Publications | Humanities & Social Sciences

Publications

Discipline wise list of recent selected publications
Apr
20
2017

Beyond Territorial and Jurisdictional Confines

By Shweta Verma
This collection of articles on borderlands in South Asia is a historical and ethnographic exploration of borders and frontiers in the region. Taking the contemporary ­iteration of South Asian borders as a point of departure, they invite the reader to think beyond the territorial and jurisdictional confines of states, nations and academic disciplines, and to reflect instead on how concepts like mobility, negotiated sovereignty, and affect enable us to disrupt the modern idea of sovereignty as absolute and the state as sole arbiter of borders and frontiers.
Feb
02
2017

Market Liberalism, Marginalised Citizens and Countermovements in India

By Sarbeswar Sahoo

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.

Jan
16
2017

Amma canteens, baby care kits most significant additions to Tamil Nadu welfare schemes: Reetika Khera

By Reetika Khera
Tamil Nadu is mourning the death of J Jayalalithaa who passed away on 5 December. The people called her as "Amma" (mother) because she took care of them - taking forward and expanding the state's long tradition of welfare policies and schemes. In 1956, the erstwhile Madras State became the first Indian state to introduce free and universal mid-day meal system for children in government primary schools under the then CM K Kamaraj of the Congress, decades before the Centre followed suit in 1995.
Jan
16
2017

The Good, Bad And Ugly Of Modi's "Surgical Strike" On Black Money

By Reetika Khera

Black money, by its very nature, is hard to estimate accurately; therefore the gains from demonetization of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes are also difficult to quantify. Thinking about the following ten questions will enable us to have a clearer account of what this will (or not) achieve.

India has more cash (12% of money supply) than other countries (3% in UK and 10% in the US), but it remains a small part of the total.

Jan
16
2017

A Phased Approach Will Make a ‘Basic Income’ Affordable for India

By Reetika Khera
Years ago, in 1991, Philippe Van Parijs made a strong case for universal basic income (UBI) in an article titled ‘Why surfers should be fed‘. More recently, the idea of a UBI has gained currency in India as well. Why the idea is appealing is easy to see: universality does away with the messy job of identifying the poor and when the UBI is in cash (rather than kind), it reduces the administrative burden in an already over-stretched government bureaucracy.
Jan
16
2017

Could the virtual world of Pokémon Go be used to help rich Indians see real struggles of the poor?

By Reetika Khera
I spent the period between January and March reading about the rise of the welfare state in many parts of the world, especially in England, where it was cemented in the 1940s and ’50s. An important thread in my reading was around the evolution of a consensus – fragile and difficult, though it may have been – across conflicting sections of society.

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