Social Movements in India Poverty, Power and Politics. Edited
by Raka Ray and Mary Fainsod Katzenstein. Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, 2005. 320p. $34.95.
In an era of liberalization, should social movements shift strategies
to mirror the state in demoting poverty alleviation as a central concern?
In their edited collection on social movements and the Indian state since
Independence, Raka Ray and Mary Fainsod Katzenstein examine the complex
historical legacy and current conundrums confronting the strategies of
social activists and their implications for the poor. While most scholars
of Indian politics have focused on the state and economic elites to
explain the persistence of poverty in India, Ray and Katzenstein argue
that “the picture is incomplete and distorted” (p. 10),
without also considering the role of organized social forces that have
mobilized constituents and confronted and/or cooperated with the state
in ways that have important implications for the success or failure of
poverty alleviation. The editors adopt a broad conception of social
movements, including labor unions, political parties, mass organizations,
and nongovernmental organizations, as well as protest-oriented
movements.