The face of Reform

At least 18 people have committed suicide in the village of Potaram in the past two years, mostly impoverished farmers unable to repay debts to moneylenders. Here in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, farmers have enjoyed few of the fruits of India's much heralded boom. But on April 20, the 800 or so villagers of Potaram had a chance to vent their anger at the polls, and they voted overwhelmingly to give the Congress Party and an ally control of the state assembly and most of the state's 42 seats in the national Parliament. Their votes helped secure a...

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