TEN DECADES OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LESSONS FROM INDIA

The paper begins with a brief analysis of colonial rule and suggests reasons for its downfall. Four rural problems which became particularly serious at the end of the 19th century and continued well into the 20th are next outlined: famine, abuse of land tenure, peasant debts, and rural disaffection. An analysis of the major responses to these problems follows: the colonial government"s rural reconstruction effort, Ghandian utopianism. Fabian socialism, and the rural socialism practiced in Russia and China are considered. The effect of World War II on Indian rural development is briefly discussed. The paper subsequently traces the history of American agricultural assistance to India through the green revolution of the 1960"s, focusing in particular on the Community Development and Agricultural Extension programs. Cooperatives during and after colonial rule are discussed, as is the history of reform in land use, administration and education. The paper also summarizes special agricultural products in India since the colonial era, and closes with an assessment of the present status of Indian rural development and the current policy directives and problems of American advisors in India.