The state and poverty in India: the politics of reform.

Focuses attention on the nature of ruling political parties as an important factor influencing the success or failure of redistributive and welfare politics in a democratic-capitalist setting. Compares three state level Indian governments of the late 1970s: Communist-ruled West Bengal, Karnataka under the Congress party, and Uttar Pradesh under the Janata party, in terms of their success in redistributing agricultural land and creating employment for the rural poor; argues that well-organized, left-of-centre parties in government, like that of West Bengal, are the most effective in implementing reform.-from Publisher