insofar as the peasantry is concerned the two systems reinforced
each other in absolutely exploiting the masses. Bihar was a major source of
indentured labor shipped to the Caribbean, Fiji, and elsewhere under British
colonial rule. I am of course simplifying here. But the grip of the upper
castes has been so pervasive that the dissolution of such feudal social systems
have been nearly impossible despite capitalist agricultural production. It is
this historical evolution that contemporary Bihar has inherited. The nexus
between upper land-owning upper castes and those in their pocketbooks has
plagued the state since Indian indepndence, depsite producing some progressive
leaders in the past. This legacy has meant essentially the absence
of rule of law by all concerned, corruption of unbelievable proportions, caste
atrocities, etc. So when the lower caste politicians begin to make a dent
(this is possible in parliamentary democracy as practiced in India), they too
begin to pillage public resources.
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Anthony P. D'Costa, Professor Currently
Comparative International Development Senior Visiting Research Fellow
University of Washington Asia Research Institute
1900 Commerce Street National University of Singapore
Tacoma, WA 98402, USA 469 A Tower Block
Phone: (253) 692-4462 Bukit Timah Road #10-01
Fax : (253) 692-5718 Singapore 259770
http://tinyurl.com/yhjzrm Ph: (65) 6516 8785
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On Thu, 30 Aug 2007, Michael Perelman wrote:
Anthony seemed almost apologetic for posting on India and Singapore. One of the
greatest shortcomings of the list is our lack of attention to matters not
directly
related to the United States.
In his India article, I found the following sentence interesting:
"When communities are in trouble, caste prejudice deepens."
These words made me think of the United States. I recall that the frequency of
lynching was fairly closely related to cotton prices. I'm fairly confident
that the
vindictive attitude toward immigrants today reflects the poor economic
conditions for
many people in this country.
I suspect that it were possible to quantitatively measure this sort of
behavior, it
might make a better economic indicator than our conventional statistics.
By the way, why is Bihar so different?
On Thu, Aug 30, 2007 at 01:23:27AM -0700, Anthony D'Costa wrote:
I should warn though Bihar is a case by itself.
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
michaelperelman.wordpress.com
