Search

The article discusses the book, Rural Modernization in India, by K.C. and J. Panchanadikar. The book is the second book by the authors, concerning Indian rural development and modernization. The authors use selected areas of the state of Gujarat as indicative of the country, since it is in the Northern Plains region, the world's largest alluvial area, in which most of the Indians live. The author of the article considers it a privilege to point out the unique value of the work for understanding that large section of the world where the problems of rural development are now unavoidably critical, not only for the local masses but probably also for the remainder of the world. The idea of modernizing rural life in the country began to take shape under the Great Britain's rule but gained headway with independence after 1947, so that by 1952-55 'community' projects were begun. The book analyzes what was attempted and the difficulties encountered in an average Gujarat district, Vijapur Taluka; a richer one, Anand; and a very poor one, Nausari.