After regaining independence in 1947, India immediately adopted a firmly democratic political system. The famines of the British era disappeared, along with economic stagnation; despite a recent dip, India`s growth remains among the fastest in the world. Yet, Dreze & Sen argue, there have been failures both to foster participatory growth & to make good use of the public resources generated by economic growth to enhance people`s living conditions. This book presents a powerful analysis not only of India`s deprivations & inequalities, but also of the restraints on addressing them
- & of the possibility of change through democratic practice.