ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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An Anthology on Civil Society without Perspective

Re-Interrogating Civil Society in South Asia: Critical Perspectives from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh edited by Peter B Andersen, Rubya Mehdi and Amit Prakash, London: Routledge, 2021; pp 313 + xiii, $160.

Gandhi’s Reflective and Dialogical Approach to Search for the Truth

Gandhi’s search for truth with constant self-introspection led him to admit his own misconceptions and errors. His path of self-reflection and dialogue among different views are the need of the time, to find deliberative ways to resolve conflicts.

UPA Regime and Civil Society

Agitation to Legislation: Negotiating Equity and Justice in India by Zoya Hasan,New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2018; pp 178,675.

 

Social Activist and Catalyst for Justice

Girish Patel used his immense knowledge of law to fight legal battles for the marginalised, and set up the Lok Adhikar Sangh to play a supportive role in the movements for social and political justice.

BJP’s Sixth Victory in Gujarat

​The 2017 Gujarat assembly election revolved around Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was the main campaigner, and almost asked for a plebiscite—as the son of the soil. The Bharatiya Janata Party has managed to retain power, but the proportion of votes has reduced. Various agitations against the government in the last three years have not converted into votes in favour of opposition parties. The BJP’s party structure with committed cadres and aggressive campaign give it an advantage over the opposition parties.

 

Neo-liberal Political Economy and Social Tensions

August 2017 marks a year of the Una agitations. The informal neo-liberal political economy of Gujarat has seemingly given a new lease of life to primordial identity politics by promoting social capital for social security. A revival of traditional cultural ethos legitimises and reinforces caste bonds, perpetuating social tension among the competing castes. The growth of education and urban middle class among Dalits is not tolerated by the non-Dalits who still hold them in contempt whilst struggling to seek opportunities for maintaining their status. The

Appeal from Gujarat

To

The President of India

We, the citizens of Gujarat, would like to share our deep concern about the series of happenings from 9 February to 18 February.

No Gain or Relief for Informal Workers

At Work in the Informal Economy of India: Perspective from the Bottom Up by Jan Breman (Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2013; pp 457, Rs 995.

The Long Road to Social Security: Assessing the Implementation of National Social Security Initiatives for the Working Poor in India edited by K P Kannan and Jan Breman (Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2013; pp 542, Rs 995.

Social Movements in India

Social Movements I: Issues of Identity edited by T K Oommen (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2010; pp 251, Rs 695 (hardcover). Social Movements II: Concerns for Equality and Security edited by T K Oommen (New Delhi: Oxford University Press), 2010; pp 352, Rs 795 (hardcover).

Comparative Contexts of Discrimination: Caste and Untouchability in South Asia

Based on empirical studies carried out in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka during 2007-08, this paper offers a brief introduction to the prevailing dalit situation in the four countries and identifies specific problems of social inequality, discrimination and deprivation of the groups in these countries. The four studies clearly bring out the fact that even when the meaning of untouchability and its sources (religion or tradition) varies across south Asia, as also its forms (from physical touch and residential segregation to taboos and restrictions on inter-dining), physical movement and pursuing occupations of one's choice, its effects on those placed at the bottom are quite similar, i e, economic deprivation, social exclusion and a life of humiliation.

Beyond Caste Voting: Modasa, Gujarat Revisited

The intensity and nature of caste sentiments have changed in the last four decades, and they have come to have a limited influence in voting behaviour. In the course of the political process, agglomerations of different jatis, sometimes even of unequal social status, have evolved a common political identity. But perceptions of identity, common interests and political preferences among the members are not monolithic or static. In Modasa, Gujarat, primordial sentiments of oneness and honour have transformed into "secular" economic interests. In the entrenched Hindutva setting, nourished by Narendra Modi, vikas (development) and governance were the central issues that influenced voters in the 2007 assembly elections.

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