{"title":"Exclusion of Pasmanda Muslims and Dalit Christians from the Scheduled Caste Quota","authors":"Arvind Kumar","doi":"10.1177/02627280231161000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280231161000","url":null,"abstract":"Based on a re-reading of the Indian Constituent Assembly Debates in light of subsequent developments, this article provides new insights about the extent to which the Indian constitution allows affirmative action for redressing historical disadvantages and empowering marginalised communities. Since the post-colonial Indian state introduced the criterion of religion in the lists of Scheduled Castes (SCs), this sparked suspicions of efforts to prevent conversions, further augmenting India’s Hindu majority. The article re-examines such claims in light of the Indian Constituent Assembly Debates and subsequent Government Orders for notifying/modifying SCs. It argues that the list of SCs was never envisioned as religion-neutral, so that the exclusion of Pasmanda Muslims and Dalit Christians from the SCs is not a communal afterthought, while religion has all along not been the only or main criterion for affirmative action policies.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48665987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bombay Lights: Gas Light and the Transition to a Modern City","authors":"Jesse S. Palsetia","doi":"10.1177/02627280231165059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280231165059","url":null,"abstract":"Gas lighting, part of a re-envisioning of cities as modern metropoles, was one of the first ‘modern’ technologies implemented in nineteenth century Bombay. The debates over the implementation of gas light to illuminate the streets of Bombay have largely been overlooked in the history and historiography of colonial Bombay. Yet, the illumination of Bombay’s public streets with gas light was an important turning point in the transition of Bombay from a provincial outpost to a modern city. The article examines the related debates, presents the illumination of colonial Bombay with gas light as a metaphor for the emergence of the modern city and depicts how new processes regarding civic planning and development emerged from this gas light debate, which ultimately made the implementation of electrical light and other aspects of modern city life possible.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45052078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Famine, Caste Differences and Missionary Christianity in Colonial India: Burning Hunger","authors":"C. C. Sekhar","doi":"10.1177/02627280231163075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280231163075","url":null,"abstract":"This article sheds light on the conditions of Dalits, their experience of caste differences, discrimination and destitution during the Great Famine of 1876–78 in Rayalaseema, one of the Telugu-speaking regions of Madras Presidency. It highlights how existing caste practices defined and shaped famine relief measures, re-entrenching caste hierarchies. The caste location of Dalits aggravated the severity of their living conditions and social life in the village space and in relief works organised by the colonial government, which further reinforced caste inequalities and institutionalised social distancing. Consequently, Dalits experienced hunger, destitution and further marginalisation in society. During such conditions, the humanitarian concerns and charitable activities of missionaries had a profound impact on Dalits.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47437272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Participatory Advocacy Journalism in Central India: ‘Every Reader is a Reporter’","authors":"Annapurna Sinha","doi":"10.1177/02627280231163074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280231163074","url":null,"abstract":"This case study of a community newspaper, Namaskar, and its impact in ‘underdeveloped’ areas of coastal Odisha in India, discusses the potential of alternative media for social change. It scrutinises and analyses the participatory advocacy activities of Namaskar. Studying participatory journalism favours a more dialogical and reflexive approach, which also draws on ideas of ‘critical’ and ‘radical’ media, while also calling attention to the significance of content in bringing about social change. Building on observations and testimonies from the field, collected through multiple qualitative methods for data collection, the study infers that Namaskar ensures significant participation in its advocacy practices, leading to observable changes in and around its catchment area. However, basic gatekeeping and editing work to make news copy print-ready also restrain the extent of ‘absolute participation’.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49125239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Fakrul Alam, Reading Literature in English and English Studies in Bangladesh: Postcolonial Perspectives","authors":"M. Quayum","doi":"10.1177/02627280221141444","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280221141444","url":null,"abstract":"Fakrul Alam, Reading Literature in English and English Studies in Bangladesh: Postcolonial Perspectives (Dhaka: writers.ink, 2021), xvii + 518 pp.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45840675","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Mashal Saif, The ‘Ulama in Contemporary Pakistan: Contesting and Cultivating an Islamic Republic","authors":"Muneeb Yousuf","doi":"10.1177/02627280221143524","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280221143524","url":null,"abstract":"Mashal Saif, The ‘Ulama in Contemporary Pakistan: Contesting and Cultivating an Islamic Republic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021), xii +320 pp.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46614705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Paula Banerjee & Ranabir Samaddar (Eds), India’s Migrant Workers and the Pandemic","authors":"S. Narayana, Nia Susan Chaly","doi":"10.1177/02627280221141718","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280221141718","url":null,"abstract":"Ritajyoti Bandyopadhyay, Paula Banerjee & Ranabir Samaddar (Eds), India’s Migrant Workers and the Pandemic (New York: Routledge, 2022), viii + 285 pp.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47333931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gender Bargaining Within Matriliny in Kerala","authors":"Lekha N.B.","doi":"10.1177/02627280221141046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280221141046","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents ethnographic evidence to illustrate how Nayar women in Kerala from three different generations encounter the interplay of changed gender and property relations and seek to balance their relationships, expectations and entitlements within their natal and affinal families. Directly experiencing the dynamic intersection of property, gender and culture as well as legal and socio-cultural change, these women are seen to bargain, often quite consciously, over power and resources, including property, within patterns of matriliny that exist in a wider society influenced by dominant patriarchal norms. The article suggests that this is not as unique to Kerala as is often claimed. It makes a case, therefore, for further research on how South Asian women in the twenty-first century remain torn between matriliny and patriliny, the natal family and the husband’s family, and have to engage in multiple balancing acts to secure their rights.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45667761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mother Cow and Maternal Behaviour in Colonial North India","authors":"Lloyd Price","doi":"10.1177/02627280221141050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02627280221141050","url":null,"abstract":"This article offers a historical analysis of the interdisciplinary question to what extent animal behaviour influences domestication, by exploring how socio-cultural representations of cows as mothers were shaped by perceptions of their maternal behaviours. It does so by providing an analysis of the evolution of dairying practices in both the colonial and vernacular sciences of modern India. Mother cow (gau måtå) was imbibed with spiritual and material significance in the discourses of public health, food security and gastro-politics from the late nineteenth century. But to what extent were cultural representations influenced by the maternal behaviours of the cow? Analysing animal husbandry practices, it is shown here that in contrast to the Western tradition of segregating the mother from her calf, the maternal behaviours and emotions of Bos indicus zebu cows were perceived by many dairy farmers to be an evolved characteristic that needed to be nurtured.","PeriodicalId":44525,"journal":{"name":"South Asia Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45614338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}