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Migrant Indians in COVID Crisis

India is a country that has massive informal workforce and densely populated urban clusters, which makes our public health infrastructure vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. Internal Migrants constitute about one-third of India’s urban population, and this proportion is increasing at a rate from 31.6% in 1983 to 35% in 2007-08 (NSSO, 2007 – 2008). The first lockdown that was enforced by the Government of India to restrict the movement of people and the spread of the virus resulted in a catastrophic outcome for the millions of migrant workers in the country. (Suresh, James, et. al., 2020) It has also created … Continue reading Migrant Indians in COVID Crisis

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Development or not?

I am from a nation, which for the duration of my life has been termed as ‘developing’. I live in a nation, which has had development as its core aspiration, a keyword that excites its citizens and is a conversation starter among the champagne bourgeoise. A reservoir for international sympathy towards the plight of my brothers and sisters. The favourite child for international development programs and charity. A nation without its subjectivity. Yearning for the approval of its Neo-colonial masters. Our needs are defined by those who have never experienced life as citizens of this nation. Our people polarised and … Continue reading Development or not?

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Samir Amin and Accumulation on a World Scale: Understanding Dependency and De-linking

Samir Amin, unlike A. G. Frank, is a renowned Marxist Dependency Theorist who takes up the characteristics of historical materialism to explain dependency theory. To understand the theory proposed by Samir Amin, we will have to first define certain assumptions … Continue reading Samir Amin and Accumulation on a World Scale: Understanding Dependency and De-linking

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A Critical Review of the Three Farm Bills, 2020 with a special focus on the Minimum Support Price

India is a country that is built on its agricultural prowess. Since Independence, the national leaders and policy makers have engaged in various activities to strengthen the agricultural sector and make us self-sufficient. Indian agriculture reforms can be classified into four periods (Tripathi & Prasad, 2009) namely, 1950s – mid 1960s: Period of agrarian reforms, institutional changes and cooperative credit institutions Mind 1960s – 1980: Period of modernization and green revolution with a focus on high yielding varieties and modern technologies in farming. Achievement of self-sufficiency 1980 – 1991: Period of diversification. Focus shifted from food crops to other diverse … Continue reading A Critical Review of the Three Farm Bills, 2020 with a special focus on the Minimum Support Price

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The Hidden Dagger: Dependency and Vaccine Poverty

We have all, at least once in our life, come across the story of ‘teaching a man to fish’. It says that one must teach a hungry person how to fish rather than giving them fishes. The moral justification is that we will be keeping them dependent on a handout if they don’t learn how to be productive. Capitalism in its basic form is a system that propagates a free-market economy where each individual is subverted to sell his labour at a minimal cost in order to generate a profit for the enterprise. Here, the ideology that one must be … Continue reading The Hidden Dagger: Dependency and Vaccine Poverty

What is Sociology?

Abel defines sociology as, ‘the science which studies resultants of activities the intention of which is the adjustment of individuals to each other’. Sociology, according to Abel, can be further defined as, ‘the theory of social positions, relationships and groups.’ However, Stuart A. Rice defends his position that it is impossible to derive at a single unified answer since sociology in its current form is an integrated field of many types of sociology. Rice believes it is both science and philosophy and additionally it is a social philosophy based at some level upon science. He characterizes three types of scientific … Continue reading What is Sociology?