Economic Reforms vs Poverty

If you accept the "two-India" theory that I briefly explained in a recent post, then it would be very interesting to explore the affect economic reforms are having on India part II- the India made up of the rural areas and the urban poor.

What the economic reforms are doing to the middle class, the urban and rural rich seems fairly obvious. There surely has been an improvement in their general quality of life, they now have much better oppurtunities for self-development (jobs, higher education, credit) and better access to facilities and technology (personal communication, personal mobility) that can impact their lives in a meanigful way.

However, right now, it seems to me that the same economic reforms are possibily having a negative impact in the rural areas. The result of last years' general elections surely is one indication of that. I am studying this issue and talking to people who have some knowledge of the issues involved and hopefully I will soon have a brief analysis of the impact of reforms on the rural and urban poor.

Meanwhile, do read these very insightful articles by P.Sainath on the agrarian crisis in Andhra Padesh