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The article essentially deals with the legal tangles which stood in the way of Indian immigration to New Zealand in the early years of the twentieth century. The fear of intrusion of 'Hindoo coolies' led to the introduction of exclusionary laws by New Zealand. These primarily sought to preserve the element of 'whiteness' in the colonial settlement. The politicians of the Labour Party were equally active as the rest in campaigning for preserving both the race and the empire. There were lengthy discussions in the New Zealand Parliament over the civilising mission of the 'white man'. Apprehensions arising out of the 'coolie' migration from Fiji and the other South West Pacific islands along with the transnational movement of a peripatetic Indian labour force were possibly the main reasons behind the drafting of racist legislation. The compulsory requirement of passing of an English language test practically closed the gates for Indian immigration in the first half of the twentieth century.

The article deals with the life experiences of a Dalit woman Viramma, who hails from an interior rural locality of Tami Nadu bordering Pondicherry. In course of her daily conversations with Josiane Racine, a French ethnomusicologist, Viramma shares the different facets of her life, which is conditioned by her own caste and class locations. Viramma's narrative is very different from the version of the Western-educated or the English-educated Indian feminist activists and scholars who often rule out the compromises which seem to be favoured by Viramma and many of her generation. As the wife of a Dalit agricultural worker and herself also employed in the same sort of labouring occupation, Viramma seems to come out often with two apparently contradictory sets of responses, one of protest and the other of reconciliation. She makes it amply clear that as a Paraiyar woman living on the wages offered by the powerful Reddiar landlords, it is difficult to think of creating a situation of the world being turned upside down. This possibly encourages her to look into the other sides of life whether it be that of developments in familial life, ceremonies, rituals or that of popular beliefs centring around ghosts and goblins. Viramma also talks of politics and proves beyond all doubt that the Dalit women do not always need the agency of feminist activists belonging to the privileged groups to voice their protests.

The export of Indian indentured labour to British oversea colonies containing sugar, cotton and indigo plantations began around mid-nineteenth century. One of the destinations was Fiji, the British island colony in the Pacific, to which the Indian labourers, men and women, mainly went from East UP and West Bihar where Bhojpuri was spoken. While archival documents can help us trace the fortunes of individuals, their own feelings and sentiments are best preserved in their songs orally carried from one mouth to another for decades. The earlier songs contain mournful dirges over separation, the misery of those whom they left behind and their own afflictions in Fiji's harsh white-owned plantations. As the migrations ceased, the Fiji–Indian people's interest shifted to restoring their connection with Hinduism and its customs, and this has become more prominent in later folk songs. The gender problem (women outnumbered by men) was severe earlier but has now eased as with the passage of generations, the sex ratio has normalised.

The article broadly deals with the initiatives on the part of the government and the non-government organisations in Travancore on health related issues. It would be argued that though the 'enlightened' government in the princely state of Travancore realised the importance of developing health programs to cope up with public health issues, particularly because of the frequent incidence of famines, their efforts remained half hearted and the investments remained far low. On the other hand, the missionaries were more active in setting up hospitals and dispensaries and these prove to be beneficial for the 'lower castes'. However, though the missionaries and the ruling circles in Travancore remained divided in matters related to religion, there was some element of cooperation between them in this respect. The health related issues moved in new dimension altogether when there were active interventions on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation and the proponents of Ayurveda in early twentieth century Travancore.

This article explores in details the poverty amelioration programmes which had been initiated by the Congress Party after independence during the Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi years.In a period of three decades,there were a number of strategies which were pursued to eradicate the high level of poverty which were prevailing in the rural areas of the country.By the end of the 1950s, there was a definite move to eradicate rural poverty through definite programmes.The absence of proper land reform legislations and the dominance of the upper and middle class leadership of the Congress prevented the Government machinery in initiating plans for the amelioration of the economic status of the small peasants and the agricultural labourers. The Nehruvian logic of an integrated agricultural development found shape in the Twenty Point Programme of the 1970s. These policies had their own successes and weaknesses and they could to some extent reduce the poverty figures by the early 1980s.The most interesting side of this narrative is the states' deep involvement with the poverty reduction schemes,which by the early 1980s came to be criticised by a dominant section of the Congress.Such debates were responsible for the shift towards a liberalized market economy in India which instead of reducing poverty, increased the prospects of a rich poor divide in the society.

This article explores in details the poverty amelioration programmes which had been initiated by the Congress Party after independence during the Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi years.In a period of three decades,there were a number of strategies which were pursued to eradicate the high level of poverty which were prevailing in the rural areas of the country.By the end of the 1950s, there was a definite move to eradicate rural poverty through definite programmes.The absence of proper land reform legislations and the dominance of the upper and middle class leadership of the Congress prevented the Government machinery in initiating plans for the amelioration of the economic status of the small peasants and the agricultural labourers. The Nehruvian logic of an integrated agricultural development found shape in the Twenty Point Programme of the 1970s. These policies had their own successes and weaknesses and they could to some extent reduce the poverty figures by the early 1980s.The most interesting side of this narrative is the states' deep involvement with the poverty reduction schemes,which by the early 1980s came to be criticised by a dominant section of the Congress.Such debates were responsible for the shift towards a liberalized market economy in India which instead of reducing poverty, increased the prospects of a rich poor divide in the society.

This article explores in details the poverty amelioration programmes which had been initiated by the Congress Party after independence during the Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi years.In a period of three decades,there were a number of strategies which were pursued to eradicate the high level of poverty which were prevailing in the rural areas of the country.By the end of the 1950s, there was a definite move to eradicate rural poverty through definite programmes.The absence of proper land reform legislations and the dominance of the upper and middle class leadership of the Congress prevented the Government machinery in initiating plans for the amelioration of the economic status of the small peasants and the agricultural labourers. The Nehruvian logic of an integrated agricultural development found shape in the Twenty Point Programme of the 1970s. These policies had their own successes and weaknesses and they could to some extent reduce the poverty figures by the early 1980s.The most interesting side of this narrative is the states' deep involvement with the poverty reduction schemes,which by the early 1980s came to be criticised by a dominant section of the Congress.Such debates were responsible for the shift towards a liberalized market economy in India which instead of reducing poverty, increased the prospects of a rich poor divide in the society. ; Apžvelgiamos kovos su skurdu programos, įgyvendintos Indijoje 1947– 1984 metais, kai ministro pirmininko pareigas ėjo Džavaharlalas Neru ir Indira Gandi. Vyriausybė ėmėsi populistinių priemponių, kurios būtų naudingos kaimo bendruomenei, o kartu pagausintų Kongreso partijos elektoratą. Programos daugiausia buvo orientuotos į vargšų interesus, nuosekliai laikantis Kongreso partijos rinkimų manifesto – būti vargšų partija, Indijos atstumtųjų visuomenės klasių interesų gynėja. Siekdama šių tikslų ir uždavinių, vyriausybė inicijavo skurdo mažinimo programas, itin palankias pačioms žemiausioms sąrašo (angl. Scheduled) kastoms ir gentims. Nors kai kurios programos buvo gana sėkmingos, šios iniciatyvos nepajėgė pagerinti ribinių Indijos visuomenės grupių gyvenimo. Pavyzdys, atskleidžiantis ydingą vyriausybės kaimo atskirties mažinimo politiką, gali būti Žalioji revoliucija Indijoje. Numatytos programos sukėlė aktyvias diskusijas dėl skurdo, pajamų paskirstymo ir žemės ūkio darbuotojų padėties. Tų metų bendruomenių projektai turėjo įtakos vėlesnėms Indijos vyriausybėms ir jų naujoms skurdo mažinimo programoms. Straipsnis ypač aktualus šiuometiniam tarpsniui, nes nuo paskutinių dvidešimto amžiaus dešimtmečių Indijos valdantieji režimai pirmenybę teikė dviplanei – liberalizavimo ir globalizavimo – ekonominei strategijai. Indija ir toliau ieško vietos tarp besivystančių šalių, kuriose aukštas neraštingumo ir skurdo lygis, nėra tinkamos infrastruktūros sveikatos priežiūros ir švietimo srityse. Pastarieji pora dešimtmečių pažymėti ir vyriausybės pastangomis mažinti konkurencingumo finansavimą, o tai sudaro sąlygas nekliudomam sparčiam kapitalo santykių rinkos augimui. Pažymima, kad nors tokie pokyčiai ir atsiranda dėl ideologinių vyriausybės strategijos pokyčių, negalima ignoruoti populizmo, ne jis efektyviai mažino prislėgtos kaimo bendruomenės skurdo lygį. Būtina pripažinti, kad ši pirmųjų Indijos nepriklausomybės metų politika verta šių dienų Indijos politikos strategų dėmesio, nes buvo sumažinta socialinė atskirtis, išvengta diskriminacijos, kuri plečia turtingųjų ir skurdžių pajamų atotrūkį. Autorius analizuoja istorijos, sociologijos ir ekonomikos tyrėjų, kurie skurdo mažinimo programas interpretavo platesniame politinės ekonomijos kontekste, darbus. Bandoma susieti dešiniųjų ir centristų įgyvendintų programų kritiką ir apibendrintais naratyvais pateikti istoriko faktų vertinimus iš įvairių teorinių perspektyvų. Straipsnyje remiamasi plačia laikraščių ir vyriausybės dokumentų apžvalga.

Indigenous people are the most impoverished and socially disadvantaged groups in India. They account for 8.2% of the total Indian population. This group stands at the lower strata of access and participation in higher education despite constitutional protection and strong Government affirmative action policies. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of these groups has improved significantly during the last decade, but the participation in absolute terms is much below the national average. This paper examines issues concerning higher education access and equity for communities of Indigenous people, gender disparity within this group and also highlights their unique problems which may require divergent policy responses. ; Etninių grupių atstovai yra labiausiai nuskurdusi ir socialiai diskriminuojama grupė Indijoje. Jie sudaro apie 8,2 proc. visų Indijos gyventojų. Nepaisant Konstitucijoje numatytos paramos ir gausių Vyriausybės skatinamųjų priemonių, ši grupė nepakyla nuo žemiausios pakopos siekdama aukštojo mokslo. Bendra tokių etninių grupių įstojusiųjų asmenų proporcija (The Gross Enrolment Ratio, GER) per pastaruosius dešimt metų ženkliai išaugo, bet absoliutus skaičius rodo žymų atotrūkį nuo nacionalinio vidurkio. Šiame straipsnyje aptariamas aukštojo mokslo prieinamumas ir etninių grupių bendruomenių lygiateisiškumas, lyčių santykis šiose grupėse, pabrėžiamas problemų išskirtinumas ir tai, jog šios problemos reikalauja įvirialypių politinių sprendimų.

The narrative of this book is built around the historical experiences of the Paraiyans of Tamil Nadu. The author traces the transformation of the Paraiyans from an 'untouchable' and socially despised community to one that came to acquire prominence in the political scene of Tamil Nadu, especially in early twentieth century. Using this framework, the book studies a number of issues: subaltern history, colonial ethnography, agrarian systems, agrarian bondage, land legislations, and the interventions by missionaries and social and political organizations. While delving into the Paraiyan community