Search results

Modi 'Wave' is a political phenomenon that describes a strong hegemon (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) who scripts landslide victories in Indian elections based on political charisma and electoral legitimacy. The consecutive victories of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in national elections 2014 and 2019 is a testimony of charismatic routinization of Modi 'Wave'. 'There Is No Alternative' to Modi seems to be ingrained in the conscious psyche of the electorate (will of the majority), which provides successive leadership legitimacy renewals. The political momentum of Modi's charisma is a discursive dynamic, but it continues to institutionalize right-wing ideology and expand saffron electoral footprints in India.

The conference in Poona that led to the foundation of Indian National Congress in 1885 aimed to serve as the germ of a native parliament to provide a reply to the assertion that India was still unfit for any form of representative institution. It spearheaded the Indian independence movement and post 1947 ushered in a 'Congress system' of one-party dominance that represented a historical consensus with few parallels in any political party system in the world. Dialectical contradiction has been a historic recurrence in the Congress as 'personality cults' of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in the early years and a 'high command culture' later on decimated its hegemonic power in competitive party politics. The Congress declined due to a deficit of political vision, lack of forward-thinking ideas, engagement in competitive pseudo-secularism and diminishing electoral returns of dynastic (Nehru-Gandhi) politics. The institutionalization of BJP as a dominant party in 2014 coincided with the deinstitutionalization of the Congress party system. The grand old party needs to relegitimize itself by revamping its ideology, formulating a populist model of governance, creating son-of-the-soil leadership, revitalizing the party system, re-engaging with citizens, altering its politics to meritocracy and embracing new age electoral grammar.

Political opinion polls in India are holistic snapshots in time that divulge deep dive information on electoral participation, ideological orientation and self-efficacy of the electorate and faith in core democratic values. The popularity of election surveys stems from the political socialization and crystal ball gazing curiosity of the citizens to foresee the outcomes of the hustings before the pronouncement of formal results. The opinion polls provide crucial data on voting behaviour and attitudes, testing theories of electoral politics and domain knowledge production. The obsession of the Indian media with political forecasting has shifted the focus from psephology to electoral prophecy, but it continues to furnish the best telescopic view of elections based on the feedback of the electorate. The ascertainment of subaltern opinion by surveys not only broadens the contours of understanding electoral democracy, but also provides an empirical alternative to elitist viewpoint of competitive politics in India.

Sustainable water resources planning deals with the interface of water resources science and the needs of human populations. It highlights works that addresses practical methods and basic research in, for example: quantity and quality management of groundwater and surface water resources; sustainability of water resources and water availability; water use and reuse including managed aquifer recharge and storage; geopolitical and socio-economic aspects of water resource management; water development and human activity impacts on ecological systems and human health, including, for instance, agricultural and climatic impacts, subsurface waste storage and injection, geothermal energy development and subsurface energy storage. This book provides up-to-date systematic and scientific analyses of such water problems and suggests sustainable measures to overcome them through effective surface and sub-surface water resource management. It is immensely valuable to students, researchers, water resource managers, hydrologists and all those who are engaged or interested in any aspect of river water conservation and management of water resources.

Cover ; Contents; List of Illustrations ; Foreword ; Preface ; 1 -- Measuring Voting Behaviour and Attitudes ; 2 -- A Historical Overview of Election Studies in India ; 3 -- The Multiple Methods of Measuring Voting Choices ; 4 -- Importance of Scientific Sampling in Election Survey ; 5 -- Questionnaire, an Important Tool for Collecting Information ; 6 -- Fieldwork and Data Collection ; 7 -- Analyzing Data and Reporting Survey Findings ; 8 -- Limitations and Emerging Challenges ; References ; Index ; About the Authors.

The Congress, the grand old party of India, plunged into a political abyss after consecutive defeats in the national elections of 2014 and 2019. It called for a deep remedial overhaul, but it resorted to 'Band-Aid political strategies' for pro-tem gains. It recirculated rootless leaders in various party positions, added digital footprints rather than foot soldiers and launched the ambiguous 'Bharat Jodo Yatras' (walkathons) – shepherded by Rahul Gandhi to reclaim its lost political dominance. It becomes contextual to revisit the deinstitutionalization thesis of Congress party and probe criticalities of personalism-dynasticism in top echelons and generational factionalism-leadership conundrums in states in hastening its endemic decline.

Based on primary and secondary sources, this paper attempts to ascertain the underlying patterns and themes of women's political participation and their levels of inclusion or exclusion from the political process. A balance sheet of gender participation in formal politics reveals that there has been marked increase in voting turnout and election campaigning among women although they still continue to be excluded from legislative bodies at national and state level and deprived from key decision making positions in government and political parties. Field-based research shows 'interest in polities' as the key determinant and one of the best predictors of women's levels of political participation. Among other factors that seem to determine the intensity of women's formal participation in politics, 'media exposure'-proxy for awareness-emerges as important variable. The key areas that need to be addressed for improving political participation of women and inclusion in the political process are affirmative action, better representation in legislative bodies and political parties, particularly in the decision making bodies as well as cabinet berths in government at centre and state level in partnership with civil society.

"Earth resources are the precious assets that provide living space for human beings. In the last few decades, the pressure on earth resources has increased due to anthropogenic activities and rapid industrialization. The sustainable management of earth resources requires reliable, accurate, and timely information at different observational scales. Geo-information technology is an efficient tool for acquiring information required for environmental protection, earth resources monitoring, and addressing the issues associated with sustainable development and management. It offers an influential and capable tool for mapping, monitoring, modeling, and management of earth resources. Many researchers have reported their findings and operational applications of direct relevance to the management of earth resources with the launch of imaging satellites in the 1970s. However, few studies have been reported to understand the core science and research basics, as there are larger issues of capacity building to use geo-information technology in sustainable development and management of earth resources. There is also a fundamental gap between the theoretical concepts and the operational use of these advanced tools. This could be resolved by providing a broad range of applications of this technology to the scientific and research community in the field of geospatial technologies and allied subjects. This book, entitled "Geo-Information Technology in Earth Resources Monitoring and Management," deals with the challenges for sustainable management and development of earth resources with a focus on India and other countries around the world. The chapters are written by prominent academicians, researchers, and experts in the field of geo-information technology and related subjects. This book is a collection of chapters providing a multi-disciplinary overview for academicians, researchers, scientists, administrators, policymakers, social scientists, and professionals involved in the various aspects of earth resources development, planning, and management. The aim of this book is to replenish the gap in the available literature on the subject by bringing together the concepts, theories, and experiences of specialists and professionals in this field"--

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Geophysical Disasters -- Glacial Lake Outflow Hazard and Risk Probability in Sikkim -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Materials and Methods -- 2.1 Site Description -- 2.2 Data -- 2.3 Methodology -- 3 Results and Discussion -- 3.1 Glacial Lake Inventory -- 3.2 Hazardous Glacial Lakes -- 3.3 Temporal Changes of the Vulnerable Lakes -- 3.4 Change Detection of Selected Lakes -- 3.5 Causes for Water Rise in Glacial Lakes -- 3.6 Socio-Economic Impact of Rising Glacial Lakes -- 4 Conclusion -- References -- Earthquake Hazards and Monitoring of Seismo-ionospheric Precursor -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Intensity of Earthquake -- 1.2 The Richter Magnitude Scale -- 1.3 The Mercalli Scale -- 1.4 Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MM-Scale) -- 2 Techniques to Measure Earthquake -- 2.1 Seismograph or Seismometer -- 2.2 Earthquake Preparation Process -- 3 Impending Earthquake Signals -- 3.1 Seismo-ionospheric Precursor -- 4 Results and Discussions -- 4.1 Monitoring of Seismo-ionospheric Precursor Using GPS -- 4.2 Seismo-ionospheric Precursor using VLF -- 5 Summary -- References -- Seismic Hazard Zonation Mapping of Gangtok Block, Sikkim, India -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Materials and Methods -- 2.1 Study Area -- 3 Results and Discussion -- 3.1 Relationship Between Slope and Seismic Activity -- 3.2 Relationship Between Lithology and Seismic Activities -- 3.3 Relationship Between Land-Use/Land-Cover (LU/LC) and Seismic Activity -- 3.4 Relationship Between Soil and Seismic Activity -- 4 Conclusion -- References -- Rockfall Hazard Assessment Using RAMMS for the SE Facing Escarpment of Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh, India -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Geology of Study Area -- 1.2 Geomorphological Study of Rockfall Site at Manikaran -- 2 Materials and Methods -- 2.1 Working of RAMMS: ROCKFALL Module -- 3 Results and Discussions.

- CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD: A Case Study of Laika Dadhiya forest village, Tinsukia, Assam -- Integrated Hydrologic Assessment of Water Management Options for Regulated Wetlands under Conditions of Rainfall Change: A case study of Bhandara District, India -- Measuring Sustainable Development of Cities Using Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technologies: A Review -- Eco-Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development in Mizoram's Mountainous Landscape: Unleashing Potentials for Positive Change -- Micro-credit for micro-entrepreneurs: A study on PM Street Vendor's Loan with special reference to Mizoram State -- Global and Indian Perspectives on Sustainable Development, Remote Sensing, and Climate Change: An Overview -- Status and challenges for Sustainable Rural Livelihood faced by the Small Tea Growers(STG) in the Darjeeling hills, India -- Marginal Uplands in the Philippines: Characteristics, Occurrence, and Management for Improved Crop Production and Environmental Quality -- DYNAMIC TRANSITIONS IN WULAR LAKE'S LANDUSE AND LANDCOVER : ANALYZING THE ROLE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES -- Petrography and major oxide geochemistry of dolerite dykes from Kunnam region Villupuram, Tamilnadu, Southern India -- Analyzing the Driving Factors Causing Urban Sprawl Using Logistic Regression model in Greater Shillong planning area, India -- Slope stability Analysis of road cut slopes using Limit Equilibrium Method in Kumaun Lesser Himalayan Belt -- Assessment of land use/land cover change and forest fragmentation in Kohima district, Nagaland: A mountainous region of northeast India -- Overview of Sustainable Development Goals -- Effectiveness of Drainage Morphmetric Analysis for Water Resource Management in Changing Climate Scenarios -- PFAFSTETTER CODE BASED WATERSHED DELIMITATION, GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, LAND COVER, AND POPULATION DENSITY ANALYSIS FOR MIZORAM THROUGH REMOTE SENSING: AIDING AND/ OR IMPROVISING THE DIGITAL WATERSHED ATLAS OF INDIA -- The Role of Entrepreneurship in Promoting Sustainable Development through the ODOP Programme in Uttar Pradesh -- Effects of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Physical and Chemical Properties of Soil in Tuirini Watershed, Mizoram, NE India -- Natural Disasters in Uttarakhand: Their Root Causes, Effects, and Suggestions -- Leaf to life: An overview of the socio-economic status of tea tribes in Assam.