Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

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Browsing Department of Humanities and Social Sciences by Subject "Assam"

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    Colonial Knowledge and the Quest for Unnati among the Boros of North-East India, 1880s-1940s
    (2022) Daimari, James
    The thesis examines the formation of Boro identity from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. This is being done in the light of knowledge that came to be produced on Boros by British administrators and ethnographers, and the consequent engagement with that knowledge among the Boros as they strove for unnati (progress) and respectability within the existing social context. Boros were, what could be termed, a ‘fuzzy’ but ‘practically precise’ community, sharing kinship ties with various other communities in the north eastern region of the Indian sub-continent. However, the ethnological and classificatory exercises of the British during the nineteenth century gradually tried to fit them into more definite and rigid categories, wherein they came to be placed within a racialised hierarchy of castes/tribes. Rather than being docile subjects, Boros engaged with this knowledge produced about them and attempted to use it to chart out their own path. The articulations of the Boros were varied and sometimes divergent, but the thesis argues that what was common in all these multifarious articulations was the quest for unnati and ‘regeneration’. The religious conversions, socio-religious reform, political mobilisation and attempts to reclaim histories, prevalent among Boros in the first half of the twentieth century were all placed within the desire for ‘progress’. In this respect, while acknowledging the overarching dominance of colonial knowledge, the thesis also tries to be acutely aware of the agency of Boros themselves in the making of their modern self.
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    Social construction of lnformation and communication Technologies: A study of the selected Departments of the Government of Assam
    (2022) Das, Tripti
    Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have played an essential role in modernity and the social sciences today and have contributed to debates on how modernity has been fluid in the 21st century. ICTs have brought about changes in social, cultural, political, economic, ethical, legal, and institutional domains, and these changes are referred to as late modernity or postmodernity. Investigating the role of ICTs in building human capabilities and their role in shifting social life is essential. Information and communication technologies are perceived as a tool for development. Further, it has been acknowledged as a problem-solving source and generating growth that aims at concrete deliverables to society. Development agencies have applied ICTs in various projects as a means of development. Policymakers of developing countries have introduced ICTs to establish good governance. The present study is an attempt to examine about the relevant technologies that different departments of government of Assam have been introducing to connect different communities, to improve livelihood of people, and to facilitate the activities of the state run institutions. As the study aims to look at the ICT application and its diffusion from Social Construction of Technology approach, therefore this study assumes greater significance in the context of the conflicting interest of various stakeholders, viz. the state, state- regulated departments, civil society organizations and the citizens i.e. the interest and meanings associate with different technologies indicate differing perspectives of various stakeholders. Organizations are chosen for the present study as they are such platforms where different stakeholders can act together. A part of the study also looks at the emergence of Information and Communication Technologies in the context of cultural and social factors in India and government initiatives on the diffusion of Innovation for the broader development of the nation and the development of the various regions. The study also applies Actor Network Theory and culminates that a particular technology is shaped by a combination of individuals, groups, organizations, and practices interconnected to cause change towards a particular purpose. While shaping a particular technology, individuals, groups, organizations, and practices are networks seen as a mix of humans and non-humans with different identities. The study aims to observe the ICTs’ implementation and diffusion in government organizations and its institutionalization by seeing ICT as a social practice that establishes social interaction among different entities through communication channels. The study of impact of ICTs is also a part of the Information System Research. Therefore, in this study it is found that changes occurred as a result of an innovation in general and ICTs in particular is not a linear process. It is more or less influenced both by the characteristics of the innovation itself and the particular context where it operates. ICTs is not something that can be injected from outside to bring some changes. Rather it has to be examine in terms of a number of factors such as economic resources, employment, health, education, civic engagement and culture to make it inclusive in nature.