Political economy of a tragedy: why deaths followed mid-day meals in Bihar

In a two-part series, Manisha Priyam analyses the gruesome tragedy of 23 children who died in a Bihar village, Gandaman, after consuming a school lunch served under India’s flagship mid-day meal scheme. In part one, Priyam provides a narrative account of the tragedy, including voices from the grieving poor. In part two, she analyses the local political economy in areas where schools for India’s most poor and vulnerable people are located as well as the formidable challenge in realising rights as entitlements.