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CSSS is organizing a talk by Dr. Diya Mehra

CSSS is organizing a talk by Dr. Diya Mehra

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CSSS is organizing a talk by Dr. Diya Mehra
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Centre for the Study of Social Systems

School of Social Sciences

 

CSSS Colloquium

Diya Mehra

(Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology, South Asia University)

 

Will be presenting a paper on

 

Jungpura Triptych: Striated Settlements, Neighborhood Activism, and Delhi’s Residential Modernity

 

Date & Time:

September 4, 2018 (Tuesday), 3.30 pm

Venue:

CSSS Committee Room (No: 13), SSS-II

Abstract: Even as the literature on Delhi’s 20th century has grown, there is little work focused on the everyday histories of the city, particularly vis-à-vis its neighbourhoods. In response, this paper attempts at the partial reconstruction of the social history of one neighbourhood mainly between the 1920s and 1960s, focussed primarily on its built environment. In this context, it seeks to trace its metamorphoses from an outlying suburban village, to post-Partition resettlement site, and eventually a middle class locality, through a series of archival vignettes. In building its narrative, the paper dwells both on the difficulties of writing such histories, while drawing out two distinct frames of space-making – that of the late colonial period, and the preliminary decades of the postcolonial nation. For the post-Partition period, the paper tracks the process of building homes and neighbourly spaces primarily through the activities of the neighborhood’s welfare association and its members, their aspirations for the newly formed locality, and their negotiations with the ‘socialist/bureaucratic’ state over subsequent decades, both informally at first and later as a formally amalgamated association. The final section of the paper considers the contemporary situation in light of these earlier histories, and as Delhi itself has metamorphized. It reads current changes in the neighborhood and in civic activism, suggesting how new city-wide developments have transformed older, and received social hierarchies, as the city itself emerges as a far more diverse, anonymous, and also unequal, metropolitan region.

 

Bio: Diya Mehra is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, South Asian University. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, she works mainly on Indian small towns and metropolitan cities, both ethnographically, and in terms of 20th century histories. Her work has appeared in numerous journals and edited volumes, and has a particular emphasis on urban development, governance and politics.

 

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.