Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences invention

Concerns of Democracy, Environment Geopolitics

Ripu Sudan Singh — 2023-05-31

Democracy has been universally accepted as one of the best political systems in the world today. Irrespective of the nature of the political system, all the rulers of the states claim themselves to be more democratic than others. Since 1979, Iran has become an Islamic Republic and it interprets the Islamic system as truly democratic and people friendly. Before that Pakistan in 1947 was artificially created as an ideological state expected to bring democracy, equality and prosperity to the Muslim community in a new nation. Ever since the inception of China as a communist country in 1949, it claims itself to be a people’s democracy

Impact of Ancient Nature Sensibility on Contemporary Indian Environmental Policies

Kanika Raj — 2023-05-31

Modern times have seen an increase in environmental concerns. There are ongoing national and international efforts to find solution to this issue. India is an important player in the environmental endeavour. It is one of ancient civilisation with remarkable environmental history too. Indian culture and customs exhibit a strong nature sensibility. This article seeks to analyse the influence of ancient consciousness on contemporary policies. It examines the Indian culture as the ideational factor behind the environmental strategy. The old conscience has inspired modern policymakers to review ancient knowledge and use it into contemporary environmental actions. The old wisdom has served as a perpetual source of inspiration for modern innovations.

State and Industrial Transformation in East Asia: A Case Study of South Korea

siddhartha Mukerji — 2023-06-17

The role of state is integral to proper functioning of the market. A state, with its prescribed set of rules and an organization is much needed for the economy to function in a proper way. From the poorest to the most advanced welfare economies of the world today recognize the pervasive influence of the state as an institution and as a social actor. One of the interventionist arenas of state intervention has been industrialization. A primary concern for all the states has been that of promoting industrial growth and build up assets that would strengthen the national economy. But the role of state in the process of industrial transformation needs to be understood under the broader rubric of its relation and bargaining with the private entrepreneurs who are equally important players in the economy.

Tribal Development and Welfare Through Panchayats : The Experience of PESA in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

Uday Singh Rajput — 2023-06-17

The Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, which is popularly known as PESA, has been termed by many academicians and grassroots tribal organizations as progressive, revolutionary and historic law. This Act is the most important piece of legislation for the scheduled areas and it gives radical governance powers to the tribal community. The main rationale behind the Act is to protect the tribal community from exploitation with an active involvement of the gram sabha. Thus, it can be said that Gram Sabha of the Scheduled Areas has been made fundamental machinery for implementation of all the activities related to village development under the PESA, Act. This act again empowers the Gram Sabha to develop, manage and conserve the natural resources of their areas, such as water, forest and land. Under the PESA Act, tribal communities have been able to play an important role in deciding their destiny. Overall, it can be said that PESA Act is a significant and revolutionary law for establishing democratic governance at the grassroots level in the areas of the tribal community that have been cut off from the mainstream of society for years and has been standing on the last ladder of social, economic and political development. Madhya Pradesh is a pioneer state which has first implemented PESA Act in 1997. More than 25 years have passed since this Act was implemented in Madhya Pradesh and five terms of Panchayats under this Act have also been completed. In addition to this, at present, the Government of Madhya Pradesh has also notified necessary rules for the implementation of the PESA Act. With the notification of these rules, it is expected that the whole process of development of the tribal community will be speeded up by the Gram Panchayats, and their traditional institutions of self-governance will be strengthened again. This paper explains the ground realities of the implementation of PESA Act in Eastern Madhya Pradesh. The main objectives of this study are to examine and analyze the grassroots realities of PESA, the effectiveness of PRIs in the scheduled areas of Madhya Pradesh not only in promoting tribal development and capacity building but also in fostering the cause of social justice and equitable growth. Apart from this, to identify the hurdles in the way of execution of the PESA Act and provides some suggestions for removing the hurdles. This study is based on both primary and secondary data collected for research projects sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi.

Democratic Deification of ‘we the People’: Myth or Reality in India

Narottam Gaan — 2023-06-17

Unearthed from the word demos, democracy has been subject to varied interpretations having deleterious on what we understand, define, theorize, and practice as democratic system of government. Though the Mesopotamian origin of demos kratia long before Greeks could think over it, meant the undying penchant for power among the dispossessed rich farmers, but redounding to one’s political goal, it has been made synonymous with rule by the people. In simple democracy it has been misused and misconstrued as a cliché or demagogue to reinforce, legitimize, and perpetuate one political party or leader of a party in power in the name of we the people. A reification of dictate, command domination and application of force has taken place over the people asking the latter to be obeisant to the sovereign state. But in reality, and practice it has never been so anywhere in the world as rule by the people. Complex democracy, on the other hand advocates to bust the mystery build around the word democracy by advocating breaking up the system, disintegration, separation and decentralization of power of every organ such as legislature from the executive like on till everything and everybody stands unencumbered. It is the people who controls, governs and rules the leader, the party and state not the vice versa. Nobody commands only follows the principles and nuances of equality, freedom and justice. The traditional notion that the king is the representative of God omniscient, indivisible and immortal has been strewn around the sovereign state represented by the party in power. This mystic element that the king as God does not do any wrong applied to the party in power in democracy needs to be dismantled. The head of the king is to be chopped off. This has been studied in the context of India arguing for deification of ‘we the people’ written in the preamble to Indian constitution.

The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan

Yashasvi Shukla — 2023-05-31

Betty Friedan and her book ‘The Feminine Mystique’ majorly
contribute to fueling the second wave of the feminist movement.
The popularity of this book can be gauged from the fact that
three million copies of the book were sold in the first three
years. It is one of the major books of the 20th century for both
its supporters and conservatives. The US Department of Labor
ranked this book as one of the ten best books that established the
importance and dignity of labor in America. On the other hand,
in 2007, the conservative magazine “Human Events” ranked the
book seventh among the ten deadliest books of the 19th and 20th
centuries.