What do you think?
Rate this book
In the Land of Poverty: Memories of an Indian Family, 1947-97
On August 15, 1947, the day of India's independence from Britain, Ram Dass and his family were Untouchables—lowest of the low in an apparently unchanging caste system, landless serfs bonded to a feudal village lord in a remote part of Uttar Pradesh deep in the heart of Hindu India.
Fifty years later as the country celebrated its half-century of independence, Ram Dass's family still suffered poverty and oppression—this despite their efforts and despite the changes which have transformed the face of independent India. This book is their story, and the story of modern India.
Told through the voices of several generations, it takes the reader on a journey into the reality of Asian poverty—the powerlessness, the sickness, the illiteracy and all the other deprivations which enmesh the poor. Gradually we learn to understand not simply the human reality of what it means to be poor, but also the central paradox of modern India: half a century of democracy, economic growth and constitutional commitment to social justice has not lessened the acute, mass poverty of the country.
This vivid account draws its readers into an unforgettable understanding not just of the personal experience of poverty but of the intractable reasons for its continuance.
Fifty years later as the country celebrated its half-century of independence, Ram Dass's family still suffered poverty and oppression—this despite their efforts and despite the changes which have transformed the face of independent India. This book is their story, and the story of modern India.
Told through the voices of several generations, it takes the reader on a journey into the reality of Asian poverty—the powerlessness, the sickness, the illiteracy and all the other deprivations which enmesh the poor. Gradually we learn to understand not simply the human reality of what it means to be poor, but also the central paradox of modern India: half a century of democracy, economic growth and constitutional commitment to social justice has not lessened the acute, mass poverty of the country.
This vivid account draws its readers into an unforgettable understanding not just of the personal experience of poverty but of the intractable reasons for its continuance.
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 1998
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 18, 2017
This book is more than the life experiences of a rural Dalit family.
Various government programs, over the decades since Independence, that were supposedly designed to help poor agricultural workers are discussed. The effects—or lack of effects—that these programs had on the lives of this particular Dalit family and their neighbors shows how the government was insincere—time and again—to genuinely help the poor.
No surprise to anyone, these anti-poverty programs just made the rich even richer. The self-described "socialist" government that could have made improvements to the lives of millions of Indians turns out to be no better than the British in extracting all the value they could from the country for the continued benefit of the already wealthy.
Various government programs, over the decades since Independence, that were supposedly designed to help poor agricultural workers are discussed. The effects—or lack of effects—that these programs had on the lives of this particular Dalit family and their neighbors shows how the government was insincere—time and again—to genuinely help the poor.
No surprise to anyone, these anti-poverty programs just made the rich even richer. The self-described "socialist" government that could have made improvements to the lives of millions of Indians turns out to be no better than the British in extracting all the value they could from the country for the continued benefit of the already wealthy.
Displaying 1 of 1 review