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Item Open Access From Quest for Justice to Dalit Identity: A New Look on the Crisis of identity of the Scheduled Castes of West Bengal(University of North Bengal, 2015-03) Barman, Rup KumarIn the recent years, it has become a common fashion among the social scientists, journalists and popular writers alike to classify the Scheduled Castes of India as Da/its. Being induced by the 'Dalit Panther movement' of the 1970 's, academics of both Dal it and non-Dalit social background; have reinterpreted the protests of the Scheduled Castes against upper castes' oppression and their writings under the banner of 'Dalit Discourse '. These trends eventually have encapsulated the Scheduled Castes within the/old of 'Dalit identity'. However, a major section of the Scheduled Castes of West Bengal has reservation to accept 'Dalit identity ' what the Dalit writers and non-Dalit scholars are· trying to impose on them. Rather, they are more comfortable to be identified as Scheduled Castes in the society. This paper has analyzed that the social movement of the Scheduled Castes of late colonial Bengal is losing its dignity in the recent years because of classification of the Scheduled Castes merely as Dalits. Simultaneously the author has argued that 'construction of Dalit identity' of the Scheduled Castes is a theoretical imposition on theh1 at least in case of West Bengal.Item Open Access ‘Jallikattu’ as New Social Movement: Human Rights Vs Animal Rights(University of North Bengal, 2016) Debnath, JayantaOnce again it is proved that no community of the universe will allow anybody to take away their natural rights from them. In this case, a suitable example would be the event of ‘Jallikattu’ which is observed in South India especially in Tamil Nadu. It has been such a movement which raised variety of questions within Indian society. Jallikattu is an identity- based movement. It is infact a new social movement with old tradition and practice of Tamil people. This identity-based movement brought two different aspects of emotion and values all together that is the clash between human rights and animal rights. Both these groups wanted to be victorious, but such path of victory is not so easy. As a result both the parties choose judiciary to save their rights or ideology. In this circumstance, the role of the state both national and regional comes to the forefront. Thus, to settle this crucial issue the role of politics or political intervention has been momentous.Item Open Access Understanding the Interface Between Multiculturalism and Postmodernism: A Nietzschean Perspective(University of North Bengal, 2015) Roy, SaikatPostmodernism with its deconstructionist position denotes a shift of hegemonic intellectual paradigm positing the transition from one cultural context to another. Such a shift is always characterized by transformation of cultural codes and systems of values expressed in changes of cultural, religious norms, outlooks on micro and macro levels, that is, social, political, ideological as well as personal, etc. The component of the postmodern program is seen in the multicultural project, assuming the creation of a global community with a set of cultures which has the right to existence and should cause respect. Multiculturalism of the nineties draws its most important concepts from the postmodernist thought, which in turn ultimately stems from Friedrich Nietzsche’ philosophy. He cherished multiculturalism and postmodernism from the value-standpoint and primarily focused on the cultural relativism. The contention of this paper is to investigate and analyse the interface between these two ideological paradigms from a Nietzschean perspective.Item Open Access Identity Movements and Its Impact on Indian Politics(University of North Bengal, 2013-03) Lama, Sanjeeb; Yasin, M.The identity movements a derivation of social movement that came to fore very recently, are of a different nature, these movements are mainly collective actions or efforts for demands- the defence of interests and the promotion of rights of certain groups of individuals who feel discriminated against, the search for symbolic recognition by a significant others. Some see these movements as the main source of hope for democratization and development, while others look at them with suspicion and as a destabilizing threat. Focussing on the nature of identity movement this paper is an attempt to highlight impacts that it has on India politics.Item Open Access Caste Marginalization and Resistance: Case of Rajbanshis in North Bengal(University of North Bengal, 2013-03) Basistha, NandiniLiterally the term ‘Rajbanshi’ means the lineage of the king. But, in reality, the Rajbanshis have been placed in the bottom of the caste hierarchy and have often been victims of discrimination. Starting with a movement for regaining the lost social status of the Rajbanshi community in Hindu society of Bengal, how their activism gradually developed into a more hard-core or confrontational political movement aiming at separate statehood has been discussed in this paper. In addition, the paper discusses in detail how the demands raised, and the modes of agitation, changed over time.Item Open Access Sociological view of management of health of the migrant workers in kolkata nibedita bayen(University of North Bengal, 31-03-2017) Bayen, NibeditaKolkata, the economic capital of eastern India, attracts skilled and semi-skilled labourers, who migrate for a living. The migrants include sex workers, taxi drivers, shoemakers, porters, rickshaw pullers and child labourers. They migrate from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and different regions of West Bengal. Migrants, who migrate by taking the help of a village migration network, usually take shelter in slum areas. Such places are identified by the city administration as places of extra attention to prevent outbreak of diseases. The municipal corporation puts in place a robust malaria control plan in the city. The present paper would analyse how migrant labourers are governed by the city administration as a part of its malaria-control drive and how the perceptions of health and illness of these migrant labourers change in the process.Item Open Access Identity Crisis in a Cross-cultural Paradox: My Experience(University of North Bengal, 2019-03) Bhutia, Sonam Choden“Identity” is a sum total of perceptions one accepts, imbibes and is fostered on by the society. It is related to both ascribed and acquired social constructs like caste, class, religion and language. Though caste, class, religion are important components of a person’s identity it is through language that the unique ethnic, social, religion and cultural identity is expressed. Language in both written and spoken form is the factor that binds other components of a person’s identity and it is crucial for cultural preservation. Related to the issue of cultural preservation, one finds the role of language especially in case of Tibetan identity. Despite the Chinese insistence that Tibet has always been a part of China, the Tibetan religion, customs, culture and language preserve distinctive features supporting the right to self-determination and independence. In exile, Tibetans under the guidance of His Holiness Dalai Lama have been successful in keeping their identity alive. However, in the recent times, the fear of losing their identity is specially felt when there is a shift away from Tibetan language; with many scattered around the world the Tibetans are under pressure to adopt languages other than their mother tongue. Sociologically, it is stated that endogamous marriage helps in preserving racial purity and culture. Tibetans marrying outside the community face many challenges of which one is the problem of identity. As a daughter of Tibetan father, a Bhutanese mother and the wife of a Sikkimese Bhutia, the confusion arises as to where I, as an individual, stand and face Identity crisis in certain situations in my everyday life. Starting from my experience as a person faced with multiple identity “tags”, the paper attempts to bring forth issues and dilemmas of identity faced by children of mixed parentage. It also highlights the challenges and issues of identity that come up in inter-community marriages.Item Open Access Rethinking Kosli Identity: Language, Literature and Culture of Western Odisha(University of North Bengal, 2018-03) Kumar, TilaWestern Odisha’ once upon a time, formed a part of the ancient Koshal kingdom having its distinctive history, culture and unique salient features. The proponents of the separate Koshal state movement which is going on in the western part of Odisha have been mobilizing people and spearheading their movement along such a historic path so as to bring back their golden past and to preserve, protect and promote their rich cultural heritage. The people of western Odisha living in as many as eleven different districts not only ascertain their common ancestry but also share their common fate of being backward and underdeveloped due to ‘internal colonialism’ including state apathy and ‘coastal conspiracy’. Nevertheless, they are struggling and mobilizing forcefully to deconstruct their stigmatized identity and asserting today a unique ‘Kosli identity’, which is increasingly being recognized world over. And it is this ‘Kosli identity’ - which the leaders of the Koshal movement are using to garner people’s support and galvanize Kosli consciousness and ‘Kosli nationalism’ - the emblematic chord of the demand for a separate Kosal state. It is, therefore, that we discuss in the present article, some of the significant markers of what constitute Kosli identity in terms of a) Kosli language and literature and b) Kosli culture.