DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT : Stocktaking and Future Strategies

The success of the democratic process in a country depends on the capability and integrity of the organs of the state, institutions of governance and the extent of people’s participation in governance. Democracy, in fact, involves dignity, diversity, dissent and development. Unless the last person celebrates his/her sense of dignity, exercises democratic dissent and involves himself/herself in the process of governance and development, democracy remains an empty rhetoric. Therefore, human development cannot sustain without good governance and governance cannot be sound unless it sustains human development.
It is in this background that this volume makes an attempt to identify, document and comprehend the broad trends in democratic governance and human development emanating across the Indian states. In fact, six decades of independent democratic India have categorically put before us a scenario which needs stocktaking of the situation and to look into the multifaceted aspects of human development to carve out strategies for future.
Besides a crispy introduction by the editor, the book is thematically arranged in five parts, viz., Stocktaking of Democratic Governance and Human Development in the Preceding Decades; Democratic Governance and Initiatives for the Well-Being; Scenario of Health Attainments and Educational Achievements and Areas of Concern; Governance Issues at the Grassroots Level; and Efforts for Livelihood, Social Security and Their Future Needs. It promises to be a valuable reference for researchers, bureaucrats, policy makers, planners, practitioners and those interested in the development of India.

Contents
1 Introduction / Yatindra Singh Sisodia
2 A Strategy for All-Round Development of India’s Human Resources / Katar Singh
3 Exploring the Nature of Democratic Governance / Sanjay Lodha
4 Governance and Human Development: Lessons from Kerala / Rajeev C. Bharathan
5 Livelihood, Food Insecurity and Well-being of Tribals / D.C. Sah
6 Impact of Institutional Credit on Agricultural Productivity / Kanhaiya Ahuja
7 Democratic Governance and Status of Minority / B.N. Prasad
8 Poverty and Livelihood Diversification in Remote Tribal Areas of Madhya Pradesh / Preeti Kathuria
9 Health Reforms in Tamil Nadu / N. Lalitha
10 Scenario of Education and Health Attainments in Krishna Basin Area in Andhra Pradesh / P. Padmanabha Rao
11 Opportunities and Challenges in Indian Higher Education / Ganesh Kawadia and Radhika Dixit
12 Disparities in Levels of Educational Attainment in India / Sanjay Kumar
13 Quality Education under Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan / S.K. Pant
14 Medium of Instruction in Schooling among Tribes in India / Sujit Kumar Choudhary
15 Human Development Scenario in Rural Areas / G. Palanithurai
16 The Elusive Holy Grail of Tribal Self-Rule / Rahul Banerjee
17 Democracy in an Indian Village: Interaction of Gender, Caste and Poverty / Sanjay Singh and Shailja Singh
18 Creating New Options for the Poor / Jharna Pathak
19 Implementation of MNREGS and Its Impact on Livelihood Structure in Rural Madhya Pradesh / Tapas Kumar Dalapati
20 Tribal Livelihood and Poverty Issues / Neeraj K. Jain