Rajendra Pradhan - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Rajendra Pradhan

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1996

Dietary patterns in 81 rural Nepali households with a l-6-y-old child with a history of xerophtha... more Dietary patterns in 81 rural Nepali households with a l-6-y-old child with a history of xerophthalmia were compared with dietary patterns of 81 households with an agematched nonxerophthalmic control subject. Weekly foodfrequency questionnaires were collected from case and control "focus" children, a younger sibling (if present), and the household 1-2 y after recruitment and treatment of cases. Control households and children were more likely than case households and children to consume vitamin A-rich foods during the monsoon (July-September) and major rice harvesting (October-December) seasons. Cases were less likely to consume preformed vitamin A-rich foods throughout the year [odds ratio (OR) = 1 .2-4.51 with the strongest differences observed from October to December (OR = 2.0-4.2). Dietary risks were generally shared by younger siblings of cases, suggesting that infrequent intake of f3-carotene and preformed vitamin-A rich foods begins early in life and clusters among siblings within households, a pattern that is consistent with their higher risk of xerophthalmia and mortality. In developing countries where vitamin A deficiency is endemic, dietary counseling for children with xerophthalmia should be extended to their younger siblings. Moreover, dietary intake of preformed vitamin A may be as, or more, important as carotenoid-containing food consumption in protecting children and other members of households from vitamin A deficiency.

The weather is one of the most common topics of conversation in the Netherlands. Indeed, most con... more The weather is one of the most common topics of conversation in the Netherlands. Indeed, most conversations I heard (or overheard) had some reference to the weather. It could be said with some exaggeration that the Dutch are obsessed with the weather. Collective obsessions are manifested in various ways: through exaggeration and excess, as in the case of the tumultuous celebration by the whole nation when the Netherlands won the European Championship Soccer tournament in 1988; or through silence, as in the case of the taboos on speaking about death or money; or through constant repetition, as in the case of cleanliness or conversing about the weather. Why are the Dutch obsessed with the weather and why is this manifested through frequent conversation about it? Is this typical of Dutch societyr or is there something of a more generalised-,nature in this weather obsession? There are three types of explanations regarding the recurrent conversations about the weather which can be broadl...

ERN: Other Macroeconomics: Employment, 2020

Women’s empowerment is dynamic across the life course, affected not only by age but also by women... more Women’s empowerment is dynamic across the life course, affected not only by age but also by women’s social position within the household. In Nepal, high rates of male outmigration have further compounded household dynamics, although the impact on women’s empowerment is not clear. We use qualitative and quantitative data from Nepal to explore the relationship between women’s social location in the household, caste/ethnicity, husband’s migration status, and women’s empowerment. The study first examines the factors affecting overall empowerment as measured by the Abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI), followed by more detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis of how each factor affects individual domains including asset ownership, access to and decisions on credit, control over use of income, group membership, input in productive decisions, and work load. We find that women’s empowerment is strongly associated with caste/ethnic identity and position in the ...

Governance, Natural Resources, and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

Please direct all enquiries to FREEDEAL GPO Box 6561 Anamnagar Kathmandu Nepal e-mail: freedl ©fr... more Please direct all enquiries to FREEDEAL GPO Box 6561 Anamnagar Kathmandu Nepal e-mail: freedl ©freed.wlink.com.np Cover design, layout and formatting by Format Graphic Studio, Nepal Printed by Jagadamba Press, Nepal Contents Acknowledgements ix Map of Nepal with Case Study Sites Acknowledgements We as well as the organisations we represent wish to thank all the persons who presented papers in the workshop. A special thanks to the Chairpersons, Discussants and Commentators of the various sessions. Their comments as well as the lively discussions by other participants of the workshop contributed a lot to improving the papers published in this book. The panel discussion was also very useful. We would especially like to thank Dr. Ruth Meinzen-Dick who in addition to commenting on several papers also worked with one of the editors (Keebet von Benda-Beckmann) to summarise the key points of the workshop. We would like to thank the Ford Foundation, New Delhi office and the Head Office for so generously funding the research and training projects on water rights in Nepal as well as the publication of this book. We would especially like to thank Dr. Ujjwal Pradhan, Program Officer at the Foundation's Delhi Office, who has been a great source of support and inspiration for the water rights project, both as a Program Officer and in his personal capacity. His abiding interest in water rights and water resources management as well as in long-term research and training has been of immense help. We would also like to thank the staff of FREEDEAL for their help in organising the workshop and especially Prof. Kanak Thapa for facilitating the workshop and the publication of the book. We wish to thank Anil Raj Shrestha of Format Graphic Studio for designing the cover and the layout and Sunita Thapa for supervising the production of the book. This book is dedicated to the late Joep Spiertz, friend and colleague, who collaborated with us in the water rights project. Although he is no longer with us, we feel that the dialogue with him continues.

The study establishes a linkage between ethnic and caste diversity, poverty, and development in N... more The study establishes a linkage between ethnic and caste diversity, poverty, and development in Nepal. It highlights the need for a longer time frame and a greater social investment to understand the social complexities of communities, and that ultra poor men and women from all ethnic groups and castes do experience multiple disadvantages and need support to enable them to participate effectively in the development process. It argues that the State has to deal firmly with discriminatory practices through legal and educational means.

Over the past two centuries, the Nepalese state has experimented with several models of (plural) ... more Over the past two centuries, the Nepalese state has experimented with several models of (plural) society in order to deal with the profusely diverse ethnic, linguistic, religious and regional groups. The three major periods of recent Nepalese history are each characterized by a different, dominant, official model of society, and each influenced in different ways by transnational processes and laws: a) hierarchical, plural (Hindu) society (1769-1950), which recognized but devalued cultural differences and which sought to make Nepal a 'genuine Hindu' country in contrast to India ruled by Muslims and then Christians; b) non-hierarchical, mono-cultural (Hindu) society (1961-1990), which attempted to 'erase' cultural differences, both as part of 'nation' building process and modernisation which emphasized homogenisation; and c) non-hierarchical, multicultural society, after the restoration of democracy in 1990, influenced to a great extent by the movement for demo...

Journal of Rural Studies

established in 1975, provides evidence-based policy solutions to sustainably end hunger and malnu... more established in 1975, provides evidence-based policy solutions to sustainably end hunger and malnutrition and reduce poverty. The Institute conducts research, communicates results, optimizes partnerships, and builds capacity to ensure sustainable food production, promote healthy food systems, improve markets and trade, transform agriculture, build resilience, and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is considered in all of the Institute's work. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world, including development implementers, public institutions, the private sector, and farmers' organizations, to ensure that local, national, regional, and global food policies are based on evidence.

In the nineteen nineties, encouraged by the restoration of multiparty parliamentary democracy, a ... more In the nineteen nineties, encouraged by the restoration of multiparty parliamentary democracy, a new more liberal constitution, better organized and funded social movements, and the increasing influence of international organizations and laws, legal activists filed numerous public interest litigations pertaining to women's rights and gender justice in the Supreme Court of Nepal. These cases concerned a wide range of issues, including ancestral property, marriage, divorce, marital rape, sexual harassment, and citizenship. The decisions of the Supreme Court were on the whole favourable to women's rights and contributed to the changes in the laws, especially discriminatory provisions in the Muluki Ain (National Code), making them more supportive of gender equality and justice.

Governance indicators are now widely used as tools for conducting development dialogue, allocatin... more Governance indicators are now widely used as tools for conducting development dialogue, allocating external assistance and influencing foreign direct investment. This paper argues that available governance indicators are not suitable for these purposes as they do not conceptualize governance and fail to capture how citizens perceive the governance environment and outcomes in their countries. This paper attempts to fill this void by conceptualizing governance and implementing a uniform and consistent framework for measuring governance quality across countries and over time based upon citizens’ evaluations.

Religion in Disputes, 2013

In May 1993, three years after the restoration of democracy and the promulgation of a more libera... more In May 1993, three years after the restoration of democracy and the promulgation of a more liberal constitution, two women legal activists filed the first public interest litigation (PIL) pertaining to women’s rights in the Supreme Court of Nepal (Meera Dhungana v. HMG/N). Encouraged by this case, the increasing influence of international human rights and women’s rights discourses, and powerful donor agencies promoting these rights, legal activists subsequently filed more PILs pertaining to women’s rights, including property rights for women and protection against marital rape and discrimination in employment and citizenship.’ The petitioners cited the modern and mainly secular Constitution and international law to challenge the legal validity of gender-discriminatory state laws, especially provisions in the National Code (Muluki Ain) that treated women as second-class citizens.2 These discriminatory state laws were influenced by Hinduism, the religion of the majority of the population in this Hindu kingdom. In questioning these state laws, the petitioners, themselves Hindus, challenged the patriarchal Hindu state as well as the gender-discriminatory norms of the majority of Nepalese. The state, as the respondent to the petitions, and some Supreme Court judges vigorously defended gender-discriminatory laws and traditional social order, sometimes warning of social chaos if these laws were amended.

Social science & medicine (1982), 1998

Night blindness is the most common ocular condition representing moderate-to-severe vitamin A def... more Night blindness is the most common ocular condition representing moderate-to-severe vitamin A deficiency in children. Very little, however, is known about maternal night blindness, which has recently been reported to occur frequently during pregnancy in parts of south-east Asia. In Nepal, the prevalence of night blindness is reported to be 16%. We carried out an ethnographic study of night blindness during pregnancy in the south-eastern, rural plains of Nepal as preliminary research for a case-control study of the determinants of this condition. The purpose of the research was to identify local terms and concepts of night blindness and to examine women's perceptions of its causes, symptoms, severity, and consequences during pregnancy. Data collection involved in-depth interviews, case studies, unstructured observations and structured anthropologic methods, such as free listing and quick sort ranking. Women considered night blindness to be an important illness of pregnancy, ranki...

Negotiating Water Rights, 2000

ABSTRACT "Nepal has a long history of irrigation but until the middle of this century di... more ABSTRACT "Nepal has a long history of irrigation but until the middle of this century direct involvement of the Nepalese state in irrigation management and development was limited except when it benefitted the ruling elite. Although the state did construct or finance the construction or repairs of irrigation systems and managed or supervised the management of some systems, its main contribution to irrigation development was by means of laws and regulations which encouraged and sometimes forced local elites and ordinary farmers, usually tenants, to construct and operate irrigation systems. Legal tradition and weak administration made it possible and necessary for the irrigators to construct and manage their irrigation systems with little interference from state agencies."

Social Science & Medicine, 1998