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This special section is dedicated to the BASAS conference 2021. The conference coincided with the devastating second wave of Covid-19 in India, which started in March and peaked in May 2021. Case numbers and mortality in South Asian countries were very high and their health systems too struggled to keep up with these unprecedented times. As governments across South Asia appeared to fail their populations, a sense of crisis was shared by conference participants, many of whom were personally affected by this wave. This conference was unique in that it took place after a two-year gap due to the Covid-19 pandemic and in that it was the first fully online BASAS conference. The papers in the special section draw attention to significant areas of research in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between conflict trajectories and years of schooling in India for girls and boys. It adopts propensity score matching methods on panel data from the India Human Development Survey (2004/05-2011/12) merged with conflict data from the South Asia Terrorism Portal. Conflict is measured according to the dynamic trajectory of Naxal violence-related fatalities at the district level, distinguishing areas of chronic conflict with those experiencing dynamism in conflict intensity over time. ATT estimates indicate that conflict is associated with a reduction in years of schooling for both genders, though relatively high for girls (by a quarter of a year for girls and by 0.16 of a year for boys), driven by large reductions in school accumulation for girls living in areas of chronic conflict. Results are consistent when adopting different methods, alternative measures of conflict fatalities, and accounting for other conflicts and selective migration. Examining transmission mechanisms suggest that household spending on girls' education may be de-prioritised amidst conflict, while conflict may also weaken or destroy school infrastructure. Results suggest that policy responses should prioritise girls' education in areas of chronic conflict, not only in 'fragile states' but in countries where conflict remains a subnational concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using India as a theory building case, this paper puts forward a theoretical framework for understanding countries' responses to global rules and implementation effects across diverse global governance regimes and contexts. The initial premise for this paper is that the strategic structure of implementation dilemmas faced by states and actors within countries need to be understood in addition to design dilemmas. Successful global regimes must not only solve cooperation and uncertainty problems at the initial stages in choosing the right institutional matrix, but also 'require changes in domestic institutions.' The need to change domestic institutions creates certain implementation dilemmas. These dilemmas are a joint product of the institutional design, specific policy issue and the domestic logic of responses after international agreements have been signed. This broader idea helps understand a wide variety of India's interactions across global governance institutions. I also suggest a novel empirical strategy of cross-institutional analysis to assess implementation dilemmas. While we have numerous cross-national studies of how compliance occurs in a wide variety of countries, we lack theory-driven, empirically grounded, comparative studies of a single country or a group of countries across diverse global regimes. Such a framework can help us better understand how countries interact with a variety of global institutions and the reciprocal effects. This framework is then used to understand India's interactions with diverse global regimes in an illustrative manner in this article, and in greater detail by other authors in the section published in this issue of Contemporary South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The independence from the British rule was accompanied with partition of the Indian subcontinent on religious lines. Since partition in 1947, the two nation-states India and Pakistan have been hostile toward each other. Communalism has also been a major challenge in both these countries. The current study locates this continued hostility or the "enemy" narrative that the countries harbor not just of each other, but which also shapes the experience of a religious community within their territory. Limiting the inquiry to the Indian side, this paper explores the production of the "enemy" narrative through the discursive knowledge around partition and how it locates Muslims. The paper analyzes textbooks of two education boards in India and argues that the narrative excludes the contribution of Muslims in the nationalist movement, charts out an uncritical history of the demand for partition, and stigmatizes the Muslim community as "communal" and "unpatriotic." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we define what we understand by birth professionals and examine how they have emerged in India in response to existing obstetric and gynecological practices. The focus here is on the emerging category of the "birth professional," as we look back into how professional midwifery, doulas, childbirth educators and lactation consultants have come to define "newer" birthing options for women, with the corresponding decline of traditional midwifery in India. Finally, the paper uses ethnographic field data on professional midwives and doulas, to define what birth professionalism represents in India through case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are traditionally believed to provide assured second-strike capability and stabilize deterrence. This paper contests this classical assumption in South Asia's context and argues that SSBN capability to become secure and credible deterrent depends upon doctrinal issues, command and communication systems, and operational readiness of SSBN force. In a dyad, if both countries have invulnerable second strike capability, there is less incentive to strike first. Whereas invulnerability of one country incentivizes first strike. In South Asian strategic situation, an assured sea-based second-strike capability may contribute to India's aggressive nuclear posture. This paper evaluates New Delhi's induction of SSBNs in light of its stated notion of minimalism, as declared in its nuclear doctrine, and discusses in the context of traditional stability theory associated with the development of SSBN force. This paper primarily considers deterrence stability and crisis stability as two dependent variables to study how India's sea-based nuclear capability affects strategic stability in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of the underground cistern in South Asia, through Western India, offers a fascinating case study of knowledge migration and technological transfers between West and South Asia. It addresses the question of past hydraulic technologies used in the Western Indian cities and the modalities of a fundamental shift in the relationship to water during the 16th century. The present paper is based on my surveys and architectural studies of underground cisterns (tānkā) in Ahmedabad, urbs prima of Gujarat from 1411 onwards. It describes the tānkā system and its archaeological characteristics, with a special focus on the early reservoir of the Shāh Vajihudin Alvi khānqāh. This study, compared with evidences in other urban centres of Western India, brings to light the emergence of underground cisterns in the urban context from the late 16th century onwards. It also shows the pioneering role played by the large cistern built in the Shāh Vajihudin Alvi khānqāh. Beyond this archaeological work, the paper discusses the causes of this radical technological change, and addresses the issue of cultural and religious continuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I propose a different classificatory lens to analyse the collective action of civil rights groups in India. To date, this collective action has been variously classified as 'non-party groups,' 'macro initiatives' for grassroots groups, 'action groups or support groups,' as part of an emergent new left citizen's initiatives, but mostly as a 'social movement' or 'human rights movement.' These differences in classification are not due to a considered disagreement; but because this activism is acutely understudied. Examining the history of such groups and the activist interviews I conducted, I argue for a re-classification of civil rights activism as ally activism i.e. they are allies of several, rather than a party to any particular social movement. Ally activism needs to be understood on its own terms to reveal their role in democratic deepening within South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, from the time of emergence of empires in circa 300 BCE till the rise of British power in eighteenth century, military mercenaries and private military companies dominated the politico-military landscape. Premodern India had both secular (military guilds) and religious (based on temples and akharas) military corporations. The mercenaries were mostly marginal peasants and demobilised soldiers. They were hired through the agency of their clan leaders, tribal chieftains or the zamindars (large landlords) in whose villages they resided. Historians argue that the presence of the mercenaries and extra state military corporations prevented the rise of strong states in premodern India. In this paper, based mostly on indigenous sources, I argue that the military mercenaries and the private military corporations of pre-British India were at the forefront of technological development. The mercenaries were the channel through which tools, techniques, and ideas of warfare were transferred. The rulers relied on the mercenaries because of their military skills and in the long run they also proved to be cheaper compared to the cost of maintaining permanently a large regular army. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay serves as an introduction to a special section on the senses in late colonial India. Participating in the act of decolonising sensory studies, this collection explores the intersections between post-colonial studies and sensory studies by paying particular attention to the sensorium of the colonised. In the historical and geographical context of colonial South Asia, the senses are embedded in acts of distinction across race, caste, class, and bodily and gender hierarchies. The collection intervenes by paying attention to the relationship between power and sense perception as it finds register in media, scientific practices and literature of the period. Across the section, we suggest that making sense of empire is also to make sense of the sensory regimes of empire that have resonances in the contemporary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are tangible indicators that India, being a revisionist state and with a mature space program, aspires to join the club of states with space weapon capability. It is argued that India's quest for space weaponization is detrimental to strategic stability and deterrence of the South Asian region. Re-conceptualizing and revising existing space laws to develop a new legal framework to address momentum towards the weaponization of outer space is important in this context. This paper assesses the emerging trend of space militarization leading to space weaponization and its implications for South Asian security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Asian countries formed the regional trade bloc namely South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) with the aim to promote regional economic cooperation through multilateral engagements. India which comes to be the largest economy in the SAARC has posted impressive economic growth in the last decades. As of now India stands major contributor to the exports and imports to/from South Asia, having trade surplus with all other countries from the region. In this backdrop, this paper presents the facts on India's role in the economic development of South Asia region while testing the potential spillovers of India's trade and economic growth. We utilize Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound test procedure for short and long run causal relations during the period 1990–2016, hence raising the quality of statistical inference. The results highlight that the economic growth and regional trade of India are found significant short and long run spillovers on the economic growth of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. The results are highly insightful for policy implication which raises the attention towards the greater degree of trade openness for balanced economic development in the region. India can act as engine of growth, and thus requires to play key role in pushing forward the SAARC objectives through political and diplomatic engagements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classical Sanskrit texts composed in early India are one of the most celebrated texts from South Asia. The Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas are an integral part of socio-cultural, and now political life of contemporary India. Texts composed in classical Sanskrit are assumed to represent an unblemished civilization, with a righteous rule and unadulterated social harmony; this is especially true about their afterlives as depicted in popular culture, cinema, and art. Often, during arguments about the safety of women in India calls are made for "going back to the ethos of ancient India culture". This is done based on false beliefs about narratives presented in the classical Sanskrit text especially assumptions that women were "safer" in ancient India and that evils like rape, sexual assault and harassment of women did not exist. In contrast, this essay takes a closer look at the Sanskrit text, which not only narrates numerous stories of rape, but also considered rape a criminal offence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A close study of the twelfth-century Delight of the Mind's (Mānasollāsa's) section on cooking called "The Enjoyment of Food" reveals that meat dominated the royal menu in medieval South India. The valuable recipes in this Sanskrit royal encyclopedia's section of 258 verses on food detail primarily how to prepare wild fish and game, but also meat from tortoise, bandicoot, ram (mutton), other domesticated animals, and an array of delectable foods of the period. Consuming almost all animals that moved in the kingdom formed part of Western Chalukyan emperor Someśvara´s assertion of royal dominion, yet investigation into this recipe collection's textual history as well as that of other royal recipe collections suggests that the once abundant meat recipes have often been removed from the record, leaving the false impression of more vegetarian dietary practice than really pertained to South Asia's past. This later "veggie-washing" concerns Hindu ideologies of nonviolence and the disavowal of animal slaughter in ritual sacrifice, both of which originated in Jain and Buddhist ideologies yet have become attached to Hindu ideals of vegetarianism, forming part of a new moral culinary imperative that has advanced over roughly the second millennium of the Common Era. Exploring this topic using the lens of power and politics as they relate to food and dining allows the reader to observe shifts in royal culinary writing as these texts became permeated with religious ideals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing involvement of a number of non-state actors such as NGOs and community based organisations (CBOs) in poverty alleviation programmes. This calls for greater coordination among the actors for the effective implementation of such programmes. This article explores the various factors influencing coordination in multi-actor policy implementation, using a case study of a rural livelihoods enhancement programme implemented in the state of Odisha in India. The findings suggest that programme design, frequency of interaction, interdependency among actors, credibility of NGOs, leadership and personal traits have helped in coordination among state, NGOs and CBOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the praxis of public administration in India is documented in the literature, its pedagogy, and the formal dissemination of its knowledge, is relatively unexamined. This study determines the status of public administration pedagogy in India through a review of the academic programs in public administration at accredited state, central, and deemed universities. After reviewing a sample of the syllabi of public administration programs, the academic context of the field, and the areas of key emphasis, this paper explores the conceptualization of public administration as an independent academic discipline in India. This study makes a significant contribution to global comparative public administration, and also contributes to developing the nascent literature on public administration pedagogy in present day India and South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fairtrade certification of plantations seeks to productively intervene in the continuity of exploitative labor conditions that tea plantation workers in South Asia have experienced since the plantations' inception under colonial rule. Based on a mixed methods study conducted in 2016 in India and Sri Lanka, this article engages with the puzzling reinterpretation of certification as a reward for workers' commitment rather than for management's compliance. By taking labor process theory on a journey to transnational labor governance in Indian and Sri Lankan tea plantations, the article argues that Fairtrade certification provides plantation companies with tools to 'harvest workers' consent' to management's pursuit of profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Asia region is one of the most unstable in the world, having experienced multiple wars. In recent years, water disputes have intensified between this region's countries, including Pakistan and India, as water is intertwined with their security and has been securitized. Indeed, securitization is one of the strategies that has the power of representation of water as a security issue. The study examines how Pakistan has represented the Indus transboundary waters as a security issue through linguistic constructs, especially to motivate domestic audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda is a ruinous insect pest, native to tropical and subtropical regions of western hemisphere. It has recently invaded Indian subcontinent during 2018, causing severe damage to crops of several genera of many plant families. The incidence of FAW infestation ranged from 12% to 74%, indicating its establishment in central India where it poses an immediate and significant economic threat to crop production. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh isolate is closely related to the isolates of southern states of India. Studies on biology of FAW indicated no variation in biological parameters, when reared on fodder maize and fodder sorghum, however recorded longer larval and pupal duration (16.07 and 10.00 days) when reared on artificial diet. The adults laid more number of eggs under crop mosaic condition with varied phenological crop growth stages and the fodder maize (782.33 eggs) was most preferred for oviposition. A total of five parasitoids were recovered from the field collected larvae and also predation by generalist predator, Eocanthecona furcellata (Wolff) was recorded during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing temperature and precipitation are the prominent candle bearers of climate change. Global Climate Models (GCM) simulate and predict historical, present, and future climate scenarios. This study focused on selecting the best performing GCM under High-resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) suitable for the Indian subcontinent for predicting daily maximum (Tasmax) and minimum (Tasmin) temperature. Entropy-TOPSIS Multicriteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approach was employed for the relative ranking of GCM models. This study compared 64 years (1951–2014) historical data of 11 high-resolution GCMs under three different nominal resolutions viz., 25 km, 50 km, and 100 km. India Meteorological Department (IMD) gridded data was used as observed data for the performance measure. The data were evaluated using three factors, i.e. Intra- and inter-annual variation of temperature, tempo-spatial extreme events study, and using selected performance indicators. The predictive ability of the GCM models spatially in different Koppen climate zones of India is also reported in this study. This study highlighted Hadgem3-Gc31 and ECMWF-IFS models for Tasmax; NICAM16-8S and MPI-ESM1-2 models for Tasmin are suitable for simulating Indian temperature. The outcome of this study will be helpful to the climate researchers and decision-makers to choose the best suitable CMIP6 GCM model at a regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sino-Indian rivalry traces its origins to the founding of each state in the late 1940s. Over the past decade Indian concerns over Chinese activities in South Asia have significantly increased. While New Delhi has sought to counter Beijing in South Asia, a key question is to what extent has China responded to India in the same region? Do we find evidence of a tit-for-tat rivalry escalation process in South Asia where both China and India are actively trying to counter each other? The central argument in this article is that China is not actively engaging in a direct form of rivalry reciprocity with India. While certain activities by Beijing in the region are designed to enhance Chinese influence and power, there is less evidence that these are a direct response to India. This is in contrast to New Delhi's behavior in the region where we do find evidence of Indian leaders directly responding to China. This articles' main contribution is to demonstrate that maintenance in asymmetrical positional rivalries does not require clearly identifiable points of escalation, or follow a linear path of a tit-for-tat action-reaction cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Believed to be an eye-witnessed report by Xuanzang 玄奘 (c.602–664 CE), the Datang Xiyu ji has long been held up in the western scholarship as a handy guide for the historical geography of South Asia and a standard source for identifying archaeological sites since the pioneer archaeologist Alexander Cunningham (1814–1893). Strangely, over a century of using the Xiyu ji has generated little critical awareness among archaeologists who have too often taken the text for face values. Indeed, an examination of the text will demonstrate that not all the description from the text is firsthand, at least so for around one-fifth of the countries not visited by Xuanzang. Yet it does not mean that Xuanzang is to be blamed. The production of the Xiyu ji was more complex than that of a general travelling record, which associates the text to the genre of official geographical writing. It was brought into being in response to an expanding empire. The edited 'itinerary' and the incorporation of secondary sources thus pose outstanding questions for researchers who might assume that they were following the steps of the pilgrim and urge us to reconsider the current conception of and approach to this document. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been an emerging critical discourse in South Asia that examines the changing contours of representational politics that could, in turn, be strategically mobilized to introduce an alternative idiom of same-sex love within a standard template of heterosexual storytelling. This has been complemented by an evaluation of alternative modes of sexual politics that need not necessarily conform to Western labels or paradigms of queer identities. Taking its cue from such discursive readings, this article demonstrates how Roopa Rao's web series, The "Other" Love Story (2016), revisits some of the dominant tropes, practices, and narrative conventions of the Hindi films, released in the 1990s, to create a counter-archive for the lesbian subject who, for the most part, was conspicuous by her very absence in the popular figurations of that period in South Asia. There is a perceptible strand of lingering nostalgia and artistic homage that undergirds such an experimental project that nevertheless also becomes a disruptive site for articulating an oppositional esthetics of romance. The subtlety and restraint of such a nuanced portrayal of dissident desires and queer intimacies thus not only resist the easy appropriations that women in the subcontinent are routinely subjected to (as veritable repositories of tradition and national identity) but also retrospectively reclaim a voice for an otherwise historically silenced discourse of sexuality for the masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental remains of the erinaceid Galerix rutlandae and a talpid attributed to the subfamily Uropsilinae are reported, the first members of these families from the Miocene Siwalik exposures of India. They come from deposits equivalent to the Chinji Formation at Ramnagar, northwestern India. Uropsilinae is recorded for the first time from the Indian subcontinent. This finding extends the spatial range of the subfamily and indicates that this immigrant reached the Indian subcontinent from the west, but could not survive past the Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inter-annual variability of aerosol over Indian region and its possible implications on the Indian summer monsoon is investigated using Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) during the period 2001 to 2016. An attempt has been made to link the seasonal aerosol distribution over South Asia during spring and summer season to Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR) distribution. AOD derived from MODIS Terra observations shows large spatial inhomogeneity and characteristic variability with distinct temporal distributions. The pre-monsoon (spring) seasons (March-April-May; MAM) is characterized by high aerosol concentration over north-west part of India along with IGP region. During the south-west monsoon (summer) seasons (June-July-August-September; JJAS), wide area of high aerosol loading along Indo Gangetic plains extending from North Arabian sea through north-west India and up to Himalayan foothills. The regional rainfall distribution and its relationship with spatial and temporal aerosol distribution are then evaluated. Further, distinct variability in the aerosol distribution with respect to excess, deficit and normal monsoon years are analysed to understand the role of aerosols on the inter-annual variability of ISMR. Monthly aerosol distribution over Central India [CI;15° -25° N;75° -88° E] and Indo Gangetic plain [IGP;25°- 35°N;70°- 90° E] shows increased aerosol loading during deficit rainfall years and corresponding delay in the monthly rainfall peak. This study emphasises the active role of regional aerosol loading on regulating the inter-annual variability of regional Indian summer monsoon rainfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diversifying household livelihoods and increasing women's labor force participation is a major developmental challenge in South Asia. Multi-sectoral development approaches can provide better economic opportunities and women's employment simultaneously. This study provides evidence on the livelihoods and women's labor supply impacts of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), a $5.1 billion livelihoods initiative. The study matches primary data from 4,202 households and 726 villages using the 2011 Population Census and the 2012 Socio-Economic and Caste Census. The instrumental variable estimates suggest that participation in NRLM is associated with an improvement in the number of household livelihoods by 0.707, livelihood diversification by 0.13σ, and women's working participation rate (WPR) by 15.4 percent. The study identifies two sets of channels, namely, formation of productive assets and access to formal credit, through which NRLM influenced livelihoods and women's WPR. Heterogeneous program effects suggest that women in socially and economically deprived households benefitted most. HIGHLIGHTS The study highlights India's National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), the world's largest livelihoods initiative. NRLM improved opportunities for women's gainful employment in farm and nonfarm productive activities. The program's impact reflects the efficacy of multi-sectoral development interventions. It relies on a unique multi-sectoral approach that mobilizes rural poor women into SHGs and their federations. The study argues for interventions that influence gender roles in the context of rural growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A readily distinguishable and indigenous member of the plant kingdom in the Indian subcontinent is the 'drumstick tree', i.e. Moringa oleifera Lam. In addition to India, this drought-tolerant and rapidly evolving tree is currently extensively disseminated across the globe, including subtropical and tropical areas. The plant boasts a high nutritional, nutraceutical and therapeutic profile, mainly attributing to its significant repertoire of the biologically active components in different parts: protein, flavonoids, saponins, phenolic acids, tannin, isothiocyanate, lipids, minerals, vitamins, amongst others. M. oleifera seeds have been shown to elicit a myriad of pharmacological potential and health benefits, including: antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties. Additionally, the seed cakes obtained from post-extraction process are utilized for: coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation purposes, benefiting effluent management and the purification of water, mainly because of their capability in eliminating microbes and organic matter. Despite the extraordinary focus on other parts of the plant, especially the foliage, the beneficial aspects of the seeds have not been sufficiently highlighted. The health benefits of bioactive components in the seeds are promising and demonstrate enough potential to facilitate the development of functional foods. In this review, we present a critical account of the types, characteristics, production and isolation of bioactive components from M. oleifera seeds. Furthermore, we appraise the: pharmacological activities, cosmetic, biodiesel, lubricative, modern farming, nutritive and wastewater treatment applications of these functional ingredients. We infer that there is a need for further human/clinical studies and evaluation, despite their health benefits. Additionally, the safety issues need to be adequately clarified and assessed, in order to establish a conventional therapeutic profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following recent work on the Miocene terrestrial vertebrate fauna of Kutch, we focused on bulk wet screening for microfossils from beds exposed near Tapar (=Tappar) and Pasuda villages in central Kutch (Gujarat), western India. Processing >1500 kg of bulk samples, led to the recovery of diverse rodent remains (nine species, mostly sciurids, rhizomyids, cricetids, and murids) as well as a vespertillionid bat and a possible lorisid for the first time from the Miocene succession of Kutch. This complements the previously described large and megamammal fossils of rhinos, anthracotheres, proboscideans, and ruminants from the same sections. Isolated rodent teeth represent taxa of generally short time ranges and wide distribution that assume considerable biostratigraphic significance. The rodents are similar to contemporaneous species to the north in India and to the west in Pakistan, including the Potwar Plateau. Based on the rodent assemblage, early Late Miocene (>10 Ma) age is assigned to the Tapar and Pasuda localities. The Kutch sample provides a new reference point for detailed comparisons with the better studied Manchar and Siwalik faunas of South Asia but also with broadly contemporaneous faunas from the Murree, Dagshai/Kasauli, and Dharamsala beds of the Outer Himalaya, and the Kargil molasse of Ladakh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borders on the Indian subcontinent are notable for the distinct lack of cross-border cooperation. Among the most intractable border dyads in the world, it is as volatile as it is securitised. Instead of facilitating trade and movement, both sides pursue a border policy to create a strong barrier. The puzzle that informs this article is the extent to which the bilateral border relationship is characterised by political animosity, despite a shared history and culture that the conventional approach to security communities would posit as enablers of coordination and cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates the complex role digital crowdfunding platforms play in non-profit fundraising, exploring the nebulous area they occupy when partnered with NGOs in India. Using data from platforms GlobalGiving and Impact Guru to identify the complicated partnerships between platforms and NGOs, it examines the problematic nature of marketised fundraising models. By advocating competitive and technologised practices, crowdfunding platforms create tensions between themselves and their NGO partners, who are forced to continuously adjust and innovate their fundraising strategies. Given their emphasis on profit generation, this article argues that digital platforms limit their intention to create inclusive fundraising spaces for NGOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small vertebrate faunal assemblage of late Middle Eocene (Bartonian) age is described from the Bandah Formation, a shallow marine deposit in the Jaisalmer Basin of Rajasthan state, Western India. The Bandah assemblage comprises representatives of selachians (sharks, rays), crocodilians, turtles and archaeocete cetaceans (archaic whales). The mammalian component of this fauna, though represented by fragmentary specimens, allows identification of two archaeocete taxa for the first time from the Palaeogene of Rajasthan: an unnamed protocetid close to Babiacetus and an andrewsiphiine remingtonocetid (Kutchicetus sp.). Occurrence of Eocene cetaceans in the Jaisalmer Basin brings to light a new, potentially rich cetacean-yielding horizon in India, and has the potential to allow a better understanding of early whale evolution in the Indian subcontinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indus River is the most prominent freshwater source of the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. Glacier/snow melting during the summer season is the main source of water. Here, we are presenting the major ion chemistry of the Indus river water, its tributary rivers, including small streams (nallahs), mainly in the territory of India, to know the overall quality of water, and geochemical processes controlling the solute acquisition and sources of elements in the catchment region. The analytical results indicate that the water samples are mildly acidic to alkaline in nature and have Ca2+ and Mg2+ dominance in cationic and HCO3- and Cl- in anionic composition. Overall, alkaline-earth elements (Ca2+ + Mg2+) dominate over alkalis (Na+ + K+), and weak acids (HCO3-) exceed strong acids (SO42- + Cl-) in the river/stream water samples. The hydrogeochemical diagrams, molar ratios, and statistical analysis suggest that carbonate and silicates minerals' weathering mainly control the solute acquisition process with negligible contribution from marine or anthropogenic sources. Most of the surface water samples are fit for drinking and domestic uses except the hot spring and saline lake waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between caste, land ownership and agricultural productivity in India, utilising data from a large-scale survey of farm households. Access to resources like information, technology, inputs, markets, and support institutions are important for sustainable and inclusive growth of agriculture. The results indicate that socially disadvantaged households (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) have lower access to land and also other resources, but they produce more output per unit of land because they are more diversified towards high-value crops that generate more returns and are labour intensive. This calls for policy emphasis on crop diversification in the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article frames the political economy of electricity trade and hydropower development in eastern South Asia. It distils and analyzes four crucial variables in this regard: the health of distribution companies in India; the role of hydropower in India's ambitious turn to renewable energy; Bangladesh's power crisis and import dependency; and the governance of regional electricity trading arrangements. It argues that progress in both electricity trade and hydropower development in the region will be incremental in the next decade, hindered by mixed demand signals and the turbulence of geopolitics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses an urban case from West Bengal, India, to reveal that people lacking socio-economic and cultural capital have marginal access to civic services provided by the municipality. This marginalisation is a product of the municipality's highly inequitable approach to governance practices, where there is a deliberate aversion to government schemes, infrastructure, and developmental projects aimed at marginal groups. Almost three decades after decentralisation, the town provides no platforms for citizens to participate in local governance mechanisms, and there are no NGOs and community-based organisations present in local governance. As there is no one to voice the concerns of marginalised groups, a gradual trend of marginalisation continues to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses how Concerts Norway has interacted with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local musical actors in India to build infrastructure in the cultural field in India. Using ethnographic methods and document analysis, it finds that Concerts Norway successively shifted from rational, via entrepreneurial to relational brokerage, adapting the programme and development communication to shifting Ministry of Foreign Affairs policies and the Indian partner's needs. The article raises critical questions about arts development versus general views on development assistance, and highlights asymmetry between mainstream development models and the need to strengthen the art sector, towards its sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many NGOs in India strive to empower women to lead through various programmes, but their effectiveness in the participants' lives is not known. This article reports on a descriptive cross-sectional study that used authentic leadership theory to explore an NGO's self-help group programme's ability to empower women by building their leadership capacity and self-efficacy to lead. Participants reported an increased capacity and self-efficacy to lead in their daily lives. Women who were in the programme for a longer period reported greater self-efficacy to lead, as compared to those who recently joined, showing the significance of women's empowerment programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group lending is useful in channelling credit to the self-employed poor in developing countries, to whom banks usually prefer not to lend, and formation of self-help groups (SHGs) helps facilitate this. In India, SHGs can access credit through private microfinance organisations or can approach banks through a state-led bank-linkage programme. Scholars argue that transaction costs are high while borrowing from banks despite relatively lower interest rates, making this uneconomical. This article uses a field survey to estimate transaction costs, presents other social benefits of the programme, and finds empirical justifications for strengthening the bank-linkage programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's recent military responses to terrorist attacks, indicate a new phase in the "ugly stability" of nuclear South Asia. In the past, both India and Pakistan have often used tacit cooperation through the use of "gray zone" approaches – in which states use coercive methods short of warfare to secure their goals – to reduce the dangers of escalation. In recent years it appears that India will no longer only rely on gray zone approaches in response to Pakistan's provocations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is advancing slowly toward operationalizing its nuclear triad. Its first nuclear-propelled ballistic-missile submarine (SSBN), the INS Arihant, conducted its maiden deterrent patrol in November 2018. However, doubts exist around the capability of India's SSBN, the effectiveness of its command and control, and its effects on regional stability in South Asia. This article examines the history and future trajectory of India's sea-based nuclear forces and describes how India seeks to maintain robust command and control over its undersea nuclear weapons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeoclimatic reconstructions from sediment cores of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and other terrestrial ecosystems including lakes, peatlands and proglacial areas from the Indian subcontinent have been used to understand the past Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) variability. The core monsoon zone (CMZ) of India is one of the most important regions to understand past ISM dynamics. Pollen based palaeoclimatic reconstructions in the CMZ of India suggest a progressive increase in the ISM during the Holocene. However, the results suggesting a weak ISM after the Younger Dryas (YD) cooling event are contrary to the observations made in other parts of the country. Besides this, the minor climatic fluctuations are difficult to find in most of the reconstructions. This may be attributed to poor sample resolution and chronological control. These limitations make it difficult to ascertain whether the response of vegetation to climatic change has been insignificant or whether this change is not reflected in the proxy (proxy response). As a consequence, we argue that pollen based palaeoclimatic reconstructions are one of the most widely used proxies and will be meaningful as backbone for climate models only if the reconstructions become more quantitative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Asia is in part volatile because of the historical rivalry between India and Pakistan. After non-conventional and conventional military buildups in the past, an arms race in the domain of outer space is now a possibility. Space is an advantageous frontier for military uses. In this context, the consensus in international law defines space as a global commons to be used for peaceful purposes. Nonetheless, space powers, including India, engage in space militarization, which can lead to the weaponization of space. India is motivated in this regard by aspirations of regional hegemony and to balance its capabilities with respect to China in an effort to counter China's increasing influence in South Asia. These developments posit adverse effects on the strategic equation in South Asia, leading to strategic instability, and can undermine nuclear deterrence and bring about a South Asian arms race in space. Moreover, the security dilemma in South Asia has prompted defensive and offensive reactions from rival states in the region, exacerbating repercussions on the South Asian strategic landscape. Analysis of the issues suggests that keeping space free from weaponization can alleviate strategic instability in South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with British Indian historian Donald Anthony Low is presented. Topics discussed include his involvement in South Asian history, particularly Indian, and South Asian studies, thoughts on joining the civil service in Great Britain, and his experience in bringing back anthropology and culture to Indian studies. Also discussed is his experience in teaching African history.

The article discusses the viability of a Arms Control Regime (ACR) in South Asia and the reasons why multilateral approaches aimed at nonproliferation and use of nuclear weapons have not worked between India and Pakistan. Topics include the failure of various multilateral approaches like the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) to engage India and Pakistan, and the need for major nuclear powers to reduce their discriminatory approaches in the nonproliferation regime especially in terms of Pakistan.

The article discusses India's recessed deterrence posture as far as usage of its nuclear weapons goes and the coupling of this policy to its no-first-use doctrine to maintain stability in the South Asia. Topics include the development of nuclear capability in India, what recessed deterrence posture means to India's nuclear war preparedness against countries like Pakistan, India's policy on the usage of nuclear weapons, and the level of India's defense preparedness when compared to countries like China and Paksitan