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CSRD organises a lecture by Prof Dolly Daftary

CSRD organises a lecture by Prof Dolly Daftary

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CSRD organises a lecture by Prof Dolly Daftary
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Centre for the Study of Regional Development,

School of Social Sciences

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

 

Invites you all to a lecture on

Caste, Ecology and Islamicate Practices in Rural Gujarat   

 

 Prof Dolly Daftary **

 

Date :   August 30, 2019 (Friday),

Time: 3:30 pm

Venue: Committee Room, CSRD, SSS III (Ist Floor)

 

 Abstract : In this paper I describe forms of relatedness among cultivator caste Kolis, Adivasis, Dalits and Muslims in rural Gujarat through the prism of Koli and Adivasi lifeworlds, in the ‘laboratory’ of Hindu nationalism in India. While there has been significant academic work on the ascendance of Hindu nationalism in India since the 1990s, the continuity of currents that thrive alongside Hindutva and remain co-present as oppositional potencies appear to be more and more elusive in the face of high decibel Hindu majoritarianism, and are less understood. Based on ethnography in semi-arid western India, I discuss the specific ways in which people are formed, and continue to be formed, in relation to one another in a place; and the multiplicity of autonomous cosmologies and life worlds that exceed the ideational parameters of Brahminical hegemony.

 

** Dolly Daftary teaches at the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development, University of Massachusetts Boston. Dolly Daftary’s research focuses on the impact of social and economic change processes on the denizens of natural resource-dependent communities. She studies the intersection of economic transformation, human and non-human nature, and democratic politics in agrarian environments. Drawing upon interdisciplinary perspectives from political science, anthropology, institutional economics, and geography, she explores how change processes and social relations articulate with one another, with an interest in well-being with specific reference to gender, caste, indigeneity, and religion. Daftary has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork in India’s semi-arid drylands which are inhabited by the largest share of the country’s poor. She is an editorial board member of Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion.

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.