Archival ethnography and ethnography of archiving: Towards an anthropology of riot inquiry commission reports in postcolonial India

This paper examines the challenges and possibilities of combiningarchival and ethnographic methods in thefield of‘communal’violence studies in India. Drawing insights from debates amonghistorians and anthropologists on the multifarious interactionsbetween archives and ethnography and reflecting on the empiricalcase of persistent violence between Muslims and Christians insouthern India, it argues for a creative synthesis of these two modesof inquiry for an adequate understanding of‘communal’violenceand riot inquiry commissions in India. First, the paper critiques howcolonial and postcolonial Indian archival reports problematicallyinscribe violence between any religious communities (such asMuslims and Christians) in the same narrative as the predominantcase of Hindu-Muslim conflict. Second, it illuminates how archivalethnography can be an effective way of studying violence betweenreligious communities and thus transcend conventional disciplinaryboundaries. Finally, the paper introduces a nuanced approach,called‘ethnography of archiving’, to detail the judicial andnonjudicial discourses and bureaucratic manoeuvring involved inthe creation of an archival report, thereby unravelling the powerrelations, mediating processes, manipulations and bureaucraticperformances thatmakecommission reports problematic eventoday

Precarious citizenship: detection, detention and ‘deportability’ in India

In 2019, India made the unprecedented move of listing 1.9 million people in its northeast state of Assam as illegal migrants from Bangladesh in a new National Register of Citizens before passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which overtly discriminates against the country’s Muslim minority. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork, this paper investigates the reality of precarious citizenship under India’s increasingly anti-migrant regime, particularly for Bengali-speaking Muslims. Going beyond the predominant notion that illegal migrants acquire documentary citizenship through fraudulent means after crossing the porous border between India and Bangladesh, this essay reveals a reverse scenario: those living with citizenship rights and in a regular social world are subjected to the gradual process of detection, detention and ‘deportability’ in India. This paper employs the concept of precarious citizenship to unravel this complex and oscillating world of legality and illegality, citizenship and noncitizenship, and the predicaments of life as a Bengali-speaking Muslim in India

A multi-targeted approach to suppress tumor-promoting inflammation

Cancers harbor significant genetic heterogeneity and patterns of relapse following many therapies are due to evolved resistance to treatment. While efforts have been made to combine targeted therapies, significant levels of toxicity have stymied efforts to effectively treat cancer with multi-drug combinations using currently approved therapeutics. We discuss the relationship between tumor-promoting inflammation and cancer as part of a larger effort to develop a broad-spectrum therapeutic approach aimed at a wide range of targets to address this heterogeneity. Specifically, macrophage migration inhibitory factor, cyclooxygenase-2, transcription factor nuclear factor-κB, tumor necrosis factor alpha, inducible nitric oxide synthase, protein kinase B, and CXC chemokines are reviewed as important antiinflammatory targets while curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, lycopene, and anthocyanins are reviewed as low-cost, low toxicity means by which these targets might all be reached simultaneously. Future translational work will need to assess the resulting synergies of rationally designed antiinflammatory mixtures (employing low-toxicity constituents), and then combine this with similar approaches targeting the most important pathways across the range of cancer hallmark phenotypes

A novel inhibitor of fatty acid synthase shows activity against HER2+ breast cancer xenografts and is active in anti-HER2 drug-resistant cell lines

Introduction: Inhibiting the enzyme Fatty Acid Synthase (FASN) leads to apoptosis of breast carcinoma cells, and this is linked to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) signaling pathways in models of simultaneous expression of FASN and HER2. Methods: In a xenograft model of breast carcinoma cells that are FASN+ and HER2+, we have characterised the anticancer activity and the toxicity profile of G28UCM, the lead compound of a novel family of synthetic FASN inhibitors. In vitro, we analysed the cellular and molecular interactions of combining G28UCM with anti-HER drugs. Finally, we tested the cytotoxic ability of G28UCM on breast cancer cells resistant to trastuzumab or lapatinib, that we developed in our laboratory. Results: In vivo, G28UCM reduced the size of 5 out of 14 established xenografts. In the responding tumours, we observed inhibition of FASN activity, cleavage of poly-ADPribose polymerase (PARP) and a decrease of p-HER2, p- protein kinase B (AKT) and p-ERK1/2, which were not observed in the nonresponding tumours. In the G28UCM-treated animals, no significant toxicities occurred, and weight loss was not observed. In vitro, G28UCM showed marked synergistic interactions with trastuzumab, lapatinib, erlotinib or gefitinib (but not with cetuximab), which correlated with increases in apoptosis and with decreases in the activation of HER2, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and AKT. In trastuzumab-resistant and in lapatinib-resistant breast cancer cells, in which trastuzumab and lapatinib were not effective, G28UCM retained the anticancer activity observed in the parental cells. Conclusions: G28UCM inhibits fatty acid synthase (FASN) activity and the growth of breast carcinoma xenografts in vivo, and is active in cells with acquired resistance to anti-HER2 drugs, which make it a candidate for further pre-clinical development

Interrogating communalism: violence, citizenship and minorities in South India

This book examines conflict and violence among religious minorities and the implication on the idea of citizenship in contemporary India. Going beyond the usual Hindu-Muslim question, it situates communalism in the context of conflicts between Muslims and Christians. By tracing the long history of conflict between the Marakkayar Muslims and Mukkuvar Christians in South India, it explores the notion of ‘mobilization of religious identity’ within the discourse on communal violence in South Asia as also discusses the spatial dynamics in violent conflicts. Including rich empirical evidence from historical and ethnographic material, the author shows how the contours of violence among minorities position Muslims as more vulnerable subjects of violent conflicts. The book will be useful to scholars and researchers of politics, political sociology, sociology and social anthropology, minority studies and South Asian studies. It will also interest those working on peace and conflict, violence, ethnicity and identity as also activists and policymakers concerned with the problems of fishing communities

Analysis of Environmentally Friendly and Low Cost Non Vacuum Process for Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 Solar Cells

In this work CZTSSe absorber films were prepared by spin coating technique followed by selenization at optimized suitable condition. The structural properties and phase purity of the films were analyzed by XRD and Raman spectroscopy, surface morphology of the films was analyzed by SEM and AFM. Elemental composition was analyzed by energy dispersive x ray spectroscopy. Phase pure CZTSSe films with the required photovoltaic properties was obtained by selenizing the precursor films at 450 °C for 30 min with the optimal precursor drying condition. Prototype CZTSSe solar cell was fabricated and its performance were studied systematically. The highest device efficiency of 4.9% with Voc=321 mV, Jsc=30 mA/cm2 , and FF=51% was obtained for spin coated CZTSSe device. It was observed that precursor drying condition significantly influence the performance of devices

Annealing Temperature and Post Sulphurizaton/Seleniation Effects on Solution-Based CZTS Devices

CZTS absorber films were prepared by spin-coating technique and the effect of selenization temperature on the structural and morphological properties of the CZTSSe films were studied. After confirming the phase purity of the selenized CZTS films, precursor films were also annealed in different atmosphere including sulphur and selenium+sulphur with the optimized annealing temperature. The structural properties of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy; the surface morphology of the films was analyzed by atomic force microscopy. The phase purity was confirmed for the CZTS films annealed at 450\ub0C in different atmosphere. A prototype CZTS solar cell was fabricated with spin-coated CZTS precursor film selenized at 450\ub0C. The influence of light soaking on the films was also studied and observed an increase in device performance after 24hr light soaking. The highest device efficiency of 2.18% with Voc=212 mV, Jsc=35.1 mA/cm2, and FF=33.4% was observed for CZTS films selenized at 450\ub0C

Recovery of Pure Silicon and Other Materials from Disposed Solar Cells

The disposal of used photovoltaic panels is increasing day by day around the world. Therefore, an efficient method for recycling disposed photovoltaic panel is required to decrease environmental pollution. This work is aimed at efficiently recovering pure silicon and other materials such as aluminium, silver, and lead from disposed solar cells using chemical treatments. Earlier, the pure silicon was recovered by treating the solar cells with hydrofluoric acid or mixture of hydrofluoric acid and other chemicals. The usage of hydrofluoric acid is eliminated in the present work as it is highly toxic and corrosive chemical. The pure silicon (99.9984%) has been recovered by sequentially treating with three different chemicals. Aluminium, silver, and lead are also recovered as aluminium hydroxide, silver chloride, and lead oxide, respectively