This volume foregrounds some of the unknown or lesser-known incidents of xenophobia and genocide from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Rwanda. A comprehensive and transdisciplinary text, the book will be useful for students and researchers of human geography, sociology
This volume explores the rich pre-history, history, and oral history of the northeast region of India--a land-locked region that is home to over 350 ethnolinguistic communities. Despite its uniqueness and diversity, little is known to the outside world. The book studies the vibrant and diverse socio-political and cultural history of this region through a transdisciplinary perspective, covering a wide range of topics such as the pre-history, medieval and colonial histories of Assam, the geopolitics of the creation of independent states from undivided Assam, oral narratives from Manipur, prehistoric cultures of Meghalaya, the Naga National Movement, Sikkim's Namgyal dynasty, and Tripura's transition from monarchy to democracy. It also discusses the invaluable contributions made by Professor Mohammad Taher (1931-2015), who laid the foundation of geography in Northeast India. A compelling exploration of this geo-politically contested space, this volume will be of interest to students and researchers of anthropology, archaeology, history, human geography, South Asian studies, and minority studies.
Since the year 2000, 25 November has been observed as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to make the public aware of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Human Trafficking is one of the most brutal forms of VAWG. This brief communication in the form of an editorial discusses the despicable issues linked to human trafficking, calling for action research.
This article is dedicated to doing a detailed review of the aforementioned book entitled Life Under Lockdown: Lived Experiences and Lessons Learnt by Professor Sanjai Bhatt, Department of Social Work, University of Delhi,3, University Road, Delhi 110007, India; Immediate Past President, National Association of Professional Social Workers in India; Immediate Past President,(South Asia), International Council on Social Welfare, Alliance Ambassador, GSSWA.
In the middle of September 2021, a female candidate wearing 'shorts' (the so-called 'half pant'), hailing from Biswanath Chariali, went to Tezpur to appear at an entrance test of Assam Agricultural University (AAU) at Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (GIPS), one of the agencies of AAU. While the gatekeeper of GIPS gave her access, the invigilator on duty at the examination hall raised eyebrows on her 'dress code' but allowed her to sit in the examination, coercing her to drape a curtain to cover her legs. Doing so, the invigilator not only trespassed into her personal space— her body; humiliated her by lowering her dignity. This perspective is an attempt to revisit the debate of the dress code of Indian women, which refuses to die even in 21st Century India.
This brief communication in the form of the editorial attempts to draw out the parallels between two grisly incidents in two parts of the world. However, the vertiginous ferocity of the incidents jostled outrage across the nations— Sarah Everard's kidnap and murder on 03 March 2021 and barbarity on Nirbhaya through gang-rape and subsequent murder in December 2012. Both the cases unveil an underlying culture of misogyny. The question remains how do we tackle misogyny. Perhaps, deployment of Ubuntu through community engagement is a way forward to magnify respect for women via-à-vis respect for humanity.
Postcolonial India is a complex and paradoxical mix of sociocultural practices and modernity. This tension is especially apparent and holds particular significance, with respect to women's changing roles. Driving this research is a concern to probe the position of women, pursuing higher education, as daughters/daughter(s)-in-law and wife within the family. The article focuses on the specific case of Assam, located in the northeastern region of India and, within it, a sub-population of young, middle-class Assamese women. The research considers the notions of Pierre Bourdieu's 'symbolic violence' and 'misrecognition' as well as feminist literature to examine how unequal gender relations in Assamese society are reproduced and sustained. It draws upon in-depth interviews conducted with a sample of students pursuing higher education in five different educational institutions of Assam. The narrative analysis reveals the conflicting but often-contradictory process of women's changing roles, particularly of those women who are married and play simultaneously the roles of daughter(s)-in-law and wives. The findings demonstrate that the subtle process of socialisation (and cultural values) that stem from patriarchal power relations are so deeply entrenched within the Assamese society that these highly educated middle-class women continue to be subjected to symbolic power maintained by misrecognition.
The sociologies of India's missing children merit spatial and contextual examination. The sociological space into which a child goes missing is highly under‐researched in India. Building on overarching narratives emerging from secondary sources and existing literature on Indian children's vulnerability and precarity, the article aims to evaluate the landscape of missing children. The analyses suggest that a number of interconnected sociologies contribute to the phenomenon of missing children – these children are mainly from the poorer backgrounds, who are kidnapped, trafficked, or lured largely for social, commercial, and sexual exploitation. This research was conducted to gain a deeper understanding into the problem of missing children in order to address the gaps that require intervention.
Chaired by honourable Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Damodar Modi, the Union Cabinet on 24 August 2016 introduced and approved the draft bill on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) in India, known popularly as the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016. The bill aims at regulating the ever-proliferating unregulated surrogacy industry interalia banning commercial surrogacy services for single parents, homosexuals, cohabiting partners in addition to foreigners and overseas citizens of India. The key aim of this commentary is to make a nuanced examination of the draft bill aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the practice of surrogacy and address gaps (if any) that require interventions.