From local tensions to ethnic conflict The emergence of Hindu nationalism in a Christian/Hindu 'tribal' community in Chhattisgarh, central India

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN062642 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Education, Inequality and Social Mobility in Central India

Over the past couple of decades, marginalised adivasi (tribal) communities in central India have seen the emergence of a powerful social institution, namely education, that is conferring social advantage and opening up new avenues of social mobility while introducing new forms of social separation. This article is concerned with the relationship between education, inequality and social mobility in a mixed, Hindu/Christian adivasi community in rural Chhattisgarh. More specifically, it is about the engagement that local people have had with education, the uncertainties and ambiguities that underpin this engagement, and the way this impacts on opportunities for social mobility. Attention is also given to the way in which education serves as a powerful mechanism for consolidating new forms of social separation, not simply by reproducing social inequalities, but by introducing new ones.Depuis quelques décennies, les communautés marginalisées adivasi (ou indigènes) d’Inde centrale ont de plus en plus accès à l’éducation, ce qui leurs offre des avantages sociaux et de nouvelles possibilités de mobilité sociale, mais introduit également de nouvelles formes de ségrégation sociale. Cet article s’intéresse au lien entre l’éducation, l’inégalité et la mobilité sociale au sein d’une communauté adivasi mixte de chrétiens et d’hindous d’une région rurale de l’État de Chhattisgarh. Plus précisément, il examine l’engagement que les populations locales ont envers l’éducation, les incertitudes et ambiguïtés sous-tendant cet engagement, ainsi que l’impact de ceux-ci sur les opportunités de mobilité sociale. Nous portons également notre attention sur la manière dont l’éducation sert de mécanisme puissant pour renforcer les nouvelles formes de ségrégation sociale, non pas simplement en reproduisant les inégalités sociales, mais aussi en en créant de nouvelles.

Introduction to Special Issue: Learning, Livelihoods and Social Mobility

This special issue explores a variety of learning and educational strategies, their local meanings and relevance, and how these articulate with livelihood options within changing politico-economic conditions. By considering diverse ethnographic contexts and a multitude of educational and work environments, the papers bring into dialogue various anthropological themes on learning, education and apprenticeship, forms of capital, and the effects of global processes on the relationship between education, livelihood and social mobility

Sacrifice, Suffering and Hope: education, aspiration and young people’s affective orientations to the future

In this editorial introduction to the Special Theme, Sacrifice, Suffering and Hope: Education, Aspiration and Young People’s Affective Orientations to the Future, we discuss the key theoretical themes (aspiration, sacrifice and affect) that underpin the papers in this collection. With geographical focus on India, Indonesia, Kenya and Bangladesh, our aim is to contribute a more ethnographically-grounded understanding of the affective orientations that emerge or become visible in the context of young people’s educational experiences, and that shape and give meaning to processes of aspiration formation

Policy Brief: Innovating in Rural Education

Lesotho’s new ‘Integrated Curriculum’, introduced in 2009, aims to radically overhaul both content and pedagogy for the first 10 years of school. This provides a useful case study as the reforms seek to address some of the challenges that we have identified through our research in rural Laos and India, as well as Lesotho. Broadly, the new curriculum seeks to replace the narrative that education leads to a specified (formal sector, urban) future with one in which children are agents in their own futures – equipping them with the knowledge and skills to plan their own lives and livelihoods within their own geographical context. In practice, however, children’s experiences of education have changed less as a result of the new curriculum than might be expected, and they continue to associate schooling with salaried jobs rather than rural businesses. The research points to useful lessons for future curricular reform in India, Laos and elsewhere

Young People’s Aspirations in an Uncertain World: Taking Control of the Future?

The future for young people worldwide is characterised by multiple uncertainties, particularly perhaps in countries of the Global South. There is a growing and pervasive expectation that these uncertainties need to be responded to, both by institutions and individuals, so that young people are prepared for an unpredictable and changing world. ‘Raising aspirations’ is expected to play an instrumental role in preparing young people to confront a constantly changing world. Of the four articles that constitute this special section, two explore institutional efforts to shape young people’s aspirations to build new kinds of (national and individual) future, while the other two focus on the messier, more fluid ways in which young people reorient themselves in relation to unpredictable events. Together, they highlight how interventions designed to produce flexible creative individuals largely ignore how young people already live their lives in responsive and creative ways