October - December 2012 - National Institute of Rural Development

536 Book Reviewsclaim facilitators. This has particularly benefitedthose customers who have no previousknowledge of insurance and are traditionallyintimidated by complicated officialprocedures.In Chapter XII on ‘Leadership With Head,Hands and Heart’, the authors highlighted thatBASIX has attracted leadership talent over theyears and continue to inspire those who seeka place to do good without renouncingpersonal financial stability. Indeed, in therecent past, the team has been strengthenedby the entry of international and mainstreamfinance professionals who have clearunderstanding of microcredit and specialvalue proposition. No doubt, there have beendistinct leadership challenges in each phaseof growth as leadership strategies requiredpeople who think outside the box and workhands-on to make their ideas practical. It hasbeen experienced that as it requires a heartthat feels for others and at all times it demandsintensity and passion, despite hurdles, BASIXhave carried on this spirit for all these years.Finally, it can be rightly stated that thisbook is a must reference for those who wantto delve into the gamut of microfinance andrural credit as well as those who are interestedto know the status of various decisions takenby BASIX in facilitating the growth andachievement of financial inclusion process inrural pockets of India. The authors should behighly appreciated as the book simplifies themost difficult and contentious issues in a mostcomprehensive and lucid manner andhighlight the dicision taking procedures in amost fascinating manner.– Dr. B.K. SwainDisaster Risk Management : Conflictand Cooperation, Edited by : Suman RanjanSensarma and Atanu Sarkar, Concept PublishingCompany Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2012, Price :` 1100The book under review is an outcomefrom academic pursuit of Dr.Atanu Sarkar,Assistant Professor, Division of CommunityHealth and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine,Memorial University, St.John’s New Foundlandand Labrador, Canada and Dr.Suman RanjanSensarma, Urban Planner from KyotoUniversity, Japan. The book consists of 15articles contributed by different personsconstantly working in the field of Disaster RiskManagement. The authors vividly brought outthe existing disaster risk management policiesand practices. The authors felt that there is anurgent need for multi-stakeholderparticipation in order to avoid potential orongoing conflicts.The papers presented in the edited bookby and large, seek to understand theapproaches which are mostly top-down andwhich essentially disregard the localcommunity in decision-making process.Hence, there is a need for constructing a localregional-internationalframework articulatingdisaster risk management and developmentat different levels. The disaster riskmanagement process has a great impact onpeople’s survival and the country’sdevelopment. So far, not much attention hasbeen paid to really articulate the conflictresolution process in disaster risk managementpractices. Therefore, there is an urgent needto find out the cooperative solution in orderto bolster ongoing efforts of sustainabledevelopment. The book has aimed to analysethe conflict and cooperation aspects withregard to disaster risk management and tolook at the process and impact of disastermitigation at different levels. The majorsignificance of this book is to open discussionon conflict and cooperation, cutting across thedisciplinary boundaries.In the first chapter, Jean-ChristopheGaillard has discussed the policies set up bywestern government to address disaster riskJournal of Rural Development, Vol. 31, No. 4, October - December : 2012