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Widow’s situation; the Shameful side of Hindu culture

In the Name of the Creator of Mothers

Women situation in Hindu society is so disastrous, in time, some of Indian families get aware of a child-girl pregnancy they try to abort it (1), because they know that based on Hindu cultural rules, they will face with a lot of social and financial problems such as high-cost dowry (2) and so on in future. Hence Indian families mostly prefer to have a male sex than a female one. The survivors and born child-girls, in future will impose high-cost dowry to her family to get marry. The issue to be focused on this article is  bad-luck girls in Hindu culture who by losing their husbands, will face a chain  of new problems afterwards; they cannot have a new chance to get married again culturally (not legally) ,for instance. (3) Because based on Hindu culture it is forbidden for a Hindu widow to start and taste new life with a new man, the right that other women in the world have it mostly. In other cultures like Iranian or the Middle East, if a women feels no satisfaction with her husband and reach to this point that continuation is impossible for her( or his also), they can legally get divorce and try another chance.

 Another Indian girl’s problem backs to the ancient customs, girls used to get married at a very early age, (4) by this kind of marriage, little girls should be separated from their family and join to a new one that is not so familiar and close to them and they had to live with their in-laws in other place maybe long distance from their birth place. This occurs while they weren`t ready to live separate of their parents. And after marriage, if they faced any problem with her-in-laws or husbands, she would have no one to talk or seek support from. Unreachably of parents and relatives for giving help to little girls would make worse the damages they faced. Arrange marriage as an on-going tradition which brings other problems for them, its devil face will  be shown  when the little girl finds her husband intolerable, but at this time also there is no choice for her and she should live besides an unlovable man till the life ends  and culturally it is not evaluative  and a moral act to get divorce. (5)

سرنوشت شرم آور بیوه ها در هند

Hindu culture as a male-dominance society, (6) during a marriage’ negotiation also don’t pay attention enough to the girl side’s needs and considers them as an object that based on a contract exchanged among two families, and marriage is not considered a contract between a couple, that reached together during marriage process. (7)

Female’s inferiority in an Indian male-dominated society downgrade half of an Indian society, for example, the people who in Vedic time were enjoyed equal right with men, to have properties.(8) But during the time they changed to an inferior against superiority of males.

Remarry also was a right which was recognized for Hindu’ widows in Vedic period; (9) this right too is taken by the time from women society during centuries and now based on new Hindu culture the widows could not get married again and they should wait to die after their husband death. Although we can see some progresses in Hindu culture in contemporary reforms, by putting Sati (सती) away, a custom that has caused for centuries death of Hindu widows, the people who would throw themselves on their husbands' funeral pyres, to reflect the view of that, they were of little social worth without their protector and breadwinner; a radical Hindu cultural rule that based on an atmosphere for widows   constructed that they burnt themselves side of their husband dead body. Although practice sati, has been outlawed, but widows are still traditionally considered inauspicious and the Hindu widows situation is not backed in normal position till now and they are suffering big problems.

At the absent of Sati, now social-cultural compulsory lead widows to leave their society and take shelter somewhere else. for instance , Vrindavan (10) is a city in central India, that is known as a holy town for Widows. Some census reported that, nearly 15,000 widows have taken a roof over their heads in this city. Vrindavan is where, the Hindu god, Krishna is said to have grown up there. Many widows come to this city that have 4,000 Hindu temples, to escape from abuse of others in their home town, or banished by their husbands' families so they won't receive property. Some of these widows also were accused as a cause of their husbands' deaths and so their-in-laws put them under more pressure. So they wish death and escape from such situation and suicide based on Sati, is thought to be better than living likewise.

This is an imposed situation by an old Hindu law, that suggests to widows to reach enlightenment, they should reject luxuries and showy clothes, and should pray, eat a simple vegetarian diet and devote themselves to their husband's memory. (11)

But some social changes show a growing number of widows, who remarry especially in urban areas. Another positive movement is a low that passed by Indian government that all widows over 60 year olds are eligible for receiving a $16 monthly government pension, and food allowance, the capacity that is provided by legal system to use it in favorer of power this backless people, but up to 80% of illiterate widows cannot reach to it during Indian long troublous bureaucratic system. So the charity which has become available by temples and some social activist is the hope for such illiterate widows. Another sources of living fund for this widow is the money who receive from begging.

 Regard to Hindu widows, we have face with two kinds of them; the widows who backed by their sons or families and the widows who do not receive any help from their families, So the latter as backless women face with so many problems. Recently Indian Women’ movement regard to improvement of their situation brought some important results; as the act that passed by Lok Sabha (India’ lower house) for protecting women recently. (12)

On the other side you can see some Hindu who because of such cultural laws changed their religion, like Dr.Behim.Rao Ambedkar who converts to Buddhism (13) or the recent case that Miss Kumari Mayawati (born 15 January 1956 in New Delhi) whose Nick Name is Bahenji (Respected Sister) as leader of BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) is converted to Buddhism also, (14) etc.

Apart from unsuccessful widows in India who are suffering problems, some of them like Miss Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (1917–1984) who rule India two times as Prime Minister and managed her problems perfectly and control her rivals powerfully. Or Miss Sonya Gandhi as widow of former Prime Minister of India, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, is one of the world powerful women who announced by Forbes Magazine as one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the world. But most of Indian widows are not in the position of Miss Sonya Gandhi or her mother-in-law, Miss Indira, to place as India National Congress party (INC) leaders and  mobilizing their ability to lead a vast country like India. Most of them are the ordinary people who should live with their-in-law or with their sons or families. If their sons help them they can live as mother among their grandchildren and on the other hand they should return to their families and live with them, otherwise they will find no shelter and no support and should take shelter in some temples; the city like Vrindavan is an example for it.

The first chose for a Hindu’s widow is living with their son’s family; because India is a male-dominance society and their sons can provide a good situation for them in their house, but they can find such facility in their daughter’s house rarely, and it is imaginable that their daughters may also have the same position as inferior in their husband house.

Cultural reforms and governmental legal activity is going to control this situation and in urban area is going to less this problem, but in rural area still this social problem shows itself more strongly than urban area.

 The women as the most effect taker and vulnerable in any social - political change or a natural disaster, should be at the core of society’ attention; to less their problem. Mothers who bring us up and give use a safe shelter when we are at a weakness, etc; should keep safe when they need our help, so Hindu society have to solve widow’s problems, when they face with large number of troubles; the difficulties that traditionally imposed to widow’s community.

Hindu society should review its approach to innocent widows who lost their breadwinners. They all are a part of women society with just a small difference; they have just lost their husbands.

References:

1-       www.english-online.at/news.../abortion-of-girls-on-the-rise-in-india.

2-       www.abcnews.go.com › Health

3-       http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/51-100/Report81.pdf

4-       http://bookofsex.com/go/page/bookofsex.com_cover_v2?pid=g1049942.sub0newbing

5-       http://www.indiaparenting.com/relationships/article.cgi?art_id=107

6-       ttp://hsc.csu.edu.au/society_culture/belief_systems/focus_studies/2499/BSFocus_Hinduism.html#power

7-       www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_marriage.asp

8-       http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Women_in_Hinduism.htm

9-       http://creative.sulekha.com/rig-veda-position-of-women-part-two_306106_blog

10-    http://www.sikhchic.com/current_events/widows_hinduisms_other_untouchables

11-    www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/03/...hindu-widow.../499...

12-    www.guardian.co.uk › World news › India

13-    http://anckarnataka.page.tl/Breif-History-Of-Dr-.-B-.-R-Ambedkar-.-.htm

14-    http://kafila.org/2012/03/07/why-mayawatis-defeat-is-the-bsps-victory/

 

Course:

Social Structure of India
by: Dr. Heshmat Sadat Moinifar

Occasional paper on a film Review

By:  Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi

M.A Student in Indian Studies

Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran

1392/خرداد/دوم

+ نوشته شده در چهارشنبه هشتم خرداد ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 12:54 شماره پست: 292

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The Caste System and New India in progress

In the Name of GOD

The untouchable as a society who Mahatma Gandhi (the leader of “India Independent Movement) named them “Harijans” (God’s Children). The people, who are located out skirt of the caste (Jati) pyramid in Indian socio-cultural system. This article will have a look to this subject. The people, who are considering as untouchables religiously, and based on the caste ruling system, must be, avoid them of not affecting of their impurity and pollution. Nowadays they have known mostly as “Dalit” or “scheduled backwards” that it identifies and separated from the main four “Aryans” classification Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. Cast system as a strong Identity-giver, framework or principles, classify people by race and blood and it determines, what kind of job every member of Hindu society can occupy and in which filed each person can work. In this categorized society, a person would be born and live there and ultimately will die within the caste which is belonging to it.

 The history of India shows the opposes movements against same unjust Hindu rules, such as Buddhism or Jainism reforms, and also enlighten among Hindu society like Upanishad, Mahabharata, etc but they didn’t have full success in this matter and even contemporary social reformist icons like Mahatma Gandhi and Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (as a Dalit leader), and so on, before Independent start their oppositeness against the discrimination toward this society and they made it illegal under legislation passed during British rule. The new constitution of independent India in 1950 also outlawed this old traditional practicing, especially under the article number 17 and other articles like 15(1), 15(2), 16(2), 23, 29 (2). The Constitution abolishes the discrimination on the basis of cast (1), but despite of this illegalness, basically the Social discrimination is going on among Indian society and it is even performs between Harijans as a most affected victims of this custom, as well as other social classes. For instance Sub-castes amongst Harijans, such as the dhobi and nai should not interact with lower one Bhangis, who were explain as "out-castes” among Harijans. The Untouchables’ phenomena as a cruel imposed fixed believe is based and found on the minds sets of Indian, during long history of religion and culture of Hinduism. Hindu culture considers inferiority and superiority of different castes as a God-given Item for mankind. So as it is clear, psychologically untouchably believe remains during the time, even now it is the accepted rule and it is practicing among its victims also, so long social reformists struggle to remove the Caste system won’t be successful till now perfectly. Especially in rural context it still has fans. Dr. Ambedkar in 1933 referred to this subject as below:

“The Out-caste is a bye-product of the Caste system. There will be outcastes as long as there are castes. Nothing can emancipate the Out-caste except the destruction of the Caste system. Nothing can help to save Hindus and ensure their survival in the coming struggle except the purging of the Hindu Faith of this odious and vicious dogma” (2),

The Indian government officially recognizes historical discrimination on its lowest castes like Shudra and Untouchables, as they named them Scheduled Castes. The society that concludes near 3000 different untouchable groups that officially recorded as “Other Backward Classes (OBC)” and categories by “The Mandal Commission”, and unofficially they estimates around 52% of the Indian population, at the same time the National Sample Survey announced them 32% (3). According to the 1991 official census, there were 138 million Scheduled Caste members in this society, just about 16 % of the total population.

The Indian low caste presence in political filed as well as Indian jobs, are showing improvement, as it increased from 1.18 % of all jobs in 1959 to 10.12 % of all jobs in 1995. The attendance of Dalit’s icons in high political ranks and judiciary jobs show clearer horizon for this backward classes, such as :

- Indian president post, as K.R. Narayanan selected in 1997

 - Selection of K.G. Balakrishnan in 2007 as the Chief Justice of India

- Electing of Miss Meira Kumar as speaker of Indian parliament in 2009

- Another successful Dalit woman who occupied chief minister post of Uttar Pradesh as the most important state in India is Miss Mayawati, etc.

Long high caste-ruled India, has faced with undeclared confrontation between the long-ruling high caste groups in one side and its Scheduled Caste groups on the other side. This confrontation brose itself in political face and some main political movement with the goal of improving Dalit class, were started in the Uttar Pradesh state and Bihar state, the two hubs for Dalit residence in India. This movement was successful, especially in UP by the effort of two main Dalit-ruled political parties like BSP (Bahujan samaj party) and SP (Samajvadi party) gain some results. They are very active and based on their activities, previous state government established by BSP and now the state government in UP is in the hand of SP leader. This socio-political struggle faces with some important success in Bihar also. The UP-Bihar Dalit political movement is a good example for this society to make a change in their political presence at least in India’s political filed. Nowadays Dalit leaders by attracting Muslim minority vote banks in this state were achieved a big victory for low class of society and themselves and these two (Minorities and Dalits) can improve their position bilaterally and their join work toward removing long backwardness would be very affective.

It is a good example for Indian backwards that they can united on their backwardness and India’s political system have the capacity to tolerant such a diversion in its socio-political field. But beside all the progress that this society achieved, still the majority of them face with huge problems that are suffering them during the long history of India. Lack of land for providing enough food and also good place for living and doing agriculture is the main problem for them. Lack of education opportunity, bring lack of job opportunity for them, and impose very bad situation ultimately to low castes.

Shortage of job opportunity in rural areas; send large numbers of this community to the suburbs of Indian big cities, the huge immigrants whose aim is finding new jobs in service or industrial sectors there. Bombay as well as other big cities in India, is the best example in this regard, So many members of this community attracted by the commercial capital city of India and now Bombay hosts a large number of them, who are living in slums as shelter.

The Times of India (4) on Mar 22, 2013 reported that one out of six urban Indians are living in slums houses in around 4000 towns across the country, an amount of 17% of urban population. Based on NSSO (National Sample Survey Organization) in 2008-9 about 49000 slums are in India, the drinking water resources of 95% of them are tap or tube well. 57% of slums build on public lands, for instance 12% of them located along railway line. (5)

India 2011 (6)census report 63% of 4,041 constitutional towns face with Slums phenomena (2,543 India towns), about 108000 Slums with different size, as it is clear from 2009 to 2013 the number of slums doubled, and this census show that the largest number of Slums located in Maharashtra state. Greater Bombay (M) with 41.3% has the highest rate of slums, Kolkata (W.B) with 29.6% at the second level, Chennai (TN) with 28.5% at third level and Delhi with 14.6% fourth level hosts slums in India.

As it mentioned in India census, Bombay slums are the most populated place which build by very small house and narrow passages with lack of drinking water and healthy place for children, it does not prepare the needed items for their growth. It has not healthy and suitable atmosphere for mothers to bear their children.  It has no social and educational facilities to upward its resident socially, it just provides somewhere to sleep and pass the night and start a new frequent day for its residences. So India backwards society suffered very bad situation that it becomes the subject of so many novels and story that contain their problems. The people that in a small place cook, bath, sleep and live. Now Bombay as a rich city in India as well as other Indian big cities faces with two different side of the economic and social spectrum of poverty and richness. So within a small distance you can see radical side of these two together.

References:

1-       "Constitution of India" (http:/ / lawmin. nic. in/ olwing/ coi/ coi-english/ coi-indexenglish. htm). Ministry of Law, Government of India. . Retrieved 2012.

2-       B.R. Ambedkar (February, 1933). "A note to Gandhi" (http:/ / www. worldcat. org/ title/ harijan/ oclc/ 1803552?referer=di& ht=edition). Harijan 3.

3-       Reply to SC daunting task for government (http:/ / www. tribuneindia. com/ 2006/ 20060611/ main2. htm), Tribune India.

4-       One of the famous newspaper in India

5-       www.indiafacts.in/pverty/slums-in-india/

6-       www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-Documents/On_Slums-2011Final.ppt

7-       http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/caste.html

Course:

Social Structure of India
by: Dr. Heshmat Sadat Moinifar

Occasional paper on a film Review

By:  Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi

M.A Student in Indian Studies

Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran

       1392/2/22

+ نوشته شده در چهارشنبه یکم خرداد ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 9:41 شماره پست: 289

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“Few regions of the world are fraught with as many security questions as Asia. Within this region it is possible to study great power rivalries, irredentist conflicts, nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation, secessionist movements, ethno-religious conflicts, and inter-state wars. 1”

روابط هند و امریکا

In the name of God the munificent the merciful

India’s direction in our transitional world is one of the subjects of future studies, because India’s movement and position in this regards is one of the world trend determinants. Therefore finding where India is going and how would be the world that India and some other will stand on its top, is a subject matter of world’s movement observes. With this approach this article by using Kuhn’s Paradigm theory and putting the 123 Indo-US Nuclear Deals as a turning point in India world policy, tries to show India direction in regards with policy. India’s flicker steps towards the U.S campus started by its economic reforms in 1990s and ultimately revolutionized to a Strategic Partnership point by the 2005 Bush-Singh nuclear deal. Despite of the on-going trend, what the future will become is the question that future should answer to it, this article tries the best to clear on-going India world policy.

Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1922-1996) by writing its masterpiece, The Structure of Scientific revolutions 2 in 1962, brought the notion of “Paradigm” as a scientific theory or useful method and tool in scientific analysis, to existence. Although Kuhn‘s theory was pointed towards natural sciences, but found itself more successful in social sciences and was most welcomed by the social scientists campus and subsequently made a revolution in analyzing social phenomenon and showed itself effective in “problem solving” of social fields. Kuhn’s method was the outcome of his supremacy over historical trends and theories of physics and the philosophy of science. This article finds Kuhn’s theory as a suitable tool to analyze the 2004-9 India National Congress (INC) ruling over India, period and signing of the Indo-American Nuclear Deal. So having a look at the structure of Kuhn’s theory will clear our way to answer questions such as: Is India really entered in liberalized paradigm? And Is India now in “normal science” era of liberalized paradigm? Especially this article will have a look on the nuclear deal between India and United State of America (U.S.A) as a core issue in this regard.

The paradigm takes meaning in the concept of “normal science” that “for a time provides model problems and solutions to a community” (Kuhn 1996 px). Normal science or conventional period of a science is placed against “Scientific Revolution”, the trend that every science experiences during their history and the development of any science will happen throughout the shifting of normal science and the scientific revolution. In Kuhn’s theory, paradigm is what the members of a scientific community share, seen by others as the sole idea responsible for the pursuit of a set of shared goals, for instance the training of their successors. Both normal science and revolutions are community-based activities.

Kuhn’s theory, is trying to have a clear explanation on how one dominant scientific theory at the exact era of its being, is entering in its normal science phase, to have “puzzle-solving” role or ability to find “acceptable solution” for suppositious problems of a science. It wants to say how a scientific community” shapes around a theory or how they interact with each other, and when a dictated paradigm encounters with its weakness period by facing “Anomalies that as a result make question on its credibility, then what will happen to its supporters, and by which mechanism, a formed scientific community terminated by appearing hesitation over its scientific ability to solve its followers problem and showing their way in future, and gradually leads the paradigm to a scientific revolution point and ultimately it shifts from an exist paradigm to a new one. Or why one paradigm is replaced by another one and how would be the quality and procedure of “shifting”. Furthermore, Kuhn showed the mechanism of “incommensurability” among different paradigm devotees and competing paradigms, and how the two groups of scientists see different things at the time that they look from the same point in the same direction.

Paradigm in some way is a kind of a “Structure” theory. One of its goals is to analyze the normal science structure that a paradigm has come to exist in it. Kuhn believes that when anomalies shake the foundations of a dominant paradigm, it will alarm for a “crisis” that perhaps it will be evidence for the time of scientific revolution and necessity of emerging new theory and a paradigm that finally should have more capacity for problem solving. Kuhn’s examples show that each of normal science during the history of a science tasted being in the position of normal science and they passed “pre and post-paradigm” atmosphere and scientific revolutions, change them till now.

Kuhn’s “common Disciplinary (as common possession of the specialists of a particular discipline) Matrix (a composed of ordered elements of various sorts, each requiring further specification)” or on other hand paradigm, is a community of scientists with common values, methods, tools and techniques, and also with a unification of theoretical and even metaphysical approach, gathers them around it, and finally replaced by their successor through a scientific revolution path.

The founder of Paradigm theory by using some other scientific theories as example wants to say, it is a common trend of all sciences and it is repeated during scientific history each paradigm would not taste a permanent position and this cyclic will repeat in future. He believes that when a scientific revolution happens it would revises the community’s perspective that experiences it, and that change, effects the structure of post-revolutionary textbooks and research direction and gradually its publication, also by starting of the Normal science era, some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time shape as supplying the foundation for further practice around an accepted model or pattern that he name it paradigm, that its work is to sets the problem to be solved.

Normal Science or an established paradigm in some way make a kind of conservative atmosphere and its scientists try to save it, so it directs to articulate of those scientific phenomena and theories that the paradigm already supplies. A Successful paradigm tries to solve its member’s problems and save its scientific achievements to make them permanent. And on-going fact-gathering, is at the service of paradigm stabilization and its conformation to fix it more.

A paradigm’s aim is to display the order by approve its long accepted belief by a sets of repeated scientific problem-solving process. Every skilled member of a paradigm community also engages in puzzle-solving process that till a time has not been solved by others. This scientific forward movement will continue till a scientist faces a situation that the on-going law or the theory doesn’t work well. This kind of scientists always can evaluate its weak points so they suggest new way for their scientific problem solving and their logic suggestion will attract community to change direction and progressively a scientific revolution lead them shift to a new paradigm, although some fanatic and conservative scientists may show resistance to conserve an on-going normal science, but the majority of its community will approach the new theory and finally shape a new paradigm that could determine a new normal-science era that brings by a community with shared beliefs.

It should be clear that scientific paradigm shifts or change, could have deferent angle size, so a science can face with deferent size of scientific revolution or changes, it could range in a spectrum from small to very large ones, it should be mentioned that new sort of facts or any important change in an on-going paradigm perception, does not necessarily lead to a paradigm shift. But it is clear that when serious anomalies appear and crisis hits a paradigm, it leads to large-scale change, at this time scientists usually develop theoretical concepts which can themselves point the way to discovery new theory and the new successful one would become a paradigm. It is also noticeable that new discoveries are not the only destructive or constructive source of paradigm changes, the source of crisis can be any problem (that considers in normal science as a puzzle) or anomalies that can be seen as a counter instance. The crises will lose the rules of normal puzzle-solving or the rules for normal research and paradigm-nature fit, ultimately it leads to increase varieties of the paradigms and at the end of the day it will permit a new paradigm to emerge and dominate the science. When transition from one paradigm to other one is complete, the career will have change its view of the ground, its methods, and its goals. It’s a fact that crisis alone is not enough for shift.

Paradigms play as form-giver to scientific atmosphere and as a vehicle for scientific theory, it determine each entity in which way, should behave. Paradigm also clears nature of scientific research, as Kuhn said “since nature is too complex and varied to be explored at random, that map is as essential as observation and experiment to science's continuing development. Through the theories they embody, paradigms prove to be constitutive of the research activity”. (Kuhn 1996 p109) Paradigms supply scientists a map and the directions that is essential for map-making.

 Paradigm’s Textbooks are educational vehicles for the continuation of normal science. After a scientific revolution, post-revolutionary science activity will start to reconstruct history of science that is regularly completed by its texts. Kuhn believes that a series of individual discoveries and inventions, group together and represent the modem body of technical knowledge. He refers to paradigm testing conception that arises only after persistent failure to solve an important puzzle has given rise to crisis. Testing occurs as part of the competition between two rival paradigms of a scientific community. Kuhn also confesses that no theory ever solves all the puzzles which are confronted at a given time; nor is the solutions already achieved often perfect.

Kuhn as physicist who shifted to philosophy says, if all followers of a community answer back to each anomaly as a source of crisis or involve each new theory advanced by an associate, science would stop, or if no one react to anomalies or the brand-new theories in high-risk ways, there would be few or no revolution and as result no develop in sciences.

By these explanations, now a look at the signed strategic US-India nuclear deal, as a second political, technological as well as commercial key step on the road to a shifting in India’s world policy, will clear the new Indian paradigm, internally and externally. Oxford-educated economist, Mr. Manmohan Singh (1932- ) completed his first major revolutionary step, which became operational through his liberalization of economic reforms when he served as Finance Minister during Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao (1991–1996). India’s entering in its new world policy phase got more completed when in 2005 G. W. Bush and Manmohan Singh signed 123 Agreement 3, concerning the Indian nuclear issue. It could be considered as a revolutionary change for India’s path toward the US, as well as others, mostly in the West Bloc. “The 123 Agreement has been widely seen as a strategic coup for both states 4”. Some main steps forward after this agreement are:

a) The Hyde Act passed by American Congress, to enable its government to consider India as an exception in U.S.A nuclear non-proliferation policy and made it able to transfer sensitive technology to India in this regards. b) It facilitates India-IAEA 5 agreement for safeguarding India’s civil nuclear reactors. c) It also make possible an agreement with NSG 6 so the nuclear weaponized India, became able to buy nuclear fuel, etc without signing the NPT 7.

 “The 123 Agreement has a clear purpose: to "enable full civil nuclear energy cooperation between the Parties. peaceful nuclear cooperation and not to affect the unsafeguarded nuclear activities of either Party (Article 2 of 123)” the first time that a state possessing nuclear weapons outside the framework of the NPT, namely India, has had its civil nuclear energy program "brought into the fold." 8.

The question is how new paradigm came to exist and got shaped, when India and U.S.A situated in two opposite sides during previous world paradigm. In the Cold War era India’s problem-solver was the U.S.A rival, USSR, in front of the US-backed Pakistan as its operational enemy. The following fast changes in the world trend entered this two in new paradigm:

 a) India’s Economic reforms changed it from a socialized unit to capitalized one. It happened as a major shift in India investment policy. b) Common values (democracy, English heritage, etc), c) Common security threat (terrorism, etc). d) Collapse of USSR. e) Post 2001 sep. 11 process, f) China as a common factor, as U.S.A wants to bring “China to a global liberal order9 and at the same time it was India’s biggest rival. g) U.S.A ambiguity about Pakistan as its previous ally in south Asia, etc,

These factors, plus some high rank delegations exchanging, during a decade, shift them to implement the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) in 2004 and progressively the natural allies entered in the new paradigm of cooperation and transformed them to a Strategic Partnership 10 in 2005 by signing the nuclear deal. From this time Indo-U.S.A partnership places in a new period and its new normal science atmosphere starts. They boost their assistance in some field that in the near past was iced. So, although Indian said no to U.S.A repeated world-wide invitation to presence in Iraq war and after it. In the new paradigm India started economic, political, financial, intelligence, etc operation in occupied-Afghanistan, beside U.S.A and others, which shaped the new alliance, was reacted by Pakistani side. Another case in this regard happened when a founder of NAM 11 took place in the World’s Powers campus side in IAEA and voted three times against Iran peaceful nuclear program.

This diversion in India’s world policy appeared as a puzzle solver in new paradigm for India, by a) Entering in cooperation with US military mechanism in South Asia 12 as well as cooperation with US East Asia partners 13, bilaterally and multilaterally. b) Improvement of Indian position toward its traditional rivals like China and Pakistan. c) Backing India’s demand for emerging as permanent member for U.N Security Council, formally by US highest 14 official rank. d) Improvement in Indo-U.S.A bilateral trade 15, etc.

But as Kuhn believes although paradigm is responsible for solving many problems, but it doesn’t solve all of them. So India’s policy-makers at the same time of moving in this trend, which sets them closer to US and its allies, they show their decision to diversify their international relation with other blocs of power, as well as second rank world’s power like the EU and its main members, or Japan. Also India had participated in the BRICS bloc (the countries that by 2030 will shape world new powers) 16 actively, and expanded its relation with some regional structures like ASEAN 17.

India is showing that it cannot rely to one side among world’s powers or its traditional mainstays in all aspects. For instance India is diversifying its energy supplier resources. So it is looking in Middle East, Central Asia, Russia, Africa, etc 18 for its energy resource need. In military filed also India at the same time that continues buying military equipment from its traditional suppliers like Russia, signed big deals with other main world supplier such as Israel, United State, France, etc. So Delhi became the destination of so many world leaders that try to sign new contract during last five years. The most important leaders like Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, and Vladimir Putin had selected Delhi as their trip-destination. In trade filed also India diversified its import and export targets 19. At least it can imagine four main scenarios for adopting such policy by Indian decision-makers:

A)    It dedicates to a new-given role by world powers to new-India in new paradigm and so India is preparing itself for doing the job well.

B)      It dedicates to the potential threats that India in new paradigm feels (From China, US side, etc) in future.

C)    It shows an expansionist India that in new paradigm wants to come out of its traditional policy and follow an expansionist policy in the region.

D)     Mix of the three items

India at the eve of 21st century faced a new world order, and as naturally every country by facing new paradigm will chose an exact puzzle-solving system for itself, India accepted solution for its problems like poverty, non-developing, low economic growth rate, long facing with powerful rivals like China, military weakness, etc was the on-going India world policy trend that has directed it toward closing to US campus. Whiles India since 1947 (Independence) till now at least had tasted two main paradigm; from 1950s till 1990s as a USSR ally, related to the main two super powers (U.S.A, USSR), and at the same time as major non-aligned member among the others. The second paradigm is started with two major steps, economic reforms toward capitalizing its economic rules especially investment, that are become operational in 1990s and finally signing 123 nuclear agreement in 2005 at the threshold of 21st century, that completed this process fairly during 21st first decade. So India steps toward its new paradigm as a destination that leads it to became Strategic Partner for US. Although these moves solved some of India’s problems, and internationally improved its position and its relationship with the world’s major players, but India’s behavior shows that it doesn’t feel confident and safe enough in this new mechanism. So this anomaly forces India to have some reactions. One the reaction that could be mentioned in this regard is increasing in India arm-expenditures and becoming first arms importer in the world, which a big competition to capture this new big market is going on between world’s largest arm-producers. At the time that India’s direction and move in transitional world is one of the important world’s trend determinants in future and now, putting the Indo-US Nuclear Deal as a turning point in India’s world policy would make clearer the path that India is going and maybe will go. But in some way India’s behaviors now, shows a kind of flicker steps toward US campus and despite of on-going trend in India’s policy, the future will answer to question of future.

References:

1-                 US–INDIAN STRATEGIC COOPERATION INTO THE 21ST CENTURY - ASIAN SECURITY STUDIES - US Army College - Edited by Sumit Ganguly, Brian Shoup, and Andrew Scobell - published 2006 by Routledge

2-                 The Structure of Scientific revolutions by Thomas Samuel Kuhn in 1962 - Third Edition in 1996 - The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London © 1962, 1970, 1996

3-                 This name refers to Section 123 of the U.S.A-Atomic Energy Act that under this Act transfer of nuclear technology to other countries is banned.

4-                 http://www.reading.ac.uk/123agreement/123-project-overview.aspx

5-                 International Atomic Energy Agency

6-                 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a group of nuclear supplier countries who seek the non-proliferation nuclear weapons. It was a reaction to India nuclear test in 1974

7-                 The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.

8-                 http://www.reading.ac.uk/123agreement/123-project-overview.aspx

9-                 http://gt2030.com/2012/06/01/the-indian-ocean-region-and-the-challenges-of-order-building-in-a-post-unipolar-post-western-world/  By Andrew Phillips

10-              US-India Strategic Partnership: Implications for China – by Zhang Guihong - http://isq.sagepub.com/content/42/3-4/277

11-              Non-Aligned Movement has 115 members. It came to exist in 1955

12-              http://csis.org/files/publication/1203qus_seasia.pdf

13-              http://csis.org/files/publication/1203qindia_asia.pdf

14-              www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11711007

15-              http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5330.html#2005

16-              Four developing countries like Brazil, Russia, India, China establish it 2006 and in 2010 South Africa also attend to it.

17-              Association of South East Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed in 1967 

18-              http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=IN

19-              http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5330.html#2005

Course:

Research Methodologies and Methods
by: Dr. Mohammad Samiei

Article by:

Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi - M.A Students in Indian Studies

Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran

1392/2/25

 

+ نوشته شده در پنجشنبه بیست و ششم اردیبهشت ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 20:22 شماره پست: 288

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India Federalism

 human concern over controlling Power-holder and power as most dangerous phenomenon for humanity Rightly, and the most corrupt-maker element in the mankind history, lead men to taste deferent kind of ruling society system, and based on this philosophy wised Indian revolutionary leaders has chosen federal system as most effective structure to make them able to came over their challenges after independent from British ruler in 1947, so new India that contain vast diversity, is shaped geo-politically by states and some independents territories based on federalism, and power that was shared in National, state and local level and politically within dependent Executive, legislative and judiciary level with powerful-direct elected parliament.

Indian revolutionary activists were aware of power and power-holder potential problems and if power gathers in the hand of one person, a group or class, the disaster that will happen ultimately, thus they try to regulate ruling system well by choosing federal system.

Federalism in India

Indian Federal system:

Part 11 of the Indian constitution that on January 26 1950 came to force defines the power distribution between the central or federal government and its State governments. In federal system national and states government work together to put in to effect and enforce law and punish law breakers. Federalism in India has a strong preference towards the central Government. Some unique features of federalism in India are:

Ø Indian State representation in the Parliament (Lok Sabha) is widely deferent from one state to another and it depends on a number of factors, including demography and total land area.

Ø No double citizenship, No separate citizenship for country and state.

Ø The consent of a state is not required by the Parliament to alter its boundaries.

Ø No state, except Jammu and Kashmir, can draw its own Constitution.

Ø No state has the right to secede.

Ø No division of public services.

The Union and states have independent executive staffs fully controlled by respected governments and executive power of the states and the Centre are extended on issues they are empowered to legislate.

Union control over states:

According to the Article 356 of the Constitution of India, states must exercise their executive power in agreement with the laws made by the Central government.

 Article 357 calls upon every state not to impede on the executive power of the Union within the states.

 Articles 352 to 360 contain provisions which empower the Centre to take over the executive of the states on issues of national security or on the breakdown of constitutional machinery.

 Governors are appointed by the Central government to oversee states. The president can dissolve the state assembly under the recommendation of the council of ministers by invoking Article 356 if and when states fail to comply with directives given by the Centre.

The Constitution provides that, except in a few cases, union law trumps state law. If any provision of a law made by the Legislature of a State is repugnant to any provision of a law made by Parliament which Parliament is competent to enact, or to any provision of an existing law with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List, then, the law made by Parliament, whether passed before or after the law made by the Legislature of such State, or, as the case may be, the existing law, shall prevail and the law made by the Legislature of the State shall, to the extent of the repugnancy, be void. There is an exception to this in cases "where a law made by the Legislature of a State with respect to one of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List contains any provision repugnant to the provisions of an earlier law made by Parliament or an existing law with respect to that matter, then, the law so made by the Legislature of such State shall, if it has been reserved for the consideration of the President and has received his assent, prevail in that State Provided that nothing in this clause shall prevent Parliament from enacting at any time any law with respect to the same matter including a law adding to, amending, varying or repealing the law so made by the Legislature of the State."

Union level matter in Indian federal system:

Union list consists of 99 items (previously 97 items) on which the parliament has exclusive power to legislate with including: defence, armed forces, arms and ammunition, atomic energy, foreign affairs, war and peace, citizenship, extradition, railways, shipping and navigation, airways, posts and telegraphs, telephones, wireless and broadcasting, currency, foreign trade, inter-state trade and commerce, banking, insurance, control of industries, regulation and development of mines, mineral and oil resources, elections, audit of Government accounts, constitution and organisation of the Supreme Court, High Courts and union public service commission, income tax, custom duties and export duties, duties of excise, corporation tax, taxes on capital value of assets, estate duty, terminal taxes.

States level matter in Indian federal system:

State list consists of 61 items (previously 66 items). Uniformity is desirable but not essential on items in this list: maintaining law and order, police forces, healthcare, transport, land policies, electricity in state, village administration, etc. the state legislature has exclusive power to make laws on these subjects. But in certain circumstances, the parliament can also make laws on subjects mentioned in the State list.

Though states have exclusive powers to legislate with regards to items on the State list, articles 249, 250, 252, and 253 state situations in which the federal government can legislate on these items.

Advantage of Federal system:

v Federalism provides combine a strong central government to maintain order with strong states government.

v Federalism is a god way to rule large size countries with divers population

v  Because every states has a copy of national government so it make a suitable situation to serve as training grounds for national politicians and as laboratories in which new ideas can be tested.

v Permits diversity and diffusion (distribution) of power

v Local government can handle local problem better

v More access point for political participation.

v Protect individual right against concentrated government power

v Raises experimentation and innovation

Disadvantage and arguments against Federal system:

v State government may resist national plans and policies epically powerful states can block plans

v May permit economic inequality across statesor racial discrimination

v Some see expansion of national powers as a danger

v Make national unity difficult to achieve and maintain

v Law enforcement and justice are uneven

v Small unit may face lack expertise and money

v May promote local dominance by especial interest 

Central government role in Federal system:

v Declare war

v Creation and maintain armed force

v Establish foreign policies

v Regulate interstate and foreign trade

v Coin money

v Make copyright and patent law

v Establish postal offices

State government role in Federal system:

v Establish local government

v Establish and maintain schools

v Regulate trade within states

v Conduct elections

v Provide for public safety

v Provide and establish corporations

Central - State government joint role in Federal system:

Raise and collect taxes

v Provide for the public welfare

v Justice criminals

v Borrow money

v Licence banks

v Build roads

Course:

Politic and Governing in India
by: Dr. Mandana Tesheyar

Article by:

Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi - M.A Student in Indian Studies

Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran

1392/1/25

 

+ نوشته شده در دوشنبه بیست و سوم اردیبهشت ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 12:49 شماره پست: 283

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book reviow - The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

In the name of God the munificent the merciful

Thomas Samuel Kuhn (1922-1996) masterpiece and most referenced book, The Structure of Scientific revolutions brought the “Paradigm” to exist in 1962 , as conception and scientific tools and also a theory to become one of the useful method in scientific analysis, Kuhn as one of the most influential 20th century philosophy of science by this enterprise mainly pointed natural sciences, but his theory found itself more successful in social sciences than the Natural campus and most welcomed by scientists of social campus and subsequently make a revolution to analyse social phenomenon and it shows itself effective in “problem solving” in social field. Kuhn’s method is the outcome of his dominance over historical trends and theories of science philosophy, especially his conversance over natural sciences theories like astronomy, physics and chemistry, as frequently exemplified in his book explanations to verify his theory.

The paradigm takes meaning in the concept of “normal science” and development of sciences that “for a time provide model problems and solutions to a community of practitioners”. Normal science or conventional period of a science situated against “Scientific Revolution”, the tendency that every science experiences during its history and the development of any science will be happened throughout the shifting between the normal science and the scientific revolutionary.

The conception of Paradigm as a theory, is trying to have a clear Description-explanation on how one dominant scientific theory at the exact time is entering in its normal science phase, to have “puzzle-solving” role or ability to find “acceptable solution” for its suppositious problems of a science. It wants to say how a “scientific community” shapes around a theory or how they interact with each other, and when a dictated paradigm encounters with its weakness period by facing “Anomalies” that make question of its credibility, then what will happen to its supporters and by which mechanism a formed scientific communities terminated by appearing hesitation over its scientific ability, and gradually leads the paradigm to a scientific revolution point and ultimately it shifts from an exist paradigm to a new one. And why one paradigm is replaced by another one or what will be the quality and procedure of “shifting”. Furthermore, Kuhn’s aim showed the mechanism of “incommensurability” among different paradigm devotees that is highlighted in the book.

Kuhn’s theory in somehow is a kind of “Structure” theory. Its final goal is to analyse the normal science structure that read out a paradigm and science development. Kuhn believes that when anomalies relax the foundation of a dominant paradigm, it will alarm for a “crisis” that perhaps it will show the time for scientific revolution and necessity of emerging new theory and paradigm that ultimately should have more capacity for problem solving. Kuhn by exemplifying space theory indicated that had ruled history of astronomy sciences for centuries, as it is listed by him, Ptolemaic astronomy, Aristotle, Galileo, Copernicus, Newton then Einstein, that each of them tasted being in the position of normal science and they passed pre and post-paradigm atmosphere and each of them became normal science or “common Disciplinary Matrix” of their time that a community of scientists with a common values, methods, tools and techniques, and also with a unification of theoretical and even metaphysical approach collect around itself, and finally replaced by their successor through a scientific revolution path. Kuhn by using some others’ science theory as an example wants to say, it is a common trend of all sciences and it is repeated during scientific history.

Kuhn paradigm shift is not a “Gestalt” commuting and shifting between Duck and Rabbit, therefor a shifted person from one paradigm to new one will not return to previous one, and a kind of incommensurability will govern between two paradigm’s followers.     

Despite, Kuhn’s theory is efficient; the question is why we should trust Mr Kuhn’s theory that is concentrated on a natural-logical scientific shifting trend in philosophy and history of sciences. That is a cyclic and an on-going process, so who knows maybe in near future, the time of Kuhn’s theory also finish and his logical philosophy also adequate to the history of scientific.

Course:

  Research Methodologies and Methods
by:   Dr. Mohammad Samiei

Book reviow

 by:

Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi - M.A Students in Indian Studies

Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran

1392/2/7

 + نوشته شده در دوشنبه نهم اردیبهشت ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 12:10 شماره پست: 279

 

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Born India

In the Name of GOD

Documentary films made by professional artists, attract and catch the viewer’s minds, so during film-watching, taking its detail and complexity would became harder, because it invites observers to go through a wonderful sightseeing that is serried in a line artistically one by one. It bombards your mentality with galore meaningful pictures and colours.

On the other hand, viewer’s mind is shifting between amazing visual collected short film plans that plummets your eyes from one subject to another, and whole performance directs you in a certain way. Also the marvellous narration provided in such film take your attention to where the producer planed and makes it hard to understand and evaluate it in an objective way. So by going through a film once, you cannot achieve a suitable outcome.

 Also the BBC, British Broadcasting Centre, as a professional which has some interests in U.K ex-colonialized areas, is more mischievous than other such companies in this regard. But one has to confess that finding their covert agendas needs conversance and more data, because their hidden agenda takes shelter under complexes artistic techniques. 

One of the cases that the director of this documentary film obviously tries to uncover, as it described, is the economic division among Indian social classes and the discrimination which is going on in India’s new born society. It was the subject that takes part among highlighted subjects by the producers in a good and artistic manner. Big division between riches and poor classes in new India has brought the inequality rate of society enjoyment over the huge new wealth of India, under question, especially in India’s healthcare’s field that the government of India allocates very small part of its GDP to this essential sector (1). Therefor High standard hospital that are provided by the privet sector (2) in India are at the service of a small quantity of rich Indian people, because of high cost it doesn’t allow others to take service from them and very low standard and unequipped therapeutic centres shared by the rest of Indians is their only place for treatment.

While old India radically was trapped in a social discrimination in the shape of religious traditions that expressed itself in the “Cast System” law, now the new born India is suffering from social and economic disorder which both of them brings discrimination for their society. The casting system which had to be removed by the new Indian revolutionary constitution, which came to practice after independent in 1950s (3), and it forbade practice casting system at all levels, have not been practically removed till now and it plays its role in political as well as social Indian parts. New born India faced high rate of economic development but the discrimination to share development’s income also added to their problems.

 As result of this change of economic paradigm, that happened by investment law reforms in 1990s, a small rich community who are going to be rich and richer, and a vast community that is going to be poor and penny less is emerging. The fruits of economic developing are going to the avaricious rich men’s pocket and its side effects like unemployment and etc. is for the lower classes.

So a part of India’s society find themselves support less. Nowadays so many social movements are active all around this country and they are fighting for their fundamental rights and separatist see this situation to use it for their own favour.  The Naxalites (Maoists) are the best example in this regards the vast variety of left-wing militancy groups who are active in the region named "Red Corridor" (4), the stretched area from West Bengal state in North East to Karnataka state in the South West. They are active across 220 districts out of 655 in two third of Indian states (20 out of 30) and occupy or effect about 40% of India’s territories by their operations. 

 Growing Naxalites operations in major urban centres including New Delhi and other major cities as well as rural area especially, year by year, is going to make them asthe most serious internal threat to India's national security” as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cautioned on 2007, security alarms went off in India. Based on Indian intelligence reports Naxalites guerrillas are estimated at about 20,000 armed rebels and include 50,000 regular or fulltime organizers and mobilizers, with the numbers growing (5). Therefor Naxalites military operations made India’s security organisations ineffective in the last decade. This active movement was born faraway, in undeveloped and hard to live rural areas, mostly backward tribunal parts and it could be named as a movement for fundamental rights.

 A part from some illegal movements, so many legal social movements is also mobilized by using the democracy capacity to follow their right. And some of them gathered around political party that shaped on exact social subjects. The best example in this regard isDalits backward society” that is the subject of some socio-political mechanism that strong political party (6) like BSP and SP appeared as rival for nation-wide political structure like INC in U.P, the most populated and very important state in India (culturally, religiously and politically).   

India’s’ ambitious leaders although have been trying to take India forward economically, and they were successful during last decade, but it is inevitable that an industrialized economy would reduce employment rate, because India is going to become an industrialized country and industrialization means employing machine instead of human work force, and every utilized machine means replacing a machine by so many hand workers which the outcome of this process would be a disaster for a traditional India that is founded on the hands of worker’s power. Now Industrialized India does not have so many jobs for its big worker’s market, consequently India will face unemployment (7) which directly pointed its low classes.

    Rural area are the biggest populated sectors in India’s economy that employ nearly 70% of this society, although it is engaging mostly in agrarian field as one of the big economic sectors, but lack of land for the workers forces this section to shows its evil face when India is faced with “free labour” phenomenon. A big community that just offers a small unsuitable place to live, and a miniscule amount of food, barely enough to keep them alive to work instead of their service by their landowners.

The pressure and heaviness of the works is on the weakened bodies of a big society that has no vision of improvement in the future, so no wonder that the media report many cases of suicide amongst this group of people every year.  

Indian leaders consider China as their rival in Asia and in the international economy as well as military fields and they point to reach to this competitor’ economy developing rate. But it is clear at the time that China put its development base on producing goods and also services, India now cannot play as a goods producer like China and their economy is far from China. India is active in service sector more than goods production. It is also forecast able that India, by tasting high economic development rate, and as result of the enlargement of its middle classes members (8), their internal demand for consumption of goods and service is going to be more and more, so it will take more energy of their economy to response to the request for more goods and service by its high populated nation and would lead them to pay more attention to their internal market, therefor it will make India’s income of external trade less and reduce its development.

Furthermore, high number of India’s population will have a double side role in India’s future, on one hand it will provide a young force for taking India forward and on other hand it will play as obstacle for focusing on its problem and becomes as problem itself. 

it is predictable that in future the world will be in the hands of China and India the two Asian regional power that nowadays with long distance from US economy are in the path of tasting high economic development rate, but it is under the question that how it will be possible when this two countries surrounded by so many internal and external problems. Especially India is faced with his social, economic, political, military transition from a traditional non-aligned member to a western ally at least in south Asia affairs. Now it seems that the west door is opening towards India to buy more and more arms and to be the first in the continent. The country that is neighboured by two strong nuclear armed forces and so many separatist internal groups and high rate of poverty and low rate income Indian by the index of GDP per capita and high rate of social crime like rapes case that shocked Indian society that show lack of social security for women in the traditional society that tasting transitional period to a kind of modernised one. The country that starts high cost build-up army procedure, that nobody can see an end for it. (9)

Course:

  Social Structure of India
by: Dr. Heshmat Sadat Moinifar

 Occasional paper on a film Review

 By:  Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi

M.A Student in Indian Studies

 Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran

1392/2/5

 نوشته شده در دوشنبه نهم اردیبهشت ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 9:43 شماره پست: 277

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 What is structure and agency? How does this framework help us in political analysis

In the name of God the munificent the merciful

Analysing Social-Political phenomenonas one of the most complex action in social science, is men concern, hence a methodological instrument which can help to answerto questions in this regard, is welcomed by experts.The“structure - agency”methodological philosophy by Giddenscan be observed as suitable tool to understanding of Social Science’s subjects. The main question is; are we (as human) governing structures or structures determinate our situation?  The agency is strongly related to power and structures also define how power is divided between deferent agents and how camps of power effect on whole. The Structure - agency is a theory between extreme Individualism (as it emphasise and dominate on western thoughts) and Structuralism (as its mostly followed by left wing and some other structuralists) and although individualtheories argue that we are richer as human beings than structure’s approach theories and can predict more strongly, but structuralists deny that the human actor is the ultimate social reality, focussing instead on the situated human actor. Giddens approach considers both of them and he tries to bridge between this two, to analysis social phenomenon and in somehow finish the clash between them.Giddens theory rejects dualism of this two and sees them two sides of the same.

“What is structure and agency? How does this framework help us in political analysis”

Ben Aston

Course:

Research Methodologies and Methods
by: Dr. Mohammad Samiei

Article by:

Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi - M.A Student in Indian Studies

Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran  

+ نوشته شده در پنجشنبه پانزدهم فروردین ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 3:31 PM توسط سید مصطفی مصطفوی  | نظرات

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in the name of god the munificent the merciful

the paradigm of new liberalized india commenced to adopt a new policy and the shift from socio-economy into liberal economy. india by this act left its cold war paradigm behind and entered to a new paradigm. due to this revolutionary turn, indian policy makers decided to join global trend. in the new liberalism paradigm, the global actors as well as india have to follow the rules which dictated by the u.s hegemony. despite, india was one of the founders of the non-alignment movement (nam), since 1990s, they shifted to new liberalism politically and economically, so they will follow the further probable sanctions against iran. in the new paradigm there is incommensurability between iran and india, as iran hasn’t enter to the western attitude, thus iran and india cannot apprehend each other well in this regards. india’s entrance in new paradigm is still debatable because its progress as a western partner would be operative when the u.s commitments to india have done. therefore, the puzzle among iran and india would be solving if the u.s authority doesn’t show itself serious in this manner or the relationship between iran and america derail from the current situation. it is predicted that india will cooperate with western policy to impose further sanctions against iran till the anomaly remove.

course:

  research methodologies and methods
by: dr. mohammad samiei

article by:

seyed mostafa mostafavi -  hassan rezvani  and amir hussin hassanzadeh  -  m.a students in indian studies

faculty of world studies - university of tehran

1392/1/19

 

+ نوشته شده در دوشنبه نوزدهم فروردین ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 12:2 شماره پست: 266

 

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Secularism In India

contents

introduction

1-    what is a secular system?

2-    what dose secular system means?

3-    history of secularism in india

4-    meaning of secular government in india

5-    secularism in india constitution

6-    does secularism practically exists in india?

in the name of god the most compassion and the merciful

i do not expect india of my dreams to develop one religion, i.e., to be wholly hindu or wholly christian or wholly mussulmen, but i want it to be wholly tolerant, with its religions working side by side with one another.”       

"i swear by my religion, i will die for it. but it is my personal affair. the state has nothing to do with it. the state would look after your secular welfare, health, communications, foreign relations, currency and so on, but not your or my religion. that is everybody's personal concern"          mahatma gandhi.

introduction:

necessity of secularism for a plural and diversified india is as important as lung for a live body.  although indian constitution was sign up on secular lines but india made itself as paradise of different faiths in 1976, by a revision in its constitution and placing the word “secular” in it, and put the republic of india in a new shining paradigm, by choosing secular system that indian faiths were accepted, and indians were expected to tolerate all religions and religious and cultural pluralism were recognised by this act clearly and officially. long and bloodiest civil war among politicised religion’s followers during and after independent and possibility of continuously clash between different cultures in indian territories and diversity that exist there lead wise indian policy-makers to make india as paradise for any believe and any approach of religions by choosing secular system.

what is a secular system?

it is a wrong perspective to know a secular system as non-religion or anti-religion system. india is one of the most religious country in the world and in this political unit, religion and philosophy is descent to the living style level of indian people so secular approach to the governing part (as container of power), is irrespective to society’s religion affairs and considers religion as privet side of any members of its society’s life.

what dose secular system means?

 the encyclopaedia of britannic defines secular as ‘non-spiritual, having no concern with religious or spiritual matters’. so a secular state is neither a godless state nor an irreligious state nor an anti-religious state. dr. bhimrao ramji ambedkar (1891-1956), the architect of the indian constitution said “secularism does not mean that we can abolish religion. it does take into consideration the religious sentiments of the people. all that a secular state means is that this parliament shall not be capable to impose any particular religious upon the people.”

history of secularism in india:

hinduism as faith of indian majority on the whole is in the favour of diversity and pluralism so millions of gods and goddess are accepted and welcomed in it and in somehow secularism is laying in its principals. it also has a strong tradition of freedom of integrity and tolerance of religious in its diversity. india as traditional society contains many traditions remaining their origin in part to the different religions that exist there. upanishads as old hindu scriptures speaks of “sarva dharma samabhava”, which means respect for all belief systems.

secularism in india, in somehow is a confronting with communalism, an anti-secular and minority movement that during and after independent made and prepare a two-polar society, that clashes among them take millions lives. although during the freedom struggle, secularism was emerging as the most dominant principle and the leaders of the “indian national congress party”, like sheri late mahatma gandhi, sheri late maulana abul kalam azad, sheri late jawaher lal nehru and others were deeply announced their believe and commitment to the ideal of secularism and secularism as word of the indian nation, who tired by partition and sectarian riots and above all terrorism that showed its dangerous face by assassination of mahatma gandhi, did not want any more combative talk. thus the secular principles got preserved into the indian constitution. under nehru and later his successors in the congress party, the concept of a secular nation-state was officially adopted as india's path to political modernity and national integration. unlike in the west, where secularism came mainly out of the conflict between the church and the state, secularism in india was conceived as a system that sustained religious and cultural pluralism.

 in the post independent era, the process of secularisation was in very slow speed and although constitution and governing bodies were secular, but the infiltration of communal elements all corner of indian system; even in congress government that had many leaders in important positions that were influenced by a hindu communal ideology. late 70's and the early 80's, communalism got a strong boost and it started attacking secularism in a big way, the bjp and it supporters like vhp (vishwa hindu parishad) and rss began their eruption and even hindu ideological-based militant groups such as the “bajrang dal” and the “shivsena” come to exist to forcefully bring communal movement forward. now communal forces are gathered under an umbrella with the name of “hindutva” and confronting secularism by name it as a new mask of fundamentalism and equating fundamentalism with islam.

meaning of secular government in india:

the word secular suggests equality for all religions and religious tolerance and respect. india does not have an official state religion. every person has the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion they choose. the government must not favour or discriminate against any religion. it must treat all religions with equal respect. all citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in front of law. no religious teaching is imparted in government or government-aided schools. nevertheless, general information about all established world religions is imparted as part of the course in sociology, without giving any importance to any one religion or the others.

secularism in india meant equal respect for all religions and cultures and non-interference of religion in the government affairs. also, according to the indian constitution no discrimination will be made on the basis of caste, creed, gender and class. similarly all citizens of india irrespective of one’s religion, caste or gender have right to vote. all will enjoy same rights without any discrimination on any ground. therefore, the chief aspects of indian secularism are:

no state religion, separation of state and religion, peaceful co-existence of all religions, treatment of all religions equally by the state, equality of opportunity in the public field for all irrespective of caste or creed or race or religion ensuring equal citizenship, freedom of religion both individual and corporate

secularism in india constitution:

 article 14: equality in front of law

article 15:  prohibitions of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth

article 16:  equality of opportunity in matters of public employment

article 17:  abolition of un-touch ability

article 25:   all those who reside in india are free to confess, practice and propagate religion of one’s choice subject of course to social health and law and order. thus even conversion to any religion of one’s choice is a fundamental right. freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion

article 26:   freedom to mange religious affairs.

article 27:   no person shall be obligated to pay taxes, the process of which is specifically appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination.

article 28:   (i) no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds.                  (ii) nothing in clause (1) shall apply to any educational institution which is administered by the state but has been     established under any endowment or trust which required that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institution.

 article 29:          (1)            any section of citizens residing in the territory of india having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have a right   to conserve the same.                (2)  no citizen shall be denied admission to any educational institution maintained by the state or receiving aid out of state funds on grounds of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

article 30:               (1) all minorities, whether based on religion or language shall have the right to establish             and administer educational institutions to            their choice.         (2) the state shall not, in granting, aid to educational institutions, discriminate on the         ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

does secularism practically exists in india:

secular system is exists in india and its law especially is secular and the minority’s right is clearly mentioned and we can say india is perfect in this regard, but the problem is that the process of secularisation in india after independent is not complete tile now and anti-secular elements also active there and the threats to indian secularism are strong, something like politicisation of religion, casteism, communalism are three major enemy of secularism and all of them are strong now. indian secularism has three important characteristics, it is liberal (it not only ensures religious equality and liberty but also protects the rights of        minorities). it is qualified, not absolute (religious freedom is subject to reasonable          restrictions to preserve public order and health of the people). it is dynamic (the government may adopt necessary laws to achieve the goals of welfare state even if they violate the traditional principles).

course:

  politic and governing in india
by: dr. mandana tesheyar

article by:

seyed mostafa mostafavi - m.a student in indian studies

faculty of world studies - universityof tehran 

 1392/1/18

+ نوشته شده در یکشنبه هجدهم فروردین ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 15:58 شماره پست: 265

 

به اشتراک بگذارید

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In the name of God the munificent the merciful

The Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)in somehowis focused on the structure or the agents that involve in a socio-political phenomenon as well as its cultural, situational, religion, political… contextto show hidden structure that dominate or control atmosphereof a text or speech, (or an act) as well as relations, thought… that are behind it to know and un cover a social player’s characters better. This method is also can be abused by a rival in political and media fields to show connections and causes which maybe are hiddenin public eyes of viewers or listeners previously.CDA is a method of research rather than a school of though and same as other methods there are no exact philosophy behind it and every CD.Analyser based on his concern and approach does his/her job. For example every CD.Analyser can bring a socio-political text (or speech) under an analysingscanner or microscopeit on his concern and studyitin all aspects of vocabulary, grammar and textual structures or dictate thoughtsand bring to surface the facts that are covered itself in the form of words...in it.

 “Critical Discourse analysis: A letter to expatriates from the Rt. Hon. Sir Norman Fowler MP”

Andrew Atkins

Course:

Research Methodologies and Methods
by: Dr. Mohammad Samiei

Article by:

Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi - M.A Student in Indian Studies

Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran

                             1392/1/15

What is structure and agency? How does this framework help us in political analysis

+ نوشته شده در پنجشنبه پانزدهم فروردین ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 15:31 شماره پست: 262

In the name of God the munificent the merciful

Analysing Social-Political phenomenonas one of the most complex action in social science, is men concern, hence a methodological instrument which can help to answerto questions in this regard, is welcomed by experts.The“structure - agency”methodological philosophy by Giddenscan be observed as suitable tool to understanding of Social Science’s subjects. The main question is; are we (as human) governing structures or structures determinate our situation?  The agency is strongly related to power and structures also define how power is divided between deferent agents and how camps of power effect on whole. The Structure - agency is a theory between extreme Individualism (as it emphasise and dominate on western thoughts) and Structuralism (as its mostly followed by left wing and some other structuralists) and although individualtheories argue that we are richer as human beings than structure’s approach theories and can predict more strongly, but structuralists deny that the human actor is the ultimate social reality, focussing instead on the situated human actor. Giddens approach considers both of them and he tries to bridge between this two, to analysis social phenomenon and in somehow finish the clash between them.Giddens theory rejects dualism of this two and sees them two sides of the same.

What is structure and agency? How does this framework help us in political analysis

Ben Aston

Course:

Research Methodologies and Methods
by: Dr. Mohammad Samiei

Article by:

Seyed Mostafa Mostafavi - M.A Student in Indian Studies

 Faculty of world studies - University of Tehran  

 

+ نوشته شده در پنجشنبه پانزدهم فروردین ۱۳۹۲ ساعت 15:35 شماره پست: 263

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دیدگاه

چون شر پدید آمد و بر دست و پای بشر بند زد، و او را به غارت و زندان ظالمانه خود برد، اندیشه نیز بعنوان راهور راه آزادگی، آفریده شد، تا فارغ از تمام بندها، در بالاترین قله های ممکن آسمانیِ آگاهی و معرفت سیر کند، و ره توشه ایی از مهر و انسانیت را فرود آورد. انسان هایی بدین نور دست یافتند، که از ذهن خود زنجیر برداشتند، تا بدون لکنت، و یا کندن از زمین، و مردن، بدین فضای روشنی والا دست یافته، و ره توشه آورند.

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