Third ISA Forum of Sociology (July 10-14, 2016)

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The Poli-Tics/Tricks of Development and the Plight of Marginal Communities in the 21st Century South Asia

RC18 Political Sociology (host committee)

Language: English

The term “development” has different connotations in various regions of South Asia, which become even more distinct for marginal communities. For some, “development” means availing and accessing basic necessities in their vicinities. For others, it is about the large-scale extraction of resources, constructions of big dams and high-tech establishments. The first case is about the excluded, marginalised and vulnerable communities, who are considered as the majority in relation to their population and voting percentage in this region. Whereas in the case of the latter, it is about the hegemonic, elite class, which is a minority in terms of their population. Thus, “development” has two sides.
This has led to large-scale protests in parts of the society, which have become frequent and partly successful, while those in financial and political power are celebrating their gains in overruling marginalised communities. These dynamics clearly portray the situation of the increasing inequality between hegemonic and marginalised communities.
Our session seeks to analyse societal discourses within those dynamics. It aims to present epistemological and empirical engagement in the field of these struggles, poli-tics/-tricks of development and the plight of marginal communities in 21st century South Asia with a special emphasis on: Dalit, indigenous communities, religious minorities, gender perspectives, LGBTQI, dis/abled, North-East India and rural/urban. Thus, our session is inviting papers, both empirical and theoretical in perspective, from scholars and researchers of sociology which engage in an interdisciplinary study with anthropology, area studies, gender studies and development studies. Posters: