Download CONCEPT NOTE National Level Conference on NATION

CONCEPT NOTE
National Level Conference on
NATION, COMMUNITY, AND CITIZENSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA
School of Social Sciences
National Institute of Advanced Studies
Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bengaluru
January 9-10, 2017
To mark the birth centenary of M.N. Srinivas, one of the main founders of Indian sociology, the
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) is organising a two-day national level conference
on the theme of Nation, Community, and Citizenship. ‘MNS’ spent his final years at NIAS
where he founded the Sociology and Social Anthropology Unit, now absorbed into the School of
Social Sciences.
M.N. Srinivas shaped Indian sociology and social anthropology in numerous ways, but especially
by mapping the contours of ‘Indian society’ and its structuring based on communities such as
caste and village. MNS gave us key concepts such as ‘dominant caste’ and ‘sanskritisation’, which
provided a framework for understanding power, domination, and exclusion as well as social
mobility. Through concepts such as ‘vote bank’, his work also addressed the issues faced by a
nascent democratic polity and the aspirations of diverse groups within it.
The political life of the Indian nation, in recent years, has been marked by the crystallisation or
resurgence of ‘communities’ of diverse kinds – from groups that have been regarded by
sociologists as ‘dominant castes’ agitating for reservations, to diverse dalit and OBC
mobilisations, to struggles for regional autonomy and contestations around religious identities.
What can Indian sociology, which has been profoundly shaped by the work of Srinivas,
contribute to contemporary debates on the nature and significance of the nation, which is
increasingly being questioned by its own citizens, from diverse perspectives? What concepts,
theoretical frameworks, or empirical insights can we offer to help unravel and understand the
various social movements, protests, and assertions that we have witnessed around questions of
exclusion and inequality – mobilisations that often crystallise around particular community
identities such as caste, ‘ethnic’ or ‘tribal’ identities or express claims to full citizenship by
marginalised groups? What implications are the implications of this political churning in the
post-liberalisation and globalisation era, which appeared to hold the promise of technological
and economic progress for India? How do we begin to comprehend, within the present context,
the many imaginations of ‘development’ within the Indian nation?
The early 21st century has been a time of multiple transformations, giving rise to new questions,
assertions, and aspirations – developments that require new concepts and research agendas. The
current scenario also demands a rethinking and re-interpretation of received categories – such as
of caste, class, race, and ethnicity – which are underwritten by particular notions of ‘community’.
In the contemporary moment, how do we interpret demands for community rights and the
recognition of community identities in relation to the nation-state and the democratic principle
of equal and inclusive citizenship?
The aim of the conference is to look back at the Indian sociology that was crafted by Srinivas
and his students, and its understanding of the Indian nation as constituted by diverse
communities yet united by national culture and particular social institutions; to reflect critically
on the legacy of Srinivas for our understanding of current debates around nation, social identity,
marginalisation, and equality; to provide a platform for the presentation of new research on these
themes; and to collectively debate the question of community in relation to citizenship and
nation in contemporary India.
Papers presented will broadly fall into the following themes:
- Caste, regional, and language-based mobilisations
- Communities at the margins of the nation
- Community rights and citizenship
- Social mobility, exclusion, and education
- Communities and diverse publics
- New caste movements, especially around reservations
- Contemporary ideologies of nation and nationalism