Modernization and Rural Development Strategies: A Case Study of a South Indian Village

Abstract

In 1950, the small market village of Narayanadevarakere in Karnataka state, India, was relocated because its site was to be submerged by the Tungabhadra Dam reservoir. The villagers were given the choice of moving to one of two villages: Mariyammanahalli or Hagaribommanahalli. The villagers were assured of a plot of land or a home at practically no cost irrespective of whether they had been owners or tenants previously, and they were given a small relocation allowance. Both villages were laid out in a rectangular grid system of streets, and the government prebuilt the minimum infrastructure: roads, minimum public sanitation and drainage, a market, and a bus terminus. The choice as to where the villagers were to go was entirely voluntary. During the past 30 years, with national and local planning and development, there have been significant economic and social changes in the village of Hagaribommanahalli. Some of the more important elements are several new factories and workshops, new enterprises, repair shops, a regulated market, banks, increased transport service, and new schools and hospitals. A new political administrative unit located its headquarters in this new village. It is presumed that all these improvements have increased its economic activity, provided more educational and health care opportunities, created new jobs and a happier life in general. This article focuses on the longitudinal process of the 30-year overall rural development of the