The Living-Dead

About the Book

It is the summer of 2004. But over five decades of independence, and a decade of economic liberalization does not mean much to the cotton farmers of Vidharbh in India, which has witnessed a spate of farmer suicides that continue to rise with every passing day. Yet; Ramwadi, a village in Vidhrabh, reeling in the clutches of a despotic headman and greedy moneylender, has ducked the trend. Then a jeep arrives in Ramwadi, carrying GM cottonseeds, which transform the simple lives of a few families in Ramwadi. Vasu, a small indebted farmer dreams of living a life of dignity, and chooses to drill a tube well to tap water for his six acres of dry land. The journey of his dream, through a series of ironic circumstances affects many people, encompassing their conflicts, which transcend the boundaries of Ramwadi, leading to Capitol Hill in Washington, the forests of Siberia and jungles of Gadchiroli. At the same time, it raises many profound and disturbing questions about democracy, agrarian policies, Kyoto Protocol and the environment, International politics, tiger conservation and human-animal conflicts, tribal unrest and revolutionary movements. Ironically, to live his small dream, Vasu and his family must survive these complex glocal conflicts.

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