Negotiating Development: a Study of the Grassroots Resistance to India’S 2005 Special Economic Zones Act
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NEGOTIATING DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF THE GRASSROOTS RESISTANCE TO INDIA’S 2005 SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES ACT By JONATHAN DAVID JONES A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2009 1 © 2009 Jonathan Jones 2 To all of my new friends in India - Thank you for the inspiration! 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My tenure as a graduate student was funded by an Alumni Fellowship and a McLaughlin Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Florida. The fieldwork for this study was largely supported by a dissertation grant from The National Science Foundation. I appreciate the confidence that these institutions had in my work. I would like to thank the chair of my dissertation committee, Leslie Anderson. Her wisdom extends far beyond the book and it is largely due to her mentorship that I have been able to produce this study and finish graduate school in a timely manner. Leslie always offered in-depth feedback on my work, but consistently did so in a manner that respected my ideas and bolstered my confidence. She simply is a wonderful person, and I have learned so much from our professional relationship. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee: Conor O’Dwyer, Sammy Barkin, Ben Smith and Brenda Chalfin. Their excellent advice and feedback helped me produce a study that I am proud of. I must extend a note of gratitude to the wonderful people I met during my fieldwork in India. The villagers I interviewed always went out of their way to welcome me, and the activists and other researchers that I spent time with were a source of inspiration and companionship while I was away from home. I especially thank Dayabati Roy, Partha Banerjee, and Bau Bhattacharya for their help with my research and for helping make my time in West Bengal so much fun. Thank you to my mom for a wonderful upbringing and the continued life lessons, and my Bubby for countless stimulating conversations about all things politics. My in- laws Alec and Deany have supported our family in so many ways and I simply would not have completed my PhD degree without their help. I would also like to thank my close 4 friend Chris. I have counted on our laughs over the years and I am lucky to have such a steady friend. Thank you to my wonderful kids Oliver and Clara. They have kept me laughing and on my toes during graduate school and they continue to amaze and inspire me every day. My greatest debt is to my wife Liz. She fully and unquestionably supported my desire to return to school, and was a steady source of support and advice while I was a graduate student. I am grateful to have such a wonderful partner in life! 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................... 9 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................ 11 ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 1 GRASSSROOTS RESISTANCE TO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN INDIA .......................................................................................................................................... 15 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 15 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 25 The Argument ............................................................................................................................. 25 Theoretical Context: Grassroots Resistance and Government Response ................................ 27 The Communitarian Approach to Peasant Political Behavior .......................................... 30 The Individualist Approach to Political Participation ....................................................... 33 A Gap in the Literature ............................................................................................................... 38 Empirical Context: India’s Democratic Political Structure ...................................................... 43 India’s Democratic Structures ............................................................................................ 46 Brokering and Framing ....................................................................................................... 51 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 53 2 A BRIEF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF INDIA ........................................ 58 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 58 India’s Democratic History ........................................................................................................ 59 India’s Federal Structure ..................................................................................................... 61 India’s Party System............................................................................................................ 62 Party Dominance after Independence ................................................................................ 64 Nationalism and the Foundation for Social Solidarity ...................................................... 65 India’s Economic History ........................................................................................................... 70 West Bengal – Industrialization and Political Participation ..................................................... 75 Conclusion: The Path to Economic Development in India? ................................................... 79 3 THE CASES: SINGUR AND NANDIGRAM ........................................................................ 81 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 81 The Singur Resistance ................................................................................................................ 83 The Nandigram Resistance ......................................................................................................... 96 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 106 6 4 THE VILLAGE MOVEMENTS AGAINST EXPORT INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS IN WEST BENGAL: GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY IN ACTION .................................................................................................................................... 108 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 108 Considering an Alternative Explanation: Opposition Party Presence in West Bengal .................................................................................................................................... 117 Opposition Party Presence in the Singur Movement ...................................................... 117 Opposition Party Presence in Nandigram ........................................................................ 122 The Maturing of Grassroots Democracy in West Bengal ...................................................... 125 Institutionalized Democracy at the Local Level: Panchayat Governance ............................. 132 The Role of the Past in the Present .......................................................................................... 134 Panchayat Democracy .............................................................................................................. 140 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 144 5 THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE ANTI SEZ RESISTANCE .............................. 150 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 150 Civil Society and the Anti-SEZ Resistance in India ............................................................... 152 India’s Civil Society in Action ................................................................................................. 156 Bengal’s Creative Sector ................................................................................................... 163 Civil Society on the National Front ......................................................................................... 168 Extending the Analysis: Civil Society and the Anti SEZ Resistance in Goa ........................ 177 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 187 6 MULTIPARTY POLITICS AND THE ANTI SEZ RESISTANCE IN INDIA .................. 193 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 193 Multiparty Politics: Competition and the Advancement of Democracy