Politics of Poverty in Odisha

Abstract

This paper situates poverty in the socio-economic and political history of Odisha that explains increasing landlessness as a major underlying cause. While the class character of the State privileges the neoliberal policies, which prevents its intervention in the redistribution of basic productive resources that can alter power relations, it has consciously contributed to the strengthening of the processes of systemic deprivation and impoverishment of certain sections of society. The Kalahandi study becomes relevant in the context of the dominant poverty discourse which undermines the root causes of poverty.