Caste and Cultural Icons

Author(s):  
R. Thirunavukkarasu

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be an insignificant entity in the electoral arena of Tamil Nadu as the party won only one seat in the 2014 parliamentary elections. However, its efforts to expand its support base in the state where ideologically hostile political dispensations have near hegemonic presence demand a thorough scrutiny. BJP’s endeavours to expand by vernacularizing itself are arguably met with resistance, yet the party’s desperation to project itself as a Tamilized Hindutva party must be dissected. While tracing the genealogy of the BJP’s electoral performance and its modus operandi to expand its support base, this chapter elaborates a two-way process of ‘vernacularization’ and ‘pan-Indianization’.

Author(s):  
Amit Ahuja

This chapter outlines the electoral performance of Dalit ethnic parties. In non-movement states, Dalit ethnic party vote shares have been higher, and Dalits have won more seats in state assembly and parliamentary elections than Dalit ethnic parties in movement states. The chapter process traces Dalit electoral mobilization by ethnic and multiethnic parties across the two sets of states. It proceeds to show that Dalits’ ethnic party performance is explained by Dalits’ attitudes toward bloc voting and, that importantly, voters’ attitudes vary significantly across movement and non-movement states. Dalits in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are far less inclined to vote with members of their caste than Dalits in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-28
Author(s):  
Pranjit Kumar Sarma ◽  
Rituparna Bhattacharyya

In India,  Assembly Elections were held in Assam, West Bengal, Kerela, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the first half of 2021. Driving this study is an attempt to analyse the election results of the state of Assam where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, Mitrajot or National Democratic Alliance (NDA), successfully defeated the Indian National Congress (INC), and its allies, Mahajot (Grand Alliance). Drawing primarily upon secondary data and applying GIS techniques, the study makes a critical analogy of how Mitrajot managed to accomplish victory. This is a solicited article. Submitted: 10 May 2021; Accepted: 24 June 2021.


Water Policy ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Bhatia ◽  
John Briscoe ◽  
R. P. S. Malik ◽  
Lindy Miller ◽  
Smita Misra ◽  
...  

The state of Tamil Nadu, India, is in the grips of a water crisis, with demand far outstripping supply. As the economy of the state grows, this crisis is going to become ever more serious. To date the focus of state water policy has been on trying to augment supplies, from within the state (even from desalinization) and from neighboring states. In addition, the water use is regulated in a way that does not encourage the highest value uses. International experience shows that supply-side measures must be complemented by demand-side measures and that practice must move away from fixed, command-and-control allocation policies towards flexible allocation mechanisms, which facilitate the voluntary movement of water from low to high-value uses. This study addresses the question of whether such a change in allocation policies is worth doing. It addresses this question by developing optimization models for each of the 17 river basins in Tamil Nadu (including an assessment of the economic value of water in different end-uses – agriculture, domestic and industry), then using an input–output model embedded in a social accounting matrix (SAM), to assess the impact of these changes on the state economy and on different rural and urban employment groups. The results suggest that a shift to a flexible water allocation system would bring major environmental, economic and social benefits to the state. Compared with the current “fixed sectoral allocation” policy, a flexible allocation policy would, in 2020, result in 15% less overall water used; 24% less water pumped from aquifers; 20% higher state income; with all strata, rich and poor, benefiting similarly, with one important exception, that of agricultural laborers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Durai Ganesh ◽  
G. Senthilkumar ◽  
P. Eswaran ◽  
M. Balakrishnan ◽  
S. N. Bramha ◽  
...  

AbstractUranium concentration in the ground water samples from the district of Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, was measured using an LED fluorimeter. All the samples were qualified as potable water from the radiological perspective. Though some samples showed mild chemical toxicity, they are still safe for ingestion. Different risk coefficients were calculated, and they were compared with recommended safety limits specified by various agencies. Software tools such as QGIS 15, GraphPad Prism 8 and Surfer 15 were employed for developing maps and plots.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-395
Author(s):  
P. Murugan ◽  
◽  
R. Kottaimuthu ◽  
Chinnamadasamy Kalidass ◽  
Pratap Chandra Panda ◽  
...  

A thorough survey of the members of Solanaceae was carried out in Sirumalai Hills and occurrences of six additional species of Solanaceae hitherto not reported from Sirumalai Hills is reported here. Of these, Solanum americanum Mill. var. odishense Kalidass & P. Murugan turned out to be a new report for the state of Tamil Nadu and Solanum pseudocapsicum L. an addition to Solanaceae of Eastern Ghats. A brief description with photographs and other relevant notes is provided for each species for easy identification.


Author(s):  
Andrei N. Komarov ◽  

The article reveals an evolution of political ideologies in Canada in 1993–2019. Following the Russian and foreign historiography, as well as the election programs of Conservatives and Liberals, the author analyzes the influence of political ideologies on the voting of Canadian voters in parliamentary elections in the late 20th – early 21st centuries. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that Canada is still a country committed to political ideologies. He also considers as unacceptable the thesis about an absence of ideologies in Canada within the existing post-industrial society. The author believes that the model for political development of Canada, laid down in the second half of the 19th century by the founders of the state, is still effective at the present time. In a post-industrial society, Canada clearly follows national traditions based on previously developed political ideologies. That is what constitutes the foundation for the rule-of-law state and civil society in Canada. The author emphasizes that, despite the activities of other political movements, conservative and liberal ideologies represent the leading directions of the state development in Canada. Other political ideologies, like social democracy, are largely secondary and do not determine the present and future of the Canadian state.


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 166-169
Author(s):  
Vasant V. Bang ◽  
Alok Kumar Mishra

Since independence in 1947, India has witnessed several changes in economic policies of governments. Economic reforms were started in India in 1984 and were accelerated later in 1991. It is believed that Bharatiya Janata Party won the 2014 parliamentary elections on the promise of economic development and growth. In this article, an attempt has been made to investigate the link between economic and electoral performances in Indian elections. The data for 1951–2014 period has been analysed by establishing regression equations using vote percentage received by a ruling party as dependent variable and sectoral economic growth during the ruling tenure as independent variables. Comparisons have been made between the pre- and post-1984 eras. An important contribution of this article is that it highlights the fact that electoral performances can be better explained using sectoral growth data as compared to overall GDP growth rates. The article also highlights a significant role played by volatility in growth rates.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Ahmad El-Sharif

The Late King Hussein’s last Speech from the Throne in 1997 was given amidst public outcry over the outcomes of the parliamentary elections which resulted the triumph tribal figures with regional affiliations after the boycott of most political parties. This brought to public debate the questions of maintain the long-established balance between the several socio-political structures in the political life in Jordan. While the speech can be perceived as a reflection of King Hussein’s vision about ‘Jordanian democracy’, it can also be interpreted as an elaborate scheme to construct the conventional understanding of the exceptionality of Jordan and its socio-political institutions; including democracy. This article discusses the representation of ‘Jordanian democracy’, the state, and the socio-political structures in Jordan as reflected in the Late King’s last speech from the throne (1997). The analytical framework follows a critical metaphor analysis perspective in which all instances of metaphors used to epitomise these issues are primarily acknowledged from there sociocultural context. Herein, the article focuses on revealing the aspect of metaphorical language by which the Late King Hussein legitimizes and, hence, constructs, the prevailing ideology pf the ‘exceptionality’ of Jordan.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
K Kesavalu ◽  
R Asokan ◽  
A Abdul Raheem

Horticulture is now acknowledged as being a vital driver for economic development, poverty reduction and enhanced nutrition for populations in developing countries. Tamil Nadu is one of the foremost horticulture States in India, contributing 7.7 percent to the national horticultural production with 5.7 percent of the national level area. The horticultural crops contain the remarkable potential for export earnings within the State. Cardamom and pepper are important species of Tamil Nadu; Plantation crops of Tamil Nadu are coffee and tea, and that they are traditionally exporting products. Flowers have small areas in Tamil Nadu, but the price of production per hectare is substantial. Palmarosa and indigo are cultivated in negligibly small rooms, mostly for export. Therefore, this paper examines the progress, problems and constraints of the horticulture scenario in Tamilnadu.


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