India is an emerging giant. This book explains its long economic stagnation and recent rise by examining its social, political and historical evolution in long term perspective. It explains how its distinct social system based on caste arose and why it still is of importance in its political and social arrangements, despite India's recent move from the plan to market.
Introduction 1. The Pre-colonial Millennia, 1500 BC -- AD 1757 2. Hindu India 3. An Economic Rationale for the Hindu Social System 4. Muslim India 5. The Colonial Centuries, AD 1757 -- 1947 6. The Economy under the Raj, I: Overall Trends 7. The Economy under the Raj, II: Rural Development 8. The Economy under the Raj, III: Trade and Industry 9. The Evolution of Labour Markets 10. The Effects and Legacy of the Raj
Deepak Lalis James S. Coleman Professor of International Development Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles and Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at the University College London. He has been Professor of Political Economy at the University of London and has served as a consultant to the ILO, UNCTAD, OECD, UNIDO, the World Bank, and the ministries of planning in Korea and Sri Lanka. Professor Lal is the author of numerous articles and books on economic development and public policy.