Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Kerala has a long-standing history of Christianity as well as conversions. Conversions can be dated back to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which saw a large number of slave caste conversions. For the slave castes of Kerala—Pulayas and Parayas—Christianity offered a salvation from the circle of pollution. Scriptures provided the slave castes new vistas of knowledge which they encultured to form a counter discourse against the public sphere set up by the dominant castes. The public sphere of the Malayalee psyche was formed by the ideas of caste pollution, which restricted the slave castes from accessing the social space. A new Dalit perspective on the religious consciousness of the converted Christians will show the role of the Bible, Original Sin, and Repentance on their daily lives. Dalit Christian literature becomes the primary source where Christianity metamorphoses into an oppositional force in resisting oppression as well as in creating a social space with agency.
Anand Teltumbde on Globalization and Ambedkar: A Left Perspective
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
The left leaning or the Marxian school deals with the social, economic and political ideology or a movement, which aims at establishing a communist stateless society. According to the left-leaning thinkers, the proletarian rule will exist for some point of time, after which the state will wither away. In this case, understanding Ambedkar from a left perspective would be a new paradigm. Anand Teltumbde on one side says that Ambedkar was not a Marxist and that he was under the intellectual influence of his teachers, who were known as the Fabian socialists, and on the other side says that he practiced the class politics.
The left leaning or the Marxian school deals with the social, economic and political ideology or a movement, which aims at establishing a communist stateless society. According to the left-leaning thinkers, the proletarian rule will exist for some point of time, after which the state will wither away. In this case, understanding Ambedkar from a left perspective would be a new paradigm. Anand Teltumbde on one side says that Ambedkar was not a Marxist and that he was under the intellectual influence of his teachers, who were known as the Fabian socialists, and on the other side says that he practiced the class politics.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’s Image and Thought as Perceived in Thailand From 1975 to 2017
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination against untouchables (Dalits) while supporting the rights of women and labourers. This article examines how Ambedkar is characterized in Thai language academic and general writings published between 1975 and 2017. The paper is based on textual analysis that interprets the books and articles on Ambedkar in Thai language as primary sources for understanding his image and thought as portrayed in Thailand.Ambedkar’s forward-thinking ideas on democracy impressed Thai writers because Ambedkar attempted to dispense with the caste system and promote liberty, equality and fraternity among underprivileged communities in India. Ambedkar also served as chairman of drafting committee of Constitution and leader of the Dalit movement and community. Furthermore, Thai writers see Ambedkar’s ideas about Buddhism as qualifying him as a messiah or bodhisattva who revived a neo-Buddhist movement in India. Thai monks have served as significant intermediaries in narrating Ambedkar’s interpretation of Buddhism to the Thai Buddhist community because they have direct experience such as studying and staying in India. Academics and famous writers have also conveyed Ambedkar’s ideas about Buddhism and democracy, which qualify him as a modernist and maha manav [great man].
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination against untouchables (Dalits) while supporting the rights of women and labourers. This article examines how Ambedkar is characterized in Thai language academic and general writings published between 1975 and 2017. The paper is based on textual analysis that interprets the books and articles on Ambedkar in Thai language as primary sources for understanding his image and thought as portrayed in Thailand.Ambedkar’s forward-thinking ideas on democracy impressed Thai writers because Ambedkar attempted to dispense with the caste system and promote liberty, equality and fraternity among underprivileged communities in India. Ambedkar also served as chairman of drafting committee of Constitution and leader of the Dalit movement and community. Furthermore, Thai writers see Ambedkar’s ideas about Buddhism as qualifying him as a messiah or bodhisattva who revived a neo-Buddhist movement in India. Thai monks have served as significant intermediaries in narrating Ambedkar’s interpretation of Buddhism to the Thai Buddhist community because they have direct experience such as studying and staying in India. Academics and famous writers have also conveyed Ambedkar’s ideas about Buddhism and democracy, which qualify him as a modernist and maha manav [great man].
Beyond belief: secularism, religion and our muddled modernity
.
‘No Means No’: People’s Protest Against Hydroelectric Development in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, India
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Development projects, primarily hydroelectric power projects, are considered viable renewable energy sources and contribute to sustaining the economy at large. However, it has been contested over excessive exploitation and appropriation of environment and ecology. Such development models have been challenged worldwide for threatening human survival degrading ecology and the environment. Hydroelectric development in the geographically fragile regions of the Himalayas is on the rise owing to the great potential of hydro energy in the region. This article examines the public protest against the hydroelectric project, the Jangi-Thopan-Powari Hydro Electric project, in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
Development projects, primarily hydroelectric power projects, are considered viable renewable energy sources and contribute to sustaining the economy at large. However, it has been contested over excessive exploitation and appropriation of environment and ecology. Such development models have been challenged worldwide for threatening human survival degrading ecology and the environment. Hydroelectric development in the geographically fragile regions of the Himalayas is on the rise owing to the great potential of hydro energy in the region. This article examines the public protest against the hydroelectric project, the Jangi-Thopan-Powari Hydro Electric project, in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
Administrative delegation revisited: Experimental evidence on the behavioural consequences of public service motivation and risk aversion
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Volume 89, Issue 3, Page 613-631, September 2023.
Getting a grip on issues of administrative delegation is key to the performance of public organizations. The oversight game models delegation as a conflict of interest between an inspector and an inspectee to act in the interests of the former. This study tests alternative solutions to overcome ‘shirking’ in the oversight game. Specifically, we test the effect of external incentives, as implied by the game-theoretical solution, against the role of intrinsic factors, namely, public service motivation and job-related risk aversion. Evidence from a laboratory (N = 208) and survey experiment (N = 794) show that both the game-theoretical approach, which inspired new public management, and public service motivation, as its antithesis, fail to explain subjects’ behaviour. Instead, job-related risk aversion makes oversight more and ‘shirking’ less likely. This finding hints towards a more differentiated view of public employees’ risk attitudes to improve administrative delegation.Points for practitionersThe promise of new public management that oversight issues in administrative delegation disappear with setting appropriate extrinsic incentives is too simplistic. Public service motivation, on the other hand, which started as an antithesis of the self-interested bureaucrat, also fails to solve the issue of ‘shirking’ in administrative delegation. Instead, job-related risk aversion appears to improve administrative delegation, which presents a remarkable counterpoint to the popular opinion in public management that risk aversion is problematic for public organizations’ performance. Rather than avoid selecting risk-averse public employees generally, more attention might be paid to the domains of administrative decision-making in which such traits can be beneficial.
Getting a grip on issues of administrative delegation is key to the performance of public organizations. The oversight game models delegation as a conflict of interest between an inspector and an inspectee to act in the interests of the former. This study tests alternative solutions to overcome ‘shirking’ in the oversight game. Specifically, we test the effect of external incentives, as implied by the game-theoretical solution, against the role of intrinsic factors, namely, public service motivation and job-related risk aversion. Evidence from a laboratory (N = 208) and survey experiment (N = 794) show that both the game-theoretical approach, which inspired new public management, and public service motivation, as its antithesis, fail to explain subjects’ behaviour. Instead, job-related risk aversion makes oversight more and ‘shirking’ less likely. This finding hints towards a more differentiated view of public employees’ risk attitudes to improve administrative delegation.Points for practitionersThe promise of new public management that oversight issues in administrative delegation disappear with setting appropriate extrinsic incentives is too simplistic. Public service motivation, on the other hand, which started as an antithesis of the self-interested bureaucrat, also fails to solve the issue of ‘shirking’ in administrative delegation. Instead, job-related risk aversion appears to improve administrative delegation, which presents a remarkable counterpoint to the popular opinion in public management that risk aversion is problematic for public organizations’ performance. Rather than avoid selecting risk-averse public employees generally, more attention might be paid to the domains of administrative decision-making in which such traits can be beneficial.
Dalit and the Historiography of Temple Entry Movements in India: Mapping Social Exclusion and Cultural Subjugation
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
The period between colonialism and the twenty-first century gives horrible glimpses of temple entry and the violence attached with that. Keeping temple entry as an important issue in mind, here, the article reveals the social exclusion and the cultural subjugation of the Dalits since the colonial period to the present day. Dalits in the colonial period and also in present day are denied their social and religious rights in Hindu religion. The right to enter the temple is a fundamental right of a citizen in a religion like Hinduism. Among the various issues that Dalits have voiced since the colonial period, the issue of temple entry along with untouchability is one of the most important. It is not only a matter of excuse that Dalits till the present day (after seven decades of India’s independence) are not allowed to enter inside the temple in some rural areas of the country. The temple entry bill and the legislations have also been adopted by the princely states and the Parliament of India in different times, but still, Dalits are not allowed to enter the Hindu temples even in various parts of India, for instance, in the Kendrapara district of Odisha. As temple entry is an important issue for Dalits as well as for upper caste Hindus in social and religious life, it is pertinent to revisit the historiography of temple entry movements including the contemporary movements which remain important in religious, social and academic spheres. With the aforementioned backdrop, the article first provides a synoptic view on the historiography of Dalit movements in India and on ‘the Gandhi–Ambedkar debate on caste, untouchability and the issue of temple entry’ as a background for the study, and the latter sections thoroughly explores the historicity of temple entry movements and the social exclusion and cultural subjugation inherited with it since the colonial period to the present day. The article also provides a particular section on the temple entry movement in Odisha (2005–2006) which is based on the empirical works of the author and examines the issue in a critical lens with observations and findings.
The period between colonialism and the twenty-first century gives horrible glimpses of temple entry and the violence attached with that. Keeping temple entry as an important issue in mind, here, the article reveals the social exclusion and the cultural subjugation of the Dalits since the colonial period to the present day. Dalits in the colonial period and also in present day are denied their social and religious rights in Hindu religion. The right to enter the temple is a fundamental right of a citizen in a religion like Hinduism. Among the various issues that Dalits have voiced since the colonial period, the issue of temple entry along with untouchability is one of the most important. It is not only a matter of excuse that Dalits till the present day (after seven decades of India’s independence) are not allowed to enter inside the temple in some rural areas of the country. The temple entry bill and the legislations have also been adopted by the princely states and the Parliament of India in different times, but still, Dalits are not allowed to enter the Hindu temples even in various parts of India, for instance, in the Kendrapara district of Odisha. As temple entry is an important issue for Dalits as well as for upper caste Hindus in social and religious life, it is pertinent to revisit the historiography of temple entry movements including the contemporary movements which remain important in religious, social and academic spheres. With the aforementioned backdrop, the article first provides a synoptic view on the historiography of Dalit movements in India and on ‘the Gandhi–Ambedkar debate on caste, untouchability and the issue of temple entry’ as a background for the study, and the latter sections thoroughly explores the historicity of temple entry movements and the social exclusion and cultural subjugation inherited with it since the colonial period to the present day. The article also provides a particular section on the temple entry movement in Odisha (2005–2006) which is based on the empirical works of the author and examines the issue in a critical lens with observations and findings.
Government research institutes in the Italian policy advisory system
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Volume 89, Issue 3, Page 791-807, September 2023.
In a Napoleonic country such as Italy, ministerial cabinets have traditionally served as central advisors in the politicised policy advisory system (PAS), while evidence-based policy-making has usually been marginal. Nevertheless, recent developments in political systems have pushed for the pluralisation of the Napoleonic PAS toward a stronger demand for scientific and expert advice. Against this backdrop, the role of government research institutes (GRIs) as advisors represents an interesting change that could potentially fuel the development of an evidence-based approach in a period of changing advisory practices. We investigate these developments through a case study concerning 20 Italian GRIs that are engaged as influential advisors or recruited to support implementation through policy work. We obtained evidence through document analysis, in-depth interviews, and a questionnaire administered to the 20 GRIs. The overall picture displays a shift in conceiving policy advice in the political system and opens the door to innovation.Points for practitionersEvidence-based policy making is expanding also in countries with scarce policy capacities.Government research institutes may be asked to perform different policy works, including evidence-based advice and also implementation tasks.The financial autonomy and reputation of the government research institute matter for their advisory role.Policy advice is described as the result of the matching between a contingent political demand and the offer of expert knowledge.
In a Napoleonic country such as Italy, ministerial cabinets have traditionally served as central advisors in the politicised policy advisory system (PAS), while evidence-based policy-making has usually been marginal. Nevertheless, recent developments in political systems have pushed for the pluralisation of the Napoleonic PAS toward a stronger demand for scientific and expert advice. Against this backdrop, the role of government research institutes (GRIs) as advisors represents an interesting change that could potentially fuel the development of an evidence-based approach in a period of changing advisory practices. We investigate these developments through a case study concerning 20 Italian GRIs that are engaged as influential advisors or recruited to support implementation through policy work. We obtained evidence through document analysis, in-depth interviews, and a questionnaire administered to the 20 GRIs. The overall picture displays a shift in conceiving policy advice in the political system and opens the door to innovation.Points for practitionersEvidence-based policy making is expanding also in countries with scarce policy capacities.Government research institutes may be asked to perform different policy works, including evidence-based advice and also implementation tasks.The financial autonomy and reputation of the government research institute matter for their advisory role.Policy advice is described as the result of the matching between a contingent political demand and the offer of expert knowledge.
Basic Amenity and the Caste Conundrum: A Study of the Dalit Communities in East Uttar Pradesh
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Dalits lack the bare necessities, such as living in substandard houses with constrained space and rooms devoid of the kitchen, bathroom, and sanitation facilities; with a minuscule living area and limited access to safe drinking water. These aspects of civic amenities are empirically examined with qualitative and quantitative approach in east Uttar Pradesh using significant variables such as housing conditions, access to safe drinking water and toilet availability in households. The article also discuss the dimension and level of civic amenities in Dalit households. Based on research-based field data and ethnography, poverty and a lack of civic amenities are the convoluted pathways and fundamental causes of Dalit families living in poor health, unhygienic conditions and without sanitation. The explanation justifies how Dalits’ lack of public amenities, particularly in micro-settlements, intentionally manifests organized caste identity.
Dalits lack the bare necessities, such as living in substandard houses with constrained space and rooms devoid of the kitchen, bathroom, and sanitation facilities; with a minuscule living area and limited access to safe drinking water. These aspects of civic amenities are empirically examined with qualitative and quantitative approach in east Uttar Pradesh using significant variables such as housing conditions, access to safe drinking water and toilet availability in households. The article also discuss the dimension and level of civic amenities in Dalit households. Based on research-based field data and ethnography, poverty and a lack of civic amenities are the convoluted pathways and fundamental causes of Dalit families living in poor health, unhygienic conditions and without sanitation. The explanation justifies how Dalits’ lack of public amenities, particularly in micro-settlements, intentionally manifests organized caste identity.
Why the Aryans Still Matter? History, Historiography and Politics
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
This review article ponders over the debate on the river Sarasvati’s association with the Harappan civilization through a critical analysis of G. D. Bakshi’s book The Sarasvati Civilization: A Paradigm Shift in Ancient Indian History (2019, Gurugram: Garuda Prakashan). By identifying the Rigvedic river Sarasvati with the now dry Ghaggar-Hakra, scholars like G. D. Bakshi co-relate the Vedic-Aryan culture with the Harappans and, by doing this, they Aryanize the Harappan civilization. Since the Aryans are accepted as the ancestors of the modern Hindus, by locating the origin of the Aryans within India, right-leaning scholars put forth the exclusive claim of the Hindu community over the Indian nation. Contrary to them, the left-liberal scholars endorse the Aryan migration theory, and it allows them to explain the origin of the Indian civilization due to the contribution of different ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups that have had migrated into India from faraway lands. It is argued in this review paper that the Aryan debate is more about politics than academic endeavour, and its primarily focus is on the following question: Who has a righteous claim over the Indian nation?
This review article ponders over the debate on the river Sarasvati’s association with the Harappan civilization through a critical analysis of G. D. Bakshi’s book The Sarasvati Civilization: A Paradigm Shift in Ancient Indian History (2019, Gurugram: Garuda Prakashan). By identifying the Rigvedic river Sarasvati with the now dry Ghaggar-Hakra, scholars like G. D. Bakshi co-relate the Vedic-Aryan culture with the Harappans and, by doing this, they Aryanize the Harappan civilization. Since the Aryans are accepted as the ancestors of the modern Hindus, by locating the origin of the Aryans within India, right-leaning scholars put forth the exclusive claim of the Hindu community over the Indian nation. Contrary to them, the left-liberal scholars endorse the Aryan migration theory, and it allows them to explain the origin of the Indian civilization due to the contribution of different ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups that have had migrated into India from faraway lands. It is argued in this review paper that the Aryan debate is more about politics than academic endeavour, and its primarily focus is on the following question: Who has a righteous claim over the Indian nation?