More than a firth of the world's farmers live in India, which has over a billion inhabitants to support and feed. From Independence in 1947 to the lifting of trade barriers in 2001, this book explains how the Indian Union has succeeded in becoming one of the world's leading food producers, but also why it is still a land of poverty. The various aspects of the question are addressed, from the environment (cultural and natural, local and international) to institutions and food products. The ins and outs of the green revolution are obviously discussed, but so are those of other less familiar coloured revolutions (white for dairy, yellow for vegetable oils, blue for aquaculture), not forgetting horticultural and poultry dynamics, as well as products that give India its flavour (spices, tea and other plantation crops). Three core issues are debated at the end: the unsolved problem of poverty and under-nutrition, the worrying deterioration of natural resources, and the recent economic liberalization. This half-century review, which takes the form of a handbook fora broad readership, enlightens us on both the past and future paths of the world's biggest democracy. Table of contents: Introduction. 1. The natural and cultural heritage: Nature: from sandy desert to evergreen forest; Population: a melting pot; Government: between centralism and decentralization; Land: a focus for reform and conflict. Food: a cultural issue. 2. The tropical plantation: Spices and nuts: a taste of ancient India; Tea, coffee, tobacco: colonial plantations under state boards; Cotton: between agriculture and industry; Sugar cane: a green revolution flavour. 3. The green (cereals) revolution: The motive: to assert the independence of a young nation: - hunger in British India, - agriculture or industry? - the decisive crisis; The technical solution: a 'package' of three ingredients: - high-yielding seeds (hyv), - chemical fertilizers, - irrigation; The economic solution: procurement and redistributio