Accidental Gamblers: Risk and Vulnerability in Vidarbha Cotton

Sarthak Gaurav; Thiagu Ranganathan

doi:10.1017/9781108935814

Vidarbha – a major cotton growing region in central India has been the epicentre of a protracted agrarian crisis. Chronic indebtedness and farmers' suicides continue unabated despite decades of state intervention. Going beyond the contemporary discourse that finds fault in neoliberal policies and integration with global markets, this fascinating book tells the story of how nineteenth century 'accidents' particularly in the form of colonial policies and the American Civil War ushered in institutional transformations that shaped the region's cotton economy. By drawing insights from their longitudinal study in villages of the region spanning 12 years, Gaurav and Ranganathan present the 'gambles' that farmers are part of. The novelty of combining a long view of history and evidence based on primary field research results in a book that underscores the importance of investigating roots of agrarian crisis and paying attention to adjustments of farm households, at a crucial juncture in India's economic transformation.

- Aa Reduce text
- Aa Enlarge text

View selected items
Save to my bookmarks
Export citations
Download PDF (zip)
Save to Kindle
Save to Dropbox
Save to Google Drive
Save content to
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to .

To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Please be advised that item(s) you selected are not available.
You are about to save
Your Kindle email address

Please provide your Kindle email.

@free.kindle.com @kindle.com (service fees apply)

By using this service, you agree that you will only keep content for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services

Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Contents
pp v-vi
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

List of Illustrations
pp vii-x
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

List of Tables
pp xi-xii
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Acknowledgements
pp xiii-xviii
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

List of Abbreviations
pp xix-xxiv
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Introduction
pp 1-10
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Part I
pp 11-12
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

1 - A Brief History of Vidarbha
pp 13-59
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

2 - Accidents and Gambles in Colonial Vidarbha
pp 60-158
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Part II
pp 159-160
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

3 - Field and Fieldwork
pp 161-217
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

4 - Gambles of Farmers
pp 218-268
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

5 - Inputs in the Cotton Gamble
pp 269-314
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

6 - Risk and Vulnerability
pp 315-372
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

7 - Conclusion
pp 373-410
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Glossary
pp 411-416
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Bibliography
pp 417-465
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Index
pp 466-497
- - Get access
    
    Check if you have access via personal or institutional login
    
    Log in Register
- Export citation

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Total number of HTML views: 0

Total number of PDF views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

Total views: 0 *

Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Accidental Gamblers

Risk and Vulnerability in Vidarbha Cotton

This Book has been cited by the following publications. This list is generated based on data provided by Crossref.

Book description

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

List of Illustrations
pp vii-x

List of Tables
pp xi-xii

Acknowledgements
pp xiii-xviii

List of Abbreviations
pp xix-xxiv

Introduction
pp 1-10

Part I
pp 11-12

1 - A Brief History of Vidarbha
pp 13-59

2 - Accidents and Gambles in Colonial Vidarbha
pp 60-158

Part II
pp 159-160

3 - Field and Fieldwork
pp 161-217

4 - Gambles of Farmers
pp 218-268

5 - Inputs in the Cotton Gamble
pp 269-314

6 - Risk and Vulnerability
pp 315-372

7 - Conclusion
pp 373-410

Glossary
pp 411-416

Bibliography
pp 417-465

Index
pp 466-497

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Book summary page views

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

Accessibility Information

Accidental Gamblers

Risk and Vulnerability in Vidarbha Cotton

Book description

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Save Search

Contents

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Book summary page views

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Why this information is here

Accessibility Information