ABSTRACT
The main objective of this chapter is to move in the direction of empirical arguments in order to substantiate the abstract and analytical model presented in the introduction. Detailed, face-toface interviews with over 200 rural netas from Gujarat and Orissa constitute the main body of evidence on which these substantive arguments are based. The research design elaborated in this chapter has the specific function of identifying these local elites in the rural setting for the purpose of detailed study. In addition to the constitution of this sample, the second objective of this chapter is to analyse the social origin of local netas, and to examine the paths they take to reach their social, economic and political objectives, and to infer from their social composition the impact of rural development on the local power structure. Since the theoretical edifice proposed in the introductory chapter is national in scope, the objective is to identify a sample of local elites which reflects the diversity of the field situation prevailing in rural India. In order to select this sample, we need first of all to discuss how to recognise the individual netas in the field situation.
