|
|
|
Sort Order |
|
|
|
Items / Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
139465
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Despite the rapid transformation of India over the past 25 years and a swathe of publications dealing with the impact of globalisation on the culture and economy of the subcontinent, and on its large metropolitan cities, we contend that relatively far less is known about the regional impacts of globalisation and the localised impacts of neo-liberal development policies. Significantly, we seek to understand and analyse how globalisation is transforming smaller, regional towns in India. Based on social scientific research exploring the development and changes taking place in two distinctive, middle towns—Anand, Gujarat and Darjeeling, West Bengal—we highlight the social and political forces at work that are re-making these towns, the local issues residents contend with, and the external drivers of change that influence the unique growth and development of these towns.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
ID:
139467
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Darjeeling today faces problems of congestion, pollution and loss of landscape aesthetics. Increased mobility and in-migration has created urban sprawl. Much of Darjeeling's architectural heritage has disappeared and many new constructions have come up to cater to the growing population, particularly the rising number of rural migrants who have been compelled to leave their homes due to diminishing rural employment. Based on ethnographic research and interviews with Darjeeling's residents, we examine the struggle for control over Darjeeling's fast-disappearing heritage, its loss of ‘charm’ as a tourist town, and its rapid transformation into a bustling, urban city reminiscent of many regional towns in India.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3 |
ID:
144916
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Throughout the developing world, rapid urbanization is leading to new social relations and new conflicts between urban and (formerly) rural populations. This paper examines this process of change through a detailed examination of changing rural–urban relations in the town of Darjeeling, in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern India. In Darjeeling, increased rural mobility, accelerated rural-to-urban migration and the increased participation of rural people in local politics have led to major changes in the town. We demonstrate that the upward trajectory of rural classes who were previously subordinate is leading the more established urban residents to feel threatened, resulting in a redrawing of local political issues along rural–urban lines and a reconfiguration of class consciousness and social relations. The urban middle class, whose opportunities in the town have stagnated or declined, see rural migrants as a source of competition for increasingly scarce resources and blame them for the overall decline in the quality of urban life. They mobilize their (predominantly cultural) capital to reinforce markers of cultural distinction between them and the rural migrants and to delegitimize the political gains they have made. We argue that rural–urban conflict is emerging as the chief source of tension in the town and that this tension is largely grounded in class issues.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 4 |
ID:
143318
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Utilising qualitative research methods and drawing upon theories of social reproduction, this article examines how ethnicity intersects with students’ experiences of education in Darjeeling. The research explores how young men’s aspirations articulate their ethnic identity and their associated political demands. It shows how ethnicities are fostered within friendship groups on college campuses and also discusses young men’s criticisms of the Gorkhaland movement, offering a nuanced and textured account of ethnic struggles in this area. It is shown that young men draw upon education to develop ethnic identities that bridge caste divides and conceal class inequalities. The research sheds new light on how ethnicities are constructed amid the tensions of globalisation and regionalism, education and development.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|