Perspectives On Violence And Othering In India

This volume brings together important and original perspectives from South Asia on the relationship between violence---an increasingly important issue in multicultural societies---and the process of othering. The contributors state that societies create 'others' through deliberate acts of selection over a period of time. The objective of the process of othering is to deny rights and privileges that one sets for one's own group. This volume affirms that central to the understanding of violence in any society is the understanding of othering processes. Violence and nonviolence are influenced by the nature of othering processes as well as the kinds of others in a society. Groups engaged in mutual othering are also the ones that are often involved in violent relationships. Renowned scholars from diverse fields provide multidisciplinary perspectives on violence and othering, discussing the concepts of violence and nonviolence in multicultural societies, communal harmony, constructions of the other, truth commissions, state censorship of 'sensitive' issues, fundamentalism and secularism in multifaith societies, and specific cases from recent violence-prone areas. This volume focuses on the South Asian, and more specifically, the Indian context, but is relevant for researchers seeking to understand these issues anywhere in the world.

This book covers a range of issues and phenomena around gender-related violence in specific cultural and regional conditions. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it discusses historical and contemporary developments that trigger violence while highlighting the social conditions, practices, discourses, and cultural experiences of gender-related violence in India. Beginning with the issues of gender-based violence within the traditional context of Indian history and colonial encounters, it moves on to explore the connections between gender, minorities, marginalisation, sexuality, and violence, especially violence against Dalit women, disabled women, and transgender people. It traces and interprets similarities and differences as well as identifies social causes of potential conflicts. Further, it investigates the forms and mechanisms of political, economic, and institutional violence in the legitimation or de-legitimation of traditional gender roles. The chapters deal with sexual violence, violence within marriage and family, influence of patriarchal forces within factory-based gender violence, and global processes such as demand-driven surrogacy and the politics of literary and cinematic representations of gender-based violence. The book situates relevant debates about India and underlines the global context in the making of the gender bias that leads to violence both in the public and private domains. An important contribution to feminist scholarship, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of gender studies, women’s studies, history, sociology, and political science.

This book is a collection of essays covering a range of issues related to socioeconomic inequalities and diversities. The authors, leading social scientists of diverse nationalities, represent varied perspectives. The book has essays on multiculturalism, social inclusion and exclusion of minorities and other marginalized groups such as low castes, linguistic minorities, Adivasis (tribals), persons with disability and unemployed youth. The book focuses on some innovative concepts considered necessary to understand the very process and evolution of aspects of social development such as pro-sociality, authentic responsible self and leadership ideology. The book deals with the challenges for achieving social development and societal harmony. The book will be a very useful resource for social science scholars and particularly for social and cultural psychologists, development professionals and administrators interested in the issues related to social development, social diversity and inter-group relations. The book will also be useful for policy formulation and action.

Christianity has been present in India since at least the third century, but the faith remains a small minority. Even so, Christianity is growing rapidly in parts of the subcontinent, and has made an impact far beyond its numbers. Yet Indian Christianity remains highly controversial, and it has suffered growing discrimination and violence. This book shows how Christian converts and communities continue to make contributions to Indian society, even amid social pressure and violent persecution. In a time of controversy in India about the legitimacy of conversion and the value of religious diversity, Christianity in India addresses the complex issues of faith, identity, caste, and culture. It documents the outsized role of Christians in promoting human rights, providing education and healthcare, fighting injustice and exploitation, and stimulating economic uplift for the poor. Readers will come away surprised and sobered to learn how these active initiatives often invite persecution today. The essays draw on intimate and personal encounters with Christians in India, past and present, and address the challenges of religious freedom in contemporary India.

In this book, Dr. Manohar James explores how Hindu intolerance has contributed to anti-Christian propaganda over the centuries, how such intolerance has informed the conclusions of the Niyogi Committee Report, and how the Report’s ongoing publications, redactions and recessions have intensified anti-Christian rhetoric in India over the last six decades.

Hinduism is the largest religion in India, encompassing roughly 80 percent of the population, while 14 percent of the population practices Islam and the remaining 6 percent adheres to other religions. The right to "freely profess, practice, and propagate religion" in India's constitution is one of the most comprehensive articulations of the right to religious freedom. Yet from the late colonial era to the present, mass conversions to minority religions have inflamed majority-minority relations in India and complicated the exercise of this right. In Religious Freedom and Mass Conversion in India, Laura Dudley Jenkins examines three mass conversion movements in India: among Christians in the 1930s, Dalit Buddhists in the 1950s, and Mizo Jews in the 2000s. Critics of these movements claimed mass converts were victims of overzealous proselytizers promising material benefits, but defenders insisted the converts were individuals choosing to convert for spiritual reasons. Jenkins traces the origins of these opposing arguments to the 1930s and 1940s, when emerging human rights frameworks and early social scientific studies of religion posited an ideal convert: an individual making a purely spiritual choice. However, she observes that India's mass conversions did not adhere to this model and therefore sparked scrutiny of mass converts' individual agency and spiritual sincerity. Jenkins demonstrates that the preoccupation with converts' agency and sincerity has resulted in significant challenges to religious freedom. One is the proliferation of legislation limiting induced conversions. Another is the restriction of affirmative action rights of low caste people who choose to practice Islam or Christianity. Last, incendiary rumors are intentionally spread of women being converted to Islam via seduction. Religious Freedom and Mass Conversion in India illuminates the ways in which these tactics immobilize potential converts, reinforce damaging assumptions about women, lower castes, and religious minorities, and continue to restrict religious freedom in India today.

Learn the most up-to-date developments in applied psychology with one authoritative collection The Handbook on the State of the Art in Applied Psychology delivers 19 state-of-the-art addresses on a selected topic in applied psychology. Together, they constitute an up-to-date and authoritative reference that describes the most cutting-edge material in the most prominent domains of applied psychology. The accomplished academics and editors Dr. Peter Graf and Dr. David Dozois put the focus on areas where the most profound recent progress has been made. They also emphasize the link between science and practice, showcasing basic science research that has practical implications for real world problems. Readers will benefit from up-to-date research on topics as varied as occupational commitment and organizational productivity, forgiveness, shared cultural spaces, environmental decision making, and the early identification of reading problems. In addition to the papers included in the collection, the Handbook on the State of the Art in Applied Psychology features: An insightful preface focused on the theme of connecting basic research to practical solutions in the real world An overview of the chapters and their arrangement in the collection An author and subject index to assist readers in finding the information they seek A focus on the most cutting-edge advancements in the field of applied psychology, with an emphasis on the impact of technological innovation and increased recognition of cultural determinants of behavior Perfect for applied psychology researchers, workers, teachers, and students around the world, Handbook on the State of the Art in Applied Psychology also belongs on the bookshelves of anyone looking for an efficient way to get up to speed on the latest developments on a wide variety of relevant topics in applied psychology.