Showing papers in "South Asia-journal of South Asian Studies in 2005"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a translation of a discussion paper from a seminar at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Dept. of Indology and Iranistics.
Abstract: †This article arose from a seminar at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Dept. of Indology and Iranistics. I want, in this place, to thank my students for their cooperation in producing the translations. For a critical discussion, suggestions and comments I want to thank my colleagues Adelheid Mette and Peter Schalk. All opinions, errors and mistakes are mine alone.
24 citations
Journal Article•
11 citations
TL;DR: The question of macroeconomic policies which go along with trade liberalisation, and what kind of an impact these policies have on material production and on the growth of the internal market in these countries is completely ignored as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The question of markets in developing countries is usually addressed by more developed countries in terms of a standard format of prescriptions. Developing countries are urged to open up to trade through the removal of quantitative trade restrictions and reduction of tariff barriers, to provide market access, to institute policies favourable to direct investment and portfolio flows, and to provide infrastructure suitable for accessing the country’s resources and markets by foreign ‘players’. What is completely ignored is the question of the macroeconomic policies which go along with trade liberalisation, and what kind of an impact these policies have on material production and on the growth of the internal market in these countries.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of tourism on the economy, environment, and society in the Maldives are analyzed using both primary and secondary data, highlighting contrasting views, between fact and perception, and between residents in different occupations.
Abstract: Tourism has been the most important industry in the Maldives since 1985. Yet, research into its effects remains scarce. Using primary and secondary data, we analyse this industry's impact on the Maldives' economy, environment, and society. By highlighting contrasting views, between fact and perception, and between residents in different occupations, we demonstrate that the effects of tourism in Maldives are complex and heterogeneous.
8 citations
TL;DR: On 17 December 2003, the President of Pakistan, General Pervaiz Musharraf, made an unexpected pronouncement. He told a journalist that Pakistan had ‘left aside’ the United Nations Security Council.
Abstract: On 17 December 2003, the President of Pakistan, General Pervaiz Musharraf, made an unexpected pronouncement. He told a journalist that Pakistan had ‘left aside’ the United Nations Security Council ...
8 citations
TL;DR: The Indian economy has grown at an average of 3.5 percent between 1950 and 1980 and then at 5.5% subsequently (see Graph 1), these rates of growth are substantially higher than in the first...
Abstract: The Indian economy has grown at an average of 3.5 percent between 1950 and 1980 and then at 5.5 percent subsequently (see Graph 1). These rates of growth are substantially higher than in the first ...
7 citations
TL;DR: There are two distinct, even contradictory, narratives about the value of the Indian legal system to the development goals of Indian regime as discussed by the authors. On the one hand the two-century tradition of Anglo-I...
Abstract: There are two distinct, even contradictory, narratives about the value of the Indian legal system to the development goals of the Indian regime. On the one hand the two-century tradition of Anglo-I...
6 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined three different kinds of responses by urban dalits in western India, using in-depth case studies of some young dalit lives, and linked these responses to evidence about the rising unemployment in India during the 1990s, and the consequences of the extreme socioeconomic pressures that this has exerted on one of India's most significant minorities, currently numbering in excess of 150 million people.
Abstract: Given the rapid rise of unemployment in India, how is this affecting the new generation of college-educated dalits? An earlier paper described the current generation of college-educated dalit students as the ‘breakthrough generation’, because their numbers and educational achievements mark a distinctive break with the past.1 The present paper looks at dalit responses to unemployment. Specifically it examines three different kinds of responses by urban dalits in western India, using in-depth case studies of some young dalit lives. The aspirations of college-educated dalit students are linked to evidence about the rising unemployment in India during the 1990s, and the consequences of the extreme socio-economic pressures that this has exerted on one of India's most significant minorities, currently numbering in excess of 150 million people. The chief causes of unemployment are examined, together with the arguments for affirmative action in the corporate sector. The paper concludes by considering how mass une...
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make an empirical and theoretical intervention into the debates on caste, community and state in late pre-colonial India by investigating an aspect of the socio-political structure of a local community in the dry hilly tracts of Orissa: what I would like to call the "system of entitlements" in a fort belonging to the Khurda kingdom.
Abstract: Introduction This paper makes an empirical and theoretical intervention into the debates on caste, community and state in late pre-colonial India. It does so by investigating an aspect of the socio-political structure of a local community in the dry hilly tracts of eighteenth-century Orissa: what I would like to call the ‘system of entitlements’ in a fort belonging to the Khurda kingdom (circa 1570–1804). Theoretically, this paper attempts to go beyond both the Dumontian understanding of caste as a structure of socio-religious hierarchy and the neo-Hocartian, king-centred view of caste.
6 citations
TL;DR: The future of censorship is very bright in India as discussed by the authors, in media, culture, and intellectual life. Do not be taken in by political postures and academic correctness, politicians, the bureaucracy, the literat...
Abstract: The future of censorship is very bright in India—in media, culture and intellectual life. Do not be taken in by political postures and academic correctness—politicians, the bureaucracy, the literat...
5 citations
TL;DR: The last decade of the 1930s was known as the age of disillusionment in India as mentioned in this paper, which was defined by the parting of ways between the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress (INC), symbolised in Jinnah's observance of the Day of Deliverance (of Muslims from the alleged tyranny of the Hindu-dominated INC) in December 1939.
Abstract: India at the beginning of the 1930s was a country in flux. The nationalist euphoria and idealism of the early 1920s—born of the Khilafat movement, Gandhi’s Rowlatt Satyagraha and the Indian National Congress Party’s Non-Cooperation campaigns—had given way to nascent ideological orthodoxies and political opportunism. The violence and social upheaval of the 1947 Partition and the ambivalent victories of independence were still on the historical horizon. The decade began under the ominous burden of a world-wide economic depression; and ended with the definitive parting of ways between the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress (INC), symbolised in Jinnah’s observance of the ‘Day of Deliverance’ (of Muslims from the alleged tyranny of the Hindu-dominated INC) in December 1939. By its close, euphoria and optimism had, for many, turned into bitterness and cynicism. If the 1930s were to be given a name, perhaps the most fitting would be the ‘age of disillusionment’.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse one of the social movements of twentieth century Kerala that tried to engage with the problems of material and spiritual progress in the context of modernity by investigating the rise of the Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha (hereafter PRDS).
Abstract: This paper seeks to analyse one of the social movements of twentieth century Kerala that tried to engage with the problems of material and spiritual progress in the context of modernity by investigating the rise of the Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha (hereafter PRDS). The movement originated within the framework of missionary Christianity, but moved beyond the limits of the missionary project and eventually offered a critique of it. The introductory part of the paper discusses the social and economic transformation of the erstwhile Travancore State during the colonial period, focusing on the transformation of the local caste structure. The problem of colonial modernity is then dealt with, as the issues analysed in the paper bear testimony to the transformation that modernity brought about. This is followed by discussions on the problems of caste, Christianity and the transformation of Dalit (formerly untouchable) communities in Travancore. Issues such as myths and histories of appropriation, notions of his...
TL;DR: The Indian custom of sacred prostitution was a highly complex institution that encompassed different regional forms and women from numerous cultural groups in the Kannada and Telugu-speaking regions as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Indian custom of sacred prostitution was a highly complex institution that encompassed different regional forms and women from numerous cultural groups. In the Kannada- and the Telugu-speaking ...
TL;DR: In this article, a number of UNDP indices (the Human Development Index, the Gender-related Development Index and the Human Poverty Index) were used to examine human progress in selected South Asian countries.
Abstract: This study utilises a number of UNDP indices (the Human Development Index, the Gender-related Development Index, and the Human Poverty Index) to examine human progress in selected South Asian countries. It identifies the better and worse performers within the region, assesses whether their performance has been consistent over time, and deduces any broad policy implications. Within South Asia, Sri Lanka shows relatively better performance while Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan substantially lag behind. Notwithstanding the improvements over time, even the best performers in the region are at best ‘average’ compared to developing country standards. We emphasise the magnitude of the existing deprivations and the need to take corrective and preventive policy measures.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In the history of modern India, resistance movements are often regarded as a rural phenomenon, poor peasants raising their voices and weapons against oppressive landlords as mentioned in this paper. But at the same time, urban...
Abstract: In the history of modern India, resistance movements are often regarded as a rural phenomenon, poor peasants raising their voices and weapons against oppressive landlords.2 At the same time, urban ...
TL;DR: A disquieting feature to the new optimism is that the most optimistic reviewers are foreign observers who are also the least familiar with how India actually works as mentioned in this paper. But the new international hype has also caught Indian forecasters in its spell with many commentators increasingly setting aside any reservations they may have about the predicted prosperity of India.
Abstract: The Indian economy is booming and the dark old days of the ‘Hindu rate of growth’ appear to be a distant memory. This is the view of the optimists who are forecasting the emergence of India as a major economic power in the next five decades. Certainly the economic trends are encouraging, even impressive by the standards of the recent past. At a press conference in June 2004, British prime minister Tony Blair said that there was a case to expand the G8 to bring in India and China as both were ‘self-evidently important’ countries. The G8 is one of the most influential annual economic gatherings of the world’s superpowers. Yet there is a disquieting feature to the new optimism—the most optimistic reviewers are foreign observers who are also the least familiar with how India actually works. But the new international hype has also caught Indian forecasters in its spell with many commentators increasingly setting aside any reservations they may have about the downside of the assumed prosperity of India. India media hype has encouraged this perspective.
TL;DR: The necessity of good governance as a condition of economic development has become a buzzword even as corporate and international governance seems to be fast eroding in the citadels as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: ‘Governance’ has become a buzzword even as corporate and international governance seems to be fast eroding in the citadels from which the necessity of good governance as a condition of economic dev...
TL;DR: In the eighteenth century, India and China were considered legendary seats of immense wealth and wisdom as mentioned in this paper, and they were two of the oldest civilisations still extant. But after that, however, both countr...
Abstract: India and China are two of the oldest civilisations still extant. Down to the eighteenth century, they were considered legendary seats of immense wealth and wisdom. After that, however, both countr...