When one remarks on the significance of ancient Indian literature, Ramayana is looked upon as a major epic. It has traveled to various destinations, won the hearts of people, and has been rewritten many times. Valmiki’s Ramayana is the most popular amongst all, but one must also understand the multiple other writings. It has spread to various countries and been interpreted in various Indian languages. Kakawin Ramayana, written in the Old Javanese language in Indonesia, deserves special mention with respect to the important role it plays in the values, education systems, and cultural milieu of Indonesia. One of the distinguishing features of the Kakawin Ramayana is its portrayal of Indonesian landscapes, customs, and traditions. Additionally, it incorporates Javanese spiritual concepts and philosophical ideas, giving the epic a unique flavor. The Kakawin Ramayana follows the narrative of the original Indian Ramayana but is infused with Javanese cultural elements, beliefs, and perspectives. There may be differences between the Indian and Kakawin Ramayana, from textual interpolation to story, but the special significance attached to virtue, truth, and duty are of paramount importance in both. Ethical values are supreme to the concept of Dharma, or righteousness. They play an important role in nurturing the civic sense of the polity and in nationbuilding. The paper attempts to discuss the important role played by the influence of Kakawin Ramayana in Indonesia. It tries to underline the cultural interlinkages of the region and how they must be nurtured further. The paper also draws on reflections from arts, dance, and performances to underline the unique significance of Ramayana as a literary work.
The rise of digital capitalism has transformed global economies, reshaping labor markets, governance, and social interactions. However, this rapid digitization has also exacerbated environmental degradation and widened socio-economic inequalities. This paper explores the intersection of digital capitalism and environmental justice through a social-ecological lens, analyzing how digital infrastructures impact ecological sustainability and marginalized communities. The relentless extraction of natural resources for digital technologies and the global e-waste crisis pose serious challenges to environmental justice, disproportionately affecting developing nations and vulnerable populations. By drawing connections between digital capitalism, environmental degradation, and social inequality, this paper seeks to uncover the hidden ecological costs of digital expansion. It also examines the role of environmental justice movements in addressing these disparities, advocating for equitable access to digital technologies without compromising ecological integrity. The paper further delves into alternative models of development, emphasizing the need for socially inclusive digital frameworks that foster sustainability. Through case studies and theoretical analysis, this paper highlights the importance of integrating environmental justice within the discourse of digital sociology, advocating for a balanced approach that considers both technological advancement and ecological resilience. This paper contributes to a growing field of inquiry that challenges the unsustainable trajectory of digital capitalism, offering insights into how social ecology can inform future development policies.
Childhood poverty is a multifaceted concept that goes beyond income poverty to include multiple deprivations in the areas of health, nutrition, education, and housing. This review explores the impact of early life experiences of poverty on long-term socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. Childhood poverty determines the economic, social, and physical characteristics and general trajectory of a person’s life in adulthood. This review draws on a wide range of international and national empirical evidence, including longitudinal tracking studies, the crosscountry Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), and national household surveys in India such as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) to contextualize the issue. Qualitative, interdisciplinary, and critical approaches, including child-rights frameworks and cultural sociology, are utilized to better comprehend the cultural, legal, and relational dynamics that are unique to the poor child in marginalized and migrant communities. This mixed-methods approach ensures that the statistical definition of poverty has a correct basis in the socioeconomic and structural reality lived by the most vulnerable groups. Analysing childhood poverty through Capability, Life Course, and Biological approaches, the literature highlights the consequences of childhood poverty, reflected in a lack of quality education, skills, healthcare, and necessary recreation, on adult life outcomes manifested in material, mental, and physical deprivations. Such deprivations, along with intersectional dynamics, force people into the vicious cycle of poverty as it gets transmitted intergenerationally. The literature points to gaps in terms of longitudinal data in India and the psychosocial pathways of poverty, such as aspiration failure. To prevent the intergenerational transfer of poverty, policies should focus away from deficit thinking and consider the structural inequalities and barriers faced by the poor.
This paper examines how land ownership patterns are linked to farming practices among tribal communities in India. It also examines the deep social inequalities that exist in how land is held and farmed, and how government policies and development programs have changed tribal farming over time. The study uses three main theories-Political Ecology, Agrarian Change Theory, and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach-to understand how land, forests, government action, and rural livelihoods come together in tribal areas. The paper draws on secondary data from government reports, national surveys, and research journals to place tribal farming within wider conversations about environmental sustainability, land loss, and rural change in India. The findings show that the amount of land a household owns is one of the biggest factors shaping what kind of farming they can do. Tribal households mostly own very small or marginal pieces of land, which makes it hard for them to try different kinds of farming or use modern agricultural inputs. This keeps them dependent on subsistence farming, forest resources, and daily wage labor. There are also clear differences between regions: areas where communal land systems are still intact show greater farming freedom compared to areas where land has been split into small individual plots. The study also highlights the environmental and economic effects of moving from traditional to modern farming. Traditional practices like shifting cultivation (jhum), when given enough time to rest between cycles, are actually more sustainable, more diverse in crops, and more resilient. However, government-pushed changes, population growth, and shrinking land have weakened these systems, often replacing them with farming methods that rely on purchased inputs and push farmers into debt. The analysis also reveals a persistent gap between what policies promise and what actually happens on the ground, especially with laws such as the Forest Rights Act and PESA. This gap limits tribal communities’ ability to access secure land and weakens their autonomy in farming. Overall, the paper argues that truly sustainable development for tribal communities requires stronger land rights, support for traditional knowledge systems, and government policies that are better aligned with ecological realities and community needs.
AbstractThis study provides a thematic review to explore the socio-historical origins, unique culture, and persistent marginalization of the Nashya Sekh Surjapuri Muslim community of North Bengal, India. Positioned as a subaltern minority group within the larger Muslim minority of West Bengal, the scope of this review encompasses scholarly works on community stratification, indigenous ancestry, cultural syncretism, and government policy in West Bengal, particularly concerning the contiguous North Bengal districts. The analysis reveals that these subaltern groups, often referred to as Deshi Muslims, occupy the Atraf stratum, a structural legacy of internal Muslim social stratification. Tracing their ancestry primarily to indigenous communities like the Rajbanshi and Koch, the paper highlights the profound cultural syncretism that defines their identity, marked by linguistic continuity (Northern Deshi Bangla) and the retention of non-Islamic rituals and food practices. The central finding links this deep-seated structural backwardness to state policy, demonstrating that the extensive inclusion of these communities into the ‘More Backward’ Category-A of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) lists serves as an implicit validation of their historical and ongoing marginality. The study concludes by proposing an agenda for future research focusing on comparative anthropological studies and rigorous, community-specific socioeconomic surveys to address their continued neglect.
AbstractCurrent Indian law regarding rape, codified in Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, is still institutionally rooted in a heteronormative and binary system that identifies only cis women as victims and cis men as perpetrators. Such a legal structure not only excludes male, transgender, and non-binary survivors of sexual assault but also reinforces a limiting, essentialist definition of gender and harm. This article questions the epistemic and legal formation of the “ideal victim” and its consequences for access to justice within India’s criminal law. Based on constitutional equality requirements, the transformative possibility of the NALSA v. Union of India judgment, and trends within comparative jurisdictions like Canada, Nepal, and the United Kingdom, this paper argues that sexual offence legislation should be reimaged on a gender-inclusive basis. It also delves deeper into the contradictions of formal equality and substantive justice, with an emphasis on how gender-neutral legislation may be misinterpreted as being gender-blind in the absence of structural change, intersectional awareness, and survivor-oriented jurisprudence. The research places the discussion within feminist legal theory and queer jurisprudence in order to contend that gender neutrality is not in conflict with protecting women but can actually widen the liberatory power of law. The article finally argues that substantive legal transformation should go beyond symbolic acknowledgment and confront structural obstacles that impede justice for all survivors, irrespective of their gender identity.
AbstractThe Hills Tiwa is an ethnic group in Assam that celebrates the Sagra festival every year at the end of February or the first week of March, which coincides with the first week of the month of Chaat in the Assamese calendar. The Sogra festival is a ceremony to invoke divine blessings for protection, prosperity, and bountiful agricultural produce. This study focuses on the Sogra festival and its contribution to the continuation and adaptation of indigenous knowledge systems on ritual healing in Bormajong village, Umswai Valley, West Karbi Anglong, Assam. The study aims to explore how oral traditions and belief systems contribute to the socio-religious structure of the Hill Tiwa community in Bormajong village, located in the Umswai Valley, West Karbi Anglong, by examining the Sogra festival within the framework of the Indian Knowledge System. The study uses a descriptive research approach and includes non-participant observation of ritual behaviors as well as unstructured interviews with Ojas and villagers involved in the ritual celebration. Both primary and secondary data are used for the study. The Sogra celebration is held to honor their ancestral spirits for protection, fortune, and a plentiful harvest. They do this rite annually in order to receive blessings from their ancestor spirits and to ensure their well-being throughout the year. They conduct some rituals in this festival to get blessings from their ancestral spirits and well-being for the entire year. The ‘Loro’ Sadari holds a prominent position and plays an important role in the Sogra festival. His responsibility extends beyond simple ceremonial performance and includes passing along oral traditions, ritual knowledge, and ethical codes to the next generation. Ojas perform certain rituals at their homes for the well-being of the peasants and to bring harmony between humans and the spiritual realm. The people of the Hills Tiwa community continue to think that supernatural influences are the source of illness and bad luck. The Sogra festival must be preserved and documented in order to enhance India’s diversified knowledge history and ensure cultural continuity. The Sogra festival in Bormajong village is a custom that promotes unity among the villagers rather than just a ceremony. It embodies a comprehensive perspective in which agriculture is intertwined with cosmic rhythms, and healing is rooted in communal involvement and well-being.
AbstractA common metaphor for a person’s journey through the various phases of life-from birth to death-through infancy, youth, adulthood, and old age is the “life cycle.” The customs created to commemorate and mark birth, marriage, burial, and other important milestones are only a small part of the life cycle. The more subtle but no less significant changes that occur as we develop, mature, and experience life, learning from it, are also referred to as the life cycle. Therefore, a certain tribe’s culture and traditions are preserved in the life cycle rituals, which also give a comprehensive picture of their way of life. A person’s whole life, from conception to death, including their physical and mental development, is encompassed by the even more expansive term “life cycle.” Many rituals have been discontinued as a result of life cycle rituals becoming less significant in people’s lives in the current situation. The dual forces of urbanisation and modernisation are principally to blame for this. These days, people barely have time in their hectic schedules to observe and enjoy the customs. The study focuses on the life cycle events of the Tiwa tribe and is carried out in the Rajagaon area of the Morigaon district.
AbstractThis paper examines whether the demographic differences between Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are gradually reducing by comparing changes between NFHS-4 (2015–16) and NFHS-5 (2019–21). The study focuses on two important indicators of population change: the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). It also looks at the major social and economic factors behind these changes, such as female education, economic inequality, access to healthcare services, institutional delivery, and the use of family planning methods.The findings show that Kerala has already reached an advanced stage of demographic transition. Fertility remains below the replacement level (TFR 1.8), infant mortality is very low (IMR 4), female literacy is almost universal (98.3 percent), and institutional deliveries are nearly universal (above 99 percent). On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh still has fertility slightly above the replacement level (TFR 2.4), but it has made strong progress in recent years. Infant mortality has declined significantly from 64 to 50, institutional delivery has increased from 67 percent to 83 percent, and full immunization coverage has improved from 51 percent to 76 percent. These changes show improvements in healthcare services and maternal and child health programs.The analysis suggests that the gap between Kerala and Uttar Pradesh is slowly reducing, especially in terms of child survival and mortality. However, fertility levels are changing more slowly in Uttar Pradesh because differences in education, economic conditions, and gender norms still influence family size decisions. The study concludes that demographic transition in India continues to vary across regions. Kerala is now facing new challenges related to an aging population, while Uttar Pradesh still has a young population and the potential to benefit from a demographic dividend. Future convergence between the two states will depend on continued investment in education, better healthcare access, gender equality, and stronger public institutions.
AbstractWomen entrepreneurs in rural India, particularly in regions such as Assam, face a multitude of structural and cultural challenges that hinder their economic participation. This paper explores success stories of women from the Bajali district of Assam who have overcome these barriers to establish thriving businesses and self-sustaining livelihoods. Despite societal norms rooted in patriarchy and limited access to financial capital, mentorship, and market linkages, these women have demonstrated remarkable resilience and ingenuity. The case studies illustrate the importance of community-based support systems, targeted government schemes, and personal determination in fostering women-led entrepreneurship in rural areas. Drawing on qualitative data from field observations and interviews, this study also examines how entrepreneurial success among rural women leads to broader socio-economic empowerment, including enhanced agency, improved household welfare, and shifts in gender roles. The findings underscore the need for inclusive policy design and capacity-building initiatives tailored to the unique contexts of rural women. By amplifying the voices of these Assamese women entrepreneurs, this research contributes to the growing literature on gender and development, rural sociology, and microenterprise ecosystems in India.
AbstractThe integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in school education is transforming the educational landscape in India. AI-driven tools are reshaping traditional learning environments by offering personalised learning experiences, automating administrative tasks, and enhancing student engagement. This research paper explores the current state of AI in school education, analysing its impact on pedagogy, student outcomes, and the challenges that accompany its adoption. The study examines various AI applications, including adaptive learning systems, intelligent tutoring systems, and predictive analytics, which are increasingly becoming integral to classrooms across India. Despite the promising potential of AI, the paper also highlights significant barriers such as digital inequality, lack of infrastructure, and the need for teacher training. Furthermore, the ethical implications of AI in education, including data privacy concerns and algorithmic biases, are critically assessed. Through a review of literature and case studies, this paper offers insights into the future trajectory of AI in schools, emphasising the need for a balanced approach that maximises benefits while mitigating risks. The findings suggest that while AI holds the promise of revolutionising education in India, its successful implementation will require strategic investments in technology, policy frameworks, and capacity building to ensure that all students benefit equitably from these advancements.
AbstractEducation plays a pivotal role in empowering women by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to participate fully in society. It serves as a catalyst for their individual growth and societal advancement. Education and social justice are deeply intertwined concepts that have significant implications for individuals, communities, and societies as a whole. At its core, education is often viewed as a fundamental human right and a key mechanism for promoting social justice. This paper also tries to explore the sociological perspective on how education empowers women, the barriers they face in accessing education, and the transformative potential of education in challenging gender inequalities. In India, the nexus between education and women’s empowerment is profound and multifaceted. This article explores the multifaceted relationship between education and women’s empowerment, examining both the opportunities it unlocks and the barriers it helps to overcome. This article further delves into the transformative role that education plays in empowering women across various spheres of Indian society.
AbstractThe Himalayan region of Ladakh located between the high and lofty mountain ranges forms a strategic border area. Located at a junction point, it shares its borders with Pakistan and China. From the earliest times, the frontier region of Ladakh acted as an important area that connected Central Asia and South Asia. It was used as a trade route in the overland trade which existed for centuries exerting socio-economic developments. The famous ‘Silk Route’ which connected Central Asia with Europe during the 1st and 2nd century A.D passed through Ladakh. Thus, lying on the main trade route from South Asia across the Karakoram to Central Asia, the region became a meeting point of different cultures, languages and religions. The broad trade that took place through Ladakh acted as a meeting ground of different civilisations and people. The historical trade brought diverse groups together and created highly cosmopolitan markets exhibiting intercultural contact.
AbstractAdolescence is one of the stages of human development in which many changes occur in the human body at physical, cognitive and emotional level. It is a phase in which a person changes from childhood to adulthood. According to UNICEF reports 2022, there will be 1.3 billion adolescents worldwide which constitutes 16% of the global population. India has the biggest teenage population, almost 253 million. As per the report of the census of 2011, India has the most second populated country in the world have an adolescent population 25,32,35,661 which comprises 20.9% of the total population. Menstruation is part of the female reproductive cycle that starts when girls become sexually mature at the time of puberty, and so it is essential that females are able to manage menstrual bleeding hygienically. It has been estimated that half of the female population is reproductive globally, and at any given time about 25% of them will be menstruating. When the adolescent girls attain their first menstruation in known as menarche and majority of the teenage feel horrible due to lack of knowledge. Menstruation is a natural process in a woman’s life that needs special care from a physical and psychological point of view. In order to live a healthy, productive and dignified life, women must be able to manage menstrual bleeding hygienically (Gultie et al., 2014). In the present study, researcher will analyse the impact of social work intervention (Referral service of Toll-free number) that provides to the adolescent girls of the schools of district Samba (Jammu and Kashmir) on menstrual hygiene. It also focuses on the challenges and barriers faced by the adolescent’s girls. Multistage random sampling method will used in this study and sample will take from the 9th and 10th class school going girls of ten Government High Schools of district Samba. Researcher found that the majority of the respondents feels hesitate to make calls and to talk about their problems they faced. That means the respondents feel shy and still follow the socio-cultural stigma not to talk about the menstruation freely. Even in this era of 21st century there is rigidity of taboos still persist, adolescent girls not to talk freely of their menstrual problems.
AbstractThe term nation implies a group of people who have certain degree of similarity amongst them owing to their religious, ethnic, linguistic or territorial identity. Nation-building however refers to the national reconstruction of a nation devastated by war. There is a consensus amongst social scientist that there are two important elements of nation-building, that are, national development and social reconstruction. And one of the ways of achieving them is through national education policies. In this context, the present study explores the ways in which educational policies in India after independence were entrusted with the objective of nation-building.
AbstractThis paper explores the conceptual and empirical intersections between social ecology and inclusive development in the Global South, with a specific focus on India. In an era marked by climate emergencies and deepening socio-economic inequalities, mainstream development paradigms continue to marginalise both people and ecosystems. This paper examines the interrelationship between social ecology and inclusive development, focusing on the Global South, particularly India. Drawing on interdisciplinary and sociological frameworks, the paper argues for a shift from exploitative, top-down development models toward participatory, community-based, and ecologically harmonious alternatives. It highlights how entrenched power structures, social inequalities, and environmental injustice obstruct inclusive development. The paper also interrogates the sustainability discourse through the lenses of social equity, local knowledge, and environmental justice. Drawing from interdisciplinary theories and rooted sociological analyses, this research articulates a critique of capitalist and technocratic models of growth. Using insights from thinkers like Murray Bookchin, Ramachandra Guha, Vandana Shiva, and Arturo Escobar, and with references to Indian grassroots movements and policy frameworks, the paper makes a case for reimagining development as ecologically harmonious, democratically inclusive, and socially just. It argues that without addressing structural inequalities and ecological dispossession, development cannot be truly inclusive. The paper concludes with an agenda for transformative alternatives rooted in participatory governance, local knowledge systems, and environmental justice.
AbstractInfant mortality rate (IMR) is regarded as an important and sensitive indicator of the health status of a community. Infant and child mortality rates reflect a country’s level of socio economic development and quality of life and are used for monitoring and evaluating population, health programmes and policies. The Institutional delivery is crucial for the child survival. This paper is focused on the place of delivery and infant mortality in rural Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh). It is primarily based on the primary data supplemented with secondary data. It examines (a) Mortality rate among neonates and infants; (b) Pattern of place of delivery and Infant deaths in Jawan Block of Aligarh District and (c) Causes of the infant deaths. All the deaths in children under 12 months during April 2011 to March 2012 in Jawan block of district Aligarh, India were recorded. The social determinants of infant deaths were ascertained using the survey method. During primary data collection period, 338 live births and 25 deaths in children under 1 year of age were reported. The neonatal and IMRs were 47.33 and 73.96 per thousand live births respectively. The IMR (49.55) was found low among those who preferred institutional delivery. On the contrary, 120.69 IMR was observed among home delivery respondents. The paper concludes that the infant deaths are preventable by promotion of institutional delivery and exclusive breast feeding.
This study explores how folk-songs from tea plantations of North Bengal and Assam reflected collective identity and resilience of tea workers, shaped by their colonial and migratory diaspora. A shared narrative of these captive labourers during company rule would be considered to have a historiographical analysis, interpretations and memories of their lived experiences and cultural expressions. Songs that have exposed deceptive recruitment and exploitation tactics by the British enterprise and tea estate owners constitute major section of the present discourse. It tries to shed light on the labor recruitment strategies sanctioned by the colonial planters as mirrored in folk lyrics. Present paper also provides a theoretical viewpoint on the migration-colonialism and exploitation on one hand, folk songs –cultural exhibit and symbolic resistance on the other. This study highlights folk-songs that reveal deceptive recruitment and exploitation by British tea enterprises, reflecting the labour strategies of colonial planters. The paper offers a theoretical perspective on how these songs narrated the lived experiences of tea workers, especially women, serving as historical accounts and contraptions to resilience against systemic oppression. Songs like jhumur portray themes of migration, exploitation, and cultural defiance among tea garden workers. These folkloric expressions serve as collective memoirs and oral histories, denouncing colonial hegemony, forced migration, and the atrocities faced by Adivasi workers under colonial enterprises, preserving their struggles and resilience through generations. Folk-songs and dances in North Bengal’s tea plantations represent a ‘composite culture,’ unique to this region. These cultural expressions, passed down through generations, highlight the active participation of women laborers. They serve as a vital link for the diasporic tea community, preserving their identity and resilience within the broader Bengali society, while reflecting their shared history and lived experiences.
