India is in the throes of one of the darkest moments in the nation’s history. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic, resulting from the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been ravaging the lives and...Show moreIndia is in the throes of one of the darkest moments in the nation’s history. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic, resulting from the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been ravaging the lives and livelihoods of people all over the world, and the people of India are no exception. Primarily cultural, ethnic or religious minority communities are expected to be disproportionately impacted by the virus and its aftermath (Al Saba 2020). In an attempt to increase international awareness of the situation of marginalised minority communities during this global crisis, this thesis will cover the impact of COVID-19 on one such community, Indian Muslims.Show less
This thesis makes use of a critical discourse analysis to investigate in what ways the Hindutva discourse on (re)conversion of people to Hinduism transforms the religion to accommodate marginalized...Show moreThis thesis makes use of a critical discourse analysis to investigate in what ways the Hindutva discourse on (re)conversion of people to Hinduism transforms the religion to accommodate marginalized groups, such as Dalits and Adivasis. The thesis provides an overview of the relevant topics and academic debate before getting into the critical discourse analysis. It was discovered that, through the Hindutva discourse, Hinduism is constructed as a tolerant and all-encompasing tradition, whilst similtaniously is experiencing isomorphism to monotheistic religions.Show less
Deze scriptie onderzoekt de opvolgingspraktijk in Mughal-India tussen 1500 en 1630 en vergelijkt deze praktijk met de opvolgingspraktijk in vier verwante rijken: dat van de Mongolen, de Timuriden,...Show moreDeze scriptie onderzoekt de opvolgingspraktijk in Mughal-India tussen 1500 en 1630 en vergelijkt deze praktijk met de opvolgingspraktijk in vier verwante rijken: dat van de Mongolen, de Timuriden, de Safawiden en de Osmanen. Er wordt betoogd dat de meeste van de rijken een ontwikkelend opvolgingssysteem kenden, doordat de nadruk op de doorslaggevende factoren voor het praktisch verloop van een opvolging veranderde. Naar voren komt dat in alle rijken de factoren afstamming, aanwijzing, verkiezing en strijd van belang waren voor de invulling van het opvolgingssysteem. Voor de bestudeerde rijken geld ook dat de (op elkaar inwerkende) invloed van de islam en Turks-Mongoolse traditie, belangrijk waren voor de vorm die de opvolging kreeg. De analyse stoelt vooral op primaire bronnen voor het onderzoek naar Mughal-India en op secundaire bronnen met betrekking tot de verwante rijken. Hierbij biedt Jack Goody's opvolgingstheorie een kader aan de hand waarvan de ontwikkeling van de opvolgingssystemen wordt beschreven. Daarnaast is er specifieke aandacht voor de rol die de vrouwen van de dynastieën hadden met betrekking tot de vorming en verandering van de opvolgingssystemen. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat de vrouwelijke invloed soms van doorslaggevend belang kon zijn voor de verandering van een opvolgingssysteem.Show less
Economic development and nationalism are deeply connected topics. This thesis will research the utilization of historical aspects of Indian nationalism and the Indian national identity in the...Show moreEconomic development and nationalism are deeply connected topics. This thesis will research the utilization of historical aspects of Indian nationalism and the Indian national identity in the discourse on economic development. By utilizing a framework that is based on the reiteration, recapture, reinterpretation and repudiation of historical aspects with in the discourse on economic development this thesis is arguing that PM Modi is mobilizing nationalism in order to aid his development plan. By researching how the PM is addressing difference audiences this thesis shows how there is not one single nationalism/ national identity but multiple and these can be used to reach specific goals. By applying an established framework on a new region this thesis ties to open up the discussion of contemporary nationalism and engage with the question of western vs eastern nationalism.Show less
This thesis focuses on inspecting the special, unrestrained, and independent freedom of the city of Vārāṇasī through Viśvanāth Mukharjī’s Hindi-language book “Banā Rahe Banāras” (1958).
The cholera epidemic of 1902-1904 in Manila shares striking similarities with the outbreak of plague in Bombay in 1896, particularly in the colonial responses of the American and British...Show moreThe cholera epidemic of 1902-1904 in Manila shares striking similarities with the outbreak of plague in Bombay in 1896, particularly in the colonial responses of the American and British governments respectively. The heavily interventionist and militarist sanitary methods used by each power were masked by the façade of scientific neutrality and colonial efficiency, but each regime encountered resistance to their policies from the Filipino and Indian populations. This thesis explores and compares the plague and cholera epidemics, with an emphasis on what made each outbreak unique within its own context, and on their similarities despite the perceived difference between each colonial power. At the core of this thesis is the question of how colonial governance and indigenous responses to it were conceptualised in the context of the disease epidemics. An analysis of official government accounts of each epidemic demonstrates that, despite their claims to the contrary, colonial thinking and discrimination always undermined the scientific values that the British and American regimes so often espoused.Show less
Radical Right Populism is not limited to any specific geography but rather is something that has been on the rise all over the world. This paper is concerned with the question how radical right...Show moreRadical Right Populism is not limited to any specific geography but rather is something that has been on the rise all over the world. This paper is concerned with the question how radical right populism relates to a modern day understanding of fascism. This thesis will first answer the question of what populism is and then compare this to a theoretical approach to fascism. Because I will follow the understanding of populism as a political style a special attention will be given propaganda and how it is delivered to a given constituency. The case study used in this these is the Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India. Within the context of this case I will focus on Mann Ki Baat, a monthly radio show held by the Indian Prime Minister. Throughout the text of this thesis I hope to show that radical right populism and fascism have too many similarities, in respect to its definition, theoretical approach towards these concepts and performance, to ignore. Furthermore, I will argue that the perceived direct communication that Mann Ki Baat and social media facilitate are closer to propaganda than a genuine political exchange. The research presented here is building on and adding to the growing literature on populism, social media in the political sphere and radical right politics.Show less
In this work, I aim at answering the question "What are the effects of India's rising emissions on the country's commitment to climate action?". Exposing India's rise as a global emitter and its...Show moreIn this work, I aim at answering the question "What are the effects of India's rising emissions on the country's commitment to climate action?". Exposing India's rise as a global emitter and its new capacity to act on climate change, I evaluate the validity of this country's exemption from binding commitments granted at the first UNFCCC Conference of Parties (in Rio de Janeiro, 1992) and reflected in the Kyoto Protocol. Annexes to the Protocol allocated binding targets for emissions reductions to developed countries (“Annex 1”) and an exemption from compulsory environmental action for less developed and emerging ones (“Non-Annex”). The division was based on each Party's cumulative emissions and capacity to act; in India's case, both have changed sensibly since the '90s. The empirical chapter confirms a growing external pressure from other countries for India to adopt new commitments. UNFCCC Parties recognised the necessity to include India into a new post-Kyoto Protocol regime for global climate policy to be successful in the coming decades. On the other hand, India's geographical vulnerability to the harmful consequences of global warming put the government under internal pressure to step up environmental action.Show less
Studies have been carried out that explore the effect of the ILO's Decent Work Agenda but there has been a lack of focus of its effect on the working conditions of women working informally. Through...Show moreStudies have been carried out that explore the effect of the ILO's Decent Work Agenda but there has been a lack of focus of its effect on the working conditions of women working informally. Through carrying out a qualitative content analysis of key documents, the normative function of the ILO's Decent Work Agenda within the context of informal domestic workers in India between 2008 and 2018 was analysed. This provided a nuanced and in-depth understanding of the ILO's role in the development of women who work outside of the purview of the rule of law and are also often marginalised on the basis of social constructs such as class, caste, religion and gender. While the ILO's Decent Work Agenda has resulted in the limited improvement of the lives of Indian women working in the informal economy the organisation ability to drive change has been curbed by its inability to enforce international law, and the neoliberal global political economy.Show less
Bollywood both shapes and is shaped by Indian society and its ideas on gender and nationhood. As such, it engages in the politics of representation as theorised by feminist film scholars. While...Show moreBollywood both shapes and is shaped by Indian society and its ideas on gender and nationhood. As such, it engages in the politics of representation as theorised by feminist film scholars. While extensive literature on the representation of women in Bollywood has arisen in the last two decades, less attention has been put on how rural populations or, more particularly, rural women are represented. This thesis attempts to fill this gap, recognising the invisibilization of rural women in India, especially the agrarian female workers who make up a major part of the national economy and around a fourth of the Indian population. I have used content and discourse analysis techniques on the Bollywood films Lagaan (2001) and Parched (2016) to investigate, firstly, the representation of Indian rural women in Bollywood, secondly the applicability of the theories developed through the literature on Indian women in Bollywood, and lastly, the possible implications of such representations on the visibility of Indian rural women, considering both the content and the reach of the films in the context of contemporary Bollywood. There is a multiplicity of representations of Indian women across Bollywood films, and this also applies for the representation of Indian rural women. In Lagaan, women play side-roles and are defined by their relation to the male characters; they are dedicated daughters, mothers and lovers. In Parched, the rural women are nuanced characters with desires, struggles and the will to fight for their agency in a patriarchal society. Even though the representations in Parched challenge notions of patriarchal and upper-class nationhood, its viewership and therefore the impact of the visibilization Indian rural women is limited to an elite and largely foreign audience, whereas the more patriarchal, but subaltern-perspective film Lagaan has reached Indian masses. Although women centric Bollywood films have been on the rise, a low number of films portray rural Indians and of those only few depict female characters in nuanced ways like done in Parched. This implies that Indian rural women remain largely invisibilized and stigmatized in Bollywood and in the imagination of the nation by the Bollywood audiences. Going forward, middle cinema offers a promising space for critical but still influential films, stimulating larger discussions on class and gender.Show less
Wat waren de heersende opvattingen over de inheemse bevolking en de staatsindeling onder de VOC-dienaren in Nederlands-Indië? Was dit beeld hetzelfde aan de Malabarkust of bijvoorbeeld op Ceylon,...Show moreWat waren de heersende opvattingen over de inheemse bevolking en de staatsindeling onder de VOC-dienaren in Nederlands-Indië? Was dit beeld hetzelfde aan de Malabarkust of bijvoorbeeld op Ceylon, of verschillende deze regio's juist sterk met elkaar? Met andere woorden, wat was het heersende vertoog binnen de VOC? De hoofdvraag die centraal zal staat is hoe Rijcklof Volkckertsz van Goens aankeek tegen de Aziatische hoven en hoe dat ter uiting kwam in zijn beleid in de jaren 1648-1675. Door eerst Rijcklof Volckertsz van Goens te behandelen zal er een eerste stap gezet worden in een groter onderzoek. Dit onderzoek dient als een aanzet tot verder onderzoek naar het prekoloniale Nederlandse vertoog over Azië binnen de VOC. Centraal staan de theoriën van Ann Laura Stoler en Edward Saïd. Hiermee gebruikt deze scriptie twee postkoloniale theorieën, om het prekoloniale vertoog van Rijcklof van Goens te bepalen.Show less
Despite the media attention surrounding the influence of India’s Godmen and their relationships politicians, not a great deal has been written in academia concerning this connection. Moreover, what...Show moreDespite the media attention surrounding the influence of India’s Godmen and their relationships politicians, not a great deal has been written in academia concerning this connection. Moreover, what has been studied has predominantly focused on the prominent role of Hindu Godmen in promoting ‘soft Hindutva’ - endorsing Hindutva policies and politicians. With this in mind, the case of the Dera Sacha Sauda and their current leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan challenges existing assumptions about the influence of Godmen in India. In addition, the symbolic character of the 'world renouncer' and the rhetoric of 'humanitarianism', are examined in the context of the Godman's influence over his followers. The theories of Weber and Gramsci, among others, are explored and highlight that Godmen engage with politics in dynamic, locally orientated and pragmatic ways.Show less
Tipu Sultan (r1782-1799) was heerser van Mysore, een onafhankelijk sultanaat in Zuid-India. Om hun onafhankelijk te bewaren vochten hij en zijn vader Haidar Ali vier oorlogen uit met de uitdijende...Show moreTipu Sultan (r1782-1799) was heerser van Mysore, een onafhankelijk sultanaat in Zuid-India. Om hun onafhankelijk te bewaren vochten hij en zijn vader Haidar Ali vier oorlogen uit met de uitdijende East Indian Company, waarbij zij militaire steun zochten bij Frankrijk. In 1787 stuurde Tipu Sultan een diplomatieke missie naar Frankrijk en ruim tien jaar later nog een tweede missie. Wat waren de motieven, de opzet en resultaten van deze missies, wat was zijn politieke verhouding met Frankrijk? Achtergrondvraag daarbij is de Franse politiek ten opzichte van India in de tweede helft van de achttiende eeuw in het licht van de twee grote Frans-Engelse oorlogen, de Zevenjarige Oorlog en de Amerikaanse Onafhankelijksoorlog. Structurele factoren blokkeerden Tipu Sultans ambitie en zorgden voor zijn ondergang. Het was voor de Fransen onmogelijk een oorlog op twee fronten te voeren, waarbij zij prioriteit gaven aan de oorlog in Noord-Amerika; nadien kalfde hun positie in India verder af en brak de Franse Revolutie uit. Tegelijkertijd groeide de Engelse machtspositie in India verder en werden zij volledig dominant op zee. Daarmee werd Tipu Sultan vermalen tussen de inconsistentie en de machteloosheid van de Fransen enerzijds en de macht en vastbeslotenheid van de Engelsen anderzijds.Show less
