By TCN News,
Jeffrey Witsoe is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the Union College in Schenectady, New York. Author of the much acclaimed book “Democracy Against Development” (University of Chicago Press), Jeff has a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from University of Cambridge, U.K. His research focuses on a critical rethinking of democracy and the postcolonial state through an examination of lower-caste politics in Bihar.
Jeff has spent considerable time living and researching in a village in Ara district in Bihar during the tumultuous years of early 2000s. Based on his research he has written several articles and book chapters on lower-caste politics in India. His current research explores the political economy of rural development, with a focus on India’s massive rural employment guarantee scheme. Another project examines the ways in which neoliberal economic growth is reshaping regional politics, with a focus on criminal networks related to natural resource extraction.
Jeff talked to TCN during his recent visit to the Boston area. In this interview he shares his views on the social changes brought about by 15 years of Lalu Yadav-Rabri Devi government and the challenges being faced by Nitish Kumar in cobbling up a new social coalition to take on the NDA in Bihar. He also shared some of his experiences of his stay in Bihar and how eager he is to get back and immerse himself in the ongoing social and political development in the state.