economics, state, power, the people, oppression and transgression

I recently revisited the idea of anarcho-syndicalism and am coming to the conclusion that I have a good deal of affinity with its political and economic philosophy. An ongoing critique of (a certain kind of) community development that I am trying to piece together seems to be leading to many anarcho-syndicalist conclusions. Is that perhaps [...]

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State employment, economic and environmental justice, growth and political organisation

Is the National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (NREGA) simply government handouts or is it really an upliftment programme. What does it mean that the government is giving employment to people? Is this an ideal model? Is state ‘employment’ a permanent feature? How is payment by the state exchanged for productivity? What are the terms of [...]

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Complexity and inter-disciplinarity

My first assessed essay during my time here at IDS was on the topic of how an inter-disciplinary approach to development can contribute to the development research and practice. I took advantage of this opportunity to write about the insights from complexity science into the workings of the world and then to point out that [...]

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Fragmentation and Healing

N.B. This piece has been taken from my reflective writing journal and should be understood as tentative and incomplete
It seems that we are all here in order to make sense of things. We look into books, we look into each other, searching for what is out there, what is right – and maybe [...]

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As the dust settles…

Well, it has been a while now since I posted here! The dust is finally settling a little here at IDS and I feel that I have reached a comfort level where I can return to my blog!
I have not been inactive at all during this time! I have been furiously conversing, reflecting and also [...]

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Back to school!

After 5 years of living in the ‘wilderness’, of gathering experience and of learning from the immediate reality, I am finally back to ’school’. School, in this case, is the Institute of Development Studies located at Sussex University. My course, for those who don’t yet know, is the MA in Participation Power and Social Change. [...]

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protecting the ethnosphere

The dilemma of what to do about ‘uncontacted tribes’ or, for that matter, indigenous peoples the world over has been a theme in some of my earlier blog posts. The real issue is the shattering of their worldviews and culture that ‘development’ almost inevitably brings. I ended my last post on the subject by saying [...]

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Women, unity, gifts and spirituality: the foundation for women led community development in Delwara

In the small multi-caste town of Delwara, a women’s group has been formed. This group is a platform for women to come together on a common platform across all kinds of traditional divides – caste, religion, class, etc. – to become agents of their own destiny. This morning, I spent a few hours with the [...]

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community based organisations vs. organised communities

So, I’ve had this long-standing thought about working with communities… I have this notion that it’s not particularly original but all the same it strikes me as worth noting down – especially as I’m in need the middle of preparing a proposal that builds on this idea.
Most of the development discourse – and I suppose [...]

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The Perplexing Conundrum of ‘Uncontacted Tribes’ and Development

I recently came across a post via the Neuroanthropology blog over at the Culture Matters blog. This post mainly focuses on criticising the nonsense and stupidity that surrounds the way that the ‘outside world’ (i.e. us) relates to what end up getting called ‘Uncontacted Tribes’ (even though this is a myth). And I really appreciate [...]

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