Margins and Marginalities in India: thinking across regions and communities I

Panel Convenor(s)

• RP

  Roluah Puia

  Indian Institute of Technology, India

Panel Chair(s)

• MW

  Manta Wangsu

  Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, India

Presenter(s)

• RP

  Roluah Puia

  Indian Institute of Technology, India
• SP

  Sheetal Shalini Pebam

  Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India
• MW

  Manta Wangsu

  Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, India
• UK

  Utkarsh Kamal

  Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

 
In this panel, we proposed to examine the question of margins and marginalities in India. In India, marginalization takes multiple forms and levels and cut across regions, castes, tribes, language, and religion. Often, it is generally assumed that margins and marginalities are socially, economically, and politically ‘given’ realities. This implies that margins and marginalities are assumed to be fixed. While this argument may hold relevance for historically subjugated groups and communities that continue to face and experience marginalization, our interest in this panel exceeds such an understanding. While acknowledging that certain groups and communities such as the Dalits and Adivasis/Tribes in India continue to be at the margins of Indian society, we, however, wish to understand how the communities struggled against their marginalized condition while also paying attention to the new form of inequality and hierarchies within them. While the study of margins and marginalities has remained central to social science research and the academic discourse at large, dialogue and conversations across regions and communities have remained relatively scant. For instance, while the study of caste is at the heart of sociological studies, it rarely includes regions such as the northeast. For this purpose, this panel will bring forth conversations from across communities and regions, putting into focus the multiple forms of marginalities— education, identity, polity, economy, and borders.
 
Papers in the panel cover multiple case studies and regions. In this light, the proposed panel will examine the questions of marginality in the context of marginalised social groups in India while also paying attention to the varying ways in which they have struggled against their marginalized condition. The panel has three broad aims. First, we wish to examine how marginalized groups assert themselves by claiming equality. Second, we aim to enter into a dialogue in terms of engaging with multiple case studies across regions and communities. As such, our panel brings forth case studies from the northeast and mainland India but also engages with the multiple forms of marginality that communities experience. Third, we acknowledge that several sections within Dalits and Tribes have made significant economic gains in the last several years. In this light, we sought to re-examine the question of margins and marginalities in view of the socio-economic transformation within these communities, particularly with the rise of an emergent elite, if not middle class. 

Presentations:

• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  How egalitarian are tribal societies?
  

  Presenter: Roluah Puia – Indian Institute of Technology
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  From Marginalization to Empowerment: the struggle for equality and rights by the Lois in Manipur
  

  Presenter: Sheetal Shalini Pebam – Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  Unveiling Marginality and Inequality: Coal, Class, and Community in Arunachal Pradesh
  

  Presenter: Manta Wangsu – Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  Caste and Unequal Schooling: Does Accessibility Ensure Educational Equality?
  

  Presenter: Utkarsh Kamal – Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee