1st Edition
Comprehending Equity Contextualising India’s North-East
This book interrogates the idea of equity in the context of India’s Northeast region. The region comprises of diverse ethnicities heralding different socio-political and historical contexts. The present volume attempts to bring to the fore, the ever-widening socio-economic gap between dominant and marginalized groups and the challenges of traversing towards equity and social justice in this context.
The book looks at the socio-economic disparity and exploitation in the region, conspicuous in the form of poor governance, ethnic violence and a sense of marginalisation and disillusionment. Based on case studies and research of different states and communities in the Northeast, the volume discusses the complex and unique socio-economic challenges of the people in the region. It analyses the issues of representation, identity and ethnic dominance, affirmative action, food security, sustainability, access to education, territorial conflicts, ineffective governance, among others. The book offers insights and perspectives into concepts such as equity, justice, fairness and discrimination by juxtaposing the booming global economic order which depicts the extreme levels of deprivation especially among those belonging to the disadvantaged communities.
This volume will be of interest to scholars and researchers of sociology, social anthropology, development studies, politics, law and governance, and South Asia studies.
List of Tables. List of Contributors. Acknowledgements. Foreword. 1. Introduction: Equity and differing contexts in Northeast India Section I: The Concept and Context 2. Social equity: A conceptual note 3. Understanding equity and equality: Some conceptual and pragmatic considerations 4. Equity: A crucial debate in contemporary India 5. Equity and ethnic politics in north east India Section II: Ethnicity, Development and Governance 6. Politics of identity formation in Sikkim: An insider’s view 7. Ethnicity, food security and deprivation: The marginalised hill people and distributive (in)justice in Manipur 8. When boundaries matter: Land, laws and territorial conflict in Manipur 9. Ensuring social justice in tribal society: Reservation of women in the local bodies of Mizoram 10. Equity, reciprocity and environmental ethics: Comparative study of agricultural practices vis-à-vis sustainable development among the tribes of northeast India Section III: Tangle of Subjugation: Women & Religious Minority 11. Demystifying sex work: Questions of social equity 12. Locating women within ethnic movements: A case of Assam 13. Pangals in Manipur: A community symbolising disadvantaged status in the state Section IV: Domain of Education 14. Financing of school education in north-eastern states of India 15. Classroom as a site of exclusion in massified higher education in India 16. Brewing knowledge in university: Just add northeast and stir. Index.
Biography
Kedilezo Kikhi is currently Chair Professor, Dr. Ambedkar Chair, and Professor at the Department of Sociology, Tezpur University, Assam. He completed his post-graduate degree and PhD from North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. He is credited with several publications in national and international journals, dailies, texts and reference books for tertiary as well as school education. Two of his most notable books include India’s Northeast – Nagaland: Vibrant Ethnic Communities in Transition and The Dynamics of Development in Northeast India.
Dharma Rakshit Gautam is currently Research Officer and Assistant Professor, Dr. Ambedkar Chair at Tezpur University, Assam. He did his post-graduation from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and completed research degrees (MPhil and PhD) at National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi. Some of his publications include articles, chapters and a book titled, Education Among scheduled Castes.
