{"product_id":"unequal-why-india-lags-behind-its-neighbours-swati-narayan","title":"Unequal: Why India Lags Behind Its Neighbours - Swati Narayan","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eA searing, data-driven masterpiece of comparative social science. Acclaimed researcher and activist Swati Narayan delivers an eye-opening look into a staggering paradox: why is a rising economic superpower consistently being outpaced in human development by its less affluent South Asian neighbors?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003eWhile India celebrates its massive GDP growth and multi-billion-dollar corporate expansions, a silent crisis unfolds on the ground. Until the 1980s, an Indian newborn girl had a longer life expectancy than her peers across South Asia. Today, that trajectory has drastically flipped—a girl born in Sri Lanka can expect to live to 80, and in Bangladesh to 74, while life expectancy for a girl in India stalls at just 69. In \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"422\"\u003e\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"422\"\u003eUnequal: Why India Lags Behind Its Neighbours\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Swati Narayan uncovers the structural root causes behind this widening human development gap.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"8\"\u003eThe unparalleled authority of this book stems from Narayan's rigorous, five-year empirical fieldwork spanning eighty border villages across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. By studying communities separated by nothing but a political line, she isolates the true impact of state policy on real lives. Narayan directly challenges the mainstream \"elite bias\" of Indian policymaking, illustrating how toxic intersections of caste, class, and gender hierarchies undermine public services. From decaying primary classrooms and stark sanitation gaps to accessible healthcare models driven by women’s agency across the border, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"627\"\u003eUnequal\u003c\/i\u003e is an urgent, fiercely brilliant narrative that moves beyond dry statistics into deeply human reportage. It provides a definitive, necessary roadmap for reshaping public policy and reclaiming the true promise of social justice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-path-to-node=\"9\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"9\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eWhy This Acclaimed Policy \u0026amp; Development Text is an Essential Read:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cul data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eUnrivaled Fieldwork \u0026amp; Scholarship:\u003c\/b\u003e Grounded in a massive five-year survey of over 1,600 rural households, delivering a flawless blend of academic rigor and gripping, on-the-ground investigative journalism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eDismantles Economic Myths:\u003c\/b\u003e Explicitly proves that rapid economic growth fails to guarantee human well-being without a fierce political commitment to universal public healthcare, education, and social equality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eUniversally Celebrated by Intellectuals:\u003c\/b\u003e Backed by stellar praise from world-renowned thinkers, including P. Sainath, Jayati Ghosh, Christophe Jaffrelot, Kate Raworth, and Yogendra Yadav.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"BEETLE BOOK SHOP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52404441874715,"sku":null,"price":679.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0686\/2150\/0699\/files\/717pklHUBcL._SL1500.jpg?v=1782467156","url":"https:\/\/beetlebookshop.com\/kn\/products\/unequal-why-india-lags-behind-its-neighbours-swati-narayan","provider":"Beetle Book Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}