From 82-year-old Musicologist to Anti-imperialist Hero: Metamorphoses of the Hungarian Tagore in East Central Europe

Tagore's reception in various countries in East Central Europe has long been the subject of academic studies. Making an attempt to observe the similarities and dissimilarities of Rabindranath's reception in these culturally very rich countries the paper investigates two understudied phases of Tagore's reception in the region, namely the initial puzzlement at the announcement of the Nobel Prize in 1913 and the repercussions of world politics on Tagore's image in the early years of Indian independence, which coincide with the early years of Communist rule in East Central Europe

The Mortality Situation in Cameroun

In this article, we examine the mortality situation in Cameroon in relation to other countries of the sub-continent. Evidence for the overall childhood mortality rate suggests that 13 percent of the newborn babies are expected to die before their fifth birthday, a decline of 6 percent points from the 1978 value. This, compared to other Sub-Saharan African countries, appears to be moderate but is very high by other developing countries' or world's standard. In fact, the decline has not yet reached a reasonable minimum that could suggest noticeable improvement in the health status of the population at both macro and micro levels. The adult mortality situation on the other hand is very high even by Sub-Saharan African standards. About 35 percent of those who survive childhood hazards up to age 15 are not expected to celebrate their 60th anniversary compared to barely 20 percent for some other countries of the sub-continent. Even when compared to the childhood mortality situation, Cameroon is a country with very poor health for adults. It appears that children in Cameroon have benefitted more than adults from the reduction of overall mortality to a "moderate" level. Consequently, as year 2000 approaches it is clear that Cameroon is still far from attaining the goal of "Health for All" and it is becoming very uncertain whether the target will be attained. As the results suggest, not only is there need for greater efforts to improve the survival of children in the country, but in addition, it is also necessary to institute strategies to maintain their health when they survive childhood

Estimating Adult Mortality in Cameroon from Census Data on Household Deaths: 1976-1987

Many African countries lack conventional data sources for systematic assessment of adult mortality. Studies of mortality in Cameroon have mainly been concerned with infant and child survival, while levels and structure of adult mortality have rarely been investigated. This paper employs the Generalized Growth Balance method to estimate adult mortality in Cameroon using data from 1976 and 1987 censuses. More specifically, we use data on household deaths during the 12 months preceding the 1976 and 1987 censuses to assess the adult mortality situation in Cameroon prior to the onset of HIV/AIDS pandemic. Results suggest that overall adult mortality in Cameroon prior to the HIV/AIDS era was high even by African standards. Ignoring potential methodological and data differences, a comparison of age-specific death rates from the two censuses to those from the recent DHS results portray a recent increase in mortality during the peak productive and reproductive years. However, a complete and reliably operational vital registration system remains the ultimate solution to estimating and fully understanding the trends in adult mortality. In the meantime, consistently collecting census data on household deaths can enhance knowledge and inform policy intervention

Spatial Differentials in Childhood Mortality in South Africa: Evidence from the 2001 Census

This study examines spatial differentials in childhood mortality in South Africa using data from the 2001 population census. Of the complex routes of geographical area hierarchy maintained by South Africa, one route links provinces to Magisterial Districts (MDs). There are in all 354 MDs and nine provinces. Our analyses are conducted mainly at the level of MDs. The results show that provincial level indicators mask huge disparities in child health experienced by certain segments of the population. Children born in MDs such as Tabankulu, Lusikisiki, Bizana, Flagstaff, Libode and in the Eastern Cape Province in general are the most threatened early in life. Under prevailing mortality conditions, more than 10% of the children born in these districts are unlikely to celebrate their fifth anniversary. Most of the high mortality MDs form clusters that sometimes cut across provincial boundary. As it is to be expected, most of these high risk districts are among the poorest in the country as measured by average monthly expenditure. However, the worse-off districts, health-wise, are not necessarily the poorest and similarly, the best child health achievers are not necessarily the most economically well-off. On the basis of these findings, implementing policies targeting such high risk districts would seem a more rational way to help close the within country disparities in child mortality and thereby speed up progress toward the MDGs targe

The Competing Canons of Anandghan Eighteenth-century Brajbhasha Poetry in Manuscript Circulation

The study of A n a n d g h a n’s transmission presents a case to examine how early modern manuscript circulation in north India was effected when a radically new idea appeared on the literary scene. The Vaishnava renunciate A n a n d g h a n (c. 1700–1757) in his quatrains wrote about love towards a person whom he called Sujan, a word having both Persianate and Indian undertones. By the use of this word, he emphasised continuity between mundane and divine love. Although this approach was rejected by his religious community and later even by A n a n d g h a n himself, his poetry became widely appreciated in north India and many of the most innovative Hindi poets in the coming centuries are indebted to him. The four extant early collections of his poetry were prepared under the influence of the A n a n d g h a n debate in A n a n d g h a n’s lifetime or shortly after. Taking two other, now lost, anthologies into account the article examines the development of the corpus of A n a n d g h a n’s quatrains into six collections, manipulated to present either a more religious or a more secular A n a n d g h a n