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What's_Happening_to_the_Village?
Surinder_S_Jodhka
Abstract
Based_on_a_revisit_to_two_villages_of_Haryana_after_a_gap_of_20_years_(1988-89_and_2008-09),_the_paper_provides_a_historical_overview_of_the_process_of_development_and_change_in_a_micro_setting._Locating_the_process_of_social_and_economic_transformation_witnessed_in_the_two_villages_in_the_context_of_Green_Revolution_technology,_and_later,_the_introduction_of_large-scale_industrial_projects_in_the_area,_it_tries_to_explore_the_nature_of_changes_taking_place_in_the_internal_structure_(caste_and_class_relations)_of_the_agrarian_economy;_the_changing_nature_of_the_relationship_of_villages_with_neighboring_urban_settlements_in_terms_of_employment_and_aspirations;_and_the_emerging_nature_of_power_relations_in_the_local_level_political_institutions
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Understanding_Ruralities_Contemporary_Debates
Manish_Thakur
Abstract
Amidst_the_growing_scholarly_pronouncements_on_the_declining_sociological_significance_of_the_village_and_the_village_studies,_and_the_equally_enticing_postcolonial_theoretical_concerns_about_the_de-spatialised_cultural_flows_and_diasporic_hybridity,_this_paper_makes_a_plea_for_a_possible_renewal_of_village_studies._Although_the_village_was_hardly_a_container_par_excellence_of_the_larger_processes_of_rural/agrarian_social_change,_it_anchored_much_of_Indian_sociology_as_the_real_or_perceived_ontological_entity_without_necessarily_being_an_explanandum_in_sociological_research._Obviously,_the_village_is_no_longer_the_convenient_methodological_site_for_ethnographic_fieldwork_in_the_old_ways_thanks_to_the_thickening_and_deepening_of_the_state_apparatuses_in_our_times,_and_the_attendant_processes_of_migration_and_mobility._It_is_time_we_grafted_new_theoretical_and_methodological_concerns_onto_existing_preoccupations._To_understand_ruralities_today_we_need_new_sites_and_modes_of_enquiry._We_may_be_required_to_erect_tents_on_railway_platforms_to_understand_the_village_and_the_villager_than_staying_with_the_old_village_headman._To_comprehend_the_village_dynamics,_we_need_to_make_many_more_visits_to_panchayat,_taluka_and_district_headquarters,_and_the_local_Thana,_than_we_have_been_conventionally_used_to._Thus,_tracking_the_trail_of_the_villagers_will_definitely_mean_the_demise_of_single-village_studies,_and_recourse_to_methodological_repertoire_of_multi-sited_fieldwork_and_political_ethnography.
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Ummah,_Qaum_and_Watan
Tanwer_Fazal
Abstract
The_tension_between_the_'territoriality'_of_watan_(country)_or_qaum_(nation),_and_the_'universality'_of_Islamic_ummah_(muslim_brotherhood)_has_remained_intense_and_alive_among_theorists_and_practitioners_of_Islam_in_India._A_search_for_the_theological_validation_for_Muslim_presence_in_India,_required_reconciliation_between_territorial_affiliations_of_Indian_Muslims_on_the_one_hand,_and_their_assumed_propensity_towards_pan-Islamism_on_the_other._In_the_period_prior_to_Independence,_the_unsettled_debate_had_variegated_manifestations:_a._Muslim_nationalism_leading_to_Partition;_b._territorial_nationalism_that_argued_for_Hindu-Muslim_entente_and;_c._a_refutation_of_both,_the_pan-Islamic_trend._Going_by_broad_historical_sweeps,_one_identifies_three_distinct_phases_in_the_trajectory_of_Muslim_politics._The_initial_phase_of_'minorityism'_with_claims_over_cultural_and_political_safeguards;_the_second_phase_in_the_decade_preceding_Independence_when_the_theory_of_a_distinct_'Muslim_nation'_gained_salience_among_sections_of_Muslims_of_north_India;_and_the_post-Independent_phase_in_which_Muslims_again_as_a_'minority'_have_emphasized_on_multicultural_co-existence_with_cultural_rights._In_recent_years,_the_Muslim_identity_is_disaggregated_further_with_powerful_voices_of_'minorities_within_minority'_construed_around_caste_and_gender_receiving_political_attention_and_articulation._The_tension_between_ummah,_qaum_and_watan_has_in_an_altered_situation_called_for_new_innovations_in_thought_and_Muslim_intellectual_exercise_responded_by_dissociating_the_two_as_operational_in_different_contexts_without_committing_to_any_hierarchisation_of_identity_and_thereof,_of_loyalty._This_paper_attempts_to_analytically_separate_various_threads_in_Muslim_political_thought,_without_missing_the_context_in_which_they_emerged_and_gained_predominance._It_looks_into_various_turns_and_twists,_theoretical_shifts,_accommodations_and_innovations_that_the_Muslim_elite,_irrespective_of_their_ideological_location,_have_made_to_come_to_terms_with_the_idea_of_Indian_nationhood.
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State_of_Injustice:_The_Indian_State_and_Poverty
John_Harriss
Abstract
This_paper_provides_a_brief_history_of_the_actions_of_the_Indian_state_in_regard_to_poverty,_and_offers_a_statement_of_the_poverty_problem,_since_it_takes_an_axiomatic_view_that_the_persistence_of_extensive_and_deep_poverty_shows_the_failure_of_the_promise_of_social_justice._It_then_discusses_the_formulation_by_Akhil_Gupta_as_to_why_the_Indian_state_kills_poor_people_arguing_that_Akhil’s_conceptualization_falls_short_of_an_adequate_explanation._Finally,_the_paper_asks_the_question_how_far_do_recent_legislations_address_the_questions_that_are_discussed_in_the_paper.
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Interrogating_‘Dalitness’:_The_Making_of_a_“Subaltern”_Community_in_Postcolonial_Odisha
Byasa_Moharana
Abstract
Working_with_the_framework_of_“structure_and_agency”,_this_paper_seeks_to_interrogate_what_it_means_to_be_a_“Dalit”_in_modern_India._While_agreeing_that_there_exists_a_dialectical_relationship_between_social_structure_and_subaltern_agency,_the_interrogation_traverses_through_the_terrain_of_modernist_scholarship,_and_challenges_the_“mainstream”_Dalit_political_conceptualization_regarding_who_is_a_“Dalit”_and_who_is_not,_or_what_constitutes_a_“genuine”_Dalit_assertion_and_what_does_not.
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Unusual_Expressions_of_Social_Protests:_Witchcraft_Accusations_in_Jalpaiguri,_India
Soma_Chaudhuri
Abstract
This_paper_argues_for_a_much-needed_sociological_discourse_to_look_at_the_unique_story_of_witch-hunts_in_the_Jalpaiguri_tea_plantation._Taking_a_detailed_look_at_the_complex_labor-management_relationship_within_the_plantation,_it_traces_how_seemingly_petty_conflicts_within_the_adivasi_workers_community_that_result_in_witchcraft_accusations_are_a_product_of_alienation_experienced_by_the_workers,_nestled_in_a_wage_economy._The_paper_has_two_goals:_One,_to_stress_the_need_for_a_sociological_analysis_on_the_topic_of_witchcraft_accusations_and_witch-hunts_in_general;_and_two,_to_highlight_the_problem_of_witch-hunts_among_the_tea_plantation_workers_in_Jalpaiguri.
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Models_of_Political_Analysis:_A_Contemporary_Re-appraisal_of_F._G._Bailey_and_the_Manchester_‘School’
Gitika_De
Abstract
This_paper_looks_back_at_an_influential_tradition_of_the_ethnographic_analysis_of_politics,_through_the_figure_of_one_of_its_pioneers,_F._G._Bailey,_with_a_view_to_underline_the_ways_in_which_he_anticipated_later_developments_in_the_anthropological_study_of_societies_and_polities._Through_a_re-appraisal_of_a_rich_and_varied_body_of_work_that_F._G._Bailey_has_produced_over_the_last_six_decades,_it_show_how_through_a_processual_political_analysis,_Bailey_arrived_at_an_understanding_of_what_is_specific_and_what_is_general_in_political_practices_across_comparative_spatial_and_temporal_contexts;_the_contingent_and_complementary_nature_of_explanation_of_political_phenomena;_the_practical_logic_of_the_functioning_of_institutional_politics;_and_the_play_of_morality_and_expediency_in_politics._Further,_it_locates_his_work_in_the_contemporary_discursive_context_of_the_analysis_of_politics_in_India,_highlighting_both_his_methodological_and_theoretical_repertoire_as_a_legacy_providing_important_insights_for_current_disciplinary_concerns_of_political_sociology_in_India.
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Queering_Indian_Sociology:_A_Critical_Engagement
Pushpesh_Kumar
Abstract
The_paper_is_an_attempt_towards_queering_Indian_sociology_by_incorporating_the_perspective_of_the_hitherto_ignored_‘publics’-_the_sexual_minorities-_whose_lives_are_waiting_to_be_recognized_as_a_‘sub-field’_in_South_Asian_Sociology._It_also_dispels_the_myth_that_alternative_sexual_orientation_is_a_purely_western_idea_and_issues_of_‘erotic_justice’_are_alien_to_Indian_and_South_Asian_cultures._Further,_queering_here_is_not_equated_with_only_protests_through_queer_art,_avant-garde_experimentation_and_life-style_identity_politics_but_includes_a_‘critical_sexuality_perspective’_which_foregrounds_experiences_of_subaltern_sexual_subjects_like_‘working_class_lesbians’,_hijras_and_kothis_to_map_the_agenda_of_sexual_transformation_and_erotic_justice._In_this_sense,_the_LGBT_movement_has_to_be_critiqued_for_not_engaging_with_the_issue_of_caste_and_class._The_paper_seeks_to_broader_the_concept_of_‘erotic_justice’_by_delineating_and_emphasizing_its_connections_with_class,_caste_and_global_politics_of_sexual_liberation.
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Property_and_Publics:_Negotiating_State-Citizen_Relationships_in_Christiania
Mahuya_Bandyopadhyay
Abstract
In_the_summer_of_1971,_many_Danish_citizens,_mostly_the_homeless_and_those_living_a_hippie_life,_squatted_on_vast_tracts_of_vacant_and_pristinely_beautiful_land_belonging_to_the_military_in_the_Christianshavn_area_of_Copenhagen._Over_the_years,_this_area_became_marked_as_Freetown_Christiania,_a_social_experiment_that_flourished_despite_numerous_conflicts_with_the_state._In_2011,_the_community_entered_into_a_historic_agreement_with_the_State_to_buy_a_majority_area_of_the_squatted_land._Following_this_Christiania_would_be_managed_by_a_foundation,_consisting_of_Christianites_and_some_‘outsiders’._The_agreement_negotiates_and_articulates_Christianites_right_to_and_control_over_the_land_and_property_where_they_have_been_living_for_the_last_forty_years._People’s_relationships_to_property_in_Christiania_is_further_complicated_by_the_overwhelming_presence_of_hash_and_the_hash_market._The_paper_thus_deals_with_the_community’s_engagement_with_two_kinds_of_property_relations_–_relations_to,_and_mediated_by,_land_and_relations_through_hash.
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