Kripa Ananth Pur
Assistant Professor
Madras Institute of Development Studies
79, Second Main Road, Gandhinagar,
Adyar, Chennai - 600 020
Tamil Nadu, INDIA.

E-mail: Kripa@mids.ac.in

Tel: 0091-44-24412589 / 24419771 Extn: 329
Fax: 0091-44-24910872
 

Ph. D in Development Studies, University of Mysore.

Areas of Research:
Research interests include studying the interfaces - formal and informal - in local governance, role of traditional authorities and institutions in local governance, farmers? movements, women's land rights, and women's political participation in local governance. Special interests include work in the field of development communication with specific focus on political communication.

Selected Publications:

(a) Articles:
'Rivalry or Synergy? Formal and Informal Local Governance in Rural India', Development & Change, Vol. 38 No. 3: 401-21, May 2007.
'Ambiguous Institutions: Traditional Governance and Local Democracy in Rural India', IDS working Paper Series No. 282, May, 2007.
'Dynamics of Local Governance in Karnataka', Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 42 No. 8: 667-673, 24 February 2007.
'Rivalry or Synergy? Formal and Informal Local Governance in Rural India', IDS Working Paper No. 226, June 2004.
'Interfaces in Local Governance: A Study in Karnataka', MIDS Working Paper no., 2004
'Delegation to Devolution : Karnataka' with V.K. Natraj, MIDS Working Paper no.184, February 2004
'Interfaces in Local Governance' - Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.38, No.42 19-25th Oct 2002,
"Women's Access & Rights to Land in Karnataka" - with Jennifer Brown and Renee Gioverelli, RDI Reports on Foreign Aid and Development # 114, Rural Development Institute, USA, April, 2002
'Governance & Media - Use of Radio in Disseminating information On Participatory Governance In Mysore District' - A Process report, 2000

(b) Contribution To Books:
'Selection by Custom & Election by statute - Interfaces in Local Governance in Karnataka' in Niraja Gopal Jayal, Amit Prakash and Pradeep Sharma (eds) "Local governance in India: Decentralisation and Beyond", Oxford University Press, New Delhi, February 2006.
'Political Communication For Participation : Linking Local Governance& Rural Citizens through Radio In Karnataka' in Kiran Prasad(ed.) "Political Communication: The Indian Experience" B.R.Publishers, New Delhi, 2003.

(c) Monographs:
Delegation to Devolution - A Comparative Perspective [Co-author], MIDS, June 2006, Chennai.

Current Research Work
Dr. Kripa Ananthpur works in the broad area of governance and civil society with special focus on the interface between customary and formal local institutions of governance. She centres her research on the ways in which units of local governance interact with and are influenced by long standing customary institutions and its impact on the process of local governance in general and the poor in particular. Also being examined is the role of informal resource mobilisation in villages. She has recently completed a detailed study on local governance in 30 villages in Karnataka.

She has done field research in South Africa on local governance and the role of traditional leadership and is planning a comparative analysis of local governance process in India and South Africa. She is currently coordinating a cross country comparative research study on informal institutions and state capacity funded by the Centre for Future State, Institute of Development Studies, UK. This research project is titled ?Informal Institution, state and public action in Asia? and has collaborating research teams from Indonesia and Pakistan. The project aims to understand the ways in which Informal Institutions influence citizen state relations in rural areas and in particular the capacity of the state to mediate interests and aggregate preferences. In order to get a comparative picture, within India, this study is being initiated in two states -Karnataka and Rajasthan.

She is also involved in a World Bank sponsored research on deepening democracy in 200 villages in 5 districts in north Karnataka.

Dr. Kripa also works in the field of development communication with an emphasis on political communication. Her recent action research project not only uses radio to create awareness regarding PRIs in Karnataka but also links it with adult literacy networks in Karnataka.