ABSTRACT
Imagining ‘cohesive development’ as a new paradigm means turning away from a focus on economic growth and giving priority to an integrative, social perspective on development. The chapter, therefore, focuses on three concepts – cohesion, difference and development. In the first part the chapter explores how these concepts are being defined and interpreted within the disciplines of sociology and anthropology, what the relevant debates evolving around these concepts are and how these debates merge in the paradigm of cohesive development. In the second part the article will draw attention to regionally and socially marginalized groups in India and their ‘capacity to aspire’. This section will reveal the plurality and heterogeneity of visions for a ‘good life’ and the ways to shape the future. The chapter concludes with reflections on the social and political conditions for audibility and parity of participation within the wider project of cohesive development.
