This book, first published in 1992, examines the attitudes of local elites - the hinge between Indian state and rural society - towards protest and participation in development, illuminating arguments about the nature of the state as well as the development process.

1. Local Elites and the Politics of Rural Development 2. The Regional Context: the Social and Economic Background of Rural Development 3. The Elements of Design 4. Setting the Local Agenda: the Problems, Progress and Agency of Rural Development 5. The Social Construction of Local Conflict: Unequal Benefits, Radical Protest and Social Cohesion 6. Institutional Participation and Radical Protest: the State, Society and Room for Manoeuvre in the Middle 7. Conclusion: the Two Faces of Development: Protest and Participation in India