Unfolding Rural Dwellers’ Perception of Development: Inferring a Native Model of Development (A Valuation of Two Villages of Islamabad)

The intention of the study is to exemplify the viewpoint of the inhabitants of rural areas on the subject of development and then generate a native model of development on the basis of views and reflections. People were beheld as social actors who are knowledgeable correspondents of their lives and development as a result their voices were at the heart of the analysis. The method adopted was grounded theory approach. The sample for the study was drawn from populace residing villages Talhar and Gokina sited at Margalla Hills, Islamabad. Data was accumulated by means of in-depth interviews, semi structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, case studies, and participant-observation. The results indicate that there is divergence on the meaning of development at individual, community and village level. The core category appeared to be „development‟. The six common auxiliary categories for both villages Talhar and Gokina were health, education, roads, transport, employment, and role of Government and Community participation. Besides these, for Talhar village, the other auxiliary categories were religion and traditions and belief system; and for Gokina village, poverty, child labor, and role of non-government organizations. Some of the needs of both villages are parallel and some are local and context specific. The prevalence of a concern varies in degree and magnitude. Even though, being at a similar landscape and in close vicinities, both villages have several diverse traditions and historical context. A substantive model elucidating the route of development, focusing on the rural people’s point of view and field observation, in their acute rural setting, is developed. Their perceptions and solutions concerning development reflect a combination of their conventional values, social settings, process of social and economic change, and the impact of being in close proximity to the urban setting. This study asserts that the one shoe fit all approaches of development are not pertinent in all scenarios and in view of that lay emphasis on the need to localize the context and process of development in a holistic way Supervisor:- Dr. Mina Zulfikar Ali

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Author: Mawish Iqbal
Supervisor: Mina Zulfikar Ali
Keywords : Constructivist Grounded Theory, Development, Gokina, Native Model, Perception, Rural Dwellers, Talhar

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