Hindi Diwas and Relocating the Hindi–Urdu Debate
Article, Economic and Political Weekly, 2025,
View abstract ⏷
In a certain sense, every time World Hindi Diwas is celebrated, not only does it evoke the idea of the monolingual identity of the Indian nation but also invents certain linguistic claims and imaginaries about the Hindi-Hindu past. One dominant way in which such linguistic assumptions around Hindi are imagined and practised is by insisting on a binary choice between Hindi-Hindu and Urdu-Muslim. This social binary of two languages exists despite their fl uid meanings in medieval India. The article argues that while Hindi and Urdu are assigned distinctive historical genealogies, what is often missed is the context of fl uidities of medieval India where such vocabularies of linguistic and social binaries hardly existed.
Measurement and Determinants of Productivity of the Indian Electronics Industry: 2004–05 to 2016–17
Kumar M., Trivedi P.
Book chapter, Innovation Systems, Economic Development and Public Policy: Sustainable Options from Emerging Economies, 2022, DOI Link
View abstract ⏷
This chapter briefly discusses Indian electronics industry, followed by a discussion on the literature on determinants of productivity. The Indian electronics industry has a 2.3 per cent share in India's GDP, while the overall manufacturing share is below 20 percent. Given the importance of the electronics industry as an independent contributor to the growth of the economy and the input contribution to other sectors, the growth and productivity performance of this industry are crucial from the point of the overall growth of the economy. The electronics industry holds strategic importance at firm-(or country-) level with extensive usage in military, space and security systems, and partly explains the inter-firm (or country) competition to innovate, acquire and maintain the technology gap. The electronics industry is highly capital-, skill-and scale-intensive. It requires specialized materials and components leading to emergence of GVCs, such that manufacturing and knowledge production are spread across geography.
Development alienating human from nature: A case study of North Sikkim
Book chapter, Development and Deprivation in the Indian Sub-continent, 2019, DOI Link
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The environment of which land is a vital component, acts as a highly sensitive system to provide means of sustainability to all forms of life and the degradation of same results in creation of inequalities among the masses. In this, error lies in the process of development, where man is not seen as part of nature but one who tries to dominate it to utilize resources in the manner which s/he thinks is appropriate. This situation becomes grimmer in case of North-East India, where development projects are imposed on local population, taking out peace from these hilly regions. More crucial, however is the wilful neglect of local population from the decision making process. This isolation and ignorance has sometime resulted in various movements resulting in standoff between people and various state and private projects. The recent movement of Lepcha community in North Sikkim is peculiar, where the Dzongu affected people have resented to construction of dam and the compensation policy proposed by the government. The experience of North Sikkim teaches an important lesson, where the idea of economic development is opposed regularly. It is an interesting story of people’s movement who deny being a part of such development project that according to them would only bring poverty and conflict to the region. This study analyses the ongoing debate on the issue of sustainable development and role played by indigenous community. Further an attempt is made to validate the idea that sustainable development should be as onewhich must satisfy the criteria that is not purely economical.
Reservation amidst the Din of ‘Development’
Article, Economic and Political Weekly, 2016,
View abstract ⏷
It is important to clarify that the rationale behind instituting reservation in jobs and educational institutions was not to eliminate economic inequality but to dismantle the monopoly of a few castes in government services and educational institutions and to create equal opportunities for the backward classes in an otherwise unequal society.