TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM FOR POVERTY ERADICATION IN SOUTH-ASIA

This article takes as its point of departure the Report and Recommenda tions of the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation and the historic consensus on Poverty Eradication by the Heads of Sta te of SAARC Countries, when they unanimously endorsed the recommendati ons at their Summit in 1993. The authors elaborate the underlying deve lopment paradigm, evolved from the lessons on the ground, which is bas ed on pro poor values and the concept that the poor are efficient. Two case profiles are presented of attempts at strategic thinking and act ion, which can help to reinforce pro poor planning and social mobiliza tion in a transitional strategy for poverty eradication. The first is an experiment called Janasaviya pioneered in 1989-1993 in Sri Lanka. I t contained several elements of pro poor planning and social mobilizat ion initiatives. The process was politically led. It derived from an a uthentic process of internal unlearning and relearning about the capac ities of the poor. The second profile relates to an attempt in Banglad esh to institutionalize pro poor planning and social mobilization as a complementary second leg to the Open Economy Strategy.