The South Asianist Journal is an open-access, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal examining socio-economic, political, cultural and religious phenomena in South Asia. At its core is the vision to open research on and in South Asia to as wide an audience as possible. With this in mind, articles and reviews are complemented by flexible formats such as photo essays, and short documentary films. Among the many advantages of our open access policy is that, while authors retain copyright, our publications are free to view or download anytime, anywhere, by anyone with a basic internet connection.
Epistemologies of Land Relations in India’s Tribal Frontier
This article contributes to the burgeoning critical literature on Naga lifeworlds by using a heterodox Foucaultian and Marxist framework. The analysis is structured as a genealogy that reinterprets the ways that historical epistemologies have shaped contemporary land relations in Nagaland. Our genealogy draws on place-based interviews to foreground what the history of land relations mean to Nagas today. The discussion sheds new light on (i) the epistemological bearings of gennas on the present-day social realities of Naga-Christianity; (ii) territoriality as an epistemology that reified the village-centered ownership of land; (iii) epistemic ruptures of subjectivation under British colonialism. The paper ends by contextualizing the genealogy of Naga land relations to redress its biased representations and culture of alterity by mainstream media and political outlets in India.
Copyright (c) 2023 Osensang Pongen, Martin M Bosman
In many developing countries like Nepal, women are vocationally trained in ‘women-friendly’ professions, encouraging them to enter the labour market. Amidst discussions concerning the role of gender-stereotyped Vocational Training (VT) programmes in empowering women, this research makes a qualitative study of the training and post-training experiences of women graduating from two ‘women-friendly’ VT programs – tailoring and beautician. Data obtained from interviewing 12 beauticians and 7 tailors have been analysed to assess the precariousness associated with these professions and also women’s sense of empowerment through the World Bank Empowerment Framework 2005. Discussions suggest that women are often nudged into low-income occupations owing to their gender roles, lower attainment of formal education and limited access to finances. In addition to their domestic and care work, women are forced to sell cheap labour and work longer hours in a highly competitive market, which signifies the extremity of precariousness they encounter. Although VT programmes give women some agency through assets like income (albeit low), skill, information and social capital, the translation of this agency to empowerment remains questionable. Despite being professionals, women are still not the ones making decisions for their future and thus have limited social and political power. Even institutions designed to empower women leave them out of their board rooms – proving women quite powerless even while walking the recommended paths of ‘empowerment’. This research concludes that gender-stereotyped VT programmes in Nepal exacerbate gender differences, burden women with precariousness and exclude them from economic, social and political capital-earning opportunities.
The famous spiritual personality of mid-Victorian Bengal, Sri Ramakrishna (monastic name of Gadadhar Chattopadhyay) was, like Socrates of Hellenic Athens, an oral prophet. His method of teaching and preaching was through informal and homely homilies and anecdotes. These, compiled and subsequently published by his devotee Mahendranath Gupta (alias SriM), have been translated from the original Bāṅglā into numerous languages of India and the world titled as Ramakrishna Kathāmṛta. The contents of this compilation have universally been considered deeply spiritual albeit delivered in patois Bengali befitting the nearly illiterate speaker. There are no studies, hagiographical or hermeneutical, examining the Master’s neologisms and his natural gift as a tusitala, that is a story-maker and storyteller, and interrogating the much-publicized spiritual subtext of his logia. This paper addresses the lacunae of what may be called Rāmakṛṣṇāyana, that, Ramakrishna-related literature.
Copyright (c) 2021 Narasingha Prosad Sil
Madeleine Slade (Mirabehn): A Pilgrimage
When two cultures come into contact with each other, there is a play of power and supremacy. This is a social reality and something that people have to deal with not only in the socio-political sense, but also in emotional states. Gandhi and Slade’s relationship shows the reality of emotional unrest. This perhaps is overlooked when there are bigger social and political problems lurking around. This paper attempts to understand the journey of Gandhi and Madeline Slade though the correspondence they shared.
This is a short essay that pays tribute to the Pulitzer Prize winning poet Charles Simic who turned 92 on 9th May.The article looks at one poem by Simic routed through the vision of Van Gogh and the reality of the 16 deaths of migrant workers on the railway track in Maharashtra, India, on 8th May. The article looks at one poem by Simic routed through the vision of Van Gogh and the reality of the 16 deaths on the railway track on 8th May.
Interview with Gowthama Sannah, Propaganda Secretary of the VCK, Chennai, 26th September 2012
The compromised and ‘failing’ position of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Republican Party of India, led one eminent commentator to urge Dalit activists and scholars to “look south because Tamil Nadu may offer some important lessons” for Dalit politics (Omvedt 2003: xvii-xviii). Tamil Nadu is indeed an interesting case study because it is one of the more developed states within India and has a long history of anti-caste politics and legislation. Despite this, it remains one of the more caste-divided regions as well. Autonomous mobilisation by Dalit groups coincided with an increase in casteist violence designed to keep the Dalits in a subordinate position (Gorringe 2006). It is only in the past decade, therefore, that Dalit parties have achieved sufficient credibility to forge alliances with established parties (Wyatt 2009). No Dalit party has been able to emulate the success of the BSP in electoral terms, but the political context here is very different (Omvedt 2003). The primary aim of Dalit parties in Tamil Nadu, rather, has been to strip ‘Dalit voters away from Dravidian parties’ (Roberts 2010: 18). Omvedt’s opinion comes in a book of speeches by the Tamil Dalit leader Thirumavalavan and she argues that the passion and vibrancy that characterised initial BSP mobilisation are captured in the fiery speeches and grass-roots mobilisation of Thirumavalavan and the Viduthalai Ciruthaigal Katchi (VCK – Liberation Panther Party) – the largest Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu. Roberts (2010) concurs with Omvedt’s assessment and argues that the Tamil Dalit movement has a wider social and political significance that extends beyond the state. In the past few years the VCK have cemented their alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (Dravidian Progressive Federation – DMK), one of the two main political parties in the state, and have gained entry to the political mainstream. On one hand, commentators suggest that the VCK offer a different, Dalit, way of doing politics rather than mimicking the established parties and point to welfare concessions that they have secured since allying with the DMK. Conversely, there is a widespread sense that the VCK are in danger of emulating other institutionalised movements by losing their radicalism and alienating their supporters. There are widespread allegations of corruption and profiteering, including numerous stories of VCK activists acting as brokers or middlemen in caste disputes for monetary gain. This interview was conducted as part of a research project, focused primarily on Dalit voters and activists in and around Madurai in order to understand how political subjectivities, ideas of citizenship, and perceptions of social exclusion have been reshaped by the entry of autonomous Dalit parties into the political mainstream. It is trying to understand whether and/or how the demands and critiques of Dalit movements have been integrated into the political behaviour of Dalit citizens and also the extent to which such ideas have informed the wider political sphere. Whilst interviews with Thirumavalavan frequently feature in Tamil magazines, it is much less common for those in secondary leadership positions to be able to articulate their positions. This interview with one of the leading Dalit intellectuals in the party offers a frank and reflexive account of the trials and tribulations of Dalit politics in Tamil Nadu. We invite feedback relating to this special interview, which may be communicated through the comment features of this online journal (registered users), or by directly contacting the author/contributors: Dr. Hugo Gorringe Hugo.Gorringe@ed.ac.uk J. Gowthama Sanna g.sannah@gmail.com or http://gsannah.wordpress.com
Princely India re-imagined: a historical anthropology of Mysore from 1799 to the present - By Aya Ikegame
As Aya Ikegame points out at the very start of her book, princely states formed almost half the land area of British India, yet the Rajas who ruled those states ‘have been entirely neglected’; they are ‘truly the people without history,’ she says, ‘ghosts of the past... occasionally amusing eccentric[s]... whose role historians are little inclined to address’ (p. 1). Her new book is a major step in redressing that neglect.
Symposium on human-elephant relations in South and Southeast Asia - University of Canterbury, May 7 & 8
This two-day symposium brought together an international array of senior and junior researchers from across the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences for an interdisciplinary exploration of the manifold aspects of the human-elephant relationship. Hosted by the Department of Anthropology and the New Zealand South Asia Centre (NZSAC), anthropologists, ecologists, geographers, historians, political scientists, Sanskritists, zoologists, and zoo elephant experts from Australia, France, Germany, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, the UK, and the USA met for an intensive meeting featuring dynamic presentations and vibrant discussion. The event provided a unique opportunity for productive debate across disciplinary boundaries on issues of welfare and conservation, history and coexistence, policy and practice, through which elephants have been variously bound up in human projects as weapons of war, emblems of prestige, symbols of divinity, objects of entertainment, icons of conservation, commodities for exchange, vehicles for labour, and intimate companions.
From Untouchable to Dalit and beyond: New directions in South Indian Dalit politics
In 1999, following a decade long boycott of the political process the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi - the largest Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu - contested elections for the first time. This paper will examine the process of institutionalisation that has occurred since that point. One of the main changes to have occurred is that the party has sought to reach out beyond the Dalit category in order to secure more votes. Increasingly, thus, Dalit parties in Tamil Nadu are taking up the issue of Tamil nationalism in a bid to reach out to other castes on an ethno-linguistic basis. The paper will chart the pros and cons of such an approach before thinking about possible future directions.
Editorial: Why the open access movement needs South Asian scholars
As this issue is being prepared for publication, a consortium of publishers - namely Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Taylor & Francis - has gained an advantage in a court case over the issue of copyright infringement against Rameshwari Photocopy Services, a small shop on the Delhi University campus that sells affordable photocopied texts such as course-packs to university students. The defendant cites a provision in Section 52 of the Indian Copyright Act that provides an important exemption in the case of reproductions for educational use. However, prosecutors state that while photocopying a portion of a copyrighted text, such as a chapter, is permissible, the commercial reproduction and distribution of entire texts is ‘piracy.’ Pending a final ruling in the case, an injunction levied on the shop last year forcing it to halt photocopying services was recently upheld by the High Court in Delhi after a recent exam-time appeal by the student community and the university (Desikan 2013). Regardless of the outcome, the case comes at a time when increasingly accessible internet-based technologies offer important opportunities for education in the world's most populous region. This will pose ever-increasing challenges to established publishing practices. We'd like to suggest that these challenges are best met with a new vision; a shift toward open access publishing involving scholars of and from South Asia. This would push the issue decisively, and perhaps offer up a compelling model for scholars who remain ambivalent.
Protest, dissent, and political change in post war Sri Lanka
A short introduction to this special issue. Coming soon...
Image 1: (‘I need to look forward’). Just before the commencement of one of the regional rallies in Kandy, organised by the FUTA to mobilise throughout the country. Image 2: (‘Orange is the new colour of hope’). Just before the commencement of one of the regional rallies in Kandy, organised by the FUTA to mobilise throughout the country. Image 3: (‘”Free” education from crises’). Students campaigned for free education with teachers who fought to save state education. Image 4: (‘Move forward somehow’). One of the many processions conducted by the FUTA during the 2011-2012 trade union struggle. Image 5: (‘The other side of the story’). Thousands of leaflets were printed and distributed throughout the island describing the need to allocate 6% of GDP for education Image 6: (‘Workers of the world, Unite’). Five-day march reaching Colombo. Image 7: (The next station). 6% campaign was about the right to education for the younger generation more than the right to higher education.
Image 1: FUTA rally at Hyde Park, Colombo.
Living as a ‘minority’: A case of Buddhist-Dalits in contemporary Uttar Pradesh
In this paper, I will deal with ‘converted-Buddhists’, Buddhist-Dalits, in western UttarPradesh, focusing on their religious-ritual practices and narratives. In previousstudies, scholars have studied whether Buddhist-Dalitscan distance themselves fromHindu beliefs and practices and, if so, the extent of their separation. This perspectiveis based on the idea of ‘discontinuity’. However, I would like to consider conversionnot from the viewpoint of ‘discontinuity’ but from that of ‘continuity’. On the onehand, Buddhist-Dalitsideologically adopt Buddhist practices; on the other hand,they selectively or syncretistically continue to follow certain Hindu traditions. This isbecause Buddhist-Dalits need to negotiate with Hindu relatives in determining theirstatus and position in society.
Re-evaluating the Chipko (Forest Protection) movement in India
This paper aims to re-evaluate the Chipko movement (1973-1981), a forest protection movement in the Uttarakhand hill region in northern India, which became widely known throughout the world through its image of local people hugging trees. Although the Chipko movement became famous as a good example of the “environmentalism of the poor” in the 1980s, it began to be criticised after the 1990s as the movement ended in failure due to the fact that the local people’s “true” desire to develop the local economy by using the forest’s resources was denied by the movement’s achievement of a total ban on commercial logging. Moreover, some scholars have stressed that the prohibition of commercial deforestation was not the outcome of the Chipko movement, but rather the consequence of the victory of the Department of Environment over the Ministry of Agriculture at the Centre. Against these previous studies, this paper argues that the Chipko movement did played a role in transforming the forest management systems, and the movement was also significant for the formation of a new network of social activists.
Social movements and the subaltern in postcolonial South Asia
Social movements have various styles and aims in contemporary South Asia. They are ever-present at the grassroots, contesting power and pressing for change, but they occasionally take centre stage. In India, for example, the anti-corruption movement, led by the well-known Anna Hazare from the 1990s onwards, gained momentum in 2011 and, more recently, thousands from the grass-rootsvoluntarily gathered in protest against rape and sexual violence after the terrible assault at the endof 2012. At such points it is clear that social movements continue to contribute to the deepening ofdemocracy in the region, but more often than not they pass unnoticed. This special issue, therefore,aims to cast greater light onto social movement activism, action and outcomes in South Asia. Please see the attached .pdf for the full text
Filming a metaphor: Cinematic liberties, Navarasa influences and digressions in adaptation in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ‘Devdas’
‘Devdas’ is a landmark 20th century tragic-romantic Indian novella by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. In the nine decades since its publication, the story has acquired a cult status in Indian cinema and society courtesy its many stated and inspired film adaptations. When auteur filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali made his opulent 21st- century on screen adaptation, its self-destructive hero had far outgrown the novella to become a national metaphor of “doomed love”. The present article identifies the achievement of the “Devdas metaphor” in Bhansali’s 2002 film, Devdas, especially in context of its new plot additions and mythical allusions and analyses the role of its eight allegorical songs shot to grandiose mise-en-scène in the perpetuation of that intention. These departures from the original novella, while arguing for reviewing celluloid adaptations as works of art in their own merit, build a case for reviewing Bhansali’s Devdas as a refreshing new cinematic tale whose songs driven narrative reaffirm Bollywood’s signature story-telling traditions. This is evidenced in a rasa (emotion) based analysis of the film’s ornately dramatized songs, which while portraying elements of the Navarasas as recommended by India’s ancient Sanskrit drama (Nātyasāstra) canons are able to unite their overall experience and impact in the single dominant rasa of karuna (or pathos), which also is the dominant sentiment of the novella.
NREGA and labour migration in India: Is village life what the 'rural' poor want?
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is the flagship welfare programme of the UPA government, and the largest of its kind in India. One of its main objectives is a significant reduction in labour migration through the provision of locally available work in rural areas, but in spite of some successes, the programme has not had the wished-for impact. Drawing on government data, recent independent studies and the Indian media, the present article argues that NREGA’s limited impact partly stems from a misconception of labour migration – as a poverty ‘problem’ and as merely a product of ‘push-and-pull’ economic factors. It contends that this view wrongfully casts ‘rural’ livelihoods and ‘urban’ society as somehow separate, and assumes that farming is what ‘the poor’ really want, thus establishing poverty as chiefly a rural problem to be tackled by rural development. Accepted explanations for NREGA’s relative failure do not account for the possibility that migration for work may be perceived as a more attractive activity. The view of labour mobility as essentially ‘involuntary’ and driven solely by economic considerations overshadows two sets of reasons why people may still prefer to migrate; namely social factors and evolving perceptions of ‘modernity’. The poor too have aspirations, which are not restricted to survival matters. NREGA has benefitted those with little or no access to positive migration opportunities, especially Scheduled Castes and Tribes, but is unlikely to succeed in curbing labour mobility significantly – which is not desirable anyway. Here, the crucial development challenges are not to reduce migration but to improve its conditions, both economic and social – and to account for the poor’s aspirational horizons.
Forced migration, land grabbing and ethnic conflict: Demographic and socio-economic transformation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. An interview with Dr Shapan Adnan
In this video interview, recorded at the University of Edinburgh on 31st May 2012, Dr Shapan Adnan, from the University of Oxford, explains how the complex processes of forced migration and land alienation transformed a polyethnic society subject to the imperatives of an assimilating nation-state, controlled by a dominant majority group. The case study of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh - a remote and forested highland area along the country’s international border with India and Burma, inhabited by ‘tribal’ or indigenous peoples. Since the mid-twentieth century, the region has been subject to massive disruptions through large-scale submergence by a hydroelectricity project, counter-insurgency warfare against ‘tribal’ rebels, forced migration, and grabbing of indigenous lands by the state, settlers and commercial interest groups. Even though a peace agreement was signed in 1997 between the state and the rebel forces, most of its substantive clauses, including restitution of illegally alienated lands, have not yet been implemented by the government. Paradoxically, instead of the ‘dividends of peace’, the disbanding of rebel forces has inadvertently served to facilitate continuing in-migration of settlers from the plains and intensification of land seizures. Shifts in ethnic composition includes processes of forced eviction of indigenous peoples and resultant flows of international refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as state-sponsored transmigration and self-propelled in-migration of settlers. Such complex population displacements and transfers have resulted in drastic transformation of the socio-demographic structure of the CHT, reflected in striking changes in the composition of the population by ethnicity and religious affiliation, as well as associated changes in inter-ethnic social and political relationships. Video running time: approx. 13 minutes.
Editorial Note: Marginalities & Aspirations in South Asia
The Editorial Team of The South Asianist is very pleased to announce the publication of its first issue: Marginalities and Aspirations. As this is our very first opportunity to introduce our ideas for the publication as well as to state our position in what is a very rich and diverse field of research and publication, we include a series of short reflections. We follow this with a brief introduction of each of the excellent contributions we have included.
Development @ what cost? A film review of 'Shanghai' (June, 2012)
One may wonder why a film on the politics of development in an Indian city is called Shanghai. The trigger for the film apparently was one of ex- Maharashtra Chief Minister and Indian National Congress Party leader Vilasrao Deshmukh’s 2004 pre-election clarion pledges to make ‘Mumbai the next Shanghai’ – a futuristic city imagery defined by higher high rises, swankier malls, cleaner (poor free!) environs and clogs free infrastructure... In brief, a builder’s playing ground or a capitalist’s paradise! It was an effectively rhyming, pro-development regional slogan attempting a one-up on Bhartiya Janata Party’s national level ‘Indian Shining’ campaign of the 2000s. ‘Shanghai’ since, courtesy the voluble sloganeering in favour of, and against the idea in Mumbai’s media space, has been consciously transformed from a proper noun to an adjective of aspiration in the psyche of Mumbaikars (the residents of Mumbai), which Dibakar Bannerjee’s latest film dissects, spoofs and critiques...(cont'd)
Public health and human rights in Chhattisgarh: An interview with Dr. Binayak Sen
A preview of this inaugural issue of The South Asianist was unveiled during a special event honouring public health practitioner and human rights defender Dr. Binayak Sen on 14th June, 2012 at the School of Social and Political Science at Edinburgh University. Dr. Jeevan Sharma, a member of the journal’s Advisory Board sat down to interview Dr. Sen following the reception to discuss human rights and public health in India, and more specifically his own work, struggles, and accomplishments as one of the leading human rights advocates and activists in South Asia.
We (the Editorial Team) approached several dozen renowned scholars of South Asia – in the UK, South Asia and elsewhere – to get their critical appraisal of our journal website, as well as some limited content we prepared for an Issue 1 preview published during the journal’s official launch on 14 June at the Centre for South Asian Studies at Edinburgh University. We are delighted that many of those same scholars we approached have agreed to join our Advisory Board. Many more have contributed their endorsements (below), invaluable advice, and have offered to promote the journal as well as our new blog within their own networks. Our sincerest gratitude and appreciation for the tremendous support and belief in this project! Editorial Team
"What is strange is that we don't have more children coming to us": Child psychiatry and scholastic pressure in Kolkata
How do child psychiatrists in Kolkata reflect on the links between scholastic pressure and rising rates of mental illness? As is known from many ethnographic studies, giving one's child a "top" education is a central concern of Indian parents today, especially among the middle classes. Sending one's child to preschools and making them take several hours of private tuitions every day has become markers of "good parenting." To start children as early as possible and to reduce "useless" free time to a minimum puts enormous scholastic pressure on children. Even cross-country comparisons flag up that Indian children are made to study harder and earlier than in most other countries. This paper analyzes how child psychiatrists in Kolkata experience the consequences of parents' high expectations for scholastic success onto children's mental health. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), "school refusal," depression, and suicidal tendencies are the most prominent mental illnesses that the psychiatrists trace back to excessively competitive education. The paper further discusses how Kolkata psychiatrists evaluate possibilities of pharmacological interventions for child patients. While they acknowledge that drug therapies can have many adverse side effects, they also feel compelled to intervene as early and as quickly as possible. Based on a philosophy that prefers to "nip it in the bud," psychopharmaceuticals are extensively used.
Session 1: Subjectivities and Intervention
Practical and ethical challenges in conducting research on Pakistani adolescent mental health
Recent endeavours to increase the flow of research in the field of mental health in developing countries such as Pakistan are faced with serious practical, cultural and ethical issues. Despite adolescents comprising of about one fourth of the total population in Pakistan (Caskey, & Rosenthal, 2005; UNICEF, 2012) there is limited published data that documents mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and self-harm within the population. In order to improve adolescent mental health in Pakistan, well designed studies exploring prevalence, risk, resilience, prevention, and intervention strategies are vital. Nevertheless there are a few major hurdles in this regard. This paper highlights such pitfalls faced during two parallel and methodologically similar studies exploring depression, anxiety and health risk behaviours among Pakistani adolescents in community settings. Initially, the paper highlights the need to build human resources within research and outlines the efforts which are formally made by the Government. It will also introduce the ways in which the desired outcome can be acquired. Subsequently, it focuses on the lack of awareness with regard to research in the country and presents strategies for developing a research friendly culture, by reducing the undervaluation of research and introducing a supportive environment (Provincial Health Services Academy Peshawar Pakistan, 2010). It identifies the socio-cultural sensitivity of the constructs pertaining to mental health among adolescents (such as drug abuse, sexual abuse, suicide and para-suicide) (UNICEF, 2012). This paper will also discuss issues involved in gaining access to the field. Lastly the paper will point towards ethical dilemmas, such as risks that the study participants may face in gaining ethics clearance, informed consents, and biases within the data. Possible solutions and recommendations required for major obstacles faced during the two studies, as well as the induction of filling the void within literature regarding field work in Pakistan will be put forth.
Skin tone and self/state identity in India: The North/South question
Regarding images medias are showing, Indians, even in the South, are “white”. The gap between these images and reality is so deep, that a strong feeling of “self hate” has grown among the youngest. In response to this massive whitening campaign, a reaction is now coming from the South and Dravidians are organising themselves as the “black power” of India. It is not a secret that in India it is better being « fair and lovely » than « brown and ugly ». But the craving for white skin is not only a question of beauty; it is also a matter of domination and self-determination. The whiteness issue takes place at multiple levels in India. Love of white/light skin is firmly rooted in ancient classifications such as class, castes, but also in the North/South distinction. The North/South distinction is particularly interesting because, not only is it one of the key drivers of whitening products’ consumption dynamics in India, but it is also a way to question “states and ethnic identities”. How do Indians see themselves and their skin tone? How does skin tone establish your position in society and your state belonging? Do South Indians use whintening products to look like North Indians? Why do North Indians want to be even whiter if they already are the dominant group? Who are they attempting to look like? How does skin tone affect the construction of one’s identity in India? These are some of the questions we will attempt answer in this paper.
The strī in modernity: Negotiating female consumer body projects in contemporary India
The concept of the body in India is one fraught with numerous socio-cultural and theological discourses, each presenting their own specific ontologies of the various states of the body. Though the aim of this working paper is not to untangle the web of discourse which surrounds the female body in India, the attempt here is to integrate an inherently „Indian‟ understanding of the body into its representation as a „site‟ of consumption. If, as noted by Dissanayake (1993:39), the body is "a symbolic construct of great moment which serves to reproduce culture", then the body, in effect, presents itself as a locus of ancient ideals of womanhood, of culture and tradition but also the complexities of the changing social landscape of India in which women play an instrumental role. In this vein, the ways in which the body has been represented, regulated, disciplined, ritualised, cultivated and purified through the ages is of central importance to the understanding of how women negotiate their multiplicity of identities through acts of consumption. Although Indian culture is seen to be an amalgam of diverse traditions, it is also seen to be constantly in the making (Mohan, 2011). The Brahmanical Hindu tradition in particular constitutes what Holdrege (1998:341) terms an "embodied community", where the notions of traditional identity are embodied in the particularities of ethnic and cultural categories, where the body is represented as a "site of central significance that is the vehicle for the maintenance of the social, cosmic, and divine orders" (ibid: 341). If, as Dissanayake (1993:40) asserts, we are to comprehend the nature of the Indian self in all its manifold complexity and multilayeredness, there is a need to pay more attention to the idea of the body along with an understanding of the distinction between the „self‟ and „body‟ in Indian philosophical thought.
Buying modern: Muslim subjectivity, the West and patterns of religious consumption in Lahore, Pakistan
This paper explores the emerging patterns of religious consumption in urban Lahore. The popularity and sale of headscarves, CDs and DVDs of sermons, Islamic mobile ringtones is often determined by their perceived popularity amongst the Muslim diaspora in the West. This paper analyses the reasons behind this pattern and argues that it is linked to local perspectives on ‘being modern’. By looking at the role of religious consumption in creating Muslim subjectivity, it shows that Muslims in Lahore increasingly want to buy goods that show them as ‘rational’ and ‘forward thinking’, ideas which they closely associate with modern-ness. Embedded in these decisions and understanding of ‘being modern’ is a problematic relationship with the West where it is seen as centre of modernity but its modernity is not accepted entirely and is countered by using religious consumption to build a modern Muslim identity.
Endangered and empowered: Indians in the eyes of Civil Defence and Disaster Management
The relationship between the Indian state and its citizens has been constantly evolving since independence. One of the ways, which illustrates a change in the conceptualization of Indian citizens, is how civilians were and are treated in cases of disasters. In my paper, I will look at the historical trajectory that has led to the recent establishment of the new disaster management framework in India epitomized by new institutions such as the National Disaster Management Authority and the National Institute for Disaster Management. I will touch on the modernist project of developing India through science and technology and based on the study of programmatic documents, historical material and fieldwork; I will explore the link between disaster and citizenship. Whereas the Civil Defence Act 1968 treats civilians as those to be modernised, shuffled around and dominated, the Disaster Management Act 2005 is full of language reminiscent of international development ‘speak’, seeking to demonstrate respect for local knowledge, indigenous technology and the power of community. I am going to explore how this change from a top-down framework to community based disaster management occurred.