Experience of Poverty - Fighting for respect and resources in village India (Paperback)

This book is a study of how poor people gain respect and resources in three villages of West Bengal in eastern India, but to come to an understanding of what the experience of these poor people means it is necessary to trace the development of poverty measurement to its origins in 19th century Britain, and the influence this heritage has had on the way that the poor are represented in India today. The tradition of poverty measurement is contrasted with a radically different tradition, in particular analyzing the writings of E.P. Thompson and the people's agency and experience.;This book, like much of the work it criticizes, still involves a labelling of the poor, but in this case, the labelling will be a positive one. The author has decided that this is the best level at which to answer critics of the poor, as it is at this level that much of the debate on poverty is conducted. This book is however, written to be constructive rather than negative and whilst the book is critical of some approaches, it expresses the belief that the academic "community" needs to work together to find something that works at eliminating poverty.