The Political Economy of Uneven Rural Development

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxv

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 1-27

3. Rural Nonagricultural/Nonfarm Sector in the International Development Studies Literature

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 29-65

4. Conceptualizing the Rural Nonfarm Sector: A Critique and Reconstruction

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 67-95

5. The Coir Industry and Its Social Relations of Production

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 97-144

6. Productive Forces in the Coir Industry

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 145-186

7. Development Policies of the Indian State for the Nonagricultural Sector

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 187-231

8. Development Implications of the Coir Industry in Kerala

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 233-274

9. The Political Economy of Uneven Development and the Rural Nonfarm Sector

   • Sudarshana Bordoloi

   Pages 275-310

The book shows how class relations develop and is a consequence of capitalist development of the rural non-agricultural/non-farm sector (RNFS)---seen as the dialectical relation between the forces and relations of production---as mediated by the state, which produces uneven social and spatial outcomes. Central to the framework for this book are four inter-related conceptual building blocks or themes: social relations of production, productive forces, role of the state and concrete development outcomes of capitalist production in RNFS in the context of class and non-class relations of oppressions. These four conceptual themes follow a logical sequence where each concept evolve in specific contexts within the RNFS; while connected to each other in a dialectical manner; and come together to form the central argument of the book.

• Rural Development
• Flexible Capitalism
• Rural Nonfarm Sector
• Coir Industry
• Capital-Labor Relations
• Class-caste-gender Relations

“Sudarshana Bordoloi’s book is a very good addition to the study of the rural nonfarm sector, a relatively neglected field, even when the global South is predominantly rural. It is a great contribution to Kerala studies, and will be of interest to readers across disciplines: geography, development studies, economics, sociology, and political science. It strikingly describes the challenges of equitable development that could be faced even by a much-lauded social and human development model. The book marries theoretical rigour with rich empirical detail from extensive fieldwork. Its major contribution is to bring a class analysis back to the study of the rural nonfarm sector, and simultaneously, integrate it with non-class dimensions like gender and caste. At a time, when neoliberal capitalism has become the dominant economic ideology across the globe, this book must be read beyond those studying Kerala, or India.” (Nissim Mannathukkaren, Associate Professor, International Development Studies, Dalhousie University, Canada)

• Department of Geography, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mankato, USA

  Sudarshana Bordoloi

Sudarshana Bordoloi is an Assistant Professor of Geography at Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA. Prior to joining Minnesota State University, Mankato, she was employed as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at St Cloud State University, Minnesota from 2014 to 2018. Dr. Bordoloi graduated with a PhD in Geography from York University, in Toronto, Canada.

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