Through a series of ethnographic examples drawn from long term research in Bangladesh, this article examines the relationship between different forms of migration and movement and the life course, focusing in particular upon how the life course influences peoples’ pro-pensity to move...

This article explores the following question: are India’s relations with Pakistan more confrontational and less cooperative when the political elite constituting the government espouses religious–cultural identity narratives as opposed to one that articulates a secular conception of self? In...

This article examines gender and age differences in Dalit attitudes towards caste inequality, using interviews and ethnographic fieldwork conducted among Madigas in Andhra Pradesh (AP). Madigas express a range of views about their position in society. Some oppose ideas of untouchability and...

Sex workers in India are central to HIV prevention programmes, yet the relationships of sex workers with those who conduct HIV prevention have not been studied. In this article I describe and analyse the relationships between four sets of very different social actors: global funding bodies; the...

The base of a democracy lies with the voter population of that country, and they are supposed to uphold the principles of one-person, one-value and one-vote. But, how far can India’s electoral rolls embrace those basic principles of democracy? In India, there are provisions for annual...

Assertion by the Dalits or ex-untouchables is one of the most significant developments in contemporary India. Dalit women have actively participated in Dalit movements and in women's and development NGOs activism. However, their voices and perspectives are said to have been marginalised by...

This article describes the relations between Hindus and Muslims in a small town in central Gujarat following the massive violence against the Muslim minority community throughout many parts of the state between February and May 2002. While the ‘communal divide’ has become more...

From the early 1990s, so-called ‘five-star’ hospitals have sprouted up in small towns and cities across the state of Kerala, South India. Equipped with expensive diagnostic technologies and super-specialist consultants, these institutions are now leading players in the vibrant local...

This article begins by looking more closely at a debate now widely forgotten—that of liberalisation under Rajiv Gandhi in 1985–86. It is widely assumed this earlier attempt to liberalise the economy was only short-lived and 1991 marks the true turning point in policy reform. This...

This article attempts to evaluate the Pareto optimality of SAFTA and three other alternative sets of coordinated trade policies that go beyond SAFTA for all the member states. These include (a) extended preferential trading between SAFTA with other major trading blocs, (b) full trade...