Nepal - a state of poverty: the political economy of population growth and social deprivation. A report to the ILO
Seddon, D.
Monographs in Development Studies, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia 11: 198
1984
Document Number: 374756
The report on population growth and poverty in Nepal is concerned not only to identify the roots of social deprivation but to examine the historical and contemporary dynamics of Nepalese society and to consider what are the possibilities for a positive rather than a catastrophic resolution of the crisis. Chapter (1) discusses the political economy of Nepal as it evolved over the two centuries prior to the beginning of the "modern" period in 1951. Chapter (2) turns to the relationship between population growth and the "failure" of agriculture to respond sufficiently rapidly or appropriately during the 20th century to maintain a rate of growth greater than that of population; a central concern in this chapter is with the growing food shortage in Nepal as a whole, the regional and social implications of unequal availability of food grains, and the actual and potential malnutrition and starvation that results from the crisis in agriculture. Chapter (3) considers the social context of population growth in 20th century Nepal, and Chapter (4) considers the growing pressure of population on available resources. Chapter (5) analyzes the structure of class relations in Nepal and argues that the roots of social inequality and therefore of social deprivation lie within the structure of the agrarian economy, characterized essentially by unequal control over land and other resources and by archaic forms of exploitation. Chapter (6) considers the various dimensions of social deprivation and certain responses to it, one of the most dramatic being migration. Finally, in Chapter (7) the role of the state is examined.