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Synopsis The book presents a detailed critical appraisal of land reform policies and the on going conflict in rural India. It analyses how political institutions, political ideologies, leadership and political values interact on land relations and influence it, indirectly if not directly. The interplay of rural interest groups, bureaucrats, and political parties are well examined. The Author has argued that no progress can be made without significant changes in the social structure and power relations that have created and perpetuated incredible levels of poverty and suffering for much of the rural0 population. Given the strength of these structures and of the elites who are advanced by them, such change required substantial popular mobilization as well as a committed government. Though the discussions centre on the issues of land reforms and peasantry in Uttar Pradesh the views expressed and shared are useful to a cross section of the persons interested in land reforms in India.