Traditional food systems of many ethnic communities in India directly depend on their symbiotic relationship with the surrounding natural resources and the local socio-ecological and cultural dynamics. However, in the light of development activities resulting in drastic socio-ecological changes, these communities are oftentimes found stranded with over-simplified and unsustainable food systems. Using an ethnographic methodology, we present the case of Gaddis – an agro-pastoral community of Himachal Pradesh in India. In this paper, we documented the on-going trade-offs in traditional livelihoods of the Gaddis and their land use patterns that cause a significant transition in the traditional food systems. Based on our observations, we argue that mapping the shifting political ecology of resources enables a better understanding of transitioning food systems and the consequent eco-cultural changes. While doing so, we emphasize the need for revisitng the existing praxis of tribal development in India with an urgent focus on holistic socio-ecological approaches.
One of the significant challenges of teaching Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) courses lies in the dynamic nature of the programme itself where the only constant is the change. Hence, the main pedagogical aim in such a programme is teaching students how to continuously learn, unlearn and relearn in a lifelong fashion. There are multiple factors that hinder the learning outcomes of many offered courses in an MBA programme. At Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS) Pilani, the challenge is enhanced somewhat as the student population pursuing an MBA degree is mostly from an engineering background. Moreover, the institutional regulations do not disqualify students from appearing in any evaluation based on their attendance in the class. Thus, teachers have to incorporate an innovative approach to their teaching style for attracting students to the classrooms.
Pastoral practices throughout the world are in a state of flux, and Gaddi pastoralism in India’s Western Himalayas is no exception. Often in literature and common parlance, these practices are predicted to end with the current generation of practising pastoralists. For Gaddi, an agro-pastoral community located in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh in India, these gloomy predictions have remained persistent over decades. Irrespective of these claims, pastoralism continues to remain a viable livelihood option for many within the community even today. However, the institutional dynamics in which these practices are embedded have undergone several changes.In this paper, we discuss the changes in Gaddi pastoralism and its resilience by stressing a critical aspect of labour, often referred to as puhals in their vernacular dialect. Out of the various contextual meanings, we adopt the applied translation of this term as hired herders to understand their role in the larger socio-ecological system amidst the on-going livelihood shifts and declining interest among the Gaddi youth to pursue pastoralism. The data presented in this paper was collected through ethnographic fieldwork conducted during 2018–2019 at Bharmour region of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Qualitative tools including in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and participant observations were administered. We discuss various aspects of puhal practices among the Gaddis including their recruitment process, need for hiring, involved negotiations over remunerations, skill sets and access to the resources, to highlight the institutional dynamism. Our findings suggest that hiring herders remains a crucial adaptation for the continuation and sustenance of pastoral practices that are facing contingent external pressures. It also facilitates transmission of local knowledge, livelihood and income diversification, accumulation of wealth, social mobility and cultural continuity. We conclude that hired herding, in the face of increasing labour shortages among the Gaddis, offers an innovative proposition to halt the decline in pastoralism and shape its future.
The Mahabharata is a treasure-trove of the cultural memories of the Hindus. The grand Epic has entertained and edified our society through its numerous identity-relevant narratives since time immemorial. The longevity of The Mahabharata lies in its capacity to adapt, adopt and re-fashion the account, which grants endless opportunities of initiating open-ended debate. The grand Epic has shaped our values and shared a template by which a life guided by Dharma is to be lived. The dialogic text continues to contribute to the resolution of our emotional angst and existential dilemmas. Much ahead of its times, the Epic revels in the liminality that is apparent in the narratives of the gender-queer people who are an integral part of its culture-scape. This paper seeks to study two liminal figures in the Epic narrative – Shikhandi, the trans-gender Prince of Panchala, and Yuvanashwa, the pregnant King, who swayed between gendered identities and challenged the hegemonic heteronormative sexual framework, thereby opening avenues of conversation related to marginalization, resistance and empowerment. The paper also examines the queer cases of King Sudyumna and King Bhangashwan, who questioned the symbolic binaries of gender and delineated a horizon of possibilities. The aim here is to measure the resistance of the genderqueer against the prescriptive order of subjectivities and assess the impact and the outcome. Drawing from the deconstructivist and the queer theories, the study foregrounds the trauma and the resistance of the marginal. These narratives establish The Mahabharata as one of the earliest texts to have a meaningful discourse in the queer-space.
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