Suchergebnisse

Land reform and social change; with four comments. Covers nutrition, health, education, women, and unemployment.

Kerala State in southwestern India has achieved among the Third World's highest rates of life expectancy, literacy, & infant mortality, despite one of the lowest per capita incomes. Especially notable is the nearly equal distribution of development benefits to urban & rural, male & female, & high & low caste sections of the population. Even population distribution, a cosmopolitan trading history, & the development of militant worker & small farmer organizations led by dedicated activists account for these achievements. Land reform has redistributed wealth & political power from a rich elite to small holders & landless laborers. Public food distribution at controlled prices, large-scale public health actions, accessible medical facilities, & widespread literacy combine with & reinforce each other to maintain & expand Kerala's achievements. Serious unemployment is a threat, but Kerala nonetheless offers important lessons to development planners, policymakers, & Third World activists. 4 Tables. AA

In recent years, India has witnessed the rise of a number of people's science movements. These movements attempt to popularize science among ordinary people. One of the most influential and substantial of these movements is the Kerala People's Science Movement (KSSP). The authors discuss how the KSSPbecame a mass movement, its leading slogan as science for social revolution, from mass science education to political action under the leadership of the KSSP, theoretical beginnings of sustainable development, the KSSP and the New Democratic Initiatives campaign among other topics. (DÜI-Sen)