Suchergebnisse

While laying ethnographic focus on the Gorakhnath Math complex located in the North Indian city of Gorakhpur, this article examines the central role that this institution has come to play over the decades in determining the relationships between political and cultural processes in the region. Detailing the event of the Khichdi Mela as observed in the Hindu month of Magha every year, the article looks at the activities of the participating devotees and at the strategic role played by the Mahant of the shrine, Yogi Adityanath, in the organisation of this event. It is argued that Yogi Adityanath's presence inside the Math, on one of the most sacred days of the Hindu calendar, and its meaning shared by devotees, is very complex and multilayered. The sacredness involved in offering Khichdi on this day is not limited to mere symbolism. In addition, religion as a resource for power is reinforced by shared meanings and collective sentiments.

Mukul Dube, India Since 2002: Articles Published in Mainstream, New Delhi, AlterNotes Press, 2015, 198 pp., ₹380, ISBN: 978-81-908923-6-0. Yogesh Atal and Sunil K. Choudhary, Right Turn in Indian Polity—Modi on BJP's Chariot, New Delhi, Har-Anand Publication, 2015, 248 pp., ₹695, ISBN: 978-81-241-1888-7.

India's development cooperation efforts began soon after the country gained its Independence in 1947. Indeed, there are some incidences that date back to even pre-Independence days. India is a strong believer of the fact that developing coun- tries should not be entirely dependent upon assistance from the developed world; they must pool their own resources and capabilities to help each other. This article examines the larger framework of Indian external assistance through the concept of 'development compact'. The new development compact is between actors of the South, rather than the North–South exchange that characterized earlier arrangements; it is no longer about the imposition of conditionalities for recipient countries but more on the principles that govern South–South Cooperation (SSC) such as mutual gain, non-interference, collective growth opportunities and indeed an absence of conditionalities. The modern concept of a development compact provides for development assistance that works at five different levels, namely trade and investment, technology, skills upgrade, lines of credit (LOC) and, finally, grants. The engagement of emerging economies with other Southern countries has provided a major pull factor for a wider engagement across these five elements, which emphasizes the comprehensive support for economic development. These factors are discussed in this article to provide an analytical taxonomy with some illustrative evidence from the Indian experience.