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From Feudalism to State Developmentalism
Himachal Pradesh is often held out to be a model case of development, moving from the bottom of economic and human development indices to the top of the tables in the course of its post-independence existence. This article traces the nature of its pre-independence political economy and the social structures that sustained it and then describes the manner in which changes occurred in the post-independence phase. It marks out the successes as well as flags the continuing areas of concern.
An earlier version of this article was presented at a conference on “The Character and Trajectory of the Indian Economic Formation in an Era of Globalisation” organised by the Indian Formation Research Society at the University of Delhi, 26–28 November 2008. I am thankful to Kumar Sanjay Singh for his comments and suggestions.