Imagining an Anti-Caste Utopia Through Food: Dalit Student Politics in Hyderabad, India

This article explores the connection between food and utopia within the Dalit student movement. Research data was gathered during the multi-stage ethnographic fieldwork in the university campuses in New Delhi (Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi) and Hyderabad (Osmania University, the English and Foreign Languages University) during 2013 and 2014 (total seven months). Seeking to demonstrate the centrality of the beef symbolism in the local Dalit student movement in Hyderabad, this article provides a content analysis of “Beef Anthem”, written and performed by Dalit student activist NS Chamar, contextualizing it with fieldwork observations and interviews with the Dalit activists. This article uncovers multilayered meanings and strategies surrounding beef issue allowing one to understand how through the symbol of beef, the Dalit activists in Hyderabad reimagined themselves and strategized their movement in the context of the strengthening right-wing politics

Old Discipline, New Trajectories: Theories, Methods and Practices in Anthropology

Going under the title “Old Discipline, New Trajectories: Theories, Methods and Practices in Anthropology”, the conference seeks to provide a “home” for socio-cultural and linguistic anthropologists as well as archeologists and bio-evolutionary anthropologists who identify themselves and seek to connect with scientifically minded anthropologists. It does not neglect the humanistic aspect of anthropology and embraces it as part of the unity implicit in the study of human lifeways and the cultural stuff that gives meaning, direction and collective identities to us. The conference might be seen as an important foundational step to establishing closer collaboration and integration among different disciplinary and methodological strands within the discipline of anthropology. The conference will broadly focus on theory, methods and practices in anthropology and will address the following questions: -  Can we still say that anthropology is the most scientific of humanities and most humanistic of social sciences?-  What does a scientific approach to the study of culture imply theoretically and methodologically?-  Should ethnography still hold a central place in anthropology?-  How can the results of the study of human evolution, cultural evolution and language evolution contribute insights into the current human condition?-  What are the consequences the current rapid technological change is having on culture?-  What can anthropology contribute to the important questions of today’s world such as pandemics, growing economic inequality, fascism, second demographic transition, climate change, etc.

How Campuses Mediate a Nationwide Upsurge against India’s Communalization. An Account from Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi

We return to the notion of generational communities introduced in this special issue in light of the ongoing pan-Indian protests spearheaded by students against the Indian government’s initiative to define accession to citizenship on religious lines. Applicable to individuals who entered India prior to 2014; the recent Act of Parliament permits the authorities to grant citizenship to “persecuted minorities” from three neighboring countries while making Muslim migrants ostensibly ineligible. T..

Envisioning ‘Prabuddha Bharat’: A Discourse for Social Transformation

Editoria

Dalit Student Movement in India: from Identity Politics to Counter Culture Movement

Šios disertacijos tyrimo objektas yra menkai tyrinėtas bei pagreitį įgaunantis fenomenas - dalitų, t.y. buvusių neliečiamųjų, studentų judėjimas Indijoje. Disertacija paremta antropologiniu etnografiniu lauko tyrimu Indijos universitetuose, kuriuose pastaraisiais metais pastebima suintensyvėjusi dalitų studentų politinė mobilizacija. Remdamasi socialinių judėjimų „rėminimo“ teorija (Snow et al., 1986; Snow & Benford, 1988; Snow & Benford, 1992; Benford & Snow, 2000), disertacijos autorė atskleidė, kaip dalitų studentų judėjimas idėjiškai formuoja dalyvių pasaulėvaizdį; kokiais resursais remiantis judėjimas konstruoja savo ideologiją ir politinį repertuarą; kaip judėjimas siejasi su platesniu universitetų, regionų ir visos Indijos sociopolitiniu kontekstu; kaip įvairūs studentai saistosi su dalitų studentų judėjimu. Disertacijoje išryškėjo dalitų studentų judėjimo kompleksiškumas: jo ideologinis hibridiškumas, politinio repertuaro kontekstualumas ir marga dalyvių įvairovė. Ši disertacija taip pat parodė, kaip subjektyviomis neliečiamybės patirtimis grindžiamas dalitų studentų judėjimas per sąveiką su dominuojančiomis hindų nacionalistų ir komunistų politinėmis kultūromis transformuojasi iš identiteto politika grįsto studentų aktyvizmo į platų kontrkultūrinį judėjimą ir kaip dėl šios priežasties dalitų studentų judėjimo kastinis pasaulėvaizdis atsiveria vis platesnei Indijos studentų masei.This dissertation investigates the burgeoning yet largely underexplored phenomenon of the Dalit, so-called ex-untouchable, student movement in India and its ideological and participatory complexity. The study is based on two stages of anthropological ethnographic fieldwork at the New Delhi and Hyderabad universities that witnessed intensified Dalit student mobilization in recent years. Following the ideas of the “framing” theory (Snow et al., 1986; Snow & Benford, 1988; Snow & Benford, 1992; Benford & Snow, 2000) the author have been tracing the ways the Dalit student mobilization is underwritten by “framing” and “frame alignment” processes - how the movement ideologically frames the worldview of its participants; on what resource base the Dalit student movement builds its ideological worldview and repertoire of contention; how the Dalit student movement relates to the broader socio-political context of university campuses and Indian politics; and finally, how different student groups and individuals relate to the Dalit student movement. Primarily, this dissertation revealed the complexity of the Dalit student movement: its ideological fluidity, context-bound repertoire of contention and diverse participant base. It has shown how the Dalit student movement, drawing on the students’ subjective experiences and engaging with the dominant Hindu Right and communist political cultures, transforms from the identity politics-based student activism into the broader anti-establishment counter culture movement, from the movement of the ex-untouchables to the movement of diverse social groups dissatisfied with Hindu Right politics, Hindu religion and hierarchical caste society.Sociologijos katedraSocialinių mokslų fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Indijos dalitų studentų judėjimas: nuo identiteto politikos iki kontrkultūros

This dissertation investigates the burgeoning yet largely underexplored phenomenon of the Dalit, so-called ex-untouchable, student movement in India and its ideological and participatory complexity. The study is based on two stages of anthropological ethnographic fieldwork at the New Delhi and Hyderabad universities that witnessed intensified Dalit student mobilization in recent years. Following the ideas of the “framing” theory (Snow et al., 1986; Snow & Benford, 1988; Snow & Benford, 1992; Benford & Snow, 2000) the author have been tracing the ways the Dalit student mobilization is underwritten by “framing” and “frame alignment” processes - how the movement ideologically frames the worldview of its participants; on what resource base the Dalit student movement builds its ideological worldview and repertoire of contention; how the Dalit student movement relates to the broader socio-political context of university campuses and Indian politics; and finally, how different student groups and individuals relate to the Dalit student movement. Primarily, this dissertation revealed the complexity of the Dalit student movement: its ideological fluidity, context-bound repertoire of contention and diverse participant base. It has shown how the Dalit student movement, drawing on the students’ subjective experiences and engaging with the dominant Hindu Right and communist political cultures, transforms from the identity politics-based student activism into the broader anti-establishment counter culture movement, from the movement of the ex-untouchables to the movement of diverse social groups dissatisfied with Hindu Right politics, Hindu religion and hierarchical caste society.Šios disertacijos tyrimo objektas yra menkai tyrinėtas bei pagreitį įgaunantis fenomenas - dalitų, t.y. buvusių neliečiamųjų, studentų judėjimas Indijoje. Disertacija paremta antropologiniu etnografiniu lauko tyrimu Indijos universitetuose, kuriuose pastaraisiais metais pastebima suintensyvėjusi dalitų studentų politinė mobilizacija. Remdamasi socialinių judėjimų „rėminimo“ teorija (Snow et al., 1986; Snow & Benford, 1988; Snow & Benford, 1992; Benford & Snow, 2000), disertacijos autorė atskleidė, kaip dalitų studentų judėjimas idėjiškai formuoja dalyvių pasaulėvaizdį; kokiais resursais remiantis judėjimas konstruoja savo ideologiją ir politinį repertuarą; kaip judėjimas siejasi su platesniu universitetų, regionų ir visos Indijos sociopolitiniu kontekstu; kaip įvairūs studentai saistosi su dalitų studentų judėjimu. Disertacijoje išryškėjo dalitų studentų judėjimo kompleksiškumas: jo ideologinis hibridiškumas, politinio repertuaro kontekstualumas ir marga dalyvių įvairovė. Ši disertacija taip pat parodė, kaip subjektyviomis neliečiamybės patirtimis grindžiamas dalitų studentų judėjimas per sąveiką su dominuojančiomis hindų nacionalistų ir komunistų politinėmis kultūromis transformuojasi iš identiteto politika grįsto studentų aktyvizmo į platų kontrkultūrinį judėjimą ir kaip dėl šios priežasties dalitų studentų judėjimo kastinis pasaulėvaizdis atsiveria vis platesnei Indijos studentų masei.Sociologijos katedraSocialinių mokslų fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Symbolic boundaries and moral demands of Dalit student activism

Emerging literature on Dalit student activism explores the ways Dalit students position themselves with regard to other student groups and the broader caste structure. However, less attention has been paid to intragroup relations and dynamics within the community of Scheduled Caste (SC) students. This article explores the emerging differentiation and boundary-making among the SC students, thus contributing to the ongoing discussion on differences and divisions within the larger Dalit community. Focusing on symbolic boundaries, morality and socio-political backgrounds, I discuss the actual conflict between two SC students, in which they debated the moral dictate of the Dalit movement of “paying back to society.” Though both students seem to have internalized the moral demand, their perspectives on how to implement it differed. One student I shall call Raju advocated that paying back should be done through political action; the other student, Devan, argued that artistic expression is an equally legitimate way to “pay back to society.” The two protagonists also had substantively different relations with regard to the Dalit student organizations that advocated for political activism and “paying back to society.” For Raju, Dalit political activism served as a main avenue for personal upward social mobility, while Devan viewed political activism as a restrictive imposition limiting other legitimate means for “paying back to society.” I argue that symbolic boundaries between students cannot be reduced to class or caste distinctions, but rather that they are based on differing ideological and moral alignments. While acknowledging the influence of Ambedkarite ideology in forming students’ moral views, this case study shows that SC students do not espouse a single ideology or moral stance regarding modes of political activism, which brings out tensions that arise at the intersection between Dalit movement’s ethics and multiple individual moralities. The paper also describes two different ways students may imagine their social mobility

Subalterno autonomiškumo analizė : dalitų studentų identiteto politika Indijoje

ISSN (online) 2335-8726Straipsnyje, grindžiamame Haiderabado (Indija) universitetuose atlikto lauko tyrimo duomenimis, analizuojama dalitų (neliečiamųjų) studentų identiteto politika per subalterno studijų teorinę paradigmą. Dalitų studentų rengtos šventės yra parankus atvejis atliekant subalterno autonomiškumo analizę, nes atskleidžia prieštaringą studentų pasirinktą strategiją. Dalitai studentai, pasitelkdami įvairius kultūrinius, istorinius ir politinius išteklius, rekonstruoja savo išskirtinę kultūrinę tapatybę, formuodami ideologinę paradigmą, persmelktą „neigiamų" sentimentų, nukreiptų prieš brahmanišką hindų nacionalizmo diskursą. Kartu šis kultūrinio savitumo siekis įgyvendinamas „teigiamai" perinterpretavus dominuojančią hinduizmo kultūrą, kas savaime įtraukia dalitus į tą patį dominuojančio diskurso įtakos lauką. Šis dvilypis prieštaringas požiūris į įsivaizduojamąjį „kitą" leidžia sieti empirinio tyrimo medžiagą su vienu esminiu subalterno studijų klausimu - ar subalternas įkūnija nepriklausomą kultūrinį ir politinį diskursą (Guha), ar visgi savaime yra neišvengiama dominuojančio diskurso dalis (Spivak). Atskleidžiant abipusį dominuojančiojo ir pavaldžiojo santykį ir neišvengiamą jų susisaistymą, remiamasi nuolat vienas nuo kito priklausančių socialinių dominavimo ir pavaldumo santykių samprata (Chatterjee, Prakash, O'Hanlon)Based on the fieldwork yielding 24 unstructured in-depth interviews at universities of Hyderabad, India, the present paper analyses Dalit, known as the ex-untouchable, students' identity politics from the perspective of Subaltern Studies. The focus on Dalit students' cultural festivals provides a framework for the analysis and the conceptualisation of the subaltern's autonomy. Dalit students venture to reconstruct their identity in cultural and historical terms by creating an ideological framework for the establishment of an alternative "counter culture" which is infused and fused with negative anti-Brahmanical, anti-Hindu and anti-nationalist connotations, as well as claims for cultural difference. On the other hand, the desired cultural difference is achieved through re-interpretation of the dominant Hindu culture. Paradoxically, Dalits achieve the aim of cultural differentiation through becoming part of the dominant discourse paradigm. Otherwise stated, the Dalit "counter culture" is directed against Hindu nationalist discourse, but the "counter culture" manifests and represents itself through symbols of the dominant discourse. This paradox evokes the dichotomous view posited by the Subaltern School. The dichotomy is posed as a question: whether the subaltern embodies autonomous culture and politics (Guha, 1988) or whether the subaltern is inevitably an effect of the logic of the dominant discourse. The latter relates to Gayatri Spivak's question "Can the Subaltern. Speak?" (Spivak, 2006). By illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the dominant and the dominated, and the inevitable entanglement with each other, this article assumes a reciprocal understanding of social relations between subalternity and domination as continuously constituting each other (Chatterjee, 1993; Prakash, 1994; O'Hanlon, 1988)Sociologijos katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Dalit counterpublic and social space on Indian campuses

This article discusses three different university campuses in India (Jawaharlal Nehru University, Osmania University, and the English and Foreign Languages University) and their political and social environments with a particular focus on Dalit student activism from March to June, 2013, and from January to March, 2014 when this ethnographic research was conducted. It questions what place Dalit student activism, constituting the ‘counterpublic’ (Fraser, 1990; Warner, 2002), occupied in these campuses; how Dalit student activists interacted with other student political groups; what characteristic features the Dalit student activism had on each campus. This article discusses the changing power relations in Indian universities and the role of ‘social space’ (Bourdieu, 2018) in negotiating social statuses. Dalit student activists actively engaged in appropriating social space by installing Dalit symbolic icons on the university campuses, bringing up caste issues to public attention and thus temporarily turning certain campuses into ‘political strongholds’ (Jaoul, 2012) of the Dalit movement. Contributing to the recent scholarship on student politics in South Asia this article argues for the understanding of interactive relation between campus space and student politics, showing how Dalit students changed the campus space through symbolic appropriation and, conversely, how historically constituted campus spaces affected the nature of Dalit student activism in each of the discussed localities