Space In India Research Articles

Geographic contingency, affective facts, and the politics of global nutrition policy

Global health organizations focused on nutrition have developed an intense focus on the first 1000-days of human life (from the point of conception to age 2) as the time where the right nutrition and care will determine personal health and global economic futures. Based on epidemiology and lab-based bioscience, this has led to a global policy consensus that promotes a set of 'essential interventions' focused on the bodies of mother to ensure productive global futures. Building on scholars arguments that 1000-days consensus is predicated on a logic of anticipatory action, this paper uses the two distinct orientations of the concept of contingency to understand both how this narrative has achieved global prominence, and how it has manifested in particular configurations within India. First, this paper investigates how the 1000-days discourse's ascendance has been achieved through the notion of future life as open-ended contingency. It argues that this specter of future/threat opportunity is then rendered governable through the use of affective practices that quantitatively imagine dystopic global futures of malnourished bodies and stagnant economies, and then makes hope-based appeals to biomedical, nutrition interventions to secure continued economic growth. Second, the paper analyzes qualitative data from Indian policy actors that demonstrates how the 1000-days discourse is refracted across India. I find that Indian responses to such a consensus have been mixed due to the particular socio-political legacies of India as a postcolonial space, and also to a certain level of happenstance and the socio-spatial intermingling of everyday life. This paper's main argument is that while the threat/opportunity of future contingency discursively drives 1000-days, it is simultaneously geographical contingency that complicates the ways it materializes in the particular space of India.

Вчення Калачакри тибето-буддійської традиції (історіографічний нарис)

Калачакра-тантра в тибето-буддійській традиції – це доктрина часу, яка є основою не лише для певних релігійних практик, а й для буддійських природничих наук (астрономо-астрології та алхіміо-медецини). Стаття присвячена послідовному огляду основних досліджень вчення Калачакри як в межах самої традиції (починаючи з Х ст., коли Калачакра з’явилась в буддійському просторі Індії в якості тантричного вчення), так і на заході (починаючи з XVII ст., коли інформація про культову сторону Калачакри та про пов’язані з нею буддійські науки фрагментарно почала просочуватися в інтелектуальний простір Європи), що умовно можна розподілити на дві гілки студій: апологетичних та критичних, відповідно. В апологетичних студіях було зафіксовано відображення певних періодів еволюції практики Калачакра-тантри та визначено її приналежність до групи вищих тантр ваджраяни. У критичних студіях, з метою з’ясувати культурний та філософський масштаб вчення, було виокремлено декілька головних напрямів дослідження вчення Калачакри: космологічний, астрономо-астрологічний, алхімічно-медичний, есхатологічний, релігійно-ритуальний та тибетологічний. У результаті такого підходу до історіографії Калачакра-тантри було виявлено, що наразі ці дві гілки студій, наближаючись одна до одної, досягли певної межі, за якою може відкритися новий рівень дослідження вчення, що, своєю чергою, підживить діалог буддизму з наукою, де Калачакра-тантрі, яка балансує між фізикою та метафізикою, може бути відведена ключова роль

Navigating African Sacred Geography: Shrines for African Sufi Saints and Spirits in India

Abstract African sacred spaces in India are carved and maintained by mortal beings mostly hailing from the Sidi African-Indian community and from other subaltern communities, and these spaces are perpetually protected by African spirit beings. Thriving as marginal spaces in the overcrowded Indian cities, coastal towns, and villages, these African sacred topographies are continuously reimagined and reinvented by invested stakeholders to suit contemporary purposes. While addressing the complex connections of some of these sacredscapes with the African Indian Ocean slave trade, this paper examines how shrines dedicated to African Sufi saints and spirits keep African memories alive as devotees continue to seek the intercessions of these saints and spectral deities. By studying the spiritual beliefs and practices at these shrines, I discuss how African sacred geography in India prevails as a relational space connected to the Indian Ocean littoral through the intercessory powers of the African saints and spirits.

Galvanisation of the Right to Development within the Shared Constitutional Space in India

This article accentuates the concept of the right to development (rtd) and focuses on the various facets of rtd as developed by the Supreme Court of India in its multiple pronouncements since the advent of the last decade of the 20th century. The apex court, through a conjoint reading of various aspects provided in the Constitution’s Preamble, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties with the Declaration on rtd has interpreted various cases that have opened new horizons of curative developmental jurisprudence in India. The main aim of this study is to capture the various trends and directions of discourse on rtd and explore the constitutional space for rtd in India. This article also evaluates the impact that Declaration of rtd has had on the Supreme Court of India and to what extent has the Supreme Court of India galvanised rtd to provide remedies to millions of Indians. The article emphasises the holistic view taken by the Supreme Court in matters of private rights versus the developmental rights of millions. Another significant aspect of rtd that has been emphasised in this article is the conflict between human rights of the marginalised group with the burgeoning rtd. The discourse on economic growth and rtd within the constitutional space will remain in the heart of politicians, social scientists and the populace in the coming years.

A postcolonial framing of international commercial gestational surrogacy in India

The branding and marketing of post-millennial India as a global service provider has been relentless. Indian cities have now been de-exoticized from their previous association to elephants, snake-charmers, and slums, and are now being marketed as the hub of Global North medical infrastructure and scientific advancement, at attractive Global South rates. Legalized only in 2002, international commercial gestational surrogacy (ICGS) in India, a lucrative niche market within the sector of medical and healthcare tourism, has been an industry worth US$ 2.3 billion annually at its peak. Now, however, it stands on the brink of being banned by a bill introduced in the Indian parliament in 2016. This essay advances the argument that the selling points of ICGS have been premised on structural and systemic inequalities of gender and class, as well as of biopolitical power. We further build on Graham Huggan’s early twenty-first-century thesis on the marketing of the postcolonial margins to explore the emergent gendered subjectivities and attendant fictional representations of ICGS and its various actors in the novel The House of Hidden Mothers (2015) by the diasporic British Indian author Meera Syal. Drawing on this novel, we map and examine the perceptions and representations of ICGS, investigating that which facilitates and promotes exploitation to deduce the resultant impact on the stakeholders and active agents in this industry in the space of India and in the West. The essay concludes that, seen through the lenses of re-orientalism, the exploitations within India’s ICGS are not merely along national or ethnic and gender lines, but also class based and geographically enabled.

Monumental Matters: The Power, Subjectivity, and Space of India's Mughal Architecture. By Santhi Kavuri-Bauer. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2011. 232 pp. ISBN: 9780822348993 (cloth, also available in paper and as e-book).

Monumental Matters: The Power, Subjectivity, and Space of India's Mughal Architecture. By Santhi Kavuri-Bauer. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2011. 232 pp. ISBN: 9780822348993 (cloth, also available in paper and as e-book).

Identification and quantification of urban space in India: Defining urban macro-structures

Urban–rural differences seem particularly pronounced in India, especially when based on the official figures provided by the Census of India, which are heavily dependent on the administrative status of settlements. India, one of the world’s most dynamic and populous countries, still possesses an official urbanisation rate lagging well behind other developing economies. To investigate the extent of Indian urbanisation, this article develops a multi-step methodology using indicators specifically conceived for identifying urban structures in India. In this article, an emphasis is given to the conception and to the spatial analysis of two indicators: metropolitan ranking and meta-agglomerations. A method combining these indicators then allows identifying urban macro-structures acting as a larger organising framework in the regional space. Our results show a multitude of different functional areas that have developed specific urban morphologies over time. Some are particularly marked by high values of urban macrocephaly, small settlements taking the shape of nebulae, urban sprawl, etc.

Discursive work within weak field mandate events: The case of a conference on assistive technologies for persons with disabilities

The present study outlines discursive work in a weak field mandate event. The case is a conference focussed on assistive technologies that may help persons with disabilities gain better access to educational and employment spaces in India. Findings highlight three mechanisms which underpinned event-specific discursive work – discursive clarity, alignment, and coordination. In outlining such discursive work, the present study indicates how actors, who congregate as a group without high symbolic or resource support from powerful institutional elites, attempt to influence broader processes of institutionalisation.

Social media as a gateway for young feminists: lessons from the #IWillGoOut campaign in India

ABSTRACTOver New Year’s Eve in 2016, a slew of sexual assault cases against women came to light in India’s tech hub of Bengaluru. Four years prior, against the backdrop of a violent rape in the nation’s capital of Delhi, prominent feminists and activists took to the streets as part of mass public protests calling for legal protections for women in India. The response to the New Year’s Eve allegations, however, differed in two ways. The first was the conspicuous role social media played for the first time in the feminist movement in India. The second was the leadership provided by young feminists in the country. A coalition of various feminist organisations and individuals banded together to form a collective under the hashtag #IWillGoOut. This article discusses feminist activism over a period of two weeks at the start of 2017, when the #IWillGoOut collective rapidly mobilised widespread public support calling for the safety of women and minorities in public spaces in India. The campaign organised and led marches and events in over 30 towns and cities of India with no formal fundraising effort. I draw on my personal experience of organising the campaign to share insights into its success in transforming online support to offline action using social media. This experience provides a useful example that can be used in other social justice movements in the Indian subcontinent.

Identification of publicly available data sources to inform the conduct of Health Technology Assessment in India.

Background: Health technology assessment (HTA) provides a globally-accepted and structured approach to synthesising evidence for cost and clinical effectiveness alongside ethical and equity considerations to inform evidence-based priorities. India is one of the most recent countries to formally commit to institutionalising HTA as an integral component of the heath resource allocation decision-making process. The effective conduct of HTA depends on the availability of reliable data. Methods: We draw from our experience of collecting, synthesizing, and analysing health-related datasets in India and internationally, to highlight the complex requirements for undertaking HTA, and explore the availability of such data in India. We first outlined each of the core data components required for the conduct of HTA, and their availability in India, drawing attention to where data can be accessed, and different ways in which researchers can overcome the challenges of missing or low quality data. Results: We grouped data into the following categories: clinical efficacy; cost; epidemiology; quality of life; service use/consumption; and equity. We identified numerous large local data sources containing epidemiological information. There was a marked absence of other locally-collected data necessary for informing HTA, particularly data relating to cost, service use, and quality of life. Conclusions: The introduction of HTA into the health policy space in India provides an opportunity to comprehensively assess the availability and quality of health data capture across the country. While epidemiological information is routinely collected across India, other data inputs necessary for HTA are not readily available. This poses a significant bottleneck to the efficient generation and deployment of HTA into the health decision space. Overcoming these data gaps by strengthening the routine collection of comprehensive and verifiable health data will have important implications not only for embedding economic analyses into the priority setting process, but for strengthening the health system as a whole.

Identification of publicly available data sources to inform the conduct of Health Technology Assessment in India

Background: Health technology assessment (HTA) provides a globally-accepted and structured approach to synthesising evidence for cost and clinical effectiveness alongside ethical and equity considerations to inform evidence-based priorities. India is one of the most recent countries to formally commit to institutionalising HTA as an integral component of the heath resource allocation decision-making process. The effective conduct of HTA depends on the availability of reliable data. Methods: We draw from our experience of collecting, synthesizing, and analysing health-related datasets in India and internationally, to highlight the complex requirements for undertaking HTA, and explore the availability of such data in India. We first outlined each of the core data components required for the conduct of HTA, and their availability in India, drawing attention to where data can be accessed, and different ways in which researchers can overcome the challenges of missing or low quality data. Results: We grouped data into the following categories: clinical efficacy; cost; epidemiology; quality of life; service use/consumption; and equity. We identified numerous large local data sources containing epidemiological information. There was a marked absence of other locally-collected data necessary for informing HTA, particularly data relating to cost, service use, and quality of life. Conclusions: The introduction of HTA into the health policy space in India provides an opportunity to comprehensively assess the availability and quality of health data capture across the country. While epidemiological information is routinely collected across India, other data inputs necessary for HTA are not readily available. This poses a significant bottleneck to the efficient generation and deployment of HTA into the health decision space. Overcoming these data gaps by strengthening the routine collection of comprehensive and verifiable health data will have important implications not only for embedding economic analyses into the priority setting process, but for strengthening the health system as a whole.

Identification of publicly available data sources to inform the conduct of Health Technology Assessment in India

Background: Health technology assessment (HTA) provides a globally-accepted and structured approach to synthesising evidence for cost and clinical effectiveness alongside ethical and equity considerations to inform evidence-based priorities. India is one of the most recent countries to formally commit to institutionalising HTA as an integral component of the heath resource allocation decision-making process. The effective conduct of HTA depends on the availability of reliable data. Methods: We draw from our experience of collecting, synthesizing, and analysing health-related datasets in India and internationally, to highlight the complex requirements for undertaking HTA, and explore the availability of such data in India. We first outlined each of the core data components required for the conduct of HTA, and their availability in India, drawing attention to where data can be accessed, and different ways in which researchers can overcome the challenges of missing or low quality data. Results: We grouped data into the following categories: clinical efficacy; cost; epidemiology; quality of life; service use/consumption; and equity. We identified numerous large local data sources containing epidemiological information. There was a marked absence of other locally-collected data necessary for informing HTA, particularly data relating to cost, service use, and quality of life. Conclusions: The introduction of HTA into the health policy space in India provides an opportunity to comprehensively assess the availability and quality of health data capture across the country. While epidemiological information is routinely collected across India, other data inputs necessary for HTA are not readily available. This poses a significant bottleneck to the efficient generation and deployment of HTA into the health decision space. Overcoming these data gaps by strengthening the routine collection of comprehensive and verifiable health data will have important implications not only for embedding economic analyses into the priority setting process, but for strengthening the health system as a whole.

Patanjali ayurved invades India

The case study is based on Patanjali Ayurved Limited, the biggest disruptive force in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space of India. The organization has achieved an astounding growth of 100% during FY2016-17 with a gross revenue of Rs 100 billion, whereas its competitors, both the multinational and homegrown firms, have struggled to maintain a double digit growth. It has become a FMCG giant from a small Ayurvedic pharmacy over the decade and plans to expand further by entering into new product categories like apparel and dairy. The study aims to analyze Indian FMCG together with the business model, marketing mix, competitiveness, and strategies of Patanjali in order to identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. The findings indicate that, although the company excels in product variety, pricing strategy, process utilization, early internalization, and online sales strategy, it needs to focus on the improvement of its manufacturing facility, product quality, advertisement contents, distribution network, as well as consumer research and segmentation to confront the fierce competition and market trends lying ahead.

Changing dynamics of corporate real estate: The rise of coworking spaces

The past three years have seen a dramatic increase in coworking spaces across Asia, including India. The concept of coworking was triggered in the West by the global financial crisis of 2007–08, while Asia has just begun to embrace the change. There is an excessive focus on creating more efficient and cost-effective solutions for start-ups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and corporates. These flexible, technology-smart, state-of-the-art facilities attract millennial occupiers who like to work together in a vibrant environment. This paper explores the evolution of coworking space in India and discusses its impact on corporate real estate strategies in the present age of digital disruption, as the concept is likely to progress towards becoming a subset of the commercial real estate industry in the coming years. From the advent of the idea among start-ups and freelancers, these workspaces are attracting the attention of larger organisations as well. As operators and developers experiment with various business models for best efficiency and cost optimisation, the coworking era is likely to be an interesting period.

Making sense of building data: New analysis methods for understanding indoor climate

This work presents a novel approach for exploratory analysis of indoor environment measurements. Building monitoring is a complex task constrained by technological and environmental limits. Monitoring processes can be long, employ multiple sensors and equipment, and may involve multiple buildings across extended periods. Once the data is collected, it's not always straightforward how to make sense of it. When faced with complex heterogeneous amounts of data, early exploratory analysis is helpful to make sense of the broad patterns, highlight data weaknesses and features, and identify directions for more in-depth analysis. Inaccuracy, incompleteness and inconsistence are common characteristics of monitored field data, which then often needs intensive pre-processing to address data quality issues and improve data analysis results. This paper describes techniques from computer science, such as decision tree induction and others, that are not normally applied to field measurements of indoor environments in buildings, and as an example applies them to a complex set of data from climate-responsive spaces in India. The findings illustrate the power of these techniques for using simplified measures as proxies to extract more sophisticated information about building operation, and for quickly identifying patterns in how different design and operational characteristics affect thermal comfort.

Forewarned is Forearmed: Configuring an Early Warning Mechanism for Macro-Financial Space in India

This paper makes attempts to identify a set of early warning indicators for Indian macro-financial space and estimates the efficacy of chosen indicators in signaling the crises. The results showed that a few indicators (such as ‘credit to GDP gap’, ‘output GAP’, ‘Credit growth’, ‘Deposit growth’, ‘CRAR’, ‘Gross NPA Ratio’ and ‘ROA’) performed well in identifying the financial distress with good signal and low noise ratios. As it is difficult to monitor movements of several indicators individually, that too pertaining to different sectors, while predicting crises, an attempt is also made to construct three composite indices, viz., Index of Speculative Pressures, Index of Macroeconomic Vulnerability and Index of Banking Sector Vulnerability and finally an overall Systemic Financial Stability Index. Results corroborate that composite indices performed better in signaling the crises well in advance. The noise ratio too looks better for them.

Sociology of Disability in India: A Victim of Disciplinary Apathy

The recognition of disability as a human rights and developmental issue encouraged social scientists to study the phenomenon of disability more scientifically and objectively. Concerns raised by both disabled and non-disabled academicians and disability rights activists in the First World lead to a greater response from academia. The issue of disability thus, over the years, became a critical part of the agenda for public policy and social science studies. A section of western sociologists understood that, by and large, the onus of disability did not lie with affected individuals but rather on society which was responsible for their activity and for imposing restrictions. Unlike western academia, however, the issue of disability has not found space in India. Its absence from the subject matter of Indian sociology has created a gap in the discipline’s understanding, creating the risk to exercise sympathy and charity rather than a sociological sensibility which sees disability as a human rights issue to be dealt with at the level of rehabilitation and social work. The present article seeks to locate disability as an indispensible part of the curricular of the Indian sociology discipline; rejecting the ‘charity’ outlook favoured by sections of academia, policy makers, bureaucracy, activists and the general populace towards disabled people.

Capturing Pilgrims Mind Space in India: A Study of Sales Promotions at Maha Kumbh Mela Allahabad 2013 and Kumbh Mela Ujjain 2016

Kumbh Mela is held once in twelve years in India and is being hailed as largest congregation on earth. Kumbh Mela held in Allahabad in 2013 provided unprecedented learning opportunity and seminal scholarship for multi-disciplines spanning public health, business, religious expression, temporary infrastructure, and the makeshift economy among other subjects. Harvard university book 'Kumbh Mela - Mapping the Ephemeral Megacity', claims that Maha Kumbh Mela held in 2013 was better organized than FIFA world cup held in Brazil in 2014. This bears a testimony to the 'Globalizing Indian management thought'. The sheer size is indicated by the fact that as an estimate 120 million people visited the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad in 2013. These events made multinational and Indian companies to mull over sacred calendars and promote their wares and services. There were innovate sales promotions such as 'Lifebuoy se haath dhoye kya' to 'Kya apne dant snan kiya' by Dabur among others. Kumbh Melas as an event represents harmonious existence of religious beliefs and business. This also provides unique opportunity for the Marketers to contribute to the society for social responsibility, while demanding business leadership and cultural sensitivity from managers.The research article makes modest attempt to elucidate various sales promotions of select brands in the context of Kumbh Mela as religious events, and develops conceptual frameworks for understanding of sales promotions at religious events in India for the marketers.

Extreme cases and the criminal justice system: responses to a traumatic sexual assault in India

ABSTRACTThis paper addresses criminal justice responses that came on the heels of a traumatic sexual assault in public space in India. The incident referred to as “Nirbhaya,” drew attention to the nation as well as the world the violence against women who on the one hand find themselves in public spaces designed for all denizens in this globalised world, yet, subject to sexploitation and devoid of safeguards and equal protection. In this paper we catalogue modifications to Indian criminal justice as a result of the Nirbhaya case to illustrate how extreme events help drive changes to the system in a large democracy, yet an economically developing one. More specifically, we address changes that have been incorporated in criminal laws, police procedures, and crime prevention efforts, as well as assess the degree to which these efforts have been effective.

An Exploratory Study on Effect of Demographic Factors on Consumer Satisfaction and Its Determinants in E-Retailing

The purpose of the study was to explore the impact of demography of online customers on e-satisfaction as well as on the determinants of e-satisfaction operating in e-retailing space in India. A theoretical model was derived in accordance with the literature and was tested empirically. Conveniently sampling technique was used. Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire through personal and online mode. First of all a descriptive analysis was done and a demographic profile of the online customers was created. To explore any possible impact of these demographic factors on e-satisfaction and its determinants an exploratory factor analysis was done to consolidate the underlying constructs and ascertain the structure of determinants along with their factor scores. Once the underlying constructs were unearthed, the impact of each demographic was assessed on e-satisfaction and its each if its determinants separately by employing either t-test or ANOVA which was applicable. The results of exploratory factor analysis show that the e-satisfaction and its determinants can be consolidated into six underlying constructs or factors. The results of t-test and ANOVA conclude that most of the determinants are independent of the demography of the online customers. The demographic factors that were found to have significant impact are gender, education, age and income on convenience, e-satisfaction and merchandising, perceived value and financial transactions respectively.