prompts and panoramas

Photo by Anna Shvets The editorial commentary of One Health on COVID-19 and globalization in April 2020 flagged - “Nations everywhere must recognize that in this era of massive global exchange of persons and goods, leaving the outbreaks soring anywhere possess a risk everywhere.” This call resonated with eventual public health directives -- norms of social distancing measures were complemented by inter-country distancing in forms of - “global termination of travel mostly via national policy responses; attacks on global organisations such as the World Health Organization; the conflict between states over pharmaceutical tools and the support of medical research companies; and the de facto absence of leadership from international organisations like the European Union or G20 in response to this crisis.” (Zimmermann et al. 2020) The vitality of globalization processes can be traced to its desire for interconnectedness -- a double-edged sword when it comes to the spread of infectious disease...

Photo by Roman Odintsov Societal relations are a network of power dynamics which determine the economic allocation of resources and political direction of knowledge. Mired in cultural historicity they perpetuate through construction of myths and institution of realities. Lived experiences and perceptions of good life-quality are shaped by the notions of societal relations. Inequality of societal relations takes a toll on those who exist at the weaker end of the power dynamics spectrum. One of the fundamental attributes of such an inequality is patriarchy - a phenomenon signifying the gendered inequality of societal relations in which an overpowered masculine structure systematically subjugates feminine value systems. Within gendered discourses the powerplay nuances of “sex, sex category, and gender” play an important role in complicating the understanding of patriarchy-inflicted inequality and corresponding analytical and interactional frameworks. These distinctions have a particularis...

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 is a landmark legislation which seeks “to provide for protection of rights of transgender people, their welfare, and other related matters.” Breaking away from gender binary conceptualizations it includes “trans-men and trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons with socio-cultural identities, such as kinnar and hijra” in its ambit. It prohibits wide-ranging discriminatory practices against transgender persons, “including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to: (i) education; (ii) employment; (iii) healthcare; (iv) access to, or enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public; (v) right to movement; (vi) right to reside, rent, or otherwise occupy property; (vii) opportunity to hold public or private office; and (viii) access to a government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is.” Additionally, it sets ...

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh The gendered dimension of household and care work -- which is mostly unpaid -- is striking. As per NSSO 2019 statistics, 92 percent Indian women take part in unpaid domestic work while only 27 percent men do so. (The Hindu 2020) To understand this disparity, this article takes a deep dive into the characterizations of the institution of marriage and family, relational positionality of gendered power to men, masculinity and patriarchy, and contemporary debates surrounding the issue. Discourses of reform often stop at the gates of domestic space. For domestic space is considered as a space of ‘private affairs’ -- safely distant from questioning moralities of public life. (Lynch 1994) Nevertheless, domestic space can prove to be a breeding ground for gendered inequities and indoctrination of patriarchal values, as demonstrated by plethora of domestic violence cases -- reported or unreported. (EPW 2020) This insularity from the public probity remains one of t...

Photo by Anni Roenkae “Ethics is in origin the art of recommending to others the sacrifices required for cooperation with oneself.” —Bertrand Russell Research is an endeavour to know a better version of our knowledge about the world and its constituents, implication and limitations thereof. It is traditionally associated with a high degree of practice and understanding to be undertaken after a considerable engagement with a subject matter. Such a task calls for a substantial set of ethics and norms within a critical framework of epistemology. Research ethics forms the backbone of conduct of research which ensure that the validity of the outcomes are upheld by the concerned. It establishes a sense of acknowledgement of the morality of approach and fallibility of outcomes. Thereby it purports to have good social conduct without any malicious intent or malice. The research community at large is also able to involve itself in the feeling of a communitas of preserving an order which can...

Photo by Kelly Lacy On East Asian Development Model In its crudest form, capitalism is understood as a phenomenon of market forces for private profits. Deriving its root from laissez faire, it sees the role of state as uncalled for. State interventionism in the form of taxes, subsidies or regulation is antithetical to its pursuit of free enterprise. It is inferred that competitive forces and self-regulation by the markets are the surest augury of economic development. Allocation of resources for competing use cases is principled on price mechanism. The right to freedom - in its truest expression, is the cornerstone of this ideology. As such, a climate of democratic polity and individual liberty is prerequisite for its flourishing. Post-war global economy witnessed shades of structural experimentations across swathes of the globe to undo damages of the past and chart a road to future prosperity. In the backdrop of the Cold war, two predominant blocs of thought and praxis surfaced - one ...

Photo by Chris LeBoutillier One of the fundamental features of a vibrant democracy is its deliberative exercise of  policymaking. Such deliberation is needed and becomes essential when we encounter a  multiplicity of policy options – which in their own rights have distinctive merits. Factors such as  cultural experience, context of operation and circumstances for adoption significantly shape  assessment of merits – in formulation, implementation and evaluation of a policy. This essay attempts to underscore the Indian development experience post 1991 policy reforms – which  ushered in an era of globalization, along with liberalization and privatization; through critical  perspectives from modernization and dependency theories. It highlights pernicious issues that  hold us back from achieving an egalitarian, peaceful and sustainable society; arguing for a case  that modernization and dependency theories are relevant but inadequate for policymak...