Showing papers in "Contemporary South Asia in 2016"
TL;DR: Value, labor, and commodity remain key modalities through which arrangements of gendered and racialized socialities become, as feminist scholars have shown, sites driving systems of global capital as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Value, labor, and commodity remain key modalities through which arrangements of gendered and racialized socialities become, as feminist scholars have shown, sites driving systems of global capital....
36 citations
TL;DR: In recent times, Pakistan in recent times has been viewed largely from a security centric paradigm that explores connections to religious fundamentalism and international terrorism as mentioned in this paper. But such an understanding often obsc...
Abstract: Pakistan in recent times has been viewed largely from a security centric paradigm that explores connections to religious fundamentalism and international terrorism. Such an understanding often obsc...
31 citations
TL;DR: The idea of jugaad, or frugal innovation, has gained wide popularity within policy circles and business schools as a breakthrough formula for economic growth generation as mentioned in this paper, from a quick-fix solution grown in adverse conditions to a six-point business principle.
Abstract: The idea of jugaad, or frugal innovation, has gained wide popularity within policy circles and business schools as a breakthrough formula – from a quick-fix solution grown in adverse conditions to a six-point business principle – for economic growth generation. I argue that the new jugaad innovation narrative offers an uplifting, potentially emancipatory discourse of mobility in a setting where even after two decades of economic reforms, wealth gap and poverty stubbornly persist. Central to this shift are two processes. First, a dramatic re-signification of the aam aadmi (common man), within a new conceptual scaffolding of India in relation to modern science and technology, where the ability to innovate is portrayed as a natural gift, a deeply ingrained collective Indian trait that even the unlettered common man possesses. Second, the conditions of adversity and absence of public services for Indian citizens are turned on its head to position India as an ideal laboratory condition within which a culture o...
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that social mobility is not merely a matter of individual choice or hard work in the face of odds as free-market believers have long held, but rather an outcome of collective political bargaining, privileges that dominant class and caste status affords, access to resources and indeed, occasional luck.
Abstract: The question of social mobility in a terrain of increasing inequality has gained particular urgency in post-reform India. We approach social mobility not as a one-way ascent toward the top, rather as a risk-laden enterprise prone to fluctuations that include both incremental gains and the possibility of sliding downwards. We argue that to ‘move up the ladder’ is not merely a matter of individual choice or hard work in the face of odds as free-market believers have long held. It is as much an outcome of collective political bargaining, privileges that dominant class and caste status affords, access to resources and, indeed, occasional luck. Two propositions follow. First, we suggest that the state remains albeit as a reluctant enabler of social mobility in the age of markets. Second, the participation in the new economy hinges also upon one’s ability to ‘dress up’ for the part, to be able to craft one’s look as if one belonged to spaces – work or leisure – that one desires to inhabit. The work of appearanc...
24 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the intersections between higher education, social mobility, and the reproduction of inequalities in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, India and explore the social history, political economy, and culture of education in the region.
Abstract: This article traces the intersections between higher education, social mobility, and the reproduction of inequalities in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, India. It explores the social history, political economy, and culture of education in the region, and the formation of a dominant social imaginary that equates engineering degrees, IT jobs, and migration with social prestige and success. This aspirational culture has shaped mobility strategies across social classes, the educational regime, and government policies aimed at greater inclusion. But state interventions in engineering education have produced contradictory outcomes, creating paths of mobility for some social groups but new modes of marginalisation and immobility for others.
20 citations
20 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the three leaders that are the subject of this study, namely, the chief minist, chief secretary, and the prime minister, were discussed. And they adopted the political strategies they adopted to achieve poverty alleviation.
Abstract: This book shines much needed light on political leaders and the political strategies they adopted to achieve poverty alleviation. The three leaders that are the subject of this study – Chief Minist...
14 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a unique, federalism perspective on the subject of forest governance in India and present three dimensions of forest federalism: the first is the Constitutional construct of the forest sector, and its interpretations through legislative provisions, the second is the administrative, financial and institutional linkages between the Centre and States, including the influence of the Indian Forest Service, and the third looks at vertical and horizontal asymmetries in the sector.
Abstract: This article is about forest governance in India and presents a unique, federalism perspective on the subject. While forest governance and federalism have both been deeply researched in academic scholarship, there is little work that deals with the linkages between the two. In addressing this gap in scholarship, the article explains forest federalism through a focus on three dimensions. The first is the Constitutional construct of the forest sector, and its interpretations through legislative provisions. The second is the administrative, financial and institutional linkages between the Centre and States, including the influence of the Indian Forest Service. The third looks at vertical and horizontal asymmetries in the sector, and the ways in which these relate to administrative and resource concerns in federal functioning. The paper concludes with a reflection on the relevance of forest federalism in on-going international environmental debates.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Stoler directs our attention to the enduring, yet less visible effects of imperial regimes on lands, lives, and livelihoods, using a leitmotif of "Ruination".
Abstract: Ann Stoler directs our attention to the enduring, yet less visible effects of imperial regimes on lands, lives, and livelihoods. ‘Ruination’ is that unique leitmotif that deftly binds nine distinct...
12 citations
TL;DR: In the 5 years after the 2009 defeat of the secessionist insurgency by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Sri Lankan armed forces expanded in numbers, moving into unexpected niches such as tourism, urban planning, training university students as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the 5 years after the 2009 defeat of the secessionist insurgency by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Sri Lankan armed forces expanded in numbers, moving into unexpected niches – tourism, urban planning, training university students. With the defeat of the Rajapkasa government in 2015, this process of ‘securitization’ or ‘militarization’ appeared to go into swift retreat. This paper considers the experience of the post-war years and asks what was permanent and what was less permanent in Sri Lanka's post-war experiment in securitization. The paper is a revised version of the Keynote Lecture delivered at the 29th Annual Conference of the British Association of South Asian Studies, held at the University of Portsmouth in April 2015. The theme of the conference was the securitisation of South Asia.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an analysis of migration in class terms and examine whether it has contributed to a reduction or heightening of inequality in Indian society, concluding that migrants as a group, across classes, have tended to do better than non-migrants at source and equivalent classes at destination.
Abstract: In this article, we portray the Indian experience of mobility and inequality since the early 1990 s. First, we address the question of heightening Indian inequality. Inequality has tended to rise substantially and can be understood in terms of the growing distance among social classes. Second, we present an analysis of migration in class terms and examine whether it has contributed to a reduction or heightening of inequality. Migrants as a group, across classes, have tended to do better than non-migrants at source and equivalent classes at destination. This finding is somewhat curious and counter-intuitive, and we explain it through the logic of endowments that these different groups possess. The better performance of the migrants has only further heightened the tendencies towards increasing inequality. Third, we analyse intergenerational occupational mobility to see if there is evidence for greater social mobility through the heightened presence of markets in our midst. Broadly, in an overall context of ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the effect of post-war surveillance and recruitment of informants on Tamil society in the North of Sri Lanka, which created suspicion, deepened existing intra-community cleavages and hampered efforts to rebuild trust and social relations.
Abstract: This paper explores the manner in which the post-war strategy of militarisation, in particular surveillance and the recruitment of informants used by the government to control the conflict-affected population, has impacted Tamil society in the North. This strategy, which mirrored strategies used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in areas under their control, created suspicion, deepened existing intra-community cleavages and hampered efforts to rebuild trust and social relations in post-war Northern Sri Lanka. Despite this, communities found ways to construct alternate, albeit limited, spaces of trust to foster intra-community bonds.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the importance of histories of particular places and communities in illuminating processes and politics of planned urban transformation and underline the importance to grasp the dynamics of official spatial practices through the lived experiences of those most exposed to these practices as opposed to understanding them through mainframes such as planning or aggregated citywide impacts.
Abstract: This paper outlines continuity and change in official spatial practices in Colombo, Sri Lanka, by weaving together two narratives. The first is the story of the transformation of Sri Lanka’s first textile mill, also a crucible of working-class struggles and the Left movement, into the country’s largest luxury residential and commercial enclave. The second is an account of the struggle for housing and land rights of a community of former mill workers and their descendants. The paper highlights the importance of histories of particular places and communities in illuminating processes and politics of planned urban transformation. It underlines the importance of grasping the dynamics of official spatial practices through the lived experiences of those most exposed to these practices as opposed to understanding them through mainframes such as planning or aggregated citywide impacts. The paper concludes by critically positioning the current spatial practices of the Urban Development Authority in a post-war cont...
TL;DR: In this article, Bjorkman draws us into the complex hydraulic infrastructure of contemporary Mumbai, to the volatile materialities of its pipes, pumps and valves, and its contentious politics.
Abstract: In Pipe Politics, Lisa Bjorkman draws us into the complex hydraulic infrastructure of contemporary Mumbai, to the volatile materialities of its pipes, pumps and valves, and its contentious politics...
TL;DR: The authors investigated the role played by education as a mediator of inter-generational social mobility in India and found that education plays an important role with regard to social mobility chances, but the effect of caste and class of origin remains significant.
Abstract: This paper investigates the role played by education as a mediator of inter-generational social mobility in India. It uses a nationally representative data set (the National Election Study 2009) to describe and establish patterns of social mobility in India, and subsequently, to establish the role played by education with regard to this mobility. In particular, it attempts to test the ‘merit’ argument by analysing whether the effect of social origins (class and caste; along with locality and gender) on mobility and on gaining access to one class destination (where education is expected to be critical) has declined, and whether education plays a role. However, while the paper finds high rates of inter-generational stability, rural–urban disaggregation complicates the broader picture. The role of education is also key, especially for women. The paper finds that education plays an important role with regard to social mobility chances, but the effect of caste and class of origin remains significant. Focusing ...
TL;DR: In this article, Anita Weiss takes on the issue of women rights in Pakistan, focusing on ijtihad (interpretation) and underlines the paradoxical paradoxical nature of women's empowerment.
Abstract: In Interpreting Islam, modernity, and women's rights in Pakistan Anita Weiss takes on the issue of women rights in Pakistan. In focusing on ijtihad (interpretation) Weiss underlines the paradoxical...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse opinions of political self-sacrifice amongst Tibetan refugees, and explore their meaning for wider debates on the evolving relationship between religion and politics in the Tibetan national struggle.
Abstract: This paper analyses opinions of political self-sacrifice amongst Tibetan refugees, and explores their meaning for wider debates on the evolving relationship between religion and politics in the Tibetan national struggle. This is a particularly pertinent question at present, given the recent prevalence of self-immolation in Tibet and connected debates about whether such protests are religious or political issues. Does the increase of self-sacrificial political methodology indicate a secularisation process of the Tibetan movement, as some have suggested, or is it simply reflective of the natural fluidity of religion's political influence? This paper supports the latter position and seeks to explore the nature of this dynamic relationship, including the positioning within it of the Dalai Lama.
TL;DR: This article argued that the contemporary reconfiguration of the generic white woman of Hindi cinema solely as a spectacle was produced by the nationalist discourse during the colonial encounter, and explored the white female subjectivities across specific historical and cultural milieu.
Abstract: This paper posits that the contemporary (re)configuration of the generic white woman of Hindi cinema solely as a spectacle was produced by the nationalist discourse during the colonial encounter. This essay explores both the textual analyses and aesthetic strategies employed in the construction of national imagery of white female subjectivities. My approach is twofold: (i) to chart the historical specificities of the representational construct of the white woman through discontinuous changes occurring across Bombay cinema, and (ii) to explore the white female subjectivities across specific historical and cultural milieu. This paper probes the historicity of the ‘Otherness’ of the white woman in Hindi cinema reviews and re-examines how Hindi cinema constitutes female whiteness. I posit that the representation of the white woman in Hindi cinema as promiscuous and sexually available was constructed within the nationalist discourse of the colonial era and is a continuation of the white memsahib in her absence...
TL;DR: On 2 June 2014, Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh and became the 29th State of the Indian Union after a longstanding campaign for autonomy as discussed by the authors, and the redrawing of State boundaries, like the one in this paper, was carried out.
Abstract: On 2 June 2014, Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh and became the 29th State of the Indian Union after a longstanding campaign for autonomy. This redrawing of State boundaries, like the one...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest that the return to the failed past policies of inward-oriented development strategies offers no viable solutions for the economic problems confronting Sri Lanka, and suggest that return to failed past strategies of inward oriented development strategies is not a viable solution for solving Sri Lanka's economic problems.
Abstract: The end of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka in 2009 generated widespread expectations of a period of sustained economic growth, building on the achievements of the liberalization reforms over the three previous decades. However, recent developments have dampened that optimism, rekindling fears that Sri Lanka's tale of missed opportunities may continue. The analysis in this paper suggests that the return to the failed past policies of inward-oriented development strategies offers no viable solutions for the economic problems confronting Sri Lanka.
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of Japanese ODA on the infrastructure sector in India, the trends and priority sectors for Japanese Official Development Aid (ODA), and the problems and problems of infrastructure finance in India.
Abstract: Assistance to India from Japan under its Official Development Aid (ODA) programme has been particularly important for infrastructure development. India has been the single largest recipient of Japanese ODA since 2003–2004. Most of it has been directed towards long-term participation in infrastructure, much of which comes from the enormous demand. With the Indian Prime Minister’s visit on 3 August 2014, Japan committed to invest $35 billion in different sectors focusing on infrastructure in the coming five years. This investment will boost India’s infrastructure sector. Poor infrastructure is a constraint to sustaining India’s high and inclusive growth rate. One major bottleneck in infrastructure development is infrastructure financing (along with many others, such as land acquisition, environment clearance, and cost-time overruns). In this context, the paper explores the impact of Japanese ODA on the infrastructure sector in India, the trends and priority sectors for Japanese ODA, and the problems and cha...
TL;DR: In this article, Kumarasingham shows how the same system was locally adapted by India and Sri Lanka to achieve very different results and how the simultaneous rise of factionalism also complicated the functioning of the system.
Abstract: between the different centres of power. Hence in Chapters 3 and 6, Kumarasingham shows how in India Nehru emerged as the ‘first with no equals’ (89) despite the attempts by the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, to assert his authority beyond the ceremonial, while in Ceylon the negotiation ended with a partnership between the Prime Minster and the Governor-General, so much so that by 1956, in the wake of communal riots, the Governor-General Sir Oliver Goonetilleke assumed real power with the Prime Minister, Solomon Bandaranaike, virtually abdicating his authority. The simultaneous rise of factionalism also complicated the functioning of the system. What is critical to note in these chapters is how the same system was locally adapted by both countries to achieve very different results. It was not as if the Westminster model ‘mandated’ the trajectory of democracy in both countries; the slow and deliberate process of adaptation by post-independence leaders created such a path. Chapters 6 and 7 focus on how the development of the federal structure in India and the issue of communalism in Ceylon created a path-dependency for these two countries. Here Kumrasingham shows how while both countries began as centralising nations (both Nehru and Patel were fearful of the ‘balkanisation’ of India in a federal model), India moved towards measured federalism (though top down federalism) which allowed it to adjust its ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity in a large country, while in Ceylon Sinhala was imposed on the minorities and separate electorates were taken away, thereby embittering relations between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority. This is an important book for students of South Asian studies, post-colonialism and comparative politics. ‘Eastminsters’ –with their varied adaptations from Pakistan to Malaysia – are an important framework of research and need to be understood, keeping in mind the pivotal local conditions which led to their particular development.
TL;DR: This paper argued that unlike the former, Babasaheb sought to transform society through politics which, to him, meant the consolidation of constitutional values or endosmosis, or, to borrow George Grote's expression, constitutional morality.
Abstract: BR Ambedkar is usually projected as a protagonist of social justice. But equally important was his role in constitutionalizing India, evident first in his witness to the 1919 Southborough Committee on Franchise, followed by his intervention in the 1930 Round Table Conference in London, where he defended compensatory discrimination for the untouchables in opposition to the Gandhi. The article argues that in so doing Ambedkar was evidently influenced by his teacher at the University of Columbia, John Dewey, who taught him the finer principles of liberalism. By comparing the views of Gandhi and Ambedkar on separate electorates and reservation, the article pursues the argument that unlike the former, Babasaheb sought to transform society through politics which, to him, meant the consolidation of constitutional values or endosmosis, or, to borrow George Grote’s expression, constitutional morality. On the basis of a thorough analysis of the principal arguments that he made to defend constitutional protection fo...
TL;DR: Sri Lanka has been through vicissitudes of change in the past three decades and its current political order gives the impression of the possibility for a different vision for Sri Lanka as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Sri Lanka has been through vicissitudes of change in the past three decades and its current political order gives the impression of the possibility for a different vision for Sri Lanka. Yet in orde...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the current challenges and opportunities facing the people involved in the plantation economy in Sri Lanka, most specifically, the Upcountry Tamils, who comprise most of the labour force.
Abstract: As the continued health of the plantation sector in Sri Lanka remains a vital part of the Sri Lankan economy, so too must the continued well-being of the people working and living in the estates remain an important concern. The tea industry must confront several challenges in the near future, some which have remained unaddressed for several decades and others that are only now becoming apparent. This paper analyses the current challenges and opportunities facing the people involved in the plantation economy in Sri Lanka – most specifically, the Up-country Tamils, who comprise most of the labour force. Arguably, the plantation system is an unethical economic scheme engendering a parallel political structure to reinforce the plantation economy. Despite some changes to the system during the nearly 200-year existence of plantation economics in Sri Lanka, transformative structural reform remains elusive, with the plantation sector dependent on a resident labour force that exercises limited power over both the ...
TL;DR: Rohit Vemula's death, the latest of the Dalit student suicides, has driven home the cruel implications of caste discrimination once again this paper, and showed that Dalit, tribal, women and minorities are not...
Abstract: Rohit Vemula’s death, the latest of the Dalit student suicides, has driven home the cruel implications of caste discrimination once again. It shows that Dalit, tribal, women and minorities are not ...
TL;DR: The authors traces the history of Ahmadi Islam which grew from a minor Sufi style movement in British India in the late nineteenth century into a controversial, highly politicised, hierarchical and divisive movement.
Abstract: This book traces the history of Ahmadi Islam which grew from a minor Sufi style movement in British India in the late nineteenth century into a controversial, highly politicised, hierarchical and b...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored Sri Lankan firms' approaches to the management of diversity and inclusion in human resourcing, brand development, and market expansion and outsourcing, and found that while many in the private sector appear to wish to promote the creation of a more harmonious and peaceful society through ethical governance processes, a continued concern to play to the Sinhala Buddhist nationalist constituency often makes this difficult.
Abstract: Philanthronationalism – the pursuance of corporate ‘good governance’ and equality initiatives for ethno-religious political ends – shapes at a fundamental level business practice in Sri Lanka. In this article, Sri Lankan firms’ approaches to the management of ‘diversity and inclusion’ in human resourcing, brand development, and market expansion and outsourcing are explored. While many in the private sector appear to wish to promote the creation of a more harmonious and peaceful society through ethical governance processes, a continued concern to play to the Sinhala Buddhist nationalist constituency often makes this difficult.
TL;DR: DP Mishra, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh from 1963 to 1967 and twice minister in Central Provinces and Berar (1937-1939, 1946-1950), was a key figure in Congress politics and provincial governance from the pre- to the post-independence period in India.
Abstract: DP Mishra, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh from 1963 to 1967 and twice minister in Central Provinces and Berar (1937–1939, 1946–1950), was a key figure in Congress politics and provincial governance from the pre- to the post-independence period in India. Mishra was a noted Patel acolyte and a vocal critic of Nehru. A Brahmin leader, he identified with an elite-based Hindu politics of caste and community. He was also an efficient administrator and his career peaked in 1966–1967 when he acted as a counsellor to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In this paper, I argue that his political life is an important prism through which to view Congress politics, its High Command culture, its character in provinces/states and its continuities with the colonial state in governance.