Poverty in South Asia

READINGS ON PRO-POOR PLANNING THROUGH SOCIAL MOBILISATION IN SOUTH ASIA, Vol.I - The Strategic Option for Poverty Eradication: Ponna Wignaraja and Susil Sirivardana: Vikas Publishing House (Pvt.) Ltd., 576, Masjid Road, Jungpura, New Delhi-110014. Rs. 550.

AFTER ALMOST half a century of investigation by hundreds of agencies and thousands of scholars, activists and administrators, some broad but hazy conclusions have emerged about the nature of poverty and ideas about how they should be tackled. In this book, edited by two leading scholar-administrators of Sri Lanka, there is an account of how the problem has been perceived in the South Asian countries, and how poor people can be helped to come out of their poverty. The authors belong to an active group, called South Asian Perspectives Network Association based in Colombo, and some of the work done by this organisation had influenced the Comprehensive Report on Poverty Alleviation issued by the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC). This volume is an attempt to extend the ideas on planning for the poorer sections of the South Asian countries contained in the SAARC Report.

Of the three parts that comprise the book, the first deals with an account of the momentous economic and social change that had occurred in the South Asian nations, and also how thinking about the nature of economic development has changed. The underlying idea of this book is that top-down planning to improve the economic conditions of the vast majority who are below the poverty line will not work. As early as the 1970s, a number of analysts discovered that not only the type of development policies pursued in South Asian countries during the previous three decades had a negative impact, but also that some of the experiments done at the micro-level in various places had beneficial effects in reducing the rigours of deprivation providing a ray of hope for the poor. This coupled with the successes of macro-policies pursued in the East Asian countries (China's socialism and South Korea's capitalism both under ``non- classical conditions'') required a thorough rethinking of strategies to alleviate poverty. Whatever strategy that is adopted, according to the authors, ``should stem mainly from the release of the creative energies of the people at the micro level, as they struggle to survive and respond to the multifaceted crises in their lives.'' At the same time this strategy should be based on a clear vision of what we are aiming at and on the intellectual framework ``emanating from within the South Asian cultures and knowledge systems.''

The second part, with three chapters, concentrates on actual experiments in social mobilisation for economic development undertaken in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India, and draws lessons from these projects. The successful Janasaviya programme of Sri Lanka, the BRAC case of Bangladesh and Working Women's Forum in India have been described in considerable detail. In part III the authors describe what they call the emerging paradigm and strategic thinking on pro-poor planning. They make it clear that social mobilisation is rarely a spontaneous phenomenon. They feel that the poor need to be stimulated and sensitively assisted to initiate such processes. Thus the role of a catalyst/ animator/ facilitators becomes extremely important. In the absence of committed individuals or NGOs, can the government perform this role effectively? There is very little discussion on this issue. On the question of replicability of successful economic development through social mobilisation process or as the authors call it ``multiplying the process'', they provide an optimistic note rather than examining the ground realities. Thus ``persons with commitment can be found in all parts of South Asian societies... the idealism of the region's youth can be mobilised for creating a new cadre of animators, facilitators and social workers with both a pro-poor perspective and a South Asian perspective.'' We are given no ideas as to the process that can lead such individuals to perform the role of catalysts. Ultimately the authors seem to rely on the ``major political commitment by the state''. But, do such conditions exist in South Asia? There is no answer.

The book is rich in information about the exciting developments that are taking place in various parts of South Asia. There are many useful insights into the development process. However, the value of the book is considerably marred by its chaotic arrangement and loose organisation. There is good deal of repetition and lack of clarity in the exposition of ideas. It is a pity that the publishers could not employ a good copy editor to bring out all the valuable material born out of many years of thinking and field experience of the first author.

S. AMBIRAJAN

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