Articles by Rowena Robinson

The acceptance of the draft National Education Policy in its current form may prove disastrous for many of the gains made in education so far, at different levels. It will also mean an increased political control over educational institutions, undermining its stated goal of providing autonomy to them.

Against the growing literature on Muslim piety movements, this paper analyses the practices of faith among a young generation of educated middle-class Muslim women in Mumbai in the context of a liberalising economy, which offers them greater employment opportunities and draws them out of the ghettos to work and interact with people of different social and religious backgrounds. The paper shows that these women question and reason with their faith, while the earlier generation abides by a quieter piety. The findings are grounded in Mumbai’s specific history in which the riots of 1992–93 were a defining moment for Muslims. While focusing on everyday religiosity, it also connects with a larger canvas by arguing that piety movements, though located in society, are not unattached from the ways in which states may constitute secularity or define religious freedoms.

What is critically missing in higher education in India is the continuously maintained, institution-level data, which is an invaluable database for research as well as for honing policies and monitoring their outcomes. This paper chronicles one administrative and scholarly experiment recently launched in Cotton College State University in Guwahati, Assam. The first year's results of the ongoing experiment are revealed and the future potential of this kind of research to engage with questions, such as the fairness and effectiveness of examination and evaluation systems, and the correlation of a student's academic performance with prior education and social background, is recorded. The capacity for comparative research and of using research results to meet student needs better, improve the performance of "at risk" students, or enhance the quality of education and of institutions for production of human capital is noted.

Dalit Christians have been agitating for scheduled caste status that will bring them on par with Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist dalits. Why was this claim not made when the Constitution was being framed? An exploration of the Constituent Assembly debates attempts to understand whether Christian castes were discussed and how fundamental religious liberties, which included crucial educational rights, were given importance over caste claims by the elite Christian representatives in the assembly. It draws a distinction between community rights and claims on the state. The implications of the cluster of rights known as "minority rights" are disentangled and the paper argues that the discriminatory clause in the Scheduled Castes Order of 1950 is part of the problem faced by dalit Christians. There is also a clash between the different kinds of entitlements at issue, which must be acknowledged to harmonise the justice of the state with fairness within the community.

Religion, Caste and Politics in India by Christophe Jaffrelot (Delhi: Primus Books), 2010; pp 802, Rs 2,250 (hb).