Certifications of citizenship: the history, politics and materiality of identity documents in South Asian states and diasporas

Experiences in the post-partition Indian subcontinent refute the conventional expectation that the 'possession of citizenship enables the acquisition of documents certifying it' (Jayal, 2013, 71). Instead, identity papers of various types play a vital part in certifying and authenticating claims to citizenship. This is particularly important in a context where the history of state formation, continuous migration flows and the rise of right-wing majoritarian politics has created an uncertain situation for individuals deemed to be on the ‘margins’ of the state. The papers that constitute this special issue bring together a range of disciplinary perspectives in order to investigate the history, politics and materiality of identity documents, and to dismantle citizenship as an absolute and fixed notion, seeking instead to theorise the very mutable ‘hierarchies’ and ‘degrees’ of citizenship. Collectively they offer a valuable lens onto how migrants, refugees and socio-economically marginal individuals negotiate their relationship with the state, both within South Asia and in South Asian diaspora communities. This introduction examines the wider context of the complex intersections between state-issued identity documents and the nature of citizenship and draws out cross-cutting themes across the papers in this collection

Bioaccumulation and biosorption of drimarene red dye by Aspergillus foetidus

An isolated fungus, Aspergillus foelidus, was found to uptake azo reactive dye(s) such as drimarene red under active growth and growth unsupportive conditions. Microscopy indicates preferential accumulation of drimarene red dye in the tips of fungal hyphae. The presence of 0.1% azide and phosphate in the fungal growth medium causes displacement of bound dye from the biomass. The key factors that influence the process of biosorption of dye in growth non-supportive medium are pH, temperature, and age and concentration of fungal biomass. Based on the Langmuir isotherm plots, the maximum fungal biosorption capacity (Q(o) value) was computed to be 344 mg g(-1) using the fungal spent medium at pH 2.5 and 60 degrees C. Sodium hydroxide is an effective agent for the leaching of dye from the loaded fungal biomass. The results suggest the possibility of applying the isolated fungus for decolourisation of textile mill wastewater