PhD Theses (Humanities and Social Sciences)

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(The) Phonetics and Phonology of Tones in Mizo
(2023) Lalhminghlui, Wendy
This dissertation provides a comprehensive description of the tonal phonetics and phonology of Mizo, a Tibeto-Burman language. Previous studies have confirmed four lexical tones in Mizo, namely, high, low, rising, and falling. Since lexical tones can have different characteristics, this thesis attempts to characterize the four Mizo tones in terms of phonology and phonetics. The phonological analysis of the Mizo tones using the four distinct Mizo tones embedded in different contexts with certain word classes and morphological domains revealed that tones in Mizo could have tonal alterations. Specifically, the tones with prominent dynamic contours, such as falling and rising in Mizo, are more inclined towards tone alteration. The phonological tonal process called tone sandhi is attested in this dissertation, whereby a rising tone becomes a low tone when followed by a high or a falling tone. The investigation of rising tone sandhi domains provided evidence that the tonal context entirely triggers this phenomenon. Furthermore, the results of the production and perception tests of rising tone sandhi revealed that the derived low tone from rising tone sandhi is distinct from the canonical Mizo low tone, and the native speakers of Mizo were able to perceive the two tones categorically. Phonetic analysis of the Mizo tones using acoustic features such as fundamental frequency, duration, and dynamic nature in five contexts confirmed four lexical tones. This study also presents the gender differences in producing Mizo tones. The comparative analysis of the five contexts conveyed that tones produced in a more natural speaking style have smaller ranges of fundamental frequency and duration. Furthermore, the automatic classification of the tones in Mizo conducted using Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) and Random Forest (RF) revealed that the slope feature plays a crucial role in classifying the four Mizo tones. Besides the acoustic characteristics of the canonical tones in Mizo, this dissertation also provided the changes to the tone contours due to the effect of stop consonants and vowel types. The study of Mizo stop consonants revealed that the stops in Mizo conformed to the universal Voice Onset Time (VOT) patterns whereby the voiceless aspirated velar stop has the longest positive VOT, and the voiced unaspirated bilabial stop has the highest negative VOT. The analysis of the formant frequencies of Mizo vowels also substantiated that there are five distinct vowels in Mizo with long vowel counterparts, namely, /a, i, e, u, o/. Further investigation confirmed the significant interaction between Mizo tones and segments.
Social Capital, Place Attachment and Flood Risk Perception: A Study of Kosi River Basin in Bihar
(2023) Tulika
Flood is a perennial problem in the state of Bihar, in general, and in the Kosi river basin, in particular. The presence of Kosi river is the main cause of floods in the area. The Provincial and Central government have taken several steps especially in the form of structural measures to tackle the problem. Howover, these measures have not only failed to deliver its goal but have also increased the intensity and severity of the flood devastation
Role of Multiple Reminders on Prospective Memory Performance Across Varied Interference Scenarios
(2024) Ojha, Pallavi
A famous saying suggests "more the merrier". The present thesis is built around the central premise of the quote. We tested volunteers' performance on future tasks involving prospective memory cued through specific events and future time. Results suggest that, in general, two cues improve future task performance. We tested future memory performance across varying levels of attention and cognitive load, variables that can modulate the memorability of cues on future learning tasks. While attention moderately influences performance, cognitive load majorly influences future task performance. We conducted experiments to test whether the benefit of multiple cues on future task performance holds over intervals filled with restful naps. We found that naps do not beneficially modulate the relationship. Overall, the results of the thesis suggest that "more the merrier" does hold in terms of prospective memory. Still, many constraints guide the relationship as it happens in real-world relationships
Prosodic Aspects of Sylheti
(2023) Raychoudhury, Priti
This dissertation discusses the nature of prosodic features of Sylheti, an Indo-Aryan language (ISO 15924), also debatably a dialect of Bengali. It aims to present the correlation between components of the prosodic hierarchy in the language and the components of its grammar. It is an attempt to present a typological study of Sylheti that evolved into a tone language, independently from the group of the language family to which it genetically belongs. It presents an overall view of tone and intonation in the language and shows how these connect to sound systems and grammar. The language exhibits a three-way tonal contrast, distinguishing the High, Mid, and Low lexical tones. The tonogenetic factors contributed by the instability of the diachronic four-way laryngeal contrast conditioned a three-way tonal contrast in Sylheti depending on the voicing and syllabic position of the sound. Tonogenesis is one of the central aspects of the phonology of the language, as a detailed study on the phonetics and phonology of the three-way tonal system of the language reveals the factors behind the difference in the tonal behaviour at the post-lexical level such as the difference between the complex morphemes and compounds in the language.
Narratives of the Naxalbari Movement: A Study of Selected Literary Work
(2022) Hussain, Halim
Literary as well as non-literary writings on the first phase of the Naxalite movement help locate many facets of this powerful resistance to the political and social establishment. The fictional and non-fictional representations of the Naxalite movement of the 1960s and 1970s in West Bengal highlight key issues which reveal the factors leading to the rise and fall of the movement. These writings are testimonies to the long-standing exploitation and ruthless suppression undergone by tribal communities and the rural poor in India. Literary representations of the Naxal movement also bring to light its ideological underpinnings as well as the conflict within its leadership arising out of caste and class differences.
(A) Study of Changing Female Labour Force Participation in India with a Special Focus on Assam
(2022) Boruah, Chayanika
In India, since the 1970s, there has been a declining trend in the female labour force participation. Given the fast economic growth, declining fertility rate and rising women’s educational enrolment in the last few decades, this decline is puzzling. Assam is not an exception to this trend of declining female LFPR (labour force participation rate). This study is an attempt to analyse the patterns and determinants of female LFPR in India as well as in Assam. The thesis reviews various existing theoretical frameworks on female LFPR. Based on the empirical findings from available literatures probable determinants of female LFPR have been identified. Data analysis on 15 Indian states covering the time period from 1987—2012 has been conducted. Secondary data from various large sample rounds of Employment Unemployment Survey of the NSSO have been used along with some other data from different sources. Our Random Effect regression model shows that more the ―literates‖ females, lower will be the FLFPR in a state. High fertility is associated with low FLFPR both in rural and urban areas of a state. It has been found that in a state higher rural male unemployment is associated with women withdrawing themselves from labour markets. It may be the case that, as explained by discouraged worker effect, with lower jobs in the market, females are discouraged to continue their job search. The unemployed women could be withdrawing from the labour market.
Selfhood and Narrative Agency: A study of Indian life-writing and fiction on physical disability and mental illness
(2024) Purkayastha, Shibashish
This dissertation examines the portrayal of selfhood and agency in Indian life-writing and fiction concerning physical disability and mental illness in the early twenty-first century. It argues that these narratives not only depict a transition from dependency to independence but also embrace the complexities and polyvocality inherent in disabled and mad identities. This nuanced portrayal contributes to a more diverse literary landscape. While protagonists grapple with challenges, they explore unconventional approaches to life, emphasizing the importance of sharing distressing experiences. The narratives serve as therapeutic counter-narratives, prioritize autonomy in healthcare decisions, and address systemic barriers. The examination of collaborative narration, embodied narration, and personal experiences of discrimination serves to elucidate the multifaceted nature of self-expression and resistance within the narratives of physical disability and mental illness. These explorations delve beyond mere storytelling techniques, revealing the intricate interplay between individual agency, societal structures, and the construction of identity within the selected literary works. The study draws from literary disability studies, mental illness and literary studies, life-writing, fiction, narrative theory, selfhood, and health humanities. It demonstrates how these narratives facilitate self-expression and challenge societal norms, particularly regarding family dynamics, gender roles, ethnicity, caste, and social class. Ultimately, the dissertation underscores the transformative power of storytelling in shaping individual and collective identities and contributes to ongoing dialogues in literary disability and mental health studies, health humanities, and narrative theory.
Brahmaputra River Basin: A Game Theoretic Approach to Cooperation and Benefit Sharing
(2024) Baruah, Tanushree
Freshwater is a critical natural capital that is non-substitutable at the interface of economy and environment. Globally, demographic and socioeconomic drivers, along with the impact of climate change, have created unprecedented water scarcity, with demand exceeding supply. Collaborative water management can strengthen resilience and cope with risks from imminent water crises, aiding the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, management becomes increasingly complex for transboundary rivers, a global common good that flows without obeying borders. The complexity arises from the additional layer of political economy to the economy-environment interface, encompassing transboundary rivers. Transboundary interaction among power asymmetric riparians is influenced by overlapping state sovereignty and diverse strategic interests in river utilisation. Unilateral water interventions without internalising associated external costs strain international relations between nations. The non-cooperative behaviour exists because riparian nations equate transboundary negotiations with sovereignty bargains, interpreting lost autonomous control over the river. As the entire problem relates to water-sharing, an innovative principle called benefit sharing emphasises sharing the benefits derived from the water resource rather than the water itself. Despite hydro-political tensions, benefit sharing incentivises transboundary water cooperation as it overlooks sovereignty issues, producing win-win outcomes for riparians. This thesis focuses on the relatively under-researched transboundary river basin- the Brahmaputra River Basin (BRB). The mighty river that originates in China and transcends three South Asian countries, India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, needs more institutionalised water cooperation. Although the basin has not faced an acute water crisis to date, growing and competing water interventions have been underway since the millennium to use the river as a power consolidation mechanism, particularly by China and India. This has intensified the vulnerability risks for the basin communities. Existing literature is silent on the economic and political factors driving the interaction between power asymmetric BRB riparians. Therefore, this thesis aims to examine the existing and evolving bilateral water interaction among the BRB riparians and the prospect of benefit sharing. It deploys the state-of-the-art analytical framework of game theory to analyse riparians’ strategic behaviour. Game theory is the science of rational decision-making for conceiving social situations among competing players and fits best to understand the economic and political dimensions of water management even without
Archaeology of the Digaru-Kolong River Valley with Special Emphasis on the Neolithic Period
(2023) Kumar, Jitendra
Northeast India has long been considered a significant region for archaeological research. The geographical setting, biodiversity, diverse ethnic culture, ancient settlement, and traces of migration play a crucial role in creating a dynamic landscape of Northeast India. Assam and Meghalaya are crucial regions for archaeological research in Northeast India. However, most of the research in the region has been limited to site-specific studies. The present study area of Digaru – Kolong river valley is located in the foothills of the Meghalaya plateau and is surrounded by several archaeologically potential regions, such as North Cachar Hills, Khasi, and Garo Hills. Sarutaru and Marakdola are the only reported and excavated sites in this region. The reports of accidental findings of artifacts are widespread throughout the region, which further indicates the potentiality in terms of archaeological research.
Bilingual Language Processing: The Role of Socio-Cultural and Linguistic Context
(2022) Kechu, Opangienla
Language, following the Cognitive Revolution, is seen primarily as a higher mental function, working in tandem with other such faculties, like attention, executive functions and so on. Hence the focus has shifted from the analysis of the surface structures to how language is processed online, in a dynamic fashion, on the go. This underlines what goes on in the human mind when one either comprehends or produces language; the factors responsible behind the scene, that regulate how one processes language. Following this, the notion of bilingualism and bilingual language processing has been a much focused and discussed topic among researcher. Current discussions on bilingualism in the scholarly circles have focused on issues as myriad as social, cultural, cognitive, psychological, developmental, educational and even political aspects, alongside the obvious linguistic factors and has seen immense growth from the Revised Hierarchical Model (Kroll & Steward, 1994), Bilingual Interaction Activation Model (BIA, Dijkstra & van Heuven, 1998), Inhibitory control Model (Green 1998) to the recent Adaptive control hypothesis (Green & Abutalebi, 2013). The Adaptive Control Hypothesis specially has gained much traction with researchers finding compelling evidence (Hartanto & Yang, 2016; Verreyt et al., 2015) for the importance of interactional context on bilingual language processing. In tandem with this is the research on the influence of cultural context on language processing which first started a decade ago and is still continuously finding evidence. Thus, the main emerging trend in bilingual language processing research today is on the influence of context, be it linguistic context or non-linguistic context like culture.
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.
Park, People and Politics: An Environmental History of the Kaziranga National Park
(2022) Sarmah, Biswajit
The Kaziranga National Park (KNP) is considered a remarkable success in wildlife conservation history. In the last one hundred years, the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) population revived from its near-extinction. The success is often credited to the bureaucratic and technocratic efforts to create wildlife habitats free of human intrusion.
Prohibition on lrpe, Culture Change, and the Apatanis in Arunachal Pradesh
(2022) Sen, Tania
This thesis explores various social events and associated complex relations surrounding the event of prohibition on trpe among the Apatanis in Arunachal Pradesh. The main contribution of the thesis lies in the changing contours of the idea of development and modernization constitutive of modernity. The categorical imperative is to interrogate the idea of modernity itself. ln other words, the idea of modernity remains unsettled and contemporary researches continue to be engaged in this. This study is a contribution in the same direction as new methods of looking at the indigenous people, and studying their struggles and negotrations with modernity. Ethnography is critically embedded in the present study. The study on the Apatanis in their homeland of zio vatley attempts to grasp the underlying causes of culture change and its transition. The dynamic intenelations between the economic, cultural, political and psychological factors have important implications for the changing patterns of the Apatani lrfe, Developing the postcolonial and postmodern concepts of development, the thesis aims to move towards a new understanding of ,,modernity,, and break the chains of ""Western"" civilizatronal drscourse of studying community and/or knowledge' The field is where the theories are drawn from, The results have been drawn through an amalgamation of experiences shared by the respondents as well as the past research and theories surrounding the ideas of culture change, indigenous studies and the idea of modernity.
Strategic choices and negotiations in insurgencies: National Democratic Front of Boroland in Assam
(2022) Daimary, Jimmy Sebastian
Insurgencies have been prevalent in many parts of South Asia including India at different points in time with demands ranging from sovereignty, autonomy arrangements to other socio-economic and political inducements. Northeast India also witnessed the onset of several insurgencies with various demands ranging from secessionism to autonomy arrangements and other socio-economic and political incentives for their respective communities. However, a deeper analysis reveals that some non-state armed groups (NSAGs)/insurgent groups decide to renounce the violence after a certain points in time and engage in the negotiation process with the state actors while others chose to remain in conflict. The thesis focuses on the former set of insurgent groups. The conditions or the factors that motivate the insurgent groups to engage in the political process vary from case to case.
(An) Evaluation of Electronic Wage Transfer under MGNREGA in the Barak Valley Region of Assam
(2022) Pandit, Harish Chandra
India's most ambitious rural employment programme – the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) – is close to two decades now. In the most recent times, conflicting reports have emerged on two counts. One shows that the programme has not made many dents in poverty despite a legal entitlement framework. The non-revision of minimum wage payments, delay in wage payments, and massive corruption are some reasons for its non-performance. Another form of reporting led by the Digital India campaigns of the present government shows that the electronic payment system initiated under the MGNREGA has resulted in indirect benefits to the beneficiaries under the scheme, thereby fulfilling the primary objective of timely wage payments and the secondary aim of financial inclusion. New technologies can control corruption and enhance operational efficiency by shortening payment delays, automatically providing for unemployment allowances, and improving communication with beneficiaries. However, we reiterate that technology alone will not help.
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.
Lakshminath Bezbaroa and His Times: Language, Literature and Modernity in Colonial Assam
(2021) Tamuly, Gitashree
The thesis is an attempt to write a biography of Lakshminath Bezbaroa (1864-1938), an acknowledged writer of modern Assamese literature, situating him against the broader social history of the time. While exploring language, literature, religion, history, folklore, gender and all-pervading cultures of mundane life, from cooking to child-rearing, the study’s prime focus is on the question of modernity in south Asia, particularly Assam. It tries to explore the real and psychological worlds of the modern intelligentsia of Assam in colonial time, who consciously chose to live their lives in particular ways, but always found themselves among certain dilemmas, contradictions, confusions, anxieties and doubts. Initiating its journey with Dinanath, the father of Lakshminath, a representative of pre-colonial gentry, who had to negotiate with the colonial time in its early days, the study’s central concern is the changing panorama and perspectives of life in colonial modern situations. It tries to understand the formation of the regional Assamese identity, and its complex relations with caste, ethnicity, language, religion and the emerging notion of a broader identity of being an Indian. The study tries to understand the cherished ideology of matribhasa and nationalism against the concrete situations of the life of a celebrated crusader of linguistic nationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century- Assam, who fortuitously had to live a long expatriate life. Thus, it tries to examine and question such dominant ideologies of the time from within. Rather than perceiving language and literature as disinterested activities of the nationalist intelligentsia of the time, the thesis explores the economic and political aspects of such seemingly apolitical ventures. Coming away from the simplistic notion of a self-conscious intelligentsia’s concerted attempt to form an Assamese identity, the thesis examines multitudinous components which became interactive in the field, and became crucial in shaping the intellectual- cultural activities of the time. It explores the print world in Assamese as a gateway to modernity in colonial situation, and tries to concentrate on the issues like literary-historiographical mentalities, celebration of platonic love theme as a new version of bhakti or emotional attachment with God, experimentations and hybridization of existing and new genres, exploration of history as an inspirational force of assertion of identity and above all, emergence of a reading public, which subsequently came to form the public opinion. The study also examines the historical necessity and processes involved in it, by which, the society explores its heroes of different kinds, whether it be a religious guru, mahapurush, a great person, ‘jatir janak’, a begetter of ‘jati’ or an authorial figure, both from the past and the present. It examines the process of elevation of such celebrated figures, and focuses on the journey of an author like Lakshminath from an anonymous writer to a canonized, largerthan- life figure in the realm of the literary. It tries to understand how a literary persona has been constantly being made and unmade to serve the causes of the imagined life of a community, and elevated to the status of a hero. It also asks why Lakshminath was chosen for this purpose, emphasizing why a man of letters and a creative writer, rather than a contemporary politician, was chosen to represent a regional identity in Assam. It also tries to understand how a song composed by Lakshminath, without concern to its literary merit, came to signify the whole life of a nationality, and subsequently acquired a symbolic value. Finally, the thesis explores the making of cultural symbols like singing a particular song in particular places and ways, as attestation of one’s claim to the Assamese identity.
Land and Credit Market in a Bodo Village of Assam
(2021) Daimari, Mizinksa
The Bodos, as peasants, have featured significantly in the colonial agrarian history of Assam. However, there is a massive research gap on the transformations surrounding the Bodo peasantry in more contemporary times. The plains tribes of Bodos, despite a long history of identity politics, cannot be claimed as a homogenous group. Private ownership of land, which marks capitalist agriculture, features significantly among the Bodo peasantry. A free land, labour, and credit market are the mainstay of capitalist agriculture. How has capitalist agriculture advanced and transformed the Bodo peasantry in recent times? This thesis studies agrarian relations among the Bodo community through an examination of the land and credit market in an all Bodo village of Assam. The objective of this research is to investigate the socio-economic differences within the Bodo peasantry as opposed to discontentment between the Bodos and others. The fieldwork is in an exclusively Bodo dominated revenue village named Majrabari located in the Baksa district of Assam. The method of fieldwork is through a survey of Bodo peasant families, with the help of structured interview schedules interwoven with selected case studies. Our village study is based on 126 peasant families after a house listing of 310 Bodo families. The land market of Majrabari is dominant in sharecropping tenancy arrangements. We noted five agrarian classes in terms of the operation of agricultural land. They are Pure Tenants, Pure Lessors, Owner Operator cum Tenant, Owner Operator cum Lessors, and Owner Operator. Since non-agriculture is also an important contributor to the total earnings of households, we cannot say which of the above classes of land cultivating households are the richest. However, tenant-landowner relationships are not necessarily guided only by impersonal relations in Majrabari. Landowners prefer to lease land to tenants who they have known for a longer duration and can trust. The owners of capital (land, machinery, and irrigation) in this village are a few peasant families belonging to the Basumatari clan, who, incidentally, are also the landed. We see traditional practices of ‘summoning’ exchange labour (saori) during the agricultural season in our study area. We conclude that traditional labour relations co-exist along with modern capitalist agriculture in Majrabari. The credit market is dominant in the informal sector. Although there is a presence of public and private sector banks, including a rural credit cooperative, the dependence of peasant families on moneylenders is high. The village is dominant in the Basumatari clan of Bodos. From this present study, we cannot and do not intend to conclusively claim if a peasant family’s position in a specific clan can be a determining factor of socio-economic class differentiation among the Bodos. However, in the particular context of Majrabari, peasant families of the Basumatari clan seem to be enjoying a privilege over the others in terms of land ownership as well as asset ownership. The petty landowning cultivator classes are relatively better-off. In contrast, the marginal land-owning tenants, as well as the pure tenants, juggle with limited resources to make ends meet. As a result of continuous integration to the market, we see peasant differention in Majrabari. The role of the market notwithstanding, peasants in Majrabari are petty commodity producers. As a result of a small scale of production, the peasant sees little capital accumulation instead funding the reproduction of the means of production from incomes earned elsewhere. With increased costs and little income peasants are increasingly indebted to informal lenders in an under-banked region. Therefore, in an environment of increasing market integration, the Bodo peasantry of Majrabari is also undergoing agrarian distress and proletarianization.
Fideism- A Critical Evolution
(2021) Deka, Chandana
This thesis attempts to critically evaluate issues related to fideism. Fideism as an idea upholds that in the issues of religion, reason has no or minimal place, and only faith matters. Some fideists hold that religious faith and reason are not compatible with each other. According to them, faith requires absolute certainty and personal commitment. That faith goes beyond rational justification. Therefore, it is not necessary to look for evidence or reason in religious beliefs. This stance puts fideism in a problematic spot many times. Fideism faces challenges from different philosophical positions, severely from rationalism and evidentialism. But fideism manages to deal with such challenges from the doctrinal dimension. The challenges to fideism concerning doctrinal dimension may be less or unsolvable sometimes. But the toughest challenge is how fideism deals with the other dimensions of religion, specifically the social and ethical dimensions of religious practices. I highlight these challenges in this thesis and contend that if fideism is to hold its position, it has to combat these criticisms without getting itself into dogmatism
Movement of Agricultural Commodity Prices in Post-reform India
(2021) Baruah, Prerona
At a time when several Asian countries are reeling under acute agrarian distress, this dissertation focuses on India to conduct disaggregated uni-variate time-series analysis on the behaviour of prices for four major agricultural commodities produced in the country. The study specifically analyses two important time-series components, viz. seasonal variations and irregular fluctuations (or volatility). To meet its objectives, the study examines prices reported in over 300 wholesale markets (mandis) across the country and uses monthly data spanning more than a decade (2003-2016). In order to obtain reliable and robust results, care has been taken not to compromise on the methodological rigour. Towards this end, the work has adapted from recent contributions made to the literature on price-behaviour estimation for agricultural commodities. The research objectives taken up in this study have been guided by a critical review of the academic literature. When commodity prices are low in general, the nature of intra-year variability has crucial implications for farmers as the price received against harvest is a basic determinant of their income-streams. If primary agricultural-markets are prone to large seasonal price drops, it is an indication that certain constraints may be inhibiting farmer-sellers from behaving as rational economic agents. To obtain the estimates of price-seasonality, the dissertation tests harvest-pattern based specifications of seasonality (viz. trigonometric and saw-tooth functions) against an unrestricted dummy-variable specification to reduce estimation bias. The results show that there is a considerable variation in magnitudes of seasonal price gaps across space and commodity. In several cases, the seasonal price drops in domestic markets are higher than in international prices. Further, a cross-sectional analysis of the estimated seasonal gaps over socio-economic indicators reveals that the magnitude of the seasonal price drop has a direct relationship with the proportion of resource-poor smallholders in the district to which a particular mandi belongs. Thus, the study infers that the smaller farmers are the ones who mostly engage in the sub-optimal behaviour of “sell-low”. And this leads to a glut in the market. Thus, they are the ones who receive the lowest price for their produce. Given their high economic vulnerability, negative shocks to income-streams of smallholder households may threaten their livelihood sustainability. Therefore, this finding raises critical concerns and calls for policy makers’ attention. Since the global food-crisis of the last decade, volatility in food prices has become a major concern world over (Gilbert & Morgan, 2010; Ott, 2012;Bathla, 2012; Tripathi, 2014; Baffes & Haniotis, 2016; Gilbertet al., 2017). Although, volatility, in itself, is a short-run phenomenon, it can have adverse long-run implications in a country like India, which is teeming with resource-poor farmers. Therefore, this dissertation engages in a detailed investigation of the nature and degree of volatility in realised wholesale prices across the country. To accommodate for the possibility of time-changing variance, the study uses appropriate pre-estimation tests on each of the individual mandi-level series under study. Wherever the variance is non-stationary, a suitable generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model has been identified to obtain an estimate of the price volatility. The findings, once again, highlight the wide dispersion in both the nature and magnitude of commodity price volatility across the country. On an average, for most of the commodities under study, the domestic market volatility estimates are close to international levels. Several markets also show evidence of time-varying volatility with marked clustering and persistence. Based on its findings, the study concludes that effective delivery of policy necessitates location-specific approaches. The diversity observed in price behaviour (both across and within the different states of the country) is an important contribution of this dissertation. It points out that certain locations are in more urgent need of policy support than others. Thus, continuing with blanket policy responses to the agrarian crisis may end up aggravating existing inequalities.

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