Wednesday, January 17, 2018

THESES OF THE MONTH

HUMANITIES

A list of doctoral theses accepted by Indian Universities

(Notifications received in AIU during the month of Oct-Nov, 2017)

Geography
1. Nath, Pabitra Kumar. A comparative study of agricultural practices among different communities of Darrang District: A case study of Sipajhar Revenue Circle, Assam. (Prof. S K Patnaik), Faculty of Environmental Science, Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar.

2. Potom, Reter. A study of tea plantation in Arunachal Pradesh with reference to Lohit District. (Dr. Gibji Nimasow), Department of Geography, Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar.

History

1. Kauser, Perween. Bhartiye rajniti mein Shrimati Annie Besant kee bhumika. (Dr. Birendra Narayan Singh and Prof. P N Tiwary), Department of History, Veer Kunwar Singh University, Ara.

2. Pal, Sangita. Vaishhvik paridrishey mein maha nayak Gautam Budha ke darshan kee prasangikta: Ek anusheelan. Department of History, Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, District Satna.

3. Rathod, Deshalrajba Lakshmansinghji. North Gujarat's Rathod Rajput: A historical and cultural perspective: A study (Up to 1950 A D). (Dr. Lalit S Patel), Department of History, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan.

4. Srikant Kumar. Bhartiye swatantrata aandolan mein sampradayik sadbhav evam rashtravad ke prasar mein Maulana Abul Kalam Azad ke yogdan (1888-1947). (Dr. Braj Kishore Choubey), Department of History, T M Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur.

5. Thakur, Raj Kishore. Madhye Ganga Ghati mein dharam ke samajik aadhar: Ek adhyayan (187 isvi purve 550 isvi tak). (Dr. Naresh Prasad Yadav), Department of History, T M Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur.

6. Wary, Jaysagar. Trade in undivided Goalpara District during Colonial Period: A historical perspective. (Dr. Sekhar Brahma and Dr. Oinam Ranjit Singh), Department of History, Bodoland University, Kokrajhar.

Languages & Literature

English

1. Ashish Kumar. Renegotiating the Matris of Nostalgia in select contemporary writings. Department of English, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Kangra.

2. Mohapatra, Prajna Paramita. Voices in the Margin: A critical study of African-American women novelists. (Dr. Kalidas Misra), Department of English, Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar.

3. Patel, Kanubhai Devaji. Major themes in select plays of Mahesh Dattani. (Dr. Tapas Chakrabarti), Department of English, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan.

4. Qureshi, Mubina Gousmohammed. Feminism revisited: A study of female Muslim novelists. (Dr. Indira Nityanandam), Department of English, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad.

5. Sahu, Sujata. The fiction of Ruskin Bond: A critical study. (Prof. Sarat Chandra Satapathy), Department of English, Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar.

Gujarati

1. Prajapati, Baldevbhai Chhaganbhai. Chinu Modi, Hasmukh Baradi ane Pravin Pandya na natkoma loknaty bhavae no prabhav. (Dr. R Y Raval), Department of Gujarati, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan.

Hindi

1. Anil Kumar, R. Ashok Vajpeyi ke kavya ka vastugat evam shilpagat vishleshan. (Dr. Babu Joseph), Department of Hindi, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

2. Bais, Jyotibala. Malvi Lok kathaoan mein samajik evam sanskritik chetana. (Dr. Sadhana Nirbhey and Dr. Shailendra Kumar Sharma), Department of Hindi, Vikram University, Ujjain.

3. Bindu, P V. Malathi Joshi kee kahaniyoan mein naari chethana. (Dr. V V Georgekutty), Department of Hindi, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

4. Chaudhary, Parasben Ganeshbhai. Mannu Bhandari aur Usha Priyamvada kee kahaniyaon mein istree-purush sambandh. (Dr. A K Tadvi), Department of Hindi, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan.

5. Gopinath, Manish K. Hindi kee dalit atmakathaom ka vishleshnatamak adhyayan. (Dr. K Ajitha), Department of Hindi, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Kochi.

6. Gupta, Aruna. Dharamvir Bharati ka katha lok: Samikshatamak adhyayan. Department of Hindi, Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, District Satna.

7. Kiran, Usha. Gopal Singh Nepali ka jeevan aur kavye. (Dr. Pratibha Rajhans), Department of Hindi, T M Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur.

8. Paya, Kanjibhai Ravjibhai. Pragatishilta ke pariprekshey mein Nagarjun kee kavita. (Dr. V K Vaishnav), Department of Hindi, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan.

9. Raiyani, Maheshkumar Jayntilal. Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi ke nibandhoan mein sanskritikta. (Dr. D M Domadiya), Department of Hindi, Saurashtra University, Rajkot.

10. Rajan, Kavitha V. Maitreyi Pushpa ke upanyason mein nari sangharsh. (Dr. P K Ajith Kumar), Department of Hindi, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

11. Sharma, Nisha. Nandkishore Acharya ka Srijan aur alochana karam. (Dr. Shiv Chaurasia), Department of Hindi, Vikram University, Ujjain.

12. Soumya, M B. Samakaleen Hindi mahila kahanikaron ki kahaniyon mein manavadhikar. (Dr. K Ajitha), Department of Hindi, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Kochi.

13. Sunitha Kumari, K. Amarnath kee kahaniyam: Ek adhyayan. (Dr. Roy Joseph), Department of Hindi, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

14. Sushma Kumari. Dr Dinanath Singh kee shodhmulak: Samiksha ka mulyankan. (Dr. Asha Tiwari Ojha), Department of Hindi, T M Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur.

Malayalam

1. Meera, T. Pravasajeevithavum swathwaparinamavum: Theranjedutha novalukale adisthanamakkiyulla padanam. (Dr. Sajitha K R), Department of Malayalam, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, District Ernakulam.

Oriya

1. Mishra, Sanjay Kumar. Paschim Odishara lokagatha. (Dr. S K Rath), Department of Odia, Sambalpur University, Sambalpur.

Sanskrit

1. Akhilesh Kumar. Bhartiye sanskrit sahitye mein Bundelkhand kshetre ka varnan: Ek samikshanatamak adhyayan. Department of Sanskrit, Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, District Satna.

2. Anjaneyulu, M. A study of Big Bang theory in the light of Sanskrit scriptures. (Prof. G Srinivasu), Department of Sanskrit and Indian Culture, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswamahavidyalaya, Kanchipuram.

3. Keshoda, Manaseeng Lomabhai. Human Rights in Kautilya's Arthshastra: A critical study. (Dr. Navneet J Joshi), Department of Sanskrit, Saurashtra University, Rajkot.

4. Mehta, Kavita. Manorog ke sandarbh mein Sanskrit jyotirvigyan ke vidhanaon ka parikshan. (Dr Shitanshu Rath), Department of Sanskrit, Vikram University, Ujjain.

5. Padmanabhan, N Sridhar (Alias). Vaisesikadarsanasya katipayasiddhantanam vaijnanikaritya vimarsh. (Prof. V S Vishnu Potty), Department of Sanskrit, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswamahavidyalaya, Kanchipuram.

6. Patel, Falguniben Vasubhai. Shri Rambhadramuni virchit prabudharohiney prakran: Ek samikshnatamak adhyayan. (Dr. D B Rathva), Department of Sanskrit, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University, Patan.

7. Renu Kumari. Bhavprakashan evam sahityedarpan ke natyeshastriye tatvoan ka tulnatamak adhyayan. (Prof. Mohan Mishra), Department of Sanskrit, T M Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur.

8. Seshadri, Gokul. Narrative Ramayana sculptures from early Chola temples: A study. (Prof. S Rama Krishna Pisipaty), Department of Sanskrit and Indian Culture, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswamahavidyalaya, Kanchipuram.

9. Singh, Rasmi Rekha. Sandhyantasya saraswatavyakaranasya paniniyadisa samalocanatmakamadhyayanam. (Prof. Manoranjan Senapaty), Department of Sanskrit, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswamahavidyalaya, Kanchipuram.

10. Srivastava, Priyanka. Adikavi Valmiki, Maharishi Vedvyas evam mahakavi Bharavi ke mahakavyaon mein mahila shiksha evam samanta ka adhikar: Ek tulnatamak adhyayan. Department of Sanskrit, Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, District Satna.

11. Vinoth, M. Malatimadhave samastapadanam vivecanatmakam adhyayanam. (Prof. Narayan Jee Jha), Department of Sanskrit, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswamahavidyalaya, Kanchipuram.

Telugu

1. Sudha Devi, K. Akkineni Kutumba Rao navalalu-vissleshana. (Prof. M Satyanarayana), Department of Telugu, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar.

Urdu

1. Baitha, Ashok Kumar. Social and political problems projected in Manzar Kazmi's short stories. (Dr. Aftab Ashraf), Department of Urdu, Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga.

Performing Arts

Music

1. Joshi, Sadhana Chanakya. 21vya shatkaleen Hindi chitrepat sangeet digadshrnacha vishleshnatamak abhyas. (Dr. Sangeeta Bapat), Department of Music, S.N.D.T. Women's University, Mumbai.

Philosophy

1. Sethy, Minakshi. The concept of bhakti in the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya. (Dr. Gasnesh Prasad Das), Department of Philosophy, Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar.

2. Sinharay, Mithu. Stoicism vis-avis existentialism: Some contrasts and similarities. (Prof. Aparna Banerjee), Department of Philosophy, University of Calcutta, Kolkata.

Religion

Jainism

1. Jain, Neetu. Acharya Kundkund virchit niyamsar ka darshnik parisheelan. (Prof. Damodar Shastri), Department of Prachya Vidya Evam Bhasha, Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun, District Nagaur.

2. Samani, Amal Prajna. Effect of preksha meditation on dispositional forgiveness: With special reference to Jainism. (Prof. Samani Riju Prajna), Department of Jainology, Comparative Religion and Philosophy, Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun, District Nagaur.

3. Tak, Manoj Kumar. Jain yog mein Ridhi evam Sidhi: Ek adhyayan. (Dr. Yogesh Kumar Jain), Department of Jainology, Comparative Religion and Philosophy, Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun, District Nagaur.

36% rural youth can’t name India’s capital, finds survey

Pratham’s 2017 study focusses on teenagers; flags falling enrolment with age

Fourteen per cent of rural youth in the age group of 14-18 failed to identify the map of India, says the 2017 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), brought out by Pratham.

Significantly, 36% of those surveyed did not know that Delhi is the capital of India.

The report underlines that 79% answered the question ‘Which State do you live in?’ and 42 % could point to their home State on the map.

Change in focus

“ASER 2017 focuses on an older age group: youth who are 14 to 18 years old,” the report says.

“The survey looks ‘Beyond Basics’, exploring a wider set of domains beyond foundational reading and arithmetic in an attempt to throw light on the status and abilities of youth in this age group.”

Whereas previous ASER reports have reached almost all rural districts in the country to generate estimates that are considered representative at the district, State, and national levels, ASER 2017 was conducted in 28 districts spread across 24 States and generated only district-level estimates.

Tapering enrolment

“Most 14-18 year olds are in the formal education system — only 14.4% are not currently enrolled in school or college. However, this number varies a lot with age,” says the report. “At age 14, only 5.3% are not enrolled, but by age 17 this percentage quadruples to 20.7% and further increases to 30.2% at age 18. With almost 10% of India’s population in this age group, these percentages translate into large numbers of youth who are not in the formal education system,” the report says.

The report also highlights the gender aspect of enrolment, with the number of girls falling sharply with age. While the enrolment ratios for boys and girls are almost the same at 14, at 18 years 32% of girls are not enrolled, as against 28% for boys.

“About 25% of this age group still cannot read basic texts fluently in their own language. More than half struggle with division (3 digit by 1 digit) problems. Only 43% are able to do such problems correctly,” the report reveals. “53% of all 14 year-olds in the sample can read English sentences.”

Source: The Hindu; 17-01-2018

Govt. to revisit 2003 Malimath report

The Malimath panel had made 158 recommendations but these were never implemented. The subsequent UPA governments from 2004 to 2014 did not act on the report either.

Judges’ impeachment

The Committee also suggested constituting a National Judicial Commission and amending Article 124 to make impeachment of judges less difficult.

“The Committee, however, feels that the aberrations in the conduct of judges can be checked or even corrected if the problem is noticed at the earliest and efforts made to correct them. In the High Court, the Chief Justice is regarded as only the first among the equals. Except constituting benches and assigning work, he does not exercise any authority over his colleagues. This has considerably eroded discipline which is so necessary for any institution,” the Committee had said.

It had suggested that Section 54 of Evidence Act be substituted by a provision to the effect that in criminal cases, evidence of bad character and antecedents is relevant.

“Just as evidence of good character of the accused is relevant, evidence regarding bad character of the accused should also be relevant. There is no good reason why evidence regarding bad character of the accused should be made relevant only when evidence is led about his good character. This is quite illogical and irrational,” the report had said

Source: The Hindu; 17-01-2018

Know Your True Worth

JANINA GOMES

A carpenter and his apprentice were walking through a large forest. They came across an old oak tree. The carpenter asked his apprentice, “Do you know why this tree is so tall, so huge, so gnarled and beautiful?” The apprentice looked at his master and said, “No… Why?” “Because it is useless,” answered the carpenter. “If it had been useful, it would have been cut long ago and made into tables and chairs. But because it is useless, it could grow so tall and beautiful and you can sit in its shade and relax.”

We constantly confuse worth with usefulness. Witness the way we treat the old and the economically unproductive. No longer do we seek to benefit from their wisdom and experience. I wondered about the number of harried, “useful” people who had identified their worth with the numbers, statistics and concrete results they could deliver, the societal praise and adulation, and I realised how much wisdom there was in the elderly.

We talk about a society with a “human face”. Yet, most of the underlying premises of our society, our jobs, environment, our social groups is based on equating worth with “usefulness”. What we have is the fellowship of the strong and the able. What we need also to develop is the fellowship of the weak and the disabled, who are often more transparent and open and from whom we can learn.

Most people defend their “usefulness” for as long as they can. Instead, if they learnt to share their “uselessness”, they would, like the beautiful oak tree that — though gnarled and old — is beautiful, providing shade and sustenance to others.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

The map of rural deprivation

For millions hit by agricultural distress, the escape to construction jobs is grinding to a halt

With the Union Budget to be presented on February 1, it is hoped that the Finance Minister will make a significantly higher allocation for investment in infrastructure. It is vital for addressing rural distress. The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) informed us that ‘landlessness and dependence on manual casual labour for a livelihood are key deprivations facing rural families’, which make them far more vulnerable to impoverishment.

Based on indicators

The rural census, or SECC, mapped deprivation using seven indicators: ‘households with a kuchha house; without an adult member in working age; headed by a woman and without an adult male in working age; with a disabled member and without able-bodied adult; of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST); without literate adults over 25 years; and the landless engaged in manual labour. The more the number of parameters on which a household is deprived, the worse its extent of poverty. Nearly 30% have two deprivations, 13% have three. Only 0.01% suffer from all seven handicaps’.

While 48.5% of all rural households suffer from at least one deprivation indicator, “landless households engaged in manual labour” are more vulnerable.

Nearly 54 million households are in the landless-labourer category; assuming that each such household has five members, that makes 250 million of the nearly 850-900 million rural population. This number is almost certainly an underestimate, since 84% of all those who even hold agricultural land are small and marginal farmers.

The intersection of any of the six other handicaps with “landless labour” makes it more acute. The SECC also said that ‘59% of households with kuchha houses are landless labourers; similarly, 55% of those with no literate adult above 25 years and 54% each of SC/ST households and female-headed households without adult male members are also landless households. At the same time, 47% households without an adult member of working age are landless labourers as are 45% of those with disabled members and no able-bodied adult members’.

Farmer distress

Along with landless families, small and marginal farmers are getting pauperised and more engaged in manual labour. The overall farm size, which has been dropping since the early 1970s, and down from the 2.25 hectares (ha) average to a 1.25 ha average in 2010, will continue to become even smaller. For these farmers, agricultural incomes are also likely to fall, hastening the exodus from agriculture. In fact, farmer distress has been growing, with the past year witnessing farmers protesting on the streets in several States.

National Sample Survey (NSS) data show that there are two demographic groups which did reasonably well in labour market outcomes both in terms of job growth as well as wage growth between 2004-5 and 2011-12; these were the young who were getting educated at hitherto unheard of rates, and the older, poorly educated cohort of landless labour in agriculture, who saw construction work rise sharply.

However, the question is: does the economy have the capacity to create non-agricultural jobs for both groups whose numbers will grow over the next decade until 2030? The young have been entering and remaining in education in unprecedented numbers for the last two decades. Hence, as a result, while the young joining the labour force has been just 2 million per annum between 2004-5 and 2015-16, from this point onwards, the numbers of the young will indeed grow significantly.

However, the numbers of landless and small and marginal farmers looking for non-agricultural work is an immediate and top priority. Between 2004-5 and 2011-12, the number of cultivators in rural areas fell from 160 million to 141 million and the number of landless labour from 85 million to 69 million, both because they found non-agricultural work.

Construction employment

The real net domestic product of the construction sector had only increased at the annual rate of 3.94% between 1970-71 and 1993-94. From 1993-94 to 2004-05 and 2004-05 to 2011-12, the growth rate in the construction sector output accelerated to 7.92% and 11.5%, respectively. Consequently, the share of the construction sector in rural output increased from 3.5% in 1970-71 to 10.5% in 2011-12. Employment in the construction sector increased 13 times during the past four decades, which led to its share in rural employment rising from 1.4% in 1972-73 to 10.7% in 2011-12. This sector absorbed 74% of the new jobs created in non-farm sectors in rural areas between 2004-05 and 2011-12. These trends indicate that rural areas witnessed a construction boom after 2004-05. Further, growth in employment in the construction sector was higher than output growth during both periods under consideration. One reason for the much higher growth in the number of rural workers in construction over the manufacturing or services sectors is that there are fewer skill and educational requirements in construction.

Construction employment grew at a remarkable rate from 1999-2000 onwards. While it employed only 17 million in that year, the number jumped to 26 million by 2004-5. However, what happened after that was totally unprecedented. It grew to 51 million by 2011-12, which is a doubling in seven years or a tripling in 12 years from the turn of the millennium.

This was possible because of the sustained growth in investment in infrastructure, especially over the 11th Five Year Plan period (2007-12) of $100 billion per annum, two-thirds of which was public, and the remainder private. In addition, there was a real boom in real estate, residential and commercial, throughout the country. However, private investment is now much lower than earlier.

Construction is the main activity absorbing poorly educated rural labour in the rural and urban areas. These workers are characterised, as noted above, by very low levels of education. It is estimated from NSS and Labour Bureau data that the absolute number of those in construction who were illiterate was 11 million in 2004-5, but which rose to 19 million in 2011-12.

Construction jobs were growing so fast between 2004-5 and 2011-2 that the share of construction in total jobs for 15 to 29 year olds in the workforce doubled from 7.5% to 14%. Since then construction job growth has slowed, such that the share of construction in total youth employment fell to 13.3%. Construction jobs are growing more slowly since 2011-12, as public investment has fallen. And with the rising non-performing assets of banks, private investment has fallen as well. The result: fewer workers have been leaving agriculture since 2011-12. From the 5 million leaving agriculture per annum between 2004-5 to 2011-12, the number is down to just over 1 million per annum between 2011-12 to 2015-16.

This is hurting landless labour and small and marginal farmers the most, since their households had benefited the most from the tightening of the labour market that had ensued in rural and urban areas because of rising construction jobs. Rural demand in particular has risen, raising consumer demand for simple manufactured goods, especially in the unorganised manufacturing sector, raising employment in those sectors especially in rural areas.

The Union government has sustained rural development expenditure for the last two years, especially for rural roads, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and rural housing under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The Surface Transport Ministry has also attempted to sustain public investment in infrastructure to generate construction jobs for growing surplus rural labour.

The Budget for 2018-19 should sustain this public investment effort. The announcement that the government plans to borrow an additional Rs. 50,000 crore in this financial year, is welcome. Hopefully, the intention here is to raise public investment, especially for infrastructure investment.

Santosh Mehrotra is professor of economics and Chair of the Centre for Labour, Jawaharlal Nehru University
The Hindu, 11/01/2018

Grow Up, be Responsible

SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA

Let your actions not beg for happiness. When you beg for happiness, you position happiness in the future. Life happens in the present. Treat the present as a present and then you will be total in what you do. When you are total in what you do, then the “totality” brings “fullness” in what you are doing.

I consider the work situation as a field for learning and, hence, it is a school. One has to be alert that the school is not a nursery. In a nursery, the child is not fully expected to take care of him or herself, but in a school, one has to take care of oneself.

In a school, the child is expected to have more responsibility, the teacher gives information, but the learning has to happen by the student. That is not the case in a nursery. So, are you in a nursery or a school? Live like an adult, take charge of your life and be responsible for your physical, emotional, mental, financial and spiritual health.

We don’t learn from a problem because we don’t want to grow up. A child cries when it wants anything and expects others to fulfil what it wants. Emotionally, an adult cries for this or that at home or office and such emotional crying expresses itself in the form of complaints. Learn to grow up and take responsibility. The art of growing up is living in the school of life, where learning is focused, and taking responsibility for all dimensions of wellness.

Economic and Political Weekly: Table of Contents

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