This book presents a unique testimony on the evolution of the Indian peasant's world over more than sixty years. Its originality lies in part in the unique trajectory of its author, Gilbert Étienne, an exceptional man, all at once scientific traveller, thinker of the North/South relationships and economist concerned by sociology and history inputs. In unfolding the story of his passionate relationship with India, the author offers a very personal look which takes into account not only crop diversification and production techniques, but also local anthropological structures and the conditions of the various castes, including the lowest ones. With its approximately 100 pages, the book is sometimes reminiscent of a collection of vignettes and impressions gathered while travelling, such as can be found in field notes. Here lies the strength of this unusual work, especially as the "things-seen" dimension is completed by penetrating reflections on the transformations of an agrarian society discovering modern consumer goods, on a comparison between France in 1946 and India today, and on the causes and consequences of contempt for agriculture in a country whose elites swear by cities, as Christophe Jaffrelot said. This book is the latest publication of Professor Gilbert Etienne, written before his death in May 2014.

The Indian village council, or panchayat, has long held an iconic place in India. Ironies of Colonial Governance traces the history of that ideal and the attempts to adapt it to colonial governance. Beginning with an in-depth analysis of British attempts to introduce a system of panchayat governance during the early nineteenth century, it analyses the legacies of these actions within the structures of later colonial administrations as well as the early nationalist movement. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which the ideologies of panchayat governance evolved during this period and to the transnational exchange and circulation of panchayat ideologies.

Excerpt from Village Government in British India The Object Of this preface is simply to acknowledge obligations. My chief debt is to the Professor Of Public Administration for his interest in this study and for the great help which I have derived from his extensive knowledge of the ideas and machinery of Local Government. My next obligation is to the Librarian Of the India Office and his staff for the abundant facilities which they gave me for access to books and records, and for their kindness and courtesy during the two years I worked there. Among those who have been good enough to help me with suggestions and criticism, I must mention especially Mr. S. C. Hill, late Superintendent Of the Imperial Records Office, Calcutta; Mr. R. W. Frazer, Lecturer in Dravidian Languages at the Imperial Institute; and Mr. J. S. Cotton, Editor Of the Imperial Gazetteer of India. On village administra tion in North India, Of which my knowledge is to a large extent second-hand, I have had the advantage Of some talks with Sir James Wilson and Sir J. M. Douie, which have been distinctly illuminating. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.