Beyond Piketty: A new perspective on poverty and inequality in India

The socio-economic literature has focused much on how overall inequality in income distribution (frequently measured by the Gini coefficient) undermines the “trickle down” effect. In other words, the higher the inequality in the income distribution, the lower is the growth elasticity of poverty. However, with the publication of Piketty’s magnum opus (2014), and a subsequent study by Chancel and Piketty (2017) of evolution of income inequality in India since 1922, the focus has shifted to the income disparity between the richest 1% (or 0.01%) and the bottom 50%. Their central argument is that the rapid growth of income at the top end of millionaires and billionaires is a by-product of growth. The present study extends this argument by linking it to poverty indices in India. Based on the India Human Development Survey 2005–12 – a nationwide panel survey-we examine the links between poverty and income inequality, especially in the upper tail relative to the bottom 50%, state affluence (measured in per capita income) and their interaction or their joint effect. Another feature of our research is that we analyse their effects on the FGT class of poverty indices. The results are similar in as much as direction of association is concerned but the elasticities vary with the poverty index. The growth elasticities are negative and significant for all poverty indices. In all three cases, the disparity between the income share of the top 1% and share of the bottom 50% is associated with greater poverty. These elasticities are much higher than the (absolute) income elasticities except in the case of the poverty gap. The largest increase occurs in the poverty gap squared – a 1% greater income disparity is associated with a 1.24% higher value of this index. Thus the consequences of even a small increase in the income disparity are alarming for the poorest.     

Collective and Elective Ethnicity: Caste Among Urban Muslims in India

This article explores how the significance of ethnic identity can vary within a stable population, using caste among Muslims in Hyderabad, India as a case study. While some Hyderabadi Muslims are still embedded in ethnic networks, most now experience ethnicity as elective and do not rely on a corporate caste group for their social connections. This reflects a decline in the value of caste identities, which no longer provide economic or political resources. Increasingly, Muslims seek status through education, profession, or income. Thus, most Muslims in Hyderabad experience caste membership, identity, and networks in a weakened or attenuated way.     

当代印度南部婆罗门状况的个案分析——以奈保尔《印度:百万叛变的今天》为例

当代印度社会正发生着极大的变动,社会各阶层都在极力维护固有地位和宗教传统的稳定,并极力在这种变动中争取着自身社会利益的最大化。其中,南印度婆罗门种姓在逐步丧失传统的各项特权和优势地位的同时,也在努力适应、应对当代社会的新变化和新挑战。英国作家V.S.奈保尔的《印度:百万叛变的今天》一书提供了较为翔实、客观的口述史资料。以书中生活在孟买、班加罗尔、马德拉斯、加尔各达等南印度城市中的当代婆罗门阶层作为个案,可探究出其面对传统社会生活中的各个层面发生变动时的态度与应对及个体内在的深层原因,并在一定程度上考察社会变动与文化传统之间的互动关系。     

中印英语教育之比较

中国印度都将英语作为第二语言进行教学。但是尽管教学目的相同 ,所采用的教学手段、教材和教学过程不尽相同。本文从分析中印教学手段的相似与差异入手 ,搜集本科英语专业教材 ,在分析教学大纲、教学和考试过程的基础上 ,同时考虑学生的基本条件、学制、课程等因素 ,试图获得进一步改革的新观念 ,为教学大纲的设计和课程的安排提供参考意见。     

论18世纪后期英国对中国西藏的渗透政策及其破产

在18世纪后期,英国受当时社会历史条件的限制,对我国西藏实行以建立直接交往关系为主的渗透政策。由于喜玛拉雅地区各国在历史上同我国西藏形成的密切关系及其在地缘政治上的屏障作用,英国在这一地区的扩张活动同它建立印藏直接交往的尝试一样,都是其对藏渗透政策的组成部分。英国在廓尔喀侵藏战争中的卑劣表演最终导致了其对藏渗透政策的彻底破产。     

试论印度穆斯林的分离主义——以赛义德、伊克巴尔、真纳为例

本文赛义德、伊克巴尔、真纳为例,论述印度穆斯林的分离主义。穆斯林分离主义源于赛义德;伊克巴尔第一次喊出了穆斯林单独建国的口号;真纳是穆斯林分离主义理论的集大成者和实行者。穆斯林的分离主义对印度次大陆的政治发展产生了巨大的影响,成为印度次大陆分裂的主要因素。     

Community-based household waste management: Lessons learnt from EXNORA's ‘zero waste management’ scheme in two South Indian cities

This paper presents two case studies on the efforts by a community-based organisation to promote a sustainable integrated waste management system in Indian mega cities. This effort was initiated in 1989 by a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) called EXNORA and is based on a ‘zero waste management scheme’ set up, run and financed by the residents themselves. As this model has been widely quoted as successful, the study aims at learning from two communities implementing this model.Results are reported from a survey of the two schemes that used various tools to assess both their performance and sustainability in selected residential areas of two Indian cities, Chennai and Hyderabad. The results indicate limited success of the schemes both in saving a significant fraction of the generated waste from dumping, and in rehabilitating the local poor. However, they show that motivated individuals can successfully set up and manage waste collection systems that lead to overall environmental improvements. The differences in the two schemes reflect how the local assets and contexts impact on the success of the scheme. The scheme in a rich neighbourhood of Hyderabad was less ambitious in its overall objectives and focussed on the provision of a waste management service, using the opportunity to provide local employment to a socially deprived fraction of the population. The scheme in a middle-class area of Chennai, although pioneering in its approach, suffered from diseconomies of scale and lack of social integration, making it less viable in the medium to long term. Both schemes suffered from a lack of community involvement, motivation and political support, which threatens the long-term sustainability of the enterprise. The research concludes that the role that communities can realistically play in management of their own waste depends on the local context. The system advocated by EXNORA seems to require significant local resources, and political and technical support which are hard to find and sustain without strong local leaders. Another model set up in the city of Visakhapatnam is finally introduced as an alternative. This is based on triangular contracts between the municipality, the residents and micro-enterprises and may provide a good solution in dealing with the technical and commercial aspects which communities find difficult.     

卡伯拉尔远航印度意义初探

1500-1501年卡伯拉尔率葡萄牙舰队远航印度,堪称地理大发现第一阶段仅次于三大航行的第四大航行。这次远航经过了欧美非亚四大洲,往返行程5.5万公里。卡伯拉尔远航开创了发现、殖民南美大陆和巴西的进程,重新发现了世界第四大岛马达加斯加。从此葡萄牙人在印度辟建商站立足插手,创建商业殖民帝国;同时开始在印度洋上打击摩尔人—穆斯林,由此开辟了反击反包围摩尔人—穆斯林的新战线,实现了当初的一个战略意图,问鼎印度洋霸权。     

The status of women among the scheduled tribes in India

The scheduled tribes constitute about 8.2% of the total population in India. Although there is a large volume of anthropological literature describing the characteristics of and differences among the various tribes in India, little inter-disciplinary research has been done to uncover the status of women among the tribal population in India. This paper will analyze the status of women among the scheduled tribes in India. Frequent comparisons will be made to the social and cultural practices of the scheduled tribes, mainstream Hindus, as well as the scheduled caste population. Through this analysis, we will show the distinctiveness of the tribal cultures and the fact that many women from the scheduled tribes face less discrimination than Hindu women and those from scheduled castes.