Contesting Development: Identity, Displacement and ViolenceStudents Seminar organized
By
Department of Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New DelhiIndian freedom movement threw up a wide array of discourses and imaginations of how would an independent India look like. For instance, this diversity was evident in the ideas and actions of Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Jawaharlal Nehru. Deliberations on the idea of equality and social justice were extensively made by the intellectuals and leaders. The post-independent India, after more than half a decade, reveals that the promises of equality and justice are still a far fetched dream. There are symptoms of strong discontent surging everywhere- in form of identitarian mobilizations (dalits, tribal, women, minority groups, etc., are raising voices against injustice meted out to them) as well as modulated forms of class struggles.
The ‘development’ as a concept has been altered, modified or defined and re-defined has raised renewed interest among students to explore and examine the trajectory of the concept as well as its practice. The predominance of the Nehruvian paradigm of development in the post-independent phase and marginalization of other paradigms such as the Gandhian imagination of a free India and now the subtle yet very visible transition from the Nehruvian agenda itself from 1970s onwards has left us with certain pertinent questions about where are we heading in terms of ‘development’ of the nation.
It is being argued that the Indian state no longer stands for its people, rather for a handful of economic interests. The developments over last one and half decades leading to massive displacement have been questioned by many activists. The Indian state has been, however, reiterating that in order to push up the economic growth and provide facilities to its people some sacrifices will have to be made. And the obvious questions which have been asked are what kind of sacrifices and who makes the sacrifice? History has moved beyond the state sponsored ‘development’ to an increasing argument to involve the ‘private sector’ as a stakeholder in development. How would one explain this transition? And what have been its repercussions?
While debates are raising at one level regarding what to consider as the determinant of development- the economic growth, status of human capital or social development- there are other issues as well which have become vital for young social scientists to answer- for instance, how would one understand the increasing trends of communal and gendered violence in the new era of development (’developed’ regions showing declining sex ratio or becoming victims of communitarian violence)? These are only some of many questions that need engagement. Within this scenario, the students of Department of Sociology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi are organizing a students seminar on ‘Contesting Development: Identity, Displacement and Violence’. We invite papers for the seminar from students on the following tentative sub-themes:
Understanding the trajectory of development discourse in India
Theoretical underpinnings of the contemporary development paradigm
Economic growth and communitarian violence
Dalits, Tribal and the contemporary development paradigm
Equality, justice and economic growth- what we have achieved in post independent India
Gendered violence and the development paradigm
Displacement and development- can it be avoided?
The interested students will have to send their papers by
15th January 2010. Also they are requested to send the abstract of their paper by
7th January. The shortlisted students will be intimated and will present their papers in the students’ seminar organized by the Department of Sociology, JMI on
27-28th January, 2010. The best paper to be decided by a Jury will be suitably rewarded. Also the selected papers will be published in a volume. For any further details please contact us at
karvanefikr@gmail.com.Mobile-Mubassir- 9953020387,Ipshita- 9911489505, Khabir- 9990495167,Ramjit- 9350610427
