Roots of disaffectation in Punjab - Comments on the book "Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy " by Pritam Singh

The proposed book represents a serious, thoughtful and original contribution to the study of the political economy of Punjab, and more generally to the analysis of regional economic development in federally organised states in the developing world. It focuses on the Punjab, a geo-politically important state on India’s north-western frontier with Pakistan. Punjab is also the country’s bread-basket providing a very large proportion of the food grains needed to feed the teeming urban population. The state comprises 2 per cent of India’s population and a lower proportion of its land area, yet it provides 60-70 per cent of wheat and rice consumed by India’s urban population.