Vulnerable Communities in Neoliberal India

<p>Mohan, Chindaliya, and Thomas offer an ethnographic critique of modern, neoliberal India from the perspective of studying the daily lives-livelihoods of marginalised, unsecured, informal vulnerable communities residing in the urban, peri-urban spaces across the nation.</p><p>With case studies ranging from groups of pastoralists, fisher-folk, and handicraft workers of Kashmir to the weavers of Kutch, and the factory workers and artisans of the Delhi capital, this edited volume of feminist ethnographies cover previously undocumented geographical and socio-cultural contexts of vulnerable groups, put together by the Centre for New Economics Studies, O.P. Jindal Global University. The diverse range of ethnographic case studies further explore the invisibilisation of the growing informal sector in India’s labor market, studied through the applied concepts of Gayatri Spivak’s <i>othering</i>, Doreen Massey’s <i>power geometries</i> and Pierre Bourdieu’s (fractured) <i>habitus</i>. In addition to providing visual narratives of daily lifestyle, livelihoods of identified communities, our ethnographic analysis is rooted in discussing feminist paradigms from each study’s respondents.</p><p>A useful read for scholars and policymakers interested in understanding intersectional applications of development studies in context of the unsecured workforce in India, with application across disciplines of social-economic anthropology of South Asia, using the methodological lens of experimental ethnography.</p> <p><b>Table of Contents </b></p><p><b>List of Contributors</b></p><p><b>1) </b><b>Chapter 1: Introduction</b></p><p><i>Authors: Sakshi Chindaliya, Ashika Thomas, and Deepanshu Mohan</i></p><p><b>2) </b><b>Chapter 2: Nomadic Narratives: Tracing the Invisible Trails of Bakarwal Women</b></p><p><i>Authors: Ishfaq Ahmad Wani </i></p><p><b>3) </b><b>Chapter 3: Clay and Struggle: The Unlit Kilns of Uttam Nagar Kumhars </b></p><p><i>Authors: Namesh Killemsetty and Tavleen Kaur Saluja</i></p><p><b>4) </b><b>Chapter 4: Fish on the Footpath: The Neglected <i>Ga’ad Haenz </i>of Kashmir</b></p><p><i>Authors: Najam Us Saqib and Ishfaq Ahmad Wani</i></p><p><b>5) </b><b>Chapter 5: Weaving Livelihoods: <em>Hasta Kalakars </em>of Kutch, Gujarat</b></p><p><i>Authors: Shubhangi Derhgawen, Hima Trisha Mohan and Jignesh Mistry</i></p><p><b>6) </b><b>Chapter 6: Bordering Informality: The Woes of the Wazirpur Mazdoors</b></p><p><i>Authors: Tavleen Kaur Saluja, Ashika Thomas and Jignesh Mistry</i></p><p><strong>7) Chapter 7: Crafting Identities: The Fading Artistry of Kashmiri Papier M</strong><b>â</b><strong>ché</strong></p><p><i>Authors: Hima Trisha Mohan and Rekha Pachauri</i></p><p><b>8) </b><b>Chapter 8: Reflections </b></p><p><i>Authors: Ashika Thomas, Sakshi Chindaliya, and Deepanshu Mohan</i></p><p><b>Index</b></p>