Paper long abstract:

Scholars have believed that there is a special character to knowledge. It is being dominated by the socially, economically or politically dominant people. Regular people never had the opportunity of being heard in public. Thus the story presented or the knowledge created is only a part of the reality.

However subaltern studies are the new trend in social sciences that try to look into the regular people's voices through analysing folk traditions and oral culture. In contemporary times the common people have found other ways to express their views. With new technologies and platforms at disposal they are speaking more frequently than ever. Blogs are one ways by which these voices are subjected to scrutiny of larger population.

While researching in Jamia Nagar after, Batla House encounter in 2008, I came across various instances where respondents develop cold feet during interviews. It all leads me to explore the virtual world where I came across the blogs written by people from all walks of life about the encounter and the place. The blogs are a lot of information about the larger debates of harmonious citizenship, Muslim Identity, secular ideas, Governance and urban settings. The paper will try to demonstrate the blogospehere as a space to provide insights into important issues of society that are talked about by the people who deal with them everyday.

Paper short abstract:

At present, South Asian people have many socio-economic and political problems. Poverty is one. This study examines whether the South Asian countries have played proper role of the state as accepted by the economists. The study analyzes state related variables.

Paper long abstract:

Both private and public sectors have to play valuable complementary roles in economic development. Government is functioning in charge of the state which is expected to correct and facilitate the market. Thus, government is the leader of an economy or a country. If it fails, people cannot lead fine lives. At present, South Asian people have many socio-economic and political problems, namely poverty, illiteracy, inequality of income distribution, violence against women, pollution, unemployment, and exploitation of child labor and other child problems. Specifically speaking, in South Asia, 45 percent of the population lives on less than one dollar a day. Some countries do not concentrate on development. Instead, they have entangled in civil struggles, infringement of human rights, failures of government such as corruption etc. Therefore, this study examines whether the South Asian countries have played proper role of the state as accepted by economists. This objective is achieved by analyzing state related variables such as degree of income distribution, corruption, rule of law, road density, inflation, education, health etc over time and comparing between economies. The study concludes that South Asian states have to do much more to promote growth and development so that people in these countries could lead free, healthy, fine and calm lives.

Paper short abstract:

If there is any interlink between identity movement and urbanization is the key theme of this paper. Case study is taken from India.

Paper long abstract:

If urbanisation and identity movement can influence each other is the main theme of this paper. Case study has been taken from northern West Bengal state of India and target group is Nepali speaking Himalayan people in respect to Siliguri township of sub-Himalayas.

Nepali-speaking hill people are basically from Central Himalayan country of Nepal where the concept of pan-Himalayan integrity in the name of Gorkha identity was emerged.

In British India and in post-independent times,many people of them have served Gorkha regiment and socio-politically formed a human shield in borderlands They serve as the backbone alternatives like tea estates, forest departments, tourism,and settled agriculture: on the basis of that, several urban pockets were developed by the British in included Himalayan pockets and Terai-Duars foothills along with local watersheds from influences of Sikkim and Bhutan.

Gorkha people know very well the Shahi notion in Indian politics and the goodwill between Shahi and British Commonwealth needed for safety in South Asia.

Gorkhas always demand a separate statehood in the name of Gorkhaland over these territories once included in Bengal Presidency (now West Bengal state of India).

They keep good terms with country India. For the last hundred years, this demand of Gorkhaland was raised, whenever in British India or India with First, Second and First Worlds in critical stages: to some the demand was of separatism and to many for inclusiveness.

Globalization, desparities and urban growth in Siliguri sub-Himalayas are accompanied by Gorlkaland movement.

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Paper short abstract:

Different segments of the Indian society have commented on and/or written about globalisation. From a feminist perspective, starting from Dalits and tribes to upper caste and class, globalisation has been the centre of interest for various women groups since the opening of the Indian economic market in the early 1990s. Women activists, academics and grassroots´ organisations produced numerous writings, songs and documentaries on globalisation and its impact on the development of urban and rural India. This paper focuses particularly on writings and alternative modes of expression of marginalized women in Andhra Pradesh in which they underline their views on the postive and negatives impacts of globalisation on their lives. Songs, poems, pamflets, posters and writings in Hindi, Telugu and English are the sources for highlighting their lives, protests, pespectives and ultimately their voices. Particularly the interconnection between globalisation and development policies and their negative and/or positive influence on marginalized women´s groups is analysed by examining women´s texts. In conclusion, the paper will discuss the interaction between the women´s movements and the society at large and how changing framework conditions influence both sides. This paper is embedded in a feminist and “post”-colonial theoretical perspectives as it argues that the era of globalisation is yet another form of colonialism. Parallels are drawn when looking at the embodiment of women, economic structures and political frameworks. The so called development agencies and their impact on large parts of the Indian society have often been argued to be another form of European colonial power. The theoretical background as well as the findings of the paper highlight the interplay of the triangle of globalisation, development and marginalized women´s voices.

Paper long abstract:

Different segments of the Indian society have commented on and/or written about globalisation. From a feminist perspective, starting from Dalits and tribes to upper caste and class, globalisation has been the centre of interest for various women groups since the opening of the Indian economic market in the early 1990s. Women activists, academics and grassroots´ organisations produced numerous writings, songs and documentaries on globalisation and its impact on the development of urban and rural India. This paper focuses particularly on writings and alternative modes of expression of marginalized women in Andhra Pradesh in which they underline their views on the postive and negatives impacts of globalisation on their lives. Songs, poems, pamflets, posters and writings in Hindi, Telugu and English are the sources for highlighting their lives, protests, pespectives and ultimately their voices. Particularly the interconnection between globalisation and development policies and their negative and/or positive influence on marginalized women´s groups is analysed by examining women´s texts. This paper is embedded in a feminist and "post"-colonial theoretical perspectives as it argues that the era of globalisation is yet another form of colonialism. Parallels are drawn when looking at the embodiment of women, economic structures and political frameworks. The theoretical background as well as the findings of the paper highlight the interplay of the triangle of globalisation, development and marginalized women´s voices.

Paper short abstract:

The impact of Krishi Vigyan Kendra here has been studied to elicit the facts of economic return, technological compatibility and change in cropping intensity. The spill over effect can also be measure between adopted and non adopted village under the same canopy of KVK.

Paper long abstract:

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is the largest extension network in the world for transfer and socialization of agricultural technology (TOT) to the grass-root people and rightly India can go proud of her around 600 KVKs covering almost all districts. The present paper has estimated and elucidated the impact of KVK functioning in terms of: (i) changing income (ii) level of mechanization, (iii) training perception (iv) contents compatibility and (v) changing cropping intensity. The results of research clearly show that non-KVK villages are lagging behind the KVK villages in terms of the said parameters as stated earlier. The canonical discriminant function indicates that farm mechanization has come out conspicuously as the most important determinant in measuring the impact of KVKs. However, it has also been found to keep any village insulated of external spillover impact emanating from the function of KVK villages.