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A POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF URBAN PONDSCAPES – THE CASE OF BARDHAMAN (WEST BENGAL) AND NAVSARI (GUJARAT)

A POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF URBAN PONDSCAPES – THE CASE OF BARDHAMAN (WEST BENGAL) AND NAVSARI (GUJARAT)

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Event Title
A POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF URBAN PONDSCAPES – THE CASE OF BARDHAMAN (WEST BENGAL) AND NAVSARI (GUJARAT)
Event Details
<strong>Centre for the Study of Regional Development (CSRD) School of Social Sciences</strong> a presentation on <strong>A POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF URBAN PONDSCAPES – THE CASE OF BARDHAMAN (WEST BENGAL) AND NAVSARI (GUJARAT)</strong> by <strong>Natasha Cornea, Dr. Anna Zimmer and Prof René Véron </strong> of the Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne, Switzerland This presentation is based on findings from the three year project on "Small cities, urban environments, and governance in India" carried out by the research team in West Bengal and Gujarat. In particular, the presentation will seek to introduce the concept of the pondscape, drawing on earlier work on the waterscape and the riverscape. Two case studies are presented: one on Bardhaman (West Bengal) and one on Navsari (Gujarat). Using the theoretical framework of Urban Political Ecology (UPE), the pondscape is understood as a landscape of power. To analyse this landscape, the research explores everyday governance of accessing ponds, the transformation of the pondscape in recent time and the environmental imaginaries attached to it. While important differences exist between both states in terms of the way ponds are embedded culturally and socially, ponds in both sites represent a crucial urban space and resource that is the focus of a variety of productive, reproductive and spiritual practices. Analysing their entanglement in an urban political ecology allows to contribute to the concept of the waterscape in its fragmented diversity and complexity as well as to push further debate within UPE on a situated UPE and the meaning of the 'urban'. Date: <strong>23rd November, 2015</strong>

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.