Challenging Injustice in South Asia

Challenging Injustice in South Asia

A Work Programme for Promoting Inclusive Development

This publication is inspired by a more detailed study to address the structural sources of injustice which drive poverty in South Asia, and to provide suggestions on how to correct these injustices through democratisation of opportunities for the excluded segments of society. The original work was published in 2010 under the title Challenging the Injustice of Poverty: An Agenda for Promoting Inclusive Development in South Asia.

The present publication seeks to operationalise the policy agendas identified in the earlier work by presenting a set of 65 concrete project proposals which were developed through consultation with concerned experts in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. These proposals are specifically designed to provide more equitable opportunities through such initiatives as promoting agrarian reform, exploring mechanisms for adding value to the work of primary producers through linkages with the upper tiers of the market, and identifying institutions for collective action by the excluded. The proposals are designed so that they can be operationalised through specific pilot programmes by agencies of the state, development organisations, NGOs or civil society bodies that may be committed to realising poverty reduction and greater distributive justice within the society. The pilot projects which prove viable, can eventually be taken to scale by governments and development practitioners in the respective countries of South Asia.