- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Hauz Khas, New Delhi, INDIA, 110016
- Globalization, Civil Society and Democracy, Sociology of Religion, Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity, Political Economy of Development, Anthropology of Christianity, and 7 moreSouth Asian Studies, Religious Conversion, Indian Politics, Postcolonial Theory, Pentecostalism, Talal Asad, and Anthropology of Religionedit
Dynamics of conversion and religious change more generally are extremely complex, yet it is crucial for contemporary societies to understand them. This volume contributes to this understanding by focussing on the processes and modalities... more
Dynamics of conversion and religious change more generally are extremely complex, yet it is crucial for contemporary societies to understand them. This volume contributes to this understanding by focussing on the processes and modalities of conversion within, between and across various religious traditions (Hinduism, Islamic reforms, Christianity, indigenous religions) from a multi-disciplinary perspective, including anthropology, sociology, religious studies, history and theology. While the book deals with Indian case studies, the introduction, preface (by Piers Vitebsky) and afterword (by Aparecida Vilaça) also offer a comparative perspective linking the Indian situation to contexts of conversion in other parts of the world. The introduction not only provides an overview of important research on conversion in India, It also intends to advance the General theoretical reflection on conversion, considers analytical tools for further research and discusses the work of important theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu, Joel Robbins and Marshall Sahlins who are not generally referred to in debates on conversion in India.
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This report is the result of collaboration between Wageningen University & Research, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and Lehigh University.
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This book studies the politics of Pentecostal conversion and anti-Christian violence in India. It asks: why has India been experiencing increasing incidents of anti-Christian violence since the 1990s? Why are the Bhil Adivasis... more
This book studies the politics of Pentecostal conversion and anti-Christian violence in India. It asks: why has India been experiencing increasing incidents of anti-Christian violence since the 1990s? Why are the Bhil Adivasis increasingly converting to Pentecostalism? And, what are the implications of conversion for religion within indigenous communities on the one hand and broader issues of secularism, religious freedom and democratic rights on the other? Drawing on extended ethnographic fieldwork amongst the Bhils of Northern India since 2006, this book asserts that ideological incompatibility and antagonism between Christian missionaries and Hindu nationalists provide only a partial explanation for anti-Christian violence in India. It unravels the complex interactions between different actors/ agents in the production of anti-Christian violence and provides detailed ethnographic narratives on Pentecostal conversion, Hindu nationalist politics and anti-Christian violence in the largest state of India that has hitherto been dominated by upper caste Rajput Hindu(tva) ideology.
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Developing a distinctive theoretical framework on civil society, this book examines how Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) contribute towards democratization in India and what conditions facilitate or inhibit their contribution. It... more
Developing a distinctive theoretical framework on civil society, this book examines how Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) contribute towards democratization in India and what conditions facilitate or inhibit their contribution. It assesses three different kinds of politics within civil society – liberal pluralist, neo-Marxist, and communitarian – which have had different implications in relation to democratization.
By making use of in-depth empirical analysis and comparative case studies of three developmental NGOs that work among the tribal communities in the socio-historical context of south Rajasthan, the book shows that civil society is not necessarily a democratizing force, but that it can have contradictory consequences in relation to democratization. It discusses how the democratic effect of civil society is not a result of the "stock of social capital" in the community but is contingent upon the kinds of ideologies and interests that are present or ascendant not just within the institutions of civil society but also within the state.
The book delivers new insights on NGOs, democratization, civil society, the state, political society, tribal politics, politics of Hindu Nationalism, international development aid and grassroots social movements in India. It enables readers to understand better the multifaceted nature of civil society, its relationship with the state, and its implications for development and democratization.
By making use of in-depth empirical analysis and comparative case studies of three developmental NGOs that work among the tribal communities in the socio-historical context of south Rajasthan, the book shows that civil society is not necessarily a democratizing force, but that it can have contradictory consequences in relation to democratization. It discusses how the democratic effect of civil society is not a result of the "stock of social capital" in the community but is contingent upon the kinds of ideologies and interests that are present or ascendant not just within the institutions of civil society but also within the state.
The book delivers new insights on NGOs, democratization, civil society, the state, political society, tribal politics, politics of Hindu Nationalism, international development aid and grassroots social movements in India. It enables readers to understand better the multifaceted nature of civil society, its relationship with the state, and its implications for development and democratization.
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This article focuses on development organizations' construction of representative roles in their work at the environment-development interface and on implications of these constructions for inclusiveness. While much of the past literature... more
This article focuses on development organizations' construction of representative roles in their work at the environment-development interface and on implications of these constructions for inclusiveness. While much of the past literature on representation has dealt with electoral representation, this article highlights the importance of nonelectoral representation. It follows a constructivist approach and is based on 36 in-depth interviews with the staff of different types of India-based development organizations working on disaster risk management. The article shows how development organizations in India contribute to inclusive development by representing groups that are vulnerable to disaster risk in diverse ways. Showing this diversity and how it is mediated by organizations, the article makes clear that representation is much more complex than literature commonly suggests. This
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Existing research on civil society organizations (CSOs) facing restricted civic space largely focuses on the crackdown on freedoms and CSOs’ strategies to handle these restrictions, often emphasizing impact on their more confrontational... more
Existing research on civil society organizations (CSOs) facing restricted civic space largely focuses on the crackdown on freedoms and CSOs’ strategies to handle these restrictions, often emphasizing impact on their more confrontational public roles. However, many CSOs shape their roles through collaborative relations with government. Drawing on interviews with state agencies and CSOs, this article analyes state–CSO collaboration in the restricted civic space context of disaster risk reduction in India. Findings are that the shaping of CSOs’ roles through collaboration under conditions of restricted civic space is only partly defined by the across-the-board restrictive policies that have been the focus of much existing research on restricted civic space and its implications for CSOs. Interplay at the level of individual state agencies and CSOs, based on mutual perceptions, diverse organization-level considerations and actions, and evolving relations, shape who collaborates with whom...
Research Interests: Social Work, Indian studies, Disaster risk management, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Disaster Management, and 9 moreGovernance and Civil Society, NGOs (Anthropology), Civil Society, India, Business and Management, Disaster risk reduction, Voluntas, Public Administration and Policy, and Civil Society Organizations
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The paper addresses two basic questions in the globalization literature: (1) is globalization a threat or an opportunity? And (2) how far does market deepening actually encourage genuine substantive democracy in the world? Many scholars... more
The paper addresses two basic questions in the globalization literature: (1) is globalization a threat or an opportunity? And (2) how far does market deepening actually encourage genuine substantive democracy in the world? Many scholars have argued that globalization has resulted in increasing inequality and marginalization of the poor, which is not conducive for democracy. Drawing on the case of India, this paper, however, argues that the rolling back of the welfare state and the demise of developmentalism led to the mobilization of the masses against the elitist and exploitative agenda of globalization. As a result, a counter-hegemonic vibrant civil society has emerged, which challenges the hegemony of the elites and channels the empowerment agenda of the subaltern groups. This new politics of the subaltern is grounded on the idea of social justice and citizenship rights, which is redefining the nature of the Indian state and democracy.
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A commonly explored theme in international civil society organisation (CSO) collaborations is the dominance of Northern CSOs and how this impinges on Southern CSOs' autonomy, but there is little work on the relative importance of... more
A commonly explored theme in international civil society organisation (CSO) collaborations is the dominance of Northern CSOs and how this impinges on Southern CSOs' autonomy, but there is little work on the relative importance of different collaborations for Southern CSOs. This study examined complementarity as a new approach to understanding CSO collaboration. Seeking Southern perspectives, we examined the case of CSOs working on disaster risk reduction in India and developed a typology of complementarities in this domain. The article considers the implications for understanding complemen-tarity in broader CSO collaborations. We find that constructing collaborations through the lens of complementarity may facilitate capitalising on diversity among CSOs and help build collaborations that consider the domestic orientation of many Southern CSOs and reshape the roles of Northern CSOs as complementary rather than leading.
Research Interests: Social Work, Development Studies, Disaster risk management, Collaboration, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and 14 moreDisaster Management, Governance and Civil Society, Global South, Civil Society, India, Disasters, Business and Management, International Development Cooperation, CSO partnerships, Voluntas, Public Administration and Policy, Civil Society Organizations, INGOs, and Cross Sectoral Collaboration
Against the international backdrop of rising religious tensions, this article explores contemporary civil society views on religious freedom in Bangladesh. It uses critical frame analysis of the corpus of civil society organizations’... more
Against the international backdrop of rising religious tensions, this article explores contemporary civil society views on religious freedom in Bangladesh. It uses critical frame analysis of the corpus of civil society organizations’ (CSOs) submissions to the United Nations’ third cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR), 2013–18. It provides a timely assessment of Bangladesh’s fulfilment of international obligations on religious freedom, and shows how the politicization of religion and the resultant conflict between ‘secularism’ and ‘extremism’ have been fuelling inter-communal tensions and religious intolerance. In particular, CSOs’ UPR submissions present powerful accounts of the principal human rights pathology affecting the country today, religious-based violence. This is accompanied by a narrative of police malpractice, judicial failings, discrimination, oppression and incitement. A further key finding is ‘situated knowledge’ or first-hand accounts of legal restrictions and government repression of civil society organizations. Consonant with the classical work of liberal theorists, we argue that unprecedented importance now attaches to safeguarding civil society criticality in order to defend religious freedom and uphold human rights in the Republic.
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A commonly explored theme in international civil society organisation (CSO) collaborations is the dominance of Northern CSOs and how this impinges on Southern CSOs' autonomy, but there is little work on the relative importance of... more
A commonly explored theme in international civil society organisation (CSO) collaborations is the dominance of Northern CSOs and how this impinges on Southern CSOs' autonomy, but there is little work on the relative importance of different collaborations for Southern CSOs. This study examined complementarity as a new approach to understanding CSO collaboration. Seeking Southern perspectives, we examined the case of CSOs working on disaster risk reduction in India and developed a typology of complementarities in this domain. The article considers the implications for understanding complemen-tarity in broader CSO collaborations. We find that constructing collaborations through the lens of complementarity may facilitate capitalising on diversity among CSOs and help build collaborations that consider the domestic orientation of many Southern CSOs and reshape the roles of Northern CSOs as complementary rather than leading.
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This paper critically examines Nathaniel Roberts' book, To be Cared For. It argues that by discussing the "unique moral problems and cultural contradictions" that surround the everyday life-world of low caste Dalit Pentecostals in a slum... more
This paper critically examines Nathaniel Roberts' book, To be Cared For. It argues that by discussing the "unique moral problems and cultural contradictions" that surround the everyday life-world of low caste Dalit Pentecostals in a slum in Chennai, Roberts provides a rich ethnography of caste, Christianity and care in India. In particular, the book makes several contributions: first, it provides a nuanced, contextual understanding of the "pluralities" of Indian Christianities; second, contrary to Gandhian view of "religion as spirituality", it shows (by questioning the hierarchy of the religious world) how materiality or worldly benefits occupy a central role in the life-world of believers; third, it discusses "pastoral innovation" and shows how Pentecostal pastors are constantly innovating new ways of interpreting and reinterpreting doctrines to address the everyday social problems and anxieties of believers, and also how pastoral innovation needs to be understood in the context of pastoral competition and rivalry; and finally, it discusses a notion of belonging that goes beyond territoriality and religious affiliation and shows how "relationality", shared values, and real/imagined connections are essential to belonging. Discussing these four aspects, what the paper shows is, how through careful observation and in-depth ethnographic narratives of everyday religiosity and morality of the slum dwellers, Roberts makes an important contribution to the anthropology of Christianity in India.
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Based on team research, we identified five ways in which CSOs and donors can advance Southern leadership in civil society advocacy collaborations. First policy brief from the Civil Society Research Collective!
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This article discusses the neo-liberal economic reforms of 1991 and its consequences for Indian society.
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The business of matchmaking, performed in open-market matrimonial negotiations, has not just helped brides and grooms find their ‘perfect match’, ‘soulmate’, ‘right person’, ‘life partner’, ‘true happiness’, and so on, they have also... more
The business of matchmaking, performed in open-market matrimonial negotiations, has not just helped brides and grooms find their ‘perfect match’, ‘soulmate’, ‘right person’, ‘life partner’, ‘true happiness’, and so on, they have also helped strengthen the ‘community’ through what Dumont called ‘endo-recruiting’. The modernity of matrimonials has reinvented the traditional marriage system, combined the best of both love and arranged marriage, and provided ‘individual’ as well as ‘social’ compatibility to candidates and their families.
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How has neo-liberalism transformed the economic structure and policies of India? And what are the politico-economic implications of such policies for marginalised populations? Following Karl Polanyi’s theory of “double movement”, this... more
How has neo-liberalism transformed the economic structure and policies of India? And what are the politico-economic implications of such policies for marginalised populations? Following Karl Polanyi’s theory of “double movement”, this paper argues that while market liberalism has helped India overcome the slow so-called “Hindu rate of growth”, it has adversely affected the economic interests of the poor. It further argues that the expansion of the market (first movement) has led to various social dislocations in the lives of the poor. Such dislocations have generated several countermovements (second movement), which have found expressions not just in electoral politics but also in various grassroots movements. While it may be true that such countermovements have not always been successful in overturning the tide of neo-liberalism, they have certainly influenced the policy priorities of the state in favour of the poor and the marginalised in India.
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Hans Joas, a German sociologist and social theorist, is Permanent Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, where he also... more
Hans Joas, a German sociologist and social theorist, is Permanent Fellow at the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, where he also belongs to the influential interdisciplinary Committee on Social Thought. In conversation with Dr. Sarbeswar Sahoo, Joas explains how he got into the discipline of Sociology and what has motivated him all these years. This interview provides important insights into Joas's personal as well as academic life. Sahoo asks him about his early education, his Catholic working class background, his motivation for studying sociology, and his work on Historical Sociology and Sociological Theory, particularly on George Herbert Mead and American Pragmatism. Joas today is one of the most influential social theorists in Germany and has written extensively on Sociological Theory, Communitarianism and Pragmatism, Creativity of Action, Religion and Secularism, and War and Modernity. In addition to explaining his work, this Interview Joas also explains the state of German Sociology in current context.
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This paper examines the role of non-government organisations (NGOs) and the implications for democratisation in India. By analysing one such organisation, this paper argues that NGOs do not always contribute positively to the... more
This paper examines the role of non-government organisations (NGOs) and the implications for democratisation in India. By analysing one such organisation, this paper argues that NGOs do not always contribute positively to the democratisation process. It shows how Seva Mandir, an NGO working in the tribal areas of Rajasthan, has adopted a purely technocratic and apolitical service delivery approach and promoted a neo-liberal model of development. The unintended consequence of promoting this model has been the growth of a culture of ‘organised dependency’ at the grass-roots level, which has adversely affected the larger objectives of empowerment and democratisation.
Globalisation has had far-reaching implications for the dynamics of liberal democracy and governance in India. With the opening of the Indian economy in the 1990s, global market forces and private sector organisations have played an... more
Globalisation has had far-reaching implications for the dynamics of liberal democracy and governance in India. With the opening of the Indian economy in the 1990s, global market forces and private sector organisations have played an increasingly significant role in the political life of the nation. Given this background, several central questions are addressed. How has globalisation affected the way that state and civil society relations in India are constituted? In particular, what are its political implications for the poor who had previously relied on the services provided by the post-colonial state that carried out significant welfare-orientated functions? The paper argues that the contradictions of globalisation have transformed the dependent identity of the poor and marginalised toward a greater propensity for collective mobilisation. While the longer-term outcomes of such mobilisation remains unclear, the hegemonic position of entrenched elites is more clearly being challenged by the emergence of new agendas of inclusion, welfare rights and social justice appearing under conditions of neo-liberal globalisation.
This article assesses whether civil society promotes democratization, as has been argued implicitly or explicitly in the political discourse, following the publication of Putnam's Making Democracy Work. The theorists of “third-wave”... more
This article assesses whether civil society promotes democratization, as has been argued implicitly or explicitly in the political discourse, following the publication of Putnam's Making Democracy Work. The theorists of “third-wave” transitology have advocated civil society as the indispensable instrument for the survival and sustenance of democracy. This article, however, argues that civil society is not necessarily a democratic force. It may or may not have positive implications in regard to democratization and the functioning of democracy. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the tribal-dominated south Rajasthan, this article analyses the case of Rajasthan Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad (RVKP), a Hindu(tva)-oriented non-governmental organization (NGO), to demonstrate how civil society could also be anti-democratic. It shows that by utilizing development as a medium of entry, the RVKP has not only successfully presented itself as a counter-force against the “threatening others”, such as Muslims and Christians but also mobilized electoral support for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In return, the BJP-led state government has provided economic, political and legal support to the RVKP and facilitated the Hindutva politics at the grassroots level. The article concludes that in the context of Rajasthan, a conservative state has collaborated with an exclusivist civil society organization – the consequence of which has not just been the spread of violence and demonization of religious minorities but also a serious undermining of cultural pluralism and democratic values of Indian society.
... rejected foreign funding as part of the project of western imperialism, which it thought would lead to the cultural subordination of the ... the five years of BJP rule successfully implemented the hate politics of Hindutva that... more
... rejected foreign funding as part of the project of western imperialism, which it thought would lead to the cultural subordination of the ... the five years of BJP rule successfully implemented the hate politics of Hindutva that eventually resulted in what Radhika Desai (2004:49 ...
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In South Asia, it must be stressed that civil society is inherently pluralistic in nature; it includes both civil and uncivil elements within its domain, which may contribute either positively or negatively toward economic development,... more
In South Asia, it must be stressed that civil society is inherently pluralistic in nature; it includes both civil and uncivil elements within its domain, which may contribute either positively or negatively toward economic development, democracy, and political change.
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This chapter argues that the politics of civil society could be multifaceted and may have different implications for democratisation. Comparing the works of three different civil society organisations, the chapter concludes that in order... more
This chapter argues that the politics of civil society could be multifaceted and may have different implications for democratisation. Comparing the works of three different civil society organisations, the chapter concludes that in order to have a deeper understanding of civil society, emphasis should not just be on the nature of the organisations; several other factors (such as ideologies and approaches - politicised or not - as well as CSOs relationship with the state) also need to be taken into account.
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The strong endorsement of neo-liberal policies by successive Indian governments has severely affected the education sector. Not just the funding cut but also growing privatization has significantly affected the quality of and access to... more
The strong endorsement of neo-liberal policies by successive Indian governments has severely affected the education sector. Not just the funding cut but also growing privatization has significantly affected the quality of and access to education. The logic of the competitive market and one’s ability to pay determines the access to education; education is increasingly treated as a commodity rather than a social good.
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Why has India remained economically underdeveloped and politically ungovernable? This chapter argues that it is not the form of regime, but the form and nature of governance that matters for the economic and human development of a... more
Why has India remained economically underdeveloped and politically ungovernable? This chapter argues that it is not the form of regime, but the form and nature of governance that matters for the economic and human development of a particular country. A country is poor not because of the kind of regime it has, but because of the kind of governance its governments/state, markets, and civil societies implement and practise.
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This entry discusses the transformation of caste in the Indian context. The entry starts with a discussion of the Indological and anthropological accounts of caste and then examines whether “caste” is essentially unique to Hinduism.... more
This entry discusses the transformation of caste in the Indian context. The entry starts with a discussion of the Indological and anthropological accounts of caste and then examines whether “caste” is essentially unique to Hinduism. Furthermore, the entry discusses the possibility of mobility within the ritual hierarchy of caste. In the final section, the entry shows how caste, once described by the Christian missionaries and the colonial state as an irrational traditional institution, has transformed into a modern entity and become a vital instrument of democratic mobilization in contemporary India.
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Despite the long history of democratic transition, democracy in India has not been successful in including the excluded. A majority of the marginal populations are still confined to the vernacular arena and are deprived of their... more
Despite the long history of democratic transition, democracy in India has not been successful in including the excluded. A majority of the marginal populations are still confined to the vernacular arena and are deprived of their citizenship rights. It is, however, observed that since the 1980s, the vernacular publics have increasingly been asserting themselves in electoral politics. They tend to participate in voting more than the middle classes and the rich. This paper, however, examines the participation of the vernacular publics not in the sphere of electoral politics and political parties but in civil society. It argues that the vernacular publics have utilized the civil society arena as a medium to challenge the imposed hegemony of the elites as well as to engage with the state institutions to influence development policies. Such active participation of the vernacular publics in the civil society arena has transformed not only the nature of state-society relationship but also the nature of democracy and development in India.
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Sitharaman and Chakrabarti belong to a small group of sociologists who have contributed significantly in understanding the complex and dynamic relationship between religion and secularism in India. In their new edited volume Religion and... more
Sitharaman and Chakrabarti belong to a small group of sociologists who
have contributed significantly in understanding the complex and dynamic relationship between religion and secularism in India. In their new edited volume Religion and Secularities, which grew out of a seminar at IIT Kanpur, Sitharaman and Chakrabarti examine the multiple facets of Islam in the diverse socio-historical context of India.
have contributed significantly in understanding the complex and dynamic relationship between religion and secularism in India. In their new edited volume Religion and Secularities, which grew out of a seminar at IIT Kanpur, Sitharaman and Chakrabarti examine the multiple facets of Islam in the diverse socio-historical context of India.
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The book asks: what role does Nigerian Pentecostalism play in development, and how does it affect the way Nigerians understand and engage with development activities? Following an interpretivist approach and drawing on a large number of... more
The book asks: what role does Nigerian Pentecostalism play in development,
and how does it affect the way Nigerians understand and engage with development activities? Following an interpretivist approach and drawing on a large number of semi-structured interviews supplemented by participant observations, a questionnaire survey and a collection of media products, Burgess argues that not all Pentecostals contribute constructively towards the nation-building process. For him, an emerging section of Nigerian Pentecostal groups has contributed actively towards human development and national transformation, and this shift in orientation has occurred largely because of “a variety of theological, sociological, and contextual factors” (p. 2). Thus, by emphasizing the “heterogeneity” (p. 13) of factors and approaches, Burgess discusses the contributions of Pentecostalism towards Nigeria’s holistic development and governance process.
and how does it affect the way Nigerians understand and engage with development activities? Following an interpretivist approach and drawing on a large number of semi-structured interviews supplemented by participant observations, a questionnaire survey and a collection of media products, Burgess argues that not all Pentecostals contribute constructively towards the nation-building process. For him, an emerging section of Nigerian Pentecostal groups has contributed actively towards human development and national transformation, and this shift in orientation has occurred largely because of “a variety of theological, sociological, and contextual factors” (p. 2). Thus, by emphasizing the “heterogeneity” (p. 13) of factors and approaches, Burgess discusses the contributions of Pentecostalism towards Nigeria’s holistic development and governance process.
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In this book, Jenkins presents historical and contemporary narratives and case studies of mass conversion movements to Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism in India during the 1930s, the 1950s, and the present.
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Nandini Deo’s Mobilizing Religion and Gender in India examines the complex and contingent relation- ship between religion, gender and social movements in India and discusses the role of activism in democratic governance.
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Anindita Chakrabarti’s Faith and Social Movements examines the complex and intricate interrelationship between religion, civil society and the state in contemporary Indian society and discusses the place of religion in a secular... more
Anindita Chakrabarti’s Faith and Social Movements examines the complex and intricate interrelationship between religion, civil society and the state in contemporary Indian society and discusses the place of religion in a secular democratic context.
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Joanne Waghorne's Diaspora of the Gods is an important contribution that seeks to explain the resurgence of religion in the social life ofpeople, especially the mushrooming of Hindu temples in this hyper-modem and globalised world.
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'Evangelising the Nation' is an attempt to understand the role of the colonial/postcolonial state and the evangelical church in shaping the Naga
nationalist political movement in northeast India.
nationalist political movement in northeast India.
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The book provides innovative empirical and theoretical insights on the relationship between secularism, religion and the state.
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Anastasia Piliavsky’s Patronage as Politics in South Asia, which grew out of a colloquium held in 2011 at Kings College, Cambridge, investigates the nature and importance of patronage in the socio-historical context of South Asia.
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David Mosse’s The Saint in the Banyan Tree is a product of more than three decades research in south India. The book examines Christianity’s encounter with caste society and the way it has negotiated with Tamil ‘culture’ for its... more
David Mosse’s The Saint in the Banyan Tree is a product of more than three decades research in south India. The book examines Christianity’s encounter with caste society and the way it has negotiated with Tamil ‘culture’ for its localization. The central questions in this book are: What are the processes through which Christianity has become localised? How has it affected the institutional structures and practices of caste in local society and what implications have these had for politics of secularism and democratic rights in India?
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Rethinking secularism is an attempt to understand the complex and dynamic relationships between the secular and the religious in contemporary world. The central questions in this book are: are these categories constant and fixed or are... more
Rethinking secularism is an attempt to understand the complex and dynamic relationships between the secular and the religious in contemporary world. The central questions in this
book are: are these categories constant and fixed or are they contingent upon the socio-historical context of a specific society? And, how do the religious and the secular interact with
politics, state and democracy? Addressing these questions, this book brings together 13 essays by eminent scholars from a range of disciplines.
book are: are these categories constant and fixed or are they contingent upon the socio-historical context of a specific society? And, how do the religious and the secular interact with
politics, state and democracy? Addressing these questions, this book brings together 13 essays by eminent scholars from a range of disciplines.
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This book, a part of a six-year research project on electoral integrity, “is the first of a planned trilogy on the challenges of electoral integrity around the world, including why it matters, why electoral integrity fails and what can... more
This book, a part of a six-year research project on electoral integrity, “is the first of a planned trilogy on the challenges of electoral integrity around the world, including why it matters,
why electoral integrity fails and what can be done to address these problems”.
why electoral integrity fails and what can be done to address these problems”.
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Speech at the Herrenhausen Conference "Re-Thinking Social Inequality", 14.05.2014. Sarbeswar Sahoo was 1 of 45 young researchers who were invited by the Volkswagen Foundation to participate at the conference. In his talk he explains... more
Speech at the Herrenhausen Conference "Re-Thinking Social Inequality", 14.05.2014.
Sarbeswar Sahoo was 1 of 45 young researchers who were invited by the Volkswagen Foundation to participate at the conference. In his talk he explains how the failure of the economic reforms to benefit the poor has given rise to several counter-movements: Reactionary, reformist, welfarist and political movements all try to make the poor benefit from India's growth.
Photo: Mathias Schumacher
ScienceUncut - Science Podcast by Volkswagen Foundation
Category: Science & Technology
License: Standard YouTube License
Sarbeswar Sahoo was 1 of 45 young researchers who were invited by the Volkswagen Foundation to participate at the conference. In his talk he explains how the failure of the economic reforms to benefit the poor has given rise to several counter-movements: Reactionary, reformist, welfarist and political movements all try to make the poor benefit from India's growth.
Photo: Mathias Schumacher
ScienceUncut - Science Podcast by Volkswagen Foundation
Category: Science & Technology
License: Standard YouTube License