A tale of two villages: contrasts in development in Bihar

Introduction: TWO BIHAR VILLAGES. In the early 1980s, a research project was carried out on the dynamics of poverty and employment in Bihar. That project collected information on patterns of development and levels of living in a representative sample of 36 villages from different regions of the State. Since that date, several further studies have been carried out in the same villages.1 The present paper concerns two of these villages, chosen to reflect differing development situations. Chandkura, a village in Nalanda district, was selected from a relatively advanced region near to the State capital, Patna; in the 1981 study it was described as a relatively prosperous village of medium peasants typical of South Bihar. Mahisham (sometimes known as Mahisan2), a village in Madhubani district, was selected from a relatively underdeveloped region in the north of the State; in 1981 it was described as a backward village typical of North Bihar. This paper investigates the changes that have occurred over the last 30 years in these two villages and how they have affected the lives and livelihoods of the populations concerned. In particular, it tries to pinpoint similarities and divergences in the development paths of these villages, and to understand the reasons. ...

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