Everybody Loves A Good Drought : Stories from India's Poorest Districts 1st Edition

Must read for the Gen X and specially all the bureaucrats and politicians who don't even know or care what is going on.

India is not about IT or massive industrial growth or reforms its about the farmers and the millions who live on agriculture. We in this modern world don't even know that such kind of India exists.

We campaign to save our Tigers but none of us know that there is another endangered breed called as the Farmers.

Someone said it correctly "In this part of the word the value of human life is less than that of an animal" Hats off to you Mr Sainath please continue your crusade hope some day this county will realize it is too big to go to a mall on a weekend!!

Flipkart - delivered the next day I ordered and was packed well. Cheers...

Its an excellent piece of art from a journalist who peeped into the true and stark realities of Indian society. It would shame the rich and comfort the poor. I am extreemly touched by the way the author presents the stories of unspoken heroes of poverty who are victims of the unjust society. Govt authorities and so called the educated should read the book even if it challenges the readers. I am deeply in an empathetic feeligs to the people whom the author highlights in the book 'everyone loves a good Drought'.

The author is indeed is one of the best journalist of the century.

Every body loves a good drought, a book that explores the systematic exploitation of rural India by the government of India, middlemen, money lenders and land lords.

The book starts with the passive portrayal of failed government polices and its impact on rural economy. As we turn the pages we can find how Sainath has placed articles in an elucidating and contiguous sequence to understand the rot in Indian system of governance.

When you are in the half way in completing this maneuver, a question will pop in your mind “After facing all this hardship how could this people still live a ethical life?” He answered that question with few articles that preaches you how poor Indians wish to work even for a pittance to lead a moral and dignified life.

Do you think that United States is the only country to have exploited and annihilated its tribal population (the Red Indians) and Australia is the only country to list its tribal population in the countries fauna list? (or) Do you think India democracy has cleared the stains left by the British Raj on poor people? Read this book and you will understand how Indian government is trying to annihilate Indian tribes in the name of development and our democracy is still centuries far from being unblemished.

I think Sainath should have traveled with a third eye looking for some good government policies, politicians and bureaucrats that could revamp the life of these poor people but he could find only a few whom he did not failed to praise in this book.
Though most of the article were written and published before the year 2000, you could still find its relevance in the current context.

"Everybody loves a good drought" features stories from some of India's poorest districts. This book is a thoroughly researched study of the poorest of the poor and how they manage to live, or rather survive.

To cover all the issues faced by the poor in India will be a mammoth task; and hence the book features/covers places which is the author's account of visits to these places. The featured incidents in the book widely fall under the categories of Crazy development project schemes, Health & Education, money matters, crimes committed against the people, Water problems etc all with statistics.Though the places featured were kind of expected, the extent of the situation was truly an eye-opener. Even though the statistics was as of 1992-93, there is no hope that will make us say 'its going to be alright'.

All the incidents, without fail, are extremly touching and straight to the point. One particular incident featured which for some reason refuses to budge from my memory is the story of 'Surguja's silent ban on bullock carts' from Bhatra, Surguja, MP- where human beings are beasts of burden. As a person from Surguja puts it : "What is the difference between a man & a bull in this place? (Yehan aadmi aur bayl mein kya farak hein?) .
The last main chapter features few stories of heroes among them - and their courage gives us some consolation. But the truth is, how long can they sustain without extra support.

P.S. : The author Palagummi Sainath is a journalist focusing on social problems, rural affairs and poverty in India and is currently the Rural Affairs Editor for The Hindu. He is also the grandson of former President of India, V. V. Giri. He has won several accolades for his work - this particular book won him Ramon Magsaysay Award (2007).

I'm a regular & avid reader of Thiru.P.Sainath.I never miss his articles in " The Hindu " and always thinking to visit Higginbotham book store to purchase Sainath's works. Fortunately,it seems,I hope that Flipkart has started to sell his work(s).I wish many more works of Sainath must be put for e-sale.About this particular book: as soon I got the book I started to read till I completed it.A thorough study & analysis of the mass suffering is portayed in all the essays & some have,after appearing in the newspaper,awakened the concsiouness of the people in the corridors of power and urged them to do something to alleviate the misery,suffering and sorrow,though the power mongers dare not to eradicate the poverty of millions & millions of the poormass who are the vote bank.I believe that every Indian must make a soul search & teach some kind of lesson to the so called leaders,if any one there in our country.