India, May 1 -- In poverty's own republic, its sway no longer shocks. But here, something more insidious seems to be taking shape. As the lives of Sangu, Phanas and Sana suggest, poverty is becoming hereditary, at least for a sizeable population in certain geographies. Some years ago, the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC), an international association of researchers and academicians, published findings of a rare study that tracked 3,000 households for 30 years (1968-99) across six states-Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Telangana, home to the country's poorest districts, including Balangir, Nuapada and the Bastar region. Over this period, the study examined what drives poverty; what retains it; and what ...