Aparna Basu and Shailja Kelkar Parikh, The Road Less Travelled: The Life

enduring barriers to women’s land rights. Voluntary renunciation of claims by women, the necessity of male mediation, the hostility of male kin and even government officials affect women’s ability to retain titles and take decisions regarding disposal of land. Land is valued, not only as property, a productive asset and a source of security, but also as a basis of power. It has significant political, cultural and social dimensions, and landlessness fosters exclusion. Over the last two decades, processes of agrarian changes have been deeply influenced by neo-liberal policies. Their impact on rural livelihood, land use patterns, food security and women’s access to and ownership of land continue to be very troubling questions. This volume is informative and engaging, and leads to a better understanding of the directions of change and the areas of intervention which need to be addressed by policy makers, administrators, researchers and gender sensitive progressive organisations